Deng Tianxin's Probing

"How will I know if I don't try?" Yu Xiaogang muttered under his breath, bracing himself against a crooked tree to slowly stand up.

Seeing his master rise, Luo Sanpao scrambled up from the ground, shook the dirt and withered leaves from his coat, and trotted along at his master's heels.

Yu Xiaogang limped out of the woods, heading in the direction of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Elsewhere, Ning Yu and Liu Erlong were walking along an unnamed road.

Liu Erlong looked at Deng Tianxin with some confusion and asked, "Little brat, why are we walking when we could be taking a carriage?"

Deng Tianxin thought for a moment and said, "My goal is to travel and have fun; there's no point in sitting in a carriage all day."

"Fun?" Liu Erlong raised an eyebrow and reached out to rap Deng Tianxin on the head. "Your teacher sent you out to gain experience, and here you are, treating it like a sightseeing tour. Aren't you afraid she'll check your cultivation progress when she returns and beat your bottom black and blue?"

Deng Tianxin covered his forehead, huffing with indifference, "Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know. As long as you don't snitch, how would that old witch ever find out? Besides, walking itself is a form of cultivation—it tempers the body and sharpens the will. It's much better than being cooped up in a carriage."

He spoke with such righteous indignation, his little chest puffed out, looking for all the world like he had a perfectly valid point.

Liu Erlong watched him with a half-smile, saying nothing, but her expression clearly said:

Keep spinning your tales.

Although she had only been with the little guy for a few days, she had already figured out his temperament; if even thirty percent of what came out of his mouth was true, that would be a lot.

However, she didn't press him further. To her, it made no difference whether they took a carriage or walked; as long as she followed this little guy, her Soul Power cultivation speed doubled. What was a little walking compared to that?

Besides, she had come out to gain experience anyway. Walking and enjoying the scenery was far more interesting than being stifled inside a carriage.

Deng Tianxin pulled out a map and began to ponder their next destination.

"What's wrong? What are you looking at?" Liu Erlong asked, leaning in curiously.

Deng Tianxin didn't answer immediately. His small finger traced points on the map, his brow furrowed as if he were solving an incredibly complex math problem.

"I'm planning our route," Deng Tianxin said solemnly. "Look, we're roughly here. If we go this way, we'll reach Heaven Dou City in half a month. This way leads to the Balak Kingdom in a month, this way is the Sunset Forest, and over here is a wasteland..."

Deng Tianxin explained as he pointed at the map.

"Get to the point." Liu Erlong crossed her arms, mercilessly cutting his long-winded explanation short.

"...The point is, I haven't decided where to go yet." Deng Tianxin admitted honestly.

He hadn't had a concrete plan when he left Martial Soul Hall; he was purely chasing the scattered Fragments of the God of Love's Origin.

Those fragments were distributed all over the continent, and without a map or navigation, he could only sense them when he was within a certain range.

Rather than wasting effort planning a route, it was better to sense them as they went and grab them whenever they stumbled upon one.

In any case, he had plenty of time. Bibi Dong would be in Slaughter City for at least another two years, so he had all the time in the world to wander slowly.

"Then let's go to Heaven Dou City." Liu Erlong made the decision for him, pointing to the city marked with a crown icon on the map. "Heaven Dou City is one of the most prosperous cities on the continent, and the Heaven Dou Royal Academy is there, too—I've always wanted to see it. Plus, the Great Soul Arena there is full of experts; it's the perfect place for me to hone my combat skills."

Deng Tianxin thought about it and said, "Fine."

The reason he agreed was that he remembered someone.

She was also a hopeless romantic in the Douluo Continent, and a brother-obsessed one at that.

That's right, she was Tang Yuehua.

Before Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang fell in love, they hadn't known each other's identities.

Tang Yuehua was different; she knew full well that Tang Hao was her brother, yet she loved him hopelessly anyway.

Deng Tianxin was certain that she must have a fragment of the God of Love.

As for how large the fragment was, that was hard to say.

Thinking of something, Deng Tianxin asked cautiously, "Sister Liu, do you have someone you like?"

"Someone I like?" Liu Erlong was taken aback by his out-of-the-blue question, then reached out and flicked his forehead, laughing and scolding, "You little brat, what's going on in that head of yours all day? I've only just come out to gain experience; where would I find the time for such nonsense?"

She spoke briskly, without a hint of hesitation, clearly not having given the matter a second thought.

For Liu Erlong, romance was far less satisfying than knocking a sandbag over with a single punch. Compared to flirting and dating, she would much rather find a formidable opponent for a fight.

Deng Tianxin rubbed his forehead, muttering to himself.

He felt that Liu Erlong was quite eccentric; he really couldn't connect the Liu Erlong before him with the one from the novel.

Liu Erlong looked at Deng Tianxin with a chuckle and asked, "What, do you have a crush on your big sister here?"

Deng Tianxin looked her over and evaluated, "Barely acceptable, it's just that you're a bit old."

"Old?"

The smile on Liu Erlong's face froze instantly, and those heroic eyebrows twisted into a dangerous arc at a speed visible to the naked eye.

She slowly turned her head, looking down at Deng Tianxin from above, her pupils flashing with a light that made his spine go cold.

"Who did you say was old?" Her voice was terrifyingly calm, exactly like the tone Bibi Dong used before she was about to snap.

Deng Tianxin's previous remark had been a habitual slip of the tongue, spoken without a second thought.

Only now, seeing Liu Erlong's expression, did he realize he had stepped on a landmine.

Deng Tianxin subconsciously took half a step back, but before his short legs could take a second step, a slender, powerful hand had already precisely pinched his chubby cheeks and pulled.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch... I was wrong! I was really wrong!" Deng Tianxin tilted his head, baring his teeth in a plea for mercy. "I meant you're mature, Sister! Mature! Not old! In our village, those two words mean the same thing!"

"Why are there so many ambiguities in your village's dialect?" Liu Erlong's grip didn't loosen at all; instead, she added a bit more force, her smile becoming increasingly "kind." "If you call 'mature' 'old' today, will you be calling 'ugly' 'beautiful' tomorrow?"

"I didn't..." Deng Tianxin's short arms flailed in the air, trying to pry Liu Erlong's fingers apart, but they were like iron pincers, unmoved. "Sister, you're not old at all! You're the youngest grandma I've ever seen... no, wait! The youngest big sister... that's not it either! Anyway, you're pretty! Especially pretty!"

Liu Erlong was broken by the incoherent flattery and burst into a laugh. The hand pinching his cheek took the opportunity to rub the spot she had reddened before finally letting go.