Relaxation

Tomorrow was the Tianhai Grand Competition, along with the drawing of their next opponents. Today was mainly for arranging accommodations.

They were taken to a luxurious hotel. It had a distinctive design, with half the building extending into the sea. Every room had a view of the ocean.

It gave them the feeling that they could embrace the sea.

He and Xie Xie shared a room. Wu Changkong took Tang Wulin to his room, while Gu Yue stayed with Xu Xiaoyan.

Meng Li did not have much luggage, only a few changes of clothes and toiletries. He had brought nothing else.

There was nothing to do today, so I'll treat it as sightseeing, Meng Li thought as he set his bag by the bed.

He looked at Xie Xie, who was sorting through a huge bag of belongings.

Then he directly claimed the bathtub.

The hotel provided milk. Meng Li comfortably soaked in the milk bath, narrowing his eyes in contentment.

It felt as though the damage Wu Changkong had inflicted on him had lessened considerably.

"Brother Meng, Brother Meng..."

At some point, Xie Xie's voice came from outside.

"Mm, mm, mm. I'm here."

"It's my turn."

"Got it."

How long have I been soaking? Meng Li gradually came to his senses and checked the time. It was already seven in the evening.

He got out of the bathroom, rinsed the milk off his body, changed into his newly bought clothes, hung the silver pendant around his neck, and walked out to find Xie Xie already in a bathrobe, clutching a towel with an anxious look on his face.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Meng Li yawned and touched his silver pendant.

"It's fine. Once I'm done washing, want to go out and grab something to eat?" Xie Xie hurried into the bathroom.

"Sure." Meng Li nodded, lay down on the bed, and turned on the television, switching to his favorite channel. Eating whatever he wanted—now this was the good life.

The competition could wait...

"Want to go out for a stroll later?" Meng Li took the chance to call Gu Yue through the Soul Tool Communicator.

"Sure. Where are we going?" Gu Yue's voice carried a hint of delight.

"Mm, mainly to eat."

"What? Food? I want to go too!" Xu Xiaoyan's excited voice came through the Soul Tool Communicator.

"Let's go together. I'll bring Tang Wulin and Xie Xie along later. Teacher Wu has worked us too hard lately, so we'll treat it as a chance to relax," Meng Li said.

"Okay."

"Let's go, we're off!"

Since they were going out to eat, Xie Xie washed up quickly. The moment he got dressed, he spoke eagerly.

"Wulin will be back later. We'll wait an hour for him. If he still isn't back, then we'll leave!" Meng Li said.

Tianhai was different from Eastsea, where everything was beach. There were many hills here, and nearly all of them were dotted with detached houses.

As the sun set, Meng Li, Wu Changkong, Gu Yue, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan found a restaurant by the beach and sat down.

The restaurant offered all kinds of set meals—grilled fish sets, lobster sets, and more. But why eat lobster when you came to the seaside? Naturally, grilled fish was the way to go.

They sat around a fire pit. The restaurant owner prepared all kinds of skewers for them, along with cumin and chili. Once the food was cooked, they could eat it right away.

"I wonder what Tang Wulin is doing. It's been two hours, and he still hasn't shown up." Xie Xie flipped over a skewer of grilled lamb.

"This is for you!" Gu Yue said with a smile, handing a skewer of grilled beef to Meng Li.

"Then this is for you!" Meng Li handed back two skewers of pork belly.

"You two should watch yourselves. There are still people beside you, you know." Xie Xie waggled his eyebrows.

"Eat your own food. No one's treating you like a mute!" Gu Yue shot Xie Xie a murderous glare.

"Enjoy yourselves. Tomorrow we'll be drawing lots for the competition, so we won't be able to relax anymore." Meng Li bit the beef off the skewer Gu Yue had just given him.

"Teacher Wu, have a skewer of chicken tendons!"

Music played along the beach as the sea breeze carried away the lingering warmth. It was peaceful and beautiful.

"Brother Meng, Wulin said you know a lot about Patriarch Tang San. Can you tell us about him?" Xie Xie asked curiously.

Meng Li froze for a moment and looked at the people beside him. Even Wu Changkong seemed deeply interested in the subject.

"Ahem. I know a little, just a little. When it comes to the Douluo Continent from twenty thousand years ago, I'm extremely familiar with it." Since he had nothing better to do, Meng Li assumed the posture of a storyteller and began recounting events from the Douluo Continent twenty thousand years ago.

Everyone listened with interest. Only beneath Gu Yue's curious expression lay other emotions.

Before they realized it, Meng Li was surrounded by other people who had come to hear his story.

What Meng Li described was far too detailed, as though he had lived through it himself. Since time was limited, he chose to tell the more interesting parts.

Everyone also gained an understanding of Tang San and the Tang Sect.

The more Wu Changkong listened, the more shocked he became. Some of these things had not been recorded in ancient texts. Questions he had never been able to understand before—Meng Li knew all the answers.

Most importantly, Meng Li had spoken of something extraordinary as though it were nothing.

The path to godhood—Tang San had become a god through the Sea God's Nine Trials!

Several loads of firewood had already been added to the stove, and night had fallen. Meng Li's mouth was dry from talking, yet the people around him were still listening intently.

"That's about it. It's very late. If fate allows, I'll tell you more another time!" Meng Li took a sip of water.

He had been talking from nightfall until midnight. He could not take it anymore.

"Keep going. Look how enthusiastic everyone is," said one beautiful female Soul Master.

"Next time, next time..."

It was already one in the morning by the time everyone returned. After saying goodbye outside their rooms, Gu Yue watched Meng Li's retreating back reluctantly, unwilling to part with him and wishing only to spend more time by his side.

Honestly, why did I make that bet with myself back then? Gu Yue reproached herself inwardly.

Just then, Xu Xiaoyan walked over and patted Gu Yue on the shoulder, interrupting her thoughts.

"He's already long gone, and you're still staring in the direction he left?"

"Mm, let's go back." Gu Yue nodded and closed the door to the room.

"What exactly is your relationship with him?" Xu Xiaoyan's gossiping heart ignited.

"We're closer than ordinary friends," Gu Yue said.

"Oh, so you're boyfriend and girlfriend." Xu Xiaoyan said.

"No, no, we're not. Not yet." Gu Yue's face immediately turned red.

"Then do you like him?"

Xu Xiaoyan asked.

"..."

Gu Yue did not answer. She began thinking to herself. Did she like him? Or had she approached him with some other purpose...

She did not know.

"Brother Meng, tell me one more part. Just one." Xie Xie pestered Meng Li without stopping.

"Get lost! Don't disturb my sleep." Meng Li's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"Then tell me tomorrow."

"...Get lost!"

"Then the day after tomorrow."

"If you don't go to sleep, get another room and sleep by yourself." Meng Li covered his ears with his pillow.

He truly regretted telling stories about the first Douluo Continent today, especially with Xie Xie lying beside him.

"Hey, Mo Ling, are you sure this is the place?" a tall girl with long hair asked impatiently.

Beside her stood a boy studying a map intently. The boy had fair skin and an elegant bearing. His name was Mo Ling.

"You actually don't trust me? Could I fail to find a hotel?" Mo Ling said with righteous indignation.