Chapter 2: Raising the Birth Rate of the Entire Continent
In the restaurant, the soft glow of lights large and small brought a warm atmosphere.
But Qin Jian felt no warmth at all—only a burst of cold palpitations.
"Every time you train in the sword pool, you push yourself too hard. You always come out only after completely exhausting your soul power..."
Sword Douluo looked at Qin Jian just a few steps away. His expressionless face showed no emotion as he continued, "Although the soul beast aura you release is very faint, it has happened enough times for me to be certain."
"Then why didn't Teacher kill me?"
Qin Jian suddenly raised his head. His delicate little face looked startlingly cold.
Sword Douluo didn't react to the coldness in his tone. Instead, he gently pinched his chin and said, "To conceal your aura so perfectly, your soul power before transforming must have exceeded a hundred thousand years..."
Qin Jian trembled all over.
There was no chill in Sword Douluo's voice, yet it was like a sharp blade stabbing straight into his heart.
"Hundred-thousand-year soul rings... and at least two top-grade soul bones..."
Sword Douluo's eyes took on a strange gleam.
Qin Jian suddenly raised his head to look at the man known as the continent's one of the strongest offensive Titled Douluo.
His own gaze was complicated but devoid of any fear or murderous intent.
And then, Qin Jian smiled.
The warmth returned to the room, and the chill around him vanished.
He took a few steps forward, returned to his seat, and resumed eating as if nothing had happened.
Sword Douluo's face twitched slightly. He looked at Qin Jian and asked, in an odd tone, "Why didn't you run away after I exposed you?"
Qin Jian continued eating calmly and mumbled, "Teacher is a powerful Titled Douluo. I couldn't run even if I tried."
"So you just gave up?"
Sword Douluo didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Qin Jian glanced back at him and lifted his little face. "Teacher had no intention of killing me."
Sword Douluo was taken aback, then looked a little speechless. "This is a life-and-death matter, and you just went with your gut feeling?"
A smile crept onto Qin Jian's face. "Teacher, my original body is a love flower that cultivated for a hundred thousand years. I possess soul power of a million years and am especially sensitive to kindness and malice."
"A love flower with a hundred thousand years... and a million years of soul power..."
Sword Douluo's eyes widened in surprise. He asked with genuine curiosity, "What exactly is a love flower?"
Qin Jian's smile turned a little bitter. "It's a flower that grows in the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest... It can't move, can't speak, can't do anything..."
He sighed.
God knew how hopeless he felt upon discovering that he had become a flower after reincarnating. He even wanted to commit suicide but didn't even have the ability to.
Eventually, he accepted his fate as a flower, waiting peacefully for death.
Then a rabbit came...
Not only did it not eat him, it even watered him daily for a hundred thousand years...
"You became a million-year soul beast and still couldn't move?" Sword Douluo was surprised.
Qin Jian shook his head. "I don't know why. I clearly had soul power of a million years, but all that changed was that I grew as big as a tree. The only active ability I had was releasing a pink aura..."
"Pink aura?"
Sword Douluo didn't pay it much mind at first until his face suddenly changed. He looked down and said gravely, "Was that pink aura ten years ago the one that spread across the entire continent released by you?"
"It actually spread across the entire continent? I thought it only affected the Star Dou Great Forest..."
Qin Jian scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. "I just wanted to try my ability... I didn't expect it to cause such a mess..."
He recalled with a shiver, "That night, all the soul beasts in the forest went into a frenzy... That year, the birth rate in the Star Dou Great Forest increased by hundreds of times..."
And that silly rabbit...
Even now, Qin Jian couldn't help but tremble at the memory.
"So you were the culprit that night..."
Qin Jian suddenly realized his body was rising into the air.
He looked up Sword Douluo's face had gone dark.
He had grabbed Qin Jian by the collar and lifted him up.
"I held it in for so many years... Cough... That night I had to use that thing... cough cough cough..."
Qin Jian's eyes widened. "Teacher, even you couldn't resist it?"
Bang!
Sword Douluo dropped him back onto his chair, visibly annoyed. "That year, the birth rate across the entire continent skyrocketed. Even Rongrong was born that year... cough..."
Qin Jian's mouth twitched. "So... Rongrong was born because of me?"
Sword Douluo clearly didn't want to dwell on that embarrassing memory. He changed the subject. "So is this why you wanted to transform into a human? I recall that soul beasts, once they reach 100,000 years, can only live for a thousand more years. But if they take on human form and cultivate to Rank 100, they can become gods."
Qin Jian nodded, then shook his head.
"That's only part of the reason. The real reason is..."
He clenched his fists tightly, anger flickering in his eyes. "That pink aura I released... made me accidentally overhear a conversation between two first-level gods. They said I was about to ripen and could be picked for medicine in thirty years!"
"First-level gods?!"
Sword Douluo was shocked then realization dawned on him.
"A hundred-thousand-year love flower... a million-year soul power... Even for a god, that would be an extraordinary treasure..."
"Exactly. So if I don't want to be harvested..."
Qin Jian looked up, determination in his eyes. "I must become a god!"
"So that's how it is..."
Sword Douluo nodded slowly, and for the first time, he felt a sense of relief. "Fortunately, I didn't harm you... A love flower with a million years of soul power... What kind of soul rings or soul bones would that produce..."
He recalled the uncontrollable urge from that night and shivered.
"But Teacher, you didn't know about any of this when you discovered I was a soul beast. Why didn't you make a move? Weren't you even a little tempted?" Qin Jian asked curiously.
"How could I not be tempted?"
Sword Douluo shook his head. But when he looked at Qin Jian again, his eyes were soft and gentle.
"But people aren't just made of desire... They have emotions, too. I had raised you for a year or two by then I couldn't bring myself to do it."
He looked at the handsome and delicate boy in front of him.
He had no children in his life. Sharing those years with Qin Jian had felt like raising his own son.
Moreover, Qin Jian's gentle nature and warmth had melted even Sword Douluo's coldest edges.
"Thank you, Teacher."
Qin Jian smiled sincerely.
It was his fortune to have met a teacher who didn't reject him because he was a soul beast.
Sword Douluo shook his head slightly, thinking: "I should be the one thanking you... for bringing warmth to an old man like me."
But his personality wouldn't let him say such sentimental things. Instead, he asked, "Then why haven't you been able to cultivate soul power? That should be easy for you."
Qin Jian's face instantly turned bitter. "It's because of the nine divine trials that automatically appeared when I took human form..."
[ end of the chapter ]