"Mmm..."
After an unknown stretch of time, Meng Chen's eyelashes fluttered. A faint hum escaped his nose as he slowly woke.
Hearing him stir, Qian Renxue, who had been watching beside his bed, was overjoyed and hurriedly reached out to help him sit up.
"Little Chen, you're finally awake!"
Leaning against Qian Renxue's chest, Meng Chen looked puzzled, his young face clouding as he asked hoarsely, "Brother Xue, what happened to me?"
Qian Renxue first had the maid beside her bring a cup of warm water, then slowly helped Meng Chen drink it, easing the dryness in his throat.
Only after setting down the cup did Qian Renxue speak. A faint trace of anger showed in her eyes as she scolded him.
"You reckless child! How could you use just any medicine? Do you know you nearly got yourself into serious trouble?"
At Qian Renxue's reprimand, Meng Chen's expression dimmed, and he lowered his head to apologize.
"I'm sorry, Brother Xue. I didn't mean to. I just... just wanted to grow stronger sooner so I could help you. I don't want to be a burden to you..."
Those words struck Qian Renxue's heart like an arrow.
She froze, staring at Meng Chen in astonishment.
Qian Renxue had expected Meng Chen to make excuses or apologize.
But she had never imagined that this was what he was thinking. He was clearly still just a child who had only recently awakened his Martial Soul.
A medley of emotions swirled through her heart. Her gaze shifted, the anger fading and giving way to warmth and pride.
What a good child!
For a moment, the true heart Qian Renxue had sealed away for so long while lying hidden within the Heaven Dou Imperial Family began to thaw.
She pulled Meng Chen into her arms, her heart brimming with affection. Even her disguised voice briefly slipped.
"Little Chen, you're still young. You don't need to push yourself so hard. Once you're older, you'll naturally be able to help your big brother. And you're not a burden to me. Quite the opposite-I'm very lucky to have adopted you."
Meng Chen looked up at Qian Renxue. Seeing the slight redness around her eyes, he smiled at her, raised his fair little fist, and immediately declared his resolve.
"Okay, Brother Xue, just wait! Once I'm grown up, if anyone dares hurt you, I'll make them repay it a hundredfold!"
Qian Renxue smiled too and reached out to stroke Meng Chen's little head, deeply heartened. At the same time, she silently made a vow.
Little Chen, as long as I draw breath, I won't let anyone hurt you. Not even that woman!
"Brother Xue, Sister Qingdai and Sister Hongyu... they..."
Meng Chen cautiously asked about his two maids. Now that something had happened to him, Qingdai and Hongyu were bound to be punished too.
Qian Renxue pinched Meng Chen's nose and said reproachfully, "Now you know to worry about the people around you? They failed to look after you properly, so I had each of them given ten strokes of the rod. It won't kill them, but they'll have to spend some time in bed."
Hearing that Qingdai and Hongyu's lives were not in danger, Meng Chen immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"By the way, Little Chen, Hongyu said you bought those medicines to temper your body. Who gave you that recipe? Do you know how dangerous it was? If your will hadn't been so strong, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
When Qian Renxue questioned him about tempering his body, Meng Chen already had an answer prepared.
"I heard an old man mention it a long time ago. He said that using a hundred-year Ice Crystal Fruit and a hundred-year Crimson Flame Fruit, along with fresh blood from a Soul Beast with dragon blood, could produce an effect called the Ice and Fire Golden Body. So I wanted to try it. I never thought it would turn out like this..."
Meng Chen lowered his head again in embarrassment. Seeing this, Qian Renxue could hardly blame him further.
While Meng Chen was unconscious, she had already asked Porcupinefish Douluo to examine his body. Those two streams of ice and fire energy had indeed tempered it.
Yet by all rights, a child as young as Meng Chen should not have been able to withstand the strain of such tempering and should have suffered irreversible damage.
But Porcupinefish Douluo had said there was no damage inside Meng Chen's body. His physical strength was even comparable to that of a Soul Elder, which greatly surprised Qian Renxue.
"Don't do anything like that again. You were lucky this time and managed to endure it. Next time, you might not be so fortunate."
Regardless of the outcome, Qian Renxue still warned Meng Chen sternly.
Meng Chen obediently nodded, promising there would not be a next time.
Then Qian Renxue continued, "Rest properly for the next two days. I originally intended to wait a while before taking you to hunt for a Soul Ring. But since you're so eager to grow stronger, once you've recovered, I'll arrange for someone to take you Soul Hunting."
Meng Chen's eyes immediately lit up, and he nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, yes! Brother Xue, you're the best! Oh, right, Brother Xue, can I go Soul Hunting in the Star Dou Great Forest?"
"The Star Dou Great Forest? Why do you want to go there?" Qian Renxue asked.
Meng Chen answered earnestly, "My Martial Soul is only a Soft Bone Rabbit. It isn't a top-tier Martial Soul. I've heard that the Star Dou Great Forest has far more Soul Beasts than the managed forests, so I'd have more choices."
"If my Soul Ring is stronger, my Soul Skill will be stronger too. That way, I'll have more confidence when I face people with top-tier Martial Souls in the future."
After hearing him out, Qian Renxue felt his reasoning had some merit.
The shortcomings of his Martial Soul could only be made up for with Soul Skills.
"All right, then we'll go to the Star Dou Great Forest."
Qian Renxue agreed to Meng Chen's request.
Although the Star Dou Great Forest was dangerous, Meng Chen only needed a hundred-year Soul Beast. They could simply search the outskirts.
She could have Porcupinefish Douluo secretly protect him when the time came. As long as they did not encounter a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast, there would be no need to worry about Meng Chen's safety.
Qian Renxue sat with Meng Chen for a while longer before leaving.
Once no one else was around, Meng Chen sat cross-legged and sensed the changes in his body after breaking the first seal.
He raised his right arm and tried to gather the power within him that came from the Golden Dragon King Bloodline.
The next instant, a layer of golden dragon scales emerged from his fingers and spread over his entire right arm at a speed visible to the naked eye. Golden light flowed across it, wisps of razor-sharp energy curling around the scaled arm in a wondrous display.
Looking at his scale-covered arm, Meng Chen could clearly sense that his strength had increased enormously-at least doubling, if not more.
I remember that after Tang Wulin broke the first seal, his strength rose to over thirteen hundred kilograms. With dragon scales covering him, it reached twenty-seven hundred kilograms, and when he used the Golden Dragon Claw, it came close to five thousand!
Meng Chen pondered this silently.
Aside from greatly enhancing strength and defense, the Golden Dragon Claw also possessed the "shatter" trait. Nothing could withstand its crushing power; it was formidable in the extreme.
It could also exert suppression and amplification on any dragon or being that possessed dragon blood.
Meng Chen dismissed the golden scales on his arm without testing them inside the room. After all, if he broke anything, he would have a hard time explaining it to Qian Renxue.
Time flew, and soon the day Qian Renxue had promised to take Meng Chen Soul Hunting arrived.
During this time, Meng Chen had obediently stayed in the crown prince's residence without running about.
As for Qingdai and Hongyu, Qian Renxue had docked three months of their wages for failing to look after him properly. She had originally intended to reassign them as well.
But Meng Chen felt that they had been punished because of him. If they were reassigned, their lives would surely become difficult. Unable to bear that thought, he asked Qian Renxue to let them stay.
Only after Meng Chen repeatedly promised not to act recklessly did Qian Renxue agree.
Before you continue