Watching the two figures walking toward him with "murderous" expressions, Qin Chao panicked like mad.
Suddenly remembering something, Qin Chao decisively shoved his hand into his own chest.
"Master, your disciple has a treasure to gift you!"
Holding his hands high above his head, Qin Chao's posture looked remarkably like a traitor surrendering with a raised gun.
Yue Guan wore a deliberately feigned, cunning smirk at the corners of his mouth. "Hmph~ Trying to bribe me already? Young man, your heart isn't in the right place. It looks like you need a double dose of... wait!"
His emotions suddenly shifted with intense agitation, and even his hands trembled slightly. "The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum! It's actually the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum! Where on earth did you find this immortal herb?!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo stared with burning intensity at the plant in Qin Chao's hand. It was a massive chrysanthemum, displaying a magnificent shade of purple, with a thin layer of delicate fluff coating every single petal, looking quite adorable. Silk-like petals clustered around the pistil in the center, and at the very tip of the pistil, a faint golden brilliance shimmered.
Yue Guan's gaze toward the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum was exceptionally devout, as if what he saw in his eyes was not a plant, but a deity...
Reluctantly tearing his gaze away from the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, Yue Guan's expression turned very serious.
"Little Qin Chao, I don't suppose I've ever displayed my martial soul in front of you..."
As he spoke, he spread open his right hand. With the circulation of soul power, purple light permeated Yue Guan's right hand, and a massive chrysanthemum sprouted from his palm, exactly identical to the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum in Qin Chao's hand...
"You might not know this, but my martial soul is precisely this supreme immortal herb, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum..." Not knowing what he thought of, Yue Guan's expression turned slightly desolate.
Qin Chao kept his head lowered, desperately suppressing the corners of his mouth as they ticked upward.
Ah, Chrysanthemum Guan, the elder with the highest attendance rate in the Spirit Hall. Anyone who has read Douluo knows it...
Not noticing Qin Chao's strangeness, Yue Guan looked at his own martial soul with deep affection, his eyes filled with lingering attachment.
"Just like you, my background wasn't good. My family was poor and destitute, and I only had an older sister to rely on for mutual support..."
"During my Martial Soul Awakening, my Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum was considered a waste martial soul, and because of that, I suffered no small amount of mockery..."
"They all said my appearance was effeminate and that I was a sissy, and that even my martial soul was a girly flower. I once thought I was just trash too, until that day, when my sister was killed by creditors while trying to protect me..."
"My last remaining family died right before my eyes, yet I was completely powerless. From that moment on, I resolved that I had to become strong!"
"Now I am a Titled Douluo, standing at the pinnacle of the Douluo Continent. And all of this was brought to me by the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. In my heart, it is the king of immortal herbs, the most precious existence in this world..."
Putting away his martial soul, Yue Guan's eyes turned gentle as he softly helped Qin Chao to his feet.
"This Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum is a neutral immortal herb. Its medicinal potency is vast, grand, fierce, and domineering. Your second martial soul is a beast martial soul, and consuming it will fill you with vibrant vital energy, clear the eight extraordinary meridians within your body, and even allow you to forge an indestructible Vajra body. It will be of tremendous help to your cultivation..."
"Take advantage of the fact that there are no soul beasts running amok right now and swallow it quickly..."
"But, this was meant for you~" Looking at Yue Guan's desolate expression, which resembled someone mourning their parents, Qin Chao wore a look of helpless resignation.
Along the road into the Star Dou Forest, Yue Guan had once introduced him to the appearance and efficacy of certain medicinal herbs, among which was this supreme immortal herb, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. Naturally, he knew its medicinal effects, but that didn't mean he intended to consume it himself.
Perhaps because of his martial soul, Yue Guan had always loved flowers as if they were his own life. When he pulled the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum from the prize pool, he had already prepared himself to gift this immortal herb to Yue Guan. Right now, he was simply taking advantage of this opportunity to simultaneously appease Yue Guan's anger.
"Gifted to me?" Yue Guan's face filled with blank astonishment.
No one understood the medicinal efficacy of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum better than he did. Such an un-obtainable supreme immortal herb had been casually gifted to him just like that by Qin Chao. How could this not shock him?
Qin Chao nodded calmly and unconcernedly. "That's right, Master. From the moment I obtained it, I intended to gift it to you. Don't you love these things?"
"But it would provide a greater enhancement for you..."
For immortal-grade medicinal herbs, the earlier one consumed them, the higher the medicinal potency they could unleash. Qin Chao was currently six years old; if he swallowed this Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, it would definitely become a major pillar of support for his future.
"A teacher for a day is a father for life. I've lacked parents since I was young, and you are my teacher as well as my father. Isn't it only right for a son to show filial piety to his father? Besides, it suits you better, doesn't it?" Qin Chao retorted with plausible arguments. Seeing that Yue Guan was still hesitating, he simply shoved the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum right into Yue Guan's arms.
"Master, just accept it. Immortal herbs will appear again, but I certainly don't want to experience the agony of a child wishing to care for their parents only to find them gone..."
Hearing this, Yue Guan's eye rims instantly turned red. Fate had dealt him a harsh hand; currently, the only person by his side who could be counted as family was Gui Mei. Yet now, it seemed he felt the warmth of a home once more...
In truth, the reason Qin Chao insisted on gifting the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum to Yue Guan, aside from emotional reasons, also involved his own calculations.
The reason Tang San was able to make such a great success of himself in an otherworldly realm was entirely thanks to various Tang Sect secret techniques.
The gap between inner gong arts could be made up for with soul power, and as for hidden weapons and the like, even if he wanted to learn them he couldn't, but poison was a different story.
Undeniably, the Tang Sect possessed its own unique methods when it came to the application of poison, but Yue Guan possessed an equal understanding of these immortal and poisonous herbs. Coupled with the powerful buff of knowing the plot inside and out, Qin Chao's comprehension of poisons wouldn't necessarily be inferior to Tang San's...
Besides, Yue Guan was a Titled Douluo after all. Using a tiny Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum to exchange for the genuine heart of a Titled Douluo was a bargain no matter how one calculated it.
"Master, can I get up now~"
Kneeling on the ground, Qin Chao raised his little face, looking utterly pitiful.
How could Yue Guan bear to watch such a thoughtful and generous disciple kneel on the ground indefinitely? With a gentle wave of his right hand, a soft surge of force lifted Qin Chao up from the floor.
"I'll let it slide this time, but if you go risking your life like this again in the future, I will definitely punish you severely!" Yue Guan forced his face to straighten, but the joy of suddenly acquiring such a supreme treasure still curved the corners of his mouth upward, completely impossible to suppress.
"Don't you worry, Master, your disciple will definitely be obedient from now on!" Escaping sanction, Qin Chao felt a wave of relief.
"Chrysanthemum Douluo let you off, but I certainly haven't..." A sinister female voice abruptly rang out from beside Qin Chao. "Little Qin Chao, are you ready to face Big Sister's wrath?"
Hu Liena curved the corners of her lips, smiling with extraordinary bewitchment. Looking at that beautiful smiling face, Qin Chao's legs turned to jelly, and he nearly dropped to his knees once more.
Crap, he had been too busy dealing with Master and had forgotten that there was still a furious little vixen right here...
He cast a pleading gaze toward Yue Guan. "Master..."
"Don't call me Master, I'm not getting involved..." Kids, after all, needed a complete childhood. Since he had taken the boy's gift and his hands were tied, having someone else help out was pretty nice too...
A dainty fist swung lightly, the muffled thuds of flesh making contact alternating with Qin Chao's miserable cries in a steady rhythm, exceptionally rich with cadence.
"Go a bit lighter on him, Nana, don't actually beat him to death. I'm still counting on him to provide for my old age!" Yue Guan offered a reminder, smiling with "benevolent" warmth. Qin Chao had finally walked into his heart, but alas, it was a heart full of pitfalls everywhere...
Before you continue