Orphanage

Qi Ji immediately straightened his posture and respectfully changed his form of address. "Dark Emperor Douluo."

"You don't need to call me Your Excellency," Luo Yuhang said, quickly waving a hand. "Just call me Uncle Luo."

There was unexpectedly a trace of unnatural urgency in his tone.

To be honest, the moment Qi Ji called him "Your Excellency," Luo Yuhang clearly felt the Dark Emperor Dragon martial soul within him tremble slightly. It was a shudder from the depths of his bloodline, like a low-ranking beast encountering the king of all beasts, receiving an order to prostrate itself from soul to marrow.

Just what kind of supreme position did this child's martial soul hold within the Dragon Clan lineage?

Even his level-ninety-six Dark Emperor Dragon, the martial soul of a dignified Super Douluo, only dared to bow and curl up before Qi Ji's aura. It could not even muster the slightest thought of resistance.

"Th... that wouldn't be appropriate, would it?" Qi Ji was also somewhat surprised. He had not expected the formidable Dark Emperor Douluo before him to be so humble.

He vaguely guessed what was happening. It was probably his Dragon God Crown Prince martial soul at work again. Its suppression of lower-ranking dragons was simply too overbearing.

"Since you've joined the War God Temple, we'll be family from now on. There's nothing wrong with calling me Uncle Luo."

Luo Yuhang smiled, revealing a rare gentle expression. Then his smile took on a hint of self-mockery.

"I had even considered taking you as my disciple, but now it seems... a mere level-ninety-six Titled Douluo like me simply isn't qualified to teach you."

Luo Yuhang felt it very clearly. If he had truly uttered the words "take you as my disciple" just now, his Dark Emperor Dragon martial soul might have gone berserk on the spot, perhaps even exploded outright.

For someone like him, who had already entered the Super Douluo realm and comprehended Unity of Heaven and Man, such a warning from his martial soul was by no means unfounded. It was an instinctive reaction from the depths of his soul.

Qi Ji silently sighed to himself. Was I being a little too high-profile?

To be honest, he had never been someone who liked drawing attention. Other than the heavenly phenomenon triggered when his martial soul awakened, which had been completely beyond his control, he truly did not want to be so conspicuous.

But now it seemed that his martial soul simply would not allow him to keep a low profile. As the Dragon God's crown prince, the heir acknowledged by the entire Dragon Clan, his innate suppression of lower-ranking dragons was almost an instinct engraved into his bloodline. Even if he did nothing and merely stood there, it was enough to make a top-tier martial soul like the Dark Emperor Dragon feel fear.

This dignified Dark Emperor Douluo could not maintain even the bearing of a Super Douluo in front of him. He had lowered his stance even further than Qi Ji, a six-year-old child.

"All right then... Uncle Luo." Qi Ji readily changed the way he addressed him, then raised his head and looked seriously at Luo Yuhang.

"Could you take me to the orphanage later? I want to say goodbye to Grandma Director and the other children there."

Luo Yuhang was slightly taken aback, but his gaze soon softened. He reached out and rubbed Qi Ji's head again. "Of course. You're a good child who knows how to repay kindness. That character is even more precious than your talent."

He tapped the light screen before him a few times and entered the address of the Eastsea Orphanage.

The soul-guided car's engine gave off a low hum. Its autopilot system precisely locked onto the destination, and the vehicle smoothly glided out of the plaza before the Spirit Pagoda, merging into the traffic as it steadily headed toward the little courtyard where Qi Ji had lived for six years.

"Uncle Luo... this is my home." Qi Ji jumped down from the soul-guided car, his feet landing on the ground as he turned to speak to Luo Yuhang.

Luo Yuhang got out as well and raised his eyes to examine the building before him.

It was a three-story brick building with pale yellow paint on its exterior walls. It was not exactly new or grand, but its windows were bright and clean, its courtyard walls were neat, and a row of short sunflowers bloomed vibrantly in the small flowerbed by the entrance beneath the afternoon sun.

Luo Yuhang could not help nodding. It seemed the Federation treated its orphans fairly well. At the very least, these children were not neglected when it came to food and lodging.

Of course... perhaps it was because the Skysea Alliance, which Eastsea City belonged to, was relatively prosperous. Its financial allocations were more generous than elsewhere, and the orphanage benefited as a result.

To be honest, the circumstances of an orphanage might be somewhat different from many people's fixed impressions.

In those stirring legendary tales, orphanages were always where protagonists rebuilt their lives, cradles that produced heaven-defying geniuses, with future peerless powerhouses hidden in every inconspicuous corner.

But reality was not like that.

In an ordinary orphanage, a child like Qi Ji—good-looking, well-behaved, and clever—would almost never remain there until the age of six. Families lined up to adopt would have taken him long ago.

Adopting a child with both an appealing appearance and a good temperament from an orphanage was quite difficult. Generally, only middle-class or wealthier families unable to have children, or intellectual families, were qualified to get in line.

As early as when Qi Ji was one or two, many families at the Soul Emperor or even Soul Sage level had wanted to adopt him. The adults who came to adopt him would see his clear eyes and obedient smile, then practically pull out the paperwork to sign on the spot. But Qi Ji refused them all.

Yet because of that, quite a few kind-hearted people in society donated more money.

First, his soul was ultimately that of an adult. Although he was extremely convincing at pretending to be a child, he could never truly become one.

He could not treat a pair of strangers as his real parents. He could not act out that heartfelt attachment and closeness, nor was he willing to.

Second, it was to look after the children in the orphanage whom no one was willing to adopt—those with physical disabilities, intellectual impairments, or behavioral problems. They were the ones in this courtyard who most needed protection.

Though Qi Ji was young, he understood better than anyone that if he left, no one would truly look after these children.

"Brother Qi Ji! You're back!"

A loud voice rang out from the courtyard, filled with barely concealed excitement and joy.

A figure much taller than Qi Ji stumbled toward him. An awkward smile hung on his face, while his features and limbs were proportioned somewhat differently from ordinary people. He ran in a crooked, unsteady way, as though he might fall at any moment.

Yet his eyes shone brightly, filled with the radiance that appeared only when someone saw family.

The moment those words were heard, it was like a string of firecrackers had been lit, and the orphanage instantly became lively.

Many children in similar circumstances, each with their own problems—some oddly built, some limping, some unable to speak clearly, some with unfocused eyes—slowly gathered around from all corners of the courtyard. Like little animals finally waiting for the leader returning to the nest, they looked at him with dependence and joy.

Qi Ji stood where he was, watching those faces surge toward him, and an indescribable warmth rose in his heart.

That was right. Children who reached the age of six in an orphanage without being adopted were either malformed children with unusual bodies or children with psychological issues. Exceptions like Qi Ji were rare.

Most ordinary, healthy children would not possibly remain in an orphanage past the age of three.

Those who stayed were mostly the "special treasures" society was unwilling to raise, abandoned in forgotten corners.

And at that moment, even Luo Yuhang, who stood behind Qi Ji, could not help falling silent.

He stood at the orphanage gate, watching the children chatter around Qi Ji, watching their pure and innocent smiles, then looking at Qi Ji's eyes, calm in a way no six-year-old's should be. Suddenly, he felt that the most precious thing about this child might never have been his heaven-defying Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power.

"Brother Qi Ji, I heard you went to awaken your martial soul. What martial soul did you awaken?" A little girl with pigtails asked, looking up at him. One of her eyes was slightly crossed, but it did not diminish the brilliant smile on her face in the slightest.

Qi Ji bent down and smiled as he patted her head. "A very powerful True Dragon martial soul."

"A dragon? Like the dragons in stories?" A thin little boy beside her excitedly jumped up. His left hand had only three fingers, but he swung it harder than anyone else.

"Brother Qi Ji, you're amazing! Is it really a dragon? The kind that breathes fire?"

"It's even more powerful than breathing fire." Qi Ji answered with complete seriousness.

"As expected of Brother Qi Ji!" "I knew Brother Qi Ji was the best!" The children chattered noisily, their voices like a flock of chirping sparrows, filling the small open space before the orphanage gate.

Because of Qi Ji's precocious nature, he had accumulated a sizable "fan club" within the orphanage. These children practically regarded him as an all-powerful big brother.

Whenever anything happened, they came to him for advice. Whenever they suffered a grievance, they ran to him first to complain.

Qi Ji looked at the upturned faces before him, at the undisguised worship and dependence in their eyes. The soft emotion in his heart swelled little by little like a sponge soaking in water.

He took a deep breath and reached out, patting their heads one by one as if confirming each of their existences.

"Don't worry. From now on... I'll definitely protect you." Qi Ji's voice was not loud, but he spoke every word steadily and earnestly.

He stood beneath the shade of the old parasol tree before the orphanage. Sunlight filtered through the leaves like scattered gold, falling across his shoulders and the tips of his hair.

Luo Yuhang leaned against the courtyard wall with his arms folded, quietly watching the scene.

He did not urge him or interrupt him. He simply watched that six-year-old child stand among people even weaker than himself and make that weighty promise.

The Dark Emperor Douluo had lived for many years. He had seen countless geniuses and countless grand declarations, yet at that moment, he felt that the words spoken by this six-year-old child carried more weight than the vows of many adults.

Perhaps... he had found the Federation's true future!