As long as he denied it, he was innocent

"Sure. Go to the Divine Realm. There are plenty of trees there with a life value of 100,000."

"...6..."

Liu Hao was speechless. He had only just kept his head down long enough to reach the pinnacle of strength on the Douluo Continent, and he had yet to start enjoying himself. Now he was supposed to go to the Divine Realm?

With all those Second-Level Gods, First-Level Gods, and even God Kings in the Divine Realm, wouldn't he be reduced to a bottom-rung ant again?

Forget it. A God King-level martial soul was enough for now. As long as he didn't provoke any gods, he could swagger across the Douluo Continent unchallenged.

With that thought, Liu Hao let it go. He stopped rushing to pursue a martial soul beyond the God King level and chose to begin acquiring his second martial soul instead.

In truth, the spatial attribute of Liu Hao's martial soul after its two evolutions meant that travel and aerial combat were no longer weaknesses for him.

One reason he still wanted to acquire a second martial soul was that he had already used up a system simplification opportunity. Not acquiring it now would feel like a waste.

The other reason was his competitive streak.

Bibi Dong and Tang San both had twin martial souls. As someone with cheats, he would be embarrassingly pathetic if he couldn't even measure up to the natives.

According to his original plan, Liu Hao wanted a speed-type bird soul beast for his second martial soul to make up for his weakness in aerial combat.

Although this second martial soul might no longer be all that useful to him, it still had one irreplaceable benefit: after martial soul possession, he would have wings.

In his previous life, how many people had never dreamed of having a pair of magnificent wings and soaring freely through the sky?

Liu Hao certainly had. Now that he could fulfill that dream, he naturally wouldn't give it up.

And just as Liu Hao was wandering through the Star Dou Great Forest, preparing to search for a suitable target...

His spiritual power suddenly detected two Soul Masters, one old and one young. More importantly, there was a dying bird soul beast beside them.

The bird soul beast was beautiful, pale gold all over, with a faint iridescent sheen. It was a little over a meter long.

Liu Hao took a liking to the soul beast at first glance and hurriedly flew over.

The old man and the young girl were both startled when a stranger descended from the sky.

"Young brother, I am Bai He, chief of the Speed Clan. I am taking my granddaughter to hunt for her second soul ring. May I ask who you are?"

The old man immediately introduced himself. At the same time, he activated martial soul possession and released his soul rings, remaining highly vigilant.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black.

Liu Hao was rather surprised. He hadn't expected to encounter Bai He, chief of the Speed Clan, at a time like this. Wait, wasn't Bai He's granddaughter Bai Chenxiang?

His eyes lit up as he looked at the little girl beside him.

She had a light, slender figure and a pair of large, lively eyes that flickered alertly. She looked about eleven or twelve. At the moment, she stood guard beside the dying pale-gold bird soul beast, watching Liu Hao warily.

Yet this lovely girl would eventually be drawn into the protagonists' group and, through Tang San's deliberate matchmaking, marry that unreliable fatty, Ma Hongjun.

He won Bai Chenxiang's heart, but his habitual laziness meant he failed to obtain the ability to take her with him when he ascended to the Divine Realm. In the end, Bai Chenxiang was left alone on the Douluo Continent, growing old in loneliness and dying with regrets.

Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun became a god and enjoyed a carefree existence in the Divine Realm, blessed with an endless lifespan.

Now that Liu Hao was here, he would never let Bai Chenxiang repeat that tragic path!

"Young friend! Who exactly are you? What brings you here?"

Seeing that the young man still hadn't answered and kept staring at his granddaughter, Bai He grew a little angry.

Had he not been wary of the stranger descending from the sky and acting utterly unconcerned by his Soul Saint strength-something deeply unsettling-he would have already attacked.

"Chief Bai He, there's no need to be nervous. I mean you no harm." Liu Hao smiled and continued, "My name is Liu Hao. I'm twelve this year, my martial soul is the Heaven-Reaching Ambrosial Arbor Wooden Stick, and I'm a level 99 Limit Douluo."

As he spoke, he released his martial soul and soul rings.

Perhaps it was because he had spent his previous life falling short of others in every respect and bottling up his feelings. Now that he possessed tremendous strength, Liu Hao couldn't help wanting to show it off.

When Bai He heard the stranger announce his age and level, saw that outrageous soul ring configuration, and felt the terrifying aura that made his soul tremble, his eyes went round and his brain instantly crashed.

Twelve years old! A level 99 Limit Douluo! How could those two pieces of information describe the same person?

The next moment, a thought flashed through Bai He's mind: he must have fallen under an illusion. He hurriedly unleashed soul skills one after another, transformed into a silvery-white Sharp-Tailed Swift, and fled toward the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest with Bai Chenxiang, abandoning even the soul beast he had hunted for his granddaughter.

The Sharp-Tailed Swift's incredible speed truly lived up to its reputation. The old man and young girl became a silver streak and vanished from Liu Hao's sight in the blink of an eye.

"..."

Looking at the Pale Golden Bird left behind, Liu Hao's mouth twitched. For a moment, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He hadn't expected Bai He to be so timid. He had only wanted to display his strength so the man would speak to him properly, and perhaps see whether he could get acquainted with Bai Chenxiang along the way. Instead, they had simply run off.

Still, as a gentleman, how could he not hurry after them and clear up the misunderstanding?

The corners of Liu Hao's mouth lifted. He scooped up the golden bird and transferred a little soul power brimming with vitality into it to keep it from dying of its severe injuries.

Then he too turned into a streak of light and chased in the direction Bai He had fled.

Bai He flew with Bai Chenxiang for roughly two hours. Only after detecting no pursuer behind them the entire time did he choose to stop at a small town.

"Luckily, I was fast enough. Otherwise, who knows how dangerous that strange fellow might have been?"

Bai He muttered, still shaken. He then planned to take his granddaughter into town to rest and search for another soul ring for her tomorrow.

Just then, however, a familiar voice rang out.

"Chief Bai He, why did you run off in such a hurry? You even abandoned the soul beast."

!!

Bai He shuddered and looked back in disbelief. It was indeed that strange young man.

"You... what exactly are you?"

"Huh? That's rather rude, Chief Bai He. Didn't I introduce myself? My name is Liu Hao. How can you talk about me as though I were some thing?"

Gulp-

Sensing how completely Liu Hao had restrained his aura, allowing none of it to leak out, Bai He felt a chill in his heart and didn't quite know what to do.

Run? He couldn't escape. Fight? He feared provoking the stranger.

"What exactly do you want?" Bai He gritted his teeth and asked in a low voice.

"I just wanted to discuss something with you. Could you give me this bird's body? Of course, you can absorb its soul ring. I only want its body. But hey, you just ran off and left me standing there, disheveled in the wind."

"That's all?" Bai He eyed the Pale Golden Bird in the stranger's hand suspiciously. It was a perfect choice for his granddaughter's second soul ring.

"Of course. Though I do have one tiny request."

I knew it wouldn't be that simple. Bai He's heart tightened. He had no idea what the stranger was plotting.

"What is it?"

"I'd just like to get acquainted with this young girl and make friends."

"What?!"

Bai He cried out in shock and anger, "She's only eleven! You're an absolute animal!"

Bai Chenxiang also turned pale with fright and backed away repeatedly, trying to escape the gaze of this ugly pervert, Liu Hao.

"...Has it occurred to you that I'm only twelve and just want to make friends with someone my own age?"

Although Liu Hao also felt he was being a little strange, he absolutely couldn't admit it. As long as he denied it, he was innocent.

"Twelve?"

Bai He looked Liu Hao up and down, his gaze full of distrust.

"You look seventeen or eighteen! How could you possibly be twelve? And what level is your soul power, exactly?"

Perhaps because Liu Hao had shown no ill intent all this time, Bai He began to muster the courage to ask questions.