I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 40 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Free Members will get 10 Chapters Ahead of the schedule on Patreon!!!
Link: Patreon.com/AVRKingsTL
—------------------—
But seeing that there was no malice in Xue Tianxing's eyes, and Shui Bing'er and the others were just standing quietly by with no intention of coming forward, his tense nerves relaxed a little.
"My name is Cao Qing."
Cao Qing's voice trembled slightly. He looked down at the thing in his arms, hesitated for a moment, and then carefully took it out - it was a palm-sized soul bone, light green in color, with faint soul power fluctuations flowing on the surface. It was obvious at a glance that it was a thousand-year-old soul bone.
"This is the soul bone they want to snatch."
Cao Qing's voice deepened, a trace of grief and anger flashed in his eyes, and then he continued:
"This soul bone was obtained at the cost of my parents' lives..."
As Cao Qing told the story, a tragic past slowly unfolded before everyone.
It turns out that Cao Qing's parents are not ordinary soul masters, but the founders of a small soul hunting team.
His father, Cao Yong, is a level 54 defensive Soul King. His martial soul is the "Iron Wall Shield" and he has extremely strong defensive capabilities. He is well-known in the nearby soul hunter circle. His mother, Lin Xiu, is a level 42 auxiliary Soul Master. Her martial soul is the "Guardian Aura" and she can provide defensive bonuses for teammates. The couple works together well. Although the soul hunting team they lead is small, they can always complete the tasks successfully and live a relatively rich life.
What made the couple even more gratified was that Cao Qing had shown amazing talent as a soul master since he was a child.
Not only did his martial soul mutate from his father's "Iron Wall Shield" to the more defensive "Mysterious Light Shield", he also possessed ninth-level innate soul power.
With his outstanding talent and hard training, he reached the 38th level of Soul Master at the age of fifteen, more than twice as fast as his peers. The family was originally full of expectations for the future.
"Half a month ago, my parents took a team to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt souls. We were incredibly lucky and encountered a thousand-year-old 'Ironclad Rhino'."
Cao Qing's voice was choked with sobs. "That armored rhino had extremely strong defenses. It took the team a long time to kill it, and in the end, this soul bone exploded from it!"
This thousand-year soul bone is of the defensive type, which is just right for Cao Qing's Xuanguan Shield martial soul.
Cao Yong and Lin Xiu were overjoyed, but they dared not say anything. They quietly collected the soul bones and planned to take them home for Cao Qing to absorb and help him break through to the Soul Sect as soon as possible.
But they never expected that the news would be leaked somehow.
"Three nights ago, those two Soul Kings suddenly broke into our house and demanded our Soul Bones."
Cao Qing's body began to tremble, clearly recalling the horrific scene. "Of course my parents refused to hand it over, and they started fighting with them. But even though my dad is a Level 54 Soul King, he's only a defensive Soul Master. And my mom is only a Soul Sect leader, so she's no match for those two Level 50 Soul Kings..."
Cao Qing's voice became lower and lower, and tears could not help falling:
"My father used his body to block the attacks of the two Soul Kings in order to let me escape. He was severely injured and finally... he died. My mother tried to protect me, but they also killed her..."
Cao Qing wiped away his tears and continued:
"Before my father died, he gave me his soul bone and told me to run to Soto City, saying that there were many people there and the two soul kings wouldn't dare to act too recklessly.
I ran all the way, not daring to stop. I thought I was almost at Soto City and safe, but I didn't expect them to catch up with me... If you hadn't rescued me, I'm afraid I would have..."
Having said this, Cao Qing could no longer hold back and choked with sobs, unable to speak.
He tightly grasped the soul bone in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the force. The soul bone seemed to still retain the warmth of his parents, but his parents would never come back.
After listening to Cao Qing's story, Xue Tianxing and the others fell silent.
In Douluo Continent, tragic incidents of family annihilation caused by soul bones are not uncommon. Countless soul masters would kill people and go against morality just for a soul bone.
Compared to those families whose entire members were wiped out and no one survived, Cao Qing was lucky to be able to survive.
Shui Bing'er looked at Cao Qing's grief-stricken expression, with a hint of sympathy in her eyes; Dugu Yan frowned, obviously disgusted by the act of killing one's own kind for treasures. After all, as the granddaughter of a Titled Douluo, she could say that she would never encounter such a thing.
Xue Tianxing spoke slowly, his tone calm but with a hint of concern:
"Cao Qing, what are you going to do next?"
This question was like a heavy hammer, hitting Cao Qing's heart hard.
He stood there in a daze, his eyes full of confusion.
Yes, what should we do next?
Now the two Soul Kings have been driven away by Xue Tianxing and his companions, but after Xue Tianxing and his companions leave, even if he hides in Soto City, he may not be safe.
If the two Soul Kings couldn't find him, they might spread the news that he had a soul bone. In Douluo Continent, a thousand-year-old soul bone was enough to drive countless soul masters crazy. Even if he absorbed the soul bone, someone would kill him in order to seize it. At that time, he would still be doomed to death.
More importantly, he wanted revenge.
He wanted to find out the traitor in the Soul Hunting Team who betrayed his parents, and kill the two Soul Kings who murdered his parents with his own hands to avenge them.
But as a Soul Master at level 38, even if he absorbed the soul bones and broke through to the Soul Sect, he was no match for those people.
Thinking of this, Cao Qing's body couldn't help but tremble, and despair overwhelmed him like a tide.
He looked up at Xue Tianxing and the others, a trace of struggle flashed in his eyes, and then as if he had made up his mind, he tightly grasped the soul bone in his hand and said to Xue Tianxing:
"I'll give you this thousand-year soul bone. As long as you can help me avenge myself and kill those two soul kings and the traitor who betrayed my family, I'm willing to do anything for you!"
After saying that, he handed the soul bone to Xue Tianxing, his eyes full of expectation and determination.
For him, this soul bone was obtained at the cost of his parents' lives, and it is also his only bargaining chip for revenge.
As long as he can get revenge, he is willing to do so even if it means losing his soul bone.
Xue Tianxing shook his head and did not go to receive the soul bone. He said in a calm tone:
"I'm not interested in your soul bone."
The hand that Cao Qing was handing over the soul bone froze in mid-air, the expectation in his eyes was instantly replaced by disappointment, and he looked extremely helpless as if all his strength had been drained away.
He thought Xue Tianxing would be tempted by the soul bone like other people, but he didn't expect Xue Tianxing to directly refuse.
Is even this last hope going to be shattered?
Just when Cao Qing was about to give up, Xue Tianxing's voice rang out again, like a ray of light in the darkness, illuminating his despair:
"I don't want this soul bone of yours. Keep it for yourself to absorb, break through the Soul Sect, and improve your strength. As for your revenge, I will help you avenge it."