Seeing this, Zhou Yang sighed helplessly. At the sight of Tang Wulin looking so dejected, he simply reached out and rubbed her little head, speaking softly, his ordinary words carrying a rare touch of gentleness.
"This Spirit Soul isn't very good. Let's go exchange it."
A card appeared out of thin air in Zhou Yang's hand, and he waved it.
"I've got a fair bit of money. Just think of it as my investment in you."
In this era, where technology was particularly close to that of his previous life, opportunities were everywhere. Naturally, Zhou Yang had made full use of his advantages, relying on his memories from before his rebirth and his far-ahead-of-the-times perspective to develop businesses and earn money in this world.
Although doing all this as a child was somewhat difficult, Grandma Zhou always had some strange connections that could help him.
This had also ensured smooth sailing for Zhou Yang's journey of plagiarizing works in this world.
This black card was both a gesture of friendship and part of an investment.
A far-sighted investment could deepen his relationship with Tang Wulin and bring her aboard his ship. Perhaps one day, he really would witness Tang Wulin casting off her cowardice with his own eyes.
However, from Tang Wulin's perspective, it was an entirely different picture. She had heard about Zhou Yang's background as a member of a fallen hero's family, and after spending time with him, she understood even more clearly what this black card meant.
Tang Wulin's eyes reddened at once and grew moist, an uncontrollable swell of happiness and guilt rising within her.
She was happy that Zhou Yang was willing to help her like this, yet guilty that she had made her most important friend make such a choice.
Having a big brother like Zhou Yang by her side was probably the greatest blessing of her life.
Normally, once the plot reached this point, Tang Wulin ought to accept it.
But things did not go as Zhou Yang expected. The answer he received was-
"But I refuse!"
"What?!"
"This is money your grandma left you, right, Brother Yang? It's far too precious."
"I don't want to use this money. You should spend it on yourself."
As for whether Tang Wulin wanted it, naturally, she wanted it very much.
But Little Wulin still refused with a firm mind of her own, not only because this favor was too great to bear, but also because she felt she already owed him enough.
Throughout these years at school, she had lived under Zhou Yang's protection.
On the Douluo Continent, where virtually zero importance was attached to moral education, bullying the weak was extremely common even in a small academy.
Especially at an elementary academy, having a Martial Soul and not having one were two entirely different things.
Looking back at the era of Douluo I, bullying existed even among the working students themselves, and after choosing a representative, they then had to resist the nobles' bullying.
The will of bullying really had spread far and wide across the Douluo Continent.
Not to mention that rule passed down from a certain God King to the present day-it was practically the Douluo Continent's second law.
As for what the first law was? Didn't everyone know? Had they not seen that the Douluo world's underlying code was being hopelessly love-brained?
Back then, Tang Wulin had rather androgynous looks and a somewhat boyish personality. Although she could get along with the other children at first, the conflicts caused by differences in Martial Souls and talent, combined with the example set by the adults, gradually influenced the children in subtle ways.
The will of bullying might not exist, but the will of bullying not existing was rather unlikely.
Little Wulin had encountered awful things in the end. Her Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul still subjected her to others' scorn and ridicule.
Not to mention that she now lived in this world with an entirely different identity. All sorts of awful things began happening around her: graffiti on her desk, missing books, and even the possibility of artificial rain when she went to the restroom.
As a girl, Tang Wulin naturally wanted to fight back, but she did not know what she should do.
Fortunately, Zhou Yang appeared.
Through his own strength alone, he had forcibly bullied three whole grades and climbed to the pinnacle of the will of bullying.
Whether they were classmates, upperclassmen, or even outstanding students who had already broken through to one ring and were to be recommended for intermediate academies, anyone who dared bully the weak at gunpoint would first receive his baptism of bullying, beaten so badly they practically pissed and shit themselves.
Whenever Tang Wulin saw people at school bullying the weak, she always felt uncomfortable and thought it was wrong. Her parents had taught her not to be a bad child: she could fight back, but she should not bully others.
Yet a Soul Master's education taught that the strong preyed on the weak. This left her unable to find her bearings, feeling only that her worldview was being pulled in contradictory directions.
But everything that confused and bewildered her found its answer in Zhou Yang's every word and action.
It could be said that Zhou Yang was the goal and direction Tang Wulin strove toward.
Both what she learned from him and the help she received made Tang Wulin feel indebted, compounded by the inferiority rooted deep in her bones over her Martial Soul and talent.
As a result, she lacked the courage to accept this kindness from Zhou Yang.
Seeing that Tang Wulin refused to accept his kindness no matter what, Zhou Yang sighed helplessly.
Had I taught her too well? Refusing food tossed to her in contempt?
You've really grown, Sasu... Little Wulin.
He was both pleased that Tang Wulin could show such a firm side and troubled by it.
"Then let me take a look at it."
"Okay."
Without the slightest reluctance, Tang Wulin handed Zhou Yang the "thirty thousand" that represented everything she owned.
Zhou Yang had originally wondered whether this Spirit Soul, which differed from the original storyline, had anything special about it-whether it might be the handiwork of a certain Hammer, intended as a cheat for Tang Wulin.
But after examining it, he found nothing special.
It was just an ordinary white rabbit with delicious meat, still far inferior to a Soft Bone Charming Rabbit.
"What a shame."
Hearing this, Tang Wulin lowered her head even further.
Realizing he had said the wrong thing, Zhou Yang could only find an excuse and walk away awkwardly.
In reality, he headed to the counter and straightforwardly purchased a hundred-year Spirit Soul, Jade Spirit Ink Bamboo. It was a life-type Spirit Soul, and it also possessed the most important thing of all... toughness superior to Gu Zhu's (stifling laughter). It could be called the closest match for Tang Wulin's Martial Soul.
As someone who lived for amusement, Zhou Yang's favorite everyday activity was finding entertainment, and in his previous life, this had also led him to pick up secondhand knowledge about plenty of things.
There was naturally no dispute that Blue Silver Grass was a trash Martial Soul, but the Blue Silver Emperor's development had undoubtedly been ruined by Grandmaster's teaching. That point had long since been criticized to death.
For a tiny, fragile yet endlessly regenerating plant-type Martial Soul, shouldn't the attribute most worth adding be life, specializing in growth?
What the hell was adding poison supposed to accomplish? Why were plants poisonous? So they would not get eaten and could keep growing.
Not to mention that Martial Souls specializing in poison already emphasized the poison attribute themselves. Was Blue Silver Grass supposed to absorb poison Soul Rings just because it was so weak that it dabbled in everything?
Poison-attribute Martial Soul: You can't out-poison me. Believe it or not?
Abandoning the roots to chase the branches, throwing away its advantages to play with poison-did its attribute sheet say it was a poison type?
Had you ever seen an Ironclad playing Hunter cards?
It was practically an insult to the fourth-strongest thing in the entire game!
Clearly, its ceaseless regeneration and sea-like capacity to embrace a hundred rivers could have given Blue Silver Grass promising prospects in recovery. Instead, it ended up like a poison longsword build: no physical damage when it needed physical damage, no poison when it needed poison. In the end, it failed to deal enough damage and had its defenses broken like a maggot.
After buying the Spirit Soul, Zhou Yang took it straight into the crapper without hesitation.
It was back. That familiar feeling was back.
Transforming in the crapper was an essential part of the tokusatsu experience. This was also recorded in Ultraman Zett.
Bzzz-
Amid a buzzing sound, a golden bee emerged from a ring of golden spatial ripples and flew into Zhou Yang's hand.
"Henshin!"
Once again, the exclusive golden-light height-enhancing effects combined with interwoven yellow, silver, and black to construct a heavy suit of armor.
"Cast Off!"
The Masked Form had barely appeared for an instant before Zhou Yang mercilessly blew off its armor, revealing the sleek yellow, silver, and black armor beneath.
"Clock Up!"
Zhou Yang slid his hand across his belt and activated Clock Up mode, moving at a speed ordinary people could not possibly perceive to swap the Spirit Soul orb beside Tang Wulin before returning once more.
Clock Up could be called the fastest acceleration system in the Kamen Rider series.
Its performance was almost like stopping time, making it utterly impossible to get a handle on. Excluding Toei's various setting-breaking pieces of crap made for Rider crossover battles, most non-acceleration methods of countering Clock Up basically relied on plot-induced defeat.
It could be said that unless the opponent was also an acceleration-type Rider, there was basically no answer to it.
Zhou Yang had also always looked forward to encountering a rainy-day battle of his own.
"Just who will be the lucky one?"
After making the swap, Zhou Yang left the Spirit Pagoda with Tang Wulin.