Zhao Zilong's Seven Charges In and Out

Looking at the eighteen heroes bowing before him, Yang Xiu could not help feeling excited. These were eighteen national heroes whose names struck terror into the hearts of foreign foes.

"No need for ceremony. From now on, call me Sect Master instead of My Lord. You had no names before. You forgot the names you once bore, but now you deserve names of your own. How can we Descendants of Yan and Huang go nameless? I'll make this world tremble because of you. From now on, your surname will be Dragon. You're all heirs of the dragon, so live up to that name. Of you eighteen brothers, the eldest will be Dragon One and the youngest Dragon Eighteen. No objections."

At Yang Xiu's words, all eighteen riders trembled. For years, they had hidden their identities and gone far from home to fight for their people. Today, they had names again, names drawn from their totem. They suddenly felt blessed.

"Thank you, Sect Master." Eighteen simple, resolute voices rang out.

"Wait here a moment. More companions are coming."

"System, use the Advanced Summoning Card."

"Success. Congratulations, host. You have drawn Zhang Liao of the Five Elite Generals." "Another seven-percent chance, and I hit it again? Am I the son of Lady Luck?" Yang Xiu said smugly.

"Use the warrior summoning card rated above 95."

"Congratulations, host. You have obtained Zhao Zilong of the Five Tiger Generals."

"My idol? My heavens... I've struck it rich..."

First, he needed to check their levels.

The system opened Zhang Liao's and Zhao Yun's status panels.

Name: Zhang Liao

Soul Power: Level 93 (yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red)

Martial Soul: Crescent Moon Halberd (Martial Souls were generally weapons, though Zhang Liao wielded twin hook sickles in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms)

Trait: Overcoming the Strong While Weak: When facing a formidable opponent, he could unleash greater strength and would not suffer other negative effects.

"Hm? Red? His last Soul Ring is actually a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring! As expected of Zhang Liao, the god of battle who routed a hundred thousand troops with eight hundred men in the Three Kingdoms era and whose name could stop children crying at night. With his Soul Power and combat ability, plus that hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring and this domain-like trait, his current strength shouldn't be far from Tang Hao's." (Tang Hao was only level 93 or 94 at this point.) Zhang Liao was already this powerful. How strong, then, was Zhao Zilong, whose legend of invincibility endured through the Three Kingdoms?

(He's my idol, so I'm making his stats stronger. No arguments. My word goes.)

Name: Zhao Yun (Zilong)

Soul Power: Level 99

Martial Soul: Fire Phoenix (yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red, red)

Martial Soul: Dragon Gallbladder Silver Spear (black, black, black, red, red, red, red, red, crimson-gold)

Trait 1: Rebirth in Adversity (When facing death, his Fire Phoenix Martial Soul is reborn in flames, instantly restoring him to full health. He can keep using it until his Soul Power runs out.)

Trait 2: Ever-Victorious General (He can unleash his full strength at any time, remain rational, and suffer no negative effects. He is invincible against opponents of the same level and can unleash 120%–150% of his strength against stronger opponents.)

Title: War God (SSS rank), locked (Note: Unlocks when the host reaches Titled Douluo and completes a system mission.)

"Zhao Zilong is practically a legend. All those red Soul Rings, and even a Million-Year Soul Ring at the end! He has twin Martial Souls, too. With those two traits, I feel like he could charge seven times into and out of an army of a million even here on Douluo Continent. That's my idol for you. That's Brother Dragon from Shijiazhuang. Incredible!" This time, Yang Xiu managed not to drool. At the same time, he recognized his own weakness. Forget Zhao Yun; even before Zhang Liao and Hua Xiong, he was little more than a slightly stronger ant. But he was not discouraged. Stubborn resolve filled his eyes.

Those three summons gave him much to think about. Had the system arranged this deliberately, or was his luck really that good? In one stroke, his Sect had gained a foundation, giving him a foothold and the confidence to face any challenge. Unable to figure it out, he stopped trying. The system's purpose and his own goal were the same anyway.

"System, summon Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun."

In an instant, two more figures appeared in the room. One was an older man: Zhang Liao. The other was Zhao Zilong, clad in white armor and handsomer than any star today. Even if he was not as handsome as the splendid Ma Chao, he could not have been far behind.

"Greetings, My Lord," Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun said, bowing to Yang Xiu. "No need to stand on ceremony. Call me Sect Master. You can all call me by name, too. The system told you my name, didn't it?"

"We cannot. Rank must be respected."

"Enough ceremony. I'm the Sect Master, and you have to listen to me."

"Well... all right." Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun could only nod helplessly.

"These eighteen brothers beside you are our people too. Get to know each other," Yang Xiu said, gesturing toward Dragon One and the others.

They exchanged greetings. Yang Xiu suddenly realized he now had far more people than he could put to use. It seemed he needed to find a site for the Sect. As soon as the thought occurred to him, the system spoke up as if it were a worm living in his belly.

"Find a site for the Sect so your people do not become rootless duckweed. Rewards: one Sect Building Gift Pack, one Sect Training Secret Realm, an array disc for the Heaven-Masking Grand Array, a Sect-Protection Grand Array. The site's spiritual energy will also be raised to the highest level on Douluo Continent."

"Heh. Now that there are more people, the system's finding work for them. Yes, this isn't my idea. It's that damn system's idea."

"Dragon One, I have a task for you brothers. Our Sect doesn't have a site yet, and we don't have any money either. All eighteen of you play rock-paper-scissors. The final winner stays; everyone else goes to get money and buy land. Somewhere in the mountains outside Heaven Dou City will do. Rob the rich to help the poor, hunt Soul Beasts and sell their materials, or find some other way—I don't mind. But you must not slaughter innocents. If someone provokes you, though, show no mercy. When you leave, fetch Hua Xiong from next door and have him bring Hong Tian and his son. They're from Douluo Continent, so they know how to make money quickly and know their way around. Go. Once it's done, come back here to find us. Even if we've left, we'll leave a way to contact us."

"Yes, Sect Master." The eighteen paired off and battled it out at rock-paper-scissors. Dragon Ten, a level 83 Soul Douluo, emerged the winner.

Dragon One left with his brothers. Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao went along with Dragon Ten to stay in Hua Xiong's and Hong Tian's rooms. Dragon Ten also needed to hand over the clothing arrangements so they could run those errands for him.

Six or seven days passed. The clothes and badges were ready. Everyone present received one set of Hanfu and one Suit. As for washing them or replacing them if they were damaged, they would have to work that out themselves. Yang Xiu trusted they could manage.

Two days later, Tang San and Xiao Wu arrived, along with Grandmaster. They had only just reached the hotel entrance and were asking about Yang Xiu. But those three were not alone. Someone else lurked in the shadows: Tang Hao. Last time, Yang Xiu had told Hua Xiong to keep watch for him, but they had not crossed paths. Perhaps Tang Hao had gone away on some errand. This time, he had followed them here. After secretly hearing that his son had joined some Sect, he had come to make trouble. Though guilt over the Clear Sky Sect had left him deeply dispirited, his son was still his hope. Otherwise, he would not have stayed by Tang San's side in secret all this time.

There was no need to sense him carefully. Tang Hao made no effort to conceal his aura, and its crushing force swept over them. Both Tang San and Xiao Wu were startled. Xiao Wu was so frightened that she grabbed Tang San's arm, but she felt no threat and did not flee; the force had passed around them. Yang Xiu wanted to see who was stronger, Zhang Liao or the current Clear Sky Douluo. Even Hua Xiong, the oldest of those he had summoned, was only around forty, while Zhao Yun was barely in his twenties. In that respect alone, Tang Hao could not compare. Of course, no one knew their ages. If they did, the whole continent would be in an uproar.

The moment Tang Hao's aura appeared, Zhang Liao, Zhao Yun, and Dragon Ten rushed to Yang Xiu's room.

Yang Xiu said, "Zhang Liao, go test him. Take it somewhere far away, and don't make too much noise. When you're done, ask him to come talk to me."

"Yes, Sect Master." Zhang Liao shot into the air and vanished. The Clear Sky Douluo's aura vanished with him.

A hotel attendant led Tang San and the others to Yang Xiu's room. Seeing the door open, they walked straight in.

"Sect Master, I felt an incredibly powerful aura just now, and then it disappeared. What level was that expert?"

The strongest person Tang San had ever met was the head of Notting Academy, who was only a Soul Ancestor, so he did not know what that aura meant. Xiao Wu knew, and so did Grandmaster, though he said nothing.

(The following assessment of Grandmaster is purely my personal opinion. If you disagree, please skip to the next chapter from here.)

This was the first time Yang Xiu had met Grandmaster. To be honest, he did not think highly of him. In Yang Xiu's eyes, Grandmaster was a spoiled rich kid and a cad. After his Martial Soul Awakening failed, he could not bear the blow. Looked down on by his peers in the Sect, he left home in a huff, hoping to prove himself with theories untested in battle. Seven years later, he met someone he loved because of those so-called theories of his. Unable to fight for the person he loved, he abandoned her and ran from reality. Give him another chance to meet someone who loved him, and he would fall in love again. Then he met Tang San, and in the end, his theory happened to work out by sheer luck. If Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul had been ordinary Blue Silver Grass rather than an unawakened Blue Silver Emperor, absorbing his First Soul Ring would have made his body explode.

No matter how adaptable Blue Silver Grass was, it was still common grass found everywhere. How could it withstand a Soul Ring from another kind of being? Especially when that First Soul Ring was already close to the age limit. Put plainly, Grandmaster was the sort of person who fancied himself full of learning, assumed his own understanding was correct, and had never put it to the test. Perhaps he had never heard the saying that truth came from practice.