"Mom made your favorite braised pork! I helped, too—I peeled the garlic for her and washed the greens!" Na'er excitedly tugged him inside by the hem of his shirt. "Hurry and try some! If it's good, make sure to praise Na'er lots~"
Tang Heng couldn't help chuckling. He reached out and ruffled her soft, fluffy silver hair.
"Of course, of course. I love anything Na'er makes."
Na'er rubbed her head contentedly against his palm, like a satisfied little kitten.
Tang Heng put an arm around her shoulders and was just about to turn toward the living room when Na'er suddenly stopped.
She leaned closer to his shirt, her nostrils gently flaring.
"Brother."
Tang Heng froze. What was that all of a sudden?
Na'er lifted her head. Her usually sparkling eyes suddenly turned vacant, like a tunnel without end.
"Why do you smell like another woman, Brother?"
Tang Heng went still.
Wait, Na'er, aren't you a Silver Dragon Fish? How come your sense of smell is so sharp?
"It's nothing. I just chatted with a young girl for a while. Wulin can vouch for me."
Na'er looked over at Tang Wulin behind them.
Tang Wulin hurriedly nodded, helping Tang Heng explain. "That's right, that's right. It was Uncle Mu's daughter. She came over to talk to Brother for a few minutes after the forging test. Nothing happened."
Only after hearing that did the light gradually return to Na'er's eyes.
"Brother must think Na'er is being unreasonable..."
Tang Heng smiled and flicked her rosy little nose.
"What are you thinking? How could I ever dislike you, Na'er? You're my very best little sister!"
How could a mere loli nearing her expiration date make me forsake a true little girl?
A girl who appeared out of nowhere could never beat a childhood friend, okay?
Na'er's face lit up with a smile. Her sadness had come and gone in a flash. She took Tang Heng's hand, and they went inside together.
Dinner was sumptuous and tasted great, too.
At the dinner table, Tang Heng told his parents what had happened that day. They were so excited that they wanted to go wipe down their ancestors' memorial tablets.
Tang Ziran was in especially high spirits. Though he never drank, today he took a bottle of fine liquor from the cabinet and pulled Lang Yue into a celebratory drink.
Parents everywhere hoped their sons would become dragons and their daughters phoenixes.
That was all parents in the world ever wanted.
"My son will become a Titled Douluo one day!"
Tang Ziran was already tipsy, swaying as he walked, yet he kept praising Tang Heng.
"Look at how drunk you are! Don't you know you should set a good example for the children?"
"Hehe, I'm happy~~ I can do what I want!"
Lang Yue steadied her husband and asked the three children to clear the table. Then she helped the unsteady Tang Ziran back to their bedroom.
While clearing the table, Tang Heng happened to overhear his parents talking in their bedroom.
"Yueyue, do you think we're holding the kids back?"
"I-I'm worried that if those people from the Spirit Pagoda come after us again, we'll end up dragging Heng'er and the others down."
"Oh, don't worry. Isn't Mr. Mu protecting us now? You heard how outstanding our son is. There's no need to fret about every little thing right now."
"Heng'er is obedient and sensible, and he's always known his own mind. I don't think you need to worry."
Tang Heng silently gathered the dishes from the table and passed them to Tang Wulin and Na'er to wash.
He knew who his parents really were.
The Qiangu Clan held the Spirit Pagoda in its grip, and secretly colluded with various factions, as well as the Holy Spirit Cult. His parents had once been involved in some kind of secret experiment at the Spirit Pagoda.
After an accident gave them the chance to escape, they had lived under assumed names ever since.
But the fear of the Spirit Pagoda continued to hover over them like a nightmare that could descend at any moment.
"Just you wait, Qiangu Clan. If I can't knock your whole line into the dirt with three punches, I'll lose."
Tang Heng muttered under his breath. After putting his little sister to bed, he went alone to practice in the park outside the villa.
The park was quiet. Since it was in a wealthy neighborhood, the landscaping was beautiful, with old trees that had stood there for over a decade. There was even a small artificial lake in the center.
Beneath the bright moonlight, Tang Heng released the Silver Dragon King Martial Soul. His body quickly grew tall and slender, and his short black hair turned into long silver locks that fell to his waist, stirring gently in the evening breeze.
Tang Heng approached the lake. By the moonlight, he could clearly see his reflection on the water. Though he had seen it countless times, he couldn't resist praising himself again.
"Damn, I'm gorgeous~"
If he got himself a witch's hat someday and used the Silver Dragon Spear as a staff, people might start calling him the Silver Dragon Witch.
Without delay, Tang Heng took off his shoes and lightly leaped onto the middle of the lake.
His small, smooth feet, round as pearls and jade, rested on the water without raising so much as a ripple. The water element was under his command, and it obeyed him.
He controlled fire with his left hand, ice with his right, and water beneath his feet. The three elements converged under his control, separated, then gathered together again.
He tossed them lightly into the air. The stable elemental forces repelled one another in an instant, creating a violent surge of energy.
It was like setting off a brilliant firework.
At the instant the cluster of three elements exploded, just before the sound rang out, a glimmer of silver flashed across Tang Heng's deep violet eyes.
Spatial power surged, swallowing the firework into the void.
Using four simple elements was no more than an appetizer.
Tang Heng's spiritual power had already reached a full 1,200 points. He had entered the Spirit Sea Realm!
The boost from the low-level Spirit Ascension Platform had grown smaller and smaller, as if it had added an experience penalty system like those in online games. To keep increasing his spiritual power efficiently, he had to go to a higher-level Spirit Ascension Platform.
Even so, over a thousand points of spiritual power was enough to make him stand above his peers at his age. After a period of training, he had already learned to control five elements proficiently.
The night was still young. Tang Heng planned to practice controlling the elements for a while, then head to the Soul Beast Forest in the MC Plane to grind for levels.
He'd do his best to reach level thirty before his next birthday.
Xie Xie walked along a tree-lined path, hands in his pockets and an aloof look on his face.
"I wonder what the two new roommates coming tomorrow will be like. I hope they're at least a little strong—enough to be worthy sparring partners for this young master."
A while ago, the dean had informed him and his other roommate that new transfer students would be joining their class this semester, and that they'd be staying in their dorm, too.
Supposedly, they came from some small town in the countryside?
Someone like that couldn't possibly threaten his standing in the class, right?
Xie Xie suddenly remembered the family he'd run into that morning.
Especially that line about "country bumpkin"—it had been a blatant insult right to his face.
Thinking about it made him bristle.
He was the young master of a mech family in Eastsea City, for crying out loud. How dare some country bumpkin insult him?
Unfortunately, the other party had left in Saint Craftsman Mu Chen's car. They probably had some connections, too.
If they ran into each other again, maybe he could challenge them to a spar and get his revenge.
Xie Xie kicked a pebble off the path and suddenly heard a noise in the distance. He instinctively looked over.
Beneath the moonlight, a graceful figure stood barefoot on the surface of the lake. Her face was still youthful, but already held the promise of breathtaking beauty, and wore a faintly indifferent expression. Five utterly different elements swirled under her control.
For a moment, Xie Xie was utterly entranced.
"Is... is that an angel?"
The other party seemed to hear his soft whisper and startled like a young deer. A flash of silver light—and the figure vanished in an instant.
Only the elemental fluctuations lingering in the air proved she had been there.
Xie Xie rubbed his eyes and murmured,
"Did I just imagine that?"
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