Damn Aha, Still Chasing Me!

"Your Highness, what do you think of this outfit?"

"I'll take them all!"

Qian Renxue swept out a hand, bold as could be!

Beside her, the white-haired young man couldn't stop smiling!

Watching the two chat so happily, Snake Lance Douluo looked as though he wanted to say something.

To his eyes, that yellow-and-purple color scheme was outrageously ugly.

How had his young mistress fallen for such bizarre tastes?

The young mistress in Snake Lance Douluo's eyes was, of course, Qian Renxue.

At the moment, Qian Renxue was disguised as the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, aiming to seize the empire.

She knew everything about Heaven Dou City.

Until one day.

A peculiar shop suddenly opened in Heaven Dou City, selling clothes in only two colors: yellow and purple!

That piqued Qian Renxue's interest.

The moment she entered, she sensed that the owner, Phainon, was no ordinary man.

He didn't look capable of fighting, and his Soul Power Level was zero!

But he was strong!

Incredibly strong!

Her instincts told her so!

Qian Renxue was secretly startled: If neither Uncle Snake Lance nor I can see through him, he must be some hidden powerhouse.

After that, she visited Phainon's shop every few days.

At first, Qian Renxue accounted for ninety-nine percent of his sales.

And because she went around wearing yellow and purple every day,

the nobles blindly followed her lead.

From top to bottom, the look sparked a frenzy.

And so, a yellow-and-purple craze swept Heaven Dou City.

"Your Highness, your clothes are packed."

Phainon handed Qian Renxue a bag, grumbling inwardly:

She could have stayed the perfectly respectable saintess of Spirit Hall, but no—she had to sneak into Heaven Dou City and play fake crown prince. Has she lost her mind?

He couldn't fathom what was going on inside Qian Renxue's pretty little head.

After all, the Heaven Dou Empire didn't even have a single Titled Douluo of its own in the royal family!

The only one worth mentioning, Poison Douluo, was merely an honorary guest elder!

If Spirit Hall wanted to make a move, it could send one Super Douluo to steamroll the place. Why bother with all this nonsense?

But what did any of that have to do with him?

Right now, he was just an ordinary, harmless clothing-shop owner.

That was right. Phainon wasn't a native of the Douluo Continent.

To be precise, this wasn't his first time crossing into another world.

In his previous life, a certain masked Aeon—or rather, Aha, the Aeon of Elation—had tossed him straight into Amphoreus, where he became Phainon.

After more than thirty million cycles, he had finally saved Amphoreus alongside the Stellaron Sprite and reclaimed the life that belonged to him.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself on the Douluo Continent.

More than thirty million cycles. Just thinking about it made him numb!

He was utterly exhausted.

So Phainon decided to take it easy on the Douluo Continent and open a clothing shop simply because he felt like it.

After all, back on Amphoreus, he had learned clothing design and tailoring from Aglaea.

Surely those skills would be like bringing weapons from another dimension to this little Douluo Continent.

Why did his shop sell only yellow and purple?

Wasn't it obvious? I, Phainon, like them!

They might look tacky at first glance, but they had an elegance all their own!

At least, Phainon firmly believed so.

He thought he looked pretty handsome in them, anyway.

And hadn't the yellow-and-purple outfits sold like hotcakes in Heaven Dou City? That proved it!

Phainon watched Qian Renxue leave and nodded to himself:

Qian Renxue might be a lovestruck airhead, just like March 7th, but she has excellent taste in clothes!

Besides, she was a major customer. He had to keep her happy; it really did feel good to have someone appreciate his work.

As for her attempts to recruit him, he knew about them. He could just play dumb.

Qian Renxue took her clothes, then turned back and asked with seeming casualness:

"Phainon, how about fishing in the lake at Heaven Dou Royal Academy? I've just had someone get us two top-quality rods."

Her tone was light, but she was laughing to herself:

Phainon loves two things: making clothes and fishing.

She had figured that out long ago.

At the mention of top-quality fishing rods, Phainon's eyes lit up. He was interested at once.

Back in his very first life, he had been a diehard angler!

But what had happened before his previous life had left him traumatized.

Seriously, who else has been through this?

I was fishing by the river when I suddenly hooked a grinning mask!

And then I got shipped straight to Amphoreus.

What a wonderful experience that was!

I do not want to go through it again!

Phainon vented furiously in his head.

But then he thought about it. He was on the Douluo Continent now.

Surely nothing could go wrong this time?

The more he thought about it, the more his hands itched to fish.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

As far as the eye could see, it was a sea of yellow and purple.

Every student and teacher wore yellow-and-purple clothing.

When Phainon walked in, his face filled with pride!

Aya would be shocked if she saw this!

Qian Renxue and Phainon entered Heaven Dou Royal Academy together, both dressed in matching yellow-and-purple outfits.

Snake Lance Douluo watched them, utterly speechless.

He would rather die than wear those clothes.

Before long, Phainon and Qian Renxue reached a lakeshore at the foot of a hill.

The water was clear and tranquil, and the thriving ecosystem showed that the lake was carefully tended.

Phainon brought over a little folding stool, leisurely baited his hook, cast his line, and settled in to fish with the air of an old master.

The best part of fishing was the process itself.

How big a fish you caught didn't matter.

At least, that was what Phainon kept telling himself.

It definitely had nothing to do with how often he came home empty-handed!

Definitely not!

Phainon was still reassuring himself when the float suddenly plunged beneath the water!

Something had bitten down hard on the hook!

Phainon was instantly beside himself with joy, his eyes shining!

Whoa, is my luck really this good today? A bite already?

Qian Renxue couldn't help muttering from beside him:

"Is his luck really that good today?"

Phainon gripped the rod with both hands and jerked it sharply upward!

Splash—

Water flew everywhere!

The next instant!

A red, grinning mask burst from the water and soared into the air!

At the sight of it, Qian Renxue burst out laughing:

"What? It's just a mask. I thought you'd caught a big fish."

Meanwhile.

The moment Phainon saw that mask,

his pupils contracted!

Every hair on his body stood on end!

Holy shit!

Oh no!

This is very, very bad!

Damn Aha—he's followed me to this world too!!

Phainon didn't hesitate!

He snatched up the mask and hurled it away as hard as he could, like a scalding potato!

It was no use at all!

A moment later, peals of ridiculous laughter rang out high above.

"Hahahahahaha—!"

Hearing that familiar laugh,

Phainon sighed in utter despair. All the strength drained out of him.

He knew Aha, the Aeon of Elation, was about to pull another stunt.

Sure enough.

A smiling-face-shaped display suddenly appeared high in the once cloudless sky!

Or rather, a Sky Curtain!

Qian Renxue stared up at it, her beautiful eyes wide with astonishment:

"What is that?"

Phainon gritted his teeth and snapped:

"How the hell should I know what that is?!"

At the same time.

From Heaven Dou City and Spirit City to the Star Dou Great Forest and Sea God Island deep in the ocean...

Across the entire Douluo Continent—even among people in parallel timelines—

young and old, women and men, strong and weak alike!

At that moment, everyone saw the unbelievable Sky Curtain!

No building or terrain seemed able to block it!

Once the Sky Curtain had fully unfurled,

lines of text appeared across it.

A teasing voice read them aloud as well.

[The Sky Curtain descends!]

[Ranking the ten most melancholy people across the Douluo Continent's timelines!]

[Those toyed with by fate or marked by tragedy may enter the rankings!]

[Those who rank will receive generous rewards!]

The Sky Curtain's gleefully wicked lettering and message reached every corner of the Douluo Continent in an instant.

Qian Renxue frowned at the Sky Curtain, which defied all reason:

She had read countless ancient texts, yet had never seen a single mention of such a thing!

And Spirit Hall possessed the most comprehensive collection of hidden lore on the continent!

She glanced sideways at Snake Lance Douluo, questioning him with her eyes.

He shook his head. He couldn't make sense of it either.

At that very moment,

everyone across the continent was stunned, speculating about where the Sky Curtain had come from.

Only Phainon knew this had to be another of Aha's damn tricks!

The ten most melancholy people on the Douluo Continent? What the hell?

Aha must be looking for another way to make mischief and amuse himself.

After all, that damned Aha had once given his powers of Elation to a mere insect.

He had even boosted the insect until it came close to an Aeon's power, only to make it explode.

Setting up a mere Sky Curtain, what could even count as anything?

Phainon knew very well that the things Aha wanted to do could not be stopped by anyone unless a power of the same tier intervened.

A power of the same tier?

That was an Aeon, after all!

The power of an Aeon vastly exceeded so-called god-kings by I don't know how many times!

Since he couldn't beat them, nor could he stop them.

Then he, Phainon, naturally chose to lie flat!

Whatever happened, happened!

He might as well keep fishing!

Wasn't fishing great?

He'd even get to eat fragrant, delicious grilled fish in a little while!