The king descended from heaven, fierce with rage! You've got some nerve! How dare you disrespect the Sea God?!

Just then.

A dark figure plummeted from the sky and crashed into the ground before the gate.

The king descended from heaven, fierce with rage!

Dust rose, shockwaves swept outward, and the entire courtyard—and the village with it—shuddered.

The dust slowly settled.

Protected by Tai Tan's Soul Power, Tang Qi leaped from his broad, mountain-like shoulder and landed steadily.

His short pink-and-blue hair stirred in the wind. A faint smile tugged at the boy's lips, and his clear voice rang out with swagger.

"I hear someone's been disrespecting the Sea God?!"

Hands clasped behind his back, Tang Qi strolled up to the dumbstruck members of the Xuanming Sect.

Behind him, Tai Tan slowly pulled his legs free of the ground, leaving two alarming craters.

He rolled his neck with a series of sharp cracks, then stood silently behind Tang Qi like a mountain that had learned to walk.

Tang Qi swept his gaze over them and gave a soft laugh. "You've got some nerve! Disrespecting the Sea God?"

Perhaps frightened out of his wits, one steward at the back suddenly jerked and instinctively entered Martial Soul Possession. The next instant, an abyssal pressure burst from Tai Tan and bore down heavily on them all.

The lead steward hurriedly looked up, straight into Tai Tan's piercing eyes.

The moment their gazes met, his legs gave way. He dropped to his knees with a thud.

We're screwed!

He's definitely a goddamn Titled Douluo!

They doubted this unfamiliar Titled Douluo could stand against the Xuanming Sect.

But if he merely killed a few insignificant chicks like them, the Xuanming Sect probably wouldn't even bat an eye.

At that thought, the lead steward forced a fawning smile uglier than tears.

Slapping himself hard across the face, he begged, "We were blind fools to offend you two, my lords! Please, calm your anger! We revere the Sea God—we revere him from the bottom of our hearts!"

Still grinning like that? He was practically begging to die!

Tang Qi snorted and waved a hand. "Stand outside the gate! Don't run, or face the consequences!"

"Yes, yes!" The stewards scrambled out of the courtyard as though granted a pardon and stood straight as flagpoles.

Tang Qi paid the terrified stewards no further mind. He turned and walked toward the mother and daughter, who sat on the ground, still shaken.

He crouched before them with a smile. "Better to rely on yourself than beg someone else. Instead of worshipping the Sea God, worship me."

Jiang Nannan stared at the pink-and-blue-haired boy before her. He was so handsome that, for a moment, she could only stare.

Her beautiful eyes blinked, and a blush crept over the tips of her ears.

Was this... Prince Charming from the fairy tales?

"What's your name?"

Tang Qi waved a hand before her eyes, his voice gentle.

Jiang Nannan snapped back to herself. Her face burned, and her voice came out softer than a mosquito's buzz. "Jiang... Jiang Nannan."

It really was Jiang Nannan.

Tang Qi's brows lifted.

His gaze shifted to Jiang Mother, who pressed a hand to her chest, her face pale. After a moment's silence, he gave a soft laugh and said something startling:

"Jiang Nannan, you don't want your mother to stay sick forever, do you?"

Mother and daughter froze.

Then Tang Qi felt two wary gazes land on him at once.

Seeing the undisguised caution on their faces, Tang Qi smiled, rose, and explained without haste.

"I do have a condition."

Of course! Fairy tales were all lies!

Jiang Nannan's heart sank. Her face fell, and the light in her eyes dimmed.

After a moment's silence, she bit her pink lip and slowly stood.

Seeing this, Jiang Mother went paler still and hurriedly reached for her daughter.

Jiang Nannan trembled faintly, but she gathered her courage and looked Tang Qi in the eye.

"What's the condition?"

"Become my little sister."

"What?"

Mother and daughter both stared, plainly having expected anything but that.

"Shouldn't it be..." Jiang Nannan trailed off.

"Shouldn't it be what?" Tang Qi asked with a raised brow and a smile.

At a loss for words, Jiang Nannan lowered her head, her face hot with embarrassment.

"That's all?" Jiang Mother asked warily, clearly unable to believe it could be so easy.

Fair point!

Tang Qi rubbed his chin and sat casually on a stone stool. "It's simple. This is an investment."

"Your mother is an ordinary person with a serious illness that's difficult to cure.

"But you're a Soft Bone Rabbit Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power. Your future has no limits."

Tang Qi leaned forward slightly.

"I cure your mother, and in return, I gain the friendship of a genius who might one day become a Titled Douluo. That's a profitable deal."

Tang Qi made no attempt to disguise his motives, yet his words let mother and daughter breathe easier.

Jiang Nannan looked up sharply, then slowly lowered her head again. Dejection edged her hesitant voice.

"But... Mom's been sick for years. We went to every clinic nearby, and none of them could cure her..."

As she spoke, tears slid silently down her cheeks like rain over pear blossoms. She looked so helpless that anyone would have pitied her.

"Just because you couldn't solve it doesn't mean I can't."

Tang Qi gave a soft laugh, his voice brimming with confidence.

In the original story, curing an ordinary person's heart condition had required a Black Tortoise Divine Pill—something even Titled Douluo yearned for.

That was absurd!

He said no more. Turning, he walked outside the courtyard gate and looked at the Xuanming Sect stewards, who stood rigid and silent as cicadas in winter.

Under their hesitant gazes, Tang Qi held out his hand.

"Compensation for emotional distress!"

The stewards exchanged glances. The next instant, they scrambled to pull out handfuls of Gold Soul Coins and stuff them into Tang Qi's hand.

"That's all?"

Tang Qi frowned at them, dissatisfied.

"M-my lord, that's everything we have on us. Most of our savings are at home..."

The stewards explained with miserable faces.

"No Storage Soul Tools?"

"My lord, you must be joking. Low-level Soul Masters like us could never afford Storage Soul Tools..."

Tang Qi pursed his lips.

From the coins in his palm, Gold Soul Coins mixed with Silver Soul Coins, he picked out several Gold Soul Coins and held them out to Tai Tan.

"Uncle Er Ming, I've heard the Xuanming Sect's Black Tortoise Divine Pill works well. Sorry for the trouble, but could you buy one for me?"

Then he added with a solemn expression, "If that isn't enough money, let the Sea God persuade them!"

Tai Tan paused, then understanding dawned.

The Sea God was Third Brother, and Tai Tan knew most of what he'd heard about Third Brother's ways secondhand from Sister Xiao Wu. But he'd dealt with Third Brother's father, Tang Hao, firsthand—through fists.

Tang Hao... couldn't be that different from Third Brother, could he?

They were father and son, after all!

Tai Tan split into a broad grin that said he understood.

He nodded firmly. Without another word, he grabbed the Xuanming Sect stewards by their collars like a clutch of chicks, strode away, and vanished in an instant.