Ignoring Yue Guan's voice, which had gone shrill with excitement, Qin Chao put away the Heaven and Earth Tower. His soul power circulated once more, and Taotie instantly possessed him as a savage, murderous aura slowly spread...
"Twin... twin martial souls?!" Yue Guan's eyes widened, his jaw nearly dropping out of its socket.
A genius. Now this was a true genius.
Some things were simply impossible to obtain through effort later in life. In martial soul cultivation, talent determined one's future accomplishments. Hard work might bridge the gap left by talent, but it could never surpass it. Many ordinary people spent their entire lives unable to awaken a martial soul. Cruel as it was, this was the reality of this world.
The appearance of twin martial souls shocked more than just Yue Guan. Even Gui Mei could not stop himself from stepping forward.
The ferocious aura Qin Chao emitted after Taotie possessed him felt extremely familiar to Gui Mei.
His martial soul was a ghost. He had died once as a child, but through a fortuitous turn of events, his soul had returned to his body, awakening his martial soul.
In a sense, his soul was his martial soul, while he himself was one of the living dead.
During the brief time his soul had left his body, he had seen a strange building. Before he could enter, a mysterious force had brought him back to the mortal world. And the aura surrounding Qin Chao was exactly the same as the one that had emanated from that building...
The feeling of finding another of his kind stirred excitement in the usually calm Gui Mei. Had Bibi Dong not been there, he would have wanted to seize Qin Chao and bring him over to examine his body's structure closely...
Taotie's appearance consumed a great deal of Qin Chao's soul power. For some reason, every time Taotie appeared, he felt an urge to destroy this world.
Recalling his martial soul into his body, Qin Chao obediently stood beside Bibi Dong.
"Pretty sister, the two teachers don't seem to want me as their disciple..."
He blinked, a sly smile curling his lips.
Twin martial souls and a seven-hundred-year first soul ring were an enormous temptation to anyone. The Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluos were naturally no exception.
Before Bibi Dong could answer, Gui Mei spoke first.
"I'll take him!" His voice was low and hoarse, as though it came from another world.
"Hey, you old ghost, don't fight me for him!" Yue Guan rolled his eyes at him irritably, then turned back with an utterly ingratiating smile. "Little fellow, you've misunderstood. Of course I want a disciple, especially one as adorable as you..."
Bibi Dong folded her arms and watched Qin Chao with interest. "What do you think, little fellow?"
What do I think? Being accepted as a disciple by two Titled Douluos? I wouldn't dare dream of something this wonderful!
Qin Chao bowed to the two of them again, his expression solemn and earnest.
"Your disciple, Qin Chao, greets his two teachers. From now on, I'll study hard and improve every day. I'll never let either of you down!"
Three days later, in the Star Dou Great Forest.
A "woman" in a bright red formal robe embroidered with gold and silver patterns led Qin Chao and Hu Liena swiftly onward.
Qin Chao's soul power had now reached the level-twenty bottleneck, so he naturally needed to hunt for his second soul ring. As luck would have it, Hu Liena's soul power had just reached level thirty as well.
Without hesitation, Bibi Dong bundled the two of them off to Yue Guan, making him responsible for helping them hunt suitable soul rings.
Along the way, Chrysanthemum Douluo dutifully introduced Qin Chao to the different kinds of soul beasts and their traits, occasionally weaving in explanations of special plants and their properties. His care and attention made it clear how much he valued this disciple who had practically fallen into his lap.
This was no joke. Twin martial souls and innate level 20 soul power-this child's future was bound to be limitless.
Here was a mighty thigh to cling to in the future. If he did not grab hold now, when would he?
After several days of travel, the three finally reached the habitat of thousand-year soul beasts, the very age range they needed to hunt on this trip.
Hu Liena's case needed no explanation. Even according to the unreliable Grandmaster's theory of soul ring age limits, the oldest soul ring she could currently absorb was seventeen hundred and sixty years old. Qin Chao, meanwhile, was a little freak.
His first soul ring was already an astonishing seven hundred years old. If his second soul ring failed to reach a thousand years, never mind Bibi Dong-even Yue Guan himself would find that unacceptable.
Thus, the three pitched their tents there as a temporary resting place.
It was already late at night. After eating some dry rations, Qin Chao lay lazily inside the tent, his brows faintly furrowed as he looked at Yue Guan sleeping soundly beside him.
He still had five unused luck points, enough for one draw from the bronze prize pool.
The bronze prize pool contained three kinds of prizes. Aside from growth-type soul rings, there were soul skills and immortal herbs. For Qin Chao as he was now, soul skills were merely an extra, while immortal herbs came in so many varieties that even if he drew one, he might not be able to use it. Only a growth-type soul ring was what he needed most right now.
A one-in-three chance was already a terribly risky gamble. Worse still, Yue Guan never left his side these days. Even if he got lucky and drew a soul ring, he would not dare use it...
While Qin Chao was fretting, Yue Guan seemed to sense something and abruptly sprang up from the ground.
"A soul beast is approaching. From what I can sense, its strength should be around the thousand-year mark, just right for your Sister Nana. I'll take her over to have a look. Be good and stay here until we return!"
Yue Guan spoke rapidly, a hint of excitement in his eyes.
Finding a soul beast of the right age was no easy task. Naturally, he had to take Hu Liena to investigate. If its attributes suited her as well, half his task on this trip would be complete...
Shooting forward, Yue Guan took Hu Liena and raced toward the source of his senses.
Staying obediently in the tent was clearly out of the question.
With a heaven-sent opportunity right before his eyes, Qin Chao could hardly let it slip away.
Sneaking out of the tent, Qin Chao found a secluded spot and summoned the system in his mind.
"Confirm prize draw?"
The system's icy prompt sounded.
"Confirm!" Qin Chao could hardly wait.
Soul ring, soul ring, soul ring!
He prayed desperately, hoping the system would hear the cry in his heart.
The pointer spun rapidly around the wheel, finally slowing near the segment representing a growth-type soul ring.
Just as Qin Chao thought the soul ring was within his grasp, the pointer edged a tiny bit farther forward...
It shifted less than half an inch, yet the growth-type soul ring still slipped through his fingers.
"Congratulations, host. You have obtained one supreme-grade immortal herb: Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum..."
"Damn it!" Qin Chao pounded the ground furiously. "So close! Just that tiny bit!"
Ever since his martial soul awakening, everything had gone smoothly. So smoothly that he had almost forgotten he had been an Unlucky One in his previous life...
Now that his Unlucky One trait had awakened again, despair washed through Qin Chao's heart.
(The spurned Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum: Are you kidding me? I'm an immortal-grade medicinal herb, and now I've been reduced to something people turn their noses up at! Speak up for me! Speak up for me!)
Before you continue