"Sister Xiao Wu, the Celestial Screen's appearance has filled the outside world with uncertainty. You should stay here with Er Ming and me and put your mind at ease."
The waters of the Lake of Life churned as an enormous bull's head slowly emerged. Huge azure eyes gazed gently at the pink-cheeked girl, and a deep voice carried through the rippling water to the shore.
"Now the entire continent can see what's on the Celestial Screen. If information about you appears on it, Sister Xiao Wu, the consequences would be unthinkable."
"After all, Sister Xiao Wu, you're only a human child who has just awakened her Martial Soul. Even Er Ming understands the reasoning here."
"Of course I understand, but without contact with human presence, I can't even cultivate. This is so boring!"
Xiao Wu pulled a sulky face, staring listlessly at the lake as she casually dipped her little feet into its cool waters.
"The Celestial Screen could have appeared earlier or later, but it just had to appear after Sister Xiao Wu successfully took human form. Isn't that bullying?!"
She sharply kicked the water, sending up a spray.
But there was nothing she could do. Xiao Wu herself knew that going to the human world now would probably amount to serving someone a hundred-thousand-year spicy rabbit head.
Home delivery, too, with soul rings and bones all included.
Several days passed in a flash. The Celestial Screen still occasionally displayed information, but none of it concerned the future.
Until a week after Tang San enrolled.
["Who would have thought our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would produce another Pig Martial Soul? Still, with Yu Xiaogang's cautionary example, we probably won't waste too many resources, right?"]
["Who knows? Yu Xiaogang has a good father, but Yu Tiansheng has a good older brother! Those brothers have depended on each other since childhood. Yu Tianming probably won't give up on his younger brother, and some of the things Yu Tiansheng has written really are..."]
["True. With Yu Tiansheng's talent, he'll at least become a 'Master of Theory' someday."]
["Shh! Stop talking. Yu Tianming's coming!"]
[As the Celestial Screen unfolded, a black-haired youth slowly walked down the street, his expression betraying neither joy nor anger.]
[Beside him stood a middle-aged man: Yu Luomian, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's second-in-command and the younger brother of its clan leader, Yu Yuanzhen.]
["Tianming, the clansmen are just feeling sorry about it. They don't mean anything else, so don't take it to heart."]
[Looking at the expressionless Yu Tianming beside him, Yu Luomian's eyelid twitched. He offered gentle reassurance, afraid this genius with innate full soul power and a mutated Martial Soul, the likes of whom the clan rarely saw in a century, might become estranged from the clansmen over this.]
["It's fine. We can't shut everyone's mouths. Besides..."]
[The corner of Yu Tianming's mouth twitched, and he said nothing more.]
[Instead, this left Yu Luomian uncertain of what Yu Tianming was thinking. Was he angry or not?]
[Why did he look so speechless and helpless?]
["Tianming, don't worry. Although Tiansheng's Martial Soul... well, you know the clan isn't without precedent."]
["After I adopt Tiansheng, I'll pay for his training out of my own pocket. He might not be able to break through to Soul Elder, but getting him to rank twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster should at least be no problem."]
[Yu Luomian calculated inwardly. Back then, Yu Yuanzhen had provided Yu Xiaogang with so many resources, yet he had ultimately remained a rank twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster.]
[Once Yu Tiansheng was adopted, both he and Yu Tianming, the boy's older brother, would provide resources. There was no reason he should be weaker than Yu Xiaogang.]
[Perhaps, with Yu Xiaogang's cautionary example, being a little more careful should keep him from becoming a Soul Master who could only fart.]
["Ah, I hope Erlong can settle down and live properly after adopting Tiansheng."]
[Yu Luomian had never intended to adopt a child. Besides, with a peerless genius like Yu Tianming for an older brother, Yu Tiansheng did not need anyone to adopt and shelter him.]
[But he could not withstand his illegitimate daughter's repeated pleas.]
[Yu Luomian already felt he owed his daughter. With Yu Tianming there as well, a successful adoption could strengthen the connection between their two branches, making it a good thing.]
[Otherwise, Yu Luomian truly would not have had the inclination to adopt a child at his age.]
[After all, he had children of his own.]
[After making their way through the streets, Yu Tianming finally brought Yu Luomian to the brothers' home.]
[Bang! Without the slightest hesitation, Yu Tianming kicked open the door to Yu Tiansheng's room, making Yu Luomian's eyelid twitch.]
["Yu Tiansheng, come here. We need to discuss something."]
[Without even looking at Yu Tiansheng, Yu Tianming tossed out those words, turned, and headed for the living room.]
[Yu Luomian, however, saw everything clearly. Yu Tiansheng was lying in bed with a book in his hands, staring blankly at the two people who had suddenly barged into his territory.]
[Clearly printed on the cover were the words "A Titled Douluo Fell in Love with Me, Who Has No Soul Power," which truly broadened the horizons of an elder like Yu Luomian.]
[How had those words been strung together into a sentence, then printed so brazenly on a book?!]
["Brother! You didn't knock again!"]
[Accompanied by Yu Tiansheng's indignant voice, a somewhat dazed Yu Luomian followed Yu Tianming into the living room. His hands trembled slightly as he accepted the tea Yu Tianming offered and took a sip.]
["Never mind, never mind. It's normal for youngsters to have a few unusual hobbies..."]
[Ever since Tianming awakened his Martial Soul, he had practically watched Tiansheng grow up. Although the boy sometimes said things that shocked the world and defied convention, he seemed a decent enough person.]
[With that thought, Yu Luomian eased his mind and unconsciously surveyed the room's layout. Then he spotted a book propping up the table where the brothers ate.]
[The cover alone told him it was his nephew Yu Xiaogang's supposedly earth-shattering masterpiece: "Martial Soul Ten Core Competitiveness Theories."]
["Big brother! What do you want me for? I still have reading to do to research Martial Souls!" Yu Tiansheng said as soon as he entered the living room.]
[Hearing Yu Tiansheng's rather cheeky words, Yu Luomian's eyelid twitched again.]
["Uncle Yu Luomian intends to adopt you, and he'll be responsible for the resources you need to cultivate to Soul Grandmaster." Yu Tianming's expression was indifferent, as though the younger brother before him had no blood relation to him.]
["I won't decide for you, so I brought Uncle back to ask your opinion."]
["Ahem, Tiansheng. Uncle will explain things clearly to you, too. The two families have damaged their harmony." As soon as Yu Tianming finished, Yu Luomian spoke up.]
["I have a daughter who still hasn't married, and from the looks of things, she doesn't intend to marry in the future either. So we thought adopting a child would also carry on the family incense. Tiansheng, you..." Yu Luomian looked Yu Tiansheng up and down, taking quite a while to squeeze out another sentence.]
["Tiansheng, you have good looks and a fine appearance, so..."]
["So, Uncle, you're planning to adopt me on your daughter's behalf?" Yu Tiansheng looked at Yu Luomian with bitter anguish, a measure of disbelief in his voice. "Uncle Luomian, you practically watched me grow up. I never imagined you'd been coveting my looks all these years, and now you want to be my dad?"]
["No, wait, you want to be my grandpa!"]
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