Chapter 6: Xun'er
On the mountain road, Xiao Bai walked leisurely toward the small lake.
Although there were two blood and tear marks on his face, Xiao Bai felt very good now—refreshed.
Suddenly, his face froze. He carefully glanced at Fu Zhao in the sea of consciousness and then whispered:
"Bah, children's words are innocent! I am not refreshed! I am not the Ice Emperor—how can I feel refreshed!"
Every time he felt refreshed, Fu Zhao would find something for him to do. It had become a conditioned reflex.
From now on, he was allergic to feeling refreshed.
When he came to the small lake, Xiao Bai squatted down and scooped up a handful of water to splash on his face. The cool lake water reinvigorated him.
"Refreshing!"
Then he scooped up a few more handfuls of water to wipe his face clean and looked at his reflection in the water.
"Huh? What is this?"
Xiao Bai looked closely at his reflection. There was a strange silver rune on his forehead.
He reached out and touched the center of his eyebrows, but there was no sensation. He wiped it with his hand again, but it didn't come off.
"Do I have some kind of special bloodline? Only the eight ancient clans have runes on their foreheads in the Douqi Continent! Am I also a descendant of one of the imperial clans?"
Xiao Bai was a little shocked, a little surprised. Was this... a hidden treasure?
You know, when Xiao Bai read the original book in his previous life, he opened it and saw the four words "hot-blooded young man" written on every page. He couldn't sleep anyway, so he read it carefully for half the night. Only then did he see the real meaning buried within: the whole book screamed four words—bloodline constitution!
Although there were the Jinglian and Huangquan clans in front, who knew whether they had some secret constitution or not?
"I don't remember what the imperial runes of each clan looked like. I've long forgotten that part of the original book..." Xiao Bai held his chin and stared at the silver rune reflected in the water in a daze.
"No! I have to hide it first. If this turns out to be the Soul Clan's imperial rune, that would be ridiculous!"
He tore a piece of cloth from his clothes and made a headband to cover the silver rune on his forehead.
If this really was the Soul Clan's imperial mark, how should he face Xun'er? And how would the Xiao family treat him in the future? Xiao Bai suddenly felt a little lost.
He stood still for a moment, then shook his head. He wasn't sure of anything yet. Besides, this might not be an imperial rune. It could just be a mutation caused by his own cultivation method.
Even if it was the Soul Clan's mark—well, things were already like this. He'd take it one step at a time! What else could he do? Should he find a knife and try to dig it out? He wasn't that foolish. At most, he'd become a wanderer with a heart set on the far horizon.
Putting these thoughts aside, Xiao Bai looked at his new look reflected in the water again. He nodded in satisfaction and said to the reflection:
"Wow, brother, are you kidding me? You're a powerhouse. Is it really necessary to be this handsome?"
"Pfft!"
A sweet laugh came from behind, and Xiao Bai froze instantly. When did this girl appear? Was she a relative of Cao Cao? She showed up right after he said that out loud.
Turning his head, he saw a graceful girl standing not far away.
Seeing Xiao Bai looking at her, she walked over with small steps.
The girl wore a light green dress, with delicate features and a quiet, elegant temperament. At this moment, her delicate face had curved eyebrows and smiling eyes. She placed her hands behind her back, leaned forward slightly, and looked down at Xiao Bai.
"Brother Xiao Bai, Xun'er seems to have heard someone being very narcissistic just now~"
Her tone became mischievous toward the end.
Xiao Bai looked at Xiao Xun'er's playful expression, his face darkened slightly, and he pretended to be angry:
"Little girl, you'd better forget what happened just now. Or I'll have to kill you to keep the secret. Brother Xiao Bai is known for turning on people fast!"
"Yeah~ Xun'er won't tell anyone. Hehehe!"
Xiao Xun'er was serious at first, even pumping her fists and nodding obediently, but then she couldn't help bursting into laughter again.
Xiao Bai laughed too when he saw her like this. He stood up and patted her head affectionately.
Xiao Xun'er squinted her eyes, enjoying the young man's affection. She asked softly:
"Brother Xiao Bai, did you break through?"
"Mhm. I had some insights last night and finally broke through." Xiao Bai nodded. He had applied two layers of soul seals: the core level, which masked his true seven-star cultivation, and the outer layer, which let others sense only a one-star Dou Zhe.
"You must have suffered a lot, right?"
Xiao Xun'er reached out to tidy up his messy robe, her eyes full of heartache. This boy had always worn a white robe since childhood—clean and tidy.
Now, the robe was covered with dust and scorch marks, like it had been struck by lightning. There were traces of blood too, and weariness between his brows.
When had she ever seen Xiao Bai in such a disheveled state? Who ends up like this after a breakthrough?
But she didn't press further. Xiao Xun'er knew his condition was special. She had once hinted that she wanted to get someone to examine him, but Xiao Bai rejected the idea.
Since then, she never brought it up again. She thought that once she became strong enough, she'd personally check for him. She believed Brother Xiao Bai wouldn't refuse her.
Looking at Xun'er's eyes full of worry, Xiao Bai felt a little conflicted.
To ease her mind, he decided to tell her a story—to fool her a bit. He put on a relaxed tone:
"Suffer? Not really. I just had a little fight with three guys."
"Huh~? So this wasn't because of the breakthrough? You fought? With who?"
Xiao Xun'er was puzzled at first, then a little angry. Her hands tugged tighter at his robe.
Who dared to bully her Brother Xiao Bai?
"Well, let me think. When I was breaking through last night, a bolt of lightning suddenly fell from the sky. Three humanoid lightning beings descended from the thunderclouds. They said my talent was unparalleled and that I had to pass a thunder trial to break through. They also said they were emperors and wanted to battle me at the same level. If I failed, it was life or death!"
Xiao Xun'er rolled her eyes at him coquettishly. She knew he was making things up, but she didn't expose him. She just wanted to hear how far he would go—treating it like a story.
"First, a humanoid lightning being jumped down from the thundercloud. His name was Wu Shi. He was known for the line: 'Who is the peak at the end of the emperor's road? Once you see Wu Shi, your path becomes empty.' He used an emperor-level weapon—the Wu Shi Bell."
"Hmph. 'Who is the peak at the end of the emperor's road?' What a big tone!" Xiao Xun'er snorted.
Xiao Bai knew she was grumbling about her ancestors, so he ignored her and continued.
"Wu Shi and I fought for three thousand rounds. The skies darkened, and the sun and moon disappeared. In the end, I narrowly won. Wu Shi sighed, 'Every generation has its own talents. Boy, you win,' and then turned into lightning and returned to the thunderclouds."
"Just then, a second humanoid lightning bolt leaped down and shouted, 'I'm here to fight you!' I took a closer look—he was extraordinary, with eight levels of flair just like me. My eyes lit up. I shouted, 'May I have your name?'"
"He called himself Ye Tiandi and claimed: 'I am the Emperor of Heaven and should suppress all enemies in the world.' He created his own sky-level fighting skill—Emperor of Heaven's Reincarnation Fist—and was invincible in the world."
"I couldn't accept that. Who am I? The future Thunder Emperor, master of all lightning, punisher of the wicked. How could I be suppressed by him? In front of me, who could claim invincibility!"
"Then what?" Xun'er asked with stars in her eyes, clearly captivated by his domineering tale.
In the shadows not far away, Ling Ying also pricked up his ears. He knew the kid was bragging, but the words stirred his blood. He even wanted to find someone to fight.
Quickly, he took out a pen and paper from his ring, frantically jotting down the words of the Bragging King, afraid he'd miss even a syllable—and lose precious bragging material for the future.
[ end of the chapter ]