"Oh no, I became the villain?"
Leng Yaozhu chuckled to herself and shook her head.
But she did not care.
She was an Ultimate Douluo, a Four-Character Battle Armor Master, standing at the absolute pinnacle of combat power on this continent.
Even if there really was some chosen child of destiny from a storybook, they would have to lie obediently at her feet before her.
"Where is he now?"
Her voice was as light as a breeze.
But Su Hai Tao's voice was somewhat tight.
"I heard... he seems to be at the talent market near Eastsea City's university district. He should be... looking for work."
Leng Yaozhu's expression stiffened slightly.
A youth who had just awakened a God Rank martial soul, stirred the entire continent, and might even be connected to the revival of ancient gods—
Was now looking for a job at a talent market?
She lightly waved her hand, her tone returning to its usual indifference.
"Bring him here. Tell him the Spirit Pagoda will not do anything to him. Approve his loan."
She paused, then added,
"Keep an eye on his mental state. He has had it that rough—don't let him end up wanting revenge on society."
There was a thread of nearly inaudible helplessness in her voice.
Even she did not dare act rashly in matters involving the domain of gods.
Rather than resort to force, it was better to stabilize him first.
"Yes."
Su Hai Tao respectfully withdrew.
Only when the door closed did he realize that his back was already soaked in cold sweat.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, his emotions incomparably complicated.
Lin Yan's martial soul had been personally judged by him as a useless martial soul.
Though the deputy tower master had not pursued the matter, it was ultimately his responsibility.
He had to handle this properly.
Meanwhile, in the western outskirts of Eastsea City, at the talent market.
Lin Yan stood in the middle of the square, watching another van speed away and blast him full in the face with exhaust.
Expressionless, he wiped his face.
Fuck.
He was already a Soul Master. Finding a day job should not be that hard, right?
His standards were not even high—fifty or sixty a day, with a meal included, was enough.
But what happened?
The first place thought he was too young.
The second said his skin was too delicate and fair, and that he did not look like someone suited for manual labor.
The third was package sorting.
Package sorting! The kind of work that would make even Armor Hero turn evil from sheer exhaustion.
The foreman looked him up and down, waved a hand, and said, "Full, full." Then he turned around and hired three burly middle-aged men, stuffing them into the van.
The door slammed shut, and the van sped away.
Lin Yan stood at the edge of the square with clenched fists, his teeth nearly cracking.
What was wrong with being young? You have never even used me—how do you know I cannot do it?
He leaned against a wall, let out a long breath, and looked up at the gray, gloomy sky.
This shitty Douluo world was going to drive him to death sooner or later.
"Failed again?"
A lazy voice came from beside his feet.
Gu Yuena squatted beside him, holding a Blue-Staining Bolete in both front paws. Like she was eating an apple, she bit into it with a crunch.
"Sigh, it's not that Mom wants to lecture you, Yan Yan, but don't aim so high. You keep picking and choosing every job."
She took another bite of the mushroom, her cheeks puffed out as she chewed and mumbled indistinctly,
"How about... you sell your body? With that face of yours, you'd definitely make a fortune. Guaranteed."
Lin Yan looked down at her and fell silent for a second.
Then he raised his hand and flicked her round little head hard.
Thud!
Gu Yuena covered her head with both front paws and glared at him with teary eyes.
"Waaah... you unfilial son! That was so hard! I was only joking!"
Lin Yan said nothing, merely shaking his hand.
It hurt.
His knuckles tingled faintly, as though he had struck a steel plate.
This stupid dragon was getting harder and harder.
He was about to curse her out some more when his gaze suddenly fell on the half-eaten mushroom in Gu Yuena's paws.
He froze.
It was as though lightning had flashed through his mind.
Right.
He still had these things.
These past few days, he had been so busy with world destruction, world creation, and messing around with Soul Rings that he had nearly forgotten—what had he relied on to make his first fortune?
Mushrooms.
Mushrooms covering entire mountainsides.
He took a deep breath, bent down, scooped up Gu Yuena, who was still rubbing her head and whimpering, and tucked her into his arms.
"One last move."
Gu Yuena poked her head out from his arms, her violet eyes widening round.
"One last move?"
Lin Yan did not answer.
His consciousness had already sunk into the Small World.
Within the World Membrane, the Tenth Era was slowly operating.
Qian Yuhan was still spreading faith, Poseidon was still refining his Godhood beneath the sea, and Soul Beasts and humans were still cautiously maintaining that fragile balance.
He had no time to care about any of that.
Under the command of his consciousness, the authority of time and space abruptly activated.
In one corner of the Small World, the flow of time was frantically accelerated.
The sun and moon rose and set as swiftly as flickering lights.
Mycelium grew wildly through the soil, sprouting, unfurling, and maturing.
The entire process was compressed into just a few breaths.
Whole patches of mushrooms covered the forest floor.
There were Blue-Staining Boletes, termite mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, and several varieties that even he could not name.
Densely packed and brilliantly colored, they looked from afar like a rainbow spread across the ground.
With a thought from Lin Yan, the power of time and space enveloped the mushrooms and manifested them from the Small World into reality.
The consumption was not great.
These mushrooms had naturally grown within the world to begin with. He had merely accelerated time for them.
And with Gu Yuena constantly devouring the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish the Small World, she could barely keep up with this level of consumption.
Half an hour later.
At the south gate of Eastsea University City.
The sky was nearing dusk, right around the time classes let out.
The main road outside the school gates was crowded with people, and both sides were packed with stalls.
There were vendors selling skewers, fruit, phone screen protectors, and flyers. The place was full of everyday bustle.
A youth sat in a corner with a wrinkled old cloth spread before him, upon which lay several piles of colorful mushrooms.
He sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, as if the noisy crowd around him had nothing to do with him.
Yet the moment he sat there, people began gathering around.
Not because of the mushrooms.
Because of his face.
"Holy shit, look over there—"
"That handsome guy selling mushrooms? Oh my god, he's so handsome!"
"Not just handsome, okay? Look carefully at his features, his skin, his eyes and brows... can a person really grow up looking like that?"
"Is some celebrity filming a variety show?"
"Definitely not! Look at his clothes. That school uniform is torn to shreds. What kind of variety show would mistreat an actor like that?"
More and more people gathered around. Most were girls, though quite a few boys had also come over out of curiosity after seeing the girls' reactions.
The crowd packed in layer upon layer, completely surrounding Lin Yan's little stall.
But nobody bought any mushrooms.
Everyone's attention was split in two.
Half was on Lin Yan's face, and the other half was on the little dragon in his arms.
"What an adorable baby dragon! Is she a Soul Spirit, or a pet?"
"Her silver scales are so pretty! Look at her belly, it's so round!"
"Those eyes are way too cute!"
Before you continue