First Kiss

"Brother Xu... it seems to be able to talk, did you hear that?"

Meng Hongchen poked her head out from behind Xu Qing, staring in shock at the toad that kept croaking on the ground.

"A ten-thousand-year soul beast, it actually awakened its intelligence early!!?"

"Croak--!"

The Ice Clear Red Toad steeled its willpower, violently erupting the ice and fire Soul Power within its body. In an instant, its crimson torso flickered between red and blue. It writhed frantically while its large mouth spewed out continuous torrents of flame.

The orange-red flames struck the ice, scorching a smooth, mirror-like surface that reflected the terrifying human figure standing behind the Ice Clear Red Toad.

"Human! How about you let this toad go? I'm fire-attributed! You came to the Far North, so you must be looking for ice attributes; I'm incompatible with you!"

The Ice Clear Red Toad realized its struggles were futile, so it resorted to its silver tongue.

It delusionally hoped to persuade the humans with words, but possessing such a gift of gab was something only a protagonist could have!

A mere toad.

"How about I take you to find the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad? My kin are far stronger than I am!"

I haven't even married the beauty of the toad world yet, I haven't even reached the peak of...

"Puchi--!"

Four ice spikes appeared, pinning its limbs firmly to the ground. Now, it couldn't move a single inch.

Xu Qing withdrew his pressure and spread his spiritual power. Within a radius of ten miles, apart from the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad clan hidden in the crevices of the glacier and the Ice Silkworm buried in the snow, there were no other soul beasts.

"Finish it off. Such an anomaly among soul beasts is rare and hard to find."

Xu Qing stepped back, arms crossed over his chest. Ignoring the Ice Clear Red Toad, which was croaking curses on the ground, he tilted his chin toward Meng Hongchen.

"Its cultivation is indeed ten thousand years, roughly thirteen thousand. It's perfect for you. Besides, with this level of intelligence, it might even drop a soul bone."

"Mm-hmm, I'll listen to Brother Xu."

Meng Hongchen suppressed the curiosity in her heart that wanted to chat with this Ice Clear Red Toad.

She drew a level-five soul-guided longsword. Cold light overflowed from the blade; before it even made contact, the toad below began to wail and lament.

"Croak croak croak~ This toad is useless, I didn't get to provide for my toad father, I'm unfilial, I didn't get to fulfill my duty to my toad mother..."

"So noisy."

The corner of Meng Hongchen's eye twitched. How did this toad give her such a sense of déjà vu, like her annoying older brother?

They were both such chatterboxes...

"Swish--!"

A blinding silver light emerged, cleanly and decisively slicing across the toad's body, splitting it in two.

A generation of toad overlords had fallen.

Hum--

A deep black soul ring emerged. This ring was quite strange; at the edge of the circle, red light pulsed faintly.

It was wispy and quite magnificent.

Hiss hiss hiss...

On the ground, the toad's body was corroded by the potent poison within itself. It gradually vanished, turning into a wisp of blue smoke and a soul bone.

"A limb soul bone?!" Meng Hongchen exclaimed. She hurriedly picked it up and held it out in front of Xu Qing. "It really dropped one!!"

"Thanks to the gifts of nature," Xu Qing said, taking it. "Although the age is a bit low, there is no doubt that it is the most suitable soul bone for you."

Xu Qing examined this special soul bone; it was a left-hand soul bone.

The entire piece was covered in ice-blue bone armor, layered and extending down to the wrist. Its inner surface, however, was a vivid, bright red.

This splash of red grew from the wrist all the way to the metacarpals and phalanges, reaching the fingertips. At each knuckle, there were tiny protrusions, within which flowed a cyan-colored, highly toxic poison.

"Don't be impatient. Absorb the soul ring first, then the soul bone. I will guard you."

Xu Qing tapped Meng Hongchen, who was struggling to resist leaning in to examine the bone, and issued his command. The latter pouted but obeyed.

Two and a half hours later.

"Boom--!"

Meng Hongchen stood up, her crystalline silver hair dancing without wind, and her bright red pupils revealed a captivating brilliance!

Level fifty-two!

"Give it to me, give it to me, Brother Xu, I can't wait anymore!"

Half an hour later.

"Boom--!"

Level fifty-three!

"Haa..."

Meng Hongchen extended her left hand, stretching out her slender, white fingers. A faint blue fluorescence flowed over them—it was a Soul Bone.

"Brother Xu..."

Her eyes sparkled with starlight. "What a beautiful Soul Bone..."

"As long as you like it. Do you want to try out its soul skill or something?" Xu Qing asked.

"Hmm... no." Meng Hongchen refused, which was rare for her. She gave a playful smile. "The selection assessment is coming up soon. Brother Xu will naturally find out then."

"Of course, if you can't wait, Xiao Meng is also very willing to tell Brother Xu."

"Hee hee, if it weren't for Brother Xu, I wouldn't have gained something like this. Mmm... how should Xiao Meng thank you?"

"Brother Xu, I have toads at home that dance at night, you know~"

Time flew by.

Meng Hongchen was waiting at the entrance of Xu Qing's villa because Brother Xu had said he wanted to give her a parting gift.

She felt that Brother Xu was only doing this because he was shy. Hee hee, it was understandable; after all, Xiao Meng is just that irresistible.

Hmph hmph, what could it be?

Clothes? Or jewelry? Boys like Brother Xu usually give these kinds of gifts to girls.

Could it be... Brother Xu himself?

Slap, slap. Meng Hongchen patted her own head for letting her imagination run wild. She leaned against the wall, craning her neck in anticipation.

"Good afternoon, Miss Meng. Here to see Xu Qing again?"

"Mmhmm~"

Ye Guyi had returned from work. This scene had been all too common over the past two months.

A beautiful young girl boldly pursuing love—it was truly enviable.

When will I be able to meet someone like that...

No! Guyi, oh Guyi, how could you think like that? You're so young, why are you already feeling lovesick!?

That kind of thing is absolutely forbidden!

As long as the Evil Soul Masters are not eliminated, the Angel cannot rest for a single day!

Bearing the mission of restoring the Angel clan, I, Guyi, must never fall into a den of comfort!

"Good afternoon."

Xu Qing appeared and greeted the Angel lady he hadn't seen in a while, then handed the box containing the Titan Snow Demon Soul Bone to Meng Hongchen.

"Wait until you get home to..."

Before he could finish, the impatient Meng Hongchen had already quietly opened a crack in the lid.

BOOM--!

A surge of Soul Power so thick it was almost tangible poured out from the gap. It swept across her cheeks like an invisible wind, lifting a few strands of her silver-white hair.

A Soul Bone!!!

A tidal wave of shock instantly surged through Meng Hongchen's heart!

This was completely different from that ten-thousand-year Soul Bone.

As the apple of Mingde Hall's eye, she wasn't exactly short of ten-thousand-year Soul Bones, even if she couldn't pick them at will.

So, when that toad dropped a Soul Bone, Meng Hongchen had only been surprised that Xu Qing had guessed correctly.

But the Soul Power fluctuation before her was even more powerful than those seven- or eight-ten-thousand-year pieces in her grandfather's collection room!

Could it be... a hundred-thousand-year one!?

This, this, this, this...

Meng Hongchen didn't dare to think any further.

She let out a long breath, her eyes becoming increasingly determined.

I must reward Brother Xu! That's what the heroines in the storybooks always do!!

She tucked the box into her storage Soul Tool, brushed back her hair, grabbed Xu Qing by the collar, and stood on her tiptoes.

Chu~