Chapter 4: The Mysterious Xiao Bai
"This will be your residence from now on."
Golden Crocodile Douluo led Fan Chen to the room prepared for him. He intended to let the boy rest for a day and then take him around tomorrow to familiarize himself with the surroundings.
When the door opened, what entered Fan Chen's sight was a room several times larger than the communal dorm he used to live in.
Calling it a room was misleading— it was practically a standalone house.
Everything one could need was fully equipped. The only problem was… it was too big. For a six-year-old kid like him, it felt a little excessive.
Clearly, this wasn't a room specially arranged for him. More like Golden Crocodile Douluo had simply taken an existing one and handed it over.
The soul seal on the back of Fan Chen's hand flickered— and the Xiao Bai who had been hiding inside popped out.
Its round, glistening eyes scanned the spacious room with curious excitement.
"This little thing is pretty smart, knowing it's safe before coming out," Golden Crocodile Douluo teased, then turned to Fan Chen.
"We'll keep it like this for now. Rest today. Tomorrow I'll take you around and let you meet some people."
He didn't want Fan Chen getting into trouble simply because he didn't know anyone.
For now, his expectations for Fan Chen were very low. After all, he was only six—there was a limit to what he could learn immediately.
"Mm, I understand. Goodbye, Teacher."
With that, Golden Crocodile Douluo closed the door and left.
Inside the room, Fan Chen lay on the bed, watching the energetic Xiao Bai run around in circles, and couldn't help feeling overwhelmed.
Too many things had happened today—
Everything felt unreal, almost dreamlike.
Not only had he awakened twin martial souls, but both were incredibly unique.
One was a detached consciousness-type beast martial soul. The other was a full-body armor-type weapon martial soul.
Both were exceedingly rare. The only similar one he knew of was Yu Xiaogang's Luo Sanpao, but that thing had been completely wasted by its owner, offering no reference value at all.
As for the Reverse-Edge Demon Armor, that was easier to handle— it functioned like a standard beast martial soul, just armor-shaped.
And since his master was Golden Crocodile Douluo—likely the strongest beast martial soul wielder alive—raising a rookie like him would be no problem.
The real issue was Xiao Bai.
He was one of Fan Chen's two martial souls. He couldn't just ignore him.
At the moment, Xiao Bai acted like a newborn—curious about everything in the world.
"Xiao Bai, come here."
Hearing the call, Xiao Bai scampered over.
Like a tiny puppy, he leaped into Fan Chen's arms and nuzzled his cheek affectionately.
It would've been perfect if the horns on his head weren't so pointy.
"Alright, enough rubbing. Time to talk business. What kind of skills do you have?"
The information from the martial soul awakening was limited. Fan Chen only knew some basic details about Xiao Bai.
Its wings suggested it could probably fly— and since it was Fan Chen's martial soul, maybe Fan Chen himself could fly.
In the Douluo Continent, flight was extremely rare. Other than martial souls with innate flight abilities, only Titled Douluo could move freely through the air.
"Right… your true form is Bai Ze. What abilities does a Bai Ze have again?"
Fan Chen cursed himself internally. He'd heard the name before but knew very little about the specifics— only that Bai Ze was a legendary auspicious beast.
"Skills? What's that? Can you eat it?"
Xiao Bai tilted its head, utterly lost.
"…Forget it. I didn't ask anything."
Seeing this reaction, Fan Chen gave up on that line of questioning entirely.
"Go play, just don't destroy anything."
Fan Chen rubbed Xiao Bai's soft, furry head, then let him run off again.
Meanwhile, he planned to study something more practical— like meditation.
But just as he was about to start cultivating, Xiao Bai padded over, grabbed his sleeve with his tiny mouth, and tugged toward the side.
"Big brother, it's boring here. Let's go find the Elder Sister. She has good stuff to play with."
Xiao Bai's childish voice echoed beside Fan Chen's ear, leaving him staring at the creature in confusion.
"Elder Sister? You mean Qian Renxue? How do you know where she is?"
So far, the only girl Xiao Bai had interacted with was Qian Renxue—it wasn't hard for Fan Chen to guess. But Qian Renxue had clearly left with Qian Daoliu. How could Xiao Bai know where she was?
"I smelled Elder Sister's scent. She's nearby. Big brother, come with me—I'll take you to her."
With that, Xiao Bai hopped off the bed, flapped his tiny wings, and lifted into the air.
Perhaps it was its first time flying, because it wobbled dangerously, nearly falling straight to the floor.
"Hey—be careful!"
Fan Chen jumped up to catch it.
But Xiao Bai seemed to adapt quickly.
The next second, its unstable flight suddenly stabilized, and it was soaring smoothly.
Then the little creature rammed its tiny body against the doorknob, pressing it down.
The closed door swung open, and Xiao Bai flew right out.
Fan Chen hesitated for a split second… then followed.
This was the territory of the Spirit Hall.
Who would dare kidnap someone here?
Besides, Golden Crocodile Douluo would be showing him around tomorrow anyway.
He might as well familiarize himself with the place ahead of time.
With that self-convincing thought, boy and beast headed toward Qian Renxue's location.
Whether Xiao Bai was deliberately avoiding people—or whether this area was simply deserted— Fan Chen didn't encounter a single soul along the way.
And so, like two tiny adventurers, they wandered through the vast and majestic building.
As Xiao Bai was Fan Chen's martial soul, he could sense the creature's mood—
Xiao Bai was ecstatic.
This made Fan Chen curious.
Why was it so fond of Qian Renxue?
Was it just because she was cute?
No way. It was a beast martial soul—could its aesthetic sense really align with humans?
But Xiao Bai, sensing Fan Chen's inner thoughts, abruptly turned around and explained:
"Because Elder Sister treats me really well. She feeds me tasty food."
"…That's the reason?"
Xiao Bai nodded vigorously, its eyes purer than a top student's conscience.
Fan Chen couldn't help laughing.
So his entire affection came from being fed. Truly unparalleled.
But from this amusing conversation, Fan Chen learned something important— Xiao Bai seemed capable of sensing Fan Chen's thoughts. His perceptive abilities were frighteningly strong.
Perhaps that was part of his power.
"Flight… telepathy… extraordinary sense of smell…"
Fan Chen listed the abilities he'd discovered so far. Xiao Bai probably possessed even more that he had yet to uncover.
After who knows how long, Xiao Bai finally stopped.
Before them was a large door. Xiao Bai looked left and right nervously.
The sight of him acting like a sneaky little thief nearly made Fan Chen laugh.
After confirming no one was nearby, Xiao Bai raised a tiny paw and knocked on the door—imitating a human flawlessly.
"Who is it?"
Qian Renxue's voice drifted from inside.
Xiao Bai's eyes lit up.
"Elder Sister, it's me! I brought Big Brother to play with you!"
There was a moment of silence from inside.
Then the door slowly opened.
Qian Renxue poked her little head out.
When she saw Fan Chen and Xiao Bai standing there, a delighted smile appeared on her fair face—
—but it vanished just as quickly.
"Where did you two come from? What are you doing here?"
—
End of Chapter