Chapter 150: Child?
"Yes, I did give some to her..." Leo said, utterly defeated. Brant was peeling him apart layer by layer, unravelling him down to the core, and Leo couldnât even deny the truth anymore. Somewhere along the way, both Brant and Lu had instinctively begun releasing their aura at a higher degreeâheavy and oppressive like starving beasts circling prey.
Not hungry for flesh.
Hungry for information.
This time, Lu spoke.
"What was your girlâs soul rank before consuming the treasure?"
At the mention of Lily, Leoâs demeanour shifted instantly. His shoulders stiffened, his gaze sharpening. He would do anything but put her in danger. What if having a super-rare soul put a target on her back?
Seeing the change, Brant let out a quiet sigh. He drew his aura back in, the pressure easing, and reached out to suppress Luâs as well.
"Donât misunderstand us, kid," Brant said calmly. "Weâre not trying to harm you through this information. Itâs something we need to know if weâre to help you. And donât forgetâhumanity is already gasping on its last breath. We need as many âgoodâ talents as possible to revive it."
He deliberately stressed the word good.
Leo weighed his words carefully. The tension lingered in the air, but he found no malice in them. Even his beasts remained calmânormally, in moments like this, their instincts would have been screaming.
"She had a rare soul when she was checked," Leo finally said.
Lu and Brant exchanged a look, their minds clearly racing through calculations. Then their expressions lit up.
Brant burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! Good, good!" he said heartily, slapping his thigh with enough force to echo.
"That means thereâs still some chance left. Listen, you bratâif anything happens to her, I will come looking for you myself. Keep her safe at all costs. You hear me?"
Leo was baffled.
What in the world?
"Chance for what?" he asked, bewildered. "And of course Iâll keep her safe. Nothing is more precious to me than her."
This time, Lu answered.
"You said she had a rare soul before, right?"
"Yes?"
"Then listen carefully," Lu said, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips.
"A rare soul can only harbour talents up to 7 stars. Even if the talent itself has higher potential, itâll stay capped at 7 until the soul ranks up. Now tell meâwhat was her talent rank again?"
"8 stars..." Leo saidâand then it hit him. His eyes widened.
"You realised it, didnât you?" Lu continued. "Her soul must have ranked up after consuming the treasure, allowing the talent to advance. And if her soul is super-rare nowâwhich can only support up to eight-star talentsâthen thereâs a real possibility she possesses a nine-star... or even a ten-star talent. The Elven Empress has the same talent as hers, and she has a 9-star one, so your girl is great news for humans."
He paused, then added casually, "Same goes for you, too. Soul-related talents usually start at eight stars, though there are exceptions. You two have bright futuresâI can vouch for that. And finally, when you both make a child, he or she might surpass you boâKUH!"
Lu staggered back, clutching his ribs with his intact hand.
Brant had jabbed him sharply to shut him up.
Lu shot him a hateful glare, but in his current condition, retaliation wasnât an option.
"Letâs stop the unnecessary talk," Brant said dryly. "But tell meâwhat was the description of the treasure you consumed? Thereâs another old bone like us whoâs obsessed with soul-related matters. Treasures that increase soul rank are absurdly rare. And one that raises it an entire rankâfrom rare to super-rare?" He shook his head. "Thatâs unheard of. You were absurdly lucky."
"Ah... yes," Leo replied, looking between the two eccentric old menâwho somehow felt like both comrades and lifelong rivals at the same time.
Will he faint if I tell him I have the treasure plant itself? And that I can literally harvest three of the same kind every month?
Leo pondered for a whileâthen firmly decided against it.
Instead, he recalled the Elasian Bloomâs appearance in detail. Brant listened carefully, his expression growing increasingly serious. Before long, Luâs mana had recovered enough, they gave Leo a set of new clothes and then headed off into the distance, preparing to have their bodies purified.
It was only then that Leo looked down at the ground.
They had bled buckets.
And yet, somehow, neither of them seemed fazed.
"Does having higher vitality increase the amount of RBCs produced instantly when thereâs a deficiency?" Leo muttered.
He recalled his own experience after consuming the Elasian Bloom petal. The hollow emptiness from blood loss had vanished rapidly, and even while bleeding, he hadnât felt the usual signs of fluid depletion.
"Does he induce haemophilia in the DNA structure for that to happen? Haha." He mused on the thought that such a condition could apply to such a fantasy world too.
Then, realising he laughed at such a rare and dangerous life-taking disease, he cursed.
"Fuck," Leo muttered. "Am I becoming crazy like those old fogies?"
He cleaned himself with some water he kept in the Spiritual space and changed into a new set of clothes professors provided. From the fabric and stitch, he could tell they were high-quality. He put the Metal ore vein in his Spiritual space and finally headed on Howlâs back.
"Wait... Howl, shouldnât you too have metal ores on you?" And as he thought, Howl indeed had some, though a smaller quantity than the other one, but still significant, nearly 3 tonnes.
"Hiding things from me? Donât do that again, or else I am taking Titanbreath Lotus from you." Hearing Leo, Howl gave a low roar, almost panicked. Of course, Leo would do no such thing; he was just saying it.
With a single intent, he sent all the beasts into spiritual space. He forgot he was on Howlâs back, as he fell nearly 100 meters down, landing on his feet with a thud.
He peered into his spiritual space to see that Howl was another island on itself, floating beside the two already formed islands. Leo chuckled as he saw that he looked almost like a baby with all his 6 legs curled up and eyes closed.
He came out from there and looked towards the sun on the horizon; it was almost night.
His stomach growled.
"Itâs finally time... Lily, I am coming for real this time!" He said, bolting towards the city.