"I'm called Brother Tang Ling, what should you call me, Xiao Sanzi?"

Tang San stared blankly at the line of golden text, reading it over three times to make sure he had not misread it.

Make contact with Xiao Wu? Form an intimate relationship? The reward was innate full soul power at level ten?

His heartbeat abruptly accelerated, blood surging through his veins with a muffled roar like pounding drums.

Innate full soul power at level ten. It was something he had possessed that morning at the Spirit Hall branch, only to lose it just as suddenly.

Though it fell somewhat short of the peak level twenty, it would still place him above every other child and make him the most dazzling genius in all of Soul Land.

Now, the system was telling him that he could get it back by completing just one task.

Tang San took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Today's experiences had made him more cautious and suspicious than he had been in his previous life.

"System, where exactly did you go? Why did my soul power suddenly disappear when I awakened my martial soul?"

[System Prompt: During the host's martial soul awakening, this system encountered external interference and was forced into a dormant state. The dissipation of innate soul power was caused by said interference.]

Tang San's pupils constricted sharply. He found it difficult to imagine what sort of powerful existence could force such a mysterious system into dormancy. After a moment of silence, he suppressed those chaotic thoughts deep in his heart.

What mattered most now was restoring his soul power and increasing his strength.

As long as he became strong enough, every mystery would unravel on its own. As long as he became strong enough, no matter what kind of existence it was, he could smash it apart with a single hammer blow.

"The target is Xiao Wu."

Tang San recalled the girl he had met that day. She wore a scorpion braid and a pink dress. She looked no more than four or five years old, yet her features were exceptionally delicate and adorable. She was clearly a budding beauty.

Tang San frowned.

The task was to make contact with Xiao Wu and form an intimate relationship. The task itself was not difficult, but the problem was that when he had met Xiao Wu earlier, the way she looked at him had seemed strange. It was neither curiosity nor friendliness, but an indescribable... hostility?

He could not worry about that now. The reward was innate full soul power at level ten. The temptation was too great for him to give up.

Tang San jumped out of bed and quietly pushed open the door.

The night wind rushed toward him, carrying a faint chill. Moonlight spilled across the courtyard, coating the stone table and chairs in a layer of silver frost. Standing in the doorway, he looked toward the room where Xiao Wu and her mother were staying.

The window was still lit, and he could vaguely hear the mother and daughter talking inside.

Tang San took a deep breath and headed toward the room.

He walked slowly, carefully considering his words with every step. What should he say once he saw Xiao Wu? How should he "make contact"? How was he supposed to form an "intimate relationship"?

Standing before Xiao Wu's door, Tang San took a deep breath, raised his hand, and knocked.

"Who is it?" Xiao Wu's voice came from inside, crisp as jade beads falling onto a plate.

"It's me, Tang San."

The room fell quiet for a moment, followed by the sound of footsteps.

The door creaked open, and Xiao Wu stood in the doorway, tilting her head as she looked at him.

Under the moonlight, her large eyes sparkled. Her scorpion braid hung over her shoulder, and her pink nightgown made her look like an exquisite little rabbit.

"Is something wrong?" Xiao Wu's tone was not cold, but neither was it particularly warm.

Tang San looked into her eyes, hesitated briefly, then tried to make his voice sound as gentle and friendly as possible.

"Little Sister Xiao Wu, you've only just arrived in Holy Soul Village, so you probably aren't familiar with this place yet, right? How about I show you around tomorrow? There's a small mountain behind the village, and the wild fruits there are especially sweet. I'll pick some for you to eat."

Xiao Wu blinked but said nothing.

Tang San thought she was hesitating and hurriedly added, "If you like something else, that's fine too. I know there are several kinds of fruit on the mountain, and there's also a little stream. The water is especially clear, and there are fish in it—"

"No! What did you just call me?" Xiao Wu suddenly interrupted him.

Tang San froze, not quite understanding why she was asking. "Xiao Wu...?"

"I'm older than you."

Xiao Wu placed her hands on her hips and lifted her chin slightly, looking every bit like a little adult.

"Uh... if you don't like it, then I can call you—"

"Call me what?" Xiao Wu took a step forward.

Tang San instinctively took half a step back. "...Big Sister Xiao Wu?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he saw Xiao Wu's eyes light up. But it was not the gleam of happiness—it was the excited gleam of someone who had found a fun new toy.

Tang San instinctively sensed danger and wanted to retreat another step.

But it was already too late.

Xiao Wu moved.

Her body cut a blurred afterimage through the moonlight, so fast that Tang San had no time to react. The next second, a soft white little fist slammed squarely into his eye socket.

Tang San gave a muffled groan and staggered back three or four steps before barely managing to steady himself. A burning pain flared from his right eye socket. He raised a hand to cover it and stared at Xiao Wu in disbelief.

"You—"

"What about me?" Xiao Wu interrupted him righteously, hands still on her hips. "Do you know what Brother Tang Ling usually calls me? He calls me Xiao Wu. But you? You come up and call me little sister right away? Who gave you the nerve?"

Tang San opened his mouth, wanting to say, "That's because I'm older than you," but before the words could leave his lips, Xiao Wu moved again.

This time, her little fist landed on his left eye socket.

Bang.

Tang San fell flat on his back. Intense pain shot through both eye sockets at once, and tears surged out uncontrollably, blurring his vision.

He wanted to fight back, but the soul power in his body had long since run dry, and he could not summon the Mysterious Heaven Skill. Right now, he was just an ordinary six-year-old child, while this little girl before him clearly was not.

"Hey, why aren't you fighting back?" Xiao Wu crouched down, resting her chin in both hands as she looked at Tang San lying on the ground, her tone full of disappointment. "I thought an ungrateful brat like you would be tougher. Why are you so easy to beat?"

Tang San gritted his teeth and rolled over, trying to get up. But Xiao Wu's hand had already come down again.

Bang bang bang.

Under the moonlight, a little girl in a pink dress straddled a six-year-old boy, her fists raining down on his back, shoulders, and arms.

She struck with great seriousness. Every blow landed solidly, yet she showed excellent restraint, avoiding all vital spots. She only made Tang San grimace in pain without truly injuring him.

Tang San struggled desperately, but the force of Xiao Wu's slender-looking legs pinning him down was astonishingly strong. He felt as though a calf were pressing him to the ground, leaving him utterly unable to move.

"That's for calling your great-aunt Xiao Wu!!!"

Xiao Wu cursed as she beat him, indignation filling every punch.

Tang San barely managed to raise his arms to shield his face, only for several blows to land on his arms at once, making him grimace in pain.

"Waaah—Dad! Godfather! Save me!!!"

Tang San finally could not hold it in any longer and cried out.

But strangely, there was no movement at all from either Tang Hao's room or Tang Ling's room.

The entire courtyard was silent. The only sounds were the dull thuds of Xiao Wu's fists landing on Tang San and his increasingly feeble pleas for mercy.

"Go on, call for them. Keep calling." Xiao Wu's fists stopped, but she remained seated on top of him, looking down at him from above.

Tang San lay on the ground, bruised and swollen, with blood from his nose smeared across half his face. He struggled to lift his head. "Sister Xiao Wu... please... don't hit me anymore..."

The corners of Xiao Wu's lips curled up, her eyes full of mischief. "Xiao San, I call Tang Ling Brother, and you call him Godfather. So what should you call me now?"

Tang San: "..."

He gritted his teeth, his lips trembling for a long while. Calling a little girl "Great-Aunt" felt worse than killing him. But looking at Xiao Wu's tiny fist rising again, and recalling the storm of blows from earlier, he finally swallowed all his pride.

"Great-Aunt... please don't hit me anymore... I'm begging you, Great-Aunt..."

Xiao Wu finally withdrew her fist, clapped her hands in satisfaction, and jumped off him. Looking down at Tang San curled into a ball on the ground, a sweet smile appeared on her little face.

"Wouldn't it have been better if you'd behaved from the start?"