A Surprise

Facing the milky-white light, she felt a deep sense of danger.

The atmosphere was strangely awkward.

Silence reigned.

After a moment, Pinghe's voice rang out again, tinged with surprise. "Your Martial Soul Lover is rather unusual. There's a powerful force hidden inside her, and I can't create a body for her. That's the Valley's fault, so your rewards have been restored to what they should have been. Go."

Before Zheng Li and Xiao Nai could say anything, a flash of golden and silver light enveloped them, and they vanished.

"That was so awkward... I should never have agreed..."

In the empty Transparent Space, Pinghe's voice murmured softly, full of embarrassment.

"But although I couldn't fulfill his request, I did lower the difficulty quite a bit since they're children. Otherwise, hmph!"

Of course, Zheng Li and the others had no idea.

"System!! You son of a—!!!"

At that moment, Zheng Li and the others appeared in a valley. It was morning, and this wasn't the valley where the Valley of Love and Emotion was located.

As soon as they appeared, Zheng Li immediately roared and cursed!

"Host, this system doesn't have a father! What do you need?"

The system's mechanical voice rang out, as calm and emotionless as ever.

"System? What's that? By the way, Sister, you're finally out!" Wang Xin'er, who had appeared before Zheng Li and the others, had already been waiting for a while.

The instant she saw the flash of golden and silver light, her eyes lit up and she was about to say something—then she heard Zheng Li's roar.

Zheng Li glanced at Wang Xin'er and shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just mad at the rules of the Valley of Love and Emotion."

(Pinghe's voice: ?? Don't blame the Valley for this!)

"Oh..."

Wang Xin'er nodded. She didn't really understand what he meant by the system's rules, but she gathered that he was criticizing the Valley of Love and Emotion.

She wondered what that nice Valley had done to make Zheng Li so angry.

Xiao Nai glanced at Zheng Li, then walked over to chat with Wang Xin'er. She knew Zheng Li had something to discuss with the system.

Seeing Xiao Nai keep Wang Xin'er occupied, Zheng Li questioned the system with his mind. "Tell me. Did Xiao Nai fail to get a body because of you?"

"...Host, this system isn't taking the blame for that! It's true that Miss Xiao Nai became a Martial Soul because of the system, but her failure to get a body really had nothing to do with this system."

Zheng Li frowned. "Is that so? Then why did it fail? Aside from you, System, I don't think anyone else there had the power to do it."

That milky-white light? It shattered the Gold-Silver Egg so easily? And it couldn't create a body? No matter how he looked at it, Xiao Nai's power couldn't have done that.

"Correction: this system isn't a person."

Zheng Li: "...I know. Stop focusing on these little details and answer the question."

"The host can ask himself. This is your own fault!"

"Huh?! My fault?" Zheng Li didn't believe it. "That can't be!"

"Reminder: when the host fused with the [] Martial Soul, don't you remember what crossed your mind?"

Zheng Li blinked. "What crossed my mind? Xiao Nai, of course."

System: "No. Several thoughts flashed through the host's mind at that moment. Otherwise, why would Miss Xiao Nai's hair have changed from black to white?"

"Uh..." Zheng Li was speechless. The system had a point.

But what had he thought of in that moment? And what did it have to do with Xiao Nai being unable to get a body?

"Why don't you tell me, System?" Zheng Li asked after a moment.

The system refused. "It's better for the host if you can't figure it out. It'll help you grow. The reason Miss Xiao Nai can't get a body is simple. An ordinary body can't withstand Miss Xiao Nai's source, or your source. The power of the Spirit of Light is shared by both of you. You could also say your sources are connected, though you have the greater share of it."

Zheng Li: "...So, according to you, an ordinary body can't withstand it. Then my body shouldn't be able to withstand it either, right?"

"No. It's different. The host has the Heart of Spirit and this system, while Miss Xiao Nai doesn't," the system explained.

"So my body hasn't collapsed because of the Heart of Spirit and you, huh..."

"You could put it that way."

Zheng Li sighed deeply and gazed helplessly at the sky. "So my body's been in danger all along... System, tell me about this sort of thing sooner next time!!"

"No. The host has misunderstood. Your body is currently in no danger, provided the Heart of Spirit remains unharmed."

"...Got it." Zheng Li touched his heart, the corner of his mouth twitching.

He'd have to be careful from now on.

"Then... what will it take to recreate Xiao Nai's body?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Xiao Nai, who was chatting with Wang Xin'er.

"This much you can tell me, right?"

"Certainly."

The system answered.

"Then tell me what the conditions are!" Zheng Li asked, rubbing his temples. "Don't tell me I need something from a fantasy world or a cultivation world..."

For some reason, he thought of all those protagonists who needed this material and that material to recreate a body for themselves or someone else. Every single one of them needed rare treasures, or even priceless artifacts.

If that was the case, he'd have to wait until who knew when to fulfill this wish. He might even die before then...

"No. When the host fused with the Martial Soul, that thought didn't reach the level of those fantasy worlds."

Hearing that, Zheng Li felt relieved. But why did he feel as though he'd missed out on a fortune?

"You only need to fuse a Super Divine Artifact from the Douluo God Realm—or an equivalent heavenly treasure—with Miss Xiao Nai's body when you create it..." the system stated.

"What? What did you say? Say that again. I promise I won't kill you!"

Zheng Li was instantly dumbfounded.

A Super Divine Artifact? How many of those were there in the entire Douluo God Realm? System, you really had the nerve to say that!

"The conditions are..."

"Forget it."

Zheng Li waved a hand to cut it off.

I tell you to explain, and you really do!

Sigh... Zheng Li sighed. Although he'd been shocked, he wouldn't give up. It was just that the road ahead was long.

Xiao Nai had heard his entire conversation with the system. Ignoring Wang Xin'er, who was chattering beside her, she walked over and smoothed the furrow between Zheng Li's brows with her hand.

"Xiao Li, this is fine. I can eat and bathe, and it's not much different from when I had a body. There's no need to rush. We can take our time."

She understood Zheng Li's self-blame and guilt.

But she didn't blame Xiao Li for the car accident.

"Okay."

Zheng Li smiled gently and nodded.

Wang Xin'er felt awful watching them. She was jealous... Sister Xiao Nai had never been so close to her.

By the way, what did Sister Xiao Nai mean by "when I had a body"?

"Sisters, that's enough! Think about how I feel," Wang Xin'er interrupted, though she didn't dwell on it.

Zheng Li glanced at Wang Xin'er. "You're ruining the mood!"

Even as he spoke, he stepped a little farther away from Xiao Nai. He couldn't let the little girl see anything inappropriate.

"Zheng Li, you jerk! Who are you talking about?" Wang Xin'er glared at him.

"Whoever's eyes are the widest. That's who I mean!"

Zheng Li tossed back a casual reply and pretended to inspect the valley, when in fact he was speaking to the system again.

Wang Xin'er was furious at the way Zheng Li was acting, but she could tell he was taking care of something important, so she didn't bother him. Instead, she latched onto Xiao Nai again.

"System, how many days were we in the Valley of Love and Emotion?"

Though he asked, Zheng Li didn't think much time had passed.

"Almost a day."

"A day... About as long as I expected. Where are we?" Zheng Li asked.

"...Host, could you be any more stupid? You're still at West Mountain in Sun Moon City, of course."

"Get lost! I know we're at West Mountain. I want an accurate map! Otherwise, we might not get lost, but at least I'd know where to go next!" Zheng Li snapped.

He had a map with him, but it only covered the three great empires. He also had a map of the Sun Moon Empire, but it showed only one region.

Ling Nan had given it to him; he hadn't bought it himself. He wouldn't have bought an incomplete map.

He'd thought a map of the three great empires would be enough. Who knew something like this would happen?

The system fell silent and didn't answer. It simply imprinted a map of Douluo onto Zheng Li's mind.

Of course, it didn't show much of the sea, much like the full-continent maps sold in stores.

Zheng Li studied it for a while and soon had a clear idea of where they were.

"Xiao Nai, little girl, let's go!"

"Where are we going?" Wang Xin'er asked in confusion.

Zheng Li rolled his eyes at her. "Where do you think? Back to the Star Luo Empire! You can stay here if you want. Xiao Nai, we'll go on our own!"

As he spoke, Zheng Li took Xiao Nai by the hand and headed northeast.

They were in a valley east of West Mountain. They'd go north, leave West Mountain, detour around Sun Moon City into the Heaven Dou Empire, then return to the Star Luo Empire. That was the route Zheng Li had planned.

There was one problem: they had no food. But where were they? In the mountains. There were plenty of things to eat here, like wild animals.

"Wait, don't go! Zheng Li, Sister Xiao Nai, wait for me!"

Wang Xin'er hurried after them, afraid Zheng Li might really leave her behind.

Zheng Li's Soul Power was at full strength. It had been low after he hunted the Night Glow Beast, but after they returned to the Transparent Space, the Valley of Love and Emotion had probably restored it in case Zheng Li's clothes really disappeared.

So he didn't need to worry about his Soul Power now.

After they'd walked for a while,

Wang Xin'er was panting behind them. Zheng Li couldn't help turning around to ask, "Is it really that tiring just to walk? Are you out of Soul Power?"

Wang Xin'er's face filled with question marks. She asked in surprise, "I have Soul Power, but the poison I got before entering the Valley is still there! It seems it was only suppressed while we were inside. So I have Soul Power, but I can't use it. Wait... has your poison been cured?"

Zheng Li paused, only now thinking of that.

The Heart of Spirit had cured his poison before he entered the Valley of Love and Emotion. Wang Xin'er, it seemed, still had hers.

Curing poison was such an easy thing for the Valley of Love and Emotion to do. It would've taken no effort at all... Hmph, stingy!

Zheng Li sneered inwardly.

(Valley of Love and Emotion: Spit out my reward before you say that!)

Wang Xin'er froze at Zheng Li's expression.

So the poison... had been cured?

In an instant, the little girl went ballistic. "Aaaah! Why was only your poison cured? Damn it! I thought that Valley was nice! Nice my ass! It's a biased Valley!"

"...I think you might be mistaken." Zheng Li looked at Wang Xin'er, whose Soul Power had increased by five levels. He felt the Valley of Love and Emotion was somewhat undeserving of the blame, so he tried to defend it.

"Bullshit! Biased is biased!" Wang Xin'er was still fuming.

Seeing this, Zheng Li slapped his forehead and said nothing more.

(Valley of Love and Emotion: Looks like I was a little too nice to this little girl. I hope she comes back in again. Then I'll show her what it means to receive the Valley's care!)

After walking for a while longer, Zheng Li slowed down a bit, but the little girl still looked ready to collapse.