Hunting Soul Rings

Only when the strange man beside Qian Renxue spoke did Bibi Dong look at him properly for the first time.

It was no surprise that this was Qian Renxue's external martial soul; it truly looked exactly like a human being.

"Who are you? This is a family matter of ours; is it any of your business?"

Chen Qi looked at her without a shred of fear in his eyes. Back when he was reading Douluo Continent, he had long wanted to rush out and give that love-addled Bibi Dong a piece of his mind.

Now that the opportunity had finally arrived, he couldn't let it go to waste.

"I am Qian Renxue's martial soul. She and I are one and the same. Tell me, does that make me a part of her, and does that make this my business?"

Bibi Dong was rendered speechless. What Chen Qi said was perfectly logical; a martial soul was, after all, a part of a soul master's own body.

Seeing her remain silent, Chen Qi continued his offensive.

"As Qian Renxue's mother, it is one thing that you haven't fulfilled a single maternal duty, but to force her to act as an undercover agent and waste her own powerful talent is simply going too far."

Bibi Dong's expression shifted visibly. Her face grew flushed and hot, and she gritted her teeth, staring at Chen Qi, unable to utter a single word.

"Let me tell you, we will never play the part of some damn undercover agent. The day my master breaks through to become a Title Douluo will be the day you return the position of Pope to the Qian family."

BOOM!

A massive, overwhelming pressure belonging to a Title Douluo surged toward Chen Qi like a tidal wave.

Bibi Dong was so enraged that she had lost the ability to think rationally; she only wanted this fellow, Chen Qi, to die.

The pressure descended upon Chen Qi, but it passed through him as if he were nothing more than air, failing to stir even the slightest ripple.

Seeing this, Chen Qi pondered for a moment and understood his situation.

His identity was that of a martial soul, an ethereal existence by nature, so the pressure naturally could not affect him. After all, one never saw a martial soul collapse during a duel between soul masters.

Qian Renxue looked at Chen Qi, who had stood up for her, and an indescribable feeling welled up in her heart.

"Don't waste your energy, Bibi Dong. Your attacks are ineffective against me. My previous words were not a warning, but a declaration. Master, let's go."

With that, right in front of the furious and flustered Bibi Dong, he took away one of the most important pieces in her grand plan.

She desperately wanted to slap Qian Renxue and him into oblivion, but the last shred of her sanity told her that she absolutely could not.

If the Elders Hall were to hold her accountable, she would truly have no way out.

"No, I must restrain those old monsters in the Elders Hall, otherwise my plans will definitely go down the drain!"

Bibi Dong decided to keep the Elders Hall in check first and find an opportunity later to pay back this insult in full.

Outside the Pope's Palace, Chen Qi's mind was a blank slate. How on earth had he ended up in a direct confrontation with Bibi Dong?

If that love-addled woman were to truly lose her temper, Chen Qi would never make it out of the Pope's Palace alive.

Qian Renxue looked at Chen Qi beside her, deeply curious as to why he had stood up for her for no apparent reason.

"Why did you stand up for me?"

Chen Qi was stunned by the question.

How was he supposed to know?

It had just been a heat-of-the-moment impulse, triggered by memories of roasting the author, Tang Jia San Shao.

"This... uh, Master, I am your martial soul. I can see that woman, Bibi Dong, is definitely trying to harm you. You must not fall for her schemes."

Qian Renxue nodded. She now realized deeply that her martial soul was not as simple as having gained sentience through the Angel God's blessing.

Clearly, Chen Qi's way of thinking was far more mature and steady than her own; a creature that had just gained sentience could not possibly understand so much.

From this, she deduced that Chen Qi's identity was far from simple. He must know something, or he wouldn't have been able to reject Bibi Dong in such a short time.

And yesterday, the moment he appeared, he had already identified the status of her grandfather, the Great Elder.

Qian Renxue disagreed with Chen Qi's claim that he possessed her memories, as she felt no connection to him at all; it was as if they were two completely different people.

"Chen Qi, you weren't born with sentience from within my martial soul, were you?"

Chen Qi, who had thought he had successfully bluffed his way through his identity, was visibly stunned.

Had his identity as a transmigrator been exposed?

"Master, what are you talking about?"

"Stop pretending. Your various actions have already exposed your identity."

No way, no way. Is my identity as a transmigrator really about to be guessed?

Chen Qi swallowed nervously, his palms slick with sweat, as he listened to Qian Renxue's next words.

"You must be some subordinate of the Angel God, right?"

Huh?

Buddy, what are you guessing?

Where would there be any subordinate of the Angel God? There weren't any in the original work.

It's not like I can say I'm the Eighth Elder of the Elders Hall.

Chen Qi grumbled inwardly. Seeing that it was a misunderstanding, he decided to play along.

He first froze, then put on a fake smile, feigning shock.

"Ah... yes, yes, haha. As expected of someone chosen by the Master, you saw through my true identity at a single glance."

Seeing Chen Qi admit it so readily, Qian Renxue was beyond happy, feeling as if she were Detective Sherlock Holmes having guessed the correct answer in one go.

However, even though she had guessed the so-called correct answer, she didn't feel the joy she had expected from solving the mystery.

Instead, she felt a sense of emptiness.

Ding, detected a change in Qian Renxue's favorability. Current favorability: 10/1000.

Hearing the system's voice, it was Chen Qi's turn to be confused.

This made no sense.

Qian Renxue was clearly so happy her nose was practically in the air; how could her favorability have dropped?

As expected, there wasn't a single normal person on the Love-Brain Continent.

Chen Qi now regretted not paying more attention to Qian Renxue's character when he was watching Douluo Continent.

If he had, wouldn't wooing her have been a breeze?

"Xue'er, you're here. How are you getting along with your martial soul?"

Up ahead, Qian Daoliu noticed Qian Renxue and Chen Qi; he smiled and walked over.

Qian Renxue also noticed her grandfather, and she nodded, pretending to be happy as she spoke.

"Grandfather, Chen Qi and I are getting along very well. There haven't been any accidents at all."

She gritted her teeth as she said those last three words.

After everything that had happened today, Qian Renxue wished she could transcend her martial soul right then and there and send him to keep her father company.

However, after learning Chen Qi's identity, she didn't dare think that way anymore.

Seeing that Qian Renxue seemed very happy, Qian Daoliu couldn't stop grinning and immediately decided to take his granddaughter to obtain her first and second soul rings.

As an Eight-Winged Angel, her attribute was naturally Light. For a Light-attribute soul beast that met the age requirements for a first soul ring, the first choice was, of course, a Light Unicorn.

Light Unicorns were a dime a dozen on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest; one could find them just by wandering around.

On the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, Qian Daoliu brought his precious granddaughter Qian Renxue there, intending to pick a suitable Light Unicorn.

Across a small stream, a Light Unicorn with a snow-white body and a horn atop its head emitting a faint halo was lowering its head to drink from the stream.

Qian Daoliu spotted it at a glance, but he quickly withdrew his gaze and shook his head.

"Grandfather, is that Light Unicorn not good enough?"

Qian Renxue had also noticed it, and seeing her grandfather glance at it only briefly before looking away, she asked with some confusion.

"It is only a Light Unicorn that has just passed a hundred years. You, Xue'er, need to absorb at least four hundred years; naturally, it won't do."

Receiving the answer, Qian Renxue nodded.

According to existing theories, the limit for a first soul ring was 423 years; one hundred years was indeed too little for Qian Renxue.

Leaves drifted down as a breeze swept past.

Just then, Chen Qi sensed something. He looked behind him to see a much larger Light Unicorn charging madly toward Qian Renxue.

"Master, look out!"