9: Chapter 9.9: Qian Daoliu and Qian Renxue, as well as Yu Yuanzhen and Yu Tianheng

On the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, a spatial rift tore open with a "crack," followed by several dull thuds. Several figures slammed onto the ground like dumplings being dropped into a pot, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Lu Jing had the worst fall; when his butt hit the ground, he almost puked up his dinner from the night before. Grimacing in pain, he rubbed his lower back and looked up—Bei Bei was face-down in a bush, with only his legs kicking about outside.

The man in black was even more disheveled, his body half-stuck in a tree branch, his robe torn with several holes.

Wang Donger was relatively more presentable, at least she was lying on her side, though her light blue skirt was stained with quite a few mud spots.

"Damn it... where the hell did this dump us?" Lu Jing was dumbfounded.

Bei Bei finally managed to pull his head out of the bush, his face covered in dirt, his hair as messy as a bird's nest.

He spat out the dirt in his mouth and was just about to curse, but when his gaze swept over to Lu Jing, he instantly forgot his pain. His scarlet eyes seemed to spit fire: "Brat! You still dare to run?!"

The man in black also freed himself from the tree branch, patted the dust off his body, and looked at Lu Jing with the same expression as one would look at a mortal enemy. Wang Donger sat up, supporting herself on the ground, clutching her still-aching lower abdomen. She looked from one to the other, her brows knitting into a knot.

What kind of situation was this? They were fighting, and suddenly, it felt like they had changed maps.

Lu Jing reacted the fastest. Regardless of where they were, he had to run first! He scrambled up, not bothering to brush off his disheveled appearance, and bolted toward the depths of the dense forest without looking back. As he ran, he shouted in his mind: "Tian Meng, hurry up and think of a way! These two lunatics are like adhesive plasters!"

Tian Meng Ice Silkworm's voice was on the verge of tears: "Think of what?! That spatial rift just now shattered half of my Mental Energy! Just run further away first!"

"Stop him!" Bei Bei roared. Blue thunder exploded beneath his feet, and he pursued like a bolt of lightning. The man in black didn't hesitate either; he unfurled a pair of black wind wings behind his back, his speed a notch faster than Bei Bei's, and it looked like he was about to catch up to Lu Jing.

The three of them, one chasing and one fleeing, vanished into the dense forest in the blink of an eye. Watching the direction in which they disappeared, Wang Donger couldn't help but fall silent.

She bit her lip, but in the end, she braced herself against a tree trunk to stand up, unfurled her light wings, and followed them. Regardless of everything, she had to go over and see the situation.

Elsewhere, less than three miles away from this chaos, the atmosphere was completely different.

Underneath an ancient tree that was over a thousand years old, a pale golden spirit ring was slowly rotating around a young girl. The girl was wearing a pale golden dress, her waterfall-like golden hair cascading down to her waist, and her skin was as fair as snow. It was Qian Renxue. She had her eyes closed, her little face tense, clearly enduring the pain of absorbing the spirit ring.

Standing nearby was a golden-haired man wearing a grey robe. His face was handsome but carried a hint of age; it was the Spirit Hall High Priest, Qian Daoliu. He stood with his hands behind his back, his Soul Power faintly enveloping Qian Renxue to help her stabilize the spirit ring's energy, his eyes filled with an imperceptible tenderness.

"It's almost done." Qian Daoliu whispered, looking at Qian Renxue as if she were a rare treasure. This child was the last hope of the Angel God lineage; there could be absolutely no mistakes.

Qian Renxue didn't respond. Fine beads of sweat seeped from her forehead, and her golden hair was dampened by sweat, sticking to her cheeks. As the spirit ring rotated slower and slower, her aura steadily climbed, and she was soon about to break through level thirty.

Just then, a rush of footsteps approached. Qian Daoliu frowned slightly and turned to look—he saw an old figure and a young one walking this way. The old one wore a purple robe and had a resolute face; it was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan leader, Clan Leader Yu Yuanzhen.

The young one was dressed in fine clothes, his face tender, his brows and eyes carrying a hint of stubbornness; it was his grandson, Yu Tianheng.

Yu Tianheng was not yet seven years old, but he was already a level ten Spirit Scholar. At this moment, he was curiously examining Qian Renxue and tugged on Clan Leader Yu Yuanzhen's sleeve: "Grandpa, who is that big sister?"

Clan Leader Yu Yuanzhen patted his hand, signaling him not to speak recklessly. When he got closer and saw Qian Daoliu's face, his pupils constricted slightly. He hurriedly pulled Yu Tianheng along and bowed: "Junior Clan Leader Yu Yuanzhen greets the High Priest."

His heart pounded. Who was Qian Daoliu? The pillar of Spirit Hall, a level 99 Limit Douluo; normally, meeting him was harder than ascending to heaven. How could he be here today helping a little girl absorb a spirit ring? Looking at the girl's hair color, which was exactly the same as Qian Daoliu's, could it be... He didn't dare to overthink it, only feeling that this girl's identity was definitely not simple.

Qian Daoliu turned around and nodded faintly. His gaze swept over Clan Leader Yu Yuanzhen and then landed on Yu Tianheng, his brows lifting imperceptibly: "So it is Sect Master Yu. What is it, here to find a spirit ring for the child as well?"

"Yes." Clan Leader Yu Yuanzhen replied respectfully: "My grandson Tianheng just broke through level ten, and I wanted to come to the Star Dou Great Forest to try our luck and see if we could find a suitable Beast Spirit."

He didn't mention Yu Xiaogang—that "useless" person regarded as a disgrace to the clan had long since been cast to the back of his mind. Yu Tianheng was the future of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Qian Daoliu grunted, his gaze lingering on Yu Tianheng for a moment, then he suddenly said: "This child... is not bad."

Although Yu Tianheng was young, he exuded a sense of composure that did not belong to a child of his age, especially those eyes, which were shockingly bright, with a hint of dragon might hidden within. In time, he might very well become the pillar of the Blue Lightning Clan.

Clan Leader Yu Yuanzhen was overjoyed and just wanted to be modest, when he suddenly felt something was wrong. Qian Daoliu's gaze had already passed over him and was looking toward the dense forest on the left, his eyes filled with a trace of inquiry. He instinctively turned to look—

Not far away, there were faint figures moving rapidly, mixed with the sounds of thunder explosions and wind blades tearing through the air; it was clearly someone fighting. Even stranger, within that fighting aura, there seemed to be a mix of... evil dark energy?

"Hmm?" Qian Daoliu's brows furrowed even tighter. How could there be such an intense fight on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest? Moreover, that dark energy made him inexplicably uneasy.

Clan Leader Yu Yuanzhen also sensed that something was wrong, pulled Yu Tianheng behind him, and said in a deep voice: "High Priest, should we go and take a look?"

Qian Daoliu didn't speak; his gaze landed on Qian Renxue, who had just finished absorbing the spirit ring and was slowly opening her eyes.

A trace of confusion flashed in Qian Renxue's golden eyes: "Grandpa, what happened over there?"

"It's nothing." Qian Daoliu waved his hand, but his eyes remained fixed on the depths of the dense forest, and he said softly: "Just some chaotic fighting."

He hadn't intended to concern himself with these matters, but that dark power seemed to be able to suppress even his own holy light, which piqued his interest; he wanted to see what was going on.

Thinking of this, his figure moved, and he swept toward the direction from which the fighting sounds came, carrying Qian Renxue like a ghost.

With his strength, even a casual strike would be enough to suppress any disturbance on the outskirts.

Watching Qian Daoliu's disappearing figure, and then looking at Yu Tianheng beside him, Clan Leader Yu Yuanzhen's brows were locked tight. This Star Dou Great Forest, it was afraid to be restless today.

Yu Tianheng, however, didn't have so many concerns; he just stood on tiptoe to peek into the dense forest and asked curiously: "Grandpa, that big sister just now was so pretty. Is she also here to get a spirit ring?"

Clan Leader Yu Yuanzhen patted his head and said in a deep voice: "Don't ask too much. No matter what you see later, stay close to me."

He had a vague premonition that this seemingly coincidental encounter today might lead to quite a bit of trouble. And that fighting in the depths of the dense forest was probably far more complex than he had imagined.