Descendant of a God King

"Level 99. Didn't I just tell you? You don't believe me?"

Liu Hao held the Pale Golden Bird in his arms and regarded old Bai He with a faint, teasing smile.

"You..."

Bai He was initially furious, convinced Liu Hao was toying with him.

But then he remembered that terrifying aura in the Star Dou Great Forest. A moment ago, he had assumed it was an illusion.

Yet if it was an illusion, why would it need to chase him after he had run so far?

Could he actually still be trapped in the illusion? Had he never left the Star Dou Great Forest at all?

If the illusion really was that terrifying, he could only admit defeat.

"You said you wanted to be friends with my granddaughter. Then where are you from? What family do you belong to? Surely you can tell us something about yourself?"

Bai He felt utterly helpless. He dared not fight, could not escape, and could not tell whether this was an illusion. All he could do was follow the other party's lead and keep talking.

"I'm... a descendant of a God King, and the young master of a secluded sect."

Remembering the Speed Clan's hatred of Spirit Hall for hunting them down, Liu Hao did not reveal that he belonged to Spirit Hall. He could only tell a little lie.

As for the possibility of being found out later, he would deal with that when the time came.

"A descendant of a God King? What's a God King?" Bai He looked bewildered, though it sounded impressive even if he did not understand it.

"You haven't heard the term God King, but you know about becoming a god at level 100, right?"

"Could it be... that a God King is a god?"

"More than that. A God King is several ranks stronger than someone who has become a god at level 100."

At last, Bai He had some idea of what a God King was.

"You mean one of your ancestors was a God King?"

"Mm-hmm~"

"Then why are you so determined to be friends with my granddaughter? She's eleven now and has only just reached level 20. In another year, when she's your age, she'll be twenty-something at most. The gap between you is far too great."

"She's very pretty. I like making friends with pretty girls."

"..."

With mixed feelings and a strange expression, Bai He stared at Liu Hao, unsure what to say. Judging by his face, however, he certainly was not thinking anything nice.

Bai Chenxiang's delicate face flushed slightly. She pressed her lips together, not daring to make a sound.

Clearly, after hearing that Liu Hao was only twelve yet already a level-99 Limit Douluo, her impression of this ugly fellow, whose build made him look a little older than her, had improved considerably.

After all, she admired the strong and did not place all that much importance on looks.

"Relax. I just want to be ordinary friends. I'm not as wicked as you're imagining."

Liu Hao wore a perfectly serious expression, making it seem almost convincing.

"All right, then. Can you let my granddaughter absorb this Radiant Rainbow Bird's soul ring now?"

At this point, Bai He could only continue following the other party's lead.

He could only pray that he and his granddaughter would not be so unlucky.

"So this soul beast is called a Radiant Rainbow Bird. Pale golden feathers with a faint rainbow sheen-it certainly lives up to its name."

Liu Hao had never studied soul beasts, so he knew little about them. After all, with a cheat at his disposal, wouldn't it be a waste of that cheat if he still had to burn brain cells studying hard?

Having decided to win Bai Chenxiang over, Liu Hao naturally activated the system silently in his mind.

"System! Simplify the difficulty of winning Bai Chenxiang over!"

Ding! Host request received. Simplifying the process of winning Bai Chenxiang over...

One simplification chance consumed. Remaining chances: 57. Simplification complete. Methods of winning Bai Chenxiang over, including possessing specific personality traits, specific experiences, exceptional intelligence, developing affection over time, and modifying memories, have been simplified to: conversation.

Whenever the host converses with Bai Chenxiang, each exchange will increase her affection by 1 point. Maximum affection: 100 points. Bai Chenxiang's current affection: 33.

Oh? Her starting affection is quite a bit higher than that Supreme Pontiff's. She should be easier to win over, too.

As for why he insisted on using the system rather than trying to win her over himself, the answer was naturally convenience, peace of mind, efficiency, and eliminating unforeseen complications.

Holding the Radiant Rainbow Bird in both hands, Liu Hao offered it to Bai Chenxiang with a smile and asked gently, "Could you tell me your name?"

The little girl turned her head and, only after seeing her grandfather nod, reached out to take the Radiant Rainbow Bird. "I... my name is Bai Chenxiang," she answered timidly.

Her voice was soft and sweet, utterly adorable.

Bai Chenxiang's affection +1. Current affection: 34.

The system notification delighted Liu Hao, and he made up his mind: he would win Bai Chenxiang over first.

Of course, his aim was not driven by a fetish for little girls. He simply wanted to stake his claim early.

By first leaving a deep impression of himself in Bai Chenxiang's mind, he could keep her from being easily led away by someone else.

Besides, Bai Chenxiang did not demand much in terms of looks, so her affection was unlikely to drop. He could raise it to 100 the fastest.

Liu Hao was rather curious about the system's affection scale and wanted to see exactly what would happen once it reached 100.

Since the sky was already growing dark, the three of them settled into an inn in Small Town.

In her room, Bai Chenxiang killed the Radiant Rainbow Bird, which was over seven hundred years old, and absorbed its soul ring, reaching level 21.

Liu Hao borrowed the inn's kitchen and roasted the Radiant Rainbow Bird whole. He ate more than half himself to awaken his second martial soul and left the rest for Bai He and his granddaughter.

He also exchanged a few more words with Bai Chenxiang, raising her affection to 37 points.

He refrained from talking more for fear of achieving the opposite effect.

Moreover, Liu Hao had already devised a plan for raising Bai Chenxiang's affection further over the next two days.

He would try to max out her affection before returning to Spirit Hall for his investiture ceremony.

Early the next morning, the sky was somewhat gloomy, as though rain was coming.

Even so, Liu Hao took Bai Chenxiang and Bai He with him toward the Sunset Forest.

In the original story, Bai Chenxiang had never eaten any immortal herbs, leaving her aptitude far behind that of the Shrek Seven Devils.

Now that he was here, he naturally would not leave the immortal herbs for Tang San and the others.

For an ordinary Titled Douluo, flying the two or three thousand kilometers from the vicinity of the Star Dou Great Forest to the Sunset Forest would take at least several days. Even a Limit Douluo with a flying martial soul like Qian Daoliu would need a full day.

But now that Liu Hao possessed the space-attributed martial soul, the Heaven-Reaching Ambrosial Arbor Wooden Stick, he could tear through space and make spatial jumps over a certain distance, achieving an effect akin to teleportation.

In the end, he reached their destination in only two or three hours.

A vast expanse of eerie green Poison Miasma filled the heart of the Sunset Forest.

This was the treasured site Dugu Bo had claimed in the Sunset Forest: the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

The Poison Miasma was extremely potent. Ordinary Soul Masters at the Soul King rank or below would die upon contact.

Though Soul Masters above the Soul King rank could resist it with their soul power, none below the Titled Douluo rank could last long.

Before they even approached the Poison Miasma, Bai He began to feel unwell. A sickly sweet, bloody scent made his chest feel tight, and even the circulation of his soul power grew sluggish.

Bai Chenxiang fared even worse. Her vision went black, her body went limp, and she collapsed straight to the ground. Startled, Liu Hao hurriedly caught her and circulated his soul power to expel the toxins that had invaded her body.

"Sorry, Xiangxiang. I was careless and didn't put up a barrier beforehand. Are you all right?"

Only when her vision gradually returned and her mind cleared did Bai Chenxiang realize she had just fainted.

"I'm... I'm fine."

Bai Chenxiang's affection +1. Current affection: 38.

"Little Hao, the Poison Miasma here is far too strong. What did you bring us here for?"

Bai He's suspicions began to rear their head again. In particular, seeing Liu Hao continue holding his granddaughter without letting go made him even more suspicious.