Bi Ji fell silent.
"Yeah."
"The world is simply this cruel to Soul Beasts."
"Human Soul Masters grow stronger with each generation, and talented people keep emerging. But our Soul Beast Clan..."
Bi Ji paused, her voice turning bitter. "We grow weaker with every passing day."
Di Tian said nothing.
He raised his right hand and lowered his head to look at the charred wound in his palm.
A wisp of faint purplish-black lightning still lingered along the edge of the wound.
With his ability to recover, an injury of this severity should have healed in a few breaths.
But the Law of Destruction on it kept preventing the wound from healing.
Di Tian clenched his fist, and the golden light in his eyes dimmed.
Facing a god really did make one feel utterly powerless.
Yet this human had made him feel an emotion of the purest kind.
Compared to those hypocritical gods in the Divine Realm,
this human was quite different.
Even if he might not stand with the Soul Beasts in the future, Di Tian still wanted to take a gamble.
"I hope that little fellow..."
Di Tian's figure slowly faded into the mist, his voice growing more distant.
"...won't disappoint us."
Bi Ji stood where she was, watching his figure disappear.
A week later.
Suotuo City.
Luo Yun stood at the city gate, looking up at the weathered plaque above him as he took a deep breath.
"Finally, we can get some rest!"
Luo Shang ruffled Luo Yun's hair.
They had spent more than half a month in the Star Dou Great Forest, smelling nothing but earth and dew every day.
They had also needed to stay on their guard at all times.
Even he, a Titled Douluo, felt a little exhausted, let alone Luo Yun, who was only six years old.
"Dad." Luo Yun tugged at Luo Shang's sleeve.
"Hmm?"
"Can you cook?"
Luo Shang glanced at him, expressionless. "Keep making fun of me, and you can go find yourself something to eat."
Luo Yun fell silent for a moment. "...I don't want to eat barbecue anymore."
That was because every meal Luo Shang had made along the way consisted of grilled Soul Beast meat, without a single seasoning...
And it wasn't even cooked through!!!
One bite, and juice had burst all over Luo Yun's mouth!
Luo Shang ignored him and strode into the city.
Suotuo City wasn't very big, but it was lively.
Shops lined both sides of the street: weapons and armor, Soul Beast materials, snacks, cloth. Hawkers' cries rose and fell all around them.
Pedestrians streamed past without end. There were merchants carrying huge bundles, women leading children by the hand, drunkards with their arms around each other's shoulders, and several Soul Masters in splendid clothes, Spirit Hall badges pinned to their chests, swaggering through the crowd.
Luo Yun followed behind Luo Shang, looking this way and that with great curiosity.
After all, he had grown up in Frost Ridge City, where there was nothing but snow all year round. It was nothing like the bustle of Suotuo City.
"Dad, what's that?"
"Candied hawthorn."
"Is it good?"
"I don't know."
"You've never had any?"
"This king doesn't eat sweets."
"...Your life must be so boring."
Luo Shang stopped and looked down at him. Luo Yun immediately shut his mouth, puffed out his chest, and stared straight ahead.
After walking along the street for a while, Luo Shang's gaze fell on the sign above a hotel.
The place looked luxurious. The words "Rose Hotel" hung above the entrance, which was decorated with roses.
"We'll stay here."
Luo Shang paid it no mind and walked straight inside.
Luo Yun followed him in, and as soon as he crossed the threshold, he caught the fragrance of roses.
A few scattered tables in the lobby were occupied by guests, all dressed in finery, with heavily made-up women nestled beside them.
Was this really something a six-year-old should be seeing?
Luo Shang walked up to the front desk. Behind the counter stood a woman in her twenties, wearing a plain pink dress and a professional smile.
"Sir, would you like to check in?"
"Mm." Luo Shang's voice was a little hoarse.
"Two rooms."
"Certainly." The receptionist swiftly opened the register. "Your names?"
Before she could finish, the hotel doors were suddenly shoved open.
A red-haired, chubby little boy stumbled inside.
He wore ordinary coarse cloth, his face flushed red and his forehead beaded with sweat.
Another little boy followed behind him, looking a year or two older.
He had golden hair and blue eyes, deep-set features, and wore a white-and-gold brocade robe. There was an arrogance about him that seemed far beyond his years.
He walked over at an unhurried pace, but as his mismatched eyes swept across the lobby, he looked down on everyone by nature, as if they were nothing but insignificant ants.
"B-Boss Dai..." The red-haired little boy tugged at Dai Mubai's sleeve, his voice on the verge of tears.
"I feel awful... I can barely hold it back..."
Dai Mubai patted his shoulder with a worldly air, his tone as calm as an old hand's. "Don't worry, brother. I'll sort it out for you right away!"
He strode up to the front desk, pulled several Gold Soul Coins from his sleeve, and slapped them onto the counter with a sharp clatter.
"Quick, get us a few girls! My brother can't hold back his Evil Fire!"
The Gold Soul Coins bounced twice on the counter, tinkled as they rolled in a circle, and finally came to rest beside the receptionist's hand.
The receptionist looked down at the coins, then up at the golden-haired, blue-eyed little boy in front of her. Her expression shifted from a professional smile to confusion, then from confusion to embarrassment.
"Well..."
The proprietress coughed and cleared her throat, trying to make her tone sound less out of place. "Little one, you'll have to be older before you can do that..."
Dai Mubai frowned, as if he'd heard something outrageous.
"Who says we can't do it now!"
He pulled Ma Hongjun over and pointed at the red-haired little boy's burning-red face, speaking with righteous conviction.
"Look, my brother's Martial Soul is a mutated Phoenix! It's powerful! He's just got a little problem... Every so often, his Evil Fire flares up, and he needs to find someone to let it out!"
The lobby fell silent for a moment.
The guests at the few occupied tables all turned to look, their eyes sweeping back and forth between Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, their faces full of disbelief.
"Are kids growing up this fast these days?"
"Impressive!!!"
"But he's so little. Can he even do it??"
"Probably just rubbing against her, I guess."
Luo Shang's brows furrowed slightly.
He had noticed the golden-haired boy as soon as they walked in.
The boy's features and bearing closely resembled those of the Star Luo Imperial Family members he had met.
Golden hair, blue eyes, an arrogant gaze.
Someone from the Star Luo Imperial Family.
Luo Shang's gaze darkened slightly.
Why would someone from the Star Luo Imperial Family be in Heaven Dou Empire territory?
And why had he brought along a little follower with a mutated Martial Soul to a hotel to "let out his Evil Fire"?
The etiquette lessons for the nobles of the Star Luo Imperial Family were truly eye-opening.
Standing beside Luo Shang, Luo Yun watched Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun with a frown. The more he looked, the more something seemed off.
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