"Could it be that you're the greatest of the Ten Ferocious Beasts, Teacher?"
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes sparkled as she looked at him, her voice full of anticipation. "The strongest one!"
"Uh..."
Gu Chensha looked at the little stars in her eyes and sighed helplessly.
He'd never cared for the hollow titles humans handed out, and besides, this so-called ranking of the "Ten Ferocious Beasts" wouldn't even exist until ten thousand years later.
But seeing the little girl gazing at him with such admiration, he couldn't bring himself to pour cold water on her.
In terms of strength, he had only cultivated for two hundred thousand years—not enough to meet the three-hundred-thousand-year threshold for a Ferocious Beast. But could the name "Devil Emperor" really be contained by a mere ranking?
Otherwise, why would so many Titled Douluo and Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts have joined forces to hunt him down?
Back when he'd fallen, the only ones who dared show their faces were the scum who'd waited until he'd been hunted for dozens of days straight and lay gravely wounded, on the brink of death.
The likes of Myriad Monster King, Scarlet King, Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo—even the weakest Poison Douluo had dared to join the fray.
If that was all the strength he had, how could he possibly deserve the title "Demon Spider Emperor"?
Cultivation and combat strength had never been the same thing.
Most of the Ten Ferocious Beasts came from the Star Dou Great Forest, but how many of them could have withstood even one strike from him at his peak?
Besides, the ranking didn't include Sea Soul Beasts at all. It was full of holes from the start.
He'd only brought up the name because it was convenient.
Truth be told, Scarlet King was nothing but a stray dog, and Xiong Jun was just a stinking bear. The lot of them were no more than farmyard fowl and clay dogs.
As for Di Tian, ranked first...
A trace of undisguised disdain flickered in his eyes.
Which of those called Ferocious Beasts wasn't an old monster that had lived for hundreds of thousands of years?
Yet he'd cultivated for just five hundred years to reach two hundred thousand years, and had even broken past the Man Faced Demon Spider's species limit.
Di Tian had the bloodline of a Dark Dragon King, and had lived for all those years, yet he hadn't transcended—not even reaching the threshold of a demigod. And his management of the Star Dou Great Forest was an absolute mess.
Di Tian had no cunning; the Silver Dragon had little wisdom.
They were nothing but a bunch of mediocre fools with brute strength to spare.
So he merely lifted his eyes and said, "If I wanted to, taking that position would be no problem."
Then he changed the subject and returned to business.
"All right, enough of these empty titles."
"There's another key issue we need to plan for in advance. Your wounds healed too quickly, so Spirit Hall is bound to grow suspicious."
Zhu Zhuqing immediately dropped her smile and nodded seriously.
"As for your injuries, say that after you woke up, you met a passing Titled Douluo. He happened to heal your wounds, then left after saving you, while you were still unconscious."
Gu Chensha had already planned it all out. "If they ask what he looked like, say he was tall, with black hair and black eyes, and a very authoritative voice."
"They'll definitely press you for his identity. Then just vaguely mention that you thought you saw him use a Clear Sky Hammer."
"The hammer was pitch-black, with an ancient pattern etched around its head. It looked extremely heavy. Say you only guessed it was a Clear Sky Hammer, and you don't know who the Soul Master was."
"The Clear Sky Sect?"
Zhu Zhuqing blinked, looking perplexed. "Why say he was from the Clear Sky Sect?"
"'The Clear Sky Hammer stands peerless; the Clear Sky Sect towers above all.'"
Gu Chensha chuckled. "Even though the Clear Sky Sect has been in seclusion for years, it's still the one Spirit Hall fears most."
"Without any evidence, they absolutely wouldn't dare go to the Clear Sky Sect to verify it."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded, then asked curiously, "Teacher, do you know anyone from the Clear Sky Sect?"
"Some of the people who once joined the hunt against me came from the Clear Sky Sect."
Gu Chensha spoke lightly, as if mentioning some trivial matter.
"But the person I'm telling you to bring up is another story."
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's growing curiosity, he chuckled. "Want to know who it is?"
Zhu Zhuqing nodded at once.
"Do you know the name of the Clear Sky Sect's former sect master before the current one?"
Zhu Zhuqing thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I only know that the current sect master is Tang Xiao."
"It's normal you don't know. He was a figure from the last century."
Gu Chensha spoke slowly.
"His name was Tang Chen, a once-in-a-century genius of the Clear Sky Sect. Back then, he was known as the Clear Sky Douluo and hailed as invincible on the human world's land."
"He was a level-ninety-nine Peerless Douluo of the Power Attack System. Along with Qian Daoliu of Spirit Hall, he was called one of the Soul Master World's two great peaks. Just his name alone kept that black dragon at the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest from daring to show its head."
His tone held a measure of objective respect, but then he gave a mocking laugh.
"Di Tian wouldn't even reach the threshold of a demigod for nearly ten thousand years. Compared with Tang Chen, he was nothing."
"So when I say he lacks wisdom, I'm not wronging him at all."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes widened in shock. A level-ninety-nine Peerless Douluo! In her eyes, that was already a being no different from a god.
And yet Teacher wanted to use this legendary figure as a cover story?
She couldn't help asking in a worried whisper, "What if... what if he really shows up?"
"Don't worry. He won't come looking for you."
Gu Chensha's voice was certain. "He's got his hands full right now, trapped somewhere and unable to even recover his own consciousness."
"Besides, the Clear Sky Sect has been in seclusion for years. No one can verify what you say."
"Even if Spirit Hall is suspicious, they'll have no proof. At most, they'll probe you further, on top of what they were already doing."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded, only half understanding, and committed every part of the story to memory.
"All right, time to rest."
Gu Chensha rose to his feet, a faint dark-gold glow rippling around him.
"Get a good night's rest. Tomorrow, I'll give you a gift."
"What gift?"
Zhu Zhuqing perked up at once, her eyes brightening again.
"It wouldn't be any fun if I told you."
Before he'd even finished speaking, Gu Chensha turned into a streak of light and slipped gently into the space between Zhu Zhuqing's brows, falling silent.
Zhu Zhuqing touched her forehead and muttered, "Teacher sure knows how to keep a secret."
The next morning, Zhu Zhuqing woke to the rushing sound of the hot spring.
Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and immediately spotted five neat rows of stone chests in the valley, each half a person tall.
Wangcai was sprawled on its back in the hot spring, its big head resting against the edge of the pool. Eyes half-closed in bliss, it wore a strangely human, shifty-eyed expression.
Its tail lazily slapped at the water now and then, and its black fur had been washed until it gleamed.
After she'd fallen asleep the night before, Gu Chensha had sent Wangcai to dig them out of the ground.
To avoid waking her, Wangcai had to dig as quietly as it could, working until the early hours of the morning. It had gotten covered in dirt in the process.
It hadn't dared dirty the hot spring used for healing, so it had gone to a stream a few miles away to wash up before returning to soak.
"What's this...?"
Zhu Zhuqing walked up to the stone chests, puzzled.
She crouched down and carefully lifted the lid of the first chest.
The next moment, her eyes went round, and her small mouth fell open, never to close again.
The chest was lined with soft hay, with more than a dozen bones of different colors arranged neatly on top!
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