Ye Chen

Although it seemed somewhat unbelievable, Mu En guessed that this was the "thing" they had been searching for.

Only, this "thing" was not an object, but a living, breathing baby.

And after seeing this strange infant, Mu En became even more certain of his earlier guess.

Otherwise, in the Star Dou Forest, where countless soul beasts roamed, how could a baby have appeared so strangely—and not been eaten by soul beasts?

When they had investigated earlier, the two of them had already found it strange. Within several li of this baby, there had not been a single soul beast.

Even stranger, after the baby discovered Mu En and Xuan Zi, it actually stopped crying and instead revealed an adorable smile.

"Th-this is..." Xuan Zi stared at the scene in astonishment. Yet faced with the baby's adorable appearance, even his old bachelor heart melted.

"Let's return to the academy first. This is Di Tian's territory, after all." Although Mu En was also filled with doubts, for safety's sake, no matter what this child was, they should return to the academy first.

To them, there was no place safer than the academy.

Xuan Zi nodded, picked up the baby from the ground, and the two swiftly flew out of the Star Dou Forest.

Not long after they left, a man in a black robe who appeared to be in his forties arrived there.

After looking around the area, the man raised his foot to leave, but for some reason, he stopped.

In an instant, a terrifying pressure erupted from his body, and two tangible beams of golden light shot from his eyes.

That terrifying aura made every soul beast in the Star Dou Forest shudder. Those with weaker cultivation even sprawled directly on the ground, as though welcoming the arrival of their king.

After probing with his aura and confirming that there was indeed nothing suspicious here, the man transformed into a streak of light and vanished into the depths of the Star Dou Forest.

However, neither Mu En and the others nor the man in black noticed.

At the spot where the baby had lain, a tender emerald-green sprout quietly emerged from the soil. Its two tiny leaves bore mysterious golden patterns and radiated a faint sacred aura.

Six years later, Inner Court of Shrek Academy.

"Mm, Sister Xiao Tao, don't run!"

A tiny little boy chased after a fiery red figure with a voluptuous figure, speaking in a childish voice.

Because he was chewing something in his mouth, his already immature voice sounded somewhat unclear.

"Xiao Chen, stop clinging to me. Can't you go find Senior Sister?" The red figure sighed helplessly and turned around.

Her name was Ma Xiaotao. She was an Inner Court student of Shrek Academy and also the personal disciple of Yan Shaozhe, Dean of the Martial Soul Department.

With her strength, she could have left, but the academy was only so big. Where could she run to?

Over the years, she had released her martial soul and flown away more than once, only to be found by this little ancestor in the end, who would not stop until she agreed to his request.

"Sister Lexuan is too fierce. I still like you better, Sister Xiao Tao. Please help me." Xiao Chen spoke pitifully, tears beginning to well up in his eyes, as if they would fall the moment Ma Xiaotao said no.

"No! I still need to cultivate. How would I have time to help you find Beast Milk?" Ma Xiaotao said with a dark expression, her tone utterly firm. After saying that, she turned to leave.

Xiao Chen had used this pitiful act on her countless times already. She might have fallen for it at first, but after seeing it so often, she had become immune.

She truly could not understand it. This little fellow was already six years old, yet he still clamored for Beast Milk every day. Other children would have long since been weaned at his age.

"Hmph, I'm not playing with you anymore! You won't help me find Beast Milk, so I'll drink yours instead!" Xiao Chen stomped his feet in place, his little angry face indescribably adorable.

Ma Xiaotao, who had already walked some distance away, stumbled on the spot upon hearing this and nearly lost her footing.

No longer wanting to stay near this little ancestor, Ma Xiaotao directly released her Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul and flew toward the Outer Court.

She was still an Outer Court student at present, but as the personal disciple of the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, she regularly went to the Inner Court to study under her teacher.

"Sigh, I'd better go find Grandpa Gong at the Great Spirit Arena. I remember that an Earth Tyrant Bear there just gave birth. It definitely won't be short on Beast Milk!" Xiao Chen muttered, a trace of cunning that did not fit his age appearing in his eyes.

Xiao Chen's name was Ye Chen. He was the child Mu En and Xuan Zi had picked up from the Star Dou Forest on that night six years ago.

The mysterious layer of energy that Spiritual Power had been unable to penetrate in the Star Dou Forest strangely disappeared after they left that place. Once Mu En confirmed that he was a genuine human infant, he brought him back to Sea God's Pavilion.

When Mu En first saw him that day, he seemed like a star that had fallen from the night sky, so he gave him the name Ye Chen.

Qian Duoduo, one of the members of Sea God's Pavilion, and another member, Xian Lin'er, had been in a fake marriage for many years. They had no children, so when Mu En had just brought Ye Chen back, Xian Lin'er's maternal instincts surged, and she decisively adopted him.

Qian Duoduo did not say anything about this. Seeing Xian Lin'er become happy as though in an instant, a trace of happiness welled up in his heart.

Because Ye Chen had been cheerful, lively, and adorable since childhood, he was greatly loved by the old members of Sea God's Pavilion. With such a little darling who was good at lightening the mood, the usual atmosphere in Sea God's Pavilion became much more cheerful.

Over six years, under the care of the elders, he had grown into the adorable child he was now.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten the strange phenomenon from six years ago, never mentioning it again. Mu En and Xuan Zi had also concealed Ye Chen's true origins, saying only that he had been found at the gates of Shrek City.

In truth, Ye Chen had kept a secret hidden in his heart throughout these six years.

He had originally been an ordinary university student on twenty-first-century Earth. Although he had grown up in an orphanage, he had a cheerful personality and was usually rather carefree in how he treated others.

Coincidentally, his original name had been Ye Chen, which happened to be a homophone of the name Mu En had given him.

At the time, he had been hanging clothes on his dormitory balcony when he saw a leaf strike him at an extremely slow speed before vanishing.

That was right—a leaf.

That leaf had strange golden patterns on it. Though it moved very slowly, when he tried to dodge, he found that his body could not move even an inch. He could only watch helplessly as the leaf entered his body.

The entire process seemed as long as a century, yet it had happened in an instant.

Afterward, he felt the world spin around him and fainted. When he woke up, he found himself in a dense forest—and had become a baby.

Dear readers, don't be fooled by the protagonist's outward appearance. He is not actually promiscuous; he is just occasionally loose-tongued. As for the Beast Milk matter, it was only a bit of early mischief and will appear only a few times.

Of course, you can criticize me too. I'm just like everyone else—a reader and a Douluo fan.

I hope to improve through everyone's feedback, and I hope my writing and ideas will become more mature in the future.

Thank you!