"Wow! Xiao Hei, you can fly now!"
Qian Renxue tilted her little face up from below, clapping her little hands and cheering excitedly.
After circling above the room a few times to his heart's content, Chen Qianqiu slowly folded his wings and landed steadily on the broad desk, giving his little tail a contented swish.
He closed his slit pupils, and a flash of understanding suddenly arose in his mind. The most terrifying thing about Nidhogg's devouring ability was that it had no upper limit at all!
As long as things continued like this, with an endless supply of high-grade resources for him to devour and absorb, his strength and abilities would undergo endless, painless evolution!
One day, he could grow into the legendary world-destroying black dragon that devoured heaven and earth, bringing the twilight of the gods wherever he passed!
What excited him even more, in fact, was that this ability was not rigid. Instead, it allowed him to choose freely and exercise his creativity as he pleased.
He could direct his future evolution entirely according to his own will, developing terrifying abilities in countless variations!
Perhaps someday, a gentle flap of his wings would stir up not mere air currents, but annihilating gales capable of sweeping across the entire Douluo Continent and tearing through layer upon layer of space! Or perhaps, with a mere opening and closing of his slit pupils, he could orchestrate the birth and death of this world's living creatures.
"Crunch, crunch."
At that thought, Chen Qianqiu dared slack off even less. He found the medicinal herbs he had left unfinished and began tearing into them fiercely again.
"Xiao Hei, I have something to tell you!"
Seeing that her Xiao Hei was no longer sleeping and had become lively again, Qian Renxue smiled until her beautiful big eyes curved into crescents. Then, remembering the matter at hand, she cupped her cheeks in her hands and said with a hint of longing:
"In a couple of days, Grandpa is sending people to take me out to hunt Soul Beasts. He told me to pick two Soul Beasts I like from the catalog first, so they can become my Soul Rings!"
"Since you're awake now, come with us when the time comes! Please, Xiao Hei?"
"Absolutely!"
"Yay! Xiao Hei is the best!"
Chen Qianqiu swallowed the spirit herb in his mouth. There was really no other reason: this little rich girl had to remain in his sight at all times, or he would feel uneasy.
Turning around and noticing the open, creased Soul Beast encyclopedia still on the desk, Chen Qianqiu tapped the desktop with a claw and asked seriously:
"So, little blondie, what kind of Martial Soul do you want to absorb? Do you have any ideas yet?"
"You're being naughty, Xiao Hei! My name isn't little blondie! It's Qian Renxue. You can call me Xiao Xue!"
The little blondie protested, poking Chen Qianqiu's forehead before turning the book to the pages she had marked and pushing it in front of him.
"Here, Xiao Hei, look. What do you think of this one?"
Qian Renxue pointed at a lion wreathed in sacred radiance on the page and said with anticipation all over her face:
"A Brilliant Golden Holy Lion with four hundred years of cultivation! Not only is its age just right, right at the limit, but its light attribute is also a perfect match for my Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul!"
"Well? Don't I have a good eye?"
Chen Qianqiu took just one glance before shaking his head dismissively:
"No. Too weak."
Qian Renxue's little face fell. This was her first choice, one she had worked so hard and spent so long searching for!
But she did not lose heart. She hurriedly turned another page and pointed at a graceful sacred bird with pure white wings.
"Then... what about this one? A three-hundred-and-ninety-year-old Light Feather Kite! It's so pretty, and the Soul Skill it grants will most likely be an aerial combat or light-attribute assault type. Very practical!"
"No."
Chen Qianqiu could not even be bothered to spare it another glance and kept shaking his head.
After several of her favorites were rejected in succession, Qian Renxue could not help pouting:
"This one's no good, that one's no good. You're so picky, Xiao Hei."
Seeing little Qian Renxue floundering like a headless fly, Chen Qianqiu pressed a claw onto the book and snapped it shut with a smack, unable to resist asking:
"Little blondie... no, Xiao Xue, why are all the ones you keep picking Hundred-Year Soul Beasts? Shouldn't children your age like trying something challenging?"
"Because that's what the book says!"
Qian Renxue puffed out her little chest and solemnly, earnestly recited the knowledge she had learned while following her elders around.
"Grandpa and the worshippers all said that the theoretical age limit a Soul Master can withstand for their first Soul Ring is four hundred and twenty-three years, and for their second Soul Ring, it's seven hundred and sixty-four years!"
"If you force yourself to absorb a Soul Ring beyond your level, the Soul Beast's berserk power could very well burst your body outright! It's too dangerous!"
He finally understood how Qian Renxue had ended up with that lousy Soul Ring Configuration in the original story. That old man Qian Daoliu probably thought the same way!
Chen Qianqiu could not help inwardly unleashing a torrent of complaints. Qian Daoliu, a level-ninety-nine Peerless Douluo himself, was still far too arrogant.
He probably thought that with him holding the fort at Spirit Hall and the entire Worship Hall providing assistance, Qian Renxue attaining the divine position of the Angel God was already nailed to the board. It was only a matter of sooner or later.
Was that why he could bear to let Qian Renxue waste her youth going undercover, and why he would rather have her rigidly wear two Hundred-Year Soul Rings than let his precious granddaughter take the slightest risk?
All this was hardly... and it did indeed come true in the future. Of course, it would have been even better if the Shrek Seven Devils had never appeared...
His thoughts had strayed too far. Whatever the case, with him around, Qian Renxue absolutely could not absorb two yellow lumps onto herself.
At that thought, Chen Qianqiu raised his upper body, appealing to both reason and emotion:
"Xiao Xue, what those books say is meant for ordinary people. You clearly don't fall within their scope!"
"You have innate full Soul Power of level twenty, dazzling across the ages. I dare guarantee that, in talent alone, nobody can match you. Since that's the case, why use those lousy rules to shackle yourself?"
These earth-shattering statements left Qian Renxue stunned. Her big eyes blinked, and for a moment, his spiel actually left her unable to find a reason to argue back. How strange. Xiao Hei clearly wasn't human, so why couldn't she win an argument against him?
"But Xiao Hei, Grandpa definitely won't agree to let me act so recklessly."
An opening! Seeing Qian Renxue waver, Chen Qianqiu immediately struck while the iron was hot.
"Don't worry! Your grandpa doesn't need to know at all."
Chen Qianqiu took a step forward and continued his spiel with solemn assurances:
"As long as you dare choose a thousand-year purple Soul Ring as your first Soul Ring, I guarantee you'll be completely unharmed! I can tell you a little about my ability: devouring. With me around, those Soul Rings will have no choice but to obediently let you absorb them."
"Think about it. If you successfully absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Beast for your first Soul Ring, wouldn't you be the first person in recorded history? How impressive would that be!"
At those words, Qian Renxue's hesitant expression immediately turned resolute.