Xu Yanli smiled and said from the side, "I saved this child in the Star Dou Great Forest. His Martial Soul seems to be eyes, but is actually his brain and eyes. In a sense, he should have a top-tier Body Martial Soul, shouldn't he?"
"More or less—absolutely!" Du Busi's eyes lit up as he came down from his seat.
"This child is my disciple, and I don't mind him having another teacher. What do you think?" Xu Yanli said with a light laugh. "It's a shame that his childhood was difficult, and his Martial Soul mutated, so his Innate Soul Power is only level one."
"Hey, we of the Body Martial Soul don't care about that. Little friend, are you really willing to share this disciple with me?" Du Busi asked eagerly.
"Of course I don't mind, but he'll also need to stay by my side to study. After all, soul tool knowledge is important too," Xu Yanli said calmly.
"But you'll have to give me six months out of every year, at least. Isn't that right?" Du Busi insisted.
Xu Yanli turned to Huo Yuhao and asked, "Are you willing to stay here? Your Martial Soul can be developed to its fullest..."
Huo Yuhao clutched the hem of his clothes. Seeing Xu Yanli's encouraging gaze, he slowly nodded and said, "All right. I'll take you as my master."
Du Busi beamed with excitement. He gently patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder twice with his heavy hand and said, "Good disciple. From today onward, you're my direct disciple."
After saying that, he turned his gaze to Xu Yanli. "I accept you as an ally, too. For your mother's sake, boy, don't bring shame on her."
"You knew my mother, too?" Xu Yanli scratched his head in confusion. If his mother was so famous, why had no one mentioned her in the original story?
"Alas, what a shame. She was once the most beautiful woman in the world. Back then, many of our Body Sect's outstanding men fell for her," Du Busi said with a sigh, but still didn't tell him anything about his mother.
Dusk was drawing near. Xu Yanli slowly left the Body Sect alone, though not entirely alone—Long Xiaoyao had suddenly appeared beside him.
"Do you really have what it takes to become a god?" Long Xiaoyao asked quietly.
Xu Yanli smiled without replying. Instead, he rented a carriage, climbed aboard, and closed his eyes to rest.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Long Xiaoyao didn't ask again. He simply sat silently beside him.
Just then, Electrolux's voice sounded in his mind. "Boy, come learn today's lesson."
Xu Yanli let out a breath in his heart and shook his head helplessly before slowly entering his Sea of Consciousness.
Xu Yanli looked at the teacher before him and cupped his hands.
"You're here. I have to say, that move of yours today was quite clever—and quite sincere," Electrolux said with a smile.
Xu Yanli said helplessly, "Why do I feel like I'm a little..."
"A little what?" Electrolux asked in surprise.
"Good fortune left behind, good fortune left behind; then, by chance, a benefactor appeared. Thanks to my mother, thanks to my mother, who earned good karma." Xu Yanli smiled as he recalled the verse about Qiao Jie'er from Dream of the Red Chamber, which he'd read years ago.
Electrolux didn't say anything. After a long while, he finally asked, "Aren't you afraid that once Du Busi's hidden injuries heal, he'll keep Huo Yuhao and turn against you?"
Xu Yanli paused, then smiled. "Teacher, in a sense, Du Busi is a clever man. And clever people usually don't do something that stupid."
"Besides, it's not as if I can't leave myself a few safeguards," Xu Yanli said with a light laugh.
"You brat..." Electrolux shook his head helplessly.
Xu Yanli fell silent for a moment, looked at Electrolux, then cupped his hands and said, "Teacher, I'll come back to study tonight. Let me give my brain a rest first."
"Go on. By the way, do those lines you just recited continue?" Electrolux waved him away.
Xu Yanli paused, then smiled. "Of course. The rest goes: 'I urge the living to help the poor and aid the destitute. Don't be like that cruel uncle and treacherous brother of mine, who loved silver and forgot their own kin! Such are the sums and subtractions, additions and divisions decreed above by Heaven.'"
After reciting the rest, Xu Yanli suddenly felt that this...
Could it be said to be his life, too?
Xu Yanli paused, then awoke in his own body and turned his gaze outside, to the scenery rushing past.
There, lights shone bright. That was the bustle of mortal life.
Xu Yanli looked at the scene outside and let out a breath. He seemed to have changed a great deal from the person he'd been in his previous life, and yet also seemed much the same.
For a fleeting moment, he felt so tired. Sometimes he thought it would be fine to just be an ordinary person; there was no need to fight so hard for a future.
Just be a couch potato, and roll over now and then...
But if he did that, Xu Tianran, who had treated him well since childhood, would meet his inevitable end. And a decade or so later, he himself might be killed by Tang San, or broken in like a dog.
But as a transmigrator, as one who carried the blood of the Chinese dragon, he would never let himself kneel and crawl through life.
Tang San...
If he had no chance, perhaps he really would lose his fighting spirit and do nothing. But as it happened, he now had the means to fight back. Even if he needed to build up his strength, now that he had an opportunity, how could he not fight with all he had?
With his talent, all he had to do was cultivate diligently, and he could ascend to Dual Godhood. He might even be able to knock Tang San down.
But...
He had seen the chaos of this world in the original story. There were times when he thought of everyone as characters on a page, but whenever he witnessed certain tragedies, he still felt a pang of sorrow and heartache.
There was also a trace of scorn and resentment toward this world. He wanted to change it.
In his previous life, he'd witnessed injustice but hadn't been able to help. Now that he had the ability, why not make his vision a reality?
Besides, it would benefit him, too. He could gather Faith Force faster and cultivate his Martial Soul more quickly. It was a win-win. Why wouldn't he?
And if he united the Douluo Continent, he could deal a severe blow to Tang San's Faith Force, perhaps weakening his Sea God Godhood.
Long Xiaoyao watched Xu Yanli from beside him without saying a word, but he could sense that the person before him seemed to have relaxed a little.
Xu Yanli slowly turned his gaze toward Long Xiaoyao and suddenly thought of his mother.
He didn't have many memories of his mother.
More than once, he had met people who brought up his mother. He, too, wanted to know just how peerless she had been, and why everyone who saw him was reminded of her.
Why did everyone seem to treat him more leniently because of his mother?
Before you continue