With a squeak, the door opened.
Yun Chen looked over, assuming Salas had arrived.
Upon closer inspection, it was a handsome young man wearing court formalwear, with a poised and graceful temperament and a smile curling at the corner of his lips.
Yet no matter how Yun Chen looked at that smile, he found it somewhat evil, looking rather like a bad uncle luring a minor.
When Yun Chen looked into those eyes, however, he froze for a moment; those eyes were golden and very pretty, but he seemed to have seen them somewhere before.
Xue Qinghe looked at the dazed Yun Chen and was also somewhat bewildered.
What is wrong with this little fellow? Why does his gaze lock straight onto me the moment he sees me?
Xue Qinghe waved his hand in front of Yun Chen's eyes, an action that interrupted Yun Chen's thoughts, causing Yun Chen to blurt out almost instinctively.
"Big brother, your eyes are very pretty."
Xue Qinghe froze for two seconds, followed by a brilliant smile blooming across his face, yet Yun Chen had the persistent feeling that Xue Qinghe's smile was... why was it so gay?
Right, it was simply gay.
That shy, coy feeling was exactly the same as a girl's.
Yun Chen already had bad thoughts forming in his mind.
Damn it, this is the bus heading to Chengdu, I want to get off!
"Thank you, little friend. Let me introduce myself, I am Xue Qinghe, Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire."
Yun Chen jerked his head up, looking at the handsome young man before him, his pupils contracting sharply as his eyes filled with disbelief.
Xue Qinghe? Then isn't he Qian Renxue? Good grief, no wonder he smiled so much like a gay man, turns out he is an absolute beauty. That explains it.
As for Qian Renxue's goal, Yun Chen knew without thinking that it was definitely for his Martial Soul. Just like Salas's previous actions, it was all to recruit him.
"Greetings, Your Royal Highness. My name is Yun Chen. I just awakened my Martial Soul, and I don't know what it is yet."
Xue Qinghe smiled, sat down on the sofa beside Yun Chen, and spoke with a faint smile.
"Little brother Yun Chen, please allow me to address you thusly. I am a few years older than you, so I'll call you little brother."
"Your Martial Soul has extremely high strength. Upon its initial release, it already exerted an exceptionally powerful suppressing force on the surrounding Beast Martial Souls."
"Forgive my poor judgment, but since I was far away earlier, I didn't make out what your Martial Soul was. Could you let me look at it again?"
Xue Qinghe pitched his demeanor as exceptionally mild and even.
One had to admit that Qian Renxue's conversational art was truly top-notch. These few sentences and her actions also put Yun Chen in a comfortable and pleasant mood.
Yun Chen nodded, not refusing Qian Renxue's request.
The next moment, that lion reappeared behind Yun Chen, and the swelling sense of power once again spread through his entire body.
As for Yun Chen's eyes, they transformed into true Golden Eyes, dazzling and striking to the point that people could not bear to look directly at them.
After sensing Yun Chen's Martial Soul, Qian Renxue's body gave a sharp jolt, and Xue Qinghe's face turned visibly pale.
It was not that her Martial Soul was suppressed, but rather that a fighting intent emanated from the depths of her Martial Soul, as if she had encountered a formidable rival capable of competing on the same stage.
Qian Renxue gazed at the Martial Soul behind Yun Chen, forcibly suppressing the restlessness of her own Martial Soul while simultaneously strengthening the Soul Power barrier around herself.
Qian Renxue reached out a hand to touch the illusory Martial Soul, naturally grasping only empty air.
At the same time, however, she finally recognized the Martial Soul before her.
"Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff? How is that possible!"
When Qian Renxue said this, her tone was dry, and her entire face was filled with an expression of sheer disbelief. She simply could not have imagined that a super Soul Beast from the Soul Beast Realm could one day become a human's Martial Soul.
Even so, if not for the fact that the history of the Qian Family was truly ancient, Qian Renxue would never have recognized this nearly extinct super Soul Beast.
How is this possible? How could such a Soul Beast become a Martial Soul?
Could this Yun Chen before me be a Soul Beast Transformation?
Then wouldn't the strength of this Martial Soul be only a fraction weaker than the Angel Martial Soul?
Numerous chaotic thoughts echoed in Qian Renxue's head, leaving her dazed for a moment.
Yun Chen, meanwhile, paid no attention to the absent-minded Qian Renxue, instead sitting alone on the sofa and foolishly snickering to himself.
Hehe, Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Martial Soul.
This kind of thing could actually be awakened by me?
I'm taking off, I'm totally taking off!
As someone who had re-watched the five Douluo volumes more than a dozen times in his previous life, Yun Chen naturally understood the value of the four words "Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff".
What did it mean when a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could suppress Tang Wulin, who possessed Golden Dragon King Bloodline power at the Titled Douluo level?
What did it mean when the official canon pitted a ten-thousand-year-old one against a 460,000-year-old Lord Bear?
It was simply a numerical monster with stats filled out by foot, completely devoid of realistic logic or reason.
Qian Renxue recovered her wits and revoked the Soul Power barrier, while Yun Chen had long since put away his Martial Soul and sat on the sofa in deep thought.
The look Qian Renxue cast toward Yun Chen carried a hint of complexity; she had already sorted out her thoughts.
No matter what, I must recruit this little fellow into my team now.
I cannot leave him to Bibi Dong or other factions.
As for whether he is a Soul Beast Transformation, I'll let the elders make the final judgment. If he isn't, all the better; if he is, it's no loss—keeping him captive is equivalent to getting a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring for free.
Qian Renxue had already made up her mind. Right now, she didn't care what Yun Chen's Innate Soul Power was, because with a Martial Soul of this intensity, his Innate Soul Power wouldn't be low.
Striking first to gain the advantage was always a good idea.
"Little brother Yun Chen, would you be willing to follow me back to the Crown Prince's Residence?"
It's here!
Yun Chen thought to himself that Qian Renxue's recruitment had finally arrived. If one asked who could provide the most resources in the early stages, it was undoubtedly Spirit Hall.
As for whether to join Qian Renxue's faction or Bibi Dong's faction, however, Yun Chen had truly not decided yet.
"Little Yun Chen, I've brought the Soul Power testing ball over, and picked up a few things along the way."
Salas pushed the door open, but the moment he saw Qian Renxue—or rather, Xue Qinghe—the smile on his face froze.
His entire expression instantly shifted from bright and sunny to gloomy, and the look he cast at Xue Qinghe carried a hint of sullenness.
It was practically a brand-new face-changing performance.
"Your Royal Highness, not staying nicely in your own office, what brings you here?"
As those words left his mouth, they were chillingly frightening.
"Seeing that my Heaven Dou Empire has produced yet another young talent, I couldn't help but come up to make his acquaintance."
"Though His Eminence the Platinum Bishop is truly leisurely to have the time to personally bring snacks for a child."
As Xue Qinghe said this, his gaze drifted precisely toward Salas's hand, which was holding a large food box bearing the characters "Number One Pastry in the World".
Salas did not bother to entertain Xue Qinghe. He also understood Xue Qinghe's purpose in coming here: it was precisely to contend with Spirit Hall for this genius.
Regardless of the contention, however, they still had to look at this child's Innate Soul Power first.
"Come, child, place your hand on this crystal ball."
Salas carefully placed the crystal ball in front of Yun Chen, smiling as he looked at him with eyes full of encouragement.
Salas right now was completely different from his appearance in the original work.
Naturally, this was also because successfully recruiting Yun Chen would count as a political achievement for him. Facing his own achievement, he naturally wouldn't put on a sour face for Yun Chen.
Yun Chen took a deep breath and abruptly pressed his hand onto it.
The next second, the center of the crystal ball began to gather into a whirlpool, continuously absorbing the Soul Power within Yun Chen's body.
Based on the whirlpool at the center, the light within the crystal ball spread at an extremely rapid speed until it filled the entire crystal ball.
"Innate Full Soul Power!"
The gaze Salas turned upon Yun Chen was filled with pleasant surprise, while a smile curled at the corner of Qian Renxue's lips—this did not exceed her expectations.
Only, the look she directed at Yun Chen grew even more intrigued.
I am determined to have this person.
Before you continue