Douluo Dalu: I Can Become Stronger by Pitfalling Yu Xiaogang

"Notice: [Misfortunes Never Come Alone] quest complete. Reward Points earned: 3. Current Reward Points: 10."

"Notice: Drawing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone... Draw complete! Congratulations, you have obtained a left leg soul bone—the Cloud Wild Crane Left Leg Bone from a 38,000-year soul beast. Skills: Cloud Treading, Cloud Ladder Leap."

"Cloud Treading: Active. Once activated, allows the user to hover in the air and fly."

"Cloud Ladder Leap: Passive. Enhances jumping ability. A single leap can reach a maximum height of 20 meters."

"Awesome!" Zhang Tianyu could not help wanting to burst out laughing!

He opened the status panel—

Host: Zhang Tianyu

First Spirit: Yellow Springs

Second Martial Soul: None

Soul Power: Level 17

Soul Bone: Left Leg Soul Bone (38,000-year Cloud Wild Crane Left Leg Bone; skills: Cloud Treading, Cloud Ladder Leap)

Soul Tool: None

Self-Created Soul Skills: [Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track], [Thunder Sword]

Soul Rings and Soul Skills:

First Spirit—

[First Soul Skill: Scorching Sun Verdict]

Items: Super Glue *1 (1/2), Snake Musk Incense *1 (1/2), Fatigue Worm *1

Reward Points: 10

This was Zhang Tianyu's first time opening the status panel. It felt quite novel, like the experience of playing games in his previous life.

When he returned to the dormitory, Wang Sheng and the others immediately called out, "Boss is back?"

Xiao Wu skipped over to him. "Let's go out for another stroll?"

Tang San looked at Xiao Wu, and an unusual glint flashed through his eyes again.

There it was again—that strange sense of closeness!

Why did he feel this sense of closeness toward Xiao Wu? Why?

Could Xiao Wu really be his mother's reincarnation?

Sigh... It's impossible to explain, impossible to understand, impossible to believe.

"A San, why do you keep looking at me like that?" Xiao Wu noticed his gaze and asked curiously.

"Uh..." Tang San looked utterly bewildered. "Uh... could you not call me A San? It makes me sound kind of stupid..."

Tang San genuinely thought that nickname was idiotic.

"No, I think it rolls off the tongue. It's not stupid at all," Xiao Wu said.

Looking at her beaming face, Tang San suddenly felt a little sour inside. He even felt a surge of anger rise within him for no reason.

Because Zhang Tianyu had given him the nickname "A San," and then Xiao Wu had started calling him that too, even thinking it rolled off the tongue.

So Tang San was jealous.

But he had been a lifelong virgin for two lives, so he had no idea that this was what jealousy felt like. He only felt sour and stifled inside, with a trace of irritation.

He wanted to flare up, but when he saw Xiao Wu's adorable smiling face, the anger in his heart slowly faded away.

"Forget it. If you think it sounds good, then call me that."

"See? The nickname I gave you rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?" Zhang Tianyu grinned as he slung an arm around Tang San's shoulders.

Pain flashed across Tang San's face, and Zhang Tianyu immediately let go. "Sorry, I forgot you're still injured. How about this—you rest first, and we'll go out for a stroll."

With that, Zhang Tianyu and Xiao Wu turned and left the dormitory.

Tang San: ...

Watching their retreating backs, he felt even worse.

At the same time, a strange feeling welled up in Zhang Tianyu's heart.

It felt like an NTR scene.

That was right, NTR.

Right in front of you, I take away the girl you like, while you can only watch helplessly and do nothing.

Then I spend a pleasant time with the girl you like, while you can only imagine the pleasant time we spent together afterward. Then you feel stifled, upset, sour, distracted, and may even start hallucinating...

That was right. This was the most classic NTR storyline.

Unfortunately, the current Tang San did not even qualify to be the miserable victim in an NTR story.

Because he and Xiao Wu were nothing more than ordinary friends.

For NTR to apply, the wronged party and the heroine had to be boyfriend and girlfriend or husband and wife. If they weren't in that kind of relationship, then it wasn't NTR.

For example, suppose you liked the prettiest girl in your class, but it was only a secret crush and she didn't know about it;

Or maybe you confessed to her, but she turned you down;

Or perhaps you both liked each other, but neither of you had broken through that final barrier—you were still just classmates and friends;

Then, if she went out partying with another guy, question: had you been NTR'd?

The answer was: no.

She had no relationship with you at all. You didn't even qualify to be NTR'd.

Just like Tang San right now—he didn't qualify.

So, being cheated on was tragic, but even more tragic than that was not even qualifying to be cheated on.

Tang San cried.

The training ground.

The lights had just come on, and the full moon hung above the treetops.

Two small figures sat on a bench beside the training ground, looking up at the bright moon.

"What are you thinking about?" Xiao Wu suddenly asked.

"I'm thinking about the future."

"The future?"

"Yeah. In the future, will we become just another pair of obscure soul masters, or will we forge ahead through thorns and brambles until we finally climb to the summit?"

"Of course we're climbing to the summit!" Xiao Wu rose to her feet and declared grandly, "Since we've become soul masters, we have to live gloriously at least once. What's the point of spending an entire life in obscurity and mediocrity? Better to explode onto the scene and become famous in one stroke!"

Zhang Tianyu laughed as he watched her spirited appearance.

He remembered a line spoken by a character in a game he had played before:

"Would you rather be an unknown nobody who lives to ninety with tubes stuck in you, or become famous across the world even if you don't live to thirty?"

At the time, he had blurted out, "Fuck that, I'd rather live to ninety with tubes stuck in me."

But thinking about it now, what was the meaning of that sort of day-after-day repetition, of a life where you could see the end at a glance, even if you lived to ninety?

If every day of those ninety years showed you the same scenery, had you really lived for ninety years? Or had you simply repeated the same day for ninety years?

After coming to Douluo Continent, becoming a soul master, and steadily growing stronger, he had found a new answer to that question.

Maybe living a life where I become famous across the world even if I don't make it to thirty is what I truly want.

"Tianyu, what do you think?" Xiao Wu turned around and asked Zhang Tianyu, her little face flushed red.

"I feel the same way you do," Zhang Tianyu said. "Rather than live to ninety as an unknown nobody, I'd rather live the kind of life where I become famous across the world even if I don't make it to thirty."

"And thus, a legendary bandit was born," the system quipped.

"Shut up. A person like me, who has never harmed ordinary people, deserves to be called a bandit?" Zhang Tianyu retorted.

"Well said!" Xiao Wu said. "You really put into words exactly what I wanted to say."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's work toward the summit together!" Zhang Tianyu held out his fist.

"Together!" Xiao Wu extended her fist and bumped it against his. "Come on, let's spar!"

Zhang Tianyu: ...

Wasn't Xiao Wu's character setting a little off?

Why did she seem to have turned into a battle fanatic, always wanting to spar and fight at the drop of a hat?

Though it seemed like she was like that in the novel too—sparring and cultivating every day. Fine, fine. Since she was a girl he liked, then come on. However you want to play, whatever position you want, big brother will go along with you!

Early the next morning, Zhang Tianyu, Xiao Wu, and Tang San headed to Spirit Hall together to register.

Just like in the novel, they first ran into Blind Douluo Bi Yuntao—uh, no, Su Yuntao. Su Yuntao showed a bit of shock, brought the three of them before Master Ma Xiunuo, then impatiently went off to party with the female soul master named Si Si.

From not taking it seriously, to being utterly shocked, to finally doing everything he could to invite Tang San to join Spirit Hall—Zhang Tianyu already knew this whole sequence by heart.

Then came the new development.

Xiao Wu registered.

Master Ma Xiunuo also showed great interest in Xiao Wu, but what kind of relationship did Xiao Wu have with Spirit Hall? Joining Spirit Hall was absolutely impossible, so she simply waved him off and refused.

Finally, it was Zhang Tianyu's turn.

Having a system really was convenient. Zhang Tianyu did not need any disguise skill at all; he could just let the system handle the disguise.

Tang San, however, was somewhat shocked. "Tianyu, you really came here to register too?"

"Of course. You didn't think I came along just to play with you guys, did you?"

"But you..."

Tang San wanted to say, but didn't you only have Soul Power Level 2?

What the hell was there to register at Soul Power Level 2?

Tang San had also heard about Zhang Tianyu defeating Xiao Wu. He assumed Zhang Tianyu had won because his martial soul was unusual and he had martial arts skills of his own.

As for what others said—that "Zhang Tianyu could also use that strange footwork of Tang San's"—Tang San did not believe it at all.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was a supreme skill of the Tang Sect. There was no Tang Sect anywhere on Douluo Continent. Could it be that this Zhang Tianyu had also jumped off a cliff from the Tang Sect?

So, Tang San believed Zhang Tianyu must possess some special martial skill similar to Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

With martial arts and combat techniques to rely on, it was not strange that he could defeat Xiao Wu.

But as for Soul Power Level, you had only been Level 2 a few days ago. Could you really have broken through to Level 10 already?

Even if you had broken through, where was your Soul Ring? You had stayed in the academy the whole time and never gone out. Where could you have gotten a Soul Ring?

"What? You don't believe me?" Zhang Tianyu asked with a smile.

"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just... didn't your Spirit Hall Proof say your Soul Power Level was only 2?" Tang San asked, blinking.

Ma Xiunuo frowned as he looked at Zhang Tianyu. "Soul Power Level 2? What are you registering for at Level 2?"

"That was a few days ago. I'm not at Soul Power Level 2 anymore," Zhang Tianyu said with a smile.

Tang San was completely dumbfounded, while Xiao Wu wore a somewhat proud smile. Her expression seemed to say, "Just wait. You'll be scared out of your wits in a moment!"

Ma Xiunuo looked unconvinced. "Are you joking, kid? Your Soul Power Level was only 2 a few days ago. Don't tell me that after just a few days, your Soul Power has surpassed Level 10—and you even got yourself a Soul Ring?"

Zhang Tianyu glanced at him, too lazy to explain further. He walked straight up to the crystal ball and placed his hand on it.

"System, release the fake accounts you prepared earlier... uh, no, the fake data."

"No problem, my host."