Douluo: The Chosen Ones Gather, but the Era Is Out of Sync

Na'er blinked her large purple eyes and asked in confusion:

"Big Brother, she is..."

"Isn't she just too adorable?!"

Before she could finish, the blue-haired girl's exclamation cut her off.

Bai Chen complained helplessly,

"Did you only just snap out of it? Your reaction time is way too slow."

"Because, because, because..."

The girl was clearly at a loss. After hesitating for a moment, she leaned closer to Bai Chen and asked,

"Um... Brother Bai Chen, can she be my little sister?"

"Hey."

"Sorry, but she's just too adorable!"

"I don't object to that."

"Um, Big Brother...?"

Na'er seemed somewhat confused by their exchange and looked to Bai Chen as if asking for help.

After spending the past few days together, she had not yet completely opened her heart to Bai Chen, but in her mind, he was already one of the people she could rely on most.

Bai Chen pointed at the blue-haired girl and introduced her,

"Her name is Xu Xiaoyan. She's the daughter of one of our father's friends, so we're basically childhood sweethearts."

As he spoke, he pointed at the blue-haired boy who had just come upstairs.

"His name is Xu Xiaoyu. He's Xiaoyan's older brother, and he's already a Great Soul Master."

As a giant in the shipping industry, Bai Jiaming naturally maintained close ties with all levels of the government.

Xu Xiaoyan and Xu Xiaoyu's father, Xu Zhiguang, was also his close friend.

Though the two were not as close as Bai Jiaming and Xue E, who were like brothers, they had still known each other for decades.

Bai Jiaming's own abilities were naturally the most important reason for his current achievements, but the support of Xu Zhiguang, Donghai City's Chief Financial Officer, had also been indispensable.

Since their fathers were so close, Bai Chen and Xu Xiaoyan, as their descendants, naturally shared a close relationship as well.

Although they did not live in the same city, Xu Zhiguang would bring his children to Skysea City to visit the Bai family every so often. At some point, Xu Xiaoyan had become especially fond of sticking to Bai Chen.

Even after Xu Xiaoyan had displayed such strong hostility earlier, Bai Chen still dared to bring her to meet Na'er because he understood her personality too well.

She had absolutely no resistance to cute things, and a girl as exquisite as Na'er, even more adorable than a doll, had struck directly at Xu Xiaoyan's weak spot.

Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, Xu Xiaoyan had already pulled Na'er aside for a heart-to-heart talk. There was no trace left of her earlier attitude.

"Sorry, my sister caused you trouble."

Xu Xiaoyu came over to Bai Chen and spoke somewhat sheepishly.

Bai Chen shook his head and asked,

"Did you come to Skysea City this time just to have fun?"

"Of course not."

Xu Xiaoyu denied it.

"We came here on business."

"To help Xiaoyan obtain a Soul Spirit?"

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you."

Xu Xiaoyu nodded with a bitter smile, confirming Bai Chen's guess.

As playmates who had known each other for years, he understood Bai Chen's personality quite well.

This boy, who was about the same age as his sister, was frighteningly mature. At the very least, Xu Xiaoyu knew he could not compare.

He explained,

"Xiaoyan has Innate Full Soul Power, so she can obtain a Soul Spirit now. We originally came to this big city, Skysea City, to see whether there were any outstanding Soul Spirits suitable for her. Then we happened to hear that you also have Innate Full Soul Power and were planning to head out to sea to hunt Soul Beasts soon."

"So you want to hitch a ride?"

"That's right~"

Xu Xiaoyu chuckled.

"Don't tell me the mighty White Family can't even get free tickets."

For a coastal city like Skysea City, shipping was one of its most important industries.

As one of the leaders in that industry, the White Family had always been a key target for Skysea City's upper ranks to win over.

So Xu Xiaoyu was indeed right. For Bai Jiaming, getting a few extra tickets was effortless.

Bai Chen shrugged.

"Well, I don't mind."

To him, Xu Xiaoyan was not only a childhood playmate, but also a future companion.

In the original story, her absolute control had left an extremely deep impression. In the Douluo III Era, where stat monsters ran rampant, she was one of the few characters built around mechanics.

The strongest controller beneath the stars—she fully deserved that title.

At least in Bai Chen's eyes, she was far more outstanding as a teammate than players like Yuanen Yehui or Ye Xinglan, who focused solely on stats.

Teammates like Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan could be perfectly replaced by any powerful Limit Douluo, but an absurdly powerful controller like Xu Xiaoyan was a rare commodity in this era.

Helping someone who would sooner or later become his teammate grow stronger brought Bai Chen nothing but benefits.

Besides, given the relationship between Bai Jiaming and Xu Zhiguang, he would definitely agree.

Chapter 22: Setting Sail

As expected, Bai Chen soon received word from Xue E. Xu Xiaoyan and Xu Xiaoyu would be joining this trip out to sea to hunt Soul Beasts.

When Na'er learned that both Bai Chen and Xue E were preparing to head out to sea, she silently grabbed the corner of Bai Chen's clothes and looked at him with pleading eyes.

Bai Chen knew what she meant.

After a brief discussion with Xue E, the two decided to bring Na'er along as well.

The Soul Beast hunting expedition would only take place in nearshore waters. The Sea Soul Beasts in that region were not particularly strong overall, making it quite safe.

Rather than leave Na'er home alone, it would be better to take her out and broaden her horizons.

Thus, two days later, Bai Chen, Xue E, Xu Xiaoyan, Xu Xiaoyu, and Na'er arrived at the shore together.

"Beep—"

"..."

Watching the ships constantly coming and going along the coast, Na'er was so shocked that her mouth hung open.

It was the first time she had ever seen such a sight.

As the largest city on the Federation's East Coast, Skysea City was considered a first-tier city even across the entire Federation.

Though the level of Soul Masters here was rather average, it handled the Federation's maritime trade and held an important position throughout the Federation.

Bai Chen and the others boarded the ship assigned to Soul Beast hunting. More than a hundred Soul Masters had already gathered aboard.

According to Xue E, this expedition primarily served Soul Masters below the Soul King rank. The main targets were Soul Beasts between the hundred-year and thousand-year levels. Among the Soul Masters preparing to obtain Soul Rings, Great Soul Masters made up the largest group, though there were also a few Soul Ancestors.

However, they were not truly the main force of this Soul Beast hunt. The real power behind this expedition was the people accompanying those Soul Masters.

In this era, when Soul Beasts were nearing extinction, even a hundred-year Soul Spirit cost one million Federation credits. How could living Soul Beasts possibly be cheap?

As far as Bai Chen knew, the cost of this expedition was determined by the age of the Soul Ring one needed. A hundred-year Soul Ring cost a full five million Federation credits, while a thousand-year Soul Ring cost more than fifty million.

Remember, even one million Federation credits had nearly driven Tang Wulin's family to ruin. Though Tang Wulin and Na'er's enormous appetites had played a part in that, it was still enough to show that one million Federation credits was no small sum for an ordinary family.

If even one million Federation credits was like that, then five million went without saying.

As for the fifty million Federation credits needed for a thousand-year Soul Ring, it was an astronomical price that ordinary families could never afford.

Clearly, ordinary people found it extremely difficult to participate in an operation like this. Only those from wealthy families could bear such exorbitant expenses.

Since they could afford such costs, these Soul Masters naturally would not be stingy about spending money to ensure their safety.

Nearly every Soul Master had brought bodyguards. The weakest of those bodyguards were Soul Ancestors, and there was even a Soul Saint-level powerhouse among them.

They were the core force ensuring the safety of this journey.

Not long after Bai Chen and the others boarded, a bell rang, and the ship let out a long "Whooo—" as it sailed away from the shore.

"..."

Na'er stared blankly at the gradually receding coastline, seemingly lost in thought.

Bai Chen walked to her side, looked at the ships traveling across the sea, and asked,

"Na'er, you've learned about the history of our Douluo Continent these past few days. Why do you think humans became the rulers of the world?"

After adopting Na'er, Bai Jiaming discovered that she had lost her memories. Aside from knowing that her name was Na'er, she knew almost nothing else.

Thus, over the past few days, he had specially arranged for someone to teach Na'er the basics.

The requirements were not high. At the very least, she had to know what a Soul Guide Device was, what a Soul Master was, what kind of organization the Spirit Pagoda was, and other basic knowledge.

But clearly, the common knowledge she had learned was not enough for her to answer Bai Chen's question.

So after waiting a moment without receiving an answer, Bai Chen gave his own.

"There is no single correct answer to that question, but if you ask me, humanity became the ruler of the world because humans possess the ability to use and transform the things around them."

He smiled.

"Creatures that live in the ocean can spend their entire lives trapped in seawater. Creatures that cannot fly can only gaze helplessly at the birds in the sky."

"But humans are different. Through continuously changing nature, humans gained the ability to conquer land, sea, sky, and even everything else."

"Because of that, humanity was able to break through all the restrictions imposed by heaven and ultimately become the strongest race, standing above all things."

Once upon a time, humans could only flee in panic when faced with overwhelmingly powerful Soul Beasts, without even the possibility of fighting back.

But the strength of Soul Beasts was merely an innate strength. Their limits had been locked in place by their talents from the very beginning.

Humans were different. Humans learned how to make use of the things around them: crafting tools, taming animals, building camps. After countless years of evolution, they eventually formed the incomparably brilliant human civilization of today.

As the saying went, natural selection favored the fittest. Humanity's current position was precisely proof of its strength.

The countless ships sailing across these waters were proof that humans had conquered the ocean step by step through their unique creativity.

As the era continued to develop, humanity would eventually leave the planet, set foot upon the moon, explore the universe step by step, and reach for worlds higher and farther away.

In Bai Chen's view, this was what made humans superior to Soul Beasts and every other race.

"Can Na'er even understand what you're telling her?"

Xu Xiaoyu walked over and complained helplessly,

"She's only five years old, and she's lost all her previous memories. Even if you want to tell her this, you should wait another two years."

In his eyes, Bai Chen had to be crazy to say such things to a little girl who understood nothing.

Yet Bai Chen merely smiled meaningfully and shook his head.

"It's fine. One day, she'll understand."

"That's true, I guess. Which is why I said you should tell her when she can understand it."

Xu Xiaoyu did not catch the hidden meaning in Bai Chen's words. He sighed in exasperation and reminded him,

"Forget it, let's not talk about this for now. If we run into Soul Beasts later, remember to protect Na'er. She hasn't awakened her Martial Soul yet, so even a casual attack could be dangerous for her."

"I know. Don't forget to protect Xiaoyan too."

"Hmph, I don't need you to remind me."

Xu Xiaoyu replied somewhat smugly before wandering off again.

They had only just set sail, so it would still be a while before they encountered any Soul Beasts.

Bai Chen gazed at the steadily receding shore, took a deep breath, and patted his cheeks.