Qian Renxue watched his eyes suddenly grow wary, and something stirred faintly in her heart.
This guy was far sharper than she had imagined.
She had originally thought that even if a six-year-old child could fight, there would still be cracks in his temperament.
But from what she had just observed, this Luo Yun didn't waste words or drag things out, and he left no room for others.
That was not the temperament of a six-year-old child.
Qian Renxue reassessed the value of the Luo Yun standing before her.
Then she spoke.
"I want to team up with you."
Luo Yun glanced at her, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.
It wasn't a smile. It was the sort of curve that said, "What kind of joke is this?"
"Team up?" he repeated, as though he'd heard something hilarious. "Do you know what kind of place this is? Everyone here is thinking about how to watch you die. And you're talking to me about teaming up?"
He looked away, walked around Qian Renxue, and continued on.
"Don't follow me."
Qian Renxue stood where she was, watching the small black figure grow farther and farther away.
She was sensible enough not to chase after him.
She simply stood there with her arms crossed, her azure eyes narrowing slightly, the curve of her lips barely there.
"Interesting."
The intelligence Pufferfish Douluo had brought back from Frost Ridge City surfaced in her mind.
"King Frost Extreme Luo Shang, a Level 95 Super Douluo, possesses a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and guards Heaven Dou's northern frontier. His strength is unfathomable."
"His son, Luo Yun, is six years old and possesses Twin Martial Souls. His First Soul Ring is already a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, and rumors suggest he may have inherited a god's legacy."
"King Frost Extreme encountered the Crown Prince outside the Star Dou Great Forest while competing for the Holy Leaf Spirit Deer. Afterward, the father and son entered the Core Circle of the Star Dou Great Forest and remained there for half a month before returning. Along the way, they encountered the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python. King Frost Extreme was injured, but his son's aura had clearly grown stronger."
"After that, King Frost Extreme took his son back to Frost Ridge City. Every day, he brought him into the city dungeon and used death-row prisoners to train him. According to our informant, his son killed more than a thousand people in little over a month. His temperament changed drastically, and his killing intent became tangible."
"Recently, King Frost Extreme and his son left Frost Ridge City. Their destination is unknown."
Qian Renxue had fallen silent for a long time after reading this report.
She had originally thought King Frost Extreme intended to raise Luo Yun from childhood to become a general, training an heir who could wage war and lead troops. That was standard practice among frontier nobles.
But the intelligence that followed had overturned every one of her assumptions.
A suspected God Trial.
More than a thousand people killed.
A drastic change in temperament.
Killing intent made tangible.
Destination unknown.
Those words, strung together, brought one place to mind.
Slaughter City.
She had sent Pufferfish Douluo to investigate, and sure enough, King Frost Extreme had taken his son into Slaughter City.
At the time, Qian Renxue had wanted to enter in person, but she hesitated.
She knew the rules of Slaughter City very well.
Soul Power would be sealed, leaving only Martial Souls and physical strength to rely on in battle.
Given her status, the King of Slaughter wouldn't dare let her die there for real, but if something unexpected happened...
She told Pufferfish Douluo about her concerns and had him go back to inform her grandfather.
Then she received her grandfather's reply. It was only one word.
"Go."
Qian Renxue understood what her grandfather meant.
And Qian Daoliu understood what Qian Renxue had in mind.
If they could win over a Super Douluo with talent like King Frost Extreme, as well as Luo Yun—a Twin Martial Soul wielder who might be undergoing a God Trial—and the entire army of the Northern Territory, unifying the whole continent would be a breeze.
And the key to winning over King Frost Extreme was his son.
Thinking of this, the curve of Qian Renxue's lips grew a little wider.
How hard could it be to get along with a six-year-old child?
With that, she turned and headed in the direction Luo Yun had disappeared.
As she went, she casually flicked her hand.
A flash of golden light.
A burly man, unaware of the danger, had reached out from the side, trying to touch her waist. His wrist was severed clean off, and blood gushed out.
The man screamed and dropped to his knees, clutching his severed wrist. He stared at the impossibly beautiful woman before him, his face full of terror.
Qian Renxue didn't look at him. She continued toward Luo Yun.
Soon, she saw Luo Yun's back again.
At the end of the street, the child was heading toward the eastern part of the city.
His pace was neither fast nor slow.
Qian Renxue quickened her steps and followed.
She didn't get too close, keeping an easy distance of about twenty paces behind him.
At that distance, Luo Yun wouldn't think she was haunting him, and she wouldn't lose track of him either.
She wanted to see just how much this six-year-old child still had hidden up his sleeve.
A month ago, by the river in the Star Dou Great Forest, she had seen this child for the first time. She had thought he was merely an ordinary noble youth whom King Frost Extreme had brought along to gain some experience.
His face was certainly handsome, but what value could a six-year-old child have?
Later, when she received the intelligence Pufferfish Douluo had sent to Heaven Dou City, her first reaction had been disbelief.
Six years old, a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as his First Soul Ring, Twin Martial Souls, a god's legacy, more than a thousand people killed, killing intent made tangible.
All those things, said of a six-year-old child, sounded like an absurd fantasy.
But Pufferfish Douluo wouldn't lie to her.
And today, she had seen it with her own eyes.
This Luo Yun was nothing like a six-year-old child.
Qian Renxue's steps slowed for a moment, and a complicated light flashed in her azure eyes.
She had thought her own life was hard enough.
Yet this child had been thrown into Slaughter City by his own father at the age of six.
Sigh...
Qian Renxue took a deep breath, suppressing the sympathy she shouldn't have felt.
She quickened her pace again and caught up with the small black figure.
East of the city, villa.
Luo Yun pushed open the door and walked into the courtyard.
He went into the hall, sat down in his favorite recliner, and picked up the unfinished book on the table.
It was titled Douluo: Sun Moon Twin Souls, Inheriting Destruction and Life.
The pages were densely covered in writing, but the pacing was unusually slow.
Luo Yun read for a while, then closed the book and rested it on his chest.
He closed his eyes.
The face of the golden-haired woman from earlier surfaced in his mind.
Golden hair, azure eyes, the innate air of nobility, the composure of someone who looked down on everything.
He had seen that face before, by the river in the Star Dou Great Forest.
But she hadn't looked like that back then.
Back then, "Xue Qinghe" had been a man, dressed in gold-and-white brocade robes, warm as jade and courteous.
But those eyes had been the same.
Luo Yun opened his eyes and stared at the dark red patterns on the ceiling, his brows drawing together slightly.
Unless the "Crown Prince" in the Star Dou Great Forest had been in disguise all along.
Luo Yun didn't think any further.
It wasn't that he couldn't figure it out. He simply didn't want to.
In a place like this, people who thought too much died the fastest.
Whether she was a man or a woman, a Crown Prince or a princess, it had nothing to do with him.
He had come here to complete his God Trial, not to make friends.
He closed his eyes again.
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