Illustrations, New Rules

Su Mu swallowed hard as Tang Ya led him to this place.

The air was tinged with a sulfurous stench, and the entire alley was covered by awnings that blocked out the sunlight, making it look gloomy and dark.

A sign stood at the entrance to the alley, bearing two bold, powerful brushstrokes—Black Market!

"Damn! Have black markets gotten this brazen now? Has the sky over Heaven Dou City finally gone dark?"

"What are you thinking?" Tang Ya smacked the top of Su Mu's head and pointed inside. "The people here are all legitimate businessmen."

"Look at that one. She specializes in selling legitimate poison. Her poison is the best in all of Heaven Dou City, practically on par with our Tang Sect's."

As Tang Ya spoke, she pointed toward a shop inside.

There stood a tawny-skinned young woman with a long, thin scar across her waist.

The woman stared sharply at Su Mu, her reddish-gold eyes captivating, carrying an exotic charm.

"That uncle is a master blacksmith. We usually get our raw materials from him." Tang Ya led Su Mu through the alley as she introduced the place.

But after making a round through it, Su Mu found that most of the businesses here were connected to the former Tang Sect.

Thinking of that, Su Mu felt this place was quite in Tang Buddha's style. After all, Tang Buddha was no good person, so it seemed perfectly normal for the industries spawned around him to do business in the black market.

Yet before the two of them could reach the other end of the street, a large group of Royal Guards rushed in from the entrance, wielding spears as they began arresting people inside.

Seeing this, Tang Ya immediately grabbed Su Mu's hand and ran deeper into the alley. The surrounding vendors either ducked into their shops or fled down the street.

Su Mu sprinted wildly, gasping for breath as he said:

"Tang Ya, these are the legitimate businessmen you told me about? Do legitimate businessmen get arrested too?"

Tang Ya curled her lips and laughed. "Oh, our luck was just bad. We happened to run into a major cleanup the moment we arrived."

After twisting and turning through the alleys, Tang Ya expertly led Su Mu out of the black market.

Su Mu was now panting heavily, with only one thought in his mind:

Save money as soon as possible, draw more Hextech as soon as possible, and fix this trash body.

Even with the support of two Martial Souls, the strength a six-year-old body could possess was ultimately limited.

That brief escape had nearly drained all his strength. If a Ten-Year Soul Beast showed up now, he probably would not even be able to beat it.

"Ah, forget about this side. I really don't like being chased while riding a bike."

As Su Mu spoke, he looked at Tang Ya, who still seemed unsatisfied. "Ten Silver Soul Coins. It's expensive, but there must be a reason it costs so much. Even if the business license costs money, I'm getting one. I'm a law-abiding citizen!"

Tang Ya had just said there were many places like this, but judging from this, those places probably were not legitimate either.

Afterward, at Tang Ya's insistent request, Su Mu accompanied her around the supermarket for a while. After buying several sets of clothes and daily necessities, they returned to the little house.

The moment they pushed open the door, they found that Jiang Nannan had cleaned the entire courtyard. Even the weeds scattered throughout the pebble garden had been pulled out.

Tang Ya stared around in astonishment. "My god, was our place always this pretty? How did I never notice before?"

As she spoke, Tang Ya could not help reaching out to touch the trimmed plants.

When Su Mu had first arrived, they had been a complete mess. Now, they had been trimmed into neat squares, becoming little blocks of grass.

Before Tang Ya could continue exploring the layout of the house, Bei Bei walked in, looking utterly exhausted.

He set several portions of takeout dinner on the table, let out a long breath, and leaned back in a reclining chair. "It's settled."

"The Soul Master I invited is willing to come over. Tomorrow, we'll first find a healing-type Soul Master in the city to take another careful look at Aunt Jiang, just in case."

"Once the Soul Master I invited arrives, Auntie's illness should have some hope."

As Bei Bei spoke, he recalled today's experience. Fortunately, he had improved somewhat recently. Otherwise, he probably would have been beaten half to death again before he even got the chance to state his terms.

Tang Ya seemed used to it and paid no attention to Bei Bei's exhausted appearance. Instead, she simply ate the food he had brought back.

By the time the sun set, everyone had returned to their own rooms.

Finally alone with some free time, Su Mu summoned his Martial Soul.

Blue Silver Grass emerged from his palm, slowly radiating waves of life force.

That yellow Soul Ring appeared above it.

Its rhythm remained the same as before, but this time, the focus was not on the Blue Silver Grass. It was on his Book Martial Soul.

Su Mu opened his left hand, and the Book Martial Soul appeared. It had once looked ordinary, but now it was wrapped in a deep azure leather cover.

Ever since he had absorbed his first Soul Ring, this book had changed. Moreover, he could no longer open it directly from his Sea of Spirit. No matter how many times Su Mu tried, he never succeeded.

Perhaps he needed to release his Martial Soul and touch it himself to discover what had changed.

As Su Mu spoke, he reached out and touched the book's leather surface. A thick layer of cardboard protected the soft pages within.

He slowly touched it with his fingertips. A pulling force came from it, trying to close the book, but Su Mu ultimately pulled it open.

A line of information appeared in his mind.

—Text Decree! He had secretly used this himself before.

But what was this Illustration of Blue Silver Grass? Su Mu was somewhat puzzled, but he soon accepted it. His Martial Soul was a book, so having an Illustration of Blue Silver Grass was perfectly normal.

Then what would happen if he tore out this page? Su Mu curiously looked at the Blue Silver Grass that was eighty percent similar to his own Martial Soul, then reached out and tore it free.

In the next moment, a stabbing pain surged through Su Mu's consciousness. When he raised his head again, he found that he had returned to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Watching the constantly rustling grass, he instinctively looked around. Tang Ya and Bei Bei were nowhere to be seen, and Jiang Nannan was not by his side either. He was the only one left here!

This Illustration could bring him to a point in time from his memories, but why here?

Before Su Mu had time to think it over, the Black Panther in the grass sprang out and struck Su Mu across the neck with a paw.

Blood sprayed everywhere almost instantly. Su Mu slowly fell to the ground, watching his view continuously sink.

In the next instant, his body jolted, and he returned to where he had been. The sheet bearing the Blue Silver Grass had once again fused back into the book in his hand.

Thinking?

Could it return his consciousness to a battle it had recorded?

For now, that was all he could figure out. It could not possibly be that this book contained all of his memories and allowed him to travel to any point in time within them, could it?

Su Mu shook his head and chuckled. Such a thing, such an ability, was far too absurd. If he could truly reverse the laws of time and space through a sheet of paper, then he would probably need to obtain his ninth Soul Ring first.

As he thought, his fingers continuously traced the Blue Silver Grass on the cover. Text Decree's ability was to grant enhancements to whatever he wrote upon it, but books did not only contain words. They also had Illustration...