Looking at the corpse of the Man Faced Demon Spider, Ah Li smirked as Bibi Dong's eyes went wide open :"T-this... this is...!" Causing the noiret to chuckle :"(Yeah, I sensed it too when it died. Guess that's what was activating my Instincts.)" At his confirmation, Bibi Dong's shocked face turned into an excited smile :"A Soul Bone! And this... it's not a normal Soul Bone! It... it's actually an External Soul Bone?!"
"Huhuhu, seems like it~." He chuckled once again. Among his 4 Orbs, only two of them needn't be connected to, Spiritual Power Orb and Poison Orb. Meaning they were always active, unlike the Physical Power Orb and Soul Power Orb that he needed to be connected to use their strength.
And thanks to his Spiritual Power Orb, which had strengthened his Spiritual Power to an unfathomable level, he always had a thorough understanding of his surroundings even if he limited it himself. After all, wouldn't want to know what was going on everywhere in a huge radius. Just around him was enough.
That meant the moment the Man Faced Demon Spider died, he immediately sensed the External Soul Bone hiding inside of it. However, two more things made his smile even more excited and devilish. One, the fast approaching trio of grandparents and granddaughter, and two, something that he was going to check out after dealing with them.
"No! My Man Faced Demon Spider!" The moment the said trio arrived, the granddaughter shouted in anger and disbelief. She was already mad that the Phoenix Tail Crest Serpent they were hunting a while ago was stolen, and seeing it happening again, made her even more enraged. When she saw the legless corpse, all her attention was on it, not noticing the noiret some distance away :"Who did this?! Who did this?!"
However, when she saw that it was Ah Li, the person who defeated her and took the Phoenix Tail Crest Serpent, who actually killed the Man Faced Demon Spider, her anger was through the roof :"Y-you... it's you again?! Damn it, damn it, damn it! What the hell is your problem?! Why do you keep stealing the Soul Beasts that I need?!"
Normally, Bibi Dong would tease Ah Li and throw a few jokes at these kinds of situations. After all, it was fun to tease him when annoying and bothersome troubles like this kept following him. However, this wasn't "normally", and it certainly wasn't "most times".
Her gaze, sharp and serious, turned to the trio as she spoke stoically :"Li'er, no matter what, do NOT leave this Man Faced Demon Spider with them. That arrogant old bastard will definitely try to make trouble for you now that you've stolen his granddaughter's Soul Beast twice. But even if he does try to make trouble, fight back with all your might. No matter what, you cannot give up on this Man Faced Demon Spider, understood?"
"(Kukuku, Sister Goddess, don't you already know me?)" He chuckled cruelly in his heart :"(Even if you hadn't told me, no way in hell would I give up on that External Soul Bone. And if he wants to trouble me or do something extreme, I'll happily take the attributes that he has brought me.)"
When the young girl, Meng Yiran, stomped her way towards the red eyed teenager, her grandpa stopped her gently. Looking at the noiret, who didn't seem afraid or injured at all, and seemed to be the target of his granddaughter's resentment, he glanced at his wife, silently asking for an explanation.
And when he got one, he stepped forward, his Martial Soul, Dragon Staff, which seemed to be two meters or taller, in his hand and assisted him as he looked at Ah Li :"Are you Ah Li?" Not one to act impolitely unless disrespected or feel like it, he gave a gentle nod :"Um, that's correct. Why?"
With a nod of his own, the old man, Meng Shu, answered :"Do you know that a Man Faced Demon Spider is rarer than a Phoenix Tail Crest Serpent? In order to hunt this Man Faced Demon Spider, we have been chasing it for the whole day. If it weren't for the annoying spider webs, its Soul Ring would be obtained by our Yiran."
"Hmm, that so?" Ah Li hummed in understanding, trying to not be an asshole unless he got a reason to justify being an asshole and wrecking havoc :"But sir, what did you expect me to do? I understand your point of view, and I can't blame you for being dissatisfied with what has happened, but you can't blame me for protecting my life either.
After all, just as you said, a Man Faced Demon Spider is rare, very rare. And their strength isn't something to scoff at either. If I hadn't killed it, I would've been the corpse lying there instead. It did ambush me, after all."
"You mean you killed this Man Faced Demon Spider alone? By yourself?" The old man asked, somewhat shocked by his statement. Giving a small smile, Ah Li pointed at where he had thrown the spider legs he had torn off :"Is that enough evidence?"
Looking at the spider legs, and at Ah Li's bloodied hands, the old man kept his silence. The fact that he couldn't sense anyone but him in the area was already evidence, but the fact that he had managed to kill such a dangerous Soul Beast by himself without being harmed at all was still unbelievable.
Meng Yiran, feeling wronged, gently grabbed her grandfather's arm with a sad pout :"Grandpa, please help me find justice." Ah Li didn't really blame her for being annoyed and angry either. He'd be freaking livid if the same thing had happened to him. He wouldn't even try to talk or reason with the other party, just get straight into killing or torturing. And with how rare both Phoenix Tail Crest Serpents and Man Faced Demon Spiders were, her fury really was justified.
But well, Ah Li didn't care. The only things he did care about were the External Soul Bone, the attributes that he was going to obtain from a Lv 80 Soul Douluo and a Lv 60 Soul Emperor, and the fact that was the old man going to be stupid and arrogant enough to try and harm him? Because if he did, he would be the only one to be blamed for his death.
Gently tapping her hand and nodding, Meng Shu stepped forward again :"I, Meng Shu, have been a Soul Master for many years. I'm not an unreasonable person. In the face of the Man Faced Demon Spider, anyone would protect himself. So it's understandable that you killed it. However, you've interrupted my granddaughter twice in getting her Soul Ring. We can't let it go easily. Ah Li, you have two choices."
Raising an eyebrow, seeming to be more serious, the noiret beckoned him to continue :"And what would those two options be?" And the old man replied :"The first option is to join my family."
"Hkhhahahaha!" Caught off guard by the suggestion, the teenager couldn't stop his laughter that even got caught in his throat, making him snort unconsciously. Not one of ridicule or mockery, but because it seemed actually funny.
But it did seem to irk the trio. Especially the young beauty that after also being caught off guard, thought of it as a good idea. After all, how handsome was Ah Li. Despite barely entering his teens, he had the looks that would put any handsome guy that the old couple had seen to shame. Just his appeal was enough to move the hearts of many, if not, all. The same was true for her.
With just his looks around, if he married her, she would be able to show off to any girl in the world. Guys weren't the only ones who liked beauties, girls did as well. Especially girls, actually. Not to mention his strength that she experienced firsthand. But that same handsome guy actually laughed at the idea of joining her family, which to her misunderstanding, was to actually marry her. No wonder she looked mad.
She wasn't the only one who had misunderstood it in that way though. Bibi Dong was the same, and she didn't look happy about it at all. The only reason why Ah Li didn't notice her deadly glare at the old man was because of his laughter.
Calming himself down and wiping the tear in his eye, he waved his hand apologetically :"Hahaha, I-I'm sorry about that, hehehe. I didn't mean to be disrespectful. It's just that I have a weird sense of humor, and that somehow sounded actually funny for no reason. Again, I apologize."
However, thinking about it, it did make sense. Thinking about everything they had seen in the short time, his handsomeness, amazing figure and body, along with his strength of being able to tear apart a Man Faced Demon Spider without getting harmed, it wasn't a surprise that the old man wanted to take him while he was still young and his worth hadn't been completely known.
"Um, it's alright. Apology accepted. So? What do you think? Do you accept? If you become a member of my family, either taking Yiran's Phoenix Tail Crest Serpent, or wasting the Soul Ring of the Man Faced Demon Spider, I'll just let go of them." Seeing that he really didn't mean to insult them and even apologized, they also let it slide as he asked again.
The old woman, his wife, Chao Tianxiang, also nodded at the noiret with a smile. Urging him to agree. Young or old, everybody appreciated looks. Even if she was old, she could still show off for having the most handsome grandson-in-law. Meng Yiran herself also smiled at him, a bit shyly to look more charming.
"Hmm... what to do...?" He mused with a small smile, earning a glare from the goddess on his shoulder for simply considering the offer, causing a light chuckle to leave him before he gently shook his head :"I'm sorry, but even if the offer is tempting, I'll have to pass. I don't have any plans of joining anyone at the moment, and have my own plans for the future. So, sorry, but I refuse. So what's the second option?"
"Is that so...?" The old man gritted out, his hand clenching around his staff as anger started to take over him. Even though he took a step back and even offered for him to join his family, how dare such a young boy be as disrespectful as to refuse his offer? The nerve.
In mere moments, their appreciation and excitement in acquiring such a charming and talented individual turned into anger because of getting refused. If they really just let him be, wouldn't they have been the only ones to lose out from coming here?
"You want to know what the second option is? Fine, I'll tell you. Leave an arm as compensation to my granddaughter." A mocking smile appeared on their faces as the girl looked at him with satisfaction. Since he dared to refuse getting together with him, then it is just right for him to suffer. How dare he refuse being forcibly married off to her? The nerve.
The moment his words fell, so did Ah Li's smile. His gaze turned sharp as his eyebrows narrowed :"Hey, mister, don't you think you're being unreasonable? Sure, I did kill the Man Faced Demon Spider, but don't you think you're going overboard? You'll cut off my arm just because I protected my life? Where's the justice here?
"Hmph, going overboard?" The old man snorted in contempt :"I am the justice, boy. My word here is justice. My strength is justice. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being weak and unlucky. Since you insist on being stubborn, then all I can do is punish you."
"Hoh, is that so? Your strength is justice? Hahaha." A dark chuckle left him as he looked down. However, surprisingly, a shiver suddenly ran down their backs. Quickly taking a step back, the old couple grew cautious as another evil chuckle left him :"Might makes right, huh? Well, since you want things to get bloody, why would I refuse?"
As the alarms in their brains continued to go off, a dark energy suddenly began to gently escape him. As the dark light surrounded him and began to emit from his body, the surroundings of his blood red cat eyes turned completely dark, causing them to actually grow fearful as the surrounding trees and leaves began to shake while the rocks and pebbles actually began to levitate :"Since you want to harm me, then it is just right for me to make you suffer as well, no? Might makes right? Well, how about you check out my might, you old bastard?
Know this, old bitch, you don't fuck with a god."
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Absorbed Soul Power Age: 1,130,000-years (200,000+930,000)
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