"Besides, the effect of his mutated Beast Martial Soul on his body is too severe. One careless mistake, and if his Beast Martial Soul is damaged, he won't survive either."
"If he'd cultivated his Beast Martial Soul from the beginning, it would have been fine. The price would merely have been losing his Tool Martial Soul. But now, his Tool Martial Soul has been nourished by Soul Ring energy and grown stronger, breaking the balance that had kept them locked in a stalemate."
"If his Tool Martial Soul keeps growing stronger through cultivation, whenever his Beast Martial Soul gets devoured... no, as soon as more than half of his Beast Martial Soul is devoured, he won't survive."
"..."
"Then what about helping his Beast Martial Soul grow stronger without damaging his Tool Martial Soul, and having it devour his Tool Martial Soul instead?" Qian Renxue asked.
"Abandon this Tool Martial Soul and switch to cultivating his Beast Martial Soul from now on."
Qian Daoliu thought for a moment, but still shook his head. "I'm afraid that won't work either."
"Why?" Qian Renxue asked in confusion.
"Both of his Martial Souls are too vicious," Qian Daoliu said.
"His Tool Martial Soul devours the Soul Master himself as he cultivates it, and his Beast Martial Soul is much the same."
"The only reason this boy is still alive is that his willpower is strong enough to suppress his Beast Martial Soul's rebellion. Otherwise... he'd have died long ago."
"Rebellion..." Qian Renxue couldn't help recalling what she had previously learned from Dugu Yan: after awakening, Xuan Ming's Beast Martial Soul had once rebelled, only settling down after a fight.
If this Black Dragon Martial Soul devoured the Blood Spear Martial Soul and became stronger than before, Xuan Ming would still face certain death if he couldn't suppress it.
When Xuan Ming had chosen to cultivate his Tool Martial Soul first, he had probably also been worried that the Black Dragon Martial Soul would turn on its master again after growing stronger.
"One devours his own body, and the other turns on its master. Of these two Martial Souls, each is more dangerous than the last," Qian Daoliu said.
"Perhaps that fused portion was protecting him from the very beginning."
With the Martial Souls fused together, Soul Power couldn't flow normally, and the Martial Souls' power couldn't truly be unleashed.
Ever since his Soul Power began circulating, the Blood Spear Martial Soul had started devouring Xuan Ming himself, forcing him to cultivate and grow stronger. The risk of the Black Dragon Martial Soul turning on its master was too high. By comparison, cultivating the Blood Spear first was his only safer choice.
But once the Blood Spear grew stronger, it would devour the Black Dragon Martial Soul...
Every choice was wrong!
Qian Daoliu sighed. "If he hadn't broken that fused portion, if his Martial Souls' power hadn't truly been activated, he could at least have lived as an ordinary person..."
"He had no other choice," Qian Renxue said.
If Xuan Ming hadn't activated his Martial Souls, he would have died right there.
Not one step that had brought him here had been his to choose.
If he didn't move forward, he would die!
"..."
"Is there really no way?" Qian Renxue asked.
Qian Daoliu shook his head. "I don't know much about Twin Martial Souls. His situation is too unusual..."
"Bibi Dong might have a solution."
"Her?" Qian Renxue's brows knitted tightly.
"Bibi Dong has Twin Martial Souls, and she's the first person to successfully cultivate them. No one understands Twin Martial Souls better than she does," Qian Daoliu said.
"Before Golden Crocodile went to seize him, he spoke to Bibi Dong first. She merely said a few words and didn't even seem inclined to stop him."
"Letting him go so easily means she already understood this child's condition."
"But now, she's come to the Worship Hall to demand him from me..."
If she had no solution, Bibi Dong wouldn't risk coming into conflict with him!
"The choice is yours," Qian Daoliu said.
"If he stays, this boy has little chance of survival. If we hand him over to Bibi Dong, he should survive, but..."
Qian Daoliu sighed and, without saying anything more, walked out of the Worship Hall.
"Have you figured it out, Great Enshrined?"
Seeing that something was off with Qian Daoliu's mood, Bibi Dong couldn't help feeling puzzled.
With Qian Daoliu's abilities, did he need this long to understand Xuan Ming's condition?
"Great Enshrined, what's wrong?" Golden Crocodile Douluo asked in confusion.
"The situation is rather complicated," Qian Daoliu said.
"It depends on what Xiao Xue chooses."
If Qian Renxue would rather destroy him than hand him over to Bibi Dong, that boy would die here today.
"..."
Time ticked by. Qian Daoliu said nothing more, and Bibi Dong roughly guessed the reason.
Qian Renxue had returned from Heaven Dou City and was inside the Worship Hall right now.
After another long while, the doors of the Worship Hall opened again, and Qian Renxue walked out.
"Can you resolve this?" Qian Renxue asked.
"I don't have as much time to spare as you do. I wouldn't waste time on something beyond saving," Bibi Dong said.
"Once his problem is resolved, he's mine," Qian Renxue said.
Bibi Dong froze. "Do you want to listen to what you're saying?"
"That's my condition," Qian Renxue said.
"I captured him first."
"Then let's see what the Great Enshrined can do." Bibi Dong said no more, turning to leave.
Xuan Ming's problem was troublesome, even for her!
If that boy's potential hadn't been worth the effort, she would have had no interest in getting involved.
But if she had to hand him over afterward, to Qian Renxue, after all her effort, that was a pipe dream!
"Wait!" Qian Renxue called out.
"After you resolve his problem, send him back to Heaven Dou City to help me carry out my plans afterward."
Bibi Dong stopped but gave no response.
"Don't tell me you don't even have that much confidence," Qian Renxue said.
With her back to Qian Renxue, Bibi Dong said, "Your little attempt to goad me is like children playing house."
"Then do you agree?" Qian Renxue asked.
"And if I don't?" Bibi Dong asked in return.
"If you intend to keep him in Spirit City, he won't survive," Qian Renxue said.
"Neither will Hu Liena!"
"You!" Bibi Dong turned around and looked at Qian Renxue with cold eyes.
Qian Renxue's expression didn't change. "Do you agree or not?"
"..."
"Send him back down exactly the way he was brought up."
With that, Bibi Dong turned around and vanished from the spot.
Qian Renxue clenched her fists, her expression growing somewhat complicated.
In the end, she had still only yielded because of Hu Liena...
"Xiao Xue, do you really intend to reveal your identity to that boy?" Qian Daoliu asked.
"That might be ill-advised. His first impression of Spirit Hall, and of us in particular, is terrible."
It might have been fine before, but after everything today-first getting taught a lesson by Golden Crocodile, then being knocked unconscious by him-on top of what had happened previously...
Honestly, even using Xue Qinghe's identity would be more suitable than Qian Renxue's.
"No matter how clever and precocious he is, he's still just a child. Once we're in Heaven Dou City, I'll have plenty of time and opportunities to resolve these problems," Qian Renxue said.
"What if you can't?" Qian Daoliu asked.
"Grandpa, are you doubting my abilities?" Qian Renxue asked in return.
"..." Qian Daoliu was speechless.
I think you're far too confident!
With a sigh, Qian Daoliu said nothing more and turned to return to the Angel Temple.
Ultimately, Qian Renxue would have to grow through these things herself...
Chapter 47: She Didn't Seem Very Smart
"You're awake?"
Hearing an unfamiliar female voice, Xuan Ming groggily opened his eyes and sat up. A woman who looked fourteen or fifteen stood before him, wearing a long golden court dress, her eyes golden.
"..."
"What kind of look is that?" Qian Renxue's expression grew somewhat unnatural.
She had even planned how to hoodwink a child astonished by his first meeting with a pretty older sister, yet there wasn't the slightest trace of admiration in this fellow's eyes. Instead, they were filled with coldness!
Was this how the story was supposed to go?
Xuan Ming looked around and found that he had already left the Worship Hall and been brought to a new room.
"This is where I used to live," Qian Renxue said.
"You can live here from now on, too."
"For a grave, it's a little too bright," Xuan Ming said.
Qian Renxue's expression stiffened. "This isn't a grave. It's a place to live."
"Isn't a place where the dead live a grave?" Xuan Ming said.
Qian Renxue took a deep breath. "Did I ever say I wanted you dead?"
Why hadn't she noticed before how infuriating this fellow was when he spoke?
"Then why did you capture me and bring me here?" Xuan Ming asked.
"I didn't capture you. A friend asked me to save you," Qian Renxue said.
"A friend? Who?" Xuan Ming asked.
"Xue Qinghe," Qian Renxue said.
"He contacted me and said you'd been abducted by a Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall, and asked me to rescue you."
"And who are you?" Xuan Ming asked.
"Qian Renxue. The Great Enshrined you met just now is my grandfather," Qian Renxue said.
"He's a prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. How does he know you?" Xuan Ming asked.
"What if I told you that the eldest prince, Xue Qinghe, pledged allegiance to Spirit Hall long ago?" Qian Renxue said.
"..."
Xuan Ming said nothing more, quietly listening to Qian Renxue spin her tale.
"I know you can't understand why Xue Qinghe would pledge allegiance to Spirit Hall." Qian Renxue clasped her hands behind her back and turned around.
"The two great empires have waged war year after year. Common people are often driven from their homes, living amid deep waters and scorching flames, unable to make a living. If Spirit Hall hadn't done everything it could to mediate, the continent would probably have long since been ravaged by the flames of war, its people plunged into misery."
"Unfortunately, internal strife never ceases within the Heaven Dou Empire. Factional struggles rage at court, the various kingdoms each harbor their own designs, and Heaven Dou's national strength weakens by the day. At this rate, within a hundred years, the Heaven Dou Empire will completely lose the strength to contend with the Star Luo Empire."
"When that time comes..."
Qian Renxue turned around and looked at Xuan Ming.