Leaving the Orphanage

Seeing the two men's fine clothes, a trace of apprehension crossed the woman's face, but she still slowly walked over to them.

"Gentlemen, is there a problem with my child? Has he done something wrong? Or do you need compensation?"

"If there's anything I can do, I'll do my best. Just tell me how much money you need."

The woman looked at Shen Ming and Xiao Zhou, rubbing her hands together slightly, a hint of nervousness on her face.

Shen Ming glanced at the hideous scar on the woman's face, then calmly shook his head.

"That's not it. I have some good news for you: this child is very talented. He's already my disciple."

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Shen Ming, and I'm the Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda in Eastsea City."

As he spoke, Shen Ming held out his hand to the woman.

Ordinarily, someone with the status of an orphanage director wouldn't have been qualified to shake his hand. But she had raised a genius like Li Ang, and that gave her the right.

Looking at the well-dressed, middle-aged man before her and hearing what he said, the woman froze for a moment.

She instinctively rubbed her hands against her clothes, then carefully took Shen Ming's hand in both of hers.

"Li Ang has always been a good child, and a very clever one, too."

"Thank you for taking him as your disciple. He won't let you down."

As the woman spoke, she lowered her head, a trace of humility on her face.

Looking at her, Li Ang's expression turned unusually complicated.

He would never forget how this woman had picked him up off the ground and carried him to that orphanage, which had already been on the verge of closing.

She had even found someone to feed him milk, forcing him to cling to life.

"Director, I have Innate Full Soul Power. I'll make something of myself, so don't worry."

"My master has already agreed to support our orphanage. He'll give us 50,000 yuan every month and help renovate it, so my younger brothers and sisters can have a better life."

Li Ang's voice was calm, but the woman's eyes were already brimming with tears of excitement.

For a truly wealthy family, 50,000 yuan was nothing—barely a drop in the ocean.

But for an orphanage with hundreds of children, it was an astronomical sum, and a lifeline.

With that money, the children would never have to go hungry again.

Most of them might even have warm clothes to wear in winter.

Looking at the touching scene before him, Shen Ming gave a soft cough. He, too, looked rather pleased.

The Douluo World believed in the survival of the fittest, not in loyalty and devotion.

But as a teacher, the more loyal and devoted his disciple was, the more satisfied he felt.

Because only then could the resources he invested turn into better opportunities that would eventually benefit him in return.

"All right, Director. The money will be transferred to your account tomorrow, and Li Ang will be staying with us."

"Of course, if he has time, he can come back to visit the orphanage. We won't stop him."

"Let's not waste any more time. We should let the children waiting behind you awaken their Martial Souls."

Shen Ming said with a smile, then turned to look at Xiao Zhou.

Xiao Zhou froze for a moment, then hurriedly nodded.

After Shen Ming left, Li Ang didn't go with him.

He quietly stayed by Director's side. Only after everyone had finished their awakenings did they return to the orphanage together.

After briefly reassuring Director that he would be all right, he gathered up the few sets of clothes he owned and went to find Xiao Zhou, who was driving the Soul Guidance car.

When the boy climbed into the car and Xiao Zhou saw that Li Ang hadn't looked back at the orphanage once, curiosity crept into his eyes.

"Don't you miss this orphanage? You've lived here for six years, after all."

"What's there to miss? It's not the orphanage I miss, or the life I had here. It's Director, who saved my life."

"Other than her, this orphanage means nothing else to me."

Li Ang glanced at Xiao Zhou. His voice was calm, and his tone utterly flat.

Xiao Zhou was baffled. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether the child was a fool or a genius.

Such a philosophical remark sounded completely natural coming from him.

Was this what a talent monster was like?

Xiao Zhou pondered for a while, then fell silent again. But it had little to do with him, so he said nothing.

After giving a quiet nod, Xiao Zhou drove the hovercar back to the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.

It was just past noon, and there were still many families waiting for awakenings, so Xiao Zhou brought Li Ang to around the twentieth floor.

"The biggest room next to yours is the Pagoda Master's office. If you need anything, you can ask him."

"We're busy right now. I'll take you to choose a Soul Spirit tonight."

"The cafeteria is on the floor below. It serves food around the clock, so you can go eat whenever you're hungry."

Xiao Zhou briefly introduced the surroundings, then left the room and headed straight to the top floor.

Shen Ming was reviewing documents.

With one hand, he worked through the files; with the other, he carefully examined Li Ang's detailed file.

At the sound of a knock, Xiao Zhou slowly entered and looked toward Shen Ming.

"Pagoda Master, I've finished investigating. The boy's background is completely clean. He really is an orphan."

He had appeared at the orphanage out of nowhere and was likely the sort of child his parents had abandoned.

"Good. Destroy his records. Don't let them end up on the desks of those Spirit Pagoda higher-ups."

"The boy is very talented. He has Innate Full Soul Power, and his Martial Soul even caused such a huge phenomenon. It must be extraordinary."

"If those Spirit Pagoda higher-ups notice him this early, he'll only become a political sacrifice."

Shen Ming shook his head as he spoke.

The Spirit Pagoda's situation was very complicated right now. Under normal circumstances, he would have reported the boy's talent.

Then the truly powerful experts could have taught this peerless genius with Innate Full Soul Power.

But with things as they were, he really couldn't say a word.

Seeing Xiao Zhou's expression, Shen Ming nodded. Xiao Zhou bowed, then turned to leave.

Inside the room, looking at the soft bed and the bank card in his hand, Li Ang felt a little more at ease.

He sat quietly, gazing at his Martial Soul.

He hadn't sensed it carefully before. Now that he did, he noticed many things that didn't add up.

His Martial Soul really was Douluo Planet, and at present it had two forms: the planet and its core.

Both forms provided him with power.

That power was a tremendous boon to him, constantly increasing his mental strength and physical constitution.

The first time Xiao Zhou tested him, his score was 512 points. The second time, it had become 514. That wasn't because something had gone wrong.

His mental strength had increased by almost two points in a single second.

The rate of growth varied, but his mental strength was indeed continually rising.

But that also brought a bad consequence: his body might not be able to withstand it.

Moreover, because Douluo Planet had been completely sealed by Tang Hao—or rather, because Tang Hao was the Plane Lord—

the power he could wield was actually very limited.