Lying Low

The atmosphere at dinner was much more relaxed than it had been 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 afford.

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

Seeing that Ning Chuan was still quiet but no longer as distraught as he had been yesterday, she felt much more at ease.

Ning Chuan responded and lowered his head to shovel down his food.

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

"Hm?" As they ate, his mother Liu Lan suddenly frowned slightly. Setting down her chopsticks, she reached out and tugged at Ning Chuan's arm. "Xiaochuan, your clothes... Why do they seem a little tight? The sleeves look shorter too?"

Ning Chuan froze abruptly, his heart skipping a beat!

He instinctively lowered his head and looked at the faded coarse cloth shirt he was wearing.

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

His shoulders and chest also felt noticeably constrained!

That was right!

His Soul Power had soared to level twenty-five overnight. After being washed over and transformed by the Soul Spirit's energy, his body had not undergone the dramatic growth that came with absorbing a Soul Ring, but gradual strengthening and subtle growth were inevitable!

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

"Ah... Maybe I ran through the mountains all day yesterday and sweated a lot, so the clothes shrank?" Ning Chuan hurriedly came up with a clumsy excuse. He instinctively hunched his shoulders and sucked in his stomach, trying to make the clothes look looser, while fear lingered in his heart.

Luckily!

Luckily, he was at home, facing parents who were flustered by concern and knew nothing about Soul Masters!

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

He had just been testing his Soul Skill in the back mountain. Though he had left promptly, what if... what if Tang Hao had sensed it? At the thought, a 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 was going to shrink, it would've done so long ago... And you, child, seem to have gotten much sturdier?" The arm beneath her hand seemed far firmer than it had been yesterday.

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

He clearly did not think much of it. He only felt that it was a good thing for his son to be in better spirits and grow stronger.

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

Ning Chuan quickly lowered his head and began stuffing food into his mouth, mumbling, "Mm-hm, maybe I've just had a better appetite lately... Mom's cooking smells so good."

Seeing that both her husband and daughter said so, Liu Lan still found it somewhat strange, but she 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 calculating that it truly was time to make her son some new clothes.

Only then did Ning Chuan secretly let out a sigh of relief, though his heart continued pounding for a long time.

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

At that moment, he was immensely grateful that the fusion with the Soul Spirits had been completed through his spiritual body within the Heavens Trash Station. The energy's primary tempering and effects had occurred on the spiritual level, making the direct changes to his physical body relatively mild and discreet.

If he had truly hunted Soul Beasts and absorbed Soul Rings, breaking through twenty-five levels overnight, the resulting bodily changes and Soul Power fluctuations could 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 merely a hundred years, ending in dust.

And there were his parents. They were only ordinary people, working tirelessly and living frugally, giving the best of everything to him and Xiao He while their own years quietly slipped away.

He had obtained an opportunity as heaven-defying as the Heavens Trash Station. His future achievements were limitless, and he might even have a chance to pursue that elusive god-level realm and gain a long life.

Was he supposed to helplessly watch his closest family members leave him after a mere century?

No! Absolutely not!

I have to solve Xiao He's inability to cultivate! Better yet... I have 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! Though incomparably difficult, it was not entirely without hope!

What was more, he possessed a Garbage Station connected to the myriad heavens and worlds! Who could guarantee that among the "trash" discarded there, there would be nothing related to god-level power—or even power of a higher level?

Even if it was incomplete, damaged, or discarded as rubbish... to him, it could still be an invaluable treasure!

For example, that charred willow branch from Perfect World, which contained a trace of the Willow Deity True Spirit! Its rank was unknown, but it surely surpassed the gods of Douluo Continent by countless times!

His thinking suddenly broadened!

Seeking Godhood for his family was not wishful thinking. It was a goal he had to strive toward in the future! One of the greatest driving forces that would push him to grow stronger and explore the garbage sea of the myriad heavens!

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

At the dinner table, Ning Xiaohe chirped about the amusing things that had happened in the village that day. 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 changed.

He quietly ate his meal and listened to his family's idle chatter. The restlessness and urge to show off that had arisen after gaining power were gradually replaced by a deeper, firmer sense of responsibility.

He wanted 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 some miscellaneous books about the continent's geography and legends? I'd like to read when I have time."

He needed a deeper understanding of this world, especially the legends concerning gods and information about possible ruins.

Starting with books was the least suspicious approach.

Ning Dazhuang looked at his son in surprise. He seemed not to have expected him to suddenly want to read, but he still nodded. "Sure. The bookstores in the city should have some, though they aren't cheap..."

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

He needed to establish a reasonable source for any items or knowledge from the Garbage Station that he might bring out later.

"Mm, loving to read is a good thing." Liu Lan smiled with satisfaction. "Maybe our family will even produce a learned man someday."

Ning Xiaohe also looked at her brother with admiration. "Big Brother is amazing!"

Ning Chuan smiled but said no more. He simply added "find valuable items in the Garbage Station that could be exchanged for this world's currency as soon as possible" to his agenda.

Dinner ended amid 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 organized every detail he knew from the original story of Douluo Continent, especially the parts concerning godly inheritances. Combining that knowledge with the characteristics of his Garbage Station, he considered possible directions for the future.

At the same time, he repeatedly deliberated over every step he would take next, 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 lie low perfectly in Holy Soul Village, right beneath the nose of the Clear Sky Douluo, until the day the hidden dragon emerged from the abyss.