Meanwhile.
Tang Wulin returned home, dejected.
"Son, you're back~"
Lang Yue heard him and came out to greet him.
But when she saw Tang Wulin's downcast expression, she immediately asked with concern, "What's wrong, son? Did someone bully you? Tell Mom, and I'll go find your teacher!"
"No, Mom. Today I met a really pretty girl..."
Tang Wulin recounted everything that had happened that day.
"A girl... a law enforcer? Was that young law enforcer you mentioned named Su Chen?" Lang Yue asked urgently.
"Huh? Mom, you know him?"
Tang Wulin grew even more curious.
"I don't know him, but I've heard of him."
Lang Yue shook her head. "Apparently, Su Chen comes from a prominent family in Eastsea City. It seems he came to Red Mountain City to gain experience. He's been here for half a year and solved quite a few cold cases. He's also mild-mannered, so he doesn't seem like a bad person. You can rest easy."
"Really? But..."
Tang Wulin was still a little worried.
He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about that boy, who seemed about his age. There was definitely something going on.
"All right, son. If you're really worried, I'll ask a friend about him tomorrow~"
Lang Yue ushered Tang Wulin into the kitchen.
Clearly, she didn't want to continue the subject.
"Okay..."
Tang Wulin had no choice.
He was too young to understand what this feeling was.
And even if he really did understand, there was nothing he could do... He couldn't do anything...
That night.
After settling Na'er in, Su Chen began testing the power of his newly acquired Martial Soul.
Su Chen's Soul Suppressing Pagoda could only be considered a high-tier Martial Soul, a control-type weapon Martial Soul.
First Soul Skill—Soul Suppression.
It was one of the few mental attacks. It affected another person's mind, and when used at a critical moment, it was extremely effective.
But compared with the Void Chrono Dragon, this Martial Soul was just...
With a thought, Su Chen released the newly acquired Void Chrono Dragon.
The next moment.
"Bzzz—"
An ancient aura suddenly descended upon the courtyard.
"Crack—"
Space split open in front of Su Chen, and a dragon's head emerged first.
Its purple scales gleamed with a delicate sheen, each one seeming to hold a miniature star.
Two imposing horns curved backward, their tips crackling with electricity.
Its eyes were different colors.
The left was pure silver, imbued with the mysteries of space.
The right was a deep purple, representing the secrets of time.
"Crackle, crackle—"
As the rift widened, its enormous body slowly squeezed through.
The Void Chrono Dragon's body was covered in pale purple scales, and its wing membranes were a translucent deep purple.
Its long tail swayed gently, its tip trailing flecks of starlight.
Though it was only an apparition, the sheer majesty it exuded made even Su Chen's heart tremble.
"So this is... the Void Chrono Dragon... Damn, that's so cool..." Su Chen's eyes were full of awe.
No boy could dislike such a cool Martial Soul.
The next moment, Martial Soul Possession.
The Void Chrono Dragon's apparition slowly merged into Su Chen's body.
Su Chen's eyes turned silver and purple at the same time.
The moment Martial Soul Possession was complete, Su Chen felt a power unlike anything he had ever experienced.
"Crack, crack—"
Su Chen clenched his fist instinctively, his knuckles making faint popping sounds.
The Void Chrono Dragon wasn't known for sheer brute force, but as a top-tier dragon Martial Soul, its physical enhancement was far beyond that of an ordinary Beast Martial Soul.
Of course, that was only the most basic ability.
Su Chen discovered that once he completed Martial Soul Possession, he gained two basic abilities.
First—Teleportation.
He could teleport anywhere within a hundred meters, endlessly, with almost no Soul Power cost.
Second—Time Stop.
It could freeze part of space. It consumed Soul Power, but far less than a Soul Skill.
These weren't Soul Skills. They were instincts.
Just as flying came naturally to Soul Masters with bird Martial Souls.
Soul Masters with Golden Dragon King Martial Souls naturally had tremendous appetites and strength.
The Silver Dragon King Martial Soul naturally granted affinity for the elements and powerful mental strength.
Su Chen's Void Chrono Dragon was the same.
Su Chen focused his thoughts.
"Whoosh!"
He appeared ten meters away in an instant, without a sound.
"Even though it barely consumes Soul Power, it takes stamina. At my current level, I can only teleport a few thousand times in a row..."
Su Chen thought to himself.
But as his cultivation improved, he would surely be able to do it endlessly.
Su Chen tried out Time Stop as well. It worked about as he had expected, though it still consumed a fair amount of Soul Power. He just didn't know how useful it would be in battle.
The next day.
"Click—"
While Na'er was busy eating, Su Chen completed his photo check-in.
"Check-in successful. Rewards: Mental Power +1, Strength +5, Physique +8, Charm +1."
Seeing the rewards, Su Chen felt refreshed.
The first time he recorded someone in the handbook, he received an incredible reward. After that, taking a photo each day would earn him a large number of random attribute points.
That was pretty good.
Besides, the Goddess Illustrated Handbook wasn't limited to just one goddess.
If he could record ten goddesses, then find a chance to take their pictures every day...
He would get ten points of Mental Power a day alone, or 3,650 a year, enough to reach the mid-stage of the Spirit Sea Realm. He would have the potential of a Titled Douluo, only slightly behind Wu Zhangkong.
In ten years, he could reach the threshold of the God Origin Realm, and in fifteen, he could attain the God Origin Realm.
As long as Su Chen recorded ten goddesses, he could reach God Rank strength before turning twenty even if he did nothing but eat and drink.
And if Su Chen put in even a little effort, his growth would naturally be even faster.
The future was bright!
His prospects were limitless!
He was terrifyingly formidable!
"I wonder if, when Na'er splits, I'll be able to record Gu Yue too, or if the handbook will automatically split off a Gu Yue entry..."
Su Chen thought to himself.
The current Na'er was the complete Gu Yuena. Although the handbook listed Na'er, given how her affection was growing, she was bound to split apart someday...
Su Chen wouldn't stop her.
Who wouldn't like double the fun?
"Brother, what are you thinking about..."
Na'er puffed out her cheeks, blinked her pretty purple eyes, and tilted her head as she looked at Su Chen, her eyes full of curiosity.
"Nothing."
Su Chen smiled at Na'er, then said seriously, "Na'er, I had someone investigate Red Mountain City yesterday. We couldn't find any sign of your family, and no one has come looking for a missing little girl. So I'm planning to take you to Eastsea City. Maybe we can find your family there..."
To keep up appearances, Su Chen was doing his utmost to help Na'er search for her nonexistent "family."
"Mm-hmm. I'll listen to you, big brother..."
Na'er nodded softly. It was clear she had decided to stay with Su Chen, and her affection for him continued to grow.
A month later, Su Chen had completely adapted to his new Martial Soul, so he took Na'er to Eastsea City.
Eastsea City was huge. The Su Family could easily crush the forces in Red Mountain City, but in Eastsea City, they were only a second-rate family.
Still, a second-rate family was a prominent one.
There were more than three hundred siblings and cousins in the Su clan.
Su Chen's father, Su Yaotian, was the Su Family patriarch and had more than twenty concubines. Su Chen's mother was one of them.
Only by spreading their branches and leaves could their powerful Martial Soul bloodline be passed down through countless generations and grow ever stronger.
"Mom! I'm home!"
Su Chen returned home with Na'er and called out to his mother at once.
After all, Su Chen wasn't an orphan. His parents were alive, and his family's support had played a major part in his achievements.
"Little Chen, you're finally back. Why did you go to a remote place like Red Mountain City in the first place..."
At the sound of her voice, a beautiful woman who looked to be in her early twenties slowly walked out of the courtyard.
The woman was Yu Yao, Su Chen's birth mother. She was very young.
"Huh? Who's this little girl? She's so pretty!"
Yu Yao's eyes lit up when she saw Na'er. She hurried over, cupped Na'er's face, and kneaded her cheeks, as if she'd just spotted some rare treasure.
"Mom, this is Na'er. I met her on the way here. She'll be living with us from now on."
Su Chen gave her a brief explanation.
"You've got some nerve, kid. I was wondering why you went all the way to Red Mountain City for no reason. Turns out you went to find yourself a wife."
Yu Yao looked at Su Chen with nothing but approval.
So young, and already knew to find himself a wife—and he'd even brought home such a pretty little girl. What a promising boy!
"Ahem, Mom, don't say things like that. I just happened to meet her..."
Su Chen coughed awkwardly.
"I know, I know~"
Yu Yao brushed him off and led Na'er away.
"Na'er, where's your home? What about your parents? You're so adorable... Hehehe... We're family now... Hey, don't call me Auntie. You're making me sound old. You have to call me Mom..."
Their voices gradually faded into the distance. Su Chen didn't pay them much mind and headed straight to the testing room.
His cultivation hadn't improved much over the past month, but his overall strength should have increased dozens of times.
Su Chen decided to test his stats.
He went to the strength testing machine first and casually threw a punch.
"Bang—"
"5678!"
Four digits appeared, and Su Chen was slightly surprised.
"A striking force of five tons?"
Su Chen knew he was strong, but he hadn't expected to be this strong.
And that was without Martial Soul Possession, purely his body's natural stats.
Su Chen remembered that when Tang Wulin was nine and unlocked his dragon claw, his striking power was around four tons.
But now, Su Chen...
"Martial Soul Possession!"
Without hesitation, Su Chen activated Martial Soul Possession.
The Void Chrono Dragon's apparition appeared.
Su Chen clenched his dragon claw into a fist and threw another punch.
"Boom—"
The air exploded, and the void trembled.
The machine shuddered violently. At last, the reading stopped at 99999.
Clearly, this was the machine's limit, not Su Chen's.
Su Chen switched to a more advanced machine for the test and ultimately got a reading of 14,289—about fourteen tons.
Such incredible strength came partly from the boost provided by his Martial Soul and partly from the attribute points he had gained by checking in for a photo.
After testing his strength, Su Chen went to test his mental power.
Previously, Su Chen had only had 22 points of mental power, which was considered average.
This time, however, his test produced a shocking result: 178!
He had gone straight from the Spirit Origin Realm to the Spirit Connection Realm, and was already nearing the middle stage of the Spirit Connection Realm!
The mental power attributes gained from checking in were probably worth about 40 points.
The remaining hundred or so points were likely a little bonus from fusing with his Martial Soul.
If his mental power reached 500 points, he would enter the Spirit Sea Realm and possess the potential to earn a Title, meaning he could have nine purple Soul Rings.
Though nobody would actually do such a thing, the Spirit Sea Realm was indeed a level that the vast majority of Soul Masters couldn't reach. It was the dividing line between ordinary Soul Masters and geniuses.
"With strength like this, I should get a huge boost in forging."
Su Chen thought to himself.
In the era of the Dragon King Legend, there were Mechas and Battle Armor, and the overflow of combat power was terrifying. Simply cultivating would never be enough; he had to have a second profession.
With strength this great, forging suited him perfectly.
Before you continue