Bronze Giant Clam, Th-This Is?!

After the family dinner ended, Xu Huxiao returned to his small courtyard alone.

The light from the illumination Soul Tool brightly lit up his courtyard, and the Bronze Giant Clam tank sat in the center.

Xu Huxiao opened the valve at the bottom of the tank and drained the water into a nearby ditch.

Then he pulled the tank apart.

The Bronze Giant Clam's full form appeared before him. The giant clam was about as tall as he was, its surface covered in rusty bronze-colored metal, clearly ancient in age.

With nothing blocking it now, Xu Huxiao once again used the Eye of Omniscience to inspect the clam's information. Three seconds later, the information appeared, exactly the same as before.

The Bronze Giant Clam was completely sealed. He circled it once but found nothing unusual.

Xu Huxiao stepped closer and looked at the mottled, rust-covered shell before gently wiping it with his hand.

That single wipe caused a problem.

Bzzz—!

The moment his right hand touched the Bronze Giant Clam, a strange ripple came from within it.

Then, a sudden change occurred!

The seam of the clam actually opened on its own, and dazzling multicolored light blossomed from the gap.

"Damn! What's going on..."

Xu Huxiao hurriedly stepped back and immediately activated Twin Arms Martial Soul Possession. A dark yellow Soul Ring pulsed around his body.

Just as he was about to call for his father, the giant clam opened completely, and the intense multicolored radiance flashed away.

"Could it be some ancient treasure? Why such a huge display?"

Xu Huxiao had no choice but to raise a hand to shield his eyes. Once he adjusted, he looked inside the clam.

Inside the Bronze Giant Clam.

Faint multicolored fluorescence flowed through the air. Upon a slab of icy blue cold jade, a nearly naked little girl lay atop a pearl as large as her own body.

She seemed to be asleep.

The little girl's features were exquisite, like heaven's most flawless creation. Her long, curly pink-blue hair resembled natural seaweed, completely wrapping around her small, snow-white body.

She wore nothing at all, save for the simplest shell and seaweed skirt covering her body. A string of Five-Colored Heavenly Pearl beads hung around her wrist.

Xu Huxiao froze at the sight.

What was going on?!

The first thing that came to his mind was not some lucky encounter. Instead, he frowned at the girl inside the clam.

The Seven-Star Auction House had actually used this method...

Human trafficking!!

From what Xu Huxiao knew about Douluo Continent, he was aware that nobles sold female slaves. He had not seen any among the auction lots earlier, yet it turned out they had hidden it so deeply.

The auction house had even fabricated a story that this had washed out from the God-mysterious deep sea. Maybe it was some sort of code, and he had accidentally bought her by sheer coincidence.

This was truly dark. That little girl was still so young...

But this was a world where the strong preyed on the weak. Xu Huxiao knew full well that, with his current strength, he could not change it.

Still, since this had appeared before him, he could at least do what he was able to do.

"Poor little girl. Don't worry, I'll have Uncle Luo find you a good home. You'll grow up in an ordinary family."

Just as Xu Huxiao was about to step forward and wake the girl, she slowly opened her eyes, like a little elf awakening from sleep.

What kind of eyes were those? Pure, spotless blue pupils that carried a radiance making people want to cherish and protect her.

When Xu Huxiao saw those eyes, it was as if he were gazing upon the purest ocean. In that instant, every distracting thought and worry in his heart was cleansed away.

With just that single exchange of gazes, he even felt his spiritual power increase slightly, while his thoughts became incomparably clear.

"Who are you?"

Xu Huxiao asked unconsciously.

After waking up, the confusion in the little girl's eyes faded. She stood up, her long pink-blue curls falling all the way to her heels behind her.

When she saw Xu Huxiao, she paused for a moment, then revealed a joyful smile that seemed to dim all the light around her.

"Hello, Holy Knight. I am Yun Ji, the Seventh Princess of the legendary Atlantis Empire. It is a pleasure to meet you~"

The little girl, Yun Ji, interlaced her fingers and clasped her hands before her chest. She touched her forehead to her joined fingers and bowed to Xu Huxiao.

"Oh, hello, Princess Yun Ji. It is a pleasure to meet you too."

Xu Huxiao stood there blankly, then snapped back to his senses the next second.

Wait, what was with this conversation that seemed normal but also completely abnormal?!

Wasn't this girl kidnapped by the auction house and sold off? Why was she suddenly a princess, and why was he a Holy Knight?

Role-playing?

I see. Maybe this was to satisfy those nobles' twisted desires. To think that she had been trained by the auction house into this state at such a young age. How pitiful.

However, with doubts in his heart, Xu Huxiao habitually activated his Eye of Omniscience.

Three seconds later, a stream of information entered his mind:

[Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast]: Yun Ji

[Age]: Six years old

[Martial Soul]: Mermaid

[Level]: Twelve

[Soul Skill]: One yellow—Healing Bubble

[Inner Thoughts]: Just as Mother said, the person before me must be the Holy Knight destined to protect me~

Mermaid?

Hundred... Thousand... Year Transformed Soul Beast?!!!

The Eye of Omniscience's information could not possibly be wrong. Xu Huxiao stared at the exquisitely perfect girl before him, beautiful enough to seem inhuman.

A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the treasure every Soul Master dreamed of, had actually fallen right into his hands?!

This...

Xu Huxiao felt as though none of this was real, and all his previous guesses were overturned.

Only after calming down for two or three seconds did he confirm that he had truly struck gold!

A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast—there was no way this had been arranged by the auction house. The auctioneer had said that this giant clam had washed in from the deep sea, a place no one could reach, and that they had exhausted every method without being able to open it.

That was probably true.

Then...

Why had the clam opened when he had merely touched it?

And what were this Holy Knight and Seventh Princess business?

Xu Huxiao did not know, but compared to his confusion, the little girl Yun Ji spoke with complete certainty.

"Holy Knight, um, sorry, but I do not yet know how to address you?"

"...My name is Xu Huxiao."

This little girl was quite polite. Unlike that haughty Orleans.

But that was not the point.

"Why do you call me a Holy Knight?"

Little Yun Ji blinked her big eyes and answered sincerely, "Because you are the Holy Knight. Mother said that whoever saves me from this Demon Clam will become the Holy Knight destined to protect me."

"Oh, wait, I nearly forgot. Mother said we must first complete the Fate-Binding Ritual. That way, our hearts will be connected, and you will understand."

Little Yun Ji looked at the still-confused Xu Huxiao, as though she had suddenly remembered something.

So what was this Fate-Binding Ritual?

Before Xu Huxiao could figure out one question, another surfaced.

"Xu Huxiao, Yun Ji's Holy Knight, our fates shall be bound from this moment onward. Offer me your precious 'loyalty,' and I shall also give you Yun Ji's one and only 'true heart.'"

"Go on~"

Yun Ji held her hands before her chest as light gathered between them. A multicolored bubble the size of an apple appeared. Then she gave it a gentle push, and the bubble floated directly toward Xu Huxiao.

"Wait!"

Xu Huxiao raised a hand to block it and prepared to dodge sideways away from the beautiful, dreamlike bubble.

He had not figured anything out yet. He did not dare let this strange bubble get close to him.

But the next second, the multicolored bubble passed directly through the palm of his Martial Soul Possession. Xu Huxiao only had time to see a flash of seven-colored light before the bubble went straight into the center of his forehead.

"What are you doing?! What was that just now?"

Xu Huxiao touched his cool forehead and demanded with a frown.

Then, it was as if a flash of inspiration struck his mind, and a childish, panicked voice appeared in his head.

"Ah~ Oh no! This is bad, bad! The ritual was supposed to be the Holy Knight offering his 'loyalty' first, and only then would I give him my 'true heart.' But I already offered the 'true heart' bubble! What do I do now? Ah, I'm such a careless idiot..."

The little girl across from him had clearly not opened her mouth, so why could he hear her voice? Another question arose in his mind.

Then Xu Huxiao suddenly thought of something and activated the Eye of Omniscience.

The other party's [Inner Thoughts] appeared, and they were exactly identical to the voice that had just appeared.

So the voice in my head just now was this God-mysterious little girl's inner thoughts!

What was going on here??

Yun Ji blinked, looking troubled as she watched the dumbfounded Xu Huxiao. Then her eyes lit up. It seemed changing the order of the Fate-Binding Ritual might work too~

Yay~ I didn't mess it up!

Little Yun Ji's adorable face wore an innocent smile as she said to Xu Huxiao, "Although there was a small problem with the ritual, it can still be completed."

"Holy Knight, do the same thing I do now and offer your 'loyalty.' Then our fates will be bound, and we will be able to understand each other's hearts."

Little Yun Ji clasped her hands together before her chest and looked over expectantly.

"Holy Knight, do it with Yun Ji, then silently recite Yun Ji's name in your heart. It's very simple~"

"..."

"I refuse."

Xu Huxiao understood.

Once this Fate-Binding Ritual Xiaomei the Mermaid spoke of was completed, they would probably be able to hear each other's inner thoughts.

The other party had just completed half the ritual, which was why he could hear her inner thoughts.

And if he followed her instructions, she would be able to hear his thoughts too, completing the Fate-Binding Ritual Xiaomei the Mermaid had mentioned.

But...

That was absolutely impossible!

The secret of his Three-Life Martial Soul, his origins from Blue Star, and his three powerful top-tier martial arts—he could never let anyone learn of those things.

"Ah~ Then what do I do?"

Xiaomei the Mermaid, Yun Ji, was dumbfounded. Her mother had only told her about this Fate-Binding Ritual, but had never told her what to do if her destined Holy Knight refused to cooperate.

Sob sob~

"It's all because I was too careless. Now I've ruined everything, sob sob~ Mother trusted me so much. What should I do?"

Xu Huxiao heard her inner thoughts again, but this time they carried a crying tone. And it was not merely her inner thoughts.

Before him, Xiaomei the Mermaid, beautiful enough to seem dreamlike, was rubbing her eyes and crying loudly.

Although Xu Huxiao had a head full of questions, the one piece of real and useful information he knew was this:

The little girl calling herself Yun Ji before him was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast—a Mermaid!

Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were not easy to encounter. Since this was his opportunity, he absolutely could not let it escape.

Since she was a Soul Beast, then in Xu Huxiao's eyes, she was no different from any other Soul Beast.

This Xiaomei the Mermaid could become his Soul Ring!

Her attributes did not suit his twin palms, nor did they suit Hulk. However, he could use the God-oriented Shrek Martial Soul to control her.

But Xu Huxiao was only level thirteen right now. It was impossible for him to forcibly absorb a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Even with the Shrek Martial Soul's special control method, he could not do it.

Then should he keep Xiaomei the Mermaid by his side for now?

That seemed possible.

Thus, Xu Huxiao strode forward and said directly, "Hey, I've already seen through you. You're a Hundred-Thousand-Year Mermaid. In the future, I'll turn you into my Soul Ring."

"Soul Ring? So you want to kill Yun Ji?"

The moment Little Yun Ji heard that, she was so frightened that she stopped crying.

"What do you think? I'm a Soul Master, and you're a Soul Beast. Of course I won't show mercy. So if you want to resist, or if you have any other methods, use them now and fight me."

"If you lose, then once I can absorb a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, you'll become my Martial Soul's Soul Ring."

"Well? Come on, fight me!"

Xu Huxiao did not know why, but as he looked at the Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast before him, the words came right out.

This Mermaid before him was foolish and naive. He originally had many other methods he could use, but his heart told him that he only wanted to say it plainly and directly.

So he spoke so directly. In that instant, Xu Huxiao felt his thoughts become incomparably clear. Even though his strength had not increased at all.

Yet he knew that, after his thoughts became clear, his fists and palms would definitely become faster than before.

And his martial path conviction became even firmer.

That's right!

He needed no schemes or tricks. His martial path was upright and honorable. He feared no enemy. Even his own desire to grow stronger and his desire to kill, he could face them directly.

There was no need to hide!

In any case, she was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, not one of his kind. He could not possibly give up such an excellent resource for becoming stronger over some baseless compassion in his heart.

So, fight!

Soul Beasts and Soul Masters had always been absolute enemies!