But when he recalled that Zhao Ling had already become a Titled Douluo at such a young age, he felt that the young lady getting involved with him might be a good thing. Perhaps she could recruit an exceptionally gifted elder for Spirit Hall.
Still, it would be best to report this matter to His Holiness the Pope by carrier pigeon first...
Faced with the two women's aggressive posturing, Zhao Ling was somewhat speechless. He summoned the Diary Panel and began venting on it.
[Here we go again. I don't know whether it's because Bibi Dong and Ah Yin belong to opposing camps or because they were born incompatible, but they've been secretly competing ever since they met.]
[You're both beauties. Why must women make things difficult for other women? Can't you two just get along?]
[Alas, if they keep opposing each other like this, my hope of taking them both into my fold and making them sisters might remain nothing but a fantasy.]
[If I really did take them both into my fold, never mind making them sisters-it would be a blessing if they didn't fight three times a day.]
[Sure enough, one mountain cannot shelter two tigers unless one's male and the other's female. Those novels where the male lead builds a massive harem and the heroines never compete or get jealous are definitely all lies.]
[Just look at how Bibi Dong and Ah Yin clash. Winning them both over easily would be an absolute pipe dream.]
[Alas, it looks like my great dream of giving all the beautiful women on the Douluo Continent one warm family to share might be very difficult to achieve.]
[Maybe... I should behave and choose just one woman to pursue? Don't those women all long for the ideal of one partner for a lifetime?]
[No, no. One partner for a lifetime might be a beautiful vision, but I finally managed to transmigrate to the Douluo Continent. If I only loved one woman and other transmigrators found out, they'd laugh me to death.]
[Whatever. I, Zhao Ling, am a beast and a scumbag to begin with. Why pretend to be devoted? Damn it.]
[A beast should act like a beast, and a scumbag should have a scumbag's self-awareness...]
Once he finished venting, Zhao Ling clicked to upload the diary and received the system's reward of adding a thousand years to all his Soul Rings.
Zhao Ling's eyes lit up. Combined with the previous reward of adding five hundred years to all his Soul Rings, every one of his Soul Rings had now gained fifteen hundred years. What a delight.
The instant he uploaded the diary, both women saw their personal Diary Copies update.
Bibi Dong, who was exchanging stares with Ah Yin, saw the update and glanced up at Zhao Ling. This guy still has the time to update his diary? Can't he see we're both fighting over him? Can't he pay a little attention?
Ah Yin also silently glanced at Zhao Ling beside her, but said nothing. She simply opened the diary with her mind as though no one else were present and began reading the latest entry with the voice function.
She would have been fine if she hadn't read it, but the moment she did, Ah Yin instinctively reached out and gave Zhao Ling's waist a vicious twist.
This bastard! Ah Yin had originally thought Zhao Ling wouldn't want to pursue too many women. After all, a person's time and effort were limited. Courting three or four women at once was already quite a feat.
Yet this fellow actually said he wanted to give all the beautiful women on the Douluo Continent one warm family to share. How could his ambitions be so enormous?
Wasn't he afraid that such a huge appetite would stuff him to death...?
Reading on, she grew nervous when she saw Zhao Ling say he actually wanted one partner for a lifetime.
If Zhao Ling truly chose one partner for a lifetime and stopped having anything to do with other women after falling for someone, that would be the greatest problem.
Ah Yin considered herself quite attractive, with a gentle, serene personality that should make her many men's ideal woman.
But she knew even better that the Douluo Continent was vast, with plenty of beauties whose looks rivaled hers, and whose personalities and family backgrounds might far surpass her own.
Leaving everyone else aside, Ah Yin felt that even her looks fell a little short of Bibi Dong's, and Bibi Dong also had the enormous might of Spirit Hall backing her.
Faced with such a wealthy, beautiful, exceptionally gifted woman, Ah Yin truly had no idea how she could compete with Bibi Dong.
Her only advantages were that she had met Zhao Ling before Bibi Dong and had been a little more proactive.
Those few advantages were almost negligible in the face of Bibi Dong's overwhelming superiority.
But when she reached Zhao Ling's line, "A beast should act like a beast, and a scumbag should have a scumbag's self-awareness," Ah Yin knew he wouldn't abandon his great dream of giving all the beautiful women in Douluo one warm family to share.
She couldn't help secretly breathing a sigh of relief. It was better for this fellow to remain a beast and a scumbag. He could forget about being devoted...
Chapter 53: All the way south
Meanwhile, after Bibi Dong quickly read the diary entry, the corner of her mouth twitched furiously.
Does this guy really have no idea why that woman named Ah Yin and I don't get along?
He compares this woman with that woman in his diary all day long. It would be stranger if we weren't secretly competing.
You bastard, if you're going to talk about one partner for a lifetime, then keep your word!
Whether it's that Ah Yin or that woman named Liu Erlong, I'm prettier than both of them, and my strength and aptitude are better too, aren't they?
No matter how you choose, you ought to choose me, right? Yet now you're telling me you want to give every beauty on the Douluo Continent one warm family to share.
You... calling you a beast and a scumbag wouldn't be going too far. You're so greedy! Do you believe I'll beat you up?
Can't you devote yourself to me alone? You know perfectly well that I'll become Spirit Hall's Saintess in the future, and then its Pope.
Having me would mean having the strongest power on the Douluo Continent. Are you stupid or just an idiot?
At that thought, Bibi Dong viciously pinched Zhao Ling's waist, then swept her gaze over the people from Spirit Hall. "Come on. Let's eat..."
With that, Bibi Dong turned and stormed off in a huff, leaving behind a secretly laughing Ah Yin and a completely bewildered Zhao Ling.
Zhao Ling shook his head helplessly. As the saying went, a woman's heart was a needle at the bottom of the sea.
Bibi Dong's upset with Ah Yin, so why pinch my waist? How baffling. Forget it. I'll stop thinking about it and go eat.
Live to eat, eat with soul-those who eat stand above the rest. If you're not eager to eat, something's wrong with your head.
Meanwhile, far away in Heaven Dou Imperial City, Liu Erlong was making lunch when she saw the latest diary entry. She was almost speechless. She simply couldn't understand Zhao Ling's thinking.
Could this guy have a little shame? He actually dreams of giving all the beauties in Douluo one warm family to share. Who does he think he is? Does he think no one can do without him?
In any case, Liu Erlong secretly resolved this time that if she ever married, she would absolutely never marry that beast surnamed Zhao. She had no interest in sharing a husband with other women.
Besides, Liu Erlong considered herself very attractive, with exceptionally delicate features. If her temper weren't so fiery, her suitors would already form a line around the city.
Why should I compete with other women for that man surnamed Zhao? Just because of this inexplicable diary? Ridiculous...
Just then, Liu Erlong saw her father return home in a fury, his expression frighteningly dark.
Still cooking, Liu Erlong couldn't help feeling a little curious at the sight.
"Father, what's wrong? You look so upset. Did something happen?"
Hearing his daughter's concerned words, Yu Luomian felt a trace of warmth rise within him. His daughter was his daughter, after all. Her concern for him went without saying.
He heaved a deep sigh before angrily explaining to Liu Erlong.
"It's all because of that cousin of yours, Yu Xiaogang. He actually went to the Great Soul Arena in Suotuo City to make a spectacle of himself. A mere Soul Master who hasn't even reached rank twenty wanted to fight a rank-thirty-one Soul Elder in the ring. Utterly absurd.
"I heard he also latched onto a woman from Spirit Hall. Even after she taught him a lesson several times, he still had no self-awareness and insisted on pestering her relentlessly.
"If the Great Soul Arena's management hadn't been attentive, who knows how many times that cousin of yours would have died? After your uncle learned about it, he actually wanted to hide it from the entire clan and handle it privately. Outrageous!"
He snorted in displeasure, his voice filled with undisguised disgust.
"If I hadn't been cautious enough to personally stop and question the servant from the Great Soul Arena, even I would still be in the dark. The more I think about it, the angrier I get.
"I never imagined your uncle would protect his own child to such an extent. A disgraceful wretch like that should be thrown out of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. No, I must join forces with the elders and put pressure on your uncle! That unfilial Yu Xiaogang should be kicked out of our glorious Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!"
Oh? So that cousin of mine is at the Great Soul Arena in Suotuo City? In other words, that fellow named Zhao Ling should be there too?
At that thought, Liu Erlong's eyes lit up, and she decided to take a trip to Suotuo City.
While she was at it, she would see just what that fellow named Zhao Ling looked like, putting on human airs while dreaming of giving all of Douluo's beauties a warm family.
However, she didn't show it. Instead, she continued stir-frying at an unhurried pace while soothing her father.
"Father, you don't need to be so angry. Perhaps Uncle simply doesn't want you all to worry too much about clan affairs. You and the elders are already exhausted. Uncle should be able to handle Cousin's matter himself."
"Hmph, that uncle of yours simply wants to shield your cousin. That fellow keeps disgracing our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan in Suotuo City. If anyone else had done this, it would have been enough to get them expelled three times over.
"Even if I, his younger brother, got into this kind of trouble, your uncle probably wouldn't show any mercy. But he positively spoils that cousin of yours. No, no matter what, I cannot let that wretch keep tarnishing our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's honor."
With that, Yu Luomian stormed out again in a huff. Clearly unable to swallow his anger, he had gone to demand an explanation from Yu Yuanzhen.
Liu Erlong wanted to call her father back and ask him to stay home for a meal, but with anger surging through him, how could Yu Luomian listen to anything else?
After Yu Luomian left, Liu Erlong shook her head helplessly, though a faint smile lingered on her lips.
Now that she knew where Zhao Ling, Bibi Dong, and Ah Yin were, she could go join the excitement and see what that cousin named Xiaogang looked like while she was there.
The diary's contents had never stopped bothering her. The fact that she would fall passionately in love with that cousin made her seriously question her own taste.
If his looks were truly nothing special, she shouldn't be that blind.
Even if he was handsome, once her father told her they were cousins, how could she still insist on being with him regardless of everything, even falling out with her father? Was there a hole in her head?
Liu Erlong couldn't help wondering whether that cousin had drugged her or used some secret art to make her fall in love with him. Otherwise, she was absolutely certain she would never fall for that fellow.
At that thought, Liu Erlong hurriedly ate lunch. After making do with a simple meal, she took some travel money, hired a carriage, and sped toward Suotuo City.
Yu Luomian had no idea that merely returning home to air his grievances had sent his daughter eagerly boarding a carriage and heading all the way south to Suotuo City.
No one could foresee what chain reaction Liu Erlong, that female tyrannosaurus, would trigger by going to Suotuo City, much less what miserable fate Yu Xiaogang would suffer yet again...
Chapter 54: Were they trying to starve him to death?
The following afternoon, in a private room at the Great Soul Arena.
Yu Xiaogang, who had been battered and seriously injured the day before, finally regained consciousness, but the pain throughout his body still made him bare his teeth and grimace.
To make Yu Xiaogang behave this time, the person in charge of the Great Soul Arena had arranged for the Healing-type Soul Saint to treat him once. After roughly fifty or sixty percent of his injuries had healed, he hadn't arranged any further treatment.
That would save them from having this fellow run off like a rabid dog to bite someone as soon as he recovered, only to fail to bite anyone and get beaten black and blue again. He could obediently recuperate in the private room.
In any case, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan should send someone to take him back before long, sparing the Great Soul Arena all the trouble he caused.
The pain in his thoracic spine and left kidney prevented Yu Xiaogang from even turning over. Tears flowed involuntarily, and his face twisted into a mask of agony.
"What happened? Why am I laid up again? It hurts so much..."
Having only just awakened, Yu Xiaogang hadn't immediately recovered his memories of the previous day.
After racking his brains for a while, Yu Xiaogang finally recalled slowly approaching that man surnamed Zhao with a chair in his hands yesterday. He had thought he could settle his grudges and exact his revenge.
But some sneaky bastard had come out of nowhere and kicked him in the left side of his waist, knocking him to the ground, then battered his back. The piercing pain had made him pass out on the spot.
Remembering the kick to his waist, he gently poked the spot with his hand, and his face immediately contorted violently in pain.
"Bastard! Who was it? Who the hell kicked my kidney? Damn it! If it affects my ability to have children, I... I'll make him pay in blood..."
Hearing his hysterical shouting, the person guarding him outside hurried off to report to the management.
After learning that Yu Xiaogang had awakened, the person in charge of the Great Soul Arena didn't go to see him again. He merely instructed the guard.
"Get that fellow something to eat. Don't let him starve to death. Make the food a little better. He's the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's second young master, after all. We mustn't neglect him."
"Yes..." The person responsible for guarding Yu Xiaogang respectfully accepted the order and turned to leave. The person in charge of the Great Soul Arena sighed helplessly.
"This Second Young Master Yu really is troublesome. Who knows when the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan will send someone to collect him? If he doesn't leave the Great Soul Arena soon, I'm genuinely afraid he'll die here someday."
Yu Xiaogang howled in the private room. The pain throughout his body truly made him wish he were dead.
He simply couldn't understand why the Great Soul Arena's Healing-type Soul Saint had healed most of his injuries before, yet hadn't restored him nearly as well this time.
How was he supposed to recover quickly and go find Miss Dong'er? If that fellow surnamed Zhao won her over, wouldn't he lose his chance?
How could that happen? How could a woman as beautiful, gentle, and gracious as Miss Dong'er marry beneath herself to that beast surnamed Zhao? No, absolutely not.
Yu Xiaogang tried to struggle upright, but heart-rending pain shot through his left kidney, sending tears and snot streaming down together. It hurt.
Heavens, why? Why must I endure such suffering? Heaven is unjust!
Just as the pain made him wish for death, the door suddenly opened. Someone pushed a meal cart inside and nodded to him with a slightly respectful expression.
"Second Young Master Yu, you've been unconscious for a day. You must be hungry, right? The higher-ups sent me to bring you a meal."
Seeing the newcomer, Yu Xiaogang hurriedly shouted as though he had spotted his savior, "Quick! Hurry and get a Healing-type Soul Master to heal my injuries. It hurts so much! Hurry..."
The person delivering the meal ignored him and simply placed the food from the cart in front of the sofa where Yu Xiaogang lay.
"Second Young Master Yu, you'd better stop making trouble. Your injuries may hurt, but they aren't fatal. We haven't healed you completely because you keep trying to get yourself killed whenever you recover. For your safety, lying here like this is best."
After delivering the meal, the man quickly turned and left. Smelling the fragrant food not far away, Yu Xiaogang finally realized that the temple of his five organs was nearly shriveled with hunger, and he wanted something to eat.
But with his entire body in pain, even moving his hand was enough to make him weep. Right now, Yu Xiaogang wanted nothing more than to curse.
Didn't that fellow who brought the food know I was in such excruciating pain? He didn't even feed me. Was he trying to starve me to death?
Filled with intense resentment and thoughts of revenge, Yu Xiaogang endured the pain throughout his body and laboriously raised his right hand toward a plate of pork knuckle. No matter what, he couldn't let himself starve to death here.
He had to live. He had to take revenge on that man surnamed Zhao and wash away his humiliation. He had to take Miss Dong'er back from him.
After a tremendous effort, Yu Xiaogang finally grabbed the pork knuckle, slowly brought it to his mouth, and began gnawing on it with difficulty. For a normal person, reaching for the pork knuckle and bringing it to their mouth would only take a few seconds,
But for Yu Xiaogang in his current state, it took several whole minutes. Even gnawing on the pork knuckle was an extremely slow process. There was no other reason-he was now missing nearly ten of his formerly healthy teeth.
Before you continue