Village Chief Ke Lan, the uncles, and the aunties left.
The house fell silent as well.
Qin Ze sat down on the stool where the physician had been sitting.
Zhu Xiyan had already awakened. Her aged face was weary, yet she looked at Qin Ze sitting beside her with a trace of comfort in her eyes.
That little child had grown so much. He had been so delicate-looking as a child; when he grew up, who knew how many girls would be utterly captivated by him.
"Grandma!" Qin Ze lowered his head and called softly, his expression dim.
Zhu Xiyan reached out and took Qin Ze's hand, smiling. "Birth, aging, sickness, and death are things everyone must go through. You don't need to be sad."
At those words, Qin Ze's body trembled a few times. He did not know how to speak.
Zhu Xiyan shifted her gaze toward the ceiling and spoke calmly. "Did you know? Before Grandma was thirty, my husband passed away. When I was nearly sixty, my son passed away too. They both died in the war between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Sun Moon Empire. Back then, Grandma's heart had already died. But it was then that Grandma found you."
"You smiled at Grandma then, just like a little angel. Grandma's heart, which had nearly died, began to heal a little. Being able to watch you grow up has already satisfied me. But you're only five years old, far too young... Grandma won't be able to stay with you from now on. I've already asked Village Chief Ke Lan and the others to raise you in the future. With them around, I can rest easy after I'm gone."
Beside her, Qin Ze's lips trembled, and mist filled his eyes. He did not answer, only raising a hand to wipe his eyes.
"Don't cry. A real man bleeds but does not shed tears. Your life is still very long. Grandma can only walk part of the road with you; after this, you can only rely on yourself. Remember, when people are alive, they will inevitably stumble and struggle. You can only look forward. Never look back. Did you hear what Grandma said?" Zhu Xiyan looked at Qin Ze with heartache, though her tone became sterner.
Qin Ze's eyes reddened, and he nodded heavily. "I'll listen to Grandma."
Seeing that, Zhu Xiyan smiled in comfort. While she had been unconscious, she had dreamed that her good grandson had actually become a god like Ancestor Tang San from ten thousand years ago. Though it had only been a dream, it was at least an auspicious one.
She simply would not be able to see her grandson marry and have children in the future. What a pity...
"Grandma, I'll go make you some fish soup." Qin Ze sprang to his feet, said that, and turned to leave the room. Grandma loved fish the most, especially fish soup.
Zhu Xiyan watched Qin Ze's departing figure and sighed.
In the kitchen, Qin Ze watched steam rise from the pot. He leaned silently against the wall, seemingly lost in thought.
Fate was like a joke. In his previous life, both his parents had died when he was five years old. In this life, it seemed that history was about to repeat itself.
"Douluo Continent, Douluo Continent... what should I do?" he murmured.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Qin Ze's gaze sharpened. He remembered that when he had read the original work, hadn't Huo Yuhao's long-dead mother been revived at the end?
As long as a god reached the first level, they had two qualifications to bring people into the God Realm.
At that thought, Qin Ze's adrenaline surged, and even his breathing grew more hurried.
God!
Qin Ze gazed at the ginkgo tree outside the window, and an idea arose in his heart.
He knew many places on Douluo Continent that held treasures and opportunities.
For example, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where one could obtain Immortal Herbs, and Electrolux, who had crossed over from another world.
He had never considered that Skydream Iceworm, since he did not know whether he was a spiritual-type Soul Master. But he could completely seize Huo Yuhao's opportunities with the Immortal Herbs and Electrolux.
The Immortal Herbs could greatly improve his aptitude, while Electrolux could help him create a Soul Spirit.
"I hope you haven't obtained those opportunities yet," Qin Ze murmured. Of course, he could not take all of Huo Yuhao's opportunities. Anyone could obtain Immortal Herbs, but he would not yield Electrolux.
Gurgle, gurgle!
Steam churned within the pot. Qin Ze snapped out of his thoughts, glanced at the fish soup boiling in the pot, and hurriedly put out the fire. The rich, milky-white fish soup was ready.
In a dense forest thirty kilometers outside Maple Leaf Village.
Several Mysterious People with incomparably powerful auras gathered beneath a towering tree.
At the front of the group stood a tall elder with long green hair. Strangely, the top of his head did not have a single strand of hair. He was bald on top.
The elder's complexion was rosy and as smooth as a baby's, but his dark-green eyes were filled with the marks of time, as though declaring that he was already quite advanced in years.
"Sect Master, those four Evil Soul Masters fled here and vanished. This subordinate failed in his duty and could not locate their traces."
Someone stepped forward a few paces and spoke to the elder in a nervous tone.
"It is not your fault." The elder stood with his hands behind his back as he looked into the distance. "One of those Evil Soul Masters possesses the Nightmare Martial Soul, which can block perception. It is normal that you could not find them."
At those words, the man who had spoken still lowered his head in shame. He was an eighty-fifth-level Soul Douluo, yet those Evil Soul Masters had not even reached the rank of Soul Saint. For them to escape from his hands was truly humiliating.
However, he also understood how strange Evil Soul Masters were. That Nightmare Martial Soul, for example, was terrifying beyond belief. Though its offensive power was not strong, its ability to bewilder others had nearly caused even him, a Soul Douluo, to suffer greatly.
The green-haired elder raised his head and looked at the star-filled sky. "They cannot have fled far. Though they caught you off guard, they were severely injured as well. They will certainly find a place in this area to hide and recover. They dared to murder a disciple valued by our Body Sect. I will grind their bones to dust."
As the final word fell, a terrifying pressure instantly swept out from the elder's body. The entire forest trembled beneath that pressure. Fierce winds howled, causing the woods to sway without end, while the sky itself seemed to darken unnaturally.
Hearing the elder's words, the other Mysterious People nodded solemnly, killing intent bursting from their eyes. There were already few people on Douluo Continent who awakened a Body Martial Soul. After finally finding a disciple with level-nine Innate Soul Power and a Heart Martial Soul, before they could even nurture him, those Evil Soul Masters had dug out his heart and killed him.
What a hateful pack of beasts.
The elder said, "Go. To recover, those beasts will surely need large amounts of flesh and blood and souls. There are many nearby villages and towns. Keep a close watch."
"Yes!"
Everyone answered in unison.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several sounds of air being torn apart rang out. In the blink of an eye, the people who had gathered beneath the tree vanished, leaving behind only the green-haired elder.
The elder looked into the distance, countless thoughts running through his mind. "I am still lacking something if I wish to break through to Limit Douluo. Just what must I do to shatter this bottleneck? This road is too difficult."
A faint sigh drifted through the forest.
Before you continue