"The air's pretty nice here~"
"Boss Dai, there must be a ton of beauties at this academy. When the time comes we can… hehe."
"Hey! Why'd you kick me?" Ma Hongjun grimaced.
"Who the hell wants to pick up girls? I already have—cough, anyway, if you're going into heat, go on your own and don't drag me into it." Dai Mubai frantically shot him meaningful glances, hinting at Zhu Zhuqing behind them whose expression had turned dark.
"Tch~" Ma Hongjun chuckled.
"Zhuqing, you know I—" Dai Mubai began hurriedly.
"Stay away from me. You're disgusting."
Zhu Zhuqing's face was cold; her dark eyes held only disgust as she glanced at Dai Mubai, then went to stand with Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong.
"…"
Dai Mubai looked a little embarrassed and snorted.
"Boss Dai, I still think we should switch it up. Why cling to one tree and give up the whole forest? Those top-grade twins you had before—you just threw money at them to make them leave. You could've at least let your brother here benefit a little." Ma Hongjun squinted, almost drooling.
Before absorbing his immortal herb, he still looked like a somewhat sleazy chubby kid.
"You know nothing! She's my fiancée. If I don't marry her, won't I be letting another man pick my fruit?" Dai Mubai snorted.
His possessiveness was extremely strong. This was why he was willing to bend his pride and chase Zhu Zhuqing like some pathetic simp.
But her utter lack of regard really vexed him.
"Enough, quiet down!"
Flender looked back at them, eyes dangerous. When they all nodded obediently, he turned around again, his expression once more crafty and shrewd as he chatted and laughed with Bai Baoshan.
Although that foppish brat Xue Beng had spoiled their earlier mood, they were now under someone else's roof and couldn't be too demanding.
The Grandmaster had strongly insisted they seek an academy with sufficient resources to complete another "metamorphosis" of the Seven Monsters before the tournament. This "borrowing the chicken to lay eggs" idea was a win-win for both the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy and them.
"Because of the nature of the Academy, most students are royal or noble scions. There are plenty of wastrels too. Those two you met earlier—one of them was the current Fourth Prince, Xue Beng. Today's incident might change a few things."
Bai Baoshan, ever the clever one, caught a whiff of a shift in the wind and immediately started sighing and shaking his head to set up his later words.
"It's fine."
Flender had a bad feeling, but could only force a smile and play along.
…
On the other side.
Su Wen lounged on a recliner.
He popped a crystal-clear grape into his mouth. According to Bai Baoshan, this was a specialty from the Empire's southern border that only the Heaven Dou Emperor was normally entitled to. This entire basket had been specially granted from the royal family… just for him.
Luxurious flavor indeed—very high-end.
"Big Eye?"
Su Wen called in his spiritual sea.
"Mm-hmm?"
After a while, a giant Cthulhu-like eyeball floated up, blowing bubbles—glug glug glug. Compared to its own Poké Ball space, it preferred staying in Su Wen's spiritual sea. Of course, since the second sea of consciousness had been taken over by the Eye of Destiny and even Electrolux had been squeezed out, it had no choice but to remain here.
"If—and I do mean if…" Su Wen's eyes narrowed.
"In this world, I keep Qian Renxue alive, then pick a few others to train—without interfering with Tang San. Would it be possible to have a few gods cultivated in ten thousand years' time?"
"In theory, yes," Big Eye replied.
"But it won't be quick or easy. Even if you leave Tang San alone and let him steadily inherit the Asura God, saving Qian Renxue alone is no simple matter, let alone training a few more people up to godhood."
"The price required wouldn't be small." Big Eye hesitated.
"Stopping Qian Renxue's death is a small matter; the real terror is the chain reaction on the next ten thousand years of history. At minimum I'd need my peak strength plus the current level of time-space power I control, just to barely hide it from temporal correction…"
"So, in other words… it is possible?" Su Wen's eyes narrowed.
"Yes."
Big Eye gave a definitive answer.
"Now that's interesting." Su Wen grinned.
It seemed there was much more he could do.
Too bad he was currently hiding in the long river of time, wary of schemes from beings like the Asura God. He couldn't easily become a god himself. Otherwise he could just have this timeline's Su Wen ascend.
As for candidates to cultivate…
Qian Renxue was the best choice. A total love-brain; handled correctly, she could definitely be the one keeping Tang San busy in the God Realm ten thousand years later, buying him time.
As for the rest who could reach godhood—
Tsk…
Just as Su Wen was getting a headache over this, a noisy commotion came from the distance.
Su Wen glanced over.
Two figures were walking toward him from afar.
The leader was a well-fed middle-aged man in luxurious robes. He lowered his head slightly and whispered to the young man beside him, Xue Beng, "Though that gentleman looks young, you cannot judge him by his appearance. His methods are terrifying. I've inquired about it: a fearsome beast obeys his every command. Anyone who can control such a monster with ease—if he really beats you senseless, His Majesty probably won't even question it! If you have to act tough, do it to outsiders. At a critical moment, don't do anything stupid…"
"Uncle, don't worry!" Xue Beng said solemnly, totally different from his usual foppish self.
"I know my limits."
He was nervous too.
…
Inside the courtyard.
Prince Xue Xing bowed respectfully. "That's how it is. Poison Douluo sent us, saying you might be interested."
"Take your gifts back."
Su Wen waved his hand with an easy smile.
"But I am interested in this matter…"
He tapped the arm of his chair thoughtfully, then rose slowly.
With a wave of his hand, he twisted his features using Big Eye's spiritual power. His figure became taller and leaner. He was still handsome, but his features shifted and he looked much more mature—like a young man of twenty-three or twenty-four.
"As expected!"
Uncle and nephew exchanged glances, seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
This expert could change his appearance at will!
This age looked more reasonable, but they were certain it still wasn't his true form.
Su Wen, on the other hand, smiled faintly.
After all, if Tang San from ten thousand years later in the same timeline found out about this, he'd probably descend at any cost, even if it meant self-destruction, just to wipe Su Wen out. Before he'd built enough power in the God Realm, Su Wen intended to play it safe.
Everything was in place.
Only one thing was missing…
Just as the uncle and nephew were reeling, clouds surged up under their feet. A light, buoyant force lifted them, carrying them straight toward the mountaintop as if they were riding a cloud.
"This is… wind!!!"
Xue Beng's face turned ashen with shock. Using wind to such an extent—calling him a Titled Douluo wouldn't be an exaggeration.
The courtyard below shrank into the distance.
The mountaintop ahead drew close.
The two exchanged another look.
"We must take him as a teacher!"
Prince Xue Xing mouthed the words.
Xue Beng's eyes were filled with irrepressible excitement…