Dai Yuhao: I Choose a Never-Ending Supply of Fish!

"Huh?"

Xuan Zi was clearly at a loss.

Since when had Mu En developed such a wicked sense of humor?

A hundred hard strikes to the Demon Pill, with Soul Power at level 98? Wouldn't that kill him?

Could the Mu En before him be an impostor? Otherwise, how could that old bastard bear to be so cruel to him?

He was the future pillar of Shrek Academy!

Xuan Zi quickly came to his senses, his eyes growing sharper. "Elder Mu, isn't that a little too harsh?"

Feng Yan immediately barked, "Harsh? You're not planning to pass down your Godly Taotie Bull Martial Soul anyway. What use do you have for the two bits between your legs?"

"If that's the case, we might as well smash them and teach you a lesson!"

At those words, Xuan Zi immediately put an end to thoughts he shouldn't have had.

Only the elders of the Sea God Pavilion and its master, Mu En, knew that he had no intention of getting married and having children.

The familiar aura and level-99 presence were more than enough to show that the Mu En before him was the real deal.

"Elder Mu... I really know I was wrong. Please let me off this once..." Xuan Zi pleaded again.

He knew Mu En had made up his mind to punish him.

But striking his Demon Pill with all his strength... He really didn't dare do that.

All he could do now was get the punishment reduced. Anything but something this outrageous.

Besides, he was still taking a gamble. Maybe Mu En had only said that in anger. If he just kept pleading, perhaps he could talk him down.

Maybe he could even get the punishment changed to a few months without alcohol.

Feng Yan could see right through Xuan Zi's thoughts. He always kept his word. If he said a hundred strikes, then not one could be spared.

"Xuan Zi, why are you still standing there? Get on with it!"

As he spoke, Feng Yan's gaze turned icy, and the aura around him grew even stronger. He threatened, "If you won't do it, I'll do it for you! But with my level-99 Soul Power, you'll certainly die."

Xuan Zi trembled all over. The last glimmer of hope in his eyes vanished. He had never seen Mu En look at him with such coldness.

He knew he probably couldn't escape this ordeal.

Better to control the force himself than let Mu En do it.

That way, perhaps he'd still have a chance to survive.

"Elder Mu... Xuan Zi is willing to accept his punishment!"

With that, Xuan Zi hardened his gaze, gathered Soul Power in his palm, and slapped at the Demon Pill between his legs.

Crack!

The sound of an egg breaking rang out. Xuan Zi sucked in a sharp breath, forcing himself to endure the indescribable pain. Veins bulged across his forehead, and his vision went black as he nearly collapsed.

"Keep going!"

Feng Yan wasn't idle either. He secretly drew out a strand of divine power, ready to keep Xuan Zi alive at just the right moment.

After all, if he did nothing, Xuan Zi would be killing himself.

Feng Yan wasn't actually going to let Xuan Zi die. He still needed him to make things tougher for Tang San in this life.

He couldn't let San Gege have things go too smoothly.

At Feng Yan's words, Xuan Zi drew a deep breath and gathered strength in his palm again.

Another slap.

Xuan Zi let out a scream like a slaughtered pig, then crashed to the ground and curled into a ball.

The rise and fall of his chest said it all.

Xuan Zi gasped for breath. He was just about to say he couldn't take it anymore, that he didn't want to go on, and beg Elder Mu to spare him.

"Don't stop!" Feng Yan's voice rang out again.

No one knew.

What Xuan Zi, the elder of Shrek Academy and level-98 Taotie Douluo, had gone through that night.

But rumors soon began circulating around Star Luo City:

A place outside the city had been haunted the night before. Terrible screams had kept ringing out.

The cries were sharp and piercing, and they went on all night.

A Soul Douluo general guarding Star Luo City led several hundred men to search for the source of the sounds, but they couldn't find a single person.

After ruling out the possibility that someone had caused trouble on purpose, the general led his men back into the city in disgrace.

From then on, word of the haunting outside Star Luo City spread from mouth to mouth, picking up countless new versions along the way. Before long, the story had swept across the entire empire, leaving everyone on edge.

Even the current emperor, Xu Jiawei, found the matter deeply troubling.

The next morning, just after dawn.

In a woodshed at White Tiger Duke Mansion, a boy of barely five or six woke up from hunger.

He had a neat crop of short hair and was sallow and scrawny. Years of malnutrition had left him far shorter than other children his age.

The boy was named Dai Yuhao, the White Tiger Duke's illegitimate son. But despite that, he lived worse than a servant in what he called "home."

"Did Mom leave so early to work for those people again?" Dai Yuhao murmured, staring at the empty woodshed.

Grrr...

His stomach began to protest.

Huo Yuhao walked over to a battered wooden table and lifted an upside-down porcelain bowl. Beneath it lay half a piece of coarse flatbread.

"Mom didn't even eat." Dai Yuhao stared at the flatbread, his mouth watering.

He hesitated for a moment, then finally picked it up and gobbled it down in three bites.

He even sucked the crumbs stuck to his fingers clean.

Once his stomach finally felt a little better, Huo Yuhao quickly put on his thin, tattered clothes, picked up a small bamboo basket, and pushed open the door.

"I'm awakening my Martial Soul tomorrow. I wonder what kind I'll awaken?" Dai Yuhao said, carefully avoiding the servants as he headed toward the mansion's exit.

"Mom said I'll probably awaken the top-grade Beast Martial Soul, the White Tiger. I can't wait."

After crawling through a dog hole, Dai Yuhao finally made it out of White Tiger Duke Mansion.

"Good... I didn't run into Dai Huabin..."

Heaving a sigh of relief, he immediately ran toward a river in the distance.

"I have to catch lots of fish today, so Mom can build up her strength."

By midday.

Dai Yuhao stood by the river with his trouser legs rolled above his knees, his hands pale from soaking in the water.

He had spent all morning trying to catch fish, but hadn't caught a single one.

The midday sun made his head spin, and his stomach started growling again.

The half-piece of coarse flatbread from the morning had long since been digested. He was so hungry his stomach felt stuck to his back.

Dai Yuhao walked over to a tree by the river and sat down against its trunk, resting in the shade.

He was so tired he didn't want to move, think, or feel hungry.

"If I can't catch any fish, what will Mom and I eat?" Dai Yuhao muttered to himself.

"Can't catch any?"

A voice suddenly came from above.

Dai Yuhao jolted and sprang upright.

He looked up and saw a young-looking man in red robes lying on a branch above him.

Dai Yuhao asked in a panic, "W-who are you?"

Feng Yan appeared in front of Huo Yuhao in an instant. He crouched down and spoke softly. "You can call me the River God. The kind who can make your wish come true..."

At that, Huo Yuhao looked confused. "A god? Like Sea God Tang San?"

Feng Yan's face immediately fell.

What was Dai Zhongxian thinking?

He was only a few years old, and he already idolized Buddha Tang?

If he came across the Tang Sect later, wouldn't he dive right in?

Feng Yan suppressed the thought and tried a different tack. "I can give you three choices..."

"First, I can help you kill Dai Hao."

"Second, I can help you kill the Duchess."

"Third, I can give you a basket of fish..."

Dai Yuhao didn't hesitate for a moment. Delighted, he replied, "I choose fish! I choose a never-ending supply of fish!!!"

Feng Yan: "..."