I Saw It—He Was Alone

"Broad daylight, and yet this was simply—utterly unreasonable!"

He had grown up this much and had never once been beaten so inexplicably! There was not even a reason! She just wanted to beat him up?!

"Phew—phew—"

Tang San took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. But the more he thought about it, the angrier and more aggrieved he became.

He looked around, wanting to reason with that blonde girl, or at least ask why she had hit him, but there was no trace of her anywhere.

He could only grit his teeth and limp toward the academy. Every step he took made the pain in his face remind him of that absurd encounter.

In another alley around the corner, Jiang Li'er leaned against the wall, patted her chest, and let out a long breath.

"Phew—much better."

A feeling of clarity and ease washed over her, leaving both her mind and body refreshed.

She had not actually meant to bully a human child. But that instinctive feeling had been too strong—so strong that if she did not do something, she would feel uncomfortable all over.

Now it was fine. She had beaten him up, her thoughts were clear, and her whole body felt lighter.

Jiang Li'er dusted off her hands, though there was no dust on them, then took another veil from her storage Soul Tool and put it on, concealing that overly eye-catching face. Humming an unknown tune, she continued on her journey.

In the shadows, Bi Ji helplessly shook her head, her emerald eyes full of amused exasperation.

This little ancestor really did whatever she pleased.

When she saw someone she disliked, she went right up and gave them a beating. Then she ran off without even offering a reason.

Forget it—at least the child knew she had to run quickly after hitting someone.

Just as Bi Ji was pondering this, she suddenly sensed a powerful aura rising somewhere nearby. Carrying cold fury, it pressed toward where Jiang Li'er had just been!

A Title Douluo?!

Bi Ji's expression changed slightly. Though she was not skilled in combat, her senses were exceptionally sharp.

That aura was vast and majestic, carrying a heavy sense of oppression. It was clearly no ordinary Title Douluo!

Was it that child's protector?

Before she could think further, she released her own pressure without yielding in the slightest.

Two invisible forces collided in midair and canceled each other out.

A moment later, the cold aura paused slightly, seemingly surprised by Bi Ji's strength, before slowly withdrawing.

Bi Ji gave a cold snort and withdrew her aura as well.

She had no intention of confronting them. She was not a combat-type soul beast to begin with; scaring the other party off was enough.

With a flash, she appeared beside Jiang Li'er and said helplessly, "My little ancestor, before you act next time, could you first check whether there's anyone backing your opponent?"

Jiang Li'er blinked her beautiful eyes innocently. "I checked. He was alone!"

Bi Ji:

She rubbed her brow and decided not to dwell on the matter any longer.

It had already been settled, and the other party apparently did not want to make a big issue of it either.

"Let's go. We're heading to the next place." Bi Ji took Jiang Li'er's hand. "Keep a lower profile from now on. Don't cause any more trouble."

"Got it~" Jiang Li'er answered obediently, but a sly gleam flashed through her mismatched eyes.

"Come on, come on, Sister Bi Ji, let's go north and take a look!"

Inside an inconspicuous tavern somewhere, Tang Hao set down the wine jug in his hand, his brow tightly furrowed.

That brief clash of pressure just now had alarmed him.

There was actually a Title Douluo-level expert secretly protecting that blonde girl? And judging by the aura, they were probably no weaker than him!

Since when had Nuoding City gained figures like these?

Originally, he had merely wanted to teach that little girl, who had no idea of her own limits and dared to hit his son, a small lesson.

But since the other side had a protector of the same level, he would let it go.

After all, his identity could not be exposed right now. It was not worth clashing with another Title Douluo over such a trivial matter.

Besides—Tang Hao looked toward the academy outside the window, a complicated look flashing in his eyes.

It was not a bad thing for Little San to suffer a little and face some setbacks.

The child's path had been too smooth. He needed some tempering.

But—that blonde girl, and the Title Douluo behind her, where exactly had they come from?

Tang Hao raised the jug and took a large gulp, temporarily suppressing his doubts.

As long as they did not threaten Little San's safety, he would not interfere for now.

But if—they dared harm Little San—

The wine jug silently crumbled into powder in his hand.

Two and a half months later.

Jiang Bai arrived at Dragon City, an important stronghold on the northern border of the Heaven Dou Empire.

The city stood on the northern edge of Xueling Province, facing the even colder and more desolate Far North.

As an important barrier against the northern tribes and soul beasts of the Far North, Dragon City's walls had been built exceptionally tall and thick.

Jiang Bai landed in a small forest around three li from Dragon City.

After putting away the Wind Dragon, he headed toward the city gate on foot.

Two squads of guards stood watch at the gate, but the inspection was not particularly strict.

Perhaps because this place was remote and rarely saw conflict, or perhaps because of the cold weather, the guards could not be bothered to question people too closely.

The moment he entered Dragon City, an atmosphere utterly different from southern cities rushed over him.

There were indeed not many pedestrians on the streets, nowhere near as bustling as Suotuo City or Yelin City. Yet every person walking there bore the resolute features unique to northerners, carved by wind and frost.

Jiang Bai slowly walked along the main street, his gaze sweeping over the shops on both sides.

He had come to Dragon City mainly to make it easier to obtain his fourth Spirit Ring.

After several months of recuperation and cultivation, his Soul Power had steadily reached level thirty-eight. He was not far from the threshold of level forty.

For his fourth Spirit Ring, he wanted to find an ice-element dragon beast of pureblood subdragon lineage.

Dragon City bordered the Far North above and had the Icebound Forest below. Finding an Ice Dragon should not be difficult.

At that thought, Jiang Bai suddenly remembered Qian Renxue.

During those years at Spirit Hall Academy, whenever he was nearing a breakthrough, Qian Renxue would always prepare information on the most suitable soul beasts in advance, and sometimes even take him personally to hunt them.

The soul beast records, distribution maps, and habit records accumulated by Spirit Hall over many years—information that ordinary Soul Masters would pay a fortune for—were no more than a trivial effort to her.

Living off Qian Renxue actually felt pretty good.

But who could have imagined that sweet dependence would ultimately become a death-dealing curse?

Bibi Dong—that crazy woman.

Jiang Bai clenched his fists, then slowly relaxed them.

Now was not the time for anger. Anger could not solve anything.

What he needed to do now was grow stronger—strong enough to face that woman, strong enough to protect himself, and protect—

The people he cherished.

Jiang Bai suddenly remembered something. Though his Mutated Martial Soul was powerful, the limit of Spirit Ring absorption was ultimately restricted by his physical strength.

If he wanted to absorb Spirit Rings beyond his level and of greater age, he needed physical qualities far beyond those of Soul Masters in the same rank.

At this stage, the best material for tempering his body was none other than Whale Rubber.

He took a deep breath of cold air, suppressed his stray thoughts, and began carefully observing the shops along both sides of the street.

Before long, he found a medicinal shop that appeared fairly large. When he pushed open the door and entered, a mixed medicinal scent rushed toward him.

The shop was somewhat dim. Behind the counter stood a middle-aged clerk, sorting medicinal herbs.

"What can I get for you, sir?" The clerk looked up and asked warmly.

Jiang Bai walked to the counter and asked directly, "Do you have Whale Rubber here?"

"Yes, sir, we do!" The clerk quickly nodded. "What age are you looking for?"

"A thousand years. Do you have any ten-thousand-year ones?"

"We have some thousand-year Whale Rubber. As for ten-thousand-year—" The clerk thought for a moment. "I think we have a piece. Please wait while I look for it."

As he spoke, he turned around and began searching through rows of wooden shelves and drawers behind him. His movements were practiced, clearly showing that he knew the location of the shop's goods like the back of his hand.

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