Jiang Nannan and Her Mother Move into Clear Sky Castle, Five Years Later

In the sitting room, Jiang Mother and Tang Qi sat facing each other. After a brief moment of warmth, silence settled over them again.

After a while, Tang Qi suddenly asked, "Auntie, what are your plans from here?"

"Hmm?"

Jiang Mother froze, clearly unsure what he meant.

Tang Qi chose his words carefully. "You and Nannan can't stay here anymore. After all, the Xuanming Sect..."

He did not finish, but Jiang Mother understood.

Silence fell.

Jiang Mother's expression turned grave. She said nothing.

"I come from Clear Sky Castle."

Tang Qi paused, then added, "The home of the sect that Tang Chen, the first Clear Sky Douluo and ancestor of Sea God Tang San, belonged to ten thousand years ago."

The Sea God?

After the battle that had decided the continent's fate ten thousand years ago, no matter how many secrets remained buried, the various powers had fanned the flames until the Sea God's "glorious, noble, and righteous" image was etched into everyone's hearts.

"If you're willing, you can bring Nannan back to Clear Sky Castle with me."

Tang Qi paused, then offered another choice. "Of course, if you don't want to live under someone else's roof, I can help you find another place to settle. But no matter what, you can't stay here."

Jiang Mother stared at him, her gaze complicated. "You really come from the Clear Sky Sect connected to the Sea God?"

Tang Qi nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. "The genuine article. I'm the Young Master of the Clear Sky Sect, and no one on this continent reveres Lord Sea God more than I do!"

Tang Qi spoke with heartfelt sincerity and an air of towering righteousness.

His "devotion" left Jiang Mother blinking in confusion. Something felt off, but she could not put her finger on it.

She opened her mouth, then merely nodded and silently prayed to the Sea God for protection.

Heh heh heh. It worked!

Tang Qi could not help smiling "kindly." The sight sent an inexplicable chill through Jiang Mother.

But it was too late now. She was already aboard the pirate ship; all she could do was follow it into the dark.

Once Tai Tan returned, the group prepared to head back. With only Tang Qi and Tai Tan on the outward trip, they had arrived in less than a day.

On the return journey, though, they had to consider Jiang Mother's health. Her heart condition could not withstand a long, jarring ride.

As for when Jiang Mother should take the Black Tortoise Divine Pill, Tang Qi decided to wait until they reached Clear Sky Castle. For one thing, Da Ming was there to watch over her—ostensibly a Limit Douluo, but in truth a Divine Official. And if anything did go wrong, Tang Qi could simply call on Old Tang to descend like a god from a machine.

The four rented a spacious carriage. With Tai Tan serving as coachman, they made their leisurely way toward Clear Sky Castle.

Seven days later.

Jiang Nannan gazed at Clear Sky Castle, half-hidden in a sea of clouds. Her little mouth fell open, and her beautiful eyes filled with awe.

"Tang Qi, is this the Clear Sky Sect? It's incredible! Did you grow up here?"

Tang Qi coughed twice and did not answer her question directly.

He had only known Clear Sky Castle half a day longer than she had.

Niu Tian said little when he met Jiang Nannan and her mother. He simply arranged rooms for them on the castle's top floor.

The two of them were deeply moved by the sight of their rooms, which had been put in perfect order.

Tang Qi, however, gave them little time to dwell on it.

With Niu Tian, a Limit Douluo, personally assisting her, Jiang Mother successfully refined and absorbed the Black Tortoise Divine Pill's medicinal power.

A touch of color gradually returned to her once-pale face.

And the Black Tortoise Divine Pill was not the only thing Tai Tan had brought back from his trip. He had also slipped Tang Qi a bottle of Mystic Water Pills.

As for where the Mystic Water Pills had come from, Tai Tan's explanation was simple: the Xuanming Sect had given them to him.

Xu Wu, Xue Lingxun: Huh?

Time sped past like a white colt flashing through a crack. In the blink of an eye, five years had gone by.

Near Star Luo City, in a dense forest.

A frail girl stumbled along a path leading toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

She looked no older than twelve or thirteen and was terribly thin. Every few steps, she had to stop and catch her breath.

"I've been walking for four days. I should be close to the Star Dou Great Forest by now..."

The girl wiped the sweat from her brow and murmured to herself. Her voice was weary, but a thread of stubbornness ran through it.

The next moment, a fierce pang of hunger struck.

Her vision went black, and the world spun. When she opened her eyes again, she was lying in the grass beside the road.

"Didn't I eat just the day before yesterday? How am I hungry again already...?"

Lying on her back, she weakly patted her hollow little stomach, her voice full of grievance.

"I can't rest yet... If I hold on a little longer, I'll reach the Star Dou Great Forest, get a Soul Ring, and become a real Soul Master. For Mom!"

Gritting her teeth, the girl struggled to rise.

But her body had long since reached its limit. Her limbs refused to obey.

Just then, footsteps approached.

Her heart tightened. She instinctively tried to get up, but before she could move, a stern face came into view.

The boy's short pink-blue hair caught the dappled sunlight. His features were refined, his face sharply defined.

"He's so handsome~"

The words slipped from the girl's mouth before she knew it. She stared straight at him.

"Oi, little girl, you've got good taste!" Tang Qi raised an eyebrow.

"Ah!"

Only then did she realize she had spoken her thoughts aloud. Her small face flushed bright red, and she wished she could crawl into a crack in the ground.

Just then, a hulking black figure suddenly appeared beside Tang Qi. Tai Tan frowned and looked down at the girl with a solemn expression.

"Aah—!"

The sudden appearance of the giant man frightened her so badly that her eyes rolled back and she fainted on the spot.

The air seemed to freeze for two seconds.

Tang Qi turned toward the bewildered Tai Tan, his mouth twitching. "Uncle Er Ming, you scared her unconscious."

Tai Tan scratched the back of his head, looking utterly innocent. "Am I really that frightening?"

Tang Qi shook his head helplessly, crouched down, and took a closer look at the girl, who was far too thin.

Her little face was sallow. She was clearly malnourished.

Suddenly, her stomach gave a loud gurgle.

So she had fainted from hunger.

Tang Qi hesitated no longer. He hoisted her onto his shoulder, muttering to himself as he went.

"Be glad you ran into someone as 'generous and selfless' as me. Anyone else might not even bother with you. Spend a night asleep out here, and you could end up as some Soul Beast's dung."

Tang Qi carried her to an open patch of grass beside a lake and casually dropped her onto the lawn. Then he rummaged through his Storage Soul Tool for ingredients.

The Clear Sky Sect had once been the greatest sect under heaven. Even though it now lived in seclusion, obtaining a Storage Soul Tool was still easy enough.

Without a word, Tai Tan leaped away and vanished into the forest.

Before long, he returned with a huge bundle of dry firewood and set about building a campfire by the lake.