In the middle of the night, she opened her eyes and rose from bed. By the time she came back to her senses, she was already standing beside Zhou Yang's bed.
Looking at Zhou Yang, utterly unguarded and sleeping in lazy relaxation, Yali's gentle face took on a relieved smile.
For her, these past few days had undoubtedly been unforgettable and thrilling.
It had been so long since she had experienced a life like this-peaceful, comfortable, and able to stay by his side.
The incident at the Spirit Ascension Platform had made her completely certain that he was him.
Although his timeline and theirs did not line up, with a considerable gap between them, being able to meet again and start anew was already enough for Yali.
Taking a silver-white Ridewatch from her sleeve, she cradled it in her palm and held it beside Zhou Yang's sleeping face, as though she could match the face beneath the portrait printed on the Ridewatch to his.
In the past, she might not have understood what purpose this Ridewatch he had once given her served.
But after seeing the Ridewatch on Zhou Yang's belt when he transformed today, she understood.
The identical portrait on the Ridewatch left no room for doubt.
"Did you give this to me specifically so I could find you again?"
"Even though, even without those things, I could have..."
Just as Yali sank into nostalgia, the silver-white Ridewatch touched Zhou Yang and unexpectedly gave off a glimmer of light. Carrying a strange power, it was drawn straight into his body.
"The Ridewatch was..."
Yali was somewhat startled. It had happened so quickly that she had not even managed to react.
Her hand was now completely empty, as though proving that what had just happened was real.
Fortunately, the disturbance had been slight, and Zhou Yang showed no sign of waking. Yali glanced at him and gently stroked his face, her beautiful eyes growing even softer.
"As I thought, you really are him."
In the morning, Zhou Yang woke from his dreams, stretched at length, and began his morning practice of the phantom yawning technique.
Just like a certain God King who trained his purple cosmetic contacts every day, as a grandmaster of phantom yawning, practice related to yawning was indispensable.
He rubbed his eyes, got up and changed, then set about preparing breakfast.
After making a simple breakfast for Na'er and Yali, he left a note and headed straight out.
Yesterday, he had met Leng Yaozhu and taken her as his teacher. Today, he was preparing to report to her formally.
She had said that she had something important to give him, and had even guaranteed that it was related to him.
This had also piqued Zhou Yang's curiosity. Honestly, he did not place much importance on cultivating Soul Power on the Douluo Continent. With his cultivation speed, even the present-day Yun Ming probably could not have matched him at his age.
He only needed to cultivate step by step, and his cultivation as a Soul Master would reach the place that belonged to him.
What he relied on in battle was the power of Kamen Riders. With that as his foundation, there really were very few things that could interest him.
After all, he was not Tang Wulin. He did not have eighteen Golden Dragon King seals within him, nor would he explode and die if he did not cultivate.
His need for heavenly treasures was not that great.
[Connect]
The newly appeared ring on his hand performed its function, connecting to another space and summoning a crimson magic circle.
As the magic circle expanded, a silver-white motorcycle with a ruby emblem on its front appeared. It was none other than Kamen Rider Wizard's ride.
"Heh heh~ Let's go."
Since this was a new power, how could he not have some fun with it and get familiar with it?
He twisted the throttle, and the silver-white motorcycle let out a loud roar. Like a sleeping beast awakening, its engine unleashed astonishing speed.
Before long, he arrived in front of the Spirit Pagoda.
The staff inside had clearly received word as well. Upon seeing Zhou Yang, they approached with solemn expressions and escorted him upstairs.
The moment she saw Zhou Yang, Leng Yaozhu put on a smile. The serious expression she usually wore before other people's cameras was nowhere to be seen, leaving only tenderness toward her disciple.
"Good morning, little Yang. I didn't expect you to come so early."
"Mm. After all, Teacher, you said you would bring out something related to my Martial Soul. I'm rather curious."
At his words, the smile on Leng Yaozhu's face grew even brighter.
"Ah, that. I think you should recognize it."
Yesterday, after learning about Zhou Yang, she had rushed straight back to the Leng family and retrieved the item she had hidden in the family's most important treasury.
Then she had hurried back without stopping. Fortunately, the decision she had made was not wrong.
She took out an exquisite wooden box and opened the lid.
Zhou Yang's originally relaxed expression shattered, replaced immediately by surprise he could hardly conceal.
His pupils contracted and his mouth fell open. At that moment, he was utterly stunned and excited.
"Why do you have this Ridewatch?"
Before him was unmistakably a black Ridewatch bearing a relief of a Rider.
However, this watch was very different from the Ridewatches he had previously used to transform.
Though its shape was roughly the same as the Zi-O Ridewatch, its casing was pure black, bearing a gilded, engraved portrait design-unmistakably the face of a Kamen Rider.
And this face was intimately connected to Zhou Yang.
Zi-O II. This was his Ridewatch, except that its other half was missing.
"After seeing your transformation yesterday, that belt and Ridewatch of yours reminded me of this Ridewatch I obtained by chance all those years ago."
"Given how unusual and mysterious it is, it probably holds a great secret."
"Unfortunately, until the day before yesterday, I still couldn't figure out what it did."
"But after seeing you, I understood."
Holding the wooden box, she offered it to Zhou Yang.
"I think you should need it more."
Looking at Leng Yaozhu, Zhou Yang was somewhat surprised. He had not expected her to give him the Ridewatch so readily. He had originally thought there would be several twists and turns involved.
After all, he and Leng Yaozhu had only met yesterday, and he had only just taken her as his teacher, yet she could pour everything she had into him without hesitation.
He had also taken stock of the resources in the ring yesterday. They were all treasures worth a fortune, and their value was probably enough for an ordinary person to cultivate all the way to Titled Douluo.
"Teacher..."
"You're my disciple. How could I possibly not give you the best?"
"But you're just giving it to me like this? Aren't you curious?"
"I certainly am quite curious... but everyone has their own secrets. Those sets of armor are your secret. I won't pry too much."
The tenderness on Leng Yaozhu's face seemed to melt like water, flowing invisibly into Zhou Yang's heart and stirring ripple after ripple.
"...Thank you. Teacher, I will never forget your kindness in nurturing me, not even when all my teeth have fallen out."
After a long while, a serious expression appeared on Zhou Yang's face as he looked at Leng Yaozhu.
Ever since coming to this world, he had been receiving all kinds of help.
Grandma Zhou, Tang Ziran's family, Yali, Leng Yaozhu...
He felt that he had to do something. Although he was not exactly a good person, at the very least, he could not let this goodwill down.
This was a king's promise. He would do something in this world.