The Red-Grade Mecha began slowing down on the outskirts of the villa district. Mu Ye had obviously recognized the person lying on the ground: Qiangu Dongfeng, the master of the Spirit Pagoda.
That guy had actually been defeated?
And the battle had ended so quickly.
The car door opened, and all three saw the scene in the courtyard at once.
The lawn had been turned completely upside down, with broken stones and dirt scattered together.
Qiangu Dongfeng lay on his back in a heap of rubble, a knife wound stretching from his right shoulder to his left ribs. Blood had soaked his white undershirt crimson.
Xiao Ming stood on the steps, holding a Tang Dao. He wore black casual clothes, with his sleeves rolled up to his forearms. Hearing the engine, he turned his head and glanced over.
"You're finally back. My wife already told me." His tone was casual, as if he'd known everything all along.
Xiao Mu glanced at Qiangu Dongfeng on the ground, then at the blade in his father's hand.
"Dad, were you really this strong?"
Xiao Ming casually put away the Tang Dao. "He was just too weak."
Standing behind Xiao Mu, Mu Ye's gaze darted three times between Xiao Ming and Qiangu Dongfeng. Something was very wrong with this family. Xiao Mu hadn't contacted his parents ahead of time. Mu Ye remembered that clearly; his memory had never been wrong.
How did this family seem to know he was coming all along? What was going on?
Mu Ye swallowed.
"Xiao Mu, your dad is a Titled Douluo? Did you know?"
"I did. I just didn't know how strong he was."
"Oh, oh, I see." Mu Ye's voice came out a little dry.
Xiao Ming turned to Mu Ye. His face remained expressionless, but his tone grew more polite. "Come in and sit."
"Don't mind them."
Mu Ye nodded and followed father and son into the villa. The moment the door closed, a glow lit up outside.
The light spread out from the villa like a rising tide, silently washing over the whole wrecked lawn.
The overturned dirt returned to its place on its own, and the shattered paving stones fit back together. Even their painted surfaces were restored as before.
The grass blades straightened, broken branches rejoined, and even the pollen blown off the flower petals drifted back, grain by grain.
It was like matter being reconstructed, or time flowing backward.
A leaf drifted down.
It was an ordinary leaf, fallen from some unknown tree. It spun twice in the air, then settled lightly on the knife wound across Qiangu Dongfeng's chest.
The wound began to heal. Its edges drew together from both ends, as if invisible hands were stitching it closed. Flesh aligned, blood vessels reconnected, skin sealed, and in the end, not even a scar remained.
Qiangu Dongfeng's eyes flew open.
He pushed himself upright, gasping for breath, and instinctively pressed a hand to his chest—there was nothing there.
The pain was gone. The wound was gone. Only the slash in his clothes proved that what had just happened wasn't an illusion.
The next moment, he heard someone shout, "Get out!"
"Come back and see us with an apology gift."
Qiangu Dongfeng said nothing. He turned and left the courtyard. It was certain now: the people he had offended in the East Sea were this family.
But he had no idea how he'd offended them.
The door closed behind him, shutting out the emerald light beyond. The living room fell quiet again.
Mu Ye stepped inside, then suddenly paused. Five cups of hot tea sat on the coffee table, their clear liquid giving off delicate wisps of steam, as if they had just been brewed.
The cups were spaced evenly—five in all, exactly matching the five people in the house.
The woman sitting on the sofa rose. Her bearing was composed, and she wore a simple-colored house dress. She looked no older than twenty. She nodded to Mu Ye, her tone calm, as if everything were already under her control.
"You're here because of the Martial Soul Second Awakening, right?"
A row of question marks popped into Mu Ye's mind. He was certain he hadn't told them why he'd come, and he hadn't missed any time.
But she'd actually guessed it outright?
"How did you know?"
Ye Ran sat back down on the sofa and lifted her cup of tea, blowing away the foam.
"I guessed a little. I also have a vague sense of the future."
At those words, Xiao Mu was the first to grow wary. That sounds a little like my third Soul Skill...
He couldn't help asking Jun Wu inwardly, "True Monarch, what abilities did you have again?"
"True Fire is an innate ability. Soul pressure is something all Soul Beasts have. The Gravitational Great Sun has a special effect when it's active. Rainbow Transformation is for escaping; it ignores obstacles. If you humans hadn't had someone with special methods back then, how could I have been captured? Of course, there's also an instinct for avoiding danger, though it's useless. I can't dodge the big threats, and the little ones aren't worth dodging."
Xiao Mu confirmed it once more, deciding it was purely a coincidence. All three of his Soul Skills fit the Martial Soul because they aligned with Jun Wu's abilities.
Standing there, Mu Ye suddenly felt that there wasn't a single normal person in the house.
A husband who cut down the Spirit Pagoda's master as casually as chopping vegetables, and a strange wife. And, most importantly, whatever that smell in the kitchen was—it felt like a person was about to die. Then there was their son, who was also destined to become a top powerhouse.
Seen that way, only Na'er looked like a normal person.
He sat down, picked up the cup of tea that had clearly been prepared for him, took a sip, and decided not to ask any more questions.
Mu Ye set the teacup back on the table. Its base tapped against the surface with a soft clink. He felt they'd made enough small talk; it was time to get down to business.
"Then I'll get straight to the point." He looked at Xiao Mu, then turned to Xiao Ming and Ye Ran. "I want to take this kid to undergo his Martial Soul Second Awakening. We'll need to be away for a while."
He paused, then added, "With his talent, at least forty-nine days."
Forty-nine days was a conservative estimate. Innate Full Soul Power combined with a Body Martial Soul—Mu Ye had seen only one person with talent like that in all his years. Once the awakening ceremony began, the longer it lasted, the more profound its effects.
Forty-nine days might only be the bare minimum.
Na'er had been sitting quietly beside Xiao Mu. When she heard the number "forty-nine days," her fingers suddenly clenched around the hem of her clothes. She lifted her head, looked at Mu Ye, then at Xiao Mu, and blurted out,
"I want to go too."
Ye Ran set down her teacup and looked at Na'er intently. "Na'er, this isn't a trip for fun."
Martial Soul Second Awakening meant overcoming trial after trial.
A forty-nine-day awakening ceremony would push Xiao Mu's body and will to their limits.
Na'er wheedled, "Mom, I want to go."
Mu Ye looked at the girl. Her silver eyes were very cute.
"That's fine. She can come too."
Xiao Ming had been leaning against the window in silence since earlier. Only now did he speak, his voice mild. "Sect Master Mu Ye, I'm entrusting both of them to you."
Mu Ye picked up his teacup and drained the rest in one gulp.
"Don't worry. The Body Sect may not dare to promise much else, but we can protect our own."
"They won't be in any danger. I'll make sure Xiao Mu successfully completes his Martial Soul Second Awakening."