Choice
After persuading Huo Yuhao, Xiao Qiang and Huo Yuhao quickly arrived at the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Seeing the Star Dou Great Forest, Huo Yuhao could not hide the excitement in his eyes. He could sense that here, he would become a Spirit Master, a respected Spirit Master.
His pace inevitably quickened, but at that exact moment, the number one divine beast of Douroland—the Wind Baboon that had almost single-handedly accomplished the feat of slaying a god—suddenly appeared, lunging fiercely at Huo Yuhao.
In the original story, Huo Yuhao had nearly lost half his life trying to kill it, but because Xiao Qiang was here this time, Huo Yuhao did not need to fight for his life against a ten-year Wind Baboon.
The Sharingan, which far surpassed Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes, allowed Xiao Qiang to clearly spot the Wind Baboon's location while it was still a long distance away from Huo Yuhao.
As the Wind Baboon closed in on Huo Yuhao, Xiao Qiang channeled his Soul Power into a Soul Tool, and a flying blade instantly materialized in his hand.
The movements of the Wind Baboon were captured with absolute clarity by the Sharingan. With a flick of Xiao Qiang's wrist, the flying blade was hurled forward, piercing cleanly through the Wind Baboon's eye and embedding itself deep into its brain.
The Wind Baboon collapsed instantly, and a glowing white halo slowly drifted out from its body—a ten-year Soul Ring native to the Douro Continent.
Watching the Wind Baboon—which had been menacing just moments ago—get killed instantly by Xiao Qiang in a single blow, Huo Yuhao, who had never slain a Soul Beast before, stumbled backward to the ground in terror.
He had a premonition that if he were the one facing this Soul Beast, even if he managed to kill it by sheer luck, he would likely not escape without severe injuries.
And looking at that white Soul Ring, even though Huo Yuhao didn't know much about Soul Rings and Soul Beasts, he knew clearly that this was the weakest kind of Soul Beast: a ten-year beast.
At that moment, he couldn't help feeling fortunate that Xiao Qiang was by his side and had agreed to help him obtain a Soul Ring. If Xiao Qiang hadn't been here, he probably would have had to bite the bullet and absorb this ten-year Soul Ring.
After all, based on his assessment of his own strength and the strength of this Soul Beast, Huo Yuhao figured that even if he managed to defeat this ten-year beast, he would likely have no energy left to venture deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.
In that case, unless a Soul Beast happened to cross his path and insist on becoming his Soul Ring, he would have no capability whatsoever to acquire a second Soul Ring on his own.
Yet, for a Soul Beast to suddenly seek him out and demand to become his Soul Ring—how could such a thing ever happen?
"Thank you, Big Brother Lie Feiyu."
"Don't mention it."
Xiao Qiang wiped the flying blade clean and put it away. Just then, a voice suddenly echoed directly in the minds of both Xiao Qiang and Huo Yuhao.
"Finally, I've run into two humans with spiritual attributes! What a pity brother doesn't shed tears, otherwise brother would definitely be weeping buckets right now!"
Huo Yuhao was startled, but Xiao Qiang, knowing what was going on, remained relatively calm.
As Tianmeng burst out from the ground, Xiao Qiang quietly stepped in front of Huo Yuhao, shielding him behind his back.
"Th-th-th-this... what kind of Soul Beast is this?"
Looking at that enormous form, Huo Yuhao's legs turned somewhat weak from fright.
He didn't know what kind of Soul Beast the Tianmeng Ice Worm was, nor did he know its age, but that colossal body, along with the immense spiritual power he could feel as a spiritual-attribute user, was more than enough to instill terror in Huo Yuhao.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Brother isn't going to hurt you. We'll talk about certain things later; let brother check out your talents first."
While Huo Yuhao was trembling with fear, the earlier voice resounded once more in the minds of both Huo Yuhao and Xiao Qiang. Then, the gigantic Tianmeng Ice Worm began to appraise the two of them.
Normally, if the Tianmeng Ice Worm wanted to find someone who could become a god in the future and bring him eternal life, he would undoubtedly choose the person with higher talent and greater strength.
Huo Yuhao: eleven years old, Rank 10 Soul Power, with completely blocked meridians throughout his body.
Xiao Qiang: fourteen years old, Rank 30 Soul Power, with meridians vastly superior to Huo Yuhao's in every possible way, and his first two Soul Rings were century-old rings, with the age of the second ring even exceeding seven hundred years.
Normally, no matter what was tested, Xiao Qiang would utterly crush Huo Yuhao across the board. But the Child of Fortune simply defied all logic.
Even though Tianmeng's spiritual power could already sense that Xiao Qiang's talent far surpassed Huo Yuhao's—and reason told Tianmeng that choosing Xiao Qiang would yield a better result—at this very moment, Tianmeng clearly showed signs of hesitation.
Xiao Qiang thought to himself that this was bad, but fortunately, he knew that sometimes the Child of Fortune operated outside of logic, so he had prepared in advance.
While the Tianmeng Ice Worm hesitated, Xiao Qiang swiftly pulled out a stationary-guided flying Soul Tool and strapped it onto Huo Yuhao.
This was a contingency plan Xiao Qiang had made ever since his first trip to the Star Dou Great Forest to acquire the Tianmeng Ice Worm had failed.
Having read the original work, Xiao Qiang knew that Beibei and Tang Ya would arrive before long and try to kill Huo Yuhao directly, leaving Tianmeng with only a single choice—which would indeed solve the current problem.
However, when Beibei and Tang Ya showed up, Xiao Qiang would most likely end up in a conflict with them over Huo Yuhao.
Beibei and Tang Ya weren't particularly terrifying; once he acquired Tianmeng, with the power of Tianmeng's single finger, those two could be dealt with in a flash.
The real issue was Beibei's identity. As the great-grandson of Mu En, the current Pavilion Master of the Sea God's Pavilion, would he really travel without a single bodyguard by his side?
Especially for something like hunting Soul Rings in the Star Dou Great Forest, dispatching a Spirit Saint or a Spirit Douro to protect him from the shadows was something that wouldn't even require Elder Mu to speak a word.
Therefore, facing Beibei and Tang Ya, Xiao Qiang knew he must never come into direct conflict with them.
As for Huo Yuhao's life or death, Xiao Qiang had intended to get rid of him from the very beginning. As someone who would most likely participate in the Battle of Changping as a citizen of Zhao, should he choose to let Bai Qi grow simply because Bai Qi's childhood was somewhat tragic?
The conflict between the two sides was irreconcilable; it was a situation of either you die or I live. Xiao Qiang understood that even if this matter might leave a guilty burden in his heart in the future, he had to do it.
Thus, Xiao Qiang took out his self-made flying Soul Tool. Its power source was similar to a lithium battery—except that while lithium batteries had a certain probability of exploding, Huo Yuhao's flying Soul Tool energy source was guaranteed to blow.
"This is a stationary-guided flying Soul Tool. Press the red button and it will give you forward propulsion; pull the zipper on the left and it will make you fly left, pull the zipper on the right and it will make you fly right."
"This Soul Beast is at least at the millennium level. I can manage on my own, but if I have to look after you, neither of us will get away. So you need to leave as fast as you can."
As Xiao Qiang spoke, his first spirit ability, Psychological Suggestion, activated to stimulate Huo Yuhao's survival instinct. He then pressed the red button on Huo Yuhao's flying Soul Tool, and within a few breaths, Huo Yuhao vanished from the field of vision of both Tianmeng and Xiao Qiang.
"Agh, agh, agh!!!"
Just as the Tianmeng Ice Worm was deep in thought, one of the two options was suddenly swept away by a Soul Tool, instantly turning the original two choices into the sole remaining option from the original story.
Only this time, the sole option for the Tianmeng Ice Worm wasn't Huo Yuhao.
"Don't even think about chasing after him."
Xiao Qiang gripped his flying blade, staring fixedly at the Tianmeng Ice Worm—playing his part to the absolute hilt.
Tianmeng Ice Worm: "..."
What was going on here? He was having a nice, peaceful choice between two options, so how did it suddenly become a single option? Although the human standing before him was stronger in strength, possessed higher talent, boasted superior physical fitness, and had more Soul Power, the one from just a moment ago seemed a lot more...
Hmm? Wait a minute! The Tianmeng Ice Worm was suddenly jolted by its own thoughts. Clearly, the human right in front of him had vastly superior talent and physical constitution, and his plan to become a god required someone with greater talent.
Yet, just now, he had hesitated between two humans with an obvious gap in talent, and had even wanted to become the intelligent Soul Ring of the one with the vastly inferior talent. That seemed a bit out of character for how he usually operated, didn't it? Why did that thought suddenly pop up just now? The Tianmeng Ice Worm had no idea, nor did it have the time to ponder it deeply. Being hunted down by the Soul Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest and left with only one choice, it was now impossible for him to go out of his way to find Huo Yuhao, whose talent was clearly several tiers below Xiao Qiang's.
Theoretically, Xiao Qiang was a much better fit for him, and right now he had no other choices. Since that was the case...
The Tianmeng Ice Worm looked deep into the Star Dou Great Forest with its massive head, and then, without any further hesitation, looked at Xiao Qiang and said, "Don't be afraid. Brother will be gentle; I won't hurt you too much."
Xiao Qiang: "..." What kind of aggressive pickup line was that? Before Xiao Qiang could say anything, the Tianmeng Ice Worm closed in, and a powerful wave of spiritual power poured straight into Xiao Qiang's body, preparing to become Xiao Qiang's Third Soul Ring.
"Too weak, too weak! Even though he's stronger than the previous human, he's still way too weak. With a body this weak, how many seals is brother going to have to add to himself? Brother has it so miserable; being an intelligent Soul Ring is really no easy job."
The Tianmeng Ice Worm went through the exact same motions as in the original story, uttering nearly identical words—except that this time, there was no Yilixisi to fight the Tianmeng Ice Worm for control of the body.
The reason Huo Yuhao was considered a protagonist with a cheat was because he was the Child of Fortune of this era, whereas Tianmeng was hijacked because of Xiao Qiang's meticulous planning, anticipating various possibilities that might occur in advance, coupled with the fact that Tianmeng still had a physical form at the start.
As for Yilixisi, that was beyond the scope of Xiao Qiang's planning. Setting aside the fact that the moment he acquired Tianmeng, Xiao Qiang was bound to pass out, even if he hadn't fainted, the nature of a lingering soul like Yilixisi was not something Xiao Qiang could capture.
Knowing this full well, Xiao Qiang regained consciousness within his Spiritual Sea, waited for a moment, and upon discovering no sign of Yilixisi's little black orb, let out a helpless sigh and accepted it.
Trying to compete in fortune with the Child of Fortune—managing to acquire a Tianmeng was already the absolute limit. Although in a sense, it was just hitting the pity system, even this pity pull was enough for Xiao Qiang to reach the level of a Limit Douro.
His current state was already the best possible outcome he could achieve.
"You're awake! I've already helped you expand your Spiritual Sea to its peak. When your strength grows a bit more, you should be able to expand it again—though by that time, it probably won't be appropriate to call it a Spiritual Sea anymore; calling it a Spiritual Abyss might be more fitting."
The Tianmeng Ice Worm walked up to Xiao Qiang and said. Xiao Qiang nodded in response. "Oh, thanks."
"You're welcome, this is all—wait! Why are you so calm?!"
The Tianmeng Ice Worm suddenly sensed that something wasn't right. Could it be that he had been played? Yet looking at Xiao Qiang's appearance of barely thirteen or fourteen years old, he didn't look like someone capable of plotting against him at all.
"Why am I so calm? If my consciousness is still around, there are only three possibilities: first, you can't kill me; second, you don't want to kill me; third, you haven't had time to kill me yet."
"Judging by the fact that you can speak, you are at least a hundred-thousand-year-level Soul Beast, so the first possibility doesn't exist. Since you were able to help expand my Spiritual Sea, I lean toward the second possibility. As for the third..."
"Against a Soul Beast above the hundred-thousand-year level, I have no ability to resist whatsoever. Since absolute resistance is impossible, doing anything else is meaningless. Of course, besides all that, there is one more crucial point."
Xiao Qiang pointed at his own eyes. At this moment, his originally single-tomoe Sharingan had transformed from a single tomoe into a double-tomoe Sharingan due to the immense spiritual energy brought by Tianmeng. "There are some things I don't quite understand either, but my eyes tell me that heading toward the Star Dou Great Forest is beneficial to me. I don't know the exact principle, but I choose to believe my own eyes, to believe my Martial Soul."
"Huh? Your Martial Soul can even let you steer clear of misfortune and secure good fortune?" The Tianmeng Ice Worm's eyes lit up. If that was the case, its choice of Xiao Qiang was spot on!
If Xiao Qiang's eyes could help him avoid danger and secure tangible benefits, steering clear of any perils he might face, then Tianmeng's god-creation plan would become a whole lot easier.
"Perhaps, but I can only occasionally see certain things, or rather, it gives me a certain intuition. I came to the Star Dou Great Forest based on that intuition. According to the feeling my Martial Soul gives me, we shouldn't be enemies, right?"
Xiao Qiang didn't overcommit with his words, leaving the rest to Tianmeng's imagination. Anyway, Tianmeng had no concrete evidence to prove that what Xiao Qiang said was false; on the contrary, the fact that Xiao Qiang had run into Tianmeng—and that Tianmeng was indeed bestowing benefits upon him—was undeniable.
"Hahaha, exactly! I am going to become your Third Soul Ring, and also the unprecedented intelligent Soul Ring."
"An intelligent Soul Ring?" Xiao Qiang cooperatively displayed a look of wonder, whereupon Tianmeng patiently explained to him what an intelligent Soul Ring was and how it had cultivated for a million years.
"A million-year Soul Beast! Four spirit abilities! And a future second Martial Soul! Big Brother Tianmeng, you are too amazing!"
Even though Xiao Qiang knew the whole story, playing his part thoroughly also meant maximizing Tianmeng's emotional value, just in case the Child of Fortune's luck suddenly exploded and made Tianmeng stubbornly want to switch to a new host.
"Hehehe, think nothing of it. Don't fall for brother; brother is just a legend."
Xiao Qiang: "..." What a vintage internet meme, though considering the era when *The Peerless Tang Clan* first came out, this meme was right at home.
"By the way, Big Brother Tianmeng, that second Martial Soul you mentioned—can we go get it right now?" Xiao Qiang asked. It wasn't that Xiao Qiang was in a rush for a second Martial Soul, but rather that he was in a rush for the Snow Emperor.
In the mid-to-late stages of the Sun Moon Empire, their high-end combat power truly crushed Shrek and the three original Douro nations, but that was the mid-to-late stages, and right now they were still in the early phase.
During the early stages of *The Peerless Tang Clan*, there was someone on Shrek's side whose strength was so great they could slip into Mingdetang without being discovered, possessing off-the-charts mobility.
If that person found out that Xiao Qiang was a twin-Martial-Soul user with Ultimate attributes, the high probability was that Xiao Qiang would be killed on the spot, and the low probability was that his consciousness would be erased and he would be taken back to Shrek as a breeding stud.
Under such circumstances, Xiao Qiang had to find himself an early-game bodyguard to protect him until the day Mu En breathed his last.
As for humans on this side, they were completely out of the question; the other two Limit Douro practically shared a pair of pants with Dragon God Douro Mu En.
Whether Kong Deming currently possessed the ability to fight the Dragon God Douro remained an unknown variable, and even if he did, he couldn't protect Xiao Qiang 24/7.
After much deliberation, Xiao Qiang could only think of the Snow Emperor, who had at least some distant connection to him and might potentially protect him.