Six-Year-Old Protects Two-Year-Old

It was unclear how much time had passed before Old Jack was the first to snap back to his senses.

His hand gripping his cane trembled violently; his wrinkled face went deathly pale, then flushed a deep, liver-like purple.

He pointed a shaking finger at Li Hao, his lips working for a long time before he could squeeze out a coherent sentence.

"Li Hao! You, you, you... you little rascal! Where did you kidnap this child from!"

This shout was full of vigor, startling the birds in the vicinity into flight.

Li Hao jolted, snapping out of his petrified state.

Kidnap?

"Kidnap your head!"

"I'm the victim here, alright!"

He wanted to defend himself, but found he had no way to explain.

What could he say?

That this little girl was the rabbit from just a moment ago?

That he had a system that could turn Soul Beast Girl into humans?

If I said that out loud, Old Jack would have to hire a Healing Soul Master tomorrow to check his brain, and probably use that old cane of his to help me 'physically' wake up.

Among the crowd, Tang San's reaction was different from the rest.

He didn't join the villagers in their exclamations, standing quietly instead, his deep black eyes filled with suspicion and scrutiny.

He remembered clearly that when Li Hao awakened his Martial Soul half a year ago, he had been all alone.

Holy Soul Village was only so big; if any family had an extra child, the whole village would know within half a day.

This delicate, porcelain-like little girl had absolutely appeared out of thin air!

Coupled with that pillar of light that had shot into the sky earlier...

This matter was definitely not simple.

"Grandpa Jack, listen to me, let me explain..."

Li Hao felt his head throbbing; it was like getting mud in his trousers—even if it wasn't excrement, it was still a mess.

"Explain? What is there to explain! The evidence is right here, and you still want to quibble?"

Old Jack was so angry his beard was shaking.

"Tell me, are you tired of the hard life in the village? Did you go to the city and get involved in some shady business!"

Li Hao: "..."

With this kind of imagination, giving you only one chapter of screen time in a novel is a total waste of your talent.

Just as Li Hao was rendered speechless and prepared to give up and let things fall apart, that familiar, synthesized mechanical voice rang out in his mind once again.

But this time, it wasn't cold and heartless; instead, it carried a hint of... wanting credit?

[Host detected in a social dilemma.]

[Soul Beast Girl Identity Protection Protocol activated.]

[Generating an identity background consistent with the current world's logic... Implanting...]

[Implantation complete. A small matter, please continue, Host.]

Almost the instant the system prompt faded, Li Hao was amazed to see the anger on Old Jack's face receding at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It was replaced by a look of sudden, confused realization.

"Eh? Where was I... Oh, right."

Old Jack scratched his head, the reprimand that had been on the tip of his tongue taking a sharp turn.

"Li Hao, you child, you... your distant cousin entrusted her daughter to your care, such a big deal, why didn't you tell the village?"

"That's right, the child must be two or three years old, right? You kept her hidden well."

"She's so pretty, like a porcelain doll, even better looking than the young ladies from the big families in the city."

"Brother Li Hao is impressive! Starting to raise a kid at such a young age!"

"Protecting a two-year-old at six, my name is Li Hao, remember it!"

The surrounding villagers also began to chatter, but the hostility and shock in their words had vanished without a trace.

It was as if, in their memories, the fact that Li Hao had a distant cousin's daughter was a matter of course, and they had simply forgotten about it for a moment.

Li Hao was completely stunned.

A distant cousin's daughter?

System, the background you fabricated... is actually quite grounded?

"You really think highly of me, don't you? I'm a six-and-a-half-year-old kid, and you're asking me to take care of a two-or-three-year-old toddler."

The most absurd part was that everyone here had accepted this premise.

He snuck a glance at Tang San.

He discovered that Tang San was also furrowing his brows, seemingly struggling to recall something, but ultimately, he wore the same expression as the villagers—a mix of confusion and a hint of realization.

Li Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

Even this cheater could be influenced.

This system, it's got some tricks.

With the crisis averted, Li Hao relaxed significantly and began to size up Xiao Wu.

Seeing that Li Hao was no longer on guard, Xiao Wu took a few steps with her short legs and hugged Li Hao's thigh.

She tilted her small face up, looking at him with those pure, flawless eyes, and called out sweetly.

"Daddy, hold."

This basic attack instantly wiped out Li Hao's health bar.

He stiffly bent down and, with some effort, picked up the soft little thing.

She felt warm to the touch and carried a faint scent of milk.

Watching this scene, Old Jack's expression shifted completely from anger to gratified emotion.

"Sigh, fine, fine. Although there's an extra mouth to feed, at least it's company. Li Hao, you're a father now; you can't keep being a lazy fisherman like before. You need to get your act together!"

"That's right, Li Hao, you've got to earn money for milk powder now!" a village auntie chimed in.

Li Hao's mouth twitched.

"Thanks a lot, 'milk powder money'."

"I can barely feed myself as it is."

Inhaling the faint milky scent on Xiao Wu, Li Hao looked content.

Hmm, who's nursing whom? That's not necessarily clear.

Just then, the system's voice, sounding as if it were fishing for praise, rang out once more.

[Congratulations to the host for successfully raising the first Soul Beast girl: Xiao Wu.]

[Xiao Wu's transformation is successful; the 100,000-year Soul Ring is now stabilized.]

[Ability Sharing · Reverse Empowerment has been enabled.]

[Soul Ring (100,000-year · Soft Bone) has automatically adapted to the host's Martial Soul; no hunting required, perfect absorption.]

BOOM!

A series of cold notifications detonated a mental tsunami in Li Hao's mind!

A 100,000-year Soul Ring!

And it was automatically adapted and perfectly absorbed?

Li Hao didn't even have time to consider what this meant before a torrent of energy, vast beyond comprehension, exploded inside his body!

That power was pure to the extreme, violently scouring his fragile meridians.

There was no sense of gradual breakthrough.

It was more like using a vast galaxy to flush out a dried-up little ditch.

Every bone in his body groaned under the unbearable strain, and every inch of his flesh was torn apart only to be instantly reconstructed!

The agony intertwined with the power of rebirth, making him want to scream out loud!

At that very instant, a deep, blood-red ring of light suddenly flared up on Li Hao's Martial Soul, Tattered Fishing Rod, before retracting in a ten-thousandth of a second.

It was incredibly swift.

Too fast for the naked eye to capture.

However, not everyone present was a mere mortal.

"Hm?"

Tang San's body suddenly tensed!

Just a moment ago!

His Purple Demon Eye, which was constantly active, had actually caught a fleeting flash of blood-colored radiance!

That wasn't just ordinary red.

It was a blood color so deep it seemed to have solidified eons of time and endless vitality!

Even from that brief glimpse, the Mysterious Heaven Skill internal energy circulating within him had uncontrollably stalled for a split second!

A sense of insignificance, originating from the depths of his soul, welled up, leaving him nearly suffocated.

Tang San's heart contracted violently, his mind going completely blank.

What kind of power was that?

He prided himself on possessing the secret arts of the Tang Sect and having awakened Innate Full Soul Power, making him an undisputed darling of the heavens in this world.

Yet, in the face of that fleeting flash of blood-red, everything he took pride in seemed so laughable, so insignificant!

He did not understand what that blood-red halo represented in the world of Soul Masters.

But his combat instincts as a top disciple of the Tang Sect in his past life were screaming the sharpest warnings at him!

It was an absolute suppression at the level of life itself!

What on earth was that?

Tang San furrowed his brows; this was already beyond the scope of his knowledge.

Before heading to Nuoding Academy, Tang San was still a novice who knew little about the many rules of the Soul Master world.

His alcohol-reeking father did nothing but forge iron and beat him, finding all sorts of ways to temper his body.

Common sense and theoretical knowledge were simply not taught.

Therefore, Tang San had no idea what that was at this moment!

Otherwise, his jaw would surely have dropped in shock, for that red light represented a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast soul ring!

A first soul ring that was a hundred thousand years old!

Except for those who shattered their rings to start over or those with a second martial soul, no one could achieve such a feat!

As the center of the storm, Li Hao had no way of knowing Tang San's inner monologue.

At this moment, he was immersed in the ecstasy of his power surging.

He could feel his body filled with unprecedented strength.

Was this the sweet scent of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast soul ring?

It felt amazing!

However, after the ecstasy faded, he looked down at Xiao Wu, who was clinging to his neck with a look of reliance.

A wave of immense sorrow welled up in his heart.

His life as a salted fish—content to live without ambition, drifting through days, fishing and slacking off...

Had completely declared bankruptcy!

From today on, his life was going to be turned up to the max!

Because he was going to be a father.

He had to raise a child.

"Daddy, what are you thinking about?"

Xiao Wu seemed to sense his emotional fluctuations; she rubbed her little head against his chest and asked softly.

As she drew closer, a strange sensation flooded into Li Hao's perception.

He suddenly "heard" the voices of the surrounding flowers and grass.

The grass by the river complained that the sun was too harsh, the fish in the water discussed where the algae tasted better, and the trees in the distance stretched their branches, enjoying the caress of the breeze.

The entire world became vivid and three-dimensional before him.

This was... Xiao Wu's perception?

The ability of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to communicate with nature?

Li Hao's mind stirred slightly.

He looked at the pink-carved, jade-sculpted, unfairly cute little girl in his arms and felt the surging power within his body.

Fine.

If he had to raise her, he would.

Isn't it just being a father?

He would just treat it like playing a raising simulation game.

Besides, he had picked up a max-level character for free, accompanied by a Hundred-Thousand-Year divine set; no matter how he calculated it, he wasn't losing.

Li Hao let out a long sigh, completely accepting reality.

Just as he began to worry about whether to have grilled fish or wild vegetables for dinner, pondering how to take the first step in his life as a stay-at-home dad, Xiao Wu in his arms suddenly moved.

She stretched out her fair, tender little finger, pointed toward the direction of Notting City outside Holy Soul Village, and pouted her little mouth.

"Daddy, I feel like there's a special plant over there. Shall we go take a look?"

Li Hao looked in the direction she pointed: "Grass. Ugh, what's there to see?"