Li Qing looked at Bo Saixi, who was clearly furious but still putting on a magnanimous front, with a threat barely veiled beneath it. He found it rather amusing, but obediently nodded all the same. "I heard you. Thank you, Sister! I knew you were the most reasonable person around!"
Having achieved his goal, Li Qing didn't linger. Afraid that this "not short on experience" High Priestess might come to her senses, change her mind, or settle the score with him, he hurriedly said, "You should get some rest, Sister. Save your strength so you can help me catch a Soul Beast tomorrow! I'll be going now!"
Without waiting for Bo Saixi to respond, Li Qing dashed out of the room and "thoughtfully" closed the door behind him.
"Thump."
The soft sound of the door closing rang out especially clearly in the silent room.
Bo Saixi stood alone, staring at the tightly shut door, her chest still rising and falling.
It was a long while before she finally let out a long, helpless breath, feeling as though she'd experienced more emotional upheaval tonight than in the past ten years combined.
She slowly walked to the window and opened it, letting the salty sea breeze brush against her burning cheeks.
The bright moonlight spilled across the boundless, tranquil sea, setting its surface shimmering.
As she gazed at the ocean she had guarded for a hundred years, Bo Saixi's thoughts gradually settled, replaced by deeper contemplation.
During the day, she had already asked Seahorse Douluo to investigate Li Qing's background in detail.
The results were clear. The child was an orphan, discovered on the beach about six years ago by an old fisherman from one of the villages on the outskirts of Sea God Island, who had then adopted him. His origins were a mystery.
Before that, there had been no record of his parents on the island.
An orphan of unknown origin...
Yet he possessed a mysterious Martial Soul, the Mysterious Origin Water-Controlling Flag, for which even Lord Sea God had bestowed a legacy.
He knew the names of gods that even she, a Peerless Douluo who had lived for a hundred years, had never heard of—Asura God and Rakshasa God.
He knew where Tang Hao had gone into hiding, and even harbored a strange, intense hostility toward Tang Hao's son, Tang San.
He had also mastered the revolutionary secret method of using Whale Rubber to temper the body, a technique powerful enough to change the balance of the Soul Master World...
Where had he learned all these secrets?
Bo Saixi furrowed her delicate brows, utterly perplexed. Could it really be as he said, that he'd read about them in some ancient book? But what kind of ancient book would contain such astonishing information?
She was certain that before Li Qing, no one on Douluo Continent had known the true use of Whale Rubber. Otherwise, the various major forces would have been fighting tooth and nail over it long ago, and it could never have been sold as an ordinary "aphrodisiac" at its current price.
Too many mysteries shroud him.
Bo Saixi gazed at the distant point where sky met sea, her eyes profound. The Mysterious Origin Water-Controlling Flag... This flag seems to contain a source power that even makes my heart tremble. Was his arrival a coincidence, or... some kind of fated arrangement? Did Lord Sea God choose him solely because his Martial Soul is attuned to the ocean?
"A Thousand-Year Soul Ring..."
Bo Saixi murmured the words again. A complex, inscrutable smile suddenly curved her lips as she whispered, "Perhaps... I really should set aside my preconceptions and look at this child with fresh eyes. Tomorrow, I'll see for myself what kind of miracle you can create."
Night deepened. In the Sea God Hall, a peerless beauty stood by the window, her heart in turmoil.
At that very moment, far out on the horizon, an almost imperceptible streak of golden light pierced through the clouds and hurtled toward Sea God Island at astonishing speed.
The next morning, Sea God Island was bathed in pale golden dawn.
The salty sea breeze dispersed the mist, revealing a clear blue sky and a sparkling sea.
The magnificent doors of the Sea God Hall slowly opened, and Bo Saixi and Li Qing stepped outside, one after the other.
Bo Saixi was once again dressed in a pale blue gown, her sea-blue hair neatly swept up. Her usual dignity and elegance were softened by a touch of gentleness.
Yet whenever her gaze swept over Li Qing beside her, a complex, inscrutable look flickered deep in her eyes. The ripples from last night's "short on experience" remark and the Thousand-Year Soul Ring had clearly not yet settled.
Li Qing wore a neat black robe, his small face bright with barely contained excitement and anticipation.
After tempering his body with Whale Rubber, he felt filled with strength, his blood surging. He was in better shape than ever before.
"Let's go." Bo Saixi's voice was calm and even as she reached out and rested her slender hand lightly on Li Qing's shoulder.
In the next instant, the two of them transformed into a streak of blue light and sped toward the beach on the outskirts of Sea God Island at a speed beyond ordinary comprehension.
In barely a few breaths, they had reached the soft white sand.
Waves lapped gently against the shore, their soft rush soothing to the ear.
Bo Saixi's beautiful eyes narrowed. An invisible ripple spread out from her, merging with the boundless sea before them.
Before long, a huge mound suddenly swelled from the nearby water. Then a massive, graceful white figure burst through the surface, sending crystalline spray flying in every direction.
The newcomer was an enormous Demon Soul Great White Shark. Its skin had a healthy, almost silvery-white sheen, and its streamlined body brimmed with strength. Its eyes, like the purest blue sapphires, glimmered brightly.
She was the Demon Soul Great White Shark King, Lord Sea God's former mount, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast—Xiao Bai!
Xiao Bai's enormous head rose above the water. Her gaze first turned respectfully to Bo Saixi, and she let out a low, gentle whine, as if greeting her.
Then her keen gaze fell on Li Qing beside Bo Saixi.
When her senses touched him, especially the faint yet utterly pure and sacred aura of Lord Sea God within him, and the Golden Trident Mark faintly visible on his forehead, her eyes suddenly lit up.
Her enormous tail gently slapped the water, betraying her excitement. Then she sent a message through a special mental fluctuation: "High Priestess, this child... Is he the successor chosen by Lord Sea God?"
As a mount that had followed Lord Sea God through many battles, Xiao Bai knew his aura better than anyone.
Combined with the astonishing phenomenon that had appeared above Sea God Island a few days earlier and the divine light that had descended, she had identified Li Qing almost immediately.
Bo Saixi wasn't surprised by Xiao Bai's guess. She gave a slight nod and calmly confirmed, "That's right. It's him."
After receiving confirmation, Xiao Bai's gaze toward Li Qing grew even gentler.
Then Xiao Bai sent another puzzled mental fluctuation: "High Priestess, are we going to obtain the successor's First Soul Ring? But... the direction we're heading seems to lead to an area where Thousand-Year Soul Beasts are active. By the conventions of the Soul Master World, shouldn't a First Soul Ring come from a Hundred-Year Soul Beast?"
Though she was a Soul Beast, Xiao Bai had lived for a hundred thousand years and understood the human Soul Master cultivation system quite well.
Hearing this, Bo Saixi glanced almost imperceptibly at Li Qing, who wore an "obedient" expression beside her, then explained to Xiao Bai, "Yes, we're going to obtain a Soul Ring. But Xiao Qing's situation is special. His physical strength and Martial Soul are both out of the ordinary, and he can withstand the energy of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. So we're heading straight to the Thousand-Year Soul Beast territory."
"A thousand-year First Soul Ring?" A humanlike look of surprise flashed through Xiao Bai's enormous sapphire eyes, and her massive body even paused for a moment.
This clearly exceeded her understanding as well.
But she had absolute faith in Bo Saixi. After a brief moment of surprise, she quickly settled down.
She thought, That makes sense. Someone chosen by Lord Sea God and granted a legacy could never be like an ordinary Soul Master. He must have some extraordinary qualities. If the High Priestess has made this decision, she must be completely sure of it.
Before you continue