At Qian Renxue's words, Yu Tianlong fell silent for a long while.
It was not that Qian Renxue was cold and heartless; she simply stood on a different side.
But having received the unconditional trust of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Heaven Dou Empire, Yu Tianlong felt somewhat conflicted.
After thinking it over, Yu Tianlong still spoke directly to Qian Renxue:
"Even so, aren't you afraid that when the time comes, I'll..."
Yu Tianlong stopped halfway through.
Qian Renxue waved a hand indifferently.
"You're a smart person, and that's precisely why I brought you to meet and get to know them."
"Otherwise, if it were simply a matter of nurturing you, couldn't our Spirit Hall do that?"
Yes, with the conversation between two smart people reaching this point, both knew what the other was thinking.
Yu Tianlong sighed.
"You really have given me a difficult problem. Forget it. We'll deal with the future when it comes!"
Qian Renxue did not respond to that, merely pointing at the Thousand-Year Soul Bones and whale rubber on the tray.
"Take your things and head back. Tomorrow, I'll take you to enroll at Heaven Dou Royal Academy."
"The Heaven Dou Empire and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will deliver your Soul Beasts tomorrow, too."
The moment she said that, the gloom on Yu Tianlong's face vanished.
He stepped forward and put all the Soul Bones and whale rubber into his Storage Soul Tool, then walked straight to the door and said to Qian Renxue:
"Big Brother, let's go!"
Seeing Yu Tianlong's excitement, Qian Renxue shook her head.
"They're all yours. It's not as though anyone's fighting you for them..."
After returning to the crown prince's residence, Yu Tianlong began cultivating without even taking much of a rest.
After summoning Cho'Gath, Yu Tianlong took out two Soul Bones and placed them before him.
"Little Cho, how much do you think you can improve after devouring these two Soul Bones?"
Cho'Gath thought for a moment before giving his answer.
"One of these Soul Bones increases strength, and the other increases defense. After devouring them, I should be able to evolve once. And I feel like I can evolve a very useful trait!"
Hearing even Cho'Gath say that, Yu Tianlong was immensely curious.
"Then hurry up and swallow them! Let's see what changes!"
Cho'Gath did not hesitate. He picked up the two Soul Bones and stuffed them straight into his mouth. After chewing a couple of times, his eyes narrowed in pleasure.
He was clearly immensely satisfied.
Meanwhile, after Cho'Gath devoured the Soul Bones, Yu Tianlong also felt the Soul Power inside him begin to surge.
But to Yu Tianlong's surprise, after the surge of Soul Power, his body actually began undergoing another kind of change!
Yu Tianlong's skin began shedding continuously, with new skin growing beneath it.
His entire body became scorching hot, as though he were standing amid raging flames.
The intense pain and burning sensation made Yu Tianlong begin to groan uncontrollably.
"Aah!!"
Yu Tianlong still had it relatively easy. After all, he was only bearing a tenth of the power on Cho'Gath's side.
Cho'Gath had it far worse.
The bone spikes on Cho'Gath's body began falling off. His purple carapace seemed to melt in that instant, turning into flowing liquid that kept spreading in every direction.
"Roar-!"
Seeing Cho'Gath in that state, Yu Tianlong panicked!
Ignoring the intense pain wracking his body, he hurried to Cho'Gath's side.
"Little Cho, what's wrong? Are you all right?"
After all, Cho'Gath had never been in such pain during his previous evolutions.
Now, merely hearing his anguished cries made Yu Tianlong feel as though a knife were twisting in his heart!
Seeing his master's immense worry, Cho'Gath managed a reply.
"I'm... fine... Master!"
"Roar--!"
"Big Brother!!!!!"
"Big Brother, come here, quick!"
Hearing Cho'Gath's voice grow increasingly weak, Yu Tianlong panicked.
He hurriedly called for Qian Renxue.
Elsewhere, Qian Renxue had been about to wash up, but her brows immediately knitted tightly when she heard Yu Tianlong calling.
Without the slightest hesitation, she used the Angel God Armor to form a set of clothes, then rushed straight to Yu Tianlong's location.
Looking at Cho'Gath, who was now almost a puddle of purple sludge,
Qian Renxue's eyes, too, were filled with shock!
"What happened?"
After Yu Tianlong explained everything that had happened, Qian Renxue sank into thought.
Seeing the floor corrode away wherever the purple liquid passed, she felt that this matter did not seem so simple.
After a brief moment of thought, Qian Renxue said directly:
"Don't go near him for now. I'll find a healing-type Soul Master!"
Having said that, Qian Renxue was about to leave.
Just then, Cho'Gath called out again.
"Master... hungry... I'm so hungry..."
Hearing Cho'Gath's words, Yu Tianlong seemed to think of something and hurriedly stopped Qian Renxue from leaving.
"Big Brother, help me prepare plenty of food and bring it here. I think I've found a way!"
Hearing Yu Tianlong say that, Qian Renxue hurried away, half convinced and half doubtful.
The instant Qian Renxue left, Yu Tianlong could no longer withstand the intense pain and burning sensation in his body.
He collapsed straight to the floor.
His skin also began dissolving at that moment, exposing his flesh, his condition looking very much like Cho'Gath's.
As Cho'Gath melted faster and faster, his original appearance was now completely unrecognizable.
The purple liquid on the floor also spread to where Yu Tianlong lay.
Watching the purple liquid draw ever closer and the floor tiles corrode away,
Yu Tianlong gave an exceedingly strained smile.
He had only wanted to evolve once; he had never expected it to end like this.
As that thought arose, the purple liquid came into contact with Yu Tianlong.
But the instant the liquid touched him, it began adhering directly to his flesh.
In just an instant, Yu Tianlong's entire body was enveloped in the strange purple liquid.
To Yu Tianlong's surprise, however, after the purple liquid touched his body, his flesh was not corroded away.
Instead, it kept spreading and restructuring, as though it were helping Yu Tianlong repair his skin.
But before Yu Tianlong could feel happy for more than a few seconds, an intense hunger surged through his body.
It felt as though he would die immediately if he did not eat.
Driven by his survival instinct, Yu Tianlong dared not be careless in the slightest and took out everything edible from his Storage Soul Tool.
The instant the food touched his hand, Yu Tianlong discovered that the purple liquid coating his body had already devoured it.
Yet it brought him a trace of fullness, and the earlier pain seemed to ease a little as well.
Noticing this change, Yu Tianlong began frantically taking in food.
But the hunger seemed to keep dogging him. No matter how much food he picked up, the purple liquid devoured it instantly!
"Not enough! Nowhere near enough!!!"