I Should Abandon My Preconceived Notions and Re-examine This Child!

Li Qing watched Bo Saixi, who was clearly furious yet forcing an air of magnanimity while masking a threat, and found it somewhat amusing. Nevertheless, he nodded obediently on the surface: "I heard you, thank you, Big Sister! I knew you were the most reasonable person!"

Having achieved his goal, Li Qing did not linger, fearing that this "well-informed" High Priestess might regain her composure and change her mind or settle scores with him. He quickly added, "Then you should get some rest, Big Sister, and get your energy up so you can help me catch a soul beast tomorrow! I'll be heading back now!"

Without waiting for Bo Saixi to respond, Li Qing scurried out of the room, "thoughtfully" pulling the door shut behind him.

"Thud."

The sound of the door gently closing was exceptionally clear in the silent room.

Bo Saixi stood alone, staring at the tightly shut door, her chest still heaving slightly.

After a long while, she let out a long, helpless sigh, feeling that the emotional fluctuations she had experienced this evening exceeded the sum of the past decade.

She walked slowly to the window, pushed it open, and let the salty sea breeze brush against her flushed cheeks.

The bright moonlight spilled onto the calm, boundless sea, creating shimmering ripples.

Looking at this ocean she had guarded for a century, Bo Saixi's mood gradually calmed, replaced by a deeper sense of contemplation.

During the day, she had already instructed Seahorse Douluo to investigate Li Qing's background in detail.

The results were clear: the child was an orphan, discovered and adopted about six years ago by an old fisherman in a village on the outskirts of Sea God Island. His origins remained a mystery.

Before that, there were no records of his parents on the island.

An orphan of unknown origin...

Yet he possessed the Mysterious Origin Water-Controlling Flag, a mysterious martial soul for which even the Sea God himself had bestowed a legacy.

He knew the names of gods that even she, a peerless Douluo who had lived for a century, had never heard of—the Asura God and the Rakshasa God.

He was aware of Tang Hao's place of seclusion and even harbored an inexplicable, intense hostility toward Tang Hao's son, Tang San.

He had even mastered the revolutionary secret method of using Whale Glue to temper the body, a technique capable of changing the landscape of the soul master world...

[Where did he learn these secrets?]

Bo Saixi frowned, deeply puzzled: [Could it really be as he said, that he read them in some ancient book? But what kind of ancient book would record such shocking content?]

She could be certain that before Li Qing, absolutely no one on the Douluo Continent knew the true use of Whale Glue; otherwise, such a resource would have been fiercely contested by major powers long ago, and its price would never be what it was now—sold as a common "virility booster."

[He is shrouded in too many mysteries.]

Bo Saixi gazed at the horizon where the sea met the sky, her eyes profound: [The Mysterious Origin Water-Controlling Flag... This flag seems to contain a primordial power that even makes me feel a sense of dread. Is his arrival a coincidence, or... some kind of fated arrangement? Did the Sea God choose him truly just because of his martial soul's affinity with the ocean?]

"A thousand-year soul ring..."

Bo Saixi whispered the term, a complex and unreadable arc suddenly appearing at the corner of her mouth as she murmured: "Perhaps... I really should cast aside my ingrained perceptions and look at this child with fresh eyes. Tomorrow, let me witness for myself what kind of miracles you can truly create."

As the night deepened, inside the Sea God Hall, a peerless beauty stood by the window, her heart in turmoil.

At this moment, on the distant horizon, a faint, imperceptible golden streak of light was piercing through the clouds, approaching Sea God Island at an astonishing speed.

The next morning, Sea God Island was shrouded in a pale golden dawn.

The sea breeze, carrying a hint of salt, dispersed the thin mist, revealing a sky as blue as if washed and a sparkling sea surface.

The grand doors of the Sea God Hall opened slowly, and Bo Saixi and Li Qing stepped out one after the other.

Today, Bo Saixi was still wearing a pale blue long dress, her sea-blue hair pinned up meticulously, retaining her usual majesty and elegance while appearing a touch softer.

However, when her gaze swept over Li Qing beside her, a complex and unreadable look would involuntarily flash in the depths of her eyes; clearly, the aftermath of last night's "short-sighted" debate and the shock of the thousand-year soul ring had not yet faded.

Li Qing was dressed in a crisp black robe, his small face filled with irrepressible excitement and anticipation.

Tempered by the Whale Glue, he felt his body brimming with strength, his blood flowing vigorously, and his condition better than ever before.

"Let's go." Bo Saixi's voice was calm and waveless as she reached out a slender hand and rested it lightly on Li Qing's shoulder.

The next moment, the two transformed into a blue streak of light, racing toward the beach on the outskirts of Sea God Island at a speed beyond human comprehension.

In just a few breaths, the two had stepped onto the fine white sand.

The waves lapped gently against the shore, emitting a soothing, rhythmic sound.

Bo Saixi's beautiful eyes narrowed, and an invisible ripple spread from her, merging into the boundless ocean before her.

Not long after, a massive bulge of water suddenly rose from the nearby sea, and then, a huge and graceful white figure broke through the surface, sending crystalline spray into the air.

The visitor was none other than a massive Demon Soul Great White Shark. Its skin possessed a healthy, near-silvery luster, its streamlined body was filled with a sense of power, and its eyes, like the purest sapphires, shone with a bright light.

It was the King of the Demon Soul Great White Sharks, the former mount of the Sea God, a hundred-thousand-year soul beast—Xiao Bai!

Xiao Bai's massive head emerged from the water, its gaze first turning respectfully toward Bo Saixi as it let out a low, docile whimper, as if paying its respects.

Then, its spiritual eyes fell upon Li Qing, who stood beside Bo Saixi.

When its perception touched Li Qing, especially when it sensed the faint yet incredibly pure and sacred Sea God aura within him, as well as the Golden Trident Mark flickering on his forehead, a bright radiance erupted in its eyes.

It slapped its massive tail against the water, expressing its inner excitement, and then conveyed information through a special mental fluctuation: "High Priestess, this child... he is the successor chosen by the Sea God, isn't he?"

As a mount that had followed the Sea God into battle for many years, Xiao Bai was intimately familiar with the Sea God's aura.

Combining this with the astonishing phenomenon that had appeared over Sea God Island a few days prior and the divine light that had descended, it almost instantly confirmed Li Qing's identity.

Bo Saixi was not surprised by Xiao Bai's guess; she nodded slightly, confirming in a calm tone: "Indeed, it is him."

Receiving a definitive answer, the look Xiao Bai cast toward Li Qing became even gentler.

Following this, Xiao Bai transmitted a wave of confused mental fluctuations: "High Priestess, are we heading out to obtain the first soul ring for the successor? But... the direction we are currently traveling in seems to lead toward the region where thousand-year soul beasts are active? According to the conventions of the soul master world, shouldn't the first soul ring be sought from hundred-year soul beasts?"

Although it was a soul beast, having lived for one hundred thousand years, it possessed a considerable understanding of the human soul master cultivation system.

Upon hearing this, Bo Saixi cast an imperceptible glance at the "well-behaved" Li Qing beside her, then explained to Xiao Bai: "Yes, we are going to obtain a soul ring. However, Xiao Qing's situation is quite special; his physical constitution and martial soul are different from ordinary people, and he is capable of withstanding the energy of a thousand-year soul ring. Therefore, we are heading directly to the thousand-year soul beast region."

"A thousand-year first ring?" A hint of human-like surprise flashed through Xiao Bai's massive sapphire eyes, and its enormous body faltered for a brief moment.

This information clearly exceeded its understanding.

But it held absolute trust in Bo Saixi, and after a brief moment of shock, it regained its composure.

It is true, it thought. How could someone chosen by the Sea God to receive the inheritance be the same as an ordinary soul master? There must be something extraordinary about him. Since the High Priestess has made this decision, she must have absolute certainty.