Chapter 13

Lan Changsheng sat in an old tree. He tried to recall what he had felt while facing Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu.

Two supreme domains had pressed down on him. Bibi Dong's boundless killing intent had enveloped him, and Qian Daoliu's Angel Holy Fire had nearly swallowed him.

Those scenes flashed back frame by frame. He remembered feeling nothing but excitement at the time. He had thought it was because he had gone so long without a fight.

"That doesn't seem like much," he said after thinking it over.

[Then what if you wouldn't feel afraid of losing Ah Yin either?]

Hearing those words, Lan Changsheng froze. He felt as though an enormous monster were devouring him bit by bit, yet he actually felt not a trace of fear or dread...

He should have felt terrified!

Ah Yin was the family he had chosen!

She was someone he had failed to protect in time!

She was someone he had just sworn to protect through his oath of protection!

Yet he sat there, imagining every scenario in which he might lose Ah Yin, and the place in his chest that should have been churning with fear held nothing at all.

There was only an empty stillness, like a pitch-black room he had entered and overturned every piece of furniture in, only to discover that no one had ever been inside!

"...I can't feel fear anymore."

He tried to find the bodily sensation that should have corresponded to the word "fear," but all he found was a hazy, distant memory that seemed to belong to someone else.

He sat there quietly, like a stone statue.

All he could still feel was a thin layer of sorrow. Like ice covering a lake on a winter morning, it seemed as though it would melt at a touch. He tried to hold on to that sorrow, clenching it in his hand with all his strength.

"...And how long can this sorrow last?"

He asked.

No one answered. The wind passed through the woods, stirring his long silver hair. A dead leaf landed on his shoulder. Lan Changsheng raised a hand and pressed it against his chest. The connection of the oath of protection remained clear. Ah Yin was right there, giving him his last trace of warmth.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Ah Yin's voice came through the connection of the oath of protection.

"Nothing. I'm just a little sad."

"What happened? Is there anything I can do to help?"

He did not reply. He did not know how to tell Ah Yin, nor did he know whether there was still any way back...

Just then, he sensed the aura of a Blue Silver Emperor coming from far away.

"Ah Yin, do you feel that? It should be Xiao San. I helped awaken his Blue Silver Emperor bloodline."

"I feel it!"

"Let's go. I'll find somewhere to prepare for your resurrection first."

Following that sensation, Lan Changsheng continued using Teleportation in one direction.

Before long, he reached the summit of a five-hundred-meter mountain. Inside the mountain was an inverted-cone-shaped hollow.

A hazy layer of multicolored poisonous mist intertwined in the air. Thick, dark green poisonous vines covered the rock walls, and black crystals coated the stone surfaces.

"Ah Yin, of all the places I can sense, this one is the most unusual. It's brimming with life. You can recover well here and be reborn sooner, so you can go see Xiao San."

"All right."

Lan Changsheng leaped straight down into the valley, flying toward its depths.

The jade-scaled seven-extinction flowers and poisonous vines all made way for Lan Changsheng, and the poisonous miasma posed no threat to him at all.

After he passed through the miasma, an oval pool appeared before him. Its water was half blue and half red, scorching hot on the right and freezing cold on the left, yet the two sides remained sharply divided.

Many immortal herbs grew here. Seeing Lan Changsheng arrive, they gently swayed their bodies in delight.

Lan Changsheng took Ah Yin out of System Space. "Look, Ah Yin. Do you like the environment here?"

But before Ah Yin could take a proper look around, the system's voice sounded in Lan Changsheng's mind.

[Ding, system mission issued. Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang is leading his student astray. Please go correct him. Grandmaster is criticizing Tang San for actually choosing a First Soul Ring of only a few decades, saying his future will be ruined. Reward: two percent mastery of the Law of Life.]

"Hm? Isn't Tang Hao there? Can't he even handle something this small?" Lan Changsheng's brows drew tightly together.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Ah Yin had evidently heard Lan Changsheng talking to himself.

"It's nothing much. I helped Xiao San awaken his bloodline and condense his First Soul Ring, but someone seems unhappy about it. I'll go take a look."

"I want to go too!"

Although he would have preferred to let Ah Yin recuperate here, Tang San was her child, after all, and they had not seen each other in a long time. Lan Changsheng thought it over. "All right. The boy is already six now. You might not even recognize him at first glance."

"How could that be? Tang San is my own flesh and blood."

"All right. I spotted a Lovesick Heartbreak Red. I'll take it along as a gift for Xiao San. He might have a use for it someday."

"Ah, isn't that immortal herb... Xiao San is only six."

"That's why I said he might. Besides, Xiao San is a little too precocious. You'll have to teach him properly in the future."

Lan Changsheng approached an immortal herb growing on black-extinction stone. It resembled a peony but was adorned with several blood-red petals. "Little one, come with me. I'll protect you with divine power. Stay by my nephew's side. If you ultimately accept him as your master, you'll benefit too. If not, I'll bring you back."

The Lovesick Heartbreak Red thought for a moment, then dipped its stamens.

Lan Changsheng wrapped his hand in life divine power and stored it in System Space, along with the black-extinction stone.

"Let's go meet this Grandmaster."

Not long after Lan Changsheng left, a gaunt, straight-backed figure appeared there.

"The immortal herbs I experimented with last time didn't have any special effects. I'll try a few different ones this time. Hm? Someone's been here!"

Sensing an unfamiliar aura, Dugu Bo strode forward and swept his gaze around, discovering that one immortal herb was missing!

His brows knitted tightly. "How did this person find this place? What use does he have for the immortal herb he took?"

Dugu Bo pondered for a while but could make no sense of it. "Forget it. I have nothing else to do right now anyway. I'll stay here for a while. If this person comes back..."

As he spoke, he went around strengthening the poisons in the miasma and poisonous vines, preparing a "surprise" for the visitor.

Outside the Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy.

"Do you know how long I waited for you?" An ordinary-looking middle-aged man in a long black robe was scolding Tang San.

"I'm sorry, Teacher. My father needed me for something, so I was delayed." Tang San bowed with his hands clasped, apologizing sincerely.

At the mention of Tang Hao, some of the anger on Yu Xiaogang's face subsided.

"Since you had a reason, forget it. Come along. I'll take you to obtain your First Soul Ring." As he spoke, Yu Xiaogang turned first, preparing to leave.

"Teacher," Tang San hurriedly said, excitement in his voice, "I've already obtained my First Soul Ring."

Yu Xiaogang stopped in his tracks and looked back at Tang San in disbelief. "Did your father help you? Summon your Martial Soul and let me see."

"My uncle helped me." Tang San raised his hand and summoned his Blue Silver Grass. A little blue blade of grass appeared in his hand, with a white Soul Ring revolving steadily around it.