Time flew, and three years passed before he knew it. Zhou Yang had also finished his studies at Red Mountain Academy early.
Over those three years, thanks to the "wild growth" of the Douluo Continent, his height had shot up from 1.2 meters to around 1.5 meters early on. Among ordinary children his age, he stood like a crane among chickens, exceptionally conspicuous.
At the same time, he had lost his childish air, trading it for a cool, handsome face.
Although his former innocence and cuteness were gone, a stat monster's powerful stats would always shift to the right places. Wherever he went, he was quite popular with girls and aunties alike.
Zhou Yang's cultivation had kept pace as well. He had cultivated from his original rank ten to rank twenty-nine, and had even broken through to rank thirty a few days earlier. He simply had yet to awaken his third ring.
With his control over his knightly powers, he usually presented Dragreder as his Spirit Soul in other people's eyes.
As for the Spirit Soul he had publicly purchased from the Spirit Pagoda, he had stored it inside a blank Ridewatch he had made by hand.
The unique power of Spirit Souls made Zhou Yang feel that it could be put to use, researching it to create special warriors for his subordinates to use.
After all, having awakened the Power of Ohma, he had already stepped onto the path of becoming a king.
As a king, how could he not have a few subordinates of his own?
Even if the research failed, he could use the Power of Ohma to make them by hand directly. It had solved so many troublesome problems for him. That all-purpose power really was so very Ohma!
Meanwhile, as Zhou Yang grew, Tang Wulin grew alongside him.
Although Tang Wulin was still somewhat childish, she gradually began to show her girlish side, growing toward adolescence and usually brimming with lively exuberance.
Over those three years, Zhou Yang had carried through his will of domination and thoroughly beaten his way through Red Mountain Academy.
Although there was some suspicion of bullying children and smurfing, our Demon King had said it himself.
"No matter how small the fish, they're still fish. If they're fish, you can blast them."
He felt no shame whatsoever. Once he missed these few years, he would never get to experience this again.
Under Zhou Yang's unwavering will of domination, Red Mountain Academy gradually established an entirely new order. Anyone who wanted to use survival of the fittest as an excuse for bullying was invariably dealt with by Zhou Yang.
In its place came a purer will. Over those three years, the campus, which should have seen occasional fights, no longer saw any incidents of the strong bullying the weak.
"Tell me, what are the five great knightly oaths?"
On the eve of graduation, Zhou Yang posed his question to the children several years below him.
Looking at Zhou Yang onstage, the children below raised both hands, tears streaming down their faces, utterly unwilling to part with him (QAQ)/.
"One, never act on impulse."
"Two, learn to talk to someone when you encounter difficulties."
"Three, never waste food or make your family cry."
"Four, once hurtful words leave your mouth, you can never take them back."
"Five, never forget what you were like without a Martial Soul."
"Excellent! Such spirit!"
Hearing them, Zhou Yang smiled especially brightly. It seemed his training had produced pretty good results.
However, the one most deeply influenced seemed to be none other than Tang Wulin beside him.
Watching the girl take the lead below, shouting particularly loudly, Zhou Yang could not help chuckling.
Their relationship had also gradually grown closer, and they had become very good friends. Zhou Yang simply treated Tang Wulin as a younger sister who needed to be educated and guided step by step.
Watching the blank sheet that was Tang Wulin being educated, step by step, into someone with sound values undoubtedly left Zhou Yang quite satisfied.
Although he did not consider himself a good person, the connection between teaching and personal character was like Yu Xiaogang's connection to Tang San's path to godhood: nonexistent.
But even if he had never eaten pork, had he not seen pigs run? His nine years of compulsory education were at least ahead of the Douluo Continent's education.
Combined with all the different Kamen Rider stories he told Tang Wulin-the four great infamous works excluded-Tang Wulin at least knew what was good and what was bad.
Well, although there were special examples of "loving fathers and filial sons" like the ever-defeated Gou, the Game Master, and 01, that-did not matter!
At least, judging by the current results, Zhou Yang could proudly declare:
I raised a normal, good kid. (Proud.)
There was just one thing that puzzled him during this time-
Na'er had not appeared as she would have in the normal course of events, either.
Although it was a little strange, Zhou Yang did not particularly mind. After all, even Tang Wulin had turned into a girl. What was so strange about Na'er changing a little, not having an episode of amnesia, and not running over here?
Having no Na'er was actually a good thing. One less complication was better than one more.
Your bro Zhou Yang would adapt.
Although he felt some pity for the soul beasts Qiangu Dongfeng had slaughtered to extinction, that did not mean he would approve of the Silver Dragon King's earth-shattering displays of "great wisdom."
Pity was pity, but if that empty head of hers really came up with some idea of laying hands on little Wulin, she had better prepare to face the Demon King's twenty-hit Rider Kick combo!
Today was a special day, a fine day when Tang Wulin had managed to save enough cash and break through to rank ten.
Tang Wulin arrived at the home of her lifelong enemy-the Spirit Pagoda.
The two had come to the Spirit Pagoda for no other reason than the matter of a Spirit Soul.
As in the normal course of events, Tang Wulin had taken Mang Tian as her master. Although she had been somewhat reluctant at first, after hearing about the earnings and benefits forging could bring, as well as the related methods of maintenance for an unchanging adamantine body, she had thrown herself into it without hesitation.
After all, with a power-type Stand like the Golden Dragon King, who else but her was suited for this?
The result was only to be expected. With Tang Wulin's talent, her naturally vigorous vitality, and her powerful physique, this sort of work was undoubtedly the best fit for her.
So she had worked at it for three years, finally saving thirty thousand federal coins to go pull for a Spirit Soul at the Spirit Pagoda.
When Tang Wulin said she had saved enough money, Zhou Yang accompanied her to do her pulls.
Looking at the virtually unchanged lower ranks of Eastsea City's Spirit Pagoda, it felt as though nothing had changed at all. It had been three years. Those poor rank-and-file employees could only toil without complaint, relying on their own years of effort to climb just a little higher. How tragic... yes, he was talking about the Spirit Pagoda.
Seeing Tang Wulin looking so nervous and apprehensive, Zhou Yang could not help marveling at how twisted the Tang family's upbringing was. It was practically a legacy of perversion. Tang Hao had fed hot porridge to the one-year-old Tang San, only to later make Tang San cook for him instead. What a trash Titled Douluo.
As for Tang San... he could not even be bothered to talk about those things. The Yin Yang Love Querying Valley, splitting one daughter into three corpses, and all that.
Then came Tang Wulin. Her grandfather was right here, yet she still had to suffer every hardship allotted to her. If she had not had parents who cared for him, an ordinary person subjected to such a devastating blow would probably have been scarred for life.
When Tang Wulin heard that Spirit Souls had to be obtained through gacha pulls, it did not match her expectations. But the impossibly astronomical price of a hundred-year Spirit Soul ultimately crushed her sturdy backbone, leaving her only able to look at the Spirit Soul drawing machine with a gambler's hope.
All he could say was that gacha was bad civilization. Gambling dogs did not deserve a house.
And, unsurprisingly, the result was clearly a white drop.
A ten-year white rabbit dropped... huh? A rabbit?!
!? A bunny?!
Was this... right?
Somewhat unexpectedly, Tang Wulin had not gotten that little grass snake as anticipated.
A tiny Spirit Soul orb dropped from the capsule machine like a toy, landing beside Tang Wulin's feet before rolling and rolling to a stop beside them.
Plain white fluff appeared with a faint trace of Soul Power, pitifully sticking its tongue out at Tang Wulin, but it could not comfort that disappointed heart.
Unfortunately, this was a defective ten-year specimen, inferior even to ordinary soul beasts. It could be called one of the very worst even among white-quality cards.
Pouring everything from three years of hard work into this, only to receive such a result and such a blow, would have been difficult for anyone to bear.