A Dao Companion Can Never Be Too Many! Tang Ya, the Child Bride?

He felt like his brain was no longer enough for this. What was all this? Backup candidates? And one of them?

"Old Zi, what... what exactly are you trying to do?" Zichuan had a bad feeling.

"What am I doing? Finding you a wife, of course!" The God of Destruction spoke with complete conviction, even carrying the sense of mission of I'm doing this for your own good.

"Douluo Continent is huge. This era is full of prodigies, and outstanding female soul masters and soul beasts are springing up everywhere! Isn't that child of destiny, Huo Yuhao, surrounded by several girls? Ju Zi, Wang Qiu'er, Wang Dong'er... And that hypocrite Tang San—didn't he have Xiao Wu, Hu Liena—unrequited love still counts—and Qian Renxue? They were all tangled up with him, weren't they?"

"You are the child of Life and me, a being destined to ascend to the position of God King and look down upon eternity! Naturally, you cannot have too few Dao companions! You want resources! You want women too! Only then will it suit your status!"

"What's wrong with being a scumbag? It's perfectly reasonable! There's a guy in the God Realm named Rong Nianbing. Good heavens, he took seven wives with him when he ascended to the God Realm. What a carefree, blissful life he had! I think you should follow his example! No, you should surpass him!"

The God of Destruction grew more excited the longer he spoke, as if he could already see the "wonderful" future where Zichuan embraced beauties on both sides, followed by a line of stunning women as he ascended to the God Realm.

Zichuan's mouth twitched wildly, and veins throbbed on his forehead. What kind of twisted nonsense was this? Follow Rong Nianbing's example? Surpass him?

Old Zi, what the hell do you spend all day thinking about?! And you're a God King who governs destruction—why are you so nosy about other people's love lives, and why do you have such "plans" for them?!

"Uh... wouldn't that be inappropriate..." Zichuan tried to resist, but for some reason, a few rather unhealthy images surfaced uncontrollably in his mind. The corners of his mouth rose slightly before he forcibly pressed them back down.

No, no, I'm an upright person! Although... it did sound a little exciting?

"What's inappropriate about it? It's excellent!" The God of Destruction declared decisively.

"It's settled, then! Tang Ya is the first backup candidate. This god will find more for you later! Mine, mine, they're all mine!"

Zichuan was completely speechless. He felt that the God of Destruction was frantically dragging down his moral bottom line. He decided not to discuss this subject with his unreliable "old father" for now. It was too dangerous.

At this moment, Tang Ya's crying gradually subsided into quiet sobs.

She seemed to realize that clinging to an unfamiliar boy and crying for so long had been rather improper. Blushing, she awkwardly let go, shifted backward, and lowered her head, not daring to look at Zichuan. She merely said softly:

"I-I'm sorry... I... I got too emotional..."

Zichuan also breathed a sigh of relief. He moved his somewhat stiff shoulders and waved a hand. "It's fine."

He glanced at the sky. The afterglow of sunset had already begun painting the forest in golden edges. "It'll be dark soon. Let's take care of the aftermath first."

At his words, Tang Ya's expression darkened again. She nodded and struggled to her feet, first checking on the old woman. It was obvious that she would not make it.

Then she silently walked to the bodies of the two Tang Sect disciples who had died protecting her and began digging through the soil with her hands. Her movements were slow and laborious. Her nails quickly split, blood seeping out, but she gritted her teeth without making a sound as tears streamed silently down her face.

Zichuan sighed, walked over, and with a thought, extended his Dark Gold Terrorclaw.

Controlling his strength, he dug a deep pit nearby in just a few strokes. Then he helped Tang Ya carefully place the two bodies inside, bury them, and raise a small mound of earth over them.

There was no gravestone, no offering. Only a newly raised earthen mound beneath the setting sun, and a blue-haired girl kneeling before it, her shoulders trembling as she cried soundlessly.

Zichuan stood nearby and watched quietly. The evening breeze stirred Tang Ya's blue hair and high ponytail, outlining her slender, sorrowful silhouette.

He had to admit that Tang Ya was truly beautiful. Even with tears all over her face and her clothes in tatters, her delicate beauty and stubbornness could not be concealed. She was unquestionably a beauty in the making. No wonder that bastard Tie Bi had harbored evil intentions toward her.

The God of Destruction clicked his tongue in Zichuan's mind, once again choosing a terribly inappropriate time to comment.

"See? What a fine girl. A pitiful background, outstanding looks, and a kind heart. Seize the opportunity, boy!"

Zichuan rolled his eyes and ignored him.

By the time Tang Ya's emotions had settled somewhat again, night had fully fallen.

Zichuan lit a campfire, then went off to hunt a Soft Bone Rabbit and roasted it. The scent of meat gradually spread, dispelling some of the chill and bloody stench in the forest.

The two sat around the campfire in silence. Tang Ya hugged her knees and stared at the dancing flames, her eyes vacant, as though she did not know what she was thinking. The firelight reflected off her pale profile and swollen red eyes, making her seem especially fragile.

"Zichuan," she suddenly said, her voice exceptionally clear in the silent night, "do you think... the Tang Sect can still be rebuilt?"

Zichuan had been poking at the fire with a small branch. At her words, his hand paused. As expected, her obsession with reviving the Tang Sect had come up.

He looked up at Tang Ya. In the firelight, a faint flame seemed to burn in her eyes, but its glow quickly dimmed, replaced by deeper confusion and helplessness.

"I... I know it's difficult." Tang Ya lowered her head and buried her face in her arms, her voice muffled.

"The Tang Sect declined long ago. All that remains is an empty shell, and even its last base was taken away. I... I only have the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, and my Soul Power is only level eighteen... I've really worked hard, but..."

Her shoulders trembled faintly. She did not cry aloud, yet the desperate helplessness she radiated was even more stifling than loud sobs.

A useless Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and level eighteen Soul Power—within the world of soul masters, using such a starting point to revive a sect that had existed for ten thousand years truly sounded like a fool's dream.

She took a deep breath, lifted her head, and blinked hard at her reddened eyes. As if trying to change the subject, or perhaps out of genuine curiosity, she asked:

"Zichuan, what... what is your Martial Soul? When you acted earlier, I think I saw your hair change color. And that... golden Soul Ring? What was that?"

At the mention of Martial Souls, Tang Ya's eyes brightened slightly, filled with pure curiosity.

For some reason, ever since Zichuan had saved her, she had felt that being near him gave her an indescribable feeling of comfort and security. It was as if her exhausted soul had found a home, and even her Martial Soul was beginning to stir. The sensation was strange, yet very real.

Zichuan did not hide it. "My Martial Soul is a heart," he said casually.

"A heart?" Tang Ya blinked, not too surprised. Body Martial Souls were rare, but she had heard of them.

"Yes, and I have two." Zichuan added this as calmly as if he were saying that he had eaten two buns for breakfast.

"Tw-two?!" Tang Ya's eyes instantly widened, and her small mouth formed an O. "How... how can a person have two hearts? Th-that's impossible!"

"I just do." Zichuan shrugged and pointed to the left side of his chest. "This one is called the Heart of Destruction." Then he pointed to the right side. "This one is called the Heart of Life."

"Destruction... Life..." Tang Ya murmured. The implications contained in those two words made her heart inexplicably tighten, but her curiosity toward the Heart of Life soon overwhelmed everything else.

"The Heart of Life... it sounds like it's full of vitality?"

As she spoke, her gaze involuntarily fell upon the right side of Zichuan's chest, her eyes filled with a desire to investigate. That comforting aura she felt seemed to be coming from there.

"C-can I touch it?" Tang Ya, as if possessed, made a request that even she found abrupt. Her face reddened the moment the words left her mouth, but she could not help explaining.

"I-I just want to feel what it's like when two hearts... beat? And the Heart of Life feels... really warm..."

As she spoke, she actually stretched out a hand, cautiously reaching toward the right side of Zichuan's chest.

Zichuan: "!!!"

His entire body stiffened. Looking at Tang Ya's approaching little hand, still stained with traces of dirt and tears, his mind went blank for a moment.

Touch... touch my heart?! Is that something people can just touch?! Even through clothes, this is way too... too much! I'm still a child! Well, so is she... but that still doesn't make it okay!

"Wait! You..." Zichuan instinctively tried to pull back, but Tang Ya's hand had already touched his clothes.

At the very instant Tang Ya's fingers gently pressed against the right side of Zichuan's chest through his rough cloth shirt.

A sudden change occurred!