Douluo Continent: Qian Daoliu has had a crush on me for a long time

Chapter 38 The Fallen Hair

Ye Jingqiu pricked up his ears to listen to the sounds behind him.

The sound is wrong; it's too soft. Although the burrow leopard resembles a greyhound, it's over two meters long, so it couldn't possibly only make that little sound.

Moreover, the cave leopard is very fast, as Ye Jingqiu has witnessed. It's impossible that it would be so slow that it would make noises and still not see the soul beast.

This can only mean one thing: it wasn't behind Ye Jingqiu at all, nor was it prepared to come out from that side. It was just testing the waters. So where would it come out from?

Using a feint, Ye Jingqiu deliberately made a noise and quickly walked towards the direction from which the leopard in the cave had made its sound.

Ye Jingqiu remained calm. After taking two steps, his lowered hand twitched slightly, indicating that he had sensed something.

Ye Jingqiu turned around, and her second soul ring lit up immediately, its purple light dazzling. Sure enough, as soon as she turned around, Ye Jingqiu and the cave leopard, one human and one soul beast, locked eyes.

At this moment, the leopard's claws were already outstretched, very close to Ye Jingqiu. She had no doubt that if she had been a second later, the leopard's claws would have landed on the back of her head.

The second soul skill, "Demonic Sound Piercing the Ears," caused the burrow leopard's claws to fall swiftly, but despite its speed, its claws missed their mark.

Ye Jingqiu's long hair reached her waist. Because she had turned around in a hurry, strands of her hair were still floating in mid-air. When the sharp claws fell, Ye Jingqiu's black hair immediately fell to the ground.

The burrowing leopard clearly used all its strength in this attack; its claws actually embedded themselves in the ground and got stuck.

Ye Jingqiu looked at the cave leopard and found it strange. The three small black snakes were highly venomous, but even though they had been inside the cave leopard for so long, why was it still able to move freely?

It's just a thousand-year-old soul beast known for its speed, how could this be?

Ye Jingqiu couldn't understand it, but reality didn't keep her waiting long. The next moment, the cave leopard fell to the ground, its body began to tremble slightly, and it foamed at the mouth.

Ye Jingqiu gripped the short knife at her waist. She knew that now was the best time to deal with the cave leopard, but Qian Daoliu's words kept coming to mind.

We must not kill this burrowing leopard.

At this moment, the thousand-year-old soul beast had clearly lost its ability to fight, and Ye Jingqiu quickly walked towards Qian Daoliu.

As she approached the transparent protective shield, the shield instantly retracted.

After bowing respectfully to Qian Daoliu and Ye Jingqiu, the Soul King picked up the large black iron cage and flew towards the burrow leopard in the center.

Qian Daoliu's gaze fell on Ye Jingqiu. "You did very well just now. Your reaction was quick, and your tactics were very meticulous."

During this time, Ye Jingqiu had gained a clear understanding of Qian Daoliu's strictness, and hearing his words of praise, Ye Jingqiu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

She thought she was going to get scolded again.

A slight smile played on her lips, and her eyes shone brightly with her laughter.

But before she could be happy for even two seconds, Qian Daoliu spoke, instantly extinguishing her smile.

"But you had two fatal flaws just now. Why did you stand still and not try to stop the cave leopard?"

As he spoke, his gaze gradually darkened. "Or do you simply not know that when the black stripes on the Cave Leopard's body glow, it's using a skill? You don't understand soul beasts at all."

"As a Soul Master, a Soul Master who needs to hunt Soul Beasts, why is your understanding of Soul Beasts so superficial? Although the Cave Leopard is rare, it is not considered a rare Soul Beast."

Upon hearing this, Ye Jingqiu lowered her head, her cheeks slightly flushed. Qian Daoliu's tone was very calm at this moment, not exactly a reprimand, but the more calm he was, the more uncomfortable Ye Jingqiu felt.

"I'm sorry, High Priest, this was my oversight. When I get back, I will read more books about soul beasts and try to understand them all."

Qian Daoliu's beautiful golden eyes were fixed on Ye Jingqiu. "It's impossible to know all the soul beasts, but I hope that you won't be so helpless when you encounter soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest in the future."

"You are the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall, and you will not lack Title Douluos to protect your safety, but Ye Jingqiu," Qian Daoliu's gaze was sharp, "but they can protect you for a while, not forever."

Ye Jingqiu knew that Qian Daoliu was right. She had experienced this twice before: once when she was absorbing her third soul ring in the Star Dou Great Forest, and once when she was being assassinated by five soul masters.

"I understand the Great Offering."

Qian Daoliu nodded slightly, his expression softening considerably. "And I hope that what happened just now, where you stood there so blankly next to the burrow leopard, won't happen again."

"The higher the soul power of a soul beast, the higher its intelligence. There are even soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest that can speak human language. What if that cave leopard was bluffing and suddenly attacked you when you approached?"

"Whether facing a Soul Master or a Soul Beast, underestimating your opponent is a major taboo. I hope you won't make this kind of basic mistake again."

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Ye Jingqiu nodded earnestly and forcefully. "I understand, Grand Elder. Don't worry, I will never make this mistake again."

Ye Jingqiu paused, then looked at Qian Daoliu with some curiosity. "Great Elder, what kind of soul beast can speak human language?"

Qian Daoliu's eyes were deep and turbulent. "That is an extremely powerful 100,000-year-old soul beast, living in the Lake of Life at the very center of the Star Dou Great Forest. It can be called the strongest known existence in the Star Dou Great Forest."

Ye Jingqiu's eyes trembled slightly as she looked at Qian Daoliu in disbelief. Bibi Dong had once told her about the power of a 100,000-year-old soul beast.

"Is there something even more powerful than a 100,000-year-old soul beast?"

Qian Daoliu nodded slightly. "There are always people more powerful than you, and there are always higher realms to conquer. Soul beasts are no exception. Besides 100,000-year-old soul beasts, there are also 20-year-old and ferocious beasts. So, you should be careful when you enter the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for soul rings. Even Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo might not be able to protect you when they encounter powerful beings."

Ye Jingqiu knew that Qian Daoliu meant well for her, so she nodded, "I understand, Grand Elder."

"You can go back now. Today's special training is over."

"Yes." Ye Jingqiu turned and left, gently closing the door behind her, afraid of disturbing Qian Daoliu inside.

When the footsteps disappeared, Qian Daoliu walked into the Soul Beast Arena and stood where Ye Jingqiu had just stood.

A strand of black hair lay scattered on the ground, and Qian Daoliu stared at it, momentarily lost in thought.

After a long while, he bent down and picked up the fallen hair.

(End of this chapter)