The Butterfly Flaps Its Wings
The White Tiger Duke's Mansion
Qi and blood surged through Huo Yun'er's body. As though she had taken some miraculous elixir, her pale complexion slowly regained its color.
Her body... had not felt this full of vitality in a long time. Her breathing was no longer as weak as before, either.
Huo Yun'er had thought she would not survive the next few years. She had never expected the diary to drag her weakened body back from the brink.
(P.S. As an aside, Huo Yuhao has a Body Martial Soul, but Body Martial Souls aren't necessarily inherited. Anyone can awaken one, so Huo Yun'er's Martial Soul isn't necessarily Spirit Eyes. But in this book, we're making it Spirit Eyes. What do you think?)
"Mom?" Huo... Huo Yuhao tilted his head up and stared blankly at his mother.
Huo Yun'er rubbed her child's head. "Yuhao, let me tell you a story."
"Is it the story of Sea God Tang San?"
Huo Yun'er: "..."
"Never mind, no story then. Little Yuhao, you'll be awakening your Martial Soul in a few days, won't you?"
"Mm! Mom, I'll definitely awaken the White Tiger Martial Soul!"
Looking at her son's innocent face, Huo Yun'er did not know what to say. With a complicated expression, she rubbed his little head. "Even if you don't awaken the White Tiger Martial Soul, you'll still be my pride and joy."
[You have completed the Current Affairs Review Check-In. Reward obtained: Soul Ring Age +1,000 years!]
These thousand years of Soul Ring Age could be added to any Soul Ring!
If he allocated them to his First Soul Ring and Second Soul Ring, he could even turn both of his first two Soul Rings into Thousand-Year Soul Rings.
But... there was no need.
Not only would it do little to help him in battle, but it would also make his Soul Ring configuration incredibly conspicuous. If a good thing turned bad because of that, it would be unfortunate...
After some hesitation, Jing Hongchen allocated the thousand years of Age to his Seventh Soul Ring, Martial Soul Avatar.
With a thousand years of Age added, the Soul Ring barely changed. It hardly made a ripple.
But... little by little, it would add up.
A thousand years a week would make four thousand years a month, and about fifty thousand years a year.
In only about ten years, he could have a full set of red Soul Rings.
Jing Hongchen's heart burned. Looking at it this way, Sea God Tang San did not seem like such an insurmountable mountain after all...
Of course, he knew that the reward could not be Soul Ring Age every time, but this reward was indeed a glimmer of dawn.
"I can't let this get out!"
Jing Hongchen made that decision almost instantly. He could not breathe a word of it even to his grandson and granddaughter!
Jing Hongchen sipped his tea, then leisurely closed his eyes in contemplation.
Besides that, there was another piece of good news: all four holders of diary copies, himself included, were not on Tang San's side.
But there was no telling whether members of the Sea God Faction would appear in the future...
For now, what he could do was bring the current four together into the same faction.
Judging from his own experience, as long as someone had a diary copy, even an ordinary person would have limitless possibilities.
As long as they opposed Tang San, Jing Hongchen did not mind whether he led the faction himself.
The outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest
"Elder Mu, what are you doing here?"
Xuan Zi scratched his greasy hair and asked in confusion.
"I've taken a liking to fishing lately. What, is that a problem?"
"No, no!" Xuan Zi would not have dared say it was.
Mu En glanced at the unconscious Titan Giant Ape on the ground. Though it was only about three or four hundred years old, it still looked like a small mountain.
"There's something else I need you to do."
Xuan Zi patted his chest. "Just say the word!"
Xuan Zi might seem muddleheaded and unreliable in the way he did things, but when it came to diligence, few in the Sea God Pavilion could match him.
Of course, part of the reason was that the other senior elders all had specific "jobs." Only Xuan Zi had no particular post, so he handled all kinds of "odd jobs."
"Lexuan has reached level eighty and needs an Eighth Soul Ring."
"Oh?" Xuan Zi's eyes gleamed, and he burst out laughing. "Good! Excellent!"
"Conceal your identity and look for a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast suitable for Lexuan. Once you've found one, don't alert it. Return to the Sea God Pavilion and bring more people." The kindness had vanished from Mu En's face. "Make sure to kill it in one strike. Don't let the Ferocious Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest discover you."
"But the agreement..."
"Without evidence, how could anyone prove that Shrek did it? As for a Beast Tide, Di Tian won't take that risk for a single Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!"
"We should have done this long ago, Martial Uncle!" Xuan Zi could hardly contain his excitement. As he saw it, Pact or no Pact, Soul Masters hunting Soul Beasts to break through was as natural as eating when hungry and drinking when thirsty. Shrek was invincible beneath the heavens; why should they fear a few Ferocious Beasts?
Mu En lowered his cloudy eyes.
The so-called Pact was an agreement reached between humanity and the Star Dou Great Forest after the last Beast Tide.
The Star Dou Great Forest was not to launch Beast Tides, while humans were not to enter its forbidden zone or hunt Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
Those who are not of our kind must surely have different hearts.
If humanity truly had not lacked the strength to fight the Soul Beasts to mutual destruction, why would they have made this Pact?
As for whether the Soul Beasts would go extinct, and where Soul Masters would go from there if they did?
That was not for him to worry about. It was something for those who came after him to solve.
It was just that... Mu En knew his body was failing. At most, he could cling to life for another ten-odd years. If he fought, his lifespan would shrink even further.
Mu En's original plan had been to avoid stirring up trouble as much as possible before he died and before the next generation had grown up.
But plans could not keep pace with change.
When the Sea God's ten-thousand-year grand scheme weighed on his heart, he knew that sometimes he had no choice but to take risks!
What he did not know was that this very risk would instead avert a disaster.
The butterfly's wings had already begun to flap. The fate of the Douluo Continent was tangled... like a ball of thread...
"Lexuan, come back to the academy with me. Xuan Zi, return to the academy as soon as you've found a Soul Beast."
"Yes!"
After answering, Xuan Zi turned and headed straight for the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Let's go, girl. That little fellow has probably been itching to become a Soul Master for a while now."
Hearing Mu En mention Shen Yichen, Zhang Lexuan felt the heaviness in her heart ease slightly, and a smile touched her lips. Because she had been cultivating, she had rarely seen the little fellow these past few days.
As it happened, the diary copy had rewarded her with one level of Soul Power. It was time to give herself a break and go tease the little fellow.
Mu En waved his hand, and Soul Power enveloped the Titan Giant Ape.
"Oh, right. Lexuan, I was wrong to say before that you should be raised as Bei Bei's future wife."
"Elder Mu..."
Mu En shook his head at Zhang Lexuan. "Don't rush to answer me. You don't need to harbor any special feelings for Bei Bei, either. Just let everything take its natural course."
When a person was about to die, he always wanted to leave something behind for his descendants.
But he had been wrong about this. It was better to clear the air now, before the girl became too deeply entangled...
"Let's go home."
Zhang Lexuan nodded. "Home!"