Activate Plan B, Knock Out Xiao Wu, and Take Her Back to Be Taught

The corpse of the Mad Tiger thrashed twice on the ground before falling completely still.

A deep purple thousand-year soul ring slowly emerged from the carcass, emitting a faint, eerie glow in the night.

Xiao Chenyu glanced at the soul ring, confirming that the Mad Tiger was thoroughly dead.

He deactivated his Blood Rage state.

The scarlet patterns on his body receded rapidly.

The lupine features of the Destruction Demon Wolf King faded away like a receding tide.

He transformed from a wolf-headed monster wreathed in triple-layered light patterns back into that refined, black-haired youth.

He sensed his physical condition slightly. Deactivating the short-duration Blood Rage state on his own only left him with a mild sense of dizziness.

It felt like standing up too quickly after squatting for a long time; he shook his head, and he was back to normal.

Compared to the first time he tested Blood Rage, when he had collapsed onto the ground for half an hour, his control had improved by more than just a notch.

A year ago, I had to rely on my old man's Soul Hunting Group and soul-guided bombs to kill a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, but now, soloing a four-thousand-year Mad Tiger is like beating up a child.

Xiao Chenyu sighed inwardly.

He immediately opened the Chat Group.

[Xiao Chenyu]: @Will of Douluo Planet, I have a question.

[Xiao Chenyu]: How did Xiao Wu end up being attacked by a Mad Tiger?

In the original story, she should have arrived at Nuoding Academy completely unscathed.

Could it be that because I intercepted too many of Tang San's opportunities, the world has changed?

[Goddess of Life]: Perhaps some of your actions have influenced the operation of the world.

[Goddess of Life]: You swindled Tang San's Xuantian Record, dug up A-Yin's seedling, and fused with the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone that should have belonged to Tang San.

Taken individually, these events might not seem significant.

But added together, they have likely created a chain reaction in the river of time.

A butterfly flaps its wings, and thousands of miles away, a storm ensues.

[God of Destruction]: The timeline has its own inertia, but enough variables stacked together are sufficient to alter the trajectory of the future.

Every time you take something from Tang San, the flow of fate deviates by a fraction.

However, the reaction from the Will of Douluo Planet caught everyone off guard.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Hahahaha! You all guessed wrong! (≧▽≦)ﾉ

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Let me tell you, I did all of this!

I manipulated the distribution of soul beasts on the periphery of the Star Dou Great Forest so that the Mad Tiger would happen to appear on Xiao Wu's path.

Then, I let her encounter a life-or-death crisis so that the Avenger could descend from the sky and play the hero saving the beauty!

The group was silent for a full two seconds.

[Goddess of Life]: This...

[Xiao Chenyu]: ...You did this?

[Will of Douluo Planet]: That's right!

The classic trope of a hero saving a beauty is the best way to bridge the emotional distance between a man and a woman!

Just think about it: when Xiao Wu was cornered by the Mad Tiger and thought she was going to die, you suddenly descended from the sky and saved her.

Wouldn't her favorability toward you skyrocket?

[Will of Douluo Planet]: My design here is simply a stroke of genius!

[Will of Douluo Planet]: No need to thank me for my kindness; it's what I should do! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

[God of Destruction]: ...

[Goddess of Life]: ...

[Titan Giant Ape]: Wait, I don't get it.

Didn't we say we wanted to save Big Sister Xiao Wu from the sea of misery that is Tang San?

Why would you let Big Sister Xiao Wu encounter danger? And deliberately set her up?

What if the Avenger hadn't arrived in time and Big Sister Xiao Wu had been hurt by the Mad Tiger?

That was a four-thousand-year Mad Tiger!

Big Sister Xiao Wu just transformed; she can't even beat a hundred-year soul beast!

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Er Ming, you don't understand. This is called good intentions.

Can simply saying, "Hello, I'm here to help you," move a hundred-thousand-year soul beast that has just transformed?

No!

Xiao Wu had lived in the Star Dou Great Forest for one hundred thousand years; her wariness toward humans was thicker than a city wall.

Did you think you could just wave a Titan God Blood Bead around and she would follow you?

Naive!

Only a hero saving a damsel could make her lower her guard!

[Will of Douluo Planet]: This is the ultimate secret to wooing girls that I've summarized after observing Douluo Continent for tens of thousands of years.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: A hero saving a damsel—cliché, but useful, I tell you. (ᗜ˰ᗜ)

[Titan Giant Ape]: ...I suddenly feel that compared to Tang San, you lot don't seem any more reliable.

Xiao Chenyu watched the farce in the group chat, speechless.

It was actually the Will of Douluo Planet causing trouble.

This entity claimed to have lived for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, yet its head was filled with melodramatic tropes like heroes saving damsels; he had no idea who had corrupted it.

However, he didn't have time to argue with it right now.

Because Xiao Wu behind him had already regained her senses and was staring at him with a pair of vigilant, large eyes.

"Um... may I ask who you are?"

Six-year-old Xiao Wu stood up from the ground, her small hands clutching the hem of her clothes tightly.

Her gaze swept rapidly between Xiao Chenyu and the corpse of the Mad Tiger.

She had just experienced her first life-or-death crisis since transforming, and her heartbeat had yet to fully settle.

There were still two streaks of dirt on her small face from when she had been chased by the Mad Tiger earlier.

But the instincts of a soul beast allowed her to calm down in the shortest possible time.

The youth before her had been able to swat away a four-thousand-year-old Mad Tiger with a single claw; his strength was extraordinary.

And for such a person to appear on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, and to descend from the sky exactly when she encountered danger—it was all too coincidental.

She was no fool.

She wouldn't trust a stranger completely just because she had been saved once.

In the Star Dou Great Forest, things that fell from the sky weren't necessarily reinforcements; they could just as easily be even more powerful human hunters.

Xiao Chenyu composed his expression and spoke according to the script Er Ming had taught him: "My name is Xiao Chenyu."

"You're Xiao Wu, right?"

"It was Er Ming who asked me to meet you and escort you to the human world."

"He knew it would be dangerous for you to leave the Star Dou Great Forest alone, so he entrusted me to meet you on the outskirts of the forest."

"Er Ming!"

Xiao Wu's pupils constricted sharply.

This person knew she wasn't human, and he even knew Er Ming!

These two pieces of information should have been impossible for an outsider to know.

Unless he had truly been in contact with Er Ming.

But Er Ming never interacted with humans.

The overlord of the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest held deeper hostility toward humans than any other soul beast.

In Er Ming's eyes, there were only two types of humans: those he had already killed and those he hadn't killed yet.

How could he possibly entrust a human to pick her up?

Xiao Chenyu saw the suspicion in her eyes and took out the Titan God Blood Bead directly.

A dark golden light rippled through the night.

A vigorous Titan aura radiated from the bead.

"This is the token Er Ming gave me."

"You've lived with him for so many years; you should recognize his aura."

Xiao Wu examined the blood bead.

The aura was indeed Er Ming's.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and a flicker of hesitation crossed her eyes.

But she immediately raised her head and said in an unquestionable tone: "Er Ming never interacts with humans."

"If he really entrusted you to pick me up, then come back to the Lake of Life with me, and we'll clarify this face-to-face."

"If Er Ming admits it himself, then I'll believe you."

"..."

Xiao Chenyu had a face full of black lines.

This little girl is no pushover.

He immediately opened the Chat Group and began to vent.

[Xiao Chenyu]: @Titan Giant Ape, Er Ming, the method you taught me is completely useless.

[Xiao Chenyu]: Xiao Wu doesn't believe me at all; she said she wants to take me back to the Lake of Life to confront you in person.

Could he actually go there?

If a human soul master stepped into the core area, wouldn't Da Ming just strike him down on the spot?

[Titan Giant Ape]: Huh? That's not right? I thought that with my aura as a token, Sister Xiao Wu would believe it.

[Xiao Chenyu]: Recognizing the aura is one thing, but she isn't stupid. She said you never interact with humans, so it's impossible for you to entrust a human to come and pick her up.

[Titan Giant Ape]: This... I suppose that does make sense.

[Titan Giant Ape]: I didn't think of that layer before; I thought the token would be enough. So, what do we do now?

[Will of Douluo Planet]: You're doomed~ Plan A has failed~(◕ᴗ◕✿)

[Xiao Chenyu]: Isn't this all because of the "hero saving the beauty" stunt you pulled?

According to the original plot, she would have arrived at Nuoding Academy smoothly.

If he had just made contact then and built trust step by step, it wouldn't have been this much trouble.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: I was only trying to be helpful~ So, Avenger, what do you plan to do now?

Xiao Chenyu glanced at Xiao Wu, who was watching him with a wary expression, and sighed.

Her large eyes clearly read, "I want to see what other tricks you can make up."

[Xiao Chenyu]: What else can I do?

[Xiao Chenyu]: Since talking nicely doesn't work, I have no choice but to execute Plan B.

[Titan Giant Ape]: What is Plan B?

[Xiao Chenyu]: Knock her out, take her away, and bring her home to slowly train... cough, I mean, explain.

[Titan Giant Ape]: No! You cannot lay a hand on Sister Xiao Wu!!!

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Oh, don't be so nervous, Er Ming. Knocking her out isn't the same as hurting her!

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Once your Sister Xiao Wu is brought back, fed well, and housed comfortably, she will understand the Avenger's good intentions. Humans call this "acting first and reporting later"!(≧▽≦)ﾉ

[Human-Faced Demon Spider]: Knock out! Take away! Bring home! Keep!

Tsk, this was no longer up to Er Ming.

Xiao Chenyu closed the chat screen and walked toward Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu keenly sensed something; she instinctively took a step back, her small hands forming a defensive posture.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm warning you, even though I'm a transformed soul beast, I'm not someone to be trifled with—"

"Sorry, Xiao Wu. I'll explain everything to you once you wake up."

As the words fell, Xiao Chenyu's figure flickered, and he instantly closed the distance using the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step.

Although Xiao Wu had lost her cultivation, her combat instincts remained, and she subconsciously raised her arms to block.

Unfortunately, she was just a six-year-old girl now; facing Xiao Chenyu, any resistance appeared pale and powerless.

"Whack!"

Xiao Chenyu delivered a precise hand chop to the back of her neck.

The force was controlled perfectly.

It wouldn't injure her cervical spine, yet it was enough to make her lose consciousness instantly.

Xiao Wu only managed to let out a short "You—" before her body went limp and collapsed.

Xiao Chenyu caught her and scooped the little girl up into his arms.

Six-year-old Xiao Wu was as light as if she had no weight at all.

Her head rested against his shoulder, her breathing as steady as a sleeping little rabbit.

Xiao Chenyu looked down at her and couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Heroically saving a beauty and then knocking her out to take her away... why does it feel like I'm becoming more and more like a villain?"

He sighed and added, "Whatever, villain it is."

"Anyway, the things Tang San did in the original story were far more outrageous than this, and he still thought he was the righteous one."

He held Xiao Wu firmly in his arms.

The Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone's flight soul bone skill activated, and he shot into the air, turning into a streak of blue light against the night sky.