Chapter 248 – Continue Being Yourself

“You’re here?”

The cool voice was as calm and indifferent as ever, seemingly never prone to much emotional fluctuation.

Xu Qianqian slowly approached from ahead, encountering Su Ming who was driving swiftly towards her, and halted her steps.

Su Ming also stopped, watching Xu Qianqian approach gradually, and immediately formed a plan in his mind.

“Is it over?”

Su Ming asked tentatively.

“Ah, it’s over.” Xu Qianqian replied very calmly. “Is your side finished too?”

“As you can see.” Su Ming spread his hands, appearing even more composed than Xu Qianqian.

But in reality, neither of them had faced opponents that could be easily dealt with, far from being as calm and composed as they appeared on the surface.

Su Ming, needless to say, had expended considerable energy in his battle with Mo Leng and sustained some injuries, though not serious ones, having already recovered through alchemical potions.

Xu Qianqian likely had an even tougher fight than Su Ming.

Though she appeared calmer, Su Ming could easily tell from her tattered attire how difficult her battle had been.

Upon closer observation, one could see bloodstains and dirt on the corners of Xu Qianqian’s clothes and various parts of her body, sufficient proof of her hard-fought battle.

After all, Mo Yin was a Three-Star Hunter, while Xu Qianqian had previously been a Two-Star Hunter. Even with her recent significant progress allowing her to breakthrough to Three-Star, defeating an established Three-Star Hunter like Mo Yin under equal star conditions remained extremely challenging.

Her apparent calm and composure were probably due to post-battle recovery through alchemical potions, much like Su Ming.

Of course, no one could mock Xu Qianqian for putting up a brave front.

Being able to defeat an established Three-Star Hunter shortly after advancing to Three-Star, with enough strength left to maintain composure, was actually commendable.

After all, not everyone was a monster like Su Ming, capable of defeating opponents across star levels and Realms.

“Where’s Little Hai’er?”

Xu Qianqian seemed unwilling to dwell on the matter too long, directly changing the subject.

But her question didn’t require Su Ming’s answer.

“Meeling!”

Almost the second Xu Qianqian’s question left her lips, a melodious cry came from the sky.

Following this, the mermaid girl descended from above, just as she had with Su Ming earlier, throwing herself into Xu Qianqian’s arms.

Xu Qianqian stiffened, instinctively wanting to react but unable to match the mermaid girl’s speed, ending up with an armful of mermaid.

“Meeling! Meeling meeling!”

The mermaid girl clung tightly to Xu Qianqian, happily chirping while excitedly swishing her tail.

Unfortunately, this still couldn’t prevent Xu Qianqian from showing a stunned expression.

“You…?”

Xu Qianqian stared in astonishment at the significantly grown mermaid girl in her arms, the usual coldness on her face completely vanishing.

Seeing Xu Qianqian like this, Su Ming felt relieved.

“Indeed, I’m not the only one who would react this way.”

If even the typically aloof Young Miss Xu showed such a reaction, his own previous bewilderment was perfectly normal, wasn’t it?Only Little Hai’er seemed completely unaware of her own transformation, beaming at Xu Qianqian while rubbing against her affectionately, creating a scene of intimate closeness between two beautiful girls.

It took Xu Qianqian quite some time to accept the fact that this young woman who appeared only a year or two younger than herself was actually the little mermaid girl she knew. She then turned her gaze to Su Ming.

“It seems this misfortune has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”

Clearly, Xu Qianqian shared the same thought as Su Ming.

“I hope it proves to be the same for us as well.”

Su Ming’s words carried deeper implications.

Xu Qianqian could understand why Su Ming would say this.

Having personally cultivated a Nightmare Species – whether this was good or bad was truly difficult to determine.

At the very least, in the eyes of those unaware of the circumstances, such an act would undoubtedly be seen as seeking death.

This was a Nightmare Species, the overlord of the Spirit Demon Abyss second only to the Terror Species, a terrifying existence that even a Seven-Star Professional might not be able to defeat.

If such an entity were to manifest in the present world, even if not reaching the level of the former Terror Species, it would inevitably bring about a great disaster to humanity.

Throughout history, every time a Nightmare Species manifested, tens of thousands of lives on the ground would become its blood sustenance, and it wouldn’t be unusual for one or two Base Cities to be destroyed.

Therefore, throughout human history, aside from the single occurrence of a Terror Species manifesting, the greatest disasters and events were all caused by Nightmare Species from the Spirit Demon Abyss.

If we don’t count the Terror Species that only manifested once, Nightmare Species represent humanity’s strongest natural enemy since ancient times, the greatest disaster that has bred countless tragedies and calamities.

Under such circumstances, Su Ming had personally cultivated a Nightmare Species. If this matter reached certain human ears, it would be no different from creating a monster with his own hands.

If this monster were to eventually lose control and begin slaughtering humanity, hunting tens of thousands of lives for sustenance, then Su Ming would become the most detestable culprit in their eyes – a great sinner who harmed both others and himself.

Even Su Ming himself hadn’t initially intended to cultivate Little Hai’er into a Nightmare Species.

At the very least, he hadn’t planned to do so immediately.

His original thought was only to use the 【Demon Binding】 Spell Formula to enslave an excellent combat force that could grow into an upper-level Phantom Demon, merely wanting Little Hai’er to grow up and serve his purposes.

As for having Little Hai’er evolve into a Nightmare Species, Su Ming truly hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

Who could have predicted that 【Demon Binding】 had flaws and couldn’t enslave Phantom Demons much stronger than himself?

Su Ming couldn’t guarantee that if he cultivated Little Hai’er into a Nightmare Species, she would still remain under the control of 【Demon Binding】. Therefore, Su Ming had intended to take it slow, first letting Little Hai’er grow up, leaving the infant stage and entering adulthood, possessing the combat power of a Hazardous Species.

Only after he became stronger in the future and had confidence in controlling even Nightmare Species would he then allow Little Hai’er to evolve.

This was Su Ming’s original cultivation plan.However, plans can’t keep up with changes. With the Mo Family’s intervention, Little Hai’er evolved ahead of schedule and, as a blessing in disguise, successfully evolved into a Nightmare Species that even her original progenitor couldn’t achieve. Her power has undergone an almost complete transformation and, just as Su Ming had once feared, it rendered 【Demon Binding】 ineffective.

The current Little Hai’er is someone even Su Ming lacks confidence in defeating, let alone controlling.

From an objective perspective, this situation is undoubtedly very dangerous. A single misstep could truly turn a Phantom Demon with limitless potential into a terrifying enemy, creating countless tragedies and disasters.

This is exactly what Su Ming was referring to.

But…

“Having said that, you don’t seem particularly uneasy about it.”

Xu Qianqian voiced her confusion to Su Ming.

As she spoke, Su Ming indeed appeared completely at ease, showing no signs of worrying that things might develop in the worst possible direction.

“Well, this matter is rather mysterious, and I don’t know how to explain it,” Su Ming scratched his cheek and said, “Anyway, let’s return to Longyao City first before discussing further.”

“Right now?” Xu Qianqian glanced at Little Hai’er in her arms, who was tilting her head with a puzzled expression, and spoke bluntly, “Are you sure about bringing this child back?”

“Why?” Su Ming responded with a half-smile, “Don’t you want to?”

Xu Qianqian fell silent.

Reason told her that a Nightmare Species that had lost control and could no longer be easily managed should absolutely not be brought into a Base City densely populated with humans.

Just like when she hadn’t dared to recklessly save Little Hai’er without confirming her harmlessness, no matter how you looked at it, humans shouldn’t let their guard down against a Phantom Demon.

If they couldn’t ensure this Phantom Demon could be controlled, then they absolutely shouldn’t allow it to exist, to avoid harming both others and themselves.

Yet emotionally, Xu Qianqian didn’t believe they should abandon Little Hai’er.

She had to admit that she no longer saw this adorable little girl as humanity’s natural enemy.

In her view, Little Hai’er was different from other Phantom Demons – full of spirit and humanity, completely unlike the bloodthirsty Phantom Demons.

Xu Qianqian didn’t know why this was the case.

Even Su Ming didn’t know why such a special Phantom Demon like Little Hai’er had suddenly appeared.

If they had heard Mo Yin’s speculation, they might have had some ideas.

But even without hearing Mo Yin’s theory, looking at Little Hai’er’s innocent, pure, and untainted appearance, they couldn’t treat her as a Phantom Demon that saw humans as food.

This was true for both Su Ming and Xu Qianqian.

And so…

“Let’s go,” Su Ming patted Xu Qianqian’s shoulder and said, “Since we’ve come this far, there’s no reason to hesitate because of unfounded worries.”

With these words, Xu Qianqian also nodded firmly.

“Mi-ling?”

Only Little Hai’er seemed unable to understand Su Ming and Xu Qianqian’s concerns, as if she couldn’t comprehend their conversation. Clinging to Xu Qianqian’s waist while tilting her head, she wore an expression of complete bewilderment.

“It’s nothing,” Xu Qianqian looked at Little Hai’er like this and couldn’t help but reach out to stroke her head, saying, “Just continue being yourself. We believe in you.”

“Mi-ling!”Although Little Hai’er didn’t quite understand what Xu Qianqian meant by her words, she could clearly sense the Young Miss’s goodwill. Immediately letting out a happy chirp.

“Let’s go.”

Su Ming then climbed back onto the Dragon’s Gall motorcycle, calling out to Xu Qianqian who came over and sat behind him.

“Meeling!”

Little Hai’er actually swung her fish tail and darted into Su Ming’s arms, settling in front of him as if she had no intention of returning on her own.

Su Ming and Xu Qianqian exchanged glances before both breaking into simultaneous smiles.

“Vroom!”

The engine’s roar soon sounded once more.

The magnificent armed motorcycle sped off toward Longyao City, kicking up clouds of dust as it traversed mountains and ridges along the way.

(End of Chapter)