Sea God's First Trial Reward
Xue Qinghe's lips curled up as he listened, his smile deepening, but he remained noncommittal, only slowly picking up the teacup beside him and taking a sip.
"Anything else?" Xue Qinghe asked casually.
Jiang Lan gritted her teeth, mentally scrutinizing this woman who was pushing her luck, but her smile grew even sweeter.
Jiang Lan leaned forward again, blinked her big eyes, and said in a voice that could melt anyone's heart, "Boss Xue, you're not only beautiful, but you also have the kindest heart. The first time I saw you, I thought you were like a celestial being, oh no, even more beautiful than a celestial being. Someone like you wouldn't hold a grudge against a little kid, right?"
Doro covered its face with its two little paws at the door, unable to bear watching. It felt that if Jiang Lan continued talking, it would lose all its integrity for the rest of its life.
Xue Qinghe finally laughed out loud, put down his teacup, and gently ruffled Jiang Lan's hair with an unexpectedly gentle touch. "Alright, this is when you're most sweet-talking. Every time I see you, you're always calling me 'uncle' or 'auntie,' which is really hurtful."
Jiang Lan chuckled twice, his eyes secretly glancing at the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud on the table, drool practically dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"I can give you the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud." Xue Qinghe suddenly became serious, and gently pushed the crystal with his finger, sending the azure treasure sliding towards Jiang Lan.
Jiang Lan reacted quickly, scooping it up in her arms as if it were the most precious treasure in the world, her whole being lighting up.
"However—" Xue Qinghe drawled.
Jiang Lan froze, looked up at her, and his face clearly said that he knew it wasn't that simple.
"This can't be given to you for free." Xue Qinghe stood up, dusted off his sleeves, walked up to Jiang Lan, and looked down at him. "From now on, you'll have to do things for me. Of course, I won't ask you to do anything immoral, but you can't refuse when I need your help."
"Deal! Deal!" Jiang Lan nodded vigorously, hugged the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud tightly, and jumped up and down twice, the hood of the Penguin Suit snapping onto her head.
Jiang Lan's voice came out muffledly from under his hat, "Don't worry, boss! From now on, if you tell me to go east, I'll never go west; if you tell me to catch fish, I'll never catch shrimp!"
Hearing Jiang Lan's words, Xue Qinghe nodded in satisfaction and then left Honey Snow Ice City.
Just as Xue Qinghe left, a line of text appeared in front of Jiang Lan.
[The First Trial the Sea God's Nine Trials is complete.]
[Reward: Sea God Affinity +10%, Divine-bestowed Soul Ring.]
The next second, a large amount of energy surged into Jiang Lan's body.
Level 31!
Jiang Lan's level then rapidly increased, reaching level 40.
Once again, a large amount of energy surged into Jiang Lan's body.
Level 41!
Jiang Lan not only gave Dugu Yan and the others Pill, but he also took some Pill, though he didn't absorb Soul Ring.
The third Soul Ring provides Soul Skill named Homelander Guga, and the fourth Soul Ring provides Soul Skill named Tech Guga.
"The motherland is like a gullible ...
The name "Homelander Guga" immediately reminded him of that mentally ill person who wore a tight-fitting suit, a cape with the American flag, and whose eyes could shoot lasers.
If this Soul Skill is really as he imagines, then he'll be staging a laser-firing spectacle in the Douluo Continent in the future—the scene is too beautiful to bear.
"Tech Guga" —I don't know if it refers to Earth's technology or the kind of Soul Tool found in the Douluo Continent.
"Jiang Lan! Jiang Lan! Try it! Which one to try first!" Doro had already jumped to his feet, excitedly spinning around.
Jiang Lan thought about it and decided to try the Tech Guga first.
He closed his eyes and activated his fourth Soul Ring.
As his Soul Ring lit up, countless streams of information flooded into his mind. Knowledge about materials science, energy conversion, structural design, and spirit guide construction was frantically reorganized as if it were being forcibly burned into his memory.
When he opened his eyes again, the expression on his little face had changed; he looked at everything as if it were a spare part.
He looked down at Doro at his feet, then at the broken shovel, rotten wooden bucket, and a pile of scrap metal in the corner of the backyard. Suddenly, he squatted down, picked up the pile of junk, and carried it into the house.
Doro followed Jiang Lan, watching him dump the pile of scrap metal onto the long table in the room with a clatter, and then pull out a hammer, pliers, a few nails, and half a roll of copper wire from under the counter.
In the candlelight, Jiang Lan's face was taut, but her eyes burned with something Doro had never seen before.
"Doro, go and get that broken pot from the kitchen," Jiang Lan said without turning her head.
Doro responded, waddled out with his chubby body, and came running back a moment later carrying a pot in his two little arms.
That pot was discarded a few days ago after Dugu Yan burned the milk tea; a large black patch was on the bottom, and it was originally going to be thrown away.
Jiang Lan took the pot, examined it from all angles, and nodded in satisfaction.
He grabbed a hammer and started pounding the bottom of the pot, the clanging sounds particularly crisp in the night.
After he finished knocking, he rummaged through the scrap metal pile and found a few iron bars. He bent them into strange shapes with pliers and then wrapped them with copper wire.
His movements were ridiculously fast, and his little hands were so nimble that they didn't seem like those of a six-year-old. Every part in his hands was as obedient as playdough.
Doro squatted by the table, his large purple eyes fixed on him without blinking.
It watched as the pile of junk gradually transformed in Jiang Lan's hands, forming gears, supports, and something resembling a small soul guide core, eventually assembling into a disc-shaped metal device.
Embedded in the center of the device was a golden Ju Zi that Doro had conjured, surrounded by a ring of crooked metal pieces, making it look like a strange metal hedgehog.
"Done." Jiang Lan wiped the sweat from his forehead, placed the device on the table, took a step back, put his hands on his hips, and looked proud.
"What's this?" Doro leaned closer to take a look, poking the metal ring with his short little hands.
"An automatic juicer," Jiang Lan said.
Doro was stunned.
It looked down at the strangely shaped metal hedgehog on the table, then looked up at Jiang Lan, then took out an Ju Zi from under its belly and placed it next to it for comparison. Then it looked up, its eyes full of questions about what this thing had to do with juicing.
"Watch closely." Jiang Lan picked up the Ju Zi, placed it in the center of the device, and then pressed the button made of an iron nail.
With a hum, the metal ring began to spin, and the Ju Zi was lifted up by a strange force, trembling slightly in mid-air.
A moment later, the Ju Zi peel was shaken off on its own, and the pulp broke into small particles, flowing along the grooves on the edge of the device into the cup below.
Doro's little mouth opened into a circle, and the whole dumpling was dumbfounded.
It brought its head close to the cup, smelled it, then dipped its little hand in and tasted it. Its big purple eyes instantly lit up like two stars.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Jiang Lan proudly raised her chin.
"Doro!"
Doro nodded frantically, picked up the glass of Ju Zi and gulped it down, then gestured for Jiang Lan to continue, meaning to show him everything else he had up his sleeve.