Meng Hongchen wanted to refuse.
These were two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones!
Even in the Douluo Three Kingdoms, Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones were treasures one could encounter but never seek out. The factions that possessed Soul Bones of this level could be counted on two hands.
In the Sun Moon Empire, they were rarer still.
This was also the Douluo Three Kingdoms' most absolute advantage over the Sun Moon Empire. The number of Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones the Sun Moon Empire possessed was nearly equal to the number of Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shells the Douluo Three Kingdoms possessed.
How many Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shells could the Douluo Three Kingdoms have?
Two?
Three?
They could be counted on one hand.
Likewise, in the Sun Moon Empire, where Soul Masters were not particularly prevalent, there were hardly any Soul Engineers capable of absorbing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring as their ninth. Naturally, there were few Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones to pass down.
Even if one scoured the entire Sun Moon Empire, finding five Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones would be a tall order.
Although this did not mean they could not find or hunt Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, they truly did not possess many treasures of this level, and under normal circumstances, they would not go looking for trouble with Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
Meng Hongchen already held a high position in the Sun Moon Empire. With Jing Hongchen backing her, she had seen more than ten Level 9 Soul Tools, yet even she had never seen a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone before.
Yet Ming Zhao had brought out treasures of which there were only a few in the entire Sun Moon Empire, and given them to her as a gift.
Out of her love for him, Meng Hongchen's first thought was to refuse.
She should not accept something so precious from Ming Zhao.
"Don't refuse." Ming Zhao stopped her before she could say what she was about to. "Think of your brother and your grandfather. You gave yourself to me today. If I don't show some sincerity, do you think they'll agree?"
At Ming Zhao's words, the refusal Meng Hongchen had been about to voice caught in her throat.
Would they?
They really might!
She had given herself to Ming Zhao just like that. Although she did not think her decision was rash, in the eyes of her brother Xiao Hongchen and her grandfather Jing Hongchen, it would surely be considered irrational. They might even think Ming Zhao had deceived her with honeyed words.
With treasures like these, the first thing she could prove was Ming Zhao's sincerity and how much he valued her.
It was like taking two Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shells to Xu Jiawei as betrothal gifts to ask for someone's hand. Whatever the final result, the gesture would certainly be full of sincerity. Even if the proposal failed, it would not end with the air thick with the smell of gunpowder.
So Meng Hongchen fell silent, her face full of conflict.
She had only just begun absorbing the Evil Path Gene, and her way of thinking had yet to start changing to match Ming Zhao's. Jing Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen still held a very important place in her heart.
She could not disregard her brother's and grandfather's wishes entirely.
"If nothing unexpected happens, there's a fairly good chance these two Soul Bones will transform your ice and fire attributes into Ultimate attributes," Ming Zhao added after some thought.
"Even if they don't reach the Ultimate level, they can greatly increase the strength of your Martial Soul's attributes, and there's also a small chance they can evolve your Martial Soul."
The Blazing Glue produced by the Infernal Delicate Apricot had been enough to completely turn Ma Xiaotao's attribute into Ultimate Fire. In Ming Zhao's view, a Soul Bone was certainly more important than the essence of an Immortal Herb, and its effects would definitely be stronger.
The reason Ma Xiaotao had attained Ultimate Fire was complicated. Before turning dark, she had Evil Fire; afterward, she had pseudo-Ultimate Dark Ultimate Fire. After Huo Yuhao purified her, she fell from the Ultimate level, only for Blazing Glue to push her back up.
Although neither Meng Hongchen's fire attribute nor her ice attribute was particularly strong on its own, with the help of Soul Bone power stronger than the essence of an Immortal Herb-and from two Hundred-Thousand-Year Immortal Herb Soul Bones at that-it was still possible to push her attributes to the Ultimate level.
At worst, they could reach the pseudo-Ultimate level.
"Then... Brother Ming, I'll accept this gift." Meng Hongchen lowered her head and gave Ming Zhao a light peck on the lips, then put the Soul Bones away in her necklace.
After some thought, she decided to give Ming Zhao something in return.
Although she had not brought any top-tier Soul Tools with her because she was not strong enough, Meng Hongchen did have some Soul Tools that could just about compare to Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones.
First, she brushed a hand lightly over her snow-white chest and used her Soul Power to remove a translucent membrane from her skin. Once it became visible, the membrane swiftly turned into a dark-gold metal sheet as thin as a cicada's wing, its surface covered in countless intricate formation patterns.
"Brother, this is Red Dust Protection. My grandfather gave it to me for self-defense. It's a Level 9 Defensive Soul Tool, and Little Meng wants to give it to you..." Meng Hongchen placed Red Dust Protection in Ming Zhao's hand and slowly explained its functions in a gentle voice.
Ming Zhao did not take it. Instead, he pressed Red Dust Protection back onto Meng Hongchen's chest and gave one of her milky-white breasts a casual squeeze.
"Save the return gift until I go to Mingdu. This is the shield you use to protect yourself, so keep it," Ming Zhao said, shaking his head.
Jing Hongchen could casually produce a Red Dust Protection as a ticket into the Sea God Pavilion, so he surely had spares to protect his own grandson and granddaughter. Xiao Hongchen probably had an identical one on him too.
Although Red Dust Protection was good, it would be of very limited help to Ming Zhao as he was now.
Rather than take Meng Hongchen's Red Dust Protection and increase the chance of this god's chosen of desire encountering danger, he might as well leave it with her and raid Jing Hongchen's treasury when he went to Mingdu.
He had no intention of going straight back to Mingdu with Meng Hongchen. The Evil Path Gene needed time to take root and sprout, and Ming Zhao also needed to find time to nurture the two Fallen Angels and, while he was at it, look for suitable god's chosen for the other four vacant deadly sins.
Meng Hongchen reaching Mingdu safely was far more important than getting a Level 9 Soul Tool.
Besides...
Meng Hongchen herself was already his. For every item he took from her, he would take one less from Jing Hongchen. At that rate, when would he ever clean Jing Hongchen out?
But Meng Hongchen, unaware of Ming Zhao's thoughts, merely pouted, looking a little disappointed and aggrieved.
She had accepted Ming Zhao's gifts, yet he was unwilling to accept hers, and that made her a little sad.
But the very next moment, Meng Hongchen could no longer feel sad.
A vast surge of Soul Power swept toward Meng Hongchen and enveloped her, lifting her whole body into the air. Her eyes widened and she cried out repeatedly. The weightless sensation of floating in the air made her especially nervous, but that nervousness also brought her a wild thrill like riding a roller coaster.
Flight...
It had always been the ultimate fantasy of creatures bound to the ground, and with Ming Zhao's Soul Power holding her aloft, Meng Hongchen finally experienced what it felt like to fly.
Outside the window, the setting sun, which should have sunk behind the western mountains, refused to set for a long time for some reason. Its dusky yellow light streamed through the hotel window and spilled into the room.
Only when Meng Hongchen grew a little tired from flying did Ming Zhao withdraw his Soul Power, letting her exhausted body settle onto the bed, where she fell into a deep sleep with a satisfied smile.