Small Goldfish

In a manor in the south of the city, Tian Dao was, as always, teaching the children some basic exercise techniques.

After traveling far and wide, he had been in this city for ten years. The Tian Dao who had once bared savage fangs and inspired awe without anger now looked like an ordinary old man, his hair streaked with white and his face kindly. Only his powerful muscles vaguely proclaimed the strength still hidden within him.

Once the strongest expert in the Secret Martial Arts world, active on battlefields across the globe, filled with lofty ambitions, dominance, and Killing Intent—the Great White Shark, Tian Dao—had now become a Small Goldfish trapped in its own fishbowl.

A fucking Small Goldfish!

But was that wrong? A human life lasted only a few short decades. Even if one trained Secret Martial Arts to the limit, one could only live to a hundred and fifty at most. In such a brief life, only the person themselves could judge whether they were happy.

Perhaps the Great White Shark of the past would have scoffed at his current life. A man who had valued power and desire above life itself could hardly imagine an era where he had reined in his dominance and become disheartened.

But judging from the heartfelt, joyful smile on the Small Goldfish's face at this moment, this life was not a mistake for him.

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone knocked on the heavy wooden door. Before Tian Dao could respond, a child who recognized the familiar rhythm hurried over to open the door for his senior brother, Liu Tian.

Yet the child had not expected that yesterday's typhoon and thunderstorm had left countless hidden hazards in the courtyard he knew so well. Before he had gone far, his foot slipped, and he crashed hard onto the ground, his nose making intimate contact with the earth.

That settled it. The child no longer thought about opening the door. With a wail, he burst into tears, sitting on the floor and rubbing his eyes nonstop.

How should Tian Dao deal with such a spineless child?

Should he force the child to stand with a powerful fist, make him take back those senseless tears, and face his own mistake? Or should he let him howl and ignore him until he exhausted himself from crying?

Neither!

Tian Dao smiled faintly, walked over to the child, crouched down, and gently lifted him up. Then he patted the dirt from the child's clothes.

Worthy of the strongest expert, his control of strength had reached the pinnacle. With just a few pats, he easily removed all the grime from the child's body. "Don't cry. A real man wouldn't cry over something so minor. Little Pig, weren't you going to open the door and welcome your senior brother? Go on, then."

Could Tian Dao's words comfort the crying child? Could words as gentle as a cool breeze stop a child's tears, which raged like a gale?

They could. Easily, damn it!

Now that he was a Small Goldfish, Tian Dao possessed that kind of charm—the charm of words that nourished the heart like a spring breeze and gentle rain.

With only a soft reassurance, the child who had been unable to stop crying immediately halted his tears, quickly wiped his face, and ran toward the wooden door with both speed and steadiness.

"Senior Brother!" The moment he lowered the bolt, the impatient child pulled open the door before Liu Tian could push it open, then threw his arms around Liu Tian's thick leg.

"Piglet, huh." Liu Tian quickly recalled the child's nickname and scooped him up. As he walked inside, he said, "I could hear you crying from outside. What happened? Didn't you say you wanted to be a real man? Real men can't cry whenever they feel like it."

"I didn't!" Piglet stubbornly protested, then added in a low voice, "Only once. Just once."

Aside from the children who lived nearby, most of those practicing martial arts in this courtyard were the children of Liu Yun's ship employees. Furthermore, Liu Tian was Tian Dao's sole formal disciple. As such, Liu Tian held immense prestige among the children, nearly rivaling Tian Dao himself. No one dared hide anything from him.

"Master, good afternoon!" For some reason, Tian Dao, who would normally greet Liu Tian first whenever he arrived, remained silent this time. Liu Tian could only wave with his free hand. "I came to practice martial arts."

"Disciple, you..." Tian Dao carefully examined Liu Tian from head to toe, seeming as though he wanted to speak but stopped himself.

So he had seen through it at a glance.

Although Liu Tian had anticipated this situation on his way here, he had not expected Tian Dao to notice that he had drawn blood the instant they met. As expected of his mysterious master, Tian Dao, who had never been willing to discuss his past.

He was truly unfathomable.

Of course, it might also have something to do with the fist art Liu Tian was currently practicing.

The Heavenly Martial Fist was indeed a powerful top-tier fist art. Yet in Liu Tian's memories, whenever he practiced it, he had always felt as though its strength had not been fully drawn out. It was not the feeling of being restrained and unable to exert his full power.

Rather, Liu Tian had always sensed that there should be a higher level beyond the Heavenly Martial Fist at full power. The Heavenly Martial Fist's strength should not have been limited to unleashing one hundred percent of his own power. It should have gone beyond that.

That was also why Liu Tian had originally been stuck outside the realm of a Martial Artist.

If his heart could not align with the intent of his fist, how could he reach the realm of a Martial Artist, where strength followed the heart and intent arrived wherever the heart did?

And only yesterday, when Liu Tian had personally struck down those two gunmen, had he suddenly understood—he could not drive the Heavenly Martial Fist merely with the desire to grow stronger or the intention of testing moves.

He had to use Killing Intent!

He had to use Dominating Thought!

He had to use ambition!

He had to use the ambition to swallow the world, pouring all his essence, energy, and spirit into a fierce blow. Only then would the Heavenly Martial Fist respond to his will and unleash one hundred and twenty percent, perhaps even one hundred and fifty percent or more, of his power.

"..." Liu Tian did not answer. He merely set the child in his arms back on the ground, gently patted his head, and smiled as usual. "Master, this isn't the place to talk. Shall we go inside?"

Liu Tian was prepared to lay everything bare. He had no intention of concealing the fact that he had killed. In truth, even if Tian Dao had not noticed, Liu Tian had planned to find a chance to tell him about it and seek the experience of an elder.

He was not worried that his master would distance himself because he had killed someone. First, in this era, slaughter and death followed people like shadows; they were unavoidable.

Second, since Tian Dao had practiced—or perhaps even created—a fist art filled with such Killing Intent and Dominating Thought, he could not possibly be the sort of good man who could not bear the sight of blood.

Even if he considered the most unlikely possibility—that Tian Dao had completely degenerated into a Small Goldfish who could not bear blood and wanted to report him for murder and robbery—there was no direct evidence anyway. Liu Tian could simply deny everything and go home for the New Year.

Compared with that minuscule, nearly impossible risk, coming clean offered far greater benefits—

First, it would further strengthen his relationship with Master Tian Dao.

If an ordinary person could even tell you about killing someone, how much greater trust could there possibly be in the world?

Second, he could gain the experience of an elder. He might even ask how to deal with what came next, as well as the origin of that Prism Pillar. If he was lucky, he might obtain other clues.

Third, and most importantly, countless books, television shows, and films had shown that sometimes laying everything bare could prevent many avoidable conflicts. Having completely absorbed the original Liu Tian's memories, the current Liu Tian did not want to create future conflicts over a tiny risk.

Tian Dao, who had turned into a goldfish and could not read minds, naturally had no way of knowing how turbulent Liu Tian's thoughts had been. Seeing Liu Tian's expression, Tian Dao merely frowned unconsciously, patted Piglet on the shoulder, then turned to the other children who had followed over. "You all go practice in the courtyard first. Tian'er and I have something to discuss."

"Okay!"