Different Kinds of Older Brothers

Xiao Wu took a vicious bite of that sky-high-priced carrot.

The next second.

Her cursing abruptly stopped.

Her large eyes instantly widened, happiness spilling from their depths.

"Mm! So good!"

"It's way too good!"

That crisp sweetness, that warm current sliding down her throat.

It was ten times more delicious than the finest carrot she had ever eaten in the Star Dou Great Forest!

"Give me two more! No, I'm buying them all!"

Xiao Wu slapped all her remaining money into Bai Tang San's hand.

At that moment.

What boss? What cold and aloof?

Before absolute culinary delight, it was all nothing but drifting clouds.

Bai Tang San looked at the weighty pile of copper coins in his hand.

The corner of his lips curled into a smile that said, "Just as planned."

"Thank you for your patronage."

"Come early tomorrow. Production of this quality is limited, first come, first served."

[Real World]

Shrek Academy, cafeteria.

Oscar, who had been gnawing on a steamed bun, watched the Sky Curtain and dropped the bun in his hand to the floor.

"Brilliant... absolutely brilliant!"

Oscar's face was full of worship.

"That Hei Tang San saved his own meat for the girl. She was touched, sure, but she still went hungry."

"Now look at Bai Tang San!"

"Not only did he solve the girl's appetite problem."

"He even made money off her while he was at it!"

"The key is, she's completely devoted to him and chases after him every day!"

"How is that dating?"

"This is clearly... high-level domestication!"

Ning Rongrong was equally dumbfounded.

"Spirit Gathering Carrots..."

"Nourishing the meridians..."

"Isn't that just a low-grade version of Mimicry Cultivation Auxiliary Herbs?"

"He actually grew them through vegetable farming?"

"This Bai Tang San has practically applied a Soul Master's abilities to every corner of daily life!"

"This is... a Dimensional Strike."

And in a corner of the Black World cafeteria.

Hei Tang San looked at the few pieces of cold Braised Pork Belly in his bowl.

Then he looked at Bai Tang San on the Sky Curtain, counting money until his hands went numb while basking in Xiao Wu's admiring gaze.

His heart was filled with a complicated mix of emotions.

He turned to look at Xiao Wu beside him.

Xiao Wu was staring at the Red Crystal-like carrot on the Sky Curtain, unconsciously licking her lips.

That longing in her eyes could not be faked.

"Xiao Wu..."

Hei Tang San opened his mouth, wanting to say something, only to find his throat blocked.

He wanted to give Xiao Wu the best.

But was what he gave truly what Xiao Wu wanted?

"Was sincerity alone enough?"

"No..."

"In this cruel world."

"Gentleness without strength would ultimately be... pale and powerless."

The Sky Curtain's image gradually pulled away.

Beneath the setting sun.

Bai Tang San sat beside the Flower Garden, counting his money and planning to expand the scale of his planting.

Xiao Wu crouched beside him like a little rabbit guarding its food, happily munching on a carrot.

A subtle relationship of supply and demand thoroughly bound their connection together.

Nuoding Academy, the woods behind the mountain.

This was the old haunt where Work-Study Students and noble students settled their personal grudges.

Today, the tension was at breaking point.

Xiao Chenyu, the sixth-year noble student boss, led more than a dozen people and aggressively blocked the path of the Dormitory Seven students.

[Black World]

"Little rabbit, from now on, I, Boss Xiao, will still have the final say at Nuoding Academy!"

Xiao Chenyu used Martial Soul Possession, and an Azure Wolf phantom roared behind him.

"Pah! Keep dreaming!"

Xiao Wu stood at the front with her hands on her hips, entirely fearless.

She was Dormitory Seven's big sister, the backbone of all the Work-Study Students.

"Xiao San, go! Beat him up!"

At Xiao Wu's command, Hei Tang San darted out from behind her like a loyal guard.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon.

It had to be said that Hei Tang San's skills were indeed outstanding.

He was like a hidden blade behind Xiao Wu, always striking at crucial moments and knocking down every noble student who tried to ambush her.

The fight ended quickly.

Xiao Chenyu admitted defeat, his face swollen and bruised.

"From now on, Sister Xiao Wu is the academy's boss!"

The Work-Study Students cheered in jubilation.

Under the setting sun.

Xiao Wu looked at Hei Tang San, who had silently protected her at her side, her eyes shining with gratitude.

"Xiao San, let's become sworn siblings."

"Be my older brother. From now on, we'll share blessings and hardships alike."

Hei Tang San froze for a moment, then nodded heavily.

The two made their oath beneath the setting sun.

"I swear."

Hei Tang San looked at Xiao Wu, his gaze firm and affectionate, even carrying a tragic resolve to face death.

"If anyone wants to hurt you, they'll have to step over my corpse first."

How moving.

How romantic.

Like a knight pledging loyalty to a princess.

But in the Sky Curtain's narration, it seemed somewhat...

[Because he was not strong enough, he could only fill the gap with his life.]

[This was not an older brother.]

[This was a bodyguard.]

[White World]

The same woods.

The same Xiao Chenyu.

But this time, he had brought more people, and they were even carrying weapons.

"These poor Work-Study Students have been pretty arrogant lately, huh?"

Xiao Chenyu toyed with the Short Stick in his hand, wearing a mocking expression.

"Especially that carrot grower. I heard he's made quite a bit of money? Shouldn't he pay some protection fees?"

The moment Xiao Wu heard that, her fur stood on end.

Those were her beloved Spirit Gathering Carrots!

"You dare touch my carrots? I..."

She was just about to charge forward and fight for her life.

Smack.

A long, powerful hand pressed down on her shoulder.

"Don't move."

Bai Tang San walked out from behind and shielded Xiao Wu behind him.

His voice was cold, without the slightest ripple.

"You are my customer."

"And also my biggest carrot buyer."

"Letting you get hurt would affect my business."

"Besides, if your face gets damaged, who will help me promote my medicine in the future?"

Xiao Wu was stunned.

Those words sounded... somehow strange?

Yet for some reason, as she looked at that back, not particularly broad but exceptionally straight, the impulse in her heart instantly settled.

It made her feel safe.

Bai Tang San did not assume a fighting stance.

He merely stepped forward.

Bzzzt—!

A dark yellow Soul Ring suddenly rose from beneath his feet.

But strangely.

This Soul Ring was not purely yellow.

It carried a heart-palpitating dark green hue, like flowing venom.

A sickeningly sweet, fishy stench instantly filled the area.

"This is... a First Soul Ring?"

Xiao Chenyu's expression changed as he instinctively covered his nose.

"Playing tricks! Brothers, get him!"

Bai Tang San's gaze remained indifferent.

He casually plucked a tender green leaf from a tree by the roadside.

He held it between two fingers.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill circulated, and that trace of dark green poison instantly seeped into the leaf.

"Go."

His wrist flicked lightly.

Whoosh—!

That frail leaf actually tore through the air with a sharp whistle, like a blade slicing through the air.

It grazed past Xiao Chenyu's cheek.

Taking a lock of severed hair with it.

Then.

Thud!

It embedded itself in the hard stone wall behind Xiao Chenyu!

Silence.

The entire scene fell deathly still.

Everyone widened their eyes and stared at the wall.

Around the leaf.

The hard stone began to blacken, soften, and smoke at a visible rate.

Sizzle, sizzle—

It was the sound of strong acid corroding stone.

In just two seconds.

The once-flat stone wall had been corroded into a black hole the size of a washbasin!

Even the soil inside had been scorched black!