It was said that he was an abandoned baby, left outside Notting City years ago. When Old Jack found him, he was skin and bones, no bigger than a mouse, and barely breathing.
Old Jack had once thought Jiang Chen wouldn't survive, but against all odds, the boy had stubbornly pulled through.
And according to the villagers, on the day Old Jack brought him home, dark clouds blanketed the sky above the entire village, and thunder roared as if the heavens were enraged. It frightened many people.
So later, after Jiang Chen cultivated that evil technique and harmed many people, the villagers connected his evil deeds to the rolling thunder that day. They believed he was a child forsaken by heaven, and that was why even the heavens had been so furious.
Jiang Chen naturally didn't believe those tales. He was perfectly ordinary, just a little kid. How could he have brought down heaven's wrath?
After hanging the fish on the door, Jiang Chen turned to leave, but then remembered something very important.
"Grandpa Jack, when is Su Yuntao coming?"
"How many times have I told you? Be polite. Call him Lord Su Yuntao, understand?" Old Jack scolded him.
Then he said, "Lord Su Yuntao will arrive in our village the day after tomorrow. You can come and awaken your martial spirit then, too."
Jiang Chen immediately sensed something was off. Suspicious, he asked, "Grandpa, did you forget about me? If I hadn't brought it up today, were you just not going to tell me that the awakening ceremony is the day after tomorrow?"
Old Jack coughed a few times to hide his embarrassment. "I'm getting old. My memory isn't what it used to be."
Jiang Chen was at a loss for words. "All right, I'll head back, then. I'll be there on time for the awakening ceremony."
"Go on, go on." Old Jack waved him off repeatedly.
As soon as Jiang Chen was gone, Old Jack hurriedly opened the door and happily carried the big fish inside.
"I knew I wasn't wrong about him back then. Xiao Chen really is a good kid." Jiang Chen brought him these nutritious game meats every few days. It made Old Jack feel that taking him in all those years ago had been a very wise decision.
Jiang Chen, already some distance away, twitched his ears. Hearing Old Jack mutter to himself, a smile appeared on his rather handsome little face.
Clang... clang... clang...
The sound of hammering rang out. Jiang Chen stopped and looked toward the village entrance.
There stood three simple mud-brick houses. A wooden plaque hung above the middle house, bearing a crudely drawn hammer.
Jiang Chen knew that was Tang San's home. Tang San should be practicing his blacksmithing now. After all, the sloppy blacksmith Tang Hao never got out of bed before noon.
He had never gone near that place. He was the only person in the village who knew Tang Hao's true identity: a fearsomely powerful Titled Douluo. When he had first reached the Titled Douluo realm, he had already been able to defeat a whole group of Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall, and had even beaten the former pope within an inch of his life.
If Tang Hao thought he was a menace, just like the other villagers, and smashed him to death with one blow, that would be a most unjust end.
Back home, Jiang Chen ate the fish, then fell straight into bed. It was his habit. Daytime wasn't suitable for cultivation, so aside from eating, drinking, and taking care of his needs, he usually spent his time sleeping indoors.
It wasn't until dusk that he leisurely woke up. After making a simple dinner, he leaped lightly onto the roof and waited for nightfall.
At last, the sun sank beneath the mountains, and the bright moon peeked over the horizon. Another lovely night descended upon the earth.
Jiang Chen began cultivating beneath the rising moon. As his technique circulated, wisps of moonlight, invisible to the naked eye, poured down from the sky and flowed into his body.
His pupils instantly turned black as ink. His short nails rapidly grew, extending more than an inch, black and razor-sharp at the tips.
Two pearly white little fangs strangely lengthened and poked out between his tightly closed lips, lending his rather handsome little face a hint of cuteness.
A wisp of black energy, as if from the depths of the netherworld, poured from his body and curled around him. His small frame flickered in and out of sight within the dark haze, giving him a sinister, terrifying air.
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