Rather than saying Xiao Wu and her mother had been qualified to live near the Lake of Life in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest before he arrived...
It would be more accurate to say that the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape-Da Ming and Er Ming-were qualified to live there.
Even after becoming hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, members of the Soft Bone Rabbit clan might still lose to powerful eighty-thousand-year, ninety-thousand-year, or even fifty-thousand-year soul beasts.
With their limited potential and meager strength, it was only natural that the ferocious beasts paid them little heed.
"But how did she get mixed up with a human who might be the Asura God's successor?"
"Isn't that a little too much of a coincidence?"
Zi JI could not make sense of it.
The human world was so vast. How could they have happened to run into each other?
"Maybe the great hand of destiny started pulling strings." Jin Jiuxiao spread his hands helplessly.
A coincidence? That was exactly how it was supposed to work.
It was standard fare for a protagonist. There were bound to be a few fortuitous encounters, weren't there?
A hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit might not have attributes compatible with the Blue Silver Emperor or the Clear Sky Hammer, but she still meant a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring plus a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
Those could give Tang San a considerable boost.
The bonuses Zi JI's two-hundred-thousand-year ferocious beast soul ring had given him were far greater than those of Xiao Wu's soul ring.
Under his deliberate guidance, his physique and various attributes had instead grown stronger than his soul power cultivation.
As for his soul power level, he was cultivating anew after taking human form, so the early and middle stages essentially amounted to gradually reclaiming his own strength.
His level would rise quickly, and with the soul rings of several great ferocious beasts bolstering him, it would rise even faster.
As long as it did not interfere with his soul power cultivation, he would naturally make his foundation as solid as possible.
The Rei martial soul's first ring was eleven thousand years old. Just imagine how terrifying the bonuses from his second martial soul's two-hundred-thousand-year first ring were.
"We can talk about destiny later. Right now, someone has their eye on us."
Zi JI parted her lips slightly, condensing her voice into a thread to convey the information to Jin Jiuxiao. "A Titled Douluo."
Jin Jiuxiao's expression remained unchanged as he took Zi JI with him and headed out.
A Titled Douluo, here in Nuoding City? Gee, who could that possibly be?
After all their years together, Zi JI knew what Jin Jiuxiao wanted to do simply from his movements.
She followed Jin Jiuxiao's lead without betraying anything either.
The two soon left Nuoding City and entered a sparsely frequented stretch of dense forest.
Zi JI spoke coldly. "You've followed us long enough. Aren't you going to show yourself?"
As her words fell, a cloaked figure with disheveled hair and a grimy face slowly emerged from the shadows. "You should never have entered the human world."
The newcomer was none other than Tang Hao.
Of course he could see that there was something unusual about these two. They felt somewhat different from soul beasts, but he could still discern their true forms.
Tang Hao disregarded that slight discrepancy.
A true dragon, and a Soul Beast Humanization I've never seen before.
And this true dragon's cultivation definitely exceeds a hundred thousand years.
In my current condition... I shouldn't fight them.
I'd most likely lose.
Even if I could win, I'd probably have to use Ring Detonation.
But that would make all my injuries even worse.
If I can drive this dragon and this boy away without fighting, that would be ideal.
That Soft Bone Rabbit is enough to provide Little San with a reserve soul ring and soul bone.
These two were not prey he could covet in his current state.
His foremost priority was still to ensure Tang San grew up smoothly.
"A Titled Douluo shouldn't be appearing in this little town in the human world either."
Dragon wings unfurled, and the Demon Dragon Horns emerged on Zi JI's forehead.
She was ready for battle.
If this Titled Douluo made the slightest suspicious move, she would strike immediately.
Seeing Zi JI's stance, Tang Hao summoned his Clear Sky Hammer martial soul as well and planted it against the ground. "I have no intention of making enemies of you."
He did not reveal his soul rings, however.
Jin Jiuxiao reached out to stop Zi JI, who was bristling for a fight, and looked at Tang Hao across from them. "Clear Sky Douluo, correct?"
Tang Hao narrowed his eyes.
This soul beast in human form could identify his title at a glance. It seemed he had come prepared.
After taking human form, a hundred-thousand-year soul beast had to interact with humans and enter the human world to cultivate.
Ah Yin had told him that.
If a soul beast simply stayed in the forest after taking human form and never interacted with humans, their cultivation would become extremely slow, or even grind to a halt.
"It seems you gathered information about the human world before coming here. You even know quite a lot."
Since Tang Hao had come up with an explanation on his own, Jin Jiuxiao naturally went along with it. "Entering the human world knowing nothing would be courting death."
"That human boy who's with Xiao Wu is your son with the Blue Silver Emperor, isn't he?"
His tone was calm. Though phrased as a question, it sounded more like a statement of fact.
Tang Hao unconsciously tightened his grip on the Clear Sky Hammer, his knuckles paling slightly. "What do you want?"
For the moment, he could not figure out what this soul beast intended.
Since the boy knew about him and Ah Yin, and even knew of Tang San's existence...
That meant he knew Ah Yin had sacrificed herself for him.
Rather than him killing Ah Yin for her ring and bone.
"At least for now, we aren't enemies."
"In fact, in a certain sense, our goals are the same."
Having said that, Jin Jiuxiao did not intend to elaborate.
People-especially arrogant people like Tang Hao-would only trust what they saw for themselves and their own judgment.
Although Zi JI remained on guard, her posture seemed more like she was afraid he would suddenly attack and hurt the soul beast boy.
Tang Hao noticed this and gave Jin Jiuxiao's words a little more credence.
At least for the moment, this dragon and this boy truly bore him no hostility.
Nor did they want to fight him.
If they could talk, that was better than fighting.
Tang San was still in Nuoding City. If a fight broke out here... there was no telling what accident might occur.
Tang Hao simply put away the Clear Sky Hammer, signaling to Zi JI that he truly had not come to fight. "You mean... Spirit Hall?"
If this was about Spirit Hall, then the logic held.
This soul beast boy had investigated his background and experiences.
He would also know just how many hundred-thousand-year soul beasts Spirit Hall had hunted down.
Soul Beast Humanization could be called "priceless treasures" in the soul master world.
Soul Beast Humanization did not retain their cultivation after taking human form. That meant that if someone discovered a soul beast in human form and then slaughtered them...
They could still absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and obtain a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
Killing one was far easier than killing a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
If Spirit Hall discovered someone like this soul beast boy or Xiao Wu, they would absolutely hunt them across the entire continent.
Only by fleeing back to the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest could they find temporary safety.
"Soul Beast Humanization must enter the human world to cultivate. You know that too."
Jin Jiuxiao pointed this out himself. "If Spirit Hall discovers me and sets its sights on me, I won't be in any danger, but cultivating in peace will certainly become impossible."
Hearing this, Tang Hao could not help but nod slightly.
That was indeed true.
This dragon was at least equivalent to a Level 96 Titled Douluo in the human world, and perhaps even stronger.
With her protection, this soul beast boy truly had no need to fear for his life.
Before you continue