Neuvillette had practically said outright that if he could obtain a Soul Bone, he could use the power of the water element that came with the laws.
He could even amplify the Soul Bone's effects.
For Chen Zhou, this was an enormous stroke of good fortune. Naturally, he couldn't refuse.
As for whether this might offend Qiangu Zhangting—so what if it did?
What else could happen?
Besides, Leng Yaozhu had his back now. She was, at the very least, a Level 98 Super Douluo.
Although she couldn't compare to Qiangu Dongfeng, she still held a very high position within the Spirit Pagoda.
And Chen Mo himself was already on Leng Yaozhu's side.
"Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Senior. I'll cherish it and won't let you down."
As he spoke, Chen Zhou dropped to one knee, his face solemn and devout.
"I don't know your name, Senior. If you don't mind, I'd like to take you as my adoptive mother."
There was nothing but sincerity in Chen Zhou's words. Leng Yaozhu couldn't help laughing at him.
She looked at the little fellow before her. Hearing that he wanted to take her as his adoptive mother, she sized him up from head to toe.
To her surprise, she didn't feel the slightest bit of aversion.
She had an instinctive dislike of the Qiangu Clan, a loathing far stronger than what she felt toward anyone else.
Yet, judging by all the reports her subordinates had given her, she felt no ill will toward this boy.
Especially after meeting him in person, she found him both brave and resourceful. He was steady-tempered, yet shameless when the situation called for it.
That was a rare quality. As the saying went, the bird that cried got the worm, and the child who cried got the candy.
In the world of Soul Masters, the first thing one had to do was find every possible way to obtain whatever resources one could, and attach oneself to any influential person within reach.
If a young man in his twenties or thirties had said something like that to her, she would have laughed and turned him down.
But when a six-year-old child said it, she felt no aversion at all.
Especially with the child's delicate, doll-like features—and that fair little face.
One could only say that beauty was justice. Who wouldn't want a child this adorable?
"You're an interesting little one. I don't mind you taking me as your adoptive mother. If you can win first place in this competition, I'll accept you as my adopted son. My name is Leng Yaozhu. You can call me Aunt Leng for now."
Leng Yaozhu looked at Chen Zhou and spoke calmly. Her talk of accepting an adopted son was naturally a joke.
But if this child really stood out and showed enough strength, she wouldn't mind giving him a hand.
Chen Zhou was only taken aback for a moment. It truly made no difference to him. In his original world, he'd been an orphan, with neither father nor mother.
In this world, his parents had died not long after he was born.
He didn't even know what they looked like.
"Thank you for giving me this chance, Aunt Leng. I won't let you down."
Chen Zhou rose to his feet and clasped his fists.
Leng Yaozhu studied him carefully, then raised a hand. A wooden box appeared out of thin air in her palm.
She tossed it straight to Chen Zhou.
"Consider it a little gift for our first meeting. At least you won't have come all this way for nothing."
After she finished speaking, Leng Yaozhu paused.
She hesitated, but then tossed him a glittering golden card.
Holding the box and card, Chen Zhou stared fixedly at the card.
It was an authority card for the Spirit Pagoda, and this golden one was the highest level.
With this card, Chen Zhou would effectively have the authority of a vice tower master.
He wouldn't be able to mobilize large quantities of supplies, but with this card, he wouldn't be subject to any other restrictions on his authority.
Its benefits were practically limitless.
Chen Zhou was stunned when he saw the card.
He hadn't expected Leng Yaozhu to be so generous as to give him an authority card representing the highest status.
Weighing the heavy box in his hand, Chen Zhou's eyes lit up.
But he didn't hurry to open it. Instead, he bowed again.
"All right, you can go. The competition starts the day after tomorrow. I'll have someone take you there then."
Leng Yaozhu waved him away.
She wasn't going to bother with pleasantries for a junior like him.
Chen Zhou didn't mind.
He carried the box, tucked the card into his pocket, and ran out.
The young man was still waiting at the door.
He gave Chen Zhou a respectful glance, then continued to lead the way, escorting him downstairs.
They didn't stop until they were back in the car, heading to the Qiangu Clan's residence at the Spirit Pagoda.
Back in his room, Chen Zhou plopped down on the floor and slowly opened the box before him.
Inside were several peculiar fruits. They were three Dragon Blood Fruits, each more than ten thousand years old.
The one in the middle was quite possibly more than twenty thousand years old.
A rich dragon-blood power emanated from the Dragon Blood Fruits. Chen Zhou felt an intense urge to absorb it.
Ten-thousand-year spirit herbs were extremely rare. When Chen Mo had searched around Eastsea City for so long, he had only managed to find thousand-year spirit herbs.
Ten-thousand-year spirit herbs were already considered strategic resources.
Even the top experts and major powers had very few of them.
That was why Leng Yaozhu hadn't doubted Chen Mo when he'd said he would use a ten-thousand-year spirit herb, along with some special methods, to force Chen Zhou through a breakthrough.
It was simply because such resources were so scarce—rare enough to be called precious.
At present, the only reliable sources of ten-thousand-year spirit herbs were the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well belonging to the Tang Sect, a few of the empire's secret realms, and several hidden locations in the Federation.
Under these circumstances, only the Tang Sect and Shrek could reliably produce ten-thousand-year spirit herbs, and in large quantities.
Even the Spirit Pagoda had very few. Leng Yaozhu had just handed over three of them, including a fruit more than twenty thousand years old. It was easy to imagine how valuable they were.
For other people, these three ten-thousand-year Dragon Blood Fruits could strengthen their Martial Souls and enhance their draconic bloodlines.
But for Chen Zhou, he could use the power of the Primordial Sea to cultivate them.
That would help his Water Dragon King Martial Soul rapidly evolve into the Primordial Dragon.
"I've really hit the jackpot. But isn't that Qiangu Zhangting's banquet tonight? That means I'll attend his banquet tomorrow, then face him directly the day after."
Chen Zhou muttered, his expression odd.
He'd be attending someone else's banquet tomorrow, only to face him directly the day after.
They would even be competing for the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
And if he had to guess, they would probably run into each other inside the Spirit Ascension Platform, too.
After all, even if that genius was four or five years older than him, he was probably only at the three-ring or four-ring level at most.
Chen Zhou was currently at the two-ring level. Fighting someone at three or four rings didn't seem all that difficult.
And though the Coiling Dragon Staff was a powerful, top-tier Martial Soul, compared with Chen Zhou's cheat-like advantages, its wielder seemed destined to get crushed.