"Big brother, what are you thinking about?" Tang San couldn't help asking when he saw Chen Mo staring into space.
"Nothing." Chen Mo smiled. "I was just thinking that Nuoding City is a pretty nice place."
Tang San: "..."
He kept feeling that this big brother of his was growing more and more mysterious.
Chen Mo looked around the academy grounds, then said to Tang San:
"Xiao San, I won't be going into the academy. I'll rent a courtyard in the city and come visit you when I have time."
"Huh?" Tang San froze for a moment. "You're not going to school with me, big brother?"
"School?"
Chen Mo laughed. "I don't need to go to school. I have my own way of cultivating."
"All right, then." Tang San nodded. "Then you have to come visit me when you have time, big brother."
"Don't worry." Chen Mo patted Tang San's shoulder. "I'll visit often."
With that, Chen Mo turned to Xiao Wu, who was following behind Tang San, and gave her a meaningful smile.
"Xiao Wu, we'll be seeing each other often from now on."
Xiao Wu's face instantly flushed, and her heart raced.
She knew there was more to Chen Mo's words.
Chen Mo turned and left, walking toward Nuoding City.
His retreating figure looked especially tall in the light of the setting sun.
Xiao Wu watched Chen Mo's retreating figure, unable to snap out of her daze for a long time.
Watching Xiao Wu, Tang San felt an inexplicable sense of loss.
He didn't know why, but he kept feeling that his big brother's arrival would change many things.
That evening, Chen Mo found a courtyard in Nuoding City and rented it.
Tang San came along too.
After all, the two brothers hadn't seen each other in so long. They had to get together.
Chen Mo had money-there were plenty of Gold Soul Coins in Tang Hao's Storage Soul Tool. With a grand wave of his hand, he took Tang San to the best restaurant in Nuoding City.
The Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
Chen Mo booked the best private room and ordered enough dishes to cover the table.
Tang San stared wide-eyed at the table full of delicacies from the mountains and seas.
"Big brother, how... how much must this cost?" Tang San swallowed.
"Money isn't a problem."
Chen Mo smiled. "We brothers haven't seen each other in so long. Let's enjoy our reunion today."
The two ate and chatted.
Three rounds of wine and five courses later.
Chen Mo poured Tang San a cup of wine:
"Xiao Sanzi, come on. We brothers haven't seen each other in ages. Let's have a drink!"
Tang San hesitated. "Big brother, I'm still little. I don't know how to drink..."
"Oh, come on!" Chen Mo waved a hand. "How can a man not know how to drink? Besides, it's just one cup. Have a taste."
Unable to hold out against him, Tang San raised the cup and took a sip.
It burned so much that he grimaced.
Chen Mo burst out laughing and poured him another cup.
One cup, two cups, three cups...
Tang San's face grew redder and redder, his eyes grew hazier and hazier, and his speech began to slur.
By the end, Tang San had slumped over the table, drunk into unconsciousness.
Looking at Tang San in that state, Chen Mo curled his lips into a wicked smile.
The time had come.
He silently chanted, Idiocy Aura, target Tang San, activate!
An invisible ripple spread from Chen Mo and enveloped Tang San.
The drunken Tang San suddenly shuddered and sat upright, his eyes turning vacant and trusting.
Chen Mo patted Tang San's shoulder and asked with a beaming smile:
"Xiao Sanzi, do you know what level your big brother is now?"
Tang San scratched his head and began guessing.
He knew that his sworn brother had Innate Full Soul Power just like him and was extremely talented, so he ventured, "Level 15?"
Chen Mo smiled without a word.
"Level 18?"
Chen Mo continued smiling without a word.
Tang San gritted his teeth and made a bold guess. "Level 22!"
Chen Mo still smiled without a word.
"Level 25!" Tang San offered another guess.
Chen Mo continued smiling without a word, holding his wine cup and sipping slowly.
Tang San drew a deep breath, his voice beginning to tremble:
"Big brother, could... could you already be level 30?"
Chen Mo set down his wine cup, patted Tang San's shoulder, and said earnestly:
"Little brother! Be a little bolder!"
Tang San's pupils abruptly contracted, and his voice shook:
"Big brother, could... could you already be a Titled Douluo?!"
Chen Mo had just tipped a cup of wine into his mouth. At those words, he went "Pfft-" and sprayed it all over Tang San's face.
With his face drenched in wine, Tang San stared blankly at Chen Mo.
Chen Mo coughed twice and wiped his mouth:
"Ahem... little brother, I told you to guess, not make a wish."
Tang San: "..."
"Listen carefully." Chen Mo held up four fingers. "Your big brother is now level 46!"
Tang San: "!!!!!!"
He was completely dumbstruck, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.
Level 46?!
A Soul Ancestor?!
His big brother was only six years old!
A six-year-old Soul Ancestor-who would believe it?!
Tang San felt as though the worldview he had held for all these years shattered into crumbs at that moment.
Just then, a notification sounded from Chen Mo's system.
[Ding! Idiocy Aura is active. When facing the host, Tang San's intelligence is reduced by 50%.]
Tang San abruptly came to his senses and grabbed Chen Mo's arm, his voice trembling with excitement:
"Big brother, how... how did you cultivate?! Teach me, teach me!"
Seeing Tang San's eagerness, Chen Mo laughed inwardly.
The Idiocy Aura really had kicked in.
He cleared his throat and said with an unfathomable expression, "Little brother, haven't you noticed the difference between us?"
Tang San paused, thought it over seriously, then began counting on his fingers:
"Brother, apart from being a little taller than me, a little more handsome than me, having a slightly better Martial Soul than me, and being a little richer than me... what other differences are there?"
As he spoke, Tang San's expression gradually shifted from his initial shock to grievance.
Good grief. Counting it all up like this, it seemed he couldn't compare to his big brother in any way.
The more Tang San thought about it, the more aggrieved and miserable he felt. Finally, with a thud, he dropped to one knee and threw his arms around Chen Mo's thigh.
"Big brother! Teach me! Teach me!" Tang San shouted at the top of his lungs.
Chen Mo: "..."
Good grief. With all this racket, anyone who didn't know better would think I was bullying him.
"Little brother, stand up. Get up, and we'll talk." Chen Mo hurried to help him up.
"No!" Tang San clung tightly to Chen Mo's thigh, on the verge of tears. "If you don't teach me, big brother, I'm not getting up!"
As he spoke, he actually burst into loud sobs.
Chen Mo: "..."
Good grief. The Idiocy Aura really lives up to being an aura reserved for protagonists. It's seriously potent.
Chen Mo grumbled inwardly, but said with a perfectly straight face:
"Xiao Sanzi, we're brothers. Why stand on ceremony? Of course I'll teach you."
Hearing this, Tang San immediately stopped crying and looked up at Chen Mo with eager eyes.
Chen Mo cleared his throat and began spouting twisted logic.
"Think about it. Why does your big brother cultivate so quickly?"
Chen Mo said with a perfectly straight face, "Isn't it because I don't have any women around me?"
"Now look at yourself. Ever since you started school, you've had a little girl following you around, clinging to you all day. How could you be in the mood to cultivate?"