Where is my tiny Nanliang Tang Wulin?

Lin Nuo withdrew from his spiritual sea and returned to reality, immediately sensing something amiss with Na'er beside him. Curious, he opened his eyes to look at her and asked, "What's wrong, Na'er?"

Na'er seemed startled by his voice; she immediately snapped back to reality, shook her head, and said, "It's nothing, Brother."

Seeing her like this, how could Lin Nuo possibly believe her? He followed her gaze and, to his shock, realized he had run into an acquaintance.

That familiar appearance, those little braids, that cute little face, and... a little skirt???

No way.

Lin Nuo looked at the little... little girl being brought in by her parents, suddenly feeling a sense of unfamiliarity.

Although Tang Wuling did look a lot like a little boy when she was young, surely she couldn't be wearing a little skirt to awaken her martial soul?

Did he have a cross-dressing fetish?

Or perhaps... A ridiculous thought couldn't help but pop into Lin Nuo's mind: could that child actually be a girl?

Lin Nuo couldn't be sure, and his curiosity grew, itching to verify it.

Tang Wuling was happily tugging on her parents' hands when she keenly sensed two gazes fixed upon her. She looked over curiously and found a pair of siblings, one older and one younger, scrutinizing her.

This scene left her a bit dazed. She tilted her head, examining them—did she know them?

Tang Wuling's parents, Tang Ziran and Lang Yue, also noticed their daughter's gaze and looked over, seeing the pair of siblings staring at their daughter.

The siblings' looks were not inferior to their own daughter's; one could say they were evenly matched.

Tang Ziran withdrew his gaze and looked at his daughter, "Wuling, do you know them?"

Tang Wuling shook her head; she had absolutely no idea who these siblings were!

"Then shall we go and get to know them?" Tang Ziran asked with a chuckle.

"Huh?" Tang Wuling hadn't expected her father to suggest this, and she couldn't make up her mind for a moment.

Beside her, Lang Yue smiled and said, "Wuling should make some friends too, shouldn't she?"

With her mother putting it that way, Tang Wuling finally nodded, "I understand, Mom."

And so, led by her parents, Tang Wuling arrived before Lin Nuo and Na'er. Tang Ziran smiled and greeted them, "Hello there, you two little ones."

Seeing this, Lin Nuo realized his previous gaze had been a bit impolite. He immediately stood up and said, "Hello, Uncle and Auntie, and... little sister. I just thought your daughter looked quite pretty, so I looked a few extra times. My apologies."

Na'er, who was sitting to the side, slowly raised her head. Her originally soft gaze instantly turned cold, tinged with hostility. Like a little dumpling that had been provoked, she stared fixedly at her brother, her cheeks puffed out and her lower lip slightly pursed, clearly putting on a display of protest.

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue couldn't help but exchange a glance, then laughed, "Hahaha... you two little ones are also very good-looking. Wuling, why don't you introduce yourself to them?"

Tang Wuling felt a bit shy; it was the first time a handsome little boy had complimented her. She stammered, "I, I am called Tang, Tang Wuling."

"Hahahaha, the child is shy." Lang Yue teased her daughter, not expecting her usually confident child to have such a bashful moment.

Hearing Tang Wuling's introduction, Lin Nuo immediately stood up to introduce himself, "My name is Lin Nuo."

He then introduced his sister beside him, "And this is my sister, Na'er."

Just like that, the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King met again in this manner. Lin Nuo couldn't help but suspect that this was the handiwork of some shameless fellow.

"What a lovely name," Lang Yue couldn't help but praise, then asked curiously, "And where are your parents?"

As soon as this question was asked, Lin Nuo and Na'er fell silent. Tang Ziran sensed the shift in atmosphere, immediately pressed his wife's arm, and stepped in to smooth things over by changing the subject, "Where are your guardians?"

Lin Nuo: "..."

Na'er: "..."

The atmosphere turned eerily silent. Tang Ziran realized he had said the wrong thing again and immediately apologized, "Sorry, sorry, we didn't mean anything by it."

Lang Yue followed suit with an apology.

Lin Nuo waved his hand, "It's alright, Uncle and Auntie."

"Um, which one of you is here to awaken your martial soul?" At this point, Tang Wuling realized her parents had made a mistake and knew she needed to step up.

Lin Nuo nodded, "I am here to awaken my martial soul, and my sister will be next year."

"I see." Tang Wuling took the opportunity to open a conversation, asking curiously, "Then what kind of martial soul do you think you'll awaken?"

"I'm not sure. Martial soul awakening is always full of uncertainty."

"My dad says the same thing." Tang Wuling nodded in agreement, though her gaze couldn't help but drift toward Na'er beside Lin Nuo—why did this young girl feel so familiar?

Na'er naturally sensed Tang Wuling's gaze. She merely swept a cold glance over her before looking away; she knew all too well what would happen if she stared for too long.

Lin Nuo noticed their small interaction but didn't mind. The Dragon God had been split in two—half the Silver Dragon King, half the Golden Dragon King. Now that they had met, it was a miracle they weren't fighting already.

Besides, they were both tigresses; it was truly interesting!

A Spirit Pagoda staff member walked out at that moment and called out, "Lin Nuo."

Hearing his name, he immediately stood up and said to Tang Ziran and Lang Yue, "Uncle and Auntie, could you please look after my sister for a moment?"

"Of course," Tang Ziran and Lang Yue agreed immediately.

Tang Wuling also chimed in, "I'll help you take good care of your sister."

Na'er: "..."

She could protest; there was truly a moment where she really wanted to eat this guy.

Lin Nuo nodded, then followed the staff member into the room for Martial Soul awakening.

Several staff members stood inside the room. A middle-aged man in the center looked at Lin Nuo as he entered and gestured for him to come forward.

"Little one, no need to be nervous. Awakening a Martial Soul is very simple." The middle-aged man understood that children were always nervous or excited during the awakening process, and he had to soothe them beforehand, otherwise, any minor accidents would delay the awakening time for other children.

Lin Nuo nodded calmly upon hearing this.

Seeing Lin Nuo so composed, the man became interested; he wanted to see what kind of Martial Soul this child would awaken.

The middle-aged man began to circulate his soul power to awaken the Martial Soul for Lin Nuo.

As Lin Nuo felt the changes within his body and prepared to open his palms, the Throne of Time in his sea of consciousness instantly lit up.

A miraculous scene unfolded: the entire room suddenly froze. Everyone stood motionless, and only Lin Nuo remained able to move. He did not move, however; patterns of rotating clock hands appeared in his cyan-blue eyes, and his body was enveloped in golden soul power as a figure slowly manifested behind him.

He took one look and understood what his Martial Soul was.

"Time, Essence!"