Uh... My Soul Ring Was Rejected

"Hey, Dad?" Seeing Qian Daoliu grinning foolishly, Qian Xunzong shook him. Qian Daoliu came back to his senses, coughed twice, and put on a serious expression.

"Ahem, yes, I was just thinking about your Soul Ring."

"Oh, so how is it? Can it work?"

Hearing that, Qian Daoliu reached out and patted Qian Xunzong's shoulder.

"Xiao Xi... ahem, Zong'er, I considered what you said earlier and think we can give it a try. If it succeeds, your starting point will far surpass that of others, laying a solid foundation. Dad agrees."

As they spoke, the carriage continued speeding onward. After roughly two hours, it gradually came to a stop outside the Star Dou Great Forest.

Qian Xunzong impatiently jumped down from the carriage, stretched a little, and rubbed his backside. "This damn carriage is bumpy as hell. My ass was practically shaken in half."

The moment Qian Daoliu got down, he heard Qian Xunzong's complaint and could not help reprimanding him.

"Ahem, Zong'er, as a member of the Qian Family, how can you use such crude and vulgar language?!"

Qian Xunzong rolled his eyes inwardly. What a poser...

"Oh, this carriage is exceedingly poor. Its jolting nearly shattered my buttocks. Is that good enough, Dad?!"

Qian Daoliu's mouth twitched. Seemingly unwilling to discuss the matter further, he turned and said,

"Let's go. Into the forest."

Watching Qian Daoliu's back, Qian Xunzong's lips curled upward. Then he smiled and followed after him.

The two entered the Star Dou Great Forest. As they walked, Qian Daoliu explained some things to Qian Xunzong.

"The Star Dou Great Forest is the largest Soul Beast forest on the Douluo Continent. Together with the icy Far North and the vast, boundless deep sea, it is known as one of the three great Soul Beast gathering places of the Douluo Continent. Countless Soul Beasts live here, of every rank. There are quite a few Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest, and there are even existences that surpass Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts."

(The Evil Demon Forest was on the Sun and Moon Continent, so it was not currently counted as part of the Douluo Continent.)

"This time, we're heading to the southern region of the Star Dou Great Forest. It has many fire-attribute and light-attribute Soul Beasts. According to my subordinates' investigations, more than a dozen top-grade Soul Beasts have appeared there, and the effects of the Soul Rings they provide are also excellent."

The two walked and chatted like this. Naturally, quite a few foolish Soul Beasts ambushed them along the way, but Qian Daoliu easily drove them off. He was not overly bloodthirsty, either. In his own words,

"I can kill these Soul Beasts with a flick of my hand, but there's no point in killing them. Better to leave them for future Soul Masters who break through and need Soul Rings to absorb. At least then they'll be of some use."

The two continued toward the southern region, but Qian Daoliu felt that they were moving too slowly. He directly summoned his Martial Soul and took Qian Xunzong into the air above the Star Dou Great Forest.

Although this was fairly dangerous, that only applied to other Soul Masters. Qian Daoliu would later be known as the strongest in the skies. With his current strength as a Level-97 Peak Douluo, there would basically be no problem as long as they did not enter the forbidden regions of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Qian Daoliu flew incredibly fast, carrying Qian Xunzong through the air and leaving behind a streak of golden light. Qian Daoliu greatly enjoyed the feeling of flying when he suddenly felt someone tugging at the corner of his clothes. Looking down, he saw Qian Xunzong's face had turned somewhat purple and his eyes had rolled back. He was clearly suffering from oxygen deprivation.

"Damn it, I forgot about you, Zong'er!"

Only then did Qian Daoliu realize that he had been flying at the speed of a Titled Douluo. How could Qian Xunzong possibly endure that? He hurriedly slowed down and raised a Soul Power barrier with a wave of his hand. Only then could Qian Xunzong breathe again. He greedily gulped down air for a while before the color gradually returned to his face...

After roughly the time it took to burn an incense stick, the two landed in a completely crimson forest. Qian Xunzong stared at Qian Daoliu resentfully, while the latter smiled awkwardly. "Haha, Zong'er, sorry about that. That was Dad's fault."

Qian Xunzong stopped looking at him and silently repeated to himself, My biological father... this is my biological father...

Fuck, could this really be my biological father? Anyone who didn't know better would think he was a stepfather trying to dump a body!!!

(｀д′)-

Qian Xunzong took a deep breath and calmly looked at Qian Daoliu. "Dad, tell me honestly. Was I adopted...?"

"Heh, how could that be? Of course you're my biological son, uh..." Qian Daoliu gave an awkward laugh before changing the subject.

"Hey, Dad seems to have sensed a suitable Soul Beast. Let's go take a look quickly, before it runs away!"

Seeing this, Qian Xunzong could only follow him. Sigh, I'm walking on thin ice throughout this life...

The two advanced another two hundred meters or so and encountered a creature wreathed in flames, resembling both a deer and a tiger.

Qian Xunzong looked at it and guessed, Could this be the legendary... deer-tiger?

"Mm, not bad. This is a Blazing Flame Light-Horned Tiger. Its quality is excellent, and it's a little over a thousand years old. It has both light and fire attributes. Zong'er, let's choose this one."

Hearing Qian Daoliu's words, Qian Xunzong nodded. Then Qian Daoliu raised his hand and struck out with his palm, instantly leaving the Blazing Flame Light-Horned Tiger severely wounded and on the verge of death.

"Go on, Zong'er. Kill it and absorb its Soul Ring."

Qian Xunzong stepped forward, summoned his Martial Soul, and the Judgment Deity appeared behind him. The Judgment Blade in his hand swung down, directly claiming the Blazing Flame Light-Horned Tiger's life. It let out a whimper and fell silent. Then, a pale purple Soul Ring condensed above it.

Qian Xunzong sat cross-legged and began drawing in the Soul Ring to absorb it. Beside him, Qian Daoliu stared intently at the scene, ready to intervene and interrupt the absorption at any moment.

Yet in less than two breaths, Qian Xunzong opened his eyes. Qian Daoliu was stunned. So fast? He hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong, Zong'er? Did you absorb it successfully?"

Qian Xunzong shook his head and said awkwardly, "My Martial Soul..."

"Uh, it rejected this Soul Ring. It said the ring wasn't worthy of it..."

Qian Daoliu: ???

Blazing Flame Light-Horned Tiger: So I died for nothing??

Clearly, this was also Qian Daoliu's first time encountering such a situation. After staring blankly for a moment, he asked,

"Uh, the Blazing Flame Light-Horned Tiger is pretty high-quality, isn't it? It may not be especially rare, but it's still quite valuable. Why is it rejecting it?"

"My Martial Soul said its quality was barely acceptable, but its age was too low."

"What? A thousand-year first Soul Ring, and its age is still too low?" Qian Daoliu could not help being surprised, but his surprise soon turned to delight. This proved that his son truly could absorb Soul Rings beyond his normal limit.

"It's fine. Come on, Dad will keep looking with you. The Star Dou Great Forest may not have much of anything else, but it has plenty of Soul Beasts. We'll definitely find one that fits. At worst, whenever we find a suitable one, we'll try them one by one!"

"Uh, Dad, there's no need to go that far... Let's first look for one around three thousand to five thousand years old. I think that should be about right." Hearing that he would have to try them one by one, Qian Xunzong hurriedly made a suggestion. He also felt that his current limit should fluctuate around that range.

When he awakened his Transcendent Divine-level Martial Soul, his physical constitution had already been raised to the highest level his current realm could bear. Qian Xunzong estimated that his first Soul Ring should be somewhere within that range, without too much variation.

"Mm, alright. Then let's directly look for one within that range!"