"Haah, haah..."
Tang Hao was panting heavily, sweat having soaked through his clothes. His hands—the same hands that had once beaten Zhao Wuji black and blue—were trembling violently, the skin between his thumb and forefinger split open and bloodied.
After a full ten minutes of beating on him, he felt like he'd been scratching an itch on a Primordial Divine Mountain.
"Uncle, knock it off."
Looking at the battered and disheveled Tang Hao, Little One kindly tried to talk some sense into him. His big, grape-like eyes were full of sincerity.
"Grandpa Village Chief said outsiders have to be polite."
"And there's too much killing intent on you. If you keep making trouble like this, the Sacrificial Spirit will get angry."
"The Sacrificial Spirit?"
At those words, Tang Hao, who had already been running out of strength, let out a cold snort. A mocking trace of contempt flashed in his eyes.
Then he straightened up and rolled his aching joints.
His hands were still trembling, but that didn't stop his mouth from running.
"Don't try to scare me with some Sacrificial Spirit!"
"I've been watching your village these past few days. Isn't this so-called Sacrificial Spirit of yours just that Eight-Treasure Chicken that likes to wander around at the village entrance?"
With that, Tang Hao sneered, his face full of disdain.
"It's just a chicken. How could it possibly deserve to be called a Sacrificial Spirit? Once I've fully adapted to the laws of this world, I'll take its place!"
At those words, Little One's innocent, carefree expression changed. In an instant, he was furious.
He didn't know why this uncle was saying the Eight-Treasure Chicken was the Sacrificial Spirit, but he knew one thing: in Stone Village, the Willow Deity was their faith, a divine being who must never be blasphemed!
"I won't let you insult the Sacrificial Spirit!"
"You're a bad person!"
With that, Little One sprang into action.
There were no extra movements or flashy techniques. He simply stepped forward and slapped Tang Hao across the face.
"BOOM!"
The next instant, the air exploded with a thunderous crack!
Tang Hao didn't even have time to react. His vision went black, half his face was crushed, and his whole body went flying.
"THUD!"
Dozens of meters away, dust billowed into the air.
Tang Hao once again went headfirst into the ground with perfect accuracy, driving his very own human-shaped crater even deeper.
This time, he couldn't even twitch. His head was buried deep in the pit, his legs pointing straight up like a radish planted upside down.
"Oh my, isn't that the uncle who begs for food?"
Just then, a burst of laughter rang out.
Pi Hou, Snotty Kid, and the others happened to be running out of the village. They saw the familiar scene and immediately doubled over with laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha! I'm dying!"
Pi Hou pointed at Tang Hao in the pit and called to the children who had just arrived.
"Look at that big dummy! He actually dared to make Little One mad!"
"Doesn't he know Little One's the only one in Stone Village who reached the extreme in the Blood Moving Realm? He can swing one arm and unleash a hundred and eight thousand catties of force!"
"Exactly!"
Snotty Kid, standing nearby, sniffled and said scornfully:
"Don't let Little One's age fool you—he's only three. His pure physical strength alone is comparable to that of a pure-blooded young Primordial Fierce Beast! He could lift a small mountain with ease!"
"And this uncle still wanted to fight Little One? He was practically asking to die!"
After hearing what they said, Er Meng, who was simple-minded and hadn't said much so far, walked over too. He looked at Tang Hao's leg dangling in the air and grumbled unhappily:
"That's for bullying Little One! You're bad!"
As he spoke, Er Meng lifted his foot and kicked without hesitation.
"CRACK!"
A sharp snap rang out. Tang Hao's leg, which had already been broken in three places, was now completely pulverized, bending at a bizarre angle.
"AAAH!!!"
The pain jolted Tang Hao awake, and he screamed again. Then his eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
"Oh no!"
Just as the children were gathered around Tang Hao, pointing and chattering, Little One suddenly spotted something as terrifying as a flood or a ferocious beast. His face turned deathly pale, and he bolted.
"Huh? What's wrong with Little One?"
Pi Hou and the others turned around, curious.
They regretted looking the moment they saw what was there.
At the village entrance, Hu Niu—a sturdy little girl dressed in Animal Skin—was striding toward them with a fierce air, carrying a massive, unknown beast's leg bone in one hand. It was many times bigger than she was.
"Who dared bully my Little Haohao?!"
"I'll smash his skull to pieces with one swing!"
With Hu Niu about to charge over, the little ones panicked at once.
"Quick, stop her!"
"One swing and that uncle's going to turn into meat paste!"
Pi Hou, Er Meng, and the others went green with fright and hurried forward.
In the end, it took all of them working together just to wrap their arms around Hu Niu's leg and hold on for dear life, keeping the rampaging human tyrannosaurus at bay.
Amid all the chaos, the charred Willow Tree standing quietly at the village entrance stirred one of its emerald-green branches, which had been hanging down.
Then an invisible thought swept through the air.
As for the ant lying in the pit, harboring evil thoughts and even hoping to take its place, the Willow Deity wasn't interested in sparing it so much as a glance.
It felt disgust, but the wicked would meet their comeuppance in time. A mighty Immortal King wasn't about to lower itself to squabble with an ant.
"Buzz..."
In the void, a Willow Branch swayed gently.
The next instant, a translucent, emerald-green leaf, radiating a faint vitality, drifted down. It landed lightly on Qian Renxue's brow, where she was still struggling to withstand the crushing gravity.
"This is..."
As soon as the Willow Leaf touched her, it instantly merged into Qian Renxue's body.
Feeling the power, Qian Renxue looked up, bewildered.
In a flash, the world's gravity—which had kept her gasping for breath, as though it would crush her bones—miraculously vanished!
Not only that, a cool, gentle warmth flowed through her entire body, filling her with an indescribable sensation.
Qian Renxue tentatively moved her legs, then stood up, her face full of disbelief.
She could move again!
Her whole body felt light, as if a thousand-jin burden had been lifted from her. She had completely adapted to the gravity of this world!
In the village not far away, Pi Hou and the others were still playing around and hadn't noticed that Qian Renxue could now move freely.
But a new caption suddenly appeared on the Sky Screen:
[Announcement: Douluo Plane Explorer Qian Renxue, filled with reverence, has received a casual blessing from the Willow Deity, Stone Village's Sacrificial Spirit!]
The announcement set the entire Douluo Continent abuzz once more.
Aside from marveling at Qian Renxue's good fortune, no one had expected that the Sacrificial Spirit of Stone Village was this sickly-looking Willow Tree!
At the thought, the people of the Douluo Plane couldn't help swallowing nervously. They stared fixedly at the scene on the Sky Screen, eager to see what effect this so-called blessing would have, afraid they might miss even the smallest detail.
At the same time, behind the Sky Screen.
At the village entrance of Stone Village in the Great Wilderness.
"What's going on? What's all the noise?"
A flurry of footsteps approached. The old village chief, Shi Yunfeng, came hurrying over with several adult villagers built like oxen.
Seeing the commotion in front of them, the adults all furrowed their brows.
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