Su Zhen spent the night at Otto's house. Early the next morning, he went to say goodbye.
"Child, why not rest a few more days? There's no need to rush off to stay with your relatives."
Su Zhen politely declined. Qian Daoliu had given him only a month, and he had barely made it from Suotuo City. He had to pick up the pace from here on.
Otto shook his head helplessly, then turned and took a cloth bag from beside the stove, pressing it into Su Zhen's hands.
"Child, there are some wild-vegetable cakes I made in here. Take them to eat on the road."
The hand holding the bag trembled. This old man he had met by chance was truly kind.
"Thank you, Grandpa. Once I reach Spirit City, I'll come back and take you there to live."
Su Zhen knelt and kowtowed to Otto three times, hard.
"Oh, child, get up! You mustn't do that. They're only a few wild-vegetable cakes. There's no need for this. I'll be content as long as you reach Spirit City safely."
Otto hurriedly helped Su Zhen to his feet.
Su Zhen was at a loss for words. He would repay Otto's kindness someday.
After saying goodbye to Otto, Su Zhen prepared to continue on his way.
"Roar!"
A beast's roar came from behind the house. Otto and Su Zhen both jumped, then hurried over to investigate.
A fierce tiger with a colorful coat was crouched on the windowsill. Its dark red eyes stared greedily at Little Oscar on the bed. Drool dripped from its fangs onto Little Oscar's face, making him wail.
"Little Ao!"
Otto was horrified. He summoned his Martial Soul, a trident, and charged at the tiger, stabbing it in the head. The blow didn't even pierce its hide, but Otto's actions enraged it completely.
"Ah!"
The tiger clamped its jaws around Otto's shoulder. He cried out in pain, but endured it, grabbed the swaddling clothes with one hand, and hurled them toward Su Zhen at the door.
Su Zhen stepped forward and caught Oscar securely. He looked at Otto, his eyes full of grief.
"Take Little Ao and run!"
Otto clung to the tiger with all his strength and roared at Su Zhen. Su Zhen gave him one last, deep look, then turned and sprinted out of the village.
Watching Su Zhen disappear into the distance, Otto let out a long breath. As long as Little Ao was safe, he had nothing else to care about. He closed his eyes and awaited his final death.
Suddenly, a brilliant light blazed before him. The tiger's claws stopped tearing at his shoulder. Otto opened his eyes and saw a middle-aged man with six wings on his back standing before him. Blood still dripped from the golden longsword in his hand.
"An angel?"
Otto was overjoyed. An angel had come to escort him in death. He could go to heaven now.
Otto still died. The wound the tiger had left in his shoulder was too large, and he was already old. The loss of so much blood carried him to his end.
Qian Daoliu stared solemnly at Otto's corpse and the tiger he had slain.
He sensed in the tiger the same trace of divine aura he had felt on Tang Hao. He had already intended to take Su Zhen as his disciple; the so-called condition had merely been a test. He had been protecting Su Zhen from the shadows all along.
Which god was hounding Xiao Zhen so relentlessly? What secret did Xiao Zhen's Martial Soul conceal?
He searched the entire village with his spiritual power. The villagers seemed to have vanished without a trace. In an instant, the whole village had become deserted.
Qian Daoliu disappeared from where he stood. He sensed that Su Zhen had already left the village. He had to catch up and continue protecting him, in case that god made another move from the shadows.
Su Zhen ran for his life. The farther he got from the village, the safer he would be.
He ran for a long time, stopping only when he was five li from the village. He bent over, panting heavily. Oscar had stopped crying in his arms, probably worn out. Eyes closed, he sniffled softly.
Why had a ferocious beast appeared in the village? With all that noise, why hadn't any of the villagers come out to look?
Su Zhen was baffled. Everything about this seemed out of the ordinary. Otto was gone, too, but he could only swallow his doubts and grief and keep moving. He was still too weak. If he had been a Soul Master, Otto wouldn't have died.
Su Zhen continued onward with Little Oscar. After walking for about ten li, he stopped—not because he was tired, but because a middle-aged man in a black robe stood beneath a large tree up ahead, watching him.
"Uncle, what are you doing here?"
Su Zhen watched the middle-aged man warily.
"Su Zhen. Martial Soul: Thunder Prison Qilin."
The middle-aged man's tone was calm, as if he were stating something unimportant. But if Su Zhen could have seen his eyes beneath the black robe, he would have found them blazing with excitement and joy.
"Who are you? How do you know me?"
Shocked, Su Zhen backed away, tightening his hold on Oscar.
The Black-Robed Man appeared behind Su Zhen in an instant and rested his broad palm on Su Zhen's shoulder.
"Don't be afraid. I will never hurt you."
"You don't need to know who I am. You only need to know that I'm the partner you can trust most."
"Take this Dragon Scale. Wear it, and it'll conceal your aura."
The Black-Robed Man handed Su Zhen a black scale. It was hard, its smooth surface gleaming with a metallic sheen. A chill seeped through it into his hand.
"Don't take it off lightly. If you lose it, I'll come find you when you summon your Martial Soul in Star Dou Forest. You can also go to Star Dou Forest when you need to hunt for a Soul Ring."
After giving Su Zhen his instructions, the Black-Robed Man turned to leave. Before he went, however, his gaze fell for an instant on a tree not far away. Su Zhen didn't notice.
Star Dou Forest, a black robe, a Dragon Scale... Could it be him?
Su Zhen had a suspicion, but he couldn't be certain. He put away the Dragon Scale and continued on his way with Oscar.
In a dense forest, the Black-Robed Man stopped.
"Come out, servant of the Angel God."
Qian Daoliu appeared in an instant a short distance in front of the Black-Robed Man, the Angel Sword in his hand.
"Who are you? If I haven't sensed wrong, you aren't human. Why do you care about Su Zhen?"
Qian Daoliu was surprised that the Black-Robed Man had guessed his identity. This man's strength was certainly no less than his own.
"My name is Di Tian. As you can see, I'm not human. But don't worry. I will never hurt Su Zhen."
"Hmph. I hope you keep your word."
"If anything concerning Su Zhen comes up, you can find me at Lake of Life, in the core of Star Dou Forest. Just ask those four Soul Beasts. Have that little fellow get stronger as soon as possible. He doesn't have much time left."
Qian Daoliu watched the Black-Robed Man leave. He sensed no ill will from him; otherwise, he would have made sure the man never left.
This man seems to know the secret of Xiao Zhen's Martial Soul.
Qian Daoliu pondered the matter, then turned back to protect Su Zhen.
Su Zhen turned the Black Dragon Scale over in his hand, wondering about the Black-Robed Man's actions.
I ran into him as soon as I left. Could he have been behind the tiger in Meat Fragrance Village? No, if it really had been him, he wouldn't have done such a thing. Besides, he gave me this scale to protect me. Then there's only one place it could be.
Su Zhen looked up at the sky.
I just don't know which one it was. But with this Dragon Scale, I'll be safe for quite a while. Looks like I need to get stronger as soon as possible.
Su Zhen's guess was a bold one. If he was right, his enemies in the future wouldn't be Tang San and Tang Hao, father and son, but the god behind them.
Nothing unusual happened on the rest of Su Zhen's journey. He walked for a while, then stopped to rest. When he got hungry, he ate the wild-vegetable cakes. Since Oscar was still so small, Su Zhen broke the cakes into pieces, soaked them in water, and fed them to him.
On the thirtieth day after leaving Hound Village, Su Zhen finally saw the towering city walls.
The Dragon Scale he gave me really did help.
Qian Daoliu, who had been protecting Su Zhen from the shadows, breathed a sigh of relief as well.
The granite walls, eighty meters tall and thirty meters thick, stood in silence. The hexagonal walls were set with six enormous reliefs on each face, representing six different top-tier Martial Souls.
Looking at the enormous relief of the Clear Sky Hammer, Su Zhen was speechless. The previous Pope had been beaten to death by that thing, and the Clear Sky Sect had been forced to seal its gates. Why had Spirit Hall left the relief up? Was it meant to remind everyone of that disgraceful incident?
One day, he would replace the Clear Sky Hammer relief with his Thunder Prison Qilin.
The butterfly had found the place where it would form its chrysalis. After a long incubation, it would break out of its cocoon, spread its wings, and soar through the sky.
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