Sword Douluo Picked Up a Strange Child

"Child, who exactly are you?"

Li Zhexian sat beside a rock, hugging his knees, then lowered his head to look at his hands.

"I'd like to know that too."

Chen Xin watched him.

"Where did you come from?"

"The mountains."

"Where is your family?"

"I haven't found them."

"What's your name?"

"Li Zhexian. I gave myself that name."

Chen Xin raised a hand and rubbed the spot between his brows.

In all the years he had lived, this was the first time he had encountered such a strange child.

When the Fanged Beast struck Li Zhexian, he neither cried nor shouted in pain. Instead, the first thing he did was look at the numbers on the panel.

"Why were you staring at the Soul Beast just now?"

"I was counting how many times it hit me."

"It only hit you once."

"So the answer is once."

Chen Xin took Li Zhexian's wrist again and sent Soul Power into his body.

The Soul Power traveled past his bones, but as soon as it touched the golden shield, every bit of it bounced back.

Chen Xin checked three other spots, but the result was no different.

Li Zhexian looked up and asked, "Have you ever met anyone who drops things after getting beaten?"

Chen Xin released his wrist.

"Why do you want to get beaten?"

"Because I want to get stronger."

"Can you cultivate?"

"Not at the moment. There's something inside my body suppressing me."

"What is it?"

Li Zhexian tapped his chest.

"A shield."

Chen Xin looked at him without answering immediately.

Taken separately, every one of those statements made sense, but once they were put together, something about them seemed wrong.

He went over to the Fanged Beast's corpse and flicked the sword feather off the ground with his foot.

The sword feather rose into the air, then turned into a three-foot-long sword.

Li Zhexian stared at the sword and said, "Can that move hit me?"

"No. I won't hit children."

"But you just hit a Soul Beast."

"Soul Beasts eat people."

"I can pretend to be a Soul Beast too."

Chen Xin put the sword away.

"Shut up."

He bent down and picked Li Zhexian up. His movements weren't gentle, but he held him very steadily.

"Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

"Will they feed me?"

"Yes."

"Will anyone there hit me?"

"No one will hit you without a reason."

Li Zhexian frowned.

"From the sound of it, that sect isn't very suitable for me."

Chen Xin stepped onto the sword feather and carried him up into the air.

The mountain rocks had shrunk to the size of fists, the river formed a bend at the bottom of the valley, and the wind from the forest swept past their ears.

Li Zhexian gripped Chen Xin's clothes tightly and began making plans in his head.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect sounded very rich. If there were many Soul Masters in the sect, his shield should be removed very soon.

"Elder, what's your name?"

"Chen Xin."

"Sword Douluo Chen Xin?"

Chen Xin turned his head to glance at him.

"Have you heard of me before?"

"No, I was just asking."

"My title is Sword."

"Are you powerful?"

"What do you think?"

"Can you split a mountain open with one swing of your sword?"

"No."

"Then you need to keep practicing."

Chen Xin didn't respond to that. He merely made the sword feather climb a little higher.

A Black-Winged Bird burst out of a mountain pass, its two claws reaching for Chen Xin's shoulders.

The sword passed by, and the Black-Winged Bird was forced back, several severed feathers drifting down.

The Black-Winged Bird circled the edge of the clouds once, then turned and disappeared into the mountain forest.

Li Zhexian looked down at the panel. The shield's number hadn't changed.

He turned and asked, "Why didn't you let it hit you just now?"

"It could hurt someone."

"You can withstand the damage."

"This is nonsense."

"I only need eighteen points."

Chen Xin lowered the sword feather and increased its speed.

Li Zhexian immediately grabbed his sleeve.

"Slower. I'm not sitting securely yet."

"Now you know what fear is?"

"I'm afraid of falling to my death, not of getting beaten."

Chen Xin looked down at him.

"The path of a Soul Master isn't about gambling with your life."

"Soul Beasts can tear people apart, and Soul Masters can kill people too. Every fist you encounter could cost you your life."

Li Zhexian didn't argue further.

He committed those words to memory.

The shield could block damage, but that didn't mean he truly couldn't die.

If he wanted to rely on getting beaten to obtain rewards, he also had to choose the right opponent first. He couldn't just find someone at random and throw himself at them.

Before long, the sword feather landed at the outer gate of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Two disciples quickly came forward to greet them.

"Elder Sword, why have you brought back a child in your arms?"

"I picked him up in the mountains."

"This child couldn't be one you left out there..."

A flash of sword light brushed past the disciple's ear, slicing off a corner of the stone by the gate.

The disciple covered his ear with his hand, unable to finish what he had been about to say.

Chen Xin carried Li Zhexian into the sect.

"Starting today, he'll live here."

"Should we ask the sect master for permission first?"

"I'll explain it to him."

"Then what's his name?"

"Li Zhexian."

Li Zhexian raised his hand.

"There's one more thing."

Chen Xin looked at him.

"I need enough food to fill me up."

"If anyone in the courtyard wants to spar, please have them line up in advance."

The two disciples at the gate glanced at each other, neither knowing how to respond.

Chen Xin shifted Li Zhexian higher in his arms.

"Cause less trouble."

"I'm only planning to make some friends."

"You make friends by getting beaten?"

"That's called sincerity."

As they passed a pond, Li Zhexian picked up a pebble from the ground.

Chen Xin immediately caught his hand.

"Don't throw it at the fish."

"I wanted to test whether they could drop anything."

"You won't even spare the fish?"

"They're too weak. They probably can't drop anything good."

Chen Xin took the pebble away and carried him into a small courtyard.

"Tomorrow, you'll undergo Martial Soul Awakening."

"After Martial Soul Awakening is complete, can I get beaten?"

"Finish Martial Soul Awakening first, then we'll talk about it."

That night, Li Zhexian lay on the bed.

The sword tassel Chen Xin had given him hung at the head of the bed, tapping gently against the wooden post in the wind.

Li Zhexian closed his eyes, still turning over the events of tomorrow in his mind.

How many Soul Masters were there in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?

Which one was best suited for testing the shield?

If he could only get white rewards from being beaten, how should he find stronger attacks?

As he pondered, the panel in his sea of consciousness lit up.

"An organization that can be bound has been detected."

"Connect to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's resource library?"