Lying Low

The atmosphere at dinner was much more relaxed than yesterday.

Coarse rice, a dish of pickled vegetables, a plate of stir-fried wild greens, and a small bowl of steamed egg custard Liu Lan had specially made for Ning Chuan.

This was already the best meal this impoverished family could put together.

"Xiaochuan, eat more. You're still growing." Liu Lan pushed the egg custard toward Ning Chuan, her loving gaze resting on her son.

Seeing that Ning Chuan was quiet but no longer as despondent as he had been yesterday reassured her greatly.

Ning Chuan answered softly and lowered his head to shovel down his food.

After fusing with the two Soul Spirits, his body had consumed an enormous amount of energy. He truly was starving.

"Hm?" While eating, Mother Liu Lan suddenly frowned slightly. She put down her chopsticks and tugged at Ning Chuan's arm. "Xiaochuan, these clothes of yours... Why do they seem a little tight? The sleeves look shorter too?"

Ning Chuan froze abruptly, his heart skipping a beat!

He instinctively looked down at the faded roughspun clothes he was wearing.

Sure enough! The sleeves, once loose, were now stretched tightly around his forearms, outlining the faint contours of his bulging muscles.

His shoulders and chest also felt noticeably constrained!

Of course!

His Soul Power had skyrocketed to level twenty-five overnight. After being washed over and remolded by the Soul Spirit energy, his body had inevitably been subtly strengthened and grown. It was not as dramatic as absorbing a Soul Ring, but the changes were unavoidable!

He had been so caught up in his excitement that he had forgotten all about it!

"Ah... maybe, maybe I ran around the mountains all day yesterday and sweated a lot, so the clothes shrank?" Ning Chuan hurriedly came up with a lame excuse. He subconsciously hunched his shoulders and sucked in his stomach, trying to make his clothes look looser, while a wave of lingering fear rose in his heart.

Fortunately!

Fortunately, he was at home, facing parents who were too worried to think clearly and knew nothing about Soul Masters!

If an outsider had noticed something amiss—especially Tang Hao, who looked scruffy and dispirited but was actually a Title Douluo—the consequences would have been unimaginable!

He had just been testing his soul skills in the back mountain. Though he had left in time, what if... what if Tang Hao had sensed it? At the thought, cold sweat instantly broke out across Ning Chuan's back.

"Shrank?" Liu Lan suspiciously touched Ning Chuan's arm again. "This fabric has been washed so many times. If it were going to shrink, it would have done so long ago... And you, child, seem to have gotten sturdier too?" Her hand could feel that her son's arm seemed much firmer than yesterday.

"Eat, eat!" Ning Dazhuang interrupted in a muffled voice from beside them. "Boys grow fast. It's normal for clothes to get short. In a couple of days, when I go to Nuoding City to deliver work, I'll bring back some new cloth so your mother can make you a new outfit."

He clearly had not thought much of it. He only felt that it was a good thing his son was in better spirits and had become stronger.

Ning Xiaohe blinked her big eyes, looked at her brother, then at her mother, and said softly, "Brother's growing fast. He'll be taller than Dad someday!"

Ning Chuan quickly took the cue and lowered his head to wolf down his food. "Mm-hm, maybe I've just had a better appetite lately... Mom's cooking smells great."

Seeing that both her husband and daughter said so, Liu Lan still found it somewhat strange, but did not press further. She merely smiled and shook her head. "A good appetite is a blessing. It's good to be sturdier." Inwardly, she began planning to make her son new clothes.

Only then did Ning Chuan secretly breathe a sigh of relief, though his racing heart took a long while to settle.

Keep a low profile! He had to keep a low profile!

At that moment, he was immensely grateful that he had fused with the Soul Spirits through his spiritual body within the Heavens Trash Station. The primary tempering and effects of the energy had taken place on the level of his soul, so the direct alterations to his physical body had been relatively mild and discreet.

If he had truly hunted Soul Beasts and absorbed Soul Rings, breaking through to level twenty-five overnight, the resulting physical changes and Soul Power fluctuations would never have escaped Tang Hao's senses!

Before Tang San leaves Holy Soul Village, I must hide my strength as much as possible. I absolutely cannot casually reveal my Soul Rings or soul skills. Ning Chuan silently warned himself. Tang Hao is simply too dangerous—a ticking time bomb.

At the same time, a more distant yet more urgent thought surfaced in his mind.

His little sister Xiao He also possessed no innate Soul Power and was destined to be unable to become a Soul Master.

In this world, being unable to cultivate meant a lifespan of only a hundred years before one ultimately turned to dust.

And there were his parents. They were merely ordinary people, laboring diligently and pinching every penny to give the best of everything to him and Xiao He, while their own years quietly slipped away.

He had obtained a heaven-defying opportunity like the Heavens Trash Station. His future achievements were boundless; he might even be able to pursue that illusory godly realm and gain a long life.

Was he supposed to watch helplessly as his loved ones left him after a hundred years?

No! Absolutely not!

I have to solve Xiao He's inability to cultivate! Better yet... I need to get Godhood for my parents and sister! Once this thought arose, it grew wildly in Ning Chuan's heart like weeds.

Godhood! The key to becoming a god in the world of Douluo Continent! It was incomparably difficult, but not entirely without hope!

Besides, he possessed a trash station connected to the myriad heavens and worlds! Who could guarantee that among the "trash" dumped there, there would not be items related to godly—or even higher-level—powers?

Even if they were merely incomplete, damaged, and discarded as trash... to him, they could still be priceless treasures!

Take that charred willow branch from Perfect World, which contained a trace of the Willow Deity True Spirit! Its standing likely surpassed that of Douluo's gods by an unknown margin!

His thinking suddenly opened up!

Obtaining Godhood for his family was not a wild fantasy. It was a goal he had to strive toward in the future! It was one of the great motivations that would drive him to grow stronger and explore the trash sea of the myriad heavens!

Of course, the prerequisite for all of it was staying alive, growing stronger, and... being cautious enough.

At the dinner table, Ning Xiaohe chattered away about the interesting things that had happened in the village today. Liu Lan listened with a smile, while Ning Dazhuang occasionally added a word or two.

Under the warm lamplight, everything seemed to have returned to how it had been before yesterday—ordinary and warm.

But Ning Chuan knew that everything had already changed.

He ate quietly and listened to his family chatting. The restlessness and urge to show off born from gaining power gradually gave way to a deeper, firmer sense of responsibility.

He had to protect this warmth.

And protection required not only strength, but also wisdom, patience, and absolute caution.

"Dad," Ning Chuan suddenly said in a calm, natural tone, "when you go to Nuoding City in a couple of days, could you bring me back a few miscellaneous books about the continent's geography, legends, and such? I'd like to read them when I have free time."

He needed a deeper understanding of this world, especially its legends concerning gods and information about potentially existing ruins.

Starting with books was the least suspicious approach.

Ning Dazhuang looked at his son in surprise. He had apparently not expected his son to suddenly want to read, but he still nodded. "All right. The bookstores in the city should have them, though they aren't cheap..."

"It's fine. I still have some Copper Soul Coins I saved up before," Ning Chuan hurriedly said.

He needed to lay the groundwork for a plausible source for any items or knowledge from the trash station that he might produce later.

"Mm, liking books is a good thing." Liu Lan smiled approvingly. "Maybe our family will even produce a scholar someday."

Ning Xiaohe looked at her brother with admiration as well. "Brother is amazing!"

Ning Chuan smiled and said no more, merely adding "find valuable items in the trash station as soon as possible that could be exchanged for this world's currency" to his agenda.

Dinner ended in a warm atmosphere.

That night, Ning Chuan did not enter the Heavens Trash Station again.

Sitting cross-legged on his bed, he did not cultivate his Soul Power. Instead, he carefully recalled and sorted through every detail he knew about the original story of Douluo Continent, especially the parts concerning divine inheritances. Combining that knowledge with the nature of his trash station, he considered possible directions for the future.

At the same time, he repeatedly deliberated over each of his next steps, ensuring that nothing could go wrong.

The joy brought by power gradually settled, transforming into a restrained sharpness and a clear plan.

Ning Chuan knew that his own path had only just begun.

And the first step was to perfectly "lie low" in Holy Soul Village, right beneath the watchful eyes of the Clear Sky Douluo, until the day the hidden dragon emerged from the abyss.