Zhongli Who Didn't Bring Money

Douluo Continent, Heaven Dou Empire

Inside Kela City

Slap! "Last time, we spoke of how, in those days, the Douluo Continent was plagued within by the most wicked Evil Soul Masters and harassed without by the most vicious soul beasts. Then the Angel God descended, establishing Spirit Hall to restore peace and order to the world. Legend has it that when the Angel God set out on campaign, she once said..."

In a small teahouse, the storyteller snapped open his fan and vividly recounted the tale of the Angel God wiping out Evil Soul Masters and establishing Spirit Hall. At a nearby table, a six-year-old boy held a cup of tea in one hand, gently blew away the steam, then brought it to his lips and savored it slowly.

Though the boy was young, he looked remarkably mature, as though he had already lived for several thousand years. He possessed an otherworldly aura that seemed to come from within, like an exiled immortal who had descended from the heavens into the mortal world.

His name was Zhongli. However, he was not the Zhongli from another world. He had merely inherited part of another Zhongli's template and happened to be given the same name.

Zhongli

Soul Power Level: 10

Martial Soul: Vortex Vanquisher

Talents:

① Normal Attack - Spearmanship - Geo Rain: lv1

② Jade Shield: lv10

③ Ultimate - Heavenly Star: lv2

Effect: Summons a Geo meteorite to fall from the void, dealing massive damage to enemies within an enormous area and inflicting a certain degree of petrification.

④ Geo Element Control / Cannot be upgraded / Passive

Effect: Freely controls Geo Element, creating all kinds of Geo constructs. Geo constructs can independently emit Geo pulses, dealing a certain degree of vitality damage to nearby people.

⑤ Geo Archon / Cannot be upgraded / Passive

Effect: As long as he remained in contact with the earth, he could continuously draw power from it, providing himself with endless energy while steadily increasing his strength, Spirit Ring age, and Soul Power level.

⑥ Emperor Dragon Body / Cannot be upgraded / Active

Effect: His body could directly enter Divine Dragon Form, allowing him to use greater power and stronger Geo Archon authority, multiplying his strength exponentially. After entering Dragon Form, his talents would further change, becoming more aggressive and better suited for violent damage output. His template would also undergo slight changes.

Normal Attack - Rock Spear - Extreme Giantification

Skill - Core of the Earth - All-Embracing Earth

Ultimate - Heavenly Star - Falling Stars

Other: ???

⑦ Golden Jade Imperial / Cannot be upgraded / Passive

Effect: When using Vortex Vanquisher, shield strength increased by 40% and attack increased by 50%. Each attack that hit an enemy additionally increased attack by 10% for one minute, stacking up to five times. While protected by a shield, the stacked attack increase was doubled.

Skill Points: 0

Zhongli had spent almost all the Skill Points he had previously obtained on Jade Shield. If level ten had not required a breakthrough before he could continue adding points, then Planet Befall probably would not have reached level two.

As for normal attacks?

Elegant Geo users never used normal attacks.

And after using his ultimate...

Would you buy osmanthus wine and sail together,

Arataki Itto is the Best in the World!

Colossal Rock Spear, smash them for me!

Hahahahahaha~

"Zhongli! You're drinking tea again!"

A crisp yet angry voice rang out from nearby. Zhongli sighed softly and turned toward the girl with light-purple twin ponytails. He could not help but sigh again as he set down his teacup and shook his head helplessly.

The girl puffed out her cheeks and stomped over to him. Slapping the table, she said, "Today is Martial Soul Awakening Day. Why are you still here? Don't you want to awaken your Martial Soul?"

"It is not that."

Zhongli's gaze shifted slightly. There was a reason he had been listening to stories and drinking tea for so long: he had a special reason why he could not leave. The moment he left, it would be discovered.

"Oh~"

The girl gave a strange laugh, then leaned in and shouted in mock anger, "Did you go out without bringing money again, buy tea, and then realize you had no money to pay?"

Zhongli showed no trace of embarrassment. He merely nodded lightly and said, "By universal rationality, that is indeed the case."

The girl covered her face with one hand and let out a deep sigh. After glancing at the color of Zhongli's tea, she accurately pulled out five Copper Soul Coins and slapped them onto the table. Then she grabbed his wrist and said as she dragged him away, "Hurry, hurry! Martial Soul Awakening will be over soon!"

"Oh."

Zhongli responded softly.

"Seriously, you go out without money every day, and you nearly missed Martial Soul Awakening too. How would you survive without me?" the girl growled helplessly and despairingly as she ran.

Zhongli remained silent. In truth, ever since he had obtained that base template, his Martial Soul had already awakened on its own, so there was no need for him to undergo awakening at all. This so-called awakening was merely going through the motions.

He gained Skill Points in a very laid-back way: he simply received one for free every month. As long as he did not care about breakthroughs, he had no other needs. This made his life look like that of a retired old man...

"Then, have you awakened your Martial Soul?"

Zhongli suddenly asked.

"No!"

The girl turned around and glared at him. Then she turned back and said while running, "If I hadn't noticed you were missing, I would definitely have been the first to awaken. It's all your fault, hmph!"

A smile gradually appeared on Zhongli's face. He ran alongside her and said, "Then I truly am sorry, Yuqing. Add today's money to the tab as well. I will repay you later."

Mo Yuqing was the name of this light-purple twin-tailed girl. Simple and straightforward, decisive and efficient—those traits made up her entire personality. Her name also carried a deep meaning... a family of brush and ink, swift rain in rainbow robes, and clear skies at once!

"Hmph, your mother already guessed that you would go out without money, so she gave me your entire month's living expenses long ago. From now on, all your monthly living expenses will belong to me too." As Mo Yuqing spoke, the corners of her lips rose slightly.

"..."

What a truly loving mother!

"Before, seeing that you never had money, I thought your family was poor. I never expected you to have one hundred Gold Soul Coins in pocket money every month. That much money was something I never would have dared to imagine before."

As Mo Yuqing spoke, her running speed unconsciously slowed a little. She continued, "That's a full hundred Gold Soul Coins! My father's monthly wages aren't even one Gold Soul Coin! At first, I was really too embarrassed to accept it... but the moment I thought of you, I felt that it was absolutely necessary for me to accept this money. Sigh!"

"Who knows whether one day you'll be seized and forced into labor because you didn't pay, or even sold somewhere else to repay your debts. That would be terrible if it really came to that."

"...Uh."

The corner of Zhongli's eye twitched involuntarily. He suddenly recalled the time when he had happily invited her to a meal, only to have not brought a single coin with him. In the end, they had both been caught and sent off as child laborers.

What fond memories~

"Don't space out, run! If we don't hurry, it'll be too late!" Mo Yuqing sped up again, lightly gritting her teeth as she stared ahead. Her breathing gradually became more hurried.

Zhongli, meanwhile, followed steadily behind her. He looked as relaxed as if he were taking a walk after dinner, clearly nowhere near his speed limit.

Zhongli's Soul Power level was ten, but that was not because he only possessed level ten Soul Power. Rather, level ten was the limit before obtaining a Spirit Ring. Furthermore, his body had been strengthened year after year by the passive effect of the Geo Archon, so his physical condition was absurdly powerful.

To put it exaggeratedly, Zhongli did not need to fuse with a single Spirit Bone. The strength of his bones was already no weaker than that of a thousand-year Spirit Bone, and under the passive enhancement of the Geo Archon, they would only grow stronger and more outrageous.

He did not even need to fuse Spirit Rings. As time passed, he could acquire an immensely powerful body and then possess overwhelming combat power through his talents. That was the basis for Zhongli's laid-back attitude, like that of a retired old man.

The Geo Archon was terrifying indeed!