Douluo Continent: Mirror Dance Across the Sky, Shattering the Gods

Page 23

Seeing that the boy was still confused, Haote patted his shoulder heavily with both hands and laughed loudly: "Don't be impatient, how old are you? You have a long road ahead of you! When you enter the advanced soul master academy and study systematically, you may be able to find out the information about this soul bone."

"College?"

Dongfang Jing looked up and asked, "Brother Haote, could you tell me more about it?"

"Okay, I've rested enough."

Haote glanced at the sky: "Let's talk as we walk. Speaking of academies, we have to mention the Continental Elite Tournament of Advanced Soul Master Academies."

Shuilan City

Icefield Hound Tavern.

The wooden signboard swayed gently in the breeze.

The place was bustling with noise and the aroma of beer filled the air.

"Brother, it's my treat! Thank you so much this time." Dongfang Jing filled Haote's glass with wine.

Haote waved his hand and laughed heartily: "We're all brothers, no need to be so polite. If you need anything in the future, just come to me, Haote!"

Dongfang Jing smiled and then asked, "What are your plans for the future, elder brother?"

Haote downed his beer in one gulp, paused for a moment, and then said with a serious expression, "Brother, to be honest, after learning that there are geniuses like you in the world, I also feel a little resentful."

He gripped the wine glass tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white: "So I've decided to take some time to reflect, and then go to the far north to gain some experience."

"The far north?" The boy frowned. "The one known as the forbidden zone for humans?"

"Yes, if you continue north along the frozen forest to its end, you'll reach the far north."

Seeing that Dongfang Jing seemed about to try to persuade him again, Haote raised his hand to interrupt, his gaze firm: "Brother, don't try to persuade me anymore, my mind is made up. If you want to become stronger, there's no such thing as a shortcut."

He refilled his glass, his tone growing more serious: "Take you, Little Mirror, for example. Although I don't know why your spirit ring age is so outrageous, and I won't ask too much—everyone has their own secrets. But I believe you must have suffered a lot to have your current strength. Am I wrong?"

Dongfang Jing shook his head slightly, speechless.

Haote is absolutely right.

Although I have the opportunity.

But they never slacked off in the slightest because of this.

The effort I put in was no less than anyone else's.

Thinking of this, he poured himself a cup of tea and solemnly held it up to Haote: "Brother, I offer this tea in place of wine, wishing you, elder brother, that your wish may be fulfilled and that you may return safely!"

"That's great! Let's do it!"

After parting ways with Hohhot,

Dongfang Jing walked alone on the way back to Qibao Inn.

As the sun set, the afterglow cast a long shadow over him.

This trip to the frozen forest was of great significance to him.

He witnessed the ugliness of human nature and also experienced the coldness and warmth of human relationships.

There are greedy individuals who, in their quest to seize the Soul Bone, would not hesitate to kill their own companions.

There are also people like Haote who always stay true to themselves.

This made Dongfang Jing think deeply—

Are humans inherently evil or inherently good?

Wang Kun, the owner of the Linfeng City Pharmacy, appears friendly on the surface but harbors malicious intentions and is therefore evil.

Those soul masters just now killed each other without hesitation for a soul bone, which was blatant evil.

In this world, the strong prey on the weak, and profit reigns supreme.

"Evil" seems to be a more universal and direct driving force.

Just as spirit beasts hunt for survival and humans plunder for desire, their essence is no different.

Protect your younger sister and continuously improve your strength.

Isn't it precisely to fight against this ubiquitous "evil"?

but

His adoptive parents, who were low-level Soul Masters, adopted him with kindness and love, giving him affection he had never dared to hope for. Is this "evil"?

His younger sister, Dongfang Yao, relied on, trusted, and protected him like a little sun, so pure that she was untainted by any impurities. Could this be "evil"?

Brother Haote, whose strength far surpasses his, keeps his promise, does not covet or rob, and even protects him on several occasions. Is this also considered "evil"?

Dongfang Jing gazed at the slowly setting sun, his eyes, like shattered mirrors, silently shifting.

He couldn't arrive at a binary answer.

But his state of mind has quietly changed.

Today is the first day of testing the waters for the new book.

Thank you again to all my dear readers for your recommendation votes and monthly tickets!

Chapter 23 First Encounter with Tianshui, Another Surprise to Dongfang Yao

The sun sets over Shuilan City.

The main street, however, remained bustling with people and noise.

Dongfang Jing lowered his head in deep thought, his mind still replaying a jumble of philosophical questions.

He unconsciously quickened his pace, and was about to bump into the person in front of him.

He snapped back to his senses, his pupils shrinking—

In a flash, he summoned his martial spirit, using the mirror image behind him to instantly change his position and narrowly avoid the attack.

'That was close.' He breathed a sigh of relief.

If it were an ordinary person who had been hit, a sincere apology would probably have been enough to resolve the matter.

But if you run into a nobleman or a difficult person, then you'll be in big trouble.

After regaining his composure, he looked at the person in front of him.

She was a girl with light blue hair, and judging from her height and the way she looked from behind, she was probably two or three years older than me.

Around her were several girls wearing the same uniform, who appeared to be a little older.

Although their faces were not seen, their posture and demeanor from behind revealed that they were quite beautiful.

Dongfang Jing immediately thought of the Tianshui Academy that Brother Haote had mentioned.

He glanced at it a couple more times before looking away.

'What kind of college is this? Why are the girls' uniforms made with such cheap material?'

He couldn't help but internally complain.

'But...the academy?'

Through his conversation with Haote, he gained a preliminary understanding of the Advanced Soul Master Academy.

He had to admit that he knew far too little about the world of Soul Masters.

To understand the origin of the eyeball soul bone, he must study systematically.

There's also the Soul Master Competition, where the winners are said to receive extremely generous rewards.

However, once they participate in the competition, they will inevitably show their strength and attract attention from all sides.

'Sigh, what am I thinking?'

How old am I now?

If I were to actually participate, it would be several years from now, so why think about it so much now?

Just as his thoughts drifted away—

In the group from Tianshui Academy ahead, a girl with dark green hair, who appeared to be the youngest, approached the girl with long light blue hair.

The two people look somewhat alike.

Shui Yue'er, holding her sister Shui Bing'er's arm, whispered, "Sister, look at that person behind us. He's wearing a mask and acting suspiciously. He doesn't look like a good person at all!"

"Shh! Don't gossip about others!" Shui Bing'er admonished in a low voice, her brows slightly furrowed.

Shui Yue'er pursed her lips, her eyes darting around, it was unclear whether she had heard anything or not.

She let go of her sister, skipped and hopped, and then grabbed the hand of a mature, beautiful woman at the front of the line, pouting, "Mom~ don't you think that man is suspicious? He's been following us. Why don't you teach him a lesson?"

The beautiful woman was speechless and nearly fainted from anger.

How could someone as intelligent as myself have given birth to such a wild and unruly daughter?

"Stop causing trouble!" she scolded lightly. "They're just going the same way, what's the problem?"

They were saying this when they happened to pass by the Qibao Inn.

As Dongfang Jing strode in, Shui Yue'er felt bored and deliberately raised her voice, sighing softly, "Alas~ I thought that my sister had finally met her true love."

"Moon! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll beat you up!" Shui Bing'er's ears turned slightly red, and she made a move to hit her.

Hehe, nyah nyah nyah~

Dongfang Jing, on the other side, was unaware of this little incident.

He knocked lightly on the door, then bent down and caught the 'small cannonball' that was flying towards him.

"elder brother!!"

"Eh~"

Just like in Winchester,

Dongfang Yao first took her brother's hand and carefully looked him over.

Seeing that he was not injured this time, he patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

But then, the tip of her nose twitched slightly.