"Yes, a Dou Emperor. I once had the good fortune to witness Marshal Nalan in battle, and that woman's strength was a whole level above his! She could also form Dou Qi Wings and hover in midair!" A'da swallowed hard. Even the thought of that Dou Emperor still seemed to make his heart tremble.
"A woman?" Nalan Chaoge felt even more certain. "Was she alone? What did she look like?"
"She was alone, wearing a plain, pale-blue dress. Her dark hair was swept up into a phoenix-shaped hair ornament. Oh, right, she carried a sword, and when she attacked, it gave off a blue-green glow!"
A'da strained to recall the details.
"Did she say anything?"
"No... oh, yes. Just as the Mu Family's Dou Ling was about to attack me, the woman first gave a surprised hum, then murmured, 'Someone from the Nalan Family?' Then she raised her hand, and that Dou Ling died. I only managed to catch a single glimpse of her!"
She had killed a Dou Ling with one move and had ties to the Nalan Family.
That meant his guess was right.
Could I have left too early? Rather than going to the Xiao Family ahead of time to break off the engagement, had Nalan Yanran gone home first, discovered I wasn't there, and only then headed to the Xiao Family?
No, that wasn't necessarily it. Yun Yun might have discovered that Nalan Yanran had gone to break off the engagement and followed behind to protect her.
Yun Yun? Nalan Yanran?
After a moment's thought, Nalan Chaoge had an idea.
"A'da-no, Brother. I'm truly grateful that you still haven't abandoned me at a time like this. Don't go back to the Lion Army. How about following me instead?" Nalan Chaoge said sincerely.
"Young Master, please don't! What have I done to deserve being called your brother? Since you don't disdain me, I will gladly serve you, before your saddle and behind your horse!"
"Good. As long as I, Nalan Chaoge, remain alive, there will be a place for you on this Dou Qi Continent! From now on, you won't be called A'da anymore. Your new name is Nagato! I'll have important tasks for you!"
A'da froze, then dropped to one knee and bowed his head in allegiance to Nalan Chaoge.
A thirteen-year-old boy had gone from a good-for-nothing to a genius in a single month, killing the Mu Family's talented youth with seven-stage Dou Qi in one stroke.
With only the strength of a Dou Zhe, he had escaped the pursuit of Mu Tong, a two-star Dou Shi, and even used a tier 2 magical beast to destroy him.
Both his strength and his scheming left A'da deeply astonished.
"Nagato pays his respects, Young Master!"
Nalan Chaoge did not reply. He simply turned and gazed calmly in the direction of Wutan City.
That was the true destination of his journey.
Having come to this world, he did not intend to change anything. He only wanted to protect what he ought to protect.
If anyone tried to disrupt that, he would stake his life on stopping them, even if they had a heaven-defying cheat and the halo of a protagonist!
Since Nalan Chaoge did not speak, A'da remained kneeling on the ground.
For a while, the wind howled, and a deadly stillness pervaded the entire Magical Beast Forest.
"Nagato, I'm not from this world. That's all I can tell you. Now that I'm here, I will do what I must!"
Nagato stared in bewilderment at the young master before him, who had not even reached adulthood.
"Go back now. Return to the Nalan Family and protect Guo'er for me. She's mine!"
"Yes, Young Master!" Nagato rose from the ground but did not leave immediately. "But Young Master, this is the Magical Beast Forest. If you're going to train here without anyone by your side..."
"I'll be fine. Go!"
Nagato hesitated, then nodded.
"Oh, right. I have something to give you!" Nalan Chaoge paused, then took the Explosive Tag from his pocket.
"This talisman contains the power of a Dou Ling expert's full-force strike. I'm giving it to you. On my orders, watch over Guo'er for me. In a crisis, it may help you once! This is my Nalan Family's Profound Tier Intermediate Dou Technique,
"Raging Lion's Wrath. I'm giving it to you. If Grandfather asks, tell him I gave it to you!" "Young Master, this..."
"Go!"
"Yes, Young Master! I will keep Miss Guo'er safe! Take care, Young Master!"
Watching Nagato leave, Nalan Chaoge still could not quite stop worrying about Guo'er's safety. He hoped Nagato could protect her in his place for a while.
He turned to glance at Mu Tong, who had been reduced to chunks of flesh, and gave a bleak smile. Even without this, he and the Mu Family had already become mortal enemies.
He walked over to Mu Tong and pried a Na Ring from his finger.
He sent his soul power surging into it and easily broke the soul imprint on the Na Ring.
To Nalan Chaoge's disappointment, however, aside from a few Vitality Pills, the ring contained nothing useful. Most laughably, those very pills were ones he had sold to the Mittel Family.
The Mu Family was a major family, after all. How was this guy even poorer than me?
It seemed Mu Tong was merely someone the Mu Family used as a weapon.
He glanced at the tier 2 magical beast again. What a pity it had no magic core. Otherwise, he could raise his system's level once more.
Huh? Wait!
Just as Nalan Chaoge shifted his gaze, a blood-red gleam flashed.
A magic core?
Haha!
Looks like Nagato wasn't very practiced at searching for magic cores either!
Nalan Chaoge walked over to the Red-haired Ape. An irregular crystal, only about the size of his little finger, lay on the ground.
Looks like my luck wasn't too bad after all!
Nalan Chaoge picked up the magic core and immediately recycled it to raise the system's level.
Ding! System level increased. The system is now [C]-tier! Awarded 400 points! The host may raise his cultivation level to Dou Master or Da Dou Shi! [C]-tier Ninjutsu are available for exchange. Upgrading to a [B]-tier system requires four tier 2 demonic cores.
Da Dou Shi? Tier 2 demonic cores? Why did it still require tier 2 demonic cores? Following the usual pattern, shouldn't it require tier 3 demonic cores?
Ding! Due to Dou Po rank restrictions and the gap between Dou Master and Da Dou Shi, upgrading the [C]-tier system still requires tier 2 demonic cores, but the quantity has increased to four!
Right, the highest rank available through the [C]-tier system actually surpassed Dou Master and jumped straight to Da Dou Shi. This was an unexpected delight for Nalan Chaoge. It meant the grade of magic cores he needed had dropped, while his strength could leap straight across a whole tier.
Ding! If the host advances to Da Dou Shi, four tier 3 demonic cores will still be required!
After getting a basic understanding of the system's requirements, Nalan Chaoge checked his system panel.
Name: Nalan Chaoge Sex: Male System level: [C]-tier Dou Po cultivation level: Dou Master. System pill refinement: Third-grade Exchanged Ninjutsu: [Clone Technique] [Transformation Jutsu] [Eight Inner Gates] Summoned tailed beasts: None Impure World Reincarnation: None Points held: 400
In other words, as long as I had enough points, I could advance straight to Ten-star Dou Shi now!
Of course, Nalan Chaoge knew all too well that points would become even harder to acquire in the future. Tier 3 medicinal ingredients were already beyond what his gold coins could cover. Even if he could buy them, there was absolutely no way to farm them as he had with tier 2 ingredients.
From now on, he would have to find medicinal ingredients and magic cores himself!
Since I couldn't farm the system, I'd start farming the map!
Opening the Ninjutsu exchange tab, Nalan Chaoge froze.
The [C]-tier Ninjutsu had already exceeded his expectations.
Shadow Clone Rasengan Rain Shower Senbon Mind Body Switch Technique Fire Release: Great Fireball Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Fire Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall Summoning Jutsu: Queen Bee, Hornet Body Technique: Shadow Leaf Dance Illusion Technique: Fox's Heart Illusion Technique: This Is Not the Place
All sorts of basic release techniques, Taijutsu, illusion techniques, and summoning techniques were now essentially available. Only now could this truly be called a complete exchange system!
Wait?
Rasengan?
*
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