"Hey! Wake up. Stop pretending to sleep. I know you're awake."
Lin Xiao lightly nudged Xiao Wu with his foot as she lay on the ground playing dead.
"Waaah! Don't kill me! I don't taste good!"
Hearing Lin Xiao speak, Xiao Wu knew he had seen through her act.
She sprang up, clutching her head with both hands, her eyes brimming with tears.
She had only attended school for a single day, yet the boy before her, who had just defeated her, had summoned a Titled Douluo from who knew where and carried her off in the night.
Sensing the aura around Xuan Zi, Xiao Wu even felt that he was far stronger than the Titled Douluo Spirit Hall had sent to hunt down her mother all those years ago.
"Don't kill me for my soul ring! Please, please, Lin Xiao!"
Looking at Xiao Wu pleading before him, Lin Xiao suddenly flashed a wicked grin.
"Hehehe! What if I say no?"
Lin Xiao's laughter made Xiao Wu shudder all over.
She had taken human form to avenge her mother, but was her plan going to end before it had even begun?
Da Ming, Er Ming, I'm sorry...
Utterly disheartened, Xiao Wu closed her eyes and waited for death.
"Ahem. Well, sparing you isn't out of the question. I'm not some bloodthirsty killer, after all. Besides, with a stupid rabbit like you, absorbing your soul bone might turn me into an idiot too!"
Hearing Lin Xiao's words, Xiao Wu slowly opened her eyes in disbelief.
There was actually someone in this world who could resist the temptation of a hundred thousand year soul ring and soul bone!
"You really won't kill me?"
"Of course I can spare you, but you'll have to work for me!"
Lin Xiao nodded and spoke slowly.
"Perfect. From now on, you'll be my little maid. You'll handle all the chores, understand?"
"Oh, okay..."
And just like that, Xiao Wu foolishly agreed.
Looking at the silly rabbit before him, Lin Xiao decided to give her another scare.
"If your work isn't satisfactory, your head will be roasting over a fire as a spicy rabbit-head dish the very next day!"
Deep within the Star Dou Great Forest.
The Titan Giant Ape, standing over seven meters tall, suddenly rose, beat his chest, and roared.
"Sister Xiao Wu! I sensed Sister Xiao Wu's aura!"
Lin Xiao had Xuan Zi take them to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
He had come not only to obtain his first soul ring and fuse with Ah Yin's soul bone.
He also intended to use Xiao Wu to meet the two strongest soul beasts that had openly appeared in the Star Dou Great Forest during the era of Douluo I.
The Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python.
Xiao Wu had already changed into a maid outfit and silently followed behind Lin Xiao, her head lowered as she pondered something.
Lin Xiao glanced at her.
This girl is probably hoping Er Ming and Da Ming can rescue her, isn't she?
He chuckled inwardly. Xuan Zi was a Level 98 Super Douluo with a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.
A Titan Giant Ape who had only just reached a hundred thousand years and a Sky Azure Bull Python who had yet to reach two hundred thousand years were no match for him.
Bring out the Silver Dragon King!
Ahem.
"Young master, that monkey and that little snake deep in the Star Dou Great Forest have started moving. The monkey is running toward us!"
Xuan Zi transmitted his voice to Lin Xiao.
"Mm, I know. We'll head in for a visit shortly and take care of my first soul ring while we're at it. But if the Titan Giant Ape tries to attack, beat him into submission."
"Roar!"
A furious roar rang out ahead, and a great swath of trees was smashed down.
The Titan Giant Ape arrived before Lin Xiao.
His enormous golden eyes stared straight at him.
Then he turned his gaze toward Xiao Wu.
With a sudden sweep of one hand, he snatched Xiao Wu away. His other hand swung toward Lin Xiao, intending to send him flying.
Xuan Zi made his move.
An overwhelming aura instantly pinned down the Titan Giant Ape, and Xiao Wu slipped from his grip and fell to the ground.
"Ouch! That hurts! Er Ming! Don't attack!"
Xiao Wu cried out in pain.
But the Titan Giant Ape had only just passed a hundred thousand years, and his intelligence was not particularly high. Coupled with his naturally volatile temper, how could he stop now that Xuan Zi had enraged him?
He roared at the sky, "Human, you dare bully Sister Xiao Wu? Die!"
Then he smashed a mighty titan punch toward Xuan Zi.
Lin Xiao was nearby. Even though the Titan Giant Ape was targeting Xuan Zi, Xuan Zi feared that Lin Xiao might suffer so much as a scratch from the crossfire.
He simply activated his Taotie True Body.
The Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring flared with crimson light.
Xuan Zi intended to subdue the Titan Giant Ape with his strongest burst of power.
"Ninth Soul Skill, Taotie Devours the Heavens!"
The enormous Taotie True Body opened its maw, earth-attribute soul power gathering within it as though all the surrounding air had been swallowed clean.
The earth-attribute soul power condensed into a gigantic orb of light inside its mouth.
The earthen-colored orb compressed to its limit, then suddenly burst forward.
Its tremendous power knocked the Titan Giant Ape clean off his feet and hurled him hundreds of meters back.
His body swayed unsteadily until, at last, the Titan Giant Ape collapsed.
"Er Ming!"
Xiao Wu tried to rush after him, but Lin Xiao caught her by the arm.
"He's fine. He just passed out."
"Little rabbit, did you think I didn't know who you were? I brought you to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest precisely so I could use you to meet these so-called overlords of the forest."
Xiao Wu stopped struggling. Looking at Lin Xiao, she felt that the boy before her was becoming ever more unfathomable.
She knew Er Ming's strength very well. Even when several Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall had surrounded her mother all those years ago, they had failed to gain the upper hand against Da Ming and Er Ming.
Yet the Titled Douluo behind Lin Xiao had knocked Er Ming unconscious with a single strike.
Her suspicions about Xuan Zi's strength had been confirmed, and her last hope was shattered with them.
Xiao Wu no longer thought of struggling and pleaded as though resigned to her fate.
"All right, I'll take you there. Please don't hurt Da Ming and Er Ming!"
Lin Xiao nodded in satisfaction and followed Xiao Wu deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.
Da Ming had sensed Er Ming's miserable condition when the two exchanged blows.
He had wanted to help, but feared that they might attack Sister Xiao Wu and injure her because of it.
Fortunately, Er Ming suffered no further attacks.
His brother no longer seemed to be in mortal danger. Only then did Da Ming relax slightly, staring straight ahead as he waited for Lin Xiao to arrive.
No matter what, he had to get to the bottom of this boy's identity!
As they ventured deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest, their view narrowed and the trees grew increasingly dense.
Just as they pushed aside the final patch of undergrowth.
The vast lake and open ground stood in stark contrast to the dense woods along their route.
The Sky Azure Bull Python's enormous body, dozens of meters long, towered within the Lake of Life.
"Human, why have you entered the forbidden grounds of my Star Dou Great Forest?"
Da Ming was clearly much calmer.
With just one glance, he recognized that Lin Xiao was the one in charge.
He opened his mouth to question him.
He did not underestimate the boy before him merely because he did not even have a soul ring.
"Da Ming, you don't mind if I call you that, do you?"
Lin Xiao spoke slowly.
The aura of the Child of Nature flowed from him.
The Sky Azure Bull Python's eyes instantly widened. His massive body slowly lowered, bringing him before Lin Xiao.
"The Child of Nature! How do you have the aura of the Child of Nature?"
"As I said, I only came to meet you and let you know that Xiao Wu will be staying with me from now on. You don't need to worry about her safety."
Lin Xiao did not answer his question directly, merely stating the purpose of his visit.
"Young master! Several extremely powerful life forces have suddenly appeared beneath the lake. They're stronger than I am."
Xuan Zi spoke in a grave voice.
Lin Xiao looked toward the Lake of Life.
Have they finally come...?
Before you continue