In the end—
Zhou Qing didn't tell Alice that Su Yuntao and Sisi had already broken up, and he also stopped Xiao Wu, who nearly blurted it out.
After leaving the Nuoding Guild, Xiao Wu asked in confusion, "Why didn't you let me say it? Wouldn't it be great if lovers ended up together?"
"Come on, Tao-ge just had a breakup. You've got to give him some time to process it, right?"
Zhou Qing rolled his eyes. "Besides, Miss Alice was always secretly in love with him. She never confessed before. If she suddenly declared her feelings now, Tao-ge would just find it weird."
"Hm, that's true. Looks like Tao-ge really is like his martial soul, the Lone Wolf—he's going to be a solitary wild wolf for a long time," Xiao Wu agreed with Zhou Qing.
That comment made Zhou Qing once again reflect on how martial souls influenced people's personalities.
No, if you consider Su Yuntao's Lone Wolf martial soul, it's not just influence it's practically a curse of eternal singleness!
Although that may sound exaggerated, considering that martial souls often have their own instincts…
Take, for example, Yu Xiaogang's Luo Sanpao, which almost seems to have a mind of its own, or the Radiant Goddess Butterfly that actively seeks out the most beautiful person on the continent as its host.
Though these are special cases, the fact that these soul masters still need to absorb soul rings to gain soul skills suggests their martial souls, despite differences in "quality," share a common fundamental essence...
While pondering this, Zhou Qing and Tang San followed Xiao Wu to the Nuoding Opera House.
Each of them spent three copper soul coins on tickets and found three seats side by side to watch the performance of Heaven Dou Royale.
As for Heaven Dou Royale, it told the founding story of the Heaven Dou Empire—focusing primarily on a love story between the empire's founder and a commoner woman.
Yep—
A very Douluo Continent-style feature: the glorification of love.
In the end, that commoner woman became the emperor's concubine.
Aside from Heaven Dou Royale, there were other operas like Commander of Heaven Dou and Warrior of Star Luo—all themed around defending the nation.
Although these operas didn't offer accurate historical accounts of the Heaven Dou Empire, Zhou Qing could still infer why the empire's higher-ups allowed them to exist:
To deepen the common people's sense of identity and loyalty to the royal family.
As for "the people"…
At least in this era, it didn't include the rural outcasts. Zhou Qing could tell just by how his own parents, whom he had never met, had died without anyone caring.
When Heaven Dou Royale ended, the next performance was a singing act and the performer turned out to be… Romantina!
"Hello everyone! I'm Romantina—back again!"
Her introduction made it clear she wasn't a first-timer. "The real singer for this act didn't want to go on, so he asked me to perform in his place. Why? Because I already knocked him out!"
Zhou Qing: "…"
When it comes to absurdity and lunacy, I'd gladly crown you queen.
Still, it did help distract him from all the messy thoughts swirling in his head.
Tang San facepalmed. "If she weren't the deputy city lord's daughter, I bet someone would've beaten her to death by now."
Xiao Wu, more attentive, looked carefully at the back of their ticket and finally found a small line of text: "A Romann Family Enterprise."
"I spent two and a half days writing a new song recently. Hope you all like it! I've named it: Brave Little Cow! Not Afraid of Hardship!"
As she finished, Romantina began marching in place—thud thud thud—each step echoing loudly. Given the wooden stage and soul tool amplifiers nearby, the sound filled every corner of the hall.
Many audience members covered their ears, and some even tried to flee the venue.
"Should we leave too?" Tang San asked, sensing his ears were about to suffer irreparable damage.
"Let's just listen." Zhou Qing figured they were already here—they might as well finish the show. Besides, since he'd be in a team with Romantina later, he needed to get used to her erratic behavior.
"Exactly. We paid three copper soul coins, after all," Xiao Wu said, purely out of frugality.
Soon, Romantina's marching softened, and the orchestra began playing drums, zither, flute light and cheerful tones.
"Sunshine~ on a dazzling~ sunny day~
Really wanna~ go adventuring!"
"A new recruit~ just showed up~ at the guild!"
"Hee hee hee! Ho ho ho! Heh heh heh! Ha ha ha!"
And so, Romantina's performance began.
Tang San said, "You know what? Not bad." He felt a flicker of guilt for doubting her earlier. The lyrics were simple, but not grating on the ears.
Well, except the last line, which sounded a little off-key.
Xiao Wu quipped, "What does this have to do with cows?"
Zhou Qing was suspicious after that weird burst of laughter, the lyrics might get… very strange.
But he miscalculated. Romantina continued relatively normally:
"In Nuoding~ forest~ I found a soul ring~
Then a bug~ appeared~ out of nowhere~
It said~ it wanted my brain!"
"La la la! Woo woo woo! Sss sss sss! Ah ah ah!"
The second verse was a bit abstract, but the melody stayed the same, so Zhou Qing didn't think much of it.
Until Romantina suddenly broke into rapid, loud rap:
"Didn't expect my teammates not to visit the next day!"
"I got abandoned!"
"AAAAAHHH!"
"But it felt amazing! They're the best!
Zhou Qing: "Shocked"
Xiao Wu: "Shocked"
Tang San: "Shocked"
Not just them—nearly the whole audience froze, dumbfounded by the sudden genre shift in the lyrics.
Also… You got abandoned and thought it was awesome?
You okay in the head?
More importantly… what does this have to do with Brave Little Cow!? Where's the cow?
"Thanks for the support, everyone! See you next time~"
Normally, singers at the opera house would perform at least a dozen songs, sometimes for two hours straight. But Romantina only sang one—and the tonal contrast between verses was massive.
The first two verses were mellow, childlike, and whimsical. The last verse was manic, booming, rapid-fire rap that shook the ears.
This… was some next-level avant-garde art.
Naturally—
The audience erupted in boos, giving zero face even though she was the deputy city lord's daughter.
Backstage, Romantina quietly listened to the insults raining down from the audience. Her face flushed red, her breathing became erratic, and her shoulders trembled—
But not from shame.
She was enjoying it.
[Ah! Let their ridicule and insults come even harder!]
Romantina screamed internally.
"You are seriously messed up in the head," said the Skydream Iceworm.
After offering its sacrifice, it could no longer read her thoughts, but it could still sense her intense mental fluctuations. And this… was extreme.
"I have a worm in my brain," Romantina replied, dead serious.
The Skydream Iceworm nearly went berserk, roaring like a deranged prairie dog!
Too bad… no one outside could hear it.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/XenTronix