Heaven Dou City, the Crown Prince's Residence.
Soft moonlight stones gave off a gentle, lustrous glow, banishing every shadow and the dust and clamor of the world outside.
After returning to the Heaven Dou Empire's territory, Qian Renxue quietly transformed back into "Xue Qinghe," the empire's cultured, unhurried crown prince.
Yet the crown prince, who ordinarily never let emotion show, had now shed every disguise and calculation. She knelt on one knee before the couch, her eyes filled with lingering fear and heartache.
"Little Chen, let your big brother have a good look at you. That madwoman didn't do anything to you, did she? Do you have any hidden injuries?"
Qian Renxue held Meng Chen's little hand, anxiously looking him up and down while sending a strand of the purest angel soul power into his body to examine his meridians.
Only after confirming that Meng Chen's blood and vitality surged abundantly, brimming with life and entirely free of problems, did Qian Renxue finally release a long breath of relief.
"Brother Xue, I'm really completely fine."
Meng Chen blinked his large eyes, the pair of gleaming golden rabbit ears atop his head twitching gently as he reassured her in his soft, childish voice.
"That madwoman was really fierce, but all she did was lock me in the hall. She even wanted me to take her as my teacher, but I wouldn't even give her a proper look!"
"Pfft..."
Hearing Meng Chen's uninhibited childish words, Qian Renxue couldn't help laughing. More than half the gloom that had weighed on her chest for days vanished in an instant.
The dignified pope, Bibi Dong, a powerhouse at the continent's pinnacle, had actually become a madwoman in this little fellow's mouth.
Qian Renxue affectionately rubbed Meng Chen's fluffy rabbit ears, her eyes full of amusement, then waved her delicate hand.
"Rustle!"
Attendants carefully carried in three large, brocade-lined boxes made of agarwood.
The boxes opened, and a rich, pure medicinal fragrance instantly filled the air.
"These are the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's treasured Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Ginseng, Seven-Treasure Clear Ganoderma, and Warm Jade Marrow Milk, something rarely seen even once in a century."
Qian Renxue pressed an entire bottle of marrow milk, glowing with a gentle white light, into Meng Chen's hands.
"You suffered such a fright in the Star Dou Great Forest, then spent two days locked up in Spirit City. You must have been through so much. Take these every day to nourish your body. With your big brother here, all the finest resources the Heaven Dou Imperial Family can offer are yours."
Holding the heavy jade bottle, Meng Chen felt warmth fill his heart.
He had to admit that although Bibi Dong's strength was unfathomable, compared with that domineering pope, all thorns and sharp edges, this Brother Xue disguised as a man was the one who truly gave him meticulous protection and warmth.
"By the way, Little Chen."
After reassuring him, Qian Renxue recalled everything Bibi Dong had said in the Papal Hall, and her expression gradually grew solemn.
"That day in the Star Dou Great Forest, a terrifying beast tide, the likes of which might not occur in ten thousand years, suddenly erupted in the core region. You were separated from your guards... Bibi Dong said she happened to find you on the outskirts. Did you manage to obtain your first soul ring?"
At the mention of soul rings, Qian Renxue's heart rose into her throat.
A soul master's first soul ring was crucial, determining the direction and foundation of their future development.
She feared that in his panic, Meng Chen might have carelessly absorbed an ordinary ten-year or hundred-year soul ring, squandering his extraordinary talent.
"Of course! Just look at who my big brother is!"
Meng Chen grinned, a little haughty and rather pleased with himself.
"Brother Xue, my first soul ring... is something really special."
"Oh?"
Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow and smiled. Taking it for a child's boasting, she teased him.
"How special? Did you encounter a top-tier soul beast three or four hundred years old? Your big brother originally prepared a Long-Legged Golden Fox around four hundred years old, or a descendant of a Diamond Giant Ape."
"Four hundred years? That's nowhere close!"
Meng Chen chuckled and wasted no more words.
"Humm!!"
An ancient, boundless, terrifying pressure that lorded over heaven and earth surged from Meng Chen's body!
Golden light flooded the heavens!
A radiant golden Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul, wreathed in a faintly discernible draconic aura, quietly appeared behind Meng Chen!
Yet amid this astonishing manifestation, what Qian Renxue found most unbelievable... was the soul ring slowly rising beneath Meng Chen's feet.
It was a deep, dense... dark purple soul ring, radiating dazzling light and pulses of soul power!!
Rich purple hues shimmered with flowing brilliance!
The air seemed to freeze!
"Pur... purple?!"
The Heaven Dou Crown Prince and young mistress of Spirit Hall, Qian Renxue, who would ordinarily remain composed even if Mount Tai collapsed before her, stood utterly frozen.
This was the hallmark of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring!
Even she, born into Spirit Hall's inner circle and raised reading countless ancient texts and hidden secrets from across the continent, felt her entire understanding of the world shatter!
"A Thousand-Year Soul Ring?! How could your first soul ring be a thousand-year one?!"
Qian Renxue cried out, losing her composure.
The limit for a first soul ring was four hundred and twenty-three years!
Even with her divine-grade Six-Winged Angel martial soul, her own first soul ring was merely a Yellow Soul Ring a little over four hundred years old!
Forcing oneself to absorb a ring beyond that limit would only result in the violent soul power and the soul beast's resentment bursting one's body apart!
Yet Meng Chen, only six years old, had actually... absorbed a Thousand-Year Soul Ring?!
"Little Chen! How... how is your body feeling? Does anything hurt?! Put it away, quickly!"
Qian Renxue abruptly snapped out of her overwhelming shock. Her face went deathly pale as she rushed forward and gripped Meng Chen's shoulders with trembling hands.
Her first reaction was an instinctive fear that absorbing a ring beyond his limits had left Meng Chen with hidden, potentially fatal injuries!
"Don't worry, Big Brother. I'm perfectly fine!"
A warm current flowed through Meng Chen's heart, and he obediently withdrew his martial soul and soul ring.
Seeing the anxiety all over Qian Renxue's face, Meng Chen blinked and offered a half-true, half-false account. "When the beast tide erupted, there were powerful soul beast auras everywhere. I was so scared that I ran all over the place, then fell into a hidden underground cave... There was a big bug inside, over a meter long, white and plump."
"A big bug?"
Qian Renxue froze for a moment.
"That's right. That big white bug gave off a really strong chill, and it had rings of golden markings. It looked like it was about to die."
Meng Chen spun his lies without blushing or skipping a heartbeat, his face pure and innocent.
"So I just killed it and absorbed its soul ring. After that, I met that fierce woman."
Qian Renxue listened, utterly dumbfounded.
His first soul ring was already a thousand-year one!
This was a miracle never before seen in the history of the Douluo Continent!
Only after a long while did Qian Renxue recover. Looking at the innocent-faced little boy with golden ears before her, the shock in her eyes faded, replaced by wild joy and lingering fear.
"Thank goodness... thank goodness the Great Enshrined intervened in time and let me bring you back from the Papal Hall."
Qian Renxue tightly clasped Meng Chen's little hand, her eyes gleaming with unprecedented ambition and resolve.
"A thousand-year ring as your very first soul ring... Little Chen, your future is destined to be extraordinary!"
Bibi Dong, for all your countless schemes and calculations, you could never imagine what an unrivaled, world-shaking prodigy you let slip away!
Qian Renxue gazed deeply at Meng Chen and silently swore an oath.
Whatever the cost, she would protect him. She would devote everything she had to helping him grow until he stood at the very pinnacle of the continent!
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