Douluo: Children of Different Versions Gather, but the Eras Are Misaligned

Given his family's circumstances, adopting a little girl was nothing.

"Beep beep beep—"

Suddenly, Bai Chen's watch started ringing.

He raised his wrist and glanced at it, then could not help smiling.

"Speak of the devil, and the devil appears. Na'er, come on, let's go see Dad."

"Speak... of the devil?"

Na'er repeated the unfamiliar phrase in confusion as Bai Chen grabbed her hand and rushed out of the room.

Very soon, Na'er saw Bai Chen's father.

The moment she saw him, she knew for certain that they really were father and son.

This man was practically what Bai Chen would look like in middle age: incredibly handsome, yet naturally commanding even without anger. He was a true-blue handsome uncle.

It was no exaggeration to say that when this man was young, he could have charmed most women with his looks alone.

"Dad!"

"Little Chen!"

Unfortunately, the commanding aura he carried vanished the moment he saw Bai Chen.

He rushed over with a grin, scooped Bai Chen up in his arms, and asked joyfully,

"I heard you awakened the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Martial Soul? Not bad, Little Chen. No one in human history has ever successfully awakened this Martial Soul. As expected of my son—you really are amazing!"

"Master... don't spoil Young Master too much."

Xue E could not help reminding him from the side.

But the man merely rolled his eyes at him.

"Little Xue, you have no right to say that. When it comes to doting on Little Chen, you're absolutely no less indulgent than I am. Why are you pretending to be innocent?"

Bai Jiaming, Bai Chen's father, was a highly successful businessman even in the first-tier city of Skysea City. In the shipbuilding industry, he practically had the power to cover the sky with one hand.

His cultivation was even higher than Xue E's, having already reached the Soul Saint realm.

Do not think that because the overall cultivation level of Douluo III Era Soul Masters had risen, Soul Saints were no longer valuable. In truth, most high-level Soul Masters had joined the four top Soul Master organizations: Spirit Pagoda, the Temple of War, Shrek, and the Tang Sect. Excluding those superpowers and the various reclusive clans, Soul Saints were already considered the very peak among ordinary Soul Masters.

An expert at his level was even qualified to serve as mayor of a second-tier city like Donghai City.

Thanks to having such a father, Bai Chen had the happiest childhood in Douluo III Era. He had also been an orphan in his previous life, so he treasured Bai Jiaming, this hard-won family member, immensely.

Over the years, the father and son had gotten along exceptionally well. Bai Chen, an adult wearing the shell of a child, was so sensible that Bai Jiaming was even a little frightened by him. That was why, after learning what Bai Chen had done over the past two days, Bai Jiaming had unusually set aside his work and rushed home at once.

Bai Jiaming glanced at Na'er, who was hiding behind a wall some distance away, raised an eyebrow, and smiled at Bai Chen.

"Little Chen, is that the girl Little Xue said you wanted me to adopt?"

"Yes, Dad. Please!"

Bai Chen bowed deeply to Bai Jiaming with complete sincerity.

"Hmm... what should I do..."

Bai Jiaming drawled, looking as though he were in a difficult position.

He shifted his gaze from Bai Chen to Na'er and smiled.

"Little girl, I can see Little Chen's determination. What do you think? Are you willing to come to our home? Let me make this clear first—don't think that coming here means you'll definitely live a good life just because our house is luxurious. Rich families have their own troubles too. If you truly come to our family, my demands of you will be very, very high."

"Master..."

Xue E wanted to say something, but Bai Jiaming abruptly raised a hand and cut him off, his eyes fixed directly on Na'er.

"..."

Na'er fell silent, clearly conflicted.

She instinctively looked toward Bai Chen, only to meet his smiling gaze.

His gentle gaze suddenly warmed Na'er's heart. At last, she nodded and said softly,

"I am willing."

"Very good."

Bai Jiaming immediately burst into hearty laughter.

He turned to Xue E and said,

"Little Xue, get ready. We'll handle the paperwork in ten minutes!"

"Yes!"

Xue E also let out a sigh of relief and revealed a relaxed smile.

He had opposed Bai Chen bringing Na'er home not because he disliked her. Such an adorable little girl was someone he could not possibly dislike. He had objected only because he felt that it did not follow proper rules.

But since Bai Jiaming, the head of the household, had no objections, Xue E had no reason to say anything more. Rather than continue dwelling on whether it followed the rules, he might as well accept it openly.

Back then, he had also been adopted by Bai Jiaming's father. Although he had always regarded himself as a servant over the years, that was merely his own insistence. In truth, both Bai Jiaming and Bai Chen treated him as family.

And now, seeing Na'er being adopted in the same way, he could not help feeling a sense of closeness toward her as well.

He absolutely could not treat her differently just because she was adopted. He had to raise her as a true member of the Bai family.

Xue E thought with utter determination.

Thus, on that day, Bai Chen gained a younger sister.

And news that the Bai family had gained a daughter spread through Skysea City's business world at astonishing speed.

Soul Rings, Soul Spirits, and Artificial Soul Spirits

"Phew..."

After completing the adoption procedures for Na'er, the group returned to the Bai family residence.

Bai Jiaming, who now had another adorable daughter, appeared to be in an exceptionally good mood. He asked Bai Chen,

"Little Chen, now that I think about it, when are you going to Spirit Pagoda to obtain a Soul Spirit?"

In his view, Bai Chen had refused to purchase a Soul Spirit only because he had been in a hurry to pick up Na'er. Now that Na'er had become part of their family, they could naturally go and take care of this matter.

Yet to his surprise, Bai Chen shook his head and said,

"Dad, I don't want an Artificial Soul Spirit from Spirit Pagoda. Can you find a way to help me obtain a real Soul Ring?"

In the original Douluo III Era story, Wu Zhangkong had once personally said that although Douluo III Era Soul Masters possessed Battle Armor to improve their combat power, Artificial Soul Spirits were inferior to genuine Soul Beast Soul Rings. As a result, Douluo III Era Soul Masters had still fallen behind the Soul Masters of earlier eras.

In fact, Douluo III Era Soul Masters possessed the fewest cultivation resources of all generations. In this era, when the plane was nearing decline, people found it extraordinarily difficult even to obtain ordinary Soul Rings, let alone higher-grade Soul Bones.

The Soul Rings possessed by Douluo III Era Soul Masters looked intimidating, but they were really just painted on. They lacked entirely the terrifying suppression that high-level Soul Rings exerted over low-level Soul Rings in the first two eras.

So-called Battle Armor and self-created soul skills were merely methods people of this era used to balance out the negative effects of losing Soul Bones and Soul Rings.

In Bai Chen's view, among the three existing ways of obtaining Soul Rings—Soul Spirits, Soul Rings, and Artificial Soul Spirits—the most superior were undoubtedly Natural Soul Spirits, followed by Natural Soul Rings, with Artificial Soul Spirits coming last.

Natural Soul Spirits were no different from Natural Soul Rings in terms of soul skills, while also possessing two major traits: reducing the requirements for absorption and allowing the Soul Spirit to assist in battle. Their overall capabilities were unquestionably the best.

Although Natural Soul Rings lacked those two advantages of Natural Soul Spirits, they could still provide Soul Masters with all-around improvements. In fact, when Soul Masters obtained Soul Rings, they gained far more than just soul skills. Their physical strength and even spiritual power would be enhanced significantly with the help of the Soul Rings.

That was why there was a complete difference in combat power between Soul Masters who had absorbed Soul Rings and those who had not. Even if every other condition was identical, a Soul Master with one additional Soul Ring could still utterly crush one with one fewer Soul Ring.

As for Artificial Soul Spirits, they were imitations cultivated using Soul Beast genes. They could provide soul skills, but both the strength of those soul skills and the enhancement the Soul Rings brought to the Soul Master were vastly inferior to Natural Soul Rings.

Bai Chen had awakened the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Martial Soul, which already put him behind people of this era in terms of cultivation methods. He did not want to follow their path when it came to obtaining Soul Rings as well.

Natural Soul Spirits were not something he could hope for at the moment, but he had to obtain at least Natural Soul Rings.

As for the fact that Natural Soul Rings could not increase in age... that might be troublesome for other Soul Masters, but not for Bai Chen.

Do not forget that in this era, his Martial Soul was the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. Once his cultivation reached the Soul Saint level, he could begin a Divine Trial.

Leaving aside whether he could obtain the Evil Godhood, even if he could not, raising the age of his Soul Rings would not be a major issue for him.

The increase in Soul Ring age granted by a Divine Trial was genuine. It was a miracle created through divine power, far beyond anything the Spirit Ascension Platform could compare with.

"Hmm, real Soul Rings..."

Hearing Bai Chen's request, Bai Jiaming pondered.

"There is a way, but you'll need to wait for a while."

"What do you mean?"

Bai Chen immediately perked up.

Bai Jiaming explained,

"Every so often, a group of Soul Masters in Skysea City who don't care for Spirit Pagoda's Soul Spirits head out to sea to hunt Soul Rings themselves. Since there is such strong demand, the Skysea City government has organized specialized Soul Hunting Companies. As long as you pay the fee, they can fulfill your needs. As far as I know, the previous group of Soul Masters who went out hunting should be returning soon."

Just as Bai Jiaming had said, Skysea City possessed a uniquely advantageous edge over other cities when it came to hunting Soul Rings.

The reason was that Skysea City was a coastal city.

In the Douluo III Era, Soul Beasts truly were on the verge of extinction for various reasons, making it difficult for ordinary Soul Masters to hunt Natural Soul Rings.

But in truth, only land Soul Beasts were about to disappear. Sea Soul Beasts still existed in enormous numbers.

The reason was that no matter how advanced technology became, humans were still land creatures. Their combat power would weaken greatly in the sea.

And to kill Sea Soul Beasts, one had to enter the ocean and fight them there. That was simply far too dangerous.

Furthermore, the ocean's area was actually much greater than that of land, and the total number of Sea Soul Beasts was not something land Soul Beasts could compare with.

That was why so many Sea Soul Beasts still survived in the oceans even in this era.

And these Sea Soul Beasts were precisely an excellent path for Soul Masters to advance.

It was not only for hunting Natural Soul Rings as Bai Jiaming had just mentioned. In the original Douluo III Era story, Underworld Emperor Harosa would secretly travel into the ocean every so often to hunt Sea Soul Beasts and improve his cultivation, all while avoiding detection by the Federation.

Theoretically, Bai Chen could cultivate through this method as well, but his current strength did not support it.

As he had just said, hunting Sea Soul Beasts was an extremely dangerous undertaking. The Nether Emperor dared to do it because he was already an exceptionally powerful Evil Soul Master at the time and could protect his own life. Bai Chen had not even obtained his first Soul Ring yet, so trying to imitate him was pure fantasy.

Therefore, he could only follow the larger group to hunt Soul Rings.

Spirit Pagoda was actually involved in this sort of business as well. They had surrounded the Star Dou Great Forest not merely to restrict Soul Beasts, but also to sell tickets to ambitious Soul Masters.

Some Soul Masters found it difficult to locate Soul Rings suitable for themselves among Sea Soul Beasts. Fire-attribute Soul Masters were the most typical example.

If those Soul Masters did not want to absorb Artificial Soul Spirits and instead wished to obtain Natural Soul Rings, they could only go to Star Dou Fortress and obediently pay to enter.

Of course, Spirit Pagoda sold only admission tickets. They accepted no responsibility whatsoever for any danger encountered in the Star Dou Great Forest. If one wanted guaranteed safety, one had to pay extra.

What Bai Jiaming was referring to now was precisely this kind of business.

"Alright, then I'll wait a little longer."

Bai Chen had no objections to this proposal.

In any case, due to the special nature of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, he could barely cultivate normally. Delaying for some time would not be a problem.

There was no use being anxious. He might as well use this time to learn Soul Spirit technology and allow his Douluo I Era self to gain the trust of the Star Dou Ferocious Beasts sooner.

"Oh, right."

At that moment, Bai Jiaming suddenly seemed to remember something. He smiled at Bai Chen and said,

"Xu Zhiguang will be arriving in a few days. His son and daughter will be coming with him as well, so prepare to welcome them."

Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect

With this, the first Soul Rings of Bai Chen's Douluo I Era and Douluo III Era selves were both considered provisionally settled.

Meanwhile, Bai Chen of the Douluo II Era had been summoned to the training grounds within the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect.

By the time he arrived, quite a few people had already gathered there.

At the front stood a middle-aged man who looked refined and easygoing. A little girl stood beside him, while not far in front of them, a red-haired girl pouted unhappily as though she had suffered some enormous grievance.

As an orphan of a high-ranking member of the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect, Bai Chen naturally knew these people's identities perfectly well.

The middle-aged man was Ning Jingchen, the current sect master of the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect, a level seventy-nine support-system Soul Saint.

Bai Chen did not know much about the affairs of the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect's upper ranks, but one thing was certain: ever since Ning Jingchen had taken over as sect master, the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect had developed with increasing speed.

Since the middle-aged man was Ning Jingchen, sect master of the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect, the identity of the girl standing beside him was self-evident. She was Ning Tian, the young sect master of the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect.

Just yesterday, she had awakened her Martial Soul alongside Bai Chen. Her Innate Soul Power had reached level eight. Although it was inferior to Bai Chen's, it was still an exceptionally outstanding talent for a support-system Soul Master.