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However, it was already late, and he didn't want to stay up all night. He decided to deal with this matter tomorrow.
Pulling the mosquito net closed, Chu Chengzhou prepared to sleep.
"Little Chu, you have to tell me!"
The intensely curious Xiao Wu had no intention of letting Chu Chengzhou off the hook. She hopped off her bed and hurried over to his.
"I already told you, it's nothing. Let's sleep!"
Chu Chengzhou waved his hand dismissively.
Staying up late was out of the question. He didn't want to become stronger in the future only to end up bald on top.
"Nothing? Hmph~, I just saw your soul ring's color dim!"
Xiao Wu placed her hands on her hips, speaking confidently at first but lowering her voice for the latter part.
Xiao Wu wasn't inherently dumb—she just preferred not to think too hard. She had seen everything Chu Chengzhou had done earlier and realized that he had likely created another self-developed soul skill—one capable of changing the color of soul rings.
Such a skill might be useless to ordinary soul masters, but for the two of them, it was incredibly valuable.
After all, their soul rings far exceeded the optimal ratio, making them look abnormal.
"What did you call me just now?"
"Little Chu… uh, Big Brother!"
Xiao Wu suddenly remembered and sweetly called him "Big Brother."
Seeing this, Chu Chengzhou nodded in satisfaction and said, "Little Sister, it's very late today. I'll teach you tomorrow!"
"Hmph~, if you don't teach me tomorrow, you're dead!"
The previously sweet smile vanished as Xiao Wu raised her fists and 'threatened' him menacingly.
Chu Chengzhou: "…"
Not bad—she was so adorably clueless.
"Little Chu, Little Chu, remember what we talked about last night? You promised to teach me that self-developed soul skill!"
Early the next morning, before Chu Chengzhou could even begin his daily meditation practice, Xiao Wu pestered him to teach her the self-developed soul skill that changed the color of soul rings.
"You forgot again? Who are you calling 'Little Chu'?"
Chu Chengzhou lightly tapped Xiao Wu's head without hesitation.
"Hmph~, Teacher Chu, hurry up and teach me!"
Rubbed the wrong way by the tap, Xiao Wu felt a bit annoyed. However, since she was asking for help from Little Chu Trash, she couldn't exactly act tough.
"Teacher Chu? Fine, teacher it is!"
Chu Chengzhou smacked his lips thoughtfully. Originally, he wanted the little rabbit to call him "Big Brother," but "teacher" worked too—as long as it wasn't "Little Chu," anything was acceptable.
"Listen carefully. This self-developed soul skill is called Control. It doesn't just change the color of soul rings.
Once mastered, it allows precise control over soul power and physical strength and can also suppress one's aura to some extent.
However, the effectiveness of this self-developed skill means it's difficult to cultivate. Are you sure you want to learn it?"
Chu Chengzhou asked Xiao Wu.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that the Control skill was difficult to cultivate.
He could instantly master it because the AFK panel allowed him to perfectly grasp upgraded skills immediately. If he had to learn it the traditional way, he could eventually figure it out—but who knows how long that would take?
"It can also suppress aura?!"
Xiao Wu exclaimed in surprise.
What worried Xiao Wu the most?
It wasn't her second soul ring, which was over nine hundred years old and tinged with purple. Rather, she feared encountering soul masters above level 80, who might see through her identity as a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast in human form.
But if she could suppress her aura, then there wouldn't be anywhere on the continent where Sister Xiao Wu couldn't go!
It seemed Little Chu Trash wasn't completely useless after all~! Putting aside everything else, he was quite skilled at creating self-developed soul skills!
"That's right! This self-developed soul skill, Control, was specifically created by me to gain control over my own power.
Soul rings exist as part of martial souls, representing the strength of one's martial soul. The intensity of one's aura is also a reflection of personal power. If you can perfectly control your own power, you can naturally change the color of your soul rings and suppress your aura."
Chu Chengzhou shamelessly appropriated the results of his cheat-enhanced abilities.
Though claiming it was self-created wasn't entirely wrong. Without him initially creating the gray-tier Control, how could there be a yellow-tier Control skill now?
"Amazing!"
Hearing this, Xiao Wu's big, adorable eyes filled with admiration, and she gave Chu Chengzhou a thumbs-up.
"Just realize how amazing it is! Study hard—I believe in you!"
Hearing Xiao Wu's heartfelt praise, Chu Chengzhou nodded in satisfaction and patted her shoulder encouragingly.
Seeing Chu Chengzhou act like such a "good older brother," black lines appeared on Xiao Wu's forehead.
He got cocky after just one compliment—it was still Little Chu Trash after all!
---
Time flew by, and three and a half years passed in the blink of an eye.
The Balak Kingdom was located in the southern part of the Tian Dou Empire, bordering the Fasinuo Province.
Though called a kingdom, its area was only three-quarters the size of Fasinuo Province. It was subordinate to the Tian Dou Empire and was one of the empire's four kingdoms.
Because the Balak Kingdom was in the south and directly bordered the Star Luo Empire, it had the strongest military among the four kingdoms of the Tian Dou Empire. It was considered the empire's most important gateway.
Within the Balak Kingdom, there were two most important cities. One was Balak City, the capital and political and economic center of the entire kingdom.
The other city was Suotuo City, located in the heart of the fertile Limal Plain, known as the "Granary of Balak."
Both cities were heavily guarded and were the most critical areas of the entire kingdom.
That evening, a carriage sped toward Suotuo City along the main road.
"Whoa~"
As they approached the city gates, the middle-aged coachman pulled the reins of the decade-old scaled horse.
Soon, the carriage slowly came to a stop not far from the western gate of Suotuo City.
"Two soul master adults, we've arrived at Suotuo City!"
After stopping the carriage, the middle-aged coachman called out to the passengers inside.
"Are we here?"
Immediately, two teenagers—a boy and a girl—stepped out of the carriage.
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged coachman pointed toward the entrance of Suotuo City.
Following the direction of the coachman's finger, Chu Chengzhou saw the bustling city gates. Above them hung a large plaque inscribed with the words "Suotuo City."
"Uncle, here's the rest of our fare."
Chu Chengzhou took out a gold soul coin from the spatial jade stone hanging around his neck and handed it to the middle-aged coachman.
"Hehe~, thank you both for supporting my business. I wish you success in becoming Title Douluos soon!"
The middle-aged coachman happily accepted the gold soul coin and threw in a rainbow-flavored compliment for good measure.
How could he not be happy? When they departed from Noding City, he had already received one gold soul coin, and now he got another upon arriving at Suotuo City—far more than he usually earned from short trips.
As for becoming a Title Douluo soon?
If they had given him three gold soul coins, even divine-level status would have been fine.
No, even one more silver soul coin will do!
Waving goodbye, Chu Chengzhou led Xiao Wu into Suotuo City, following the flow of people.
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