A One-Year Soul Beast and Qian Renxue

"Now you know what the Red Armillary Sash can do, right?" Nezha draped the Red Armillary Sash over his shoulder, his face full of pride.

Xiao Wu snorted but said nothing.

Still, her gaze lingered on the red sash for two extra seconds. The moment it had wrapped around her, she had not even had time to activate her teleportation.

That speed was indeed ridiculously fast.

"Nezha, stop teasing Sister Xiao Wu." Er Ming squatted nearby and spoke in a deep, muffled voice, his bell-sized eyes filled with helplessness.

Da Ming remained coiled in the tree, his vertical pupils half-closed. But Nezha noticed the tip of Da Ming's tail curl ever so slightly.

At dusk, outside the treehouse.

The slanting sunlight streamed through gaps in the leaves, scattering fragments of gold across the ground.

Nezha squatted before the treehouse with a watering can in hand, watering the Blue Silver Emperor.

The Blue Silver Emperor had been planted on the south side of the treehouse. After several days of nourishment from spiritual energy, its leaves looked livelier than before, and the golden patterns on their pale blue surfaces had begun to gleam.

Xiao Wu walked out of the treehouse. Seeing Nezha tending to that Blue Silver Grass again, she was speechless.

"You really planted it here?"

"Of course." Without turning around, Nezha emptied another can of water. "It's my pet. If I don't plant it in front of my house, where else would I plant it?"

"A pet?" Xiao Wu rolled her eyes. "Other people keep cats and dogs. You keep Blue Silver Grass."

"What's wrong with Blue Silver Grass? Blue Silver Grass is life too." Nezha set down the watering can and dusted the soil from his hands.

Xiao Wu stepped forward and crouched down to inspect the Blue Silver Emperor closely. She had only intended to mock Nezha a little, but as she looked, her expression suddenly changed.

"Nezha."

"Hmm?"

"Your Blue Silver Grass..." Xiao Wu paused, surprise in her voice. "It's a soul beast now."

"What?" Nezha turned to look at her.

"I'm saying it's already a soul beast." Xiao Wu pointed at the Blue Silver Emperor's leaves. "I remember when I looked at it before, it wasn't even a soul beast. It's only been a few days, right? It already has around one year of cultivation."

Nezha froze for a moment and lowered his head to study the Blue Silver Emperor carefully.

To be honest, he really could not tell.

Soul Masters judged a soul beast's age either by the color of the Soul Ring it condensed after death or by estimating based on its characteristics and experience.

No one on Douluo Continent had ever hunted a Blue Silver Grass soul beast, so there were no characteristics to use as reference.

As for sensing Soul Power, the Soul Power of low-level Blue Silver Grass was so scant it was practically nonexistent. Even if Tang San's father, Tang Hao, came here, he might not be able to sense it.

But Xiao Wu was different.

On the one hand, she had once been a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, and her senses far surpassed those of humans.

On the other hand—

She was a rabbit.

Rabbits naturally had a racial advantage when it came to grass.

Thinking that, Nezha's expression became even more smug. He planted his hands on his hips and lifted his chin slightly.

"Of course. Who do you think raised it? The Blue Silver Grass I raise is definitely stronger than ordinary Blue Silver Grass."

Xiao Wu: "..."

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but looking at Nezha's smug face, she found herself completely speechless.

Forget it. He was smug enough already. If she said a few more words, his tail might stick straight into the sky.

Xiao Wu stood, brushed the grass clippings from her skirt, and turned back into the treehouse.

Nezha called after her, "Don't forget to temper your body tomorrow morning. We need to get your first Soul Ring as soon as possible."

"Got it!"

Xiao Wu's muffled reply came from inside the treehouse.

Nezha turned back and looked at the Blue Silver Emperor again, a faint smile curling his lips.

It had gained soul beast cultivation in only a few days. The water from the Lake of Life was even more effective than he had expected.

He set the watering can on the ground, sat cross-legged beside the Blue Silver Emperor, closed his eyes, and began circulating the Nine-Turn Mysterious Technique.

A faint golden glow flowed across his body. Some of the spiritual energy that escaped drifted toward the Blue Silver Emperor beside him, silently absorbed by its leaves.

Without any wind, the Blue Silver Emperor gently swayed its leaves.

A few days later, at the outskirts of Star Dou Forest.

The trees gradually thinned out. Sunlight was no longer chopped into fragments by layer upon layer of canopy, but came crashing down in great swathes, baking the fallen leaves until they crackled dryly underfoot.

Xiao Wu walked ahead, her steps much slower than when they had arrived.

From time to time, she looked back at the increasingly distant green expanse behind them, her lips pressed together in silence.

Nezha walked beside her without urging her on.

After he absorbed the Soul Ring of the ten-thousand-year Southern Ape, the two of them had remained at the Lake of Life for several more days.

During that time, Xiao Wu had successfully condensed her first Soul Ring. They had originally wanted to stay at the Lake of Life a few more days, but they had only taken so many days off. If they did not return soon, they would have no way to explain themselves to Notting Academy.

"The next time we come back will have to wait until vacation." Xiao Wu kicked a pebble by the roadside, her voice low.

"Mm."

"Da Ming and Er Ming will definitely miss me."

"Mm."

"Can you say anything besides 'mm'?"

"Mm... I can."

Xiao Wu shot him a glare.

Suddenly, Nezha stopped.

At that very instant, Xiao Wu's expression vanished. Her ears twitched slightly, and her body instinctively lowered into a slight crouch.

The two turned at the same time, facing a dense patch of forest to their right.

Their Martial Souls possessed them instantly.

A yellow Soul Ring lit up on Nezha's body, while his Three-Headed Six-Armed Dharma Body was disguised as the most ordinary innate Martial Soul.

A yellow Soul Ring also lit up on Xiao Wu's body. Her Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul possessed her, her ears lengthening and her legs bending slightly, ready to exert force at any moment.

"Who's there?" Nezha's voice turned cold.

The forest fell silent for a moment.

Then, a golden-haired woman slowly walked out from behind a tree.

She looked no older than twenty. Her long golden hair fell over her shoulders, and her features were so exquisite they seemed painted.

She wore a plain white dress, yet amid the forest floor covered in rotting leaves and mud, it was not stained in the slightest.

A middle-aged man followed behind her. He was lean, with little expression on his face, standing two steps behind the woman—not too close, but not too far either.

Qian Renxue.

Naturally, Nezha had no idea who she was.

To him, the woman before him did not give off any Soul Power, but that spotless white dress in Star Dou Forest was itself the strongest proof of her strength.

Anyone who could stroll through a place crawling with soul beasts in a dress was either insane or powerful.

She clearly was not insane.

"Is there something you need?" Nezha spoke first, cautious but still polite.

Qian Renxue smiled faintly, her smile as gentle as that of an older sister next door. "Nothing. I just saw two children appearing in Star Dou Forest and was a little worried."

She was telling the truth.

Not long ago, deep within Star Dou Forest, she had just hunted a ten-thousand-year soul beast and obtained her fifth Soul Ring.

Snake Lance Douluo and Pufferfish Douluo had escorted her as they flew out of the forest, preparing to return to Heaven Dou City.