For ordinary eyes, Blue Silver Grass had always been trash. A worthless martial spirit, incapable of attack, weak as weeds underfoot. Tang San had believed it himself once, leafing through Notting's library of dusty tomes, asking skeptical tutors again and again. The answer was always the same: Blue Silver Grass can never fight.
But facts smashed doubt like iron hitting stone.
With a single spray of the shimmering liquid gifted by Subei, the vines he summoned grew harder, sharper, almost metallic. His Blue Silver Grass—reviled by all—had mutated into a weapon that could pierce bark like a spear.
That alone was proof enough.
Admiration burned hotter in Tang San's chest. This boy… this teacher of mine. He knows what no one else does. Knowledge greater than the Master's theories. Beauty that keeps me awake. Unless I saw him safe with my own eyes, I could never rest easy.
Subei only watched him calmly, lips quirking faintly. "That mist you used just now—it was refined from the essence of a thousand trees and grasses, carefully distilled over a year. Remember this: not a single drop should be wasted. Think of Douluo's forests—every drop is the sacrifice of hundreds of plants. You must respect it, cherish it."
Tang San's face flushed with both shame and awe. "At such a young age, Teacher already thinks of the world's ecology… while I, foolish, hadn't even grasped the principle of nourishing one's spirit. I'm trash compared to you!"
He swallowed hard, then blurted boldly, "Teacher, forgive me for asking… what is your cultivation?"
Subei tilted his head, tone airy. "Level fifteen. A soul master, with the Dragon God's Gate as my martial spirit. Follow me sincerely, and you will come to understand."
Tang San nearly staggered. "Fif…teen?!"
Cultivation at six or seven years old was supposed to crawl like a snail. Many could not even reach first rank in a year. But Subei? Already level fifteen. Invincible among peers. Such a figure… truly, I cannot measure him.
But Tang San also knew: strength could not be taught, but knowledge could. And for him, Subei's knowledge was everything.
—
By the time they crossed back onto Lake Island, twilight began to paint the water in streaks of rose. From the ivy bridge stretched toward the fairy-tale house, Xiao Wu bounced happily, waving her slender arms.
"Brother! Godmother's cooked dinner—we're waiting just for you!"
She sprinted with rabbit-like lightness, leaping straight into his arms and nuzzling against his chest. Her bright eyes narrowed into crescents. "Brother, kiss~"
Subei coughed awkwardly. With Tang San trailing behind in odd clothes, he leaned and murmured in her ear, "Xiao Wu, behave. We have a guest. Later tonight, okay?"
Her pout came instantly. But then her gaze slipped past Subei—toward Tang San—and she froze.
"…Hey? You look familiar…" Her ears twitched as vivid memory came back. "I know you! You're that disciple from Notting—the one who clung to that bad uncle! Why are you here? And—why are you dressed like a girl?! Are you a pervert?!?!"
Her shrill disbelief echoed through the forest.
Tang San's face stiffened. His heart twisted as he watched her cling to Subei. Yet—the Su Sect's rules were etched clearly in his heart now. Keep distance from Teacher's women. Respect her always. So, with heavy composure, he bowed his head solemnly.
"Disciple Tang San greets… Shiniang."
Xiao Wu blinked. Her cheeks reddened furiously. "Wh-what did you just call me?!"
Tang San nodded respectfully, eyes lowered. "From today I am Teacher Subei's disciple. You are close to him, and so—I affirm you as Shiniang. One day as teacher, lifelong devotion. From now on, Teacher Subei is whom I respect most."
Xiao Wu's head spun, heart pounding oddly. "W…wait a second. What did you just call me again?"
"Shiniang."
"Say it again!" she demanded, hugging closer to Subei with a smug grin.
"Shiniang."
"Yes! Once more!"
"Shiniang."
"Beautiful shout~" Xiao Wu practically purred, eyes shining with delight. She threw a triumphant glance up at Subei's face. "Little San, remember this: from today on I am Teacher's only Shiniang. The only one!"
Subei: "…"
Tang San: "…"
If he were honest, Subei wanted nothing more than to summon a camera, snap this absurd scene, and post it instantly online. Tang San in women's clothes, kowtowing on the forest path, Xiao Wu jealously declaring herself Shiniang? That picture alone could dominate hot search for months.
But no such devices existed here.
What did exist, however, was a complication.
Killing Tang San early had sometimes seemed the cleanest approach. But watching his sincerity—his unfeigned kneeling, his pious tears, his quiet acceptance of sect rules—Subei's impulse softened. For now, it wasn't in him to kill such blind devotion. Better to shape him. Sharpen him.
After all… in this Douluo's chaos yet to come, wouldn't it be fun to flip even the main character into my disciple?
He smiled faintly to himself.
—
Across the lake, within the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's hall, shadows trembled. Yu Yuanzhen and Yu Luomian bent over fresh scrolls delivered by imperial hand, their brows locked tight.
"Brother," Luomian murmured after long silence, "are you certain this intelligence from the palace is true? A boy of seven… suppressing a Hanoverian warhorse with thousands of years of cultivation? A noble breed! Surely it is exaggeration?"
Yu Yuanzhen's massive figure straightened. His voice was implacable, proud. "I'm no fool. I paid dearly for this report—from the very hands that serve Crown Prince Xue Qinghe. They saw the child themselves. His martial spirit manifested with dragon's head, fish body—an aura so great even that thousand-year Hanover trembled, unmoving."
Luomian sucked his teeth, uneasy. "But—a child, suppressing millennium beasts? Impossible. Perhaps against century souls, yes, I can believe. But—"
"You're blind," Yu Yuanzhen barked. His eyes gleamed like lightning. "Why else would the Crown Prince himself personally conceal the child's existence? Why else draft edicts routed through Erlong, lest even I learn of him? Think, Second Brother!"
He clenched a fist, lightning crackling faintly across his arm. "They fear him rightly. This child is no ordinary prodigy. Even Tiandou's crown and Wuhun's Pope may circle him like wolves."
Luomian exhaled, helplessly forcing a laugh. "Ha… so, this was why you insisted on 'attending' that royal ceremony. You wanted your own eyes on him."
Yu Yuanzhen's prideful silence spoke everything.
At last, he jabbed a finger toward the forest line. "Those two Hanover horses Erlong brought back? They graze just there. If you wish certainty, then we go ourselves. We'll see what terrifies a war beast so."
The brothers shared one glance, storms sparking in their eyes—then they vanished into the jungle, their titanic auras shredding the night air like wind before just-born thunder.