Taming

Targeting a Soul Emperor and targeting a Soul Emperor protected by at least a Soul Sage were difficulties on entirely different levels.

Most likely, before he found the right opportunity, Kendall would have already reached the Soul Sage realm.

You Chen's burning gaze lingered on the "Longevity Secret" for a long while, but in the end...

After weighing it over and over, he chose to give up.

You Chen made his assessment. The risks were disproportionate to the rewards. No matter how tempting the reward was, he had to abandon it!

Only by giving something up could one gain something!

It was not as though he had absolutely no way of completing this mission.

Leaving aside the previously mentioned issue of there only being "a chance of success."

If he were willing to spend a few more years building up his strength, he could certainly advance to Soul Emperor—and become a Soul Emperor with the strength to fight a Soul Sage!

But... was he supposed to remain stuck on this mission and wait several years just to ensure he could complete it?

He had long known that not every mission target would be weaker than his current self.

There would certainly be no shortage of people whose talent far surpassed his own, whether in the past or even now.

That meant that after more than twenty years, these people would not only be no weaker than him—they might be far stronger!

Even geniuses had gaps between them!

Take Jiang Liu. He was still a Soul Ancestor in his thirties.

As for Kendall, You Chen had no idea whether he had encountered some other stroke of fortune or whether his soul ring absorption had coincidentally gone perfectly, but at thirty-six, he was already regarded as a prospective Soul Sage.

He was not much worse than Qin Ming, the second-fastest cultivation genius recorded in the original work.

Whether he could become a Titled Douluo in the future depended on luck, but becoming a Soul Douluo was practically a certainty.

In truth, such cases were not everywhere across Douluo Continent, but neither were they mere legends.

Among high-grade martial soul masters, there were also those with cultivation talent so exceptional that they could rival top-grade martial soul masters.

Likewise, some top-grade martial soul masters possessed low Innate Soul Power. They bore the title of having a top-grade martial soul, but if assessed using the martial soul's six-dimensional rating, their martial soul quality was only at the high-grade level.

Around the age of thirty, the golden prime of one's life, there was no shortage of soul masters who soared to greatness in a single leap.

What You Chen meant by "it had begun" was that "he had begun encountering mission targets he could not easily defeat in a short time, and missions that could not be completed so simply."

That meant many missions would likely require waiting several years, perhaps even more than a decade, before they could be completed.

Because while he waited, these geniuses would not stand still and wait for him. They would grow stronger too!

Furthermore, as the levels of the mission targets rose, so would their identities and status in this world.

That meant You Chen had to consider more than merely whether he could beat them.

Those classmates and teachers had been willing to honor him by attending his banquet because they shared the bonds of classmates and teacher-student relationships. Even the so-called conflicts described by the system were, for the most part, old memories that could now be recalled with a smile.

And his status as a theoretical master still earned their envy and respect.

But someone like Kendall?

If You Chen went up and asked him for a spar, he would most likely reply, "Who the fuck are you?"

There was also the issue of You Chen's own strength.

He had not forgotten that there was a crazy woman watching him from behind the scenes.

So, to complete missions involving these targets, advance preparation would be absolutely indispensable.

It could take as little as one or two months, or as long as one or two years. Such time expenditures were entirely possible.

As You Chen sorted through these thoughts, he quietly came to a decision.

Unless a mission could noticeably improve his strength or enhance his potential and foundation, if its risks were too great or its estimated completion time too long, he would simply give it up!

And besides the excessive uncertainty, there was another reason he had chosen to abandon this mission...

"You Chen, your grilled fish is about to burn!"

Sister Xiao Wu's slightly anxious urging interrupted You Chen's thoughts.

Yet You Chen still wore a confident expression at her reminder. "With my skills, even if I grilled fish with my feet, it wouldn't burn. You think it looks like it's about to burn, but I'm actually just trying to give it a little more crispness. It's a bit black on the outside, but—"

"Wow, it burned! It burned!"

"Tch."

Looking at Sister Xiao Wu as she cried out in alarm, You Chen shook his head and chose to flip the fish over anyway.

Not long after.

"Here, take it. Yours is done. I'll grill my own portion now, and even if it burns, that's none of your business, right?"

You Chen casually handed the grilled fish to Sister Xiao Wu.

"Yay!"

Sister Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. She took the grilled fish You Chen had prepared and immediately started ravenously devouring it.

She did not look like a rabbit who loved carrots at all. She looked more like a greedy cat.

After all, how could Sister Xiao Wu, who had lived in the forest for so long, understand the power of seasonings from the human world?

Not to mention that this was grilled fish made under You Chen's superhuman mental control, with the heat managed perfectly.

Sister Xiao Wu ate away blissfully, smacking her lips now and then. Then she suddenly sensed You Chen's silent gaze on her. Her face reddened, and she glared at him. "Grill your fish. Stop peeking at me while I eat!"

"Fine, fine, fine." You Chen merely smiled casually and turned away.

Yet that gentle smile made Sister Xiao Wu's heart warm.

Compared to the constant fear and unease she had felt when she first arrived in the human world, the days she had spent with You Chen lately made her feel, in a daze, as though she had returned to the Star Dou Great Forest.

Whenever she threw a tantrum or acted willfully, Da Ming and Er Ming would look at her the same way.

There are good people among humans too...

Thinking this, Sister Xiao Wu could not help but curl her lips into a smile. The grilled fish in her mouth seemed to taste even more delicious, and she ate a little faster.

This was the first time she had felt human kindness in the human world.

Only... what she did not know was that the gentleness in You Chen's gaze was less like he was looking at a little girl and more like he was looking at his own pet.

"We'll reach Notting City soon. Sister Xiao Wu, what are you planning to do next?"

You Chen stared into the fire, turning the grilled fish as he asked.

"Huh? Plans, I—"

Sister Xiao Wu was about to let something slip when she suddenly remembered that she had told You Chen she had been heading for Notting City from the start. Her gaze immediately darted about as she stammered, "Hmph, you pervert uncle, are you trying to probe into my background so you can make a move on me? Clever Sister Xiao Wu won't fall for it!"

"What kind of mush is stuffed inside that little head of yours..."

You Chen feigned a sigh and glanced sideways at Sister Xiao Wu. "You never had any destination from the beginning, did you?"

Sister Xiao Wu looked away and began whistling.

She seemed to have the leisure to play dumb, but inwardly, she was breaking out in a cold sweat.

No, no way? Could this guy be a bad person? Has he been deliberately lowering my guard these past few days so he could find a flaw in me!?

Sister Xiao Wu's thoughts had never moved so quickly. Of course, assuming You Chen did not have a god's-eye view, such wild speculation had no basis at all. It was simply the thinking of a fool.

She racked her brain while her body swayed uncontrollably.

"If you have nowhere to go, how about I arrange for you to attend school in Notting City?"

While Sister Xiao Wu was wildly adding drama in her mind, You Chen casually spoke those words.