"Once I get back to Spirit Hall, I'll make sure to take the lead in improving the Douluo Youngling Protection Law, so every child on the Douluo Continent can grow up in a warm and caring environment."
So said Su Zui, young master of Spirit Hall, after being chased for hundreds of miles.
In ancient times, the donkey-cart god of war raced two hundred miles in a single night; today, the running youth Su Zui fled eight hundred miles in a single day.
He had never imagined that the approachable big sister could have such a terrifying side.
For an entire day, he had been ruthlessly battered. Sometimes he moved so fast and for so long that even Su Zui felt dizzy and nauseous.
What was more, while exercising at such intensity, Su Zui had also been forced to stay on guard against the arrows Light Feather Douluo fired at him.
By the time this round of pursuit ended, Su Zui was so exhausted that he collapsed on the ground, looking just like a salted fish.
Although Su Zui had drunk a large amount of healing and health-restoring wine, the mental strain brought on by such intense exercise was also terrifying.
During the pursuit, Su Zui had not only needed to dodge obstacles along the way at all times, but also evade the ice arrows Light Feather Douluo shot at him.
Now, Su Zui felt as though his mind were in a fog. He wanted to do nothing but have a good sleep.
Seeing Su Zui lying there like a salted fish, Light Feather Douluo smiled knowingly. Then he propped up his chin and sat quietly beside him.
He hadn't expected the little Su Zui from back then to have grown so big.
Light Feather Douluo had no children of his own, but he had raised both little Xue'er and Su Zui.
The other elders of the Worship Hall were all right at fighting, but asking them to look after children was really too much.
Qian Daoliu was a laid-back old man; Golden Crocodile Douluo and Mighty Lion Douluo were both rough brutes; Qian Jun and Jiang Mo were outright battle maniacs. Azure Luan Douluo was dependable, but he was too strict with the children, too rigid.
So both little Xue'er and Su Zui liked to stick close to Light Feather Douluo.
Guang Ling remembered how, as a child, Xue'er had always clung to him, asking him to braid her hair and help her put on her little dresses.
Su Zui had been even more entertaining as a child. Sometimes he acted like a little adult, and sometimes he was mischievous, with all sorts of strange ideas in his head. Despite his tender age, he even liked to drink. All in all, he was just like a little demon pill.
At first, Light Feather Douluo had actually liked Xue'er best. After all, Xue'er was his big brother's own granddaughter. Besides, Su Zui had been closer to Bibi Dong since he was little, so Light Feather Douluo hadn't been this close to him from the beginning.
But Su Zui seemed to have some inexplicable charm that always made everyone around him grow fond of him.
He could squat with the little beggars on the street and eat candied hawthorns, yet he could also stand tall and hold forth before the assembled Enshrined. He would grieve for days over a pet dog that had died, yet he could also swing his sword and cut off an evildoer's head.
In Su Zui's view, there seemed to be no such concept as rank or class. He simply regarded himself as a "person," or rather, a blank sheet of paper.
Whatever the world around him was like, Su Zui could paint it onto that sheet of paper.
"Xiao Zui, Xiao Zui, Spirit Hall is truly lucky to have you."
Light Feather Douluo gently pinched Su Zui's little cheek. Su Zui kept his eyes closed and shook his head, looking aggrieved.
Seeing that Su Zui hadn't woken up, Light Feather Douluo pinched him again.
When Su Zui woke up the next day, he kept feeling that something was odd about his face, while Light Feather Douluo snickered beside him.
The ever-suspicious Su Zui asked with a doubtful look, "Sister Guang Ling, what are you laughing at?"
Light Feather Douluo answered with a perfectly straight face, "Nothing. I just thought of something that made me happy."
As he spoke, Light Feather Douluo's gaze fell on Su Zui's red cheeks once again, and he burst out laughing.
"You're obviously laughing at me. You haven't even stopped!"
Su Zui had a nagging feeling that Light Feather Douluo was hiding something from him, and his sixth sense told him that something unknown to him must have happened last night.
Light Feather Douluo glanced at Su Zui somewhat guiltily, then immediately put on a serious expression.
"All right, Xiao Zui, don't worry about such little things. It's time we talked about something important. I'd like to hear your thoughts on your plans for your fourth Soul Skill."
Su Zui's expression immediately turned serious as well.
He rubbed his chin and gently closed his eyes. One Soul Beast after another from the Soul Beast encyclopedia began to appear in his mind.
Light Feather Douluo knew that Su Zui was now deep in thought, so he didn't disturb him and simply sat quietly by his side.
Before long, Su Zui opened his eyes. By then, he already had a complete plan in mind.
"Well, have you thought it through already? Tell me about it."
Su Zui immediately began to lay out his analysis.
"Sister, right now I have three major Soul Skills in total."
"My first Soul Skill, Sword Qi Ranges Across, is an energy attack skill that releases several streams of Sword Qi to attack the enemy. Its attributes are fairly balanced in every respect, making it a very standard Soul Skill."
"My second Soul Skill is an amplification skill that increases my speed. As my strength grows, the speed boost increases by powers of two. Its main attribute is speed."
"My third Soul Skill is an assault skill with the shadow attribute. It can release Sword Qi without a sound to stab at the enemy."
"So right now, I'm still missing a defensive attribute and an offensive attribute capable of killing in a single blow. This time, I'm going to choose an offensive attribute first."
"I need a Soul Skill that contains the ultimate attack, one that can directly wound an enemy severely or kill them as soon as I use it."
Light Feather Douluo nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Then have you decided what kind of Soul Beast you want?"
Su Zui answered confidently, "Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, Dragon-Pattern White Tiger, Terrorclaw Tyrant Dragon!"
"Oh, little Su Zui, what you're asking for isn't easy. The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, the Dragon-Pattern White Tiger, and the Terrorclaw Tyrant Dragon are all renowned overlords of the forest."
"The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear is especially terrifying. A Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear at the ten-thousand-year level can tear an ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to pieces."
Hearing Light Feather Douluo's words, Su Zui immediately leaned closer with a grin.
"Hehe, Sister, I know Sister Guang Ling is the best! Those Soul Beasts may be powerful, but in front of you, they're nothing but little lambs!"
"After all, my Sister Guang Ling is a Level 96 Peak Super Douluo. A few mere Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts would be a cinch for you to deal with, wouldn't they?"
Light Feather Douluo snorted and reached out a long, slender finger to tap Su Zui's forehead. "You little rascal, all you know how to do is talk sweetly and trick me into risking my life against those Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts."
Su Zui immediately began acting cute and coy. "Of course not, Sister! How could I bear to let you risk your life?"
Light Feather Douluo looked at Su Zui with interest. "If you don't want me to risk my life, then tell me, what should we do?"
Su Zui said with a sincere expression, "I've decided to challenge my own weakness. Sister, how about you stand guard for me while I go kill a Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear on my own?"