A figure in a black cloak sprang from the stage, heading straight for the theater's entrance.
Dark-red Soul Power transformed into countless threads of blade energy, shredding everything in its path.
Hot on his heels was an old man dressed as a guard, a long spear aimed straight for the cloaked figure's back.
The spear struck before the cloaked figure could react. With nowhere to dodge, the seven Soul Rings on his body suddenly blazed to life. He was about to fight to the death—
But the old man's spear pierced his heart.
After killing him, the old man seemed to stroll leisurely, though in truth he moved with astonishing speed as he removed the corpse.
In the blink of an eye, he had vanished without a trace, like a shadow puppet come to life.
The people inside the theater went from panicking, to exchanging bewildered glances, and finally to sitting in dead silence.
Long after the old man had left, everyone finally came to their senses. The theater erupted in chatter.
[Holy crap! He really killed someone!]
[The Douluo World is way too dangerous! They just kill people like that! If things get too rough, streamer, figure out a way to come back. Blue Planet is safer, relatively speaking.]
[The man who got killed was a Seven-Ring Soul Saint, but the old man who killed him didn't even show his Soul Rings. Terrifying~]
[The angel onstage was just about to smite evil, and then the curtain got torn down. The irony! Hahaha!]
It had all happened in the blink of an eye.
Xiao Wu's eyes were practically popping out of her head. She clenched her little fists, her face full of vindication.
"Those hypocritical angels, talking about defeating demons and monsters... You deserved to be torn to pieces!"
Seeing that everything had settled down, Chu Men finally took his right hand out of his robe, where he had tucked it earlier, and smiled.
"Now that was an interesting show. Someone even put on an extra performance for free."
[Streamer, how are you so calm? Someone just died!]
[I'll bet a pack of spicy strips that the streamer was already ready to run!]
[Guessing game: Who was the old man who killed him?]
Chu Men took a sip of tea from the table. As steady as a mountain, he calmly steered the conversation back.
"So I'm supposed to thank you, then!"
"Of course!"
Dugu Yan glanced at the torn curtain onstage. Since it had nothing to do with her, she didn't pay it much mind.
She quietly edged closer to Chu Men and said to him,
"Lingling really admires you. She talked about you all afternoon. You wouldn't be so clueless about romance as to turn away such a pretty little fan, would you?"
"You're getting more and more carried away. I have classes every morning and work every afternoon. Just today, I took on a bunch of new orders and was busy all afternoon."
Chu Men changed tack. "Of course, if you want to work for free, I don't mind!"
"Teacher Chu, you'd really make two pretty girls like us do all this rough work?" Dugu Yan said coyly.
Chu Men chuckled to himself.
As if he'd go easy on you two. See that little Xiao Wu over there?
She was a bona fide little girl, and she'd still obediently helped him grind his battle armor for half a day.
That was putting theory into practice!
"As the saying goes, practice is the best teacher!"
Xiao Wu immediately nodded in agreement and swung Chu Men's arm.
"Exactly, exactly! Grumpy Uncle is really busy. He doesn't have time to teach you!"
Dugu Yan glanced at Xiao Wu. A thought flickered through her mind, and a hint of provocation curled the corners of her mouth.
"Then it's settled. I may only be a Soul Grandmaster, but I can still be of some help."
Chu Men: "..."
Was the administration at Heaven Dou Royal Academy really that lax?
Couldn't that old man Dugu Bo keep an eye on her?
[The streamer's getting more and more criminal. Not only is he hiring child labor, now he wants to hire two more!]
[The Douluo World isn't ours. You can't judge it by our values. Besides, it doesn't look like the streamer paid her, does it?]
[If Sister Yan came to work at our factory, she could sit in the office. I'd be happy to tighten screws in her place!]
Ye Lingling finally found a lull and shyly asked Chu Men,
"Teacher Chu, I heard your Martial Soul is a pen. Is that true?"
Chu Men looked a little surprised, but nodded.
"It suits my job as a teacher. I mainly use it to assist with making Soul Tools. It doesn't have much combat power."
"That's not true!"
Xiao Wu immediately protested. "Grumpy Uncle's pen is really powerful! Last time, Sister Erlong almost lost to him!"
Chu Men winced. "Good grief, little girl! That's a wild exaggeration!"
You were there too. Didn't you see how badly I got beaten?
Dugu Yan's eyes lit up. "Oh? Teacher Chu fought Dean Liu?"
Seeing the intense curiosity in Ye Lingling's eyes as well, Chu Men cleared his throat.
"It was just a spar! Our dean is a Soul Saint, while I'm only a little Soul Ancestor. We were just sparring with our Soul Skills."
Downstairs, the show had "been" brought to an end, and the audience began filing out.
Some of them were still complaining. "What a shame. There was supposed to be another scene where the angel sealed the demons. Now we'll never see it."
Xiao Wu took Chu Men's hand and eagerly suggested,
"Grumpy Uncle, this play was no fun at all. Let's go walk around outside!"
"Sure."
Chu Men pinched Xiao Wu's nose and was just about to get up when Dugu Yan stood too.
She smiled. "We don't have anything to do either. Let's all go for a walk together."
Chu Men looked at her expectant gaze, then at the unhappy expression on Xiao Wu's face beside him, and at Ye Lingling, quiet as a painting.
For a moment, he couldn't find a reason to refuse.
"All right, let's go together."
[Hahaha, the streamer still couldn't escape!]
[Four of them together? I've got my little stool ready. Can't wait to see what the streamer does.]
[Don't be scared, streamer. Go for it! Charge!]
Chu Men led the way, holding Xiao Wu's hand, while Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling followed behind.
Every so often, Dugu Yan would walk up and talk to Chu Men about Soul Tools. Xiao Wu would immediately butt in and steer the conversation elsewhere.
Under the night sky, the Soul Tool lights stretched the four of their shadows long, yet somehow made them seem especially harmonious.
The Light and Shadow Theater closed its doors to visitors, making not the slightest ripple in the night market.
Chu Men and the others found that the night market was even livelier than before.
The evening breeze carried the rich aroma of food.
The streets were a little crowded, and many stallholders took advantage of the growing crowds to hawk their wares with all their might.
Xiao Wu skipped ahead, her big eyes sweeping over the stalls on either side like searchlights.
Before long, Xiao Wu came back and tugged at Chu Men's arm, pointing at a stall. "Grumpy Uncle, look at that!"
Sandwiched between Xiao Wu and Dugu Yan, Chu Men could only laugh helplessly as he hurried a few steps forward.
Sure enough, a rich aroma reached them at the corner. It came from a stall selling sugar figurines.
Finished sugar figurines stood on display on a rack. Like those made earlier by Old Man Dough, they were shaped like famous Martial Souls.
The craftsmanship was a little rough, but the figures were crystal-clear and had a charm all their own.
"I want that rabbit... No! I want that little snake!"
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. She immediately changed her mind, pointing at a green snake figurine curled into a coil, its tongue flicking out, and spoke excitedly.
Dugu Yan wasn't about to hold back either. She casually pulled out a Silver Soul Coin.
"Boss, I want a little rabbit. Make it the cutest one!"
The two girls' gazes met in midair, sparks flying as if they could set the air ablaze!
The figures displayed at the stall were only samples. The stallholder still had to make each sugar figurine fresh.
The stallholder picked up a spoonful of syrup. His wrist flashed back and forth, and the syrup fell onto the stone slab in front of him like golden thread.
In the blink of an eye, a lifelike coiled snake had taken shape.
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