Knowing Jing Shanshan as she did, Qian Renxue suppressed her impatience, keeping a cautious sense of restraint in her tone.
Just as she had expected, Jing Shanshan answered her question.
"Your grandfather knows."
Jing Shanshan's gaze fell on the book, and he did not feel in the slightest that he had done anything unimaginable.
Qian Renxue fell silent for a moment. She instinctively wanted to ask, "And then?" but keenly sensed that Jing Shanshan had no intention of continuing.
She had the sense not to press him, lest she offend this child, the only one who could change the future. Silently swallowing her questions, she pondered that sentence alone.
Grandfather knows.
Qian Daoliu was Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined, the head of the Angel Clan, and a level 99 Titled Douluo. He was certainly no fool.
Knowing her grandfather, there was no way he would remain unmoved after learning that his granddaughter's consciousness was inside someone else's martial soul.
Yet this child did not seem to be under any restrictions. Surely her grandfather had not refrained from acting because he lacked absolute confidence in controlling a child who had only just awakened his martial soul!
Her grandfather must have had other plans.
If her grandfather had taken action, certain things must have changed dramatically.
Did that mean the future had definitely changed?
Qian Renxue could not be certain. Suppressing the turmoil in her heart, she asked in as steady a tone as she could manage.
"What year is it now?"
She only knew that Spirit Hall had not yet become the Spirit Hall Empire. If she knew the exact date, she could formulate corresponding plans more precisely.
"The year 2643 of the Douluo Calendar."
Jing Shanshan calmly put down one book and continued rapidly leafing through the next.
"To think it's this period! Wonderful!"
Qian Renxue was inwardly excited beyond measure.
According to the information she had uncovered, Tang San had joined Shrek Academy during this period.
If I could, during this period...
At that thought, Qian Renxue unconsciously clenched her fists, ruthlessness surging within her.
Kill Tang San before he grows stronger, and those future events won't happen!
In that case, two difficult problems stood before Qian Renxue.
If her information was correct, Tang San should currently have a level 95 Titled Douluo accompanying him.
And there was the question of how to persuade this child, Jing Shanshan, to do it.
Qian Renxue calculated rapidly in her mind, and time flew by without her noticing.
Only when Qian Renxue surfaced from the ocean of her thoughts did she realize that she was in Spirit Hall's central library.
At that thought, she turned her attention back to the outside world.
In a corner of Spirit Hall's central library, sunlight slanted through a high window, illuminating the title of the book Jing Shanshan had opened.
"Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul"
This was the most outstanding work of Yu Xiaogang, the man known as the theoretical Grandmaster.
Qian Renxue watched Jing Shanshan carefully scan the book at speed, then nod in apparent approval and mutter to himself.
"Not bad. A summary of some of the books here. That saves this king quite a bit of trouble."
Hearing Jing Shanshan's words, Qian Renxue nodded in agreement.
Wasn't that so?
Yu Xiaogang was respectfully called the theoretical Grandmaster by people across the continent. Most importantly, he would eventually teach Tang San, who attained dual godhood.
At that thought, Qian Renxue seemed to have the beginnings of an idea.
Killing Tang San, who had a level 95 Titled Douluo protecting him, would be difficult. But what about Yu Xiaogang?
Despite his current, incredibly impressive-sounding title of "theoretical Grandmaster," Yu Xiaogang's fighting strength was merely that of a fifty-year-old piece of trash who had not even reached level 30.
However she looked at it, Yu Xiaogang would be easier to deal with.
If Yu Xiaogang were killed, would Tang San still grow to achieve the accomplishments she knew?
Jing Shanshan had read many books without finding what he wanted, and he felt somewhat unhappy.
Even in this book, hailed by the Soul Master World as "unrivaled in theory," Jing Shanshan had not found what he wanted to read.
Jing Shanshan casually set the book on the pile beside him, which had already grown into a small mountain.
His surroundings were quiet, with only the occasional rustle of turning pages and the faint sound of parchment rubbing together as a librarian organized the shelves in the distance.
Looking up information one book at a time like this would only waste a great deal of time, seriously delaying his understanding of martial souls and his efforts to improve his strength.
Qian Renxue's attention was now entirely on Jing Shanshan, and she caught that fleeting fluctuation in his emotions.
She looked at the books piled to one side. The moment she saw their titles, she roughly understood what Jing Shanshan had been reading.
Almost all of them concerned martial souls.
Coupled with the fact that this child had yet to obtain a soul ring, Qian Renxue easily guessed his purpose. This was naturally an opportunity to draw closer to him in a natural way, and she would not miss it!
"You're reading material about martial souls? Preparing for your first soul ring?"
Qian Renxue deliberately softened her tone.
Jing Shanshan did not answer immediately. His gaze lingered on the page for a moment before he finally nodded.
Jing Shanshan inwardly felt that asking others for help as a king would diminish his kingly swagger a little. It would let Qian Renxue discover his two different faces.
But so what? That was no problem at all!
From his observations over this period, Qian Renxue simply could not contact the outside world without him!
As long as he, Jing Shanshan, kept his mouth shut, no one else would know.
At that thought, Jing Shanshan closed the book and leaned back against the bookshelf, his tone carrying a calm, analytical quality that did not belong to a twelve-year-old child.
"This king has twin martial souls. My second martial soul is the Gate of Babylon."
So that greatsword is actually called the Gate of Babylon!
That doesn't quite match the martial soul's appearance!
Qian Renxue nodded. When Jing Shanshan had made his ostentatious entrance into Spirit Hall's headquarters, she had seen that enormous sword dissipating in midair.
Qian Renxue could not help studying Jing Shanshan.
After all, damage to a martial soul would cause severe backlash injuries to the Soul Master themselves.
His martial soul had clearly been damaged to that extent, yet he seemed perfectly fine?
Was this the advantage of twin martial souls?
Even if one martial soul was damaged, it would not have much effect on the person themselves.
At that thought, Qian Renxue considered her understanding of twin martial souls to have deepened.
Although Jing Shanshan could convey what he wanted to express simply by thinking it, he unconsciously lowered his voice.
"But I've noticed three problems with this martial soul at present."
He raised one finger.
"First, my soul power is too low. This king can't take out most of the powerful martial souls in the Gate of Babylon at all right now. That's easy enough to handle. I just need to increase my soul power."
Qian Renxue nodded, then her thoughts stalled. Somehow, something felt wrong.
What does he mean, most of the powerful martial souls? Can that greatsword store things too?
Even so, don't phrase it in a way that makes people mistakenly think you have lots of martial souls!
Jing Shanshan raised a second finger.
"Second, this king's fighting style could be described as simple, brutal, and efficient.
"Summoning one or two martial souls doesn't consume much. Earlier, this king hurled hundreds, nearly a thousand martial souls at those Spirit Hall gatekeepers, and used dozens of support-type martial souls to absorb that redhead's flames.
"This king discovered something. Every time, the soul power consumption was absurd."
Qian Renxue: ???
Was something wrong with her ears?
No, she didn't need ears to hear in her current state!
Hundreds, nearly a thousand martial souls? Dozens of support-type martial souls? A redhead's flames?
What on earth was all this?!
Jing Shanshan paused.
"Increasing my soul power won't solve this problem either. As my soul power level rises, the martial souls' might increases. As their might increases, their consumption rises along with it. It's much like a boat on water. When the water rises, the boat rises too."
Jing Shanshan vaguely sensed that the consciousness in his first martial soul had fallen into a contemplative daze, and nodded in satisfaction.
He raised a third finger.
"Third, this king only has a general understanding of the martial souls inside the Gate of Babylon.
"To know exactly how many martial souls there are, this king would have to count them one by one. Some martial souls might be lying there without this king even knowing about them.
"As for the precise details of their effects, I have to take them out and use them to find out. Testing every martial soul inside would waste time. That's also why this king came to Spirit Hall's library to look through the material.
"To see whether there are records of martial souls similar to the Gate of Babylon, how those who came before selected their soul rings, and how to give every martial soul within the Gate of Babylon the soul rings best suited to it."
Having finished, he looked out the window, his tone level.
"Those are this king's current troubles."
After listening, Qian Renxue remained silent for several seconds.
Her first thought was that water had gotten into this child's brain again.
Just listen to what this child is saying.
Twin martial souls were rare to begin with, but she had seen them and could understand them.
But the abilities of this second martial soul, the Gate of Babylon...
He was simply spouting nonsense, telling barefaced lies with his eyes wide open!