Adoptive Father Above!

"Wow! Millennium Earth Dragon Fruit, Century Fire Core Date, Millennium Thunder Spirit Vine... Any one of these items could make it into an auction house."

Xie Xie stared at the dazzling array of rare treasures on the table, his eyes practically turning into the shape of Federal coins.

"Hmph, what a country bumpkin who's never seen the world." Gu Yue let out a soft scoff, expressing her disdain.

"Who are you calling a country bumpkin?!"

"Whoever answered is the one."

These two had been at each other's throats since the moment they met.

Xie Xie felt that Gu Yue was far too unsightly; even though she was Qian Jue's senior sister, it was obvious she was just lusting after Qian Jue.

It was a classic case of a toad wanting to eat swan meat.

Gu Yue, on the other hand, felt that Xie Xie had a foul mouth that hindered her from getting cozy with her junior brother.

Tang Wulin was caught in the middle, not daring to say a word, waiting for Qian Jue to make the call.

In any case, his advice would be useless; he couldn't persuade either of them.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing." Qian Jue said softly, cutting off their bickering.

Xie Xie and Gu Yue went quiet immediately, as if they had received a command from a soul guidance robot.

Are my words really that effective?

Qian Jue scratched his head, though he didn't dwell on it.

He first looked at Tang Wulin, picked up two spirit fruits from the table, and handed them to him. "These are the Century Ice Crystal Fruit and the Red Flame Fruit. Consuming them will improve your physical constitution."

Without haste, Qian Jue took a vial of blood from a century-old dragon-type soul beast from the table.

"The moment I saw you, Wulin, I sensed that true dragon bloodline within you."

"Your dragon bloodline will likely awaken gradually under my influence, and the cost may be your body suffering from the impact of that bloodline. Therefore, Wulin, you need to increase your physical strength as soon as possible."

Gu Yue bit her lower lip. As expected, her junior brother could sense the Golden Dragon King bloodline inside Tang Wulin! It was even starting to be drawn to him.

A flash of killing intent crossed her eyes.

Should she just do it? Should she devour Tang Wulin now?

If she did, she could take a step closer to becoming the second-generation Dragon God and have her junior brother all to herself.

But Gu Yue quickly cast the thought aside.

No, no, if she really did that, it would be bad if she scared her junior brother.

If he found out she was such a cruel... dragon, and he looked at her with disgust...

"Eh? Senior sister, why did you suddenly lie down on the floor?"

Gu Yue wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, scrambled up from the floor, and sat down next to Qian Jue.

"You won't hate me, will you?"

Seeing her pitiful expression, three black lines appeared on Qian Jue's forehead.

What kind of scenario did this silly dragon imagine just now?

Tang Wulin looked at the three spirit items on the table, feeling deeply moved.

Since arriving at the academy, only a few people had been kind to him. He hadn't expected Qian Jue, whom he had only met twice, to care about him so much.

Moreover, the mysterious old man in his mind had told him that if he wanted to grow stronger, he would need these kinds of spirit items.

Could it be that Qian Jue and he were of one mind?

Indeed, the heartfelt desire to be friends with Qian Jue when they first met had been the right instinct.

"I can't do this. My mom and dad told me I shouldn't just take things from people. These were requested by Lord Qiangu to help you recover, I can't take them." Tang Wulin waved his hands, refusing.

Qian Jue smiled slightly. The Tang Wulin who hadn't been corrupted yet was truly wonderful.

If his biological father had come instead, looking at this table of treasures, he would have just killed them to seize the loot—after all, they had just met and weren't close.

With him here this time, plus the grudge held by that old woman Cai Yue'er, it would probably be difficult for Tang Wulin and Xie Xie to get into Shrek.

"If I give them to you, take them. Are you not treating me like a brother?"

Qian Jue puffed out his cheeks, staring straight at Tang Wulin.

Seeing this, Tang Wulin felt his heart skip a beat. The subconscious urge that had appeared in his mind seemed to surface again, prompting him to accept the gift.

"Alright, I'll accept them for now."

Qian Jue nodded in satisfaction.

If you don't hurry up and increase the purity of your Golden Dragon King bloodline, how can I accelerate the improvement of my own soul power cultivation?

Next was Xie Xie.

Among the three of them, who had the least dragon attributes?

Don't look anywhere else—it's you!

Although the future Xie Xie would successfully achieve a martial soul mutation, evolving into a Space-Time Dragon and becoming the shadow guard of the Dragon God.

Back when he was the ruler of the Dragon Clan, he had specifically taken note of this race and recruited them into his guard in advance, so he naturally knew the true value of this martial soul.

But right now, he was just a guy who played with daggers, only with a bit more dragon attribute than the White Tiger Dagger.

"Xie Xie, your martial soul's dragon attribute is on the lower side, and you know that the amplification effect of the Dragon Rising Pillar is better the higher the dragon attribute is."

Qian Jue took a hand bone that looked as white as jade from a pile of spiritual items; it appeared to be a right arm bone, with a trace of dried blood still lingering on it.

Xie Xie's throat bobbed as he stared at the hand bone in disbelief, his voice trembling: "B-Boss, you aren't joking, are you... This is a spirit bone, a priceless spirit bone!"

In this day and age where spirit beasts were nearly extinct, every single spirit bone was an incredibly precious treasure, and some families even possessed heirloom spirit bones.

Once the owner passed away, the bone would be stripped and passed down to the next generation of talented individuals.

If one were to say that Tang Wulin's spiritual items were rarely seen, they could still likely be found if one went to an auction house.

But a spirit bone was truly hard to say; small auction houses generally never even saw them.

Gu Yue nearly ground her back teeth to dust.

Envy, jealousy, and a hint of resentment filled her bright, clear eyes.

To be specially cared for by her junior brother—she wanted that too.

But unfortunately, she was the Silver Dragon King herself; let alone spirit bones, she didn't even need spirit souls, as her spirit rings condensed on their own.

"Is a mere twenty-thousand-year Dark Demon Dragon Left Arm Bone not worth more than the friendship between us?"

"Only by becoming stronger can you better protect me, right?"

These words struck Xie Xie's heart like a heavy hammer.

He felt his martial soul resonating, and a surge of inexplicable sorrow welled up within him.

For some reason, Xie Xie felt a scene flash before his eyes:

In the starry expanse of the universe, Qian Jue was pierced through the chest by two unknown powerhouses, his blood spilling across the stars, while he himself was trapped deep in enemy lines, watching in despair as Qian Jue's life faded away.

What a heartbreaking sight that was.

Could this be a glimpse of the future?

"Why are you crying? Is there any need to be this emotional?"

Qian Jue took out a handkerchief, wiped the tears from Xie Xie's face, and then handed the spirit bone in his hand to him.

"Brother Xie Xie, do you dare to take on the responsibility of being my guard?"

"Why wouldn't I dare!"

Xie Xie shouted, snatched the spirit bone, and turned to walk outside.

"I'm going home to ask the elders of my clan to protect me while I absorb it. Boss, just wait for my good news."

Seeing the expression on Xie Xie's face as he left, Gu Yue's expression softened for once.

As long as someone was good to Qian Jue, they were not considered an enemy.

Of course, this rule was limited to males only.