At the system's prompt.
Li Hao's first reaction wasn't the ecstatic joy of striking it rich.
It was fear.
The instinctive, bone-deep fear of trouble that came with being a couch potato.
Run!
Right now!
Immediately!
The thought nearly took over his entire mind.
Queen Medusa?
You've got to be kidding!
She was the queen of the scene in an entirely different novel, infamous for her brutality. Killing people was as casual for her as stepping on an ant.
More importantly, what level of enemy could have beaten her into this near-death state?
A Dou Emperor? A Dou Sect? Or one of the legendary Dou Venerables?
How terrifying!
Right now, he was just a six-and-a-half-year-old fisherman whose Soul Power had been given to him for free by his daughter. His only Martial Soul was a broken fishing rod.
Save her?
And then what?
Wait for the terrifying enemy who'd hunted down Medusa to follow the energy fluctuations here, then grind him and his daughter to dust?
The risk and reward of this deal were completely out of proportion.
A massive loss!
"Daddy..."
Just as Li Hao was about to scoop up Xiao Wu and flee this place at a hundred-meter sprint, a tiny hand clutched the hem of his clothes.
Xiao Wu gazed up at him with tear-filled eyes, her little body trembling slightly with sadness.
She pointed her little finger at the enormous crater, her voice choked with sobs. She spoke each word slowly and clearly.
"Save her... she's so pitiful..."
"In her heart... she's so unwilling to give up... she doesn't want to die just like this..."
As a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, Xiao Wu could clearly feel the unyielding wail coming from the depths of that seven-colored giant serpent's soul.
It was the pride of a king. Even as her body decayed, her soul refused to bow.
That feeling made Xiao Wu empathize with her, as if she were seeing herself—the one who'd once been hunted by countless powerful soul masters and ultimately had no choice but to sacrifice herself.
Those few words gave Li Hao's heart a painful squeeze.
But he steeled himself and, for the first time, put on a stern face in front of Xiao Wu.
"No!"
His answer was firm and decisive, without a trace of hesitation.
"Xiao Wu, listen to me. This thing's too dangerous. We can't afford to get involved."
He tried to reason with his daughter, though he wasn't sure a two- or three-year-old could understand him.
"If we save her, some very, very bad people might come after us. Then Daddy won't be able to protect you."
It was the truth.
He could give up his laid-back life.
But his daughter's safety was a line he absolutely would not cross.
Xiao Wu stubbornly shook her head. Tears ran down her soft cheeks and dripped into the dirt.
She didn't throw a tantrum or wail. She simply gazed at Li Hao with those clear, innocent eyes, never looking away.
"Daddy said you'd protect me."
"Daddy's so strong. You can protect her too!"
Boom!
Those words struck the softest place in Li Hao's heart like a bolt of thunder.
His whole body froze.
He'd been in this world for five years: two years as a baby, too young to understand anything; three years muddling along in the village; and two weeks lazing around by the river.
He'd always been an outsider, just passing through.
It wasn't until yesterday, when this darling little girl had dropped out of the sky, wrapped her arms around his neck, and called him "Daddy," that his life finally found an anchor.
For the first time, he felt needed.
For the first time, he wanted to protect someone.
Daddy's so strong...
Li Hao gave a bitter smile inside.
I'm not strong at all.
I'm a complete good-for-nothing, a couch potato who just wants to eat his fill and wait to die.
But when he looked into his daughter's eyes, full of trust and hope, he saw his own small reflection in them. He looked so tall, so capable of anything.
An emotion he'd never felt before surged through his chest.
Bitter, yet burning hot.
If...
If he couldn't even grant his daughter this tiny, kind wish...
Then he was a miserable excuse for a father.
To hell with this laid-back life!
To hell with the danger!
Today, I'll show you just how strong your daddy really is!
Li Hao took a deep breath, as if forcing all his hesitation and fear out of his body.
He crouched down and gently wiped the tears from Xiao Wu's cheeks with his rough fingertips.
"If we save her and a terrifying enemy comes after us—we might be hunted forever and never be able to sunbathe in peace again. Would Xiao Wu be scared?"
Xiao Wu sniffled and shook her head without hesitation.
She reached out her little hands, wrapped them tightly around Li Hao's neck, and buried her head against his shoulder. In a muffled voice, she said,
"I'm not scared!"
"As long as I'm with Daddy, Xiao Wu isn't scared of anything!"
Good.
That was enough.
Those words were all he needed.
Li Hao asked the system one last time in his heart.
"What's the worst that could happen if I save her?"
The system's reply was cold and direct.
[Worst-case scenario one: The enemy who wounded this unit will follow its trail here, bringing utter disaster upon the host and the Soul Beast Girl team.] [Worst-case scenario two: The energy fluctuations generated by this healing/evolution will be detected by all the top powers of Douluo Continent (Spirit Hall, the Upper Three Sects, the Two Great Empires Royal Families) and the Divine Realm. The host will be exposed to all the players ahead of schedule.]
Every outcome pointed toward utter ruin.
But Li Hao smiled.
"Exposed?"
"Yesterday, at the entrance to Nuoding Academy, I already ground Tang San's protagonist aura into the dirt."
"Why should I be afraid of getting exposed?"
"When there are too many lice, you stop itching; when there are too many debts, you stop worrying!"
"Damn it, let's do this!"
Li Hao muttered a curse, as if to give himself courage.
He wasn't a hero.
He was just a father.
An inadequate father forced into a desperate situation by his daughter.
He stood up and gave Xiao Wu's head one last rub. The panic in his heart gave way to absolute resolve.
His touch was impossibly gentle.
"Okay. Daddy will save her."
"Xiao Wu, go behind that big rock and cover your eyes and ears. No matter what happens, don't come out."
"The scene in a moment might be a little... spectacular."
Xiao Wu nodded as if she understood, then obediently ran to hide behind a huge boulder in the distance. She peeked out with half her little head, watching him with nervous anticipation.
Li Hao turned and walked alone toward the enormous crater.
The closer he got, the thicker the aura of savagery and destruction became. The purplish-black poison gas even made the air warp.
The giant serpent's body was enormous. Her head alone was bigger than Li Hao's entire body.
Her seven-colored scales were shattered and tattered. One eye was already blind, while the golden slit pupil of the other held only the last faint glimmer of defiance.
Li Hao stood before her, as tiny as an ant.
Without the slightest fear, he slowly reached out his small hand—the hand of a six-year-old child.
Gently, he placed it on Queen Medusa's enormous head, streaked with blood and covered in wounds.
It felt cold and silky. The texture was really nice.
After stroking her for two seconds, Li Hao finally came to his senses.
The next moment, he gave the system an order in his mind.
"Heal her!"
"And perform Bond Evolution!"
The instant the command was given—
Boom!
A seven-colored pillar of light a hundred, a thousand times stronger than the one that had appeared when Xiao Wu evolved shot up from Queen Medusa's body!
The pillar was as thick as a mountain and pierced the heavens, like a divine sword of creation. It ripped through the dense clouds above the Star Dou Forest in an instant!
At that moment, the entire central region of the forest was illuminated by the tyrannical seven-colored divine light!
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