Sea God's First Trial

Jiang Lan reached out and grabbed the rope, then lowered his head and whispered something to Doro in his arms.

"Doro, play along. I'm a pitiful child who survived a shipwreck." Jiang Lan thought for a moment. "The weak, pitiful, and helpless kind."

Doro fell silent for a second, then cooperatively snuggled deeper into his arms. Her large purple eyes blinked hard, forcing out a pitiful expression. Even the bow ribbons on her bun drooped along with her.

The rope slowly rose, pulling Jiang Lan onto the deck.

The moment he landed, a crowd of pirates surged around him, sealing off the area completely.

"Oh dear, this child is freezing! Bring a blanket, quickly!"

"Look at how soaked he is! Hurry up and dry him off!"

"Who has dry clothes? No, wait, where would we find children's clothes on a ship?"

"Bring my undershirt! It's a little big, but at least it's dry!"

"Your undershirt hasn't been washed in three months! Are you trying to fumigate the kid to death?"

A dry, thick blanket was draped over Jiang Lan's head, wrapping him up like a silkworm cocoon. Only his chubby little face and two bewildered eyes remained exposed.

A pirate uncle squatted in front of him and stuffed something into his hands in a large steaming mug. Jiang Lan looked down and saw that it was hot chocolate, with two marshmallows floating on top.

This group of pirates actually kept hot chocolate and marshmallows stocked in their cabin?

"Poor child, did you run into a shipwreck?" The pirate uncle looked at him sympathetically and reached out to pat his soaking wet hair. "Where are your parents? What ship were you on? Why were you drifting alone at sea?"

Before Jiang Lan could answer, a tall, skinny pirate beside him rushed to speak. "He must've encountered a sea Soul Beast! Look at his clothes—the fabric is so fine. He's obviously from a wealthy family. His whole family was probably killed by a sea Soul Beast..."

Before he could finish, another pirate shot him a glare. The skinny man promptly shut his mouth.

Jiang Lan found these people rather interesting. They did not seem much like proper pirates.

Just then, a voice rang out.

"What happened?"

Upon hearing it, the surrounding pirates stepped aside and made way for a woman to walk over.

She was a well-proportioned woman who looked around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and she was exceptionally beautiful.

She had a high nose bridge, beautiful large purple eyes, and short purple hair that made her appear sharp and capable, brimming with heroic spirit.

Wrapped in the blanket, Jiang Lan held the cup of hot chocolate with both hands and took small sips. His large eyes peeked out through a gap in the blanket as he curiously examined the woman before him.

Zi Zhenzhu was examining him as well.

She had just been studying a nautical chart in the cabin when she heard a commotion on deck. She had thought a merchant ship had passed by and that they could make a score, but when she came out, she found her normally fierce subordinates bustling around a child.

They handed him blankets and brought him hot chocolate. Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought the child was their own son.

"What's going on?" Zi Zhenzhu crossed her arms, her gaze sweeping across her subordinates. "Who can explain why there's a child on my pirate ship?"

"Boss, we just fished this child out of the sea!" the bearded uncle hurriedly reported. "When we found him, he was drifting alone on the water, holding a white... Uh, is that a cat or a rabbit?"

"It's Doro," Jiang Lan quietly corrected him.

"Right, he was holding a Doro, all alone and so pitiful!" As the bearded uncle spoke, his eyes even turned red. "He must have suffered a shipwreck. His whole family probably fell victim to sea Soul Beasts, and he's the only one left..."

"Stop." Zi Zhenzhu raised a hand to halt his wild speculation, then walked over to Jiang Lan and bent down until they were at eye level.

She stared at Jiang Lan for quite a while.

The child really was adorable, with chubby cheeks and a round little body. Wrapped in that blanket, he looked like a sticky rice dumpling.

Though his penguin onesie was soaked through, it was still obvious that the material was excellent—not something an ordinary family could afford.

The strangest thing was the white little ball in his arms. Round and plump, with a bun tied with a bow atop her head, she stared back at Zi Zhenzhu with a pair of purple eyes completely devoid of fear.

That was very strange.

An ordinary child would have been crying his eyes out after encountering pirates.

But this child was calmly drinking hot chocolate, looking at her as though she were an old acquaintance he had not seen in a long time.

"Kid, what's your name?" Zi Zhenzhu asked.

"Jiang Lan."

"How old are you?"

"Six."

"Where do you live?"

"Sea God Island."

The moment those two words left his mouth, all the surrounding pirates sucked in a breath.

Sea God Island was the sacred land of sea soul masters. Bo Saixi, the Sea God Douluo who lived on the island, was an expert of the legendary Peerless Douluo level.

This child came from Sea God Island?

Zi Zhenzhu raised an eyebrow and studied Jiang Lan again thoughtfully.

Someone from Sea God Island, wearing a penguin outfit and drifting alone at sea...

The more she thought about it, the stranger the combination seemed.

After thinking for a moment, Zi Zhenzhu asked Jiang Lan, "Do you want to return to Sea God Island, or what?"

Jiang Lan scratched his head, considering whether to go back or not.

Just as he was about to answer, a line of words appeared before him.

Sea God's Nine Trials, First Trial: Travel to Heaven Dou City in the Heaven Dou Empire and obtain the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud. Time limit: six years.

Jiang Lan could not help but fall into thought when he saw the contents.

He was just a six-year-old brat. Asking him to go to Heaven Dou City and obtain the Heaven Dou Empire's national treasure—wasn't that making things difficult for him?

Seeing that Jiang Lan was not speaking, Zi Zhenzhu poked his chubby cheek with a finger. "Little fellow, what's wrong?"

Jiang Lan came back to his senses. "Nothing. Auntie, can you take me to the Heaven Dou Empire?"

The moment Zi Zhenzhu heard the word "Auntie," her eyebrow twitched sharply.

Still crouching before Jiang Lan, she reached out, pinched his chubby cheeks, and pulled them apart.

"Call me Sister."

"Wuu... But you look like an au... Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Before Jiang Lan could finish, Zi Zhenzhu applied even more force. He promptly changed his tune. "Sister! Sister! You're Sister!"

Only then did Zi Zhenzhu release him with satisfaction. She stood up, folded her arms, and looked down at the lump of flesh wrapped in a blanket.

"You said you want to go to the Heaven Dou Empire?"

"Mhm!" Jiang Lan rubbed his reddened cheeks. The hood of his penguin onesie slipped down to the back of his head with the motion. "I want to go to Heaven Dou City!"

Zi Zhenzhu looked him over from head to toe, her brows knitting slightly.

A six-year-old child had drifted alone at sea. After being rescued by pirates, he neither cried nor fussed. Once he calmly finished his hot chocolate, he immediately asked to go to the empire capital farthest from here on the continent.

No matter how she considered it, something was off.

"What are you going to Heaven Dou City for?" Zi Zhenzhu asked.

"Uh..." Jiang Lan's eyes darted around. Seawater was still seeping from the hood of his penguin outfit, dripping onto the deck. "To find someone!"

"Who?"

"To find... someone very important!" Jiang Lan's expression was extremely serious, but his eyes were clearly evasive.