First Encounter with Qian Renxue

At dusk, after several days of travel, Luo Chen finally got off the carriage in front of a nearby inn.

It was a wooden inn. It didn't look very big, and its construction had plenty of flaws, but at least it seemed like a place to stay.

Striding into the inn, Luo Chen saw that quite a few people had already gathered inside, scattered here and there.

Everyone, including the innkeeper, was a Soul Master.

Moreover, Luo Chen could tell that most of them had more Soul Power than he did. Only a few Soul Masters below level twenty had come along for the excitement.

What surprised Luo Chen, though, was the figure in the corner, who looked just like him.

She wore a black robe, and her face was hidden. From her slender figure alone, he could only guess that she was a woman.

For some reason, from the moment he entered the inn, Luo Chen had felt a faint stirring in his heart.

Or, more accurately, in his Martial Soul.

The Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul he had designated as his Second Martial Soul seemed to share some sort of connection with that girl.

"No way..."

Luo Chen had only just sat down, but a faint sense of foreboding had already crept into his heart.

What was the Six-Winged Angel? In the original story, it was a God-Given Martial Soul.

And if something could resonate with the Six-Winged Angel, it had to belong to the same category. Most likely, it was of the same type—or, if he dared to make an even wilder guess, had the same origin.

Female, same origin...

Luo Chen swallowed unconsciously, and the foreboding in his heart grew stronger.

This couldn't be right, could it?

Suddenly, he wanted to find a different inn.

After all, there was only one person in the original story who fit all his guesses.

The young mistress of Spirit Hall, the Qian Family's Qian Renxue!

Sure enough, just as Luo Chen had suspected, before he'd even warmed his seat, he felt a gaze settle on him.

It was obvious who it belonged to.

Luo Chen suddenly felt that his lot in life was rather miserable. Qian Renxue was probably the last person he wanted to run into right now.

After all, the fact that he wasn't part of the Qian Family but had the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul was far too outrageous. If Qian Daoliu found out, he'd probably have Luo Chen locked up.

The only thing he could be thankful for was that his First Martial Soul, the Death Spider Emperor, could still serve as a cover.

Under that astonished, appraising gaze, Luo Chen calmly finished his dinner, went upstairs, and entered the room he'd reserved.

"Click!"

The wooden door shut tight. Luo Chen collapsed onto the hard bed and sank into thought.

To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure what to expect. He didn't know whether the person who seemed to be Qian Renxue would take an interest in him.

As far as the original story went, aside from being forcibly made to fall for the protagonist, Qian Renxue had very little else to criticize. So he didn't dislike her; if anything, he'd always had a fair bit of goodwill toward her.

But the key was that he was far too unusual right now...

If possible, he'd rather she didn't take an interest in him.

Luo Chen was certain that if that really was Qian Renxue, then no matter what reason had brought her here, she'd have at least one Titled Douluo nearby.

That was terrifying. Under the pressure of a powerhouse like that, a little Soul Master without even one Soul Ring had no way to escape.

With a long sigh, Luo Chen closed his eyes.

He could only leave this to fate. He needed to rest; according to his original plan, he'd set off early tomorrow morning to hunt Soul Beasts and obtain a Soul Ring.

Meanwhile, the black-robed woman went upstairs right after Luo Chen returned to his room and entered her own.

She sat in her room and took off her robe.

Beneath it was the face of a mature-looking young woman.

She had the same golden hair as Luo Chen, and the same violet eyes.

Only her coloring wasn't as deep as Luo Chen's.

She was the person Luo Chen had worried about: Qian Renxue.

"Elder Snake Lance, find out everything you can about that boy from earlier. Report back to me tomorrow."

"Yes, Young Mistress."

Just as Luo Chen had guessed, Qian Renxue was indeed curious about who this boy was. He had the same hair and eye color as she did, and he could even stir a resonance with the Six-Winged Angel within her.

And now she'd put that curiosity into action. She simply hadn't approached Luo Chen directly.

It wasn't until noon the next day that Qian Renxue finally received the information brought back by Snake Lance Douluo. It recorded everything Luo Chen had done in Nuoding City.

Including the part where he'd beaten Grandmaster to a pulp and revealed his Martial Soul.

"The Death Spider Emperor?!"

The moment she saw that name, Qian Renxue's hand trembled despite herself as she held the report.

She knew this Martial Soul even better than Yu Xiaogang did. It was that woman's Martial Soul.

His appearance had so many similarities to hers; he stirred something in her, as if they shared some sort of connection; and now, there was this report...

Qian Renxue was already a little dazed. Snake Lance Douluo, standing before her, had also fallen into thought.

He didn't know that Qian Renxue and Luo Chen had sensed each other, but he wasn't blind.

The Death Spider Emperor, hair color, and eye color in the report were all right there in black and white.

But he wasn't foolish, either. He knew what should and shouldn't be said. As an old hand, he could keep his mouth shut for the rest of his life if his young mistress didn't bring it up.

Thinking this, he quietly faded from view, no longer disturbing Qian Renxue. He continued to keep watch from the shadows, ready to protect her at a moment's notice.

Meanwhile, Luo Chen had no idea that Qian Renxue was already keeping tabs on him.

He'd left the inn at first light and made straight for the Star Dou Great Forest, which he'd been thinking about for so long.

At this point, he'd only just reached the outskirts of Star Dou.

To be safe, he'd even asked the innkeeper whether Qian Renxue was still at the inn before leaving. Only after receiving confirmation did he set off.

He didn't want to run into Qian Renxue again and invite more trouble.

This was not something he could afford to gamble on.

"Hopefully, I can wrap up this trip soon."

With a faint sigh, Luo Chen kept his eyes on his surroundings as he ventured farther into the Star Dou Great Forest.

There was almost no danger on the outskirts. The area was mostly home to Ten-Year Soul Beasts, and even Hundred-Year Soul Beasts were rare, so the danger wasn't great. Luo Chen could handle it with ease.

But by the same token, he wouldn't find the Soul Ring he wanted here.

Luo Chen had a rough target in mind for his Soul Rings.

For his First Soul Ring, at least eight hundred years. For his Second Soul Ring, a thousand years at minimum.

That was the best he could reasonably hope for at the moment.

It was also a testament to his confidence in his physical strength and his two Martial Souls.

He'd been training all these years, for one thing, and the two Martial Souls—one of them a god-tier Martial Soul—had transformed his body tremendously.

If he weren't worried about the risks, he'd even want to try for a thousand-year First Soul Ring.