Yuetian Douluo, Jade Pendant

"One song, one song, one song of lovesickness; one part, one part, one part of high definition~"

Inside the bathroom, Shen Nanxun hummed a tune while enjoying a refreshing shower. After such exhausting daily cultivation, bathing had become the only way for him to truly relax his mind.

He used to only be physically tired, but ever since Na'er arrived, he had become mentally exhausted as well. Especially after she awakened her martial soul—although no one had ever possessed a Silver Dragon Spear before, her innate full soul power was proof enough that it was a top-tier martial soul.

This only made Ye Li, who already doted on her, love her even more. Even Shen Yue, who hadn't been keen on adopting Na'er at first, had taken an interest, even returning from her busy schedule in the legion just to see her.

Consequently, Shen Nanxun's status at home had plummeted even further.

It wasn't that he disliked Na'er, but whenever that girl started crying and acting aggrieved, he was inevitably the one who ended up in trouble.

He had good reason to suspect she did it on purpose.

Shen Nanxun turned off the shower, shook the water droplets from his hair, and reached for the bath towel on the rack. The hot shower was finished, and he felt refreshed. He planned to slip back to his room to meditate before Na'er could start her antics. If he couldn't afford to provoke her, he could at least hide.

He had no idea that a small figure was standing right outside the bathroom door at that very moment.

Na'er stood barefoot at the threshold, her short, silvery-white hair still damp—clearly, she had just bathed as well. She wore a light blue pajama dress that Ye Li had just bought for her; the hem barely reached past her knees, revealing a glimpse of her fair, slender calves.

The young girl pressed her face against the bathroom door, her silver eyes wide as she tried to peer through the translucent frosted glass. The bathroom was filled with steam, and she could only see a blurry, shifting silhouette; she couldn't make out anything clearly.

She pressed even closer, her nose flattened against the glass into a small, squashed circle. She squinted her silver eyes, closing her left eye into a slit while widening her right, trying to capture a clearer image from a specific angle.

Still, she couldn't see anything.

Na'er's cheeks puffed out slowly, like a hamster stuffed with nuts. She hugged her bath towel to her chest and stomped her bare foot on the floor.

"Thump."

It was a very soft sound, her bare foot hitting the wooden floor with a dull, muted thud.

She looked down at her feet, seemingly dissatisfied with the effect of her stomp. She tried again, this time with more force.

"Thump!"

But just then, the door opened.

Na'er froze completely.

"Na'er, why are you here?"

Shen Nanxun didn't think much of it, merely resigning himself to his bad luck; he hadn't expected to run into her the moment he stepped out of the bathroom.

"Shen Nanxun, that, I..." Na'er bit her little fangs, her mind racing for a reasonable excuse. Just then, her nose twitched, and she sniffed the air.

Her eyes lit up instantly!

So fragrant!

Na'er raised her gaze to look at Shen Nanxun, who stood before her in his bathrobe, and she swallowed hard.

Clean, edible food.

I want to eat, I want to eat!

Her eyes were filled with nothing but longing.

Shen Nanxun instinctively took two steps back. For some reason, the Na'er in front of him gave him a bad feeling, as if he were being eyed as prey.

Perhaps his reaction was too intense, as Na'er seemed to realize something. Her face flushed red, and she dug her toes into the floor as if trying to carve a hole in it.

Shen Nanxun watched this gluttonous half-body of the Silver Dragon King warily. Recalling the time she had bitten him during their first meeting, he said in a deep voice:

"Na'er, I'm warning you, I'm still a minor and protected by the law."

Hearing this, Na'er thought for a moment and said earnestly, "But I'm protected by federal law, too."

Shen Nanxun: "..."

She wasn't even pretending anymore. Good heavens, you're protected by the law too? I'm the protection law, and you're the protection law, right?

Is this some kind of alternative "magic defeats magic"?

As soon as she finished speaking, Na'er immediately covered her small mouth. What was she saying? How could she accidentally blurt out her inner thoughts?

"Na'er, Nanxun, come quickly!"

Just then, a voice drifted from outside the house—it was Ye Li.

Na'er felt as if she had been granted a pardon; she darted away in a flash, escaping the awkward situation for both of them.

"This girl..."

Shen Nanxun narrowed his eyes. He had his suspicions; it was highly likely that this Silver Dragon King half-body was attracted by the divine aura he possessed.

If that were the case, it would explain why he had encountered her in North Sea City. However, a mere divine aura shouldn't have been something she could perceive so concretely.

After he finished getting dressed and went outside, he found that Ye Li and Na'er were already waiting in the living room.

Ye Li led the two of them out the door and said, "I'm taking you both to meet a guest."

They hadn't walked far when they reached a pavilion in the Shen family courtyard. A middle-aged man was sitting there, and their eldest sister, Shen Yue, was standing to the side, looking very respectful.

It was clear that this person was someone of significant importance.

As they drew closer, Shen Nanxun finally saw the man's appearance clearly. He wore a moon-white robe, his long hair tied up, giving him an elegant and approachable air. His eyes were gentle, lacking the oppressive weight of someone who had held power for a long time; instead, he possessed a sense of detachment from the world.

"Hurry and greet His Excellency Yuetian," Ye Li reminded them from the side.

Douluo Yuetian!

Shen Nanxun immediately thought of the Deputy Hall Master of the War God Temple, the top-tier Limit Douluo, Douluo Yuetian Guan Yue. Furthermore, this man held another identity: he was the junior martial brother of the current Sea God Pavilion Master of Shrek Academy.

"Your Excellency Yuetian."

Facing the greeting from the two little ones, Douluo Yuetian Guan Yue merely smiled faintly and waved his hand, signaling that there was no need for such formalities.

He had always been a Soul Master who pursued only the path of the spear, and he had no requirements whatsoever for conventional etiquette.

Ye Li pulled Na'er forward and said with a smile, "Your Excellency Yuetian, I apologize for troubling you to come to North Sea City in person. This is the Na'er that my old Shen mentioned to you."

Guan Yue's gaze fell upon Na'er and lingered for a moment. With short, silvery-white hair and silver eyes, she stood there quietly, resembling a small spear that had been tucked into its sheath. Her sharpness was not apparent, but the foundation was there.

He had seen too many geniuses, too many children with innate full soul power, and too many so-called prodigies who had been pampered by their families and mentors, developing an air of arrogance early on.

But Na'er was clearly different. Her quietness was not timidity, but something more authentic—like a spear that, even before being unsheathed, already knew why it was being gripped.

"No need for formalities." Guan Yue became increasingly interested, his tone calm as he said, "As long as I haven't made this trip for nothing."

He said this in an understated manner, but Shen Yue, standing to the side, lowered her eyelashes slightly. No one knew better than her what it meant to invite Douluo Yuetian to North Sea City in person. The Deputy Hall Master of the War God Temple, the greatest master of the spear in the current era aside from the Sky-Piercing Douluo, a Limit Douluo. The number of people on the entire continent who could make him leave the War God Temple did not exceed the count of one hand.

However, it just so happened that their father was one of them.

Of course, this also had to do with Na'er's Martial Soul.

Guan Yue did not engage in further pleasantries. His gaze remained on Na'er as he said gently, "Child, reveal your Martial Soul and let me see."

Na'er looked up and glanced at Ye Li. Ye Li nodded slightly at her and released the hand she was holding.

She lowered her eyelashes and held her right hand out in a hollow grip. A silvery-white stream of light overflowed from her palm; at first, it was extremely faint, like moonlight drawn into a single thread.

Subsequently, it transformed into a long, silvery-white spear—the Silver Dragon Spear.

Almost the instant he saw the Silver Dragon Spear, Guan Yue's eyes lit up. As a Limit Douluo, even without close contact, he could sense through intuition that the quality of this spear Martial Soul was by no means inferior to his or his senior brother's Martial Soul.

Ye Li took in Guan Yue's reaction, exchanged a glance with Shen Yue beside her, and smiled with satisfaction.

Finding a master for Na'er was not solely due to the surface-level reason of being good to her. If Na'er were truly outstanding enough to become a disciple of this Douluo Yuetian, it would also be a tremendous asset for the Shen Family. If the Shen Family ever faced trouble in the future, even if Douluo Yuetian Guan Yue cared little for worldly affairs, he would still have to step in for Na'er's sake.

Afterward, Guan Yue asked Na'er to demonstrate some basic spear techniques, wanting to test her foundation.

Consequently, during this time, the bored Shen Nanxun spread his hands. "Mom, since we're finding a teacher for Na'er, why did I have to come along?"

"You also need a teacher to discipline you." Ye Li raised her eyebrows slightly, and as her left hand lifted, a sword fell into it. "Coincidentally, haven't you been practicing swordsmanship lately? Your mother happens to have a sword Martial Soul as well."

Star Saint Sword!

Shen Nanxun became interested instantly. One had to know that his mother's sword Martial Soul was also a top-tier Martial Soul: the Star Saint Sword from the Ye Family.

"Mom, what kind of training is this?"

He had long been eager to try. Having been whipped into training by Qian Renxue these past few days, he had been longing for a fierce battle to see the extent of his progress. Moreover, the Ye Family's sword Martial Soul, passed down for thousands of years, had its own unique style of swordsmanship; if he could grasp some of it, it would be even more beneficial for his own path of the sword.

Ye Li gripped her long sword lightly and smiled somewhat strangely. "It's simple: just take one strike from me."

"That's easy..." Before Shen Nanxun could finish his sentence, he suddenly froze.

He saw that beneath Ye Li, eight soul rings were arranged in sequence. The powerful aura belonging to a Soul Douluo rushed toward him, nearly knocking him over.

Uh-oh...

Are you saying that he, Shen Nanxun, should challenge a Soul Douluo with Level 5 soul power?

How was this any different from letting Gangzi challenge Di Tian with a ten-year-old bamboo stick?

"Mom, you're joking, right?"

"What do you think?"

"Hahaha, the weather is nice today, I'll be going now."

"Mom, dear mother, Mommy..."

He attempted to awaken that deep maternal love with one affectionate call after another.

Unfortunately, it was in vain.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

After a thrilling battle, Shen Nanxun collapsed to the ground, powerless. Of course, Ye Li hadn't truly used the power of a Soul Douluo, but she had still taught him a painful lesson.

However, through this incident, he also realized a truth: there was still a significant difference between him and Gangzi.

In that moment just now, he could call for his mother and beg for mercy, so he would be fine. But Gangzi would only shout, 'I will destroy the Star Dou Great Forest at all costs,' and then be slapped to death by Di Tian.

That was the difference.

Ye Li pulled Shen Nanxun up and chuckled softly. "Alright, stop pretending; I didn't use much strength. I will teach you the Ye Family's swordsmanship slowly in the future. Cultivate with focus; the path of the sword cannot be achieved in a day, so do not be overly ambitious."

Theoretically, the Ye Family's swordsmanship was not to be passed on to outsiders, as Shen Nanxun carried the surname Shen. But it was precisely because he was a Shen that Ye Li could teach it as she pleased.

The Shen Family was far more powerful than the Ye Family; within the Federation, they were an existence the Ye Family could only look up to. When Ye Li married in years ago, her status and position were already far beyond what the Ye Family could compare to. Now, teaching the swordsmanship, even if Shen Nanxun wasn't her biological son, she could do so as she wished.

Shen Nanxun winced and rubbed his backside, thinking that she might not have used much strength, but the force of a casual strike from a Soul Douluo was still enough to give him a hard time. However, he didn't dare say it out loud, because he read a clear message in Ye Li's smile.

If he talked back again, the next strike wouldn't be a pat on the backside.

Ye Li put away the Star Saint Sword, brushed the non-existent dust off her hands, and turned to look at Shen Yue. "Yue'er, take Xiao Xun to the backyard. I still have some things to discuss with His Excellency Yuetian."

Shen Yue acknowledged the order, grabbed Shen Nanxun by the back of his collar, and headed toward the backyard. Dangling with his feet off the ground, Shen Nanxun swayed expressionlessly, much like a kitten being carried by its mother.

He was already used to it.

In this household, his primary modes of transportation consisted of three things: being dragged by Shen Xing, being carried by Shen Yue, and being chased by Na'er. His own legs were essentially just for show.

However, just as they were about to leave the front yard, Ye Li suddenly called out to them again.

"Xun'er."

Ye Li's expression was gentle, a far cry from her usual abstract behavior, and she said very earnestly, "No matter who your biological parents are, and no matter what happens in the future, you are my son, Ye Li's son. My own flesh and blood."

"Huh?"

Shen Nanxun was still a bit dazed; he didn't know why his mother suddenly felt the need to emphasize this. Still, he reacted quickly, his inner drama queen immediately taking over. His eyes welled up with tears in an instant, and his lips trembled slightly.

He was the spitting image of a devoted son moved beyond words by maternal love.

Shen Yue raised her arm and jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Ouch!" Shen Nanxun's moved expression shattered instantly. He clutched his ribs and turned to glare at his eldest sister. "Big Sister, what are you doing?"

"What are you crying for?" Shen Yue looked at him expressionlessly.

Shen Nanxun paused for a moment, then leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "Isn't this the time to cry? Mom went to such lengths; if a son doesn't shed a few tears, it looks unfilial. This is called playing along with Mom, otherwise, watch out for a beating. You don't know—the few times Mom smacked my butt earlier, it actually hurt."

As he spoke, he rubbed his backside.

Shen Yue looked at him for a long time, clearly rendered speechless. Then, she reached out, pinched his left cheek, and pulled.

"Ow, ow, ow, Big Sister, let go..."

"I'm just checking what your skin is made of." Shen Yue's voice remained flat, but she didn't loosen her grip at all. "Six years old, and what exactly is inside that head of yours?"

"It's filled with deep... ow! Deep—let go, let go, I was wrong, I was wrong..."

Spirit Pagoda headquarters.

Inside a high-level office.

The lighting was dim.

A woman sat in a large leather chair, her right hand propping up her chin on the armrest, while her left hand carelessly toyed with a jade pendant.

The pendant was milky white throughout, warm and smooth as grease, slowly turning between her slender fingers.

Her gaze rested on the pendant, yet it didn't seem like she was actually looking at it.

Her red hair cascaded down to her waist, and a few strands slipped from her temples, but she didn't notice, merely stroking the edge of the pendant rhythmically, her thumb repeatedly tracing the character carved upon it.

"Cold."

Immediately after, she narrowed her eyes, spoke in a faint, murmuring whisper, "Douling Empire..."

"Heh..."