Chapter 21: The Fire Within Her
Suddenly, Zu Zong noticed that Xun'er's complexion had changed. Her little forehead was drenched in cold sweat.
Zu Zong stepped forward. "What's wrong?"
"I… I'm fine. It's just an old problem. It'll pass in a bit." Xun'er forced a smile, but Zu Zong could hear the pain behind her words. She was clearly suffering—deeply and uncontrollably.
If he hadn't been here, she might have already collapsed unconscious in her bed.
'Don't tell me... it's that thing—number four on the Heavenly Flame Ranking: Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame?'
Even Zu Zong couldn't help but be alarmed.
Heavenly Flames were not something ordinary people could endure, and the fourth-ranked one was powerful enough to burn the heavens and boil the seas. It wasn't something a little girl could just brush off.
At this point, one might ask: When a pitiful little loli lies beside you, writhing in agony, tormented by fire, what would you do?
Qing Jiao: "Obviously, take advantage of the moment."
Zu Zong: "Tch, filthy. Eat my 'Poison Dragon Bind.'"
Zu Zong gritted his teeth. "Whatever. Let's treat the dead horse like it's still alive."
He extended his right hand and gathered soul power into his palm.
"Blue Silver Emperor—Release."
A vibrant Blue Silver Emperor, full of life force, bloomed from his hand. Its leaves unfurled and gently wrapped around Xun'er's small body.
"What are you doing?" Xun'er trembled slightly, her body shivering from the backlash of the Heavenly Flame. But the moment the Blue Silver Emperor touched her, a warm current flowed through her, soothing and gentle—it no longer hurt quite as much.
Zu Zong didn't joke or smile this time. His expression was serious.
"Your condition is serious. This is the Blue Silver Emperor. It's filled with immense life force—it can help stabilize you."
Xun'er gave a small, unsure nod.
From the shadows, Ling Ying's heart jumped to his throat.
He knew full well how severe Xun'er's condition was. Even the Gu Clan's elders couldn't resolve it. And yet… this mysterious young boy had actually managed to suppress the side effects of the Heavenly Flame?
Unbelievable.
Zu Zong's soul power—rich with life energy—poured into Xun'er through the Blue Silver Emperor. Her meridians were nourished, and although soul power wasn't as explosively powerful as high-level Dou Qi, its ability to nurture the body was exceptional. This was also why most soul masters on the Douluo Continent had adult physiques by the time they were eleven or twelve.
Especially soul power derived from the Blue Silver Emperor—it was even more effective.
What even Zu Zong hadn't realized was that as the Blue Silver Emperor nurtured Xun'er's meridians, it also quietly absorbed a trace of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame's sub-flame.
But that was a story for another time.
Ten minutes passed, yet to Zu Zong, it felt like twenty years.
He had completely exhausted his soul power. With his final trace of strength, he transferred the Blue Silver Emperor seedling into a flowerpot in Xun'er's room.
Zu Zong exhaled. "Take care of this Blue Silver Grass. It will help ease your symptoms."
[Ding. Time's up. Initiating teleportation back to the Douluo Continent. 10, 9...]
Hearing the system's countdown, Zu Zong finally relaxed.
He smiled. "Well then... until fate brings us together again."
Space twisted and shimmered.
Zu Zong's figure gradually faded before Xun'er's eyes.
She sat there in silence for a long time, staring blankly at the Blue Silver Grass he'd left behind.
'Why… did he suddenly appear in my room?'
'Why did he help me?'
'Why did he know Xiao Yan would come here?'
'Why did he fight so hard to ease my pain?'
'What… was his name?'
With these unanswered questions swirling in her heart, Xun'er knew one thing for certain—
Tonight, she would not sleep.
Douluo Continent, Nuoding City.
Behind the student dormitory of Nuoding Academy, in the forest grove.
Suddenly, the space around twisted. A blue-haired youth in black combat gear fell out of the warped void and landed steadily—though the first part of him to hit the ground was, unfortunately, his butt.
If that old rabbit were present, she'd have immediately recognized him—it was Zu Zong.
"Ahhh my ass! Damn system, do you need to break me before you're satisfied?"
[Ding. Host is just too trash.]
"Screw you. You knew I was out of soul power and still dropped me like that?"
[Ding. Host brought it on himself by trying to act cool like some hot-blooded main character.]
"I wasn't showing off! I was just… appreciating her... uh, I mean cherishing her like a gentleman. Ugh, forget it. I'm restoring my soul power."
Zu Zong sat down cross-legged and began meditating. As trashy as that scumbag 'Grandmaster' was, his Soul Power Meditation Technique had its merits. Within half an hour, Zu Zong had recovered most of his soul power.
He stretched. "Ahhh! That's better. Feels like I'm alive again. Huh? What's this…"
Just then, a system prompt rang out in his head.
[Ding. Congratulations to host. Soul power has risen to level 15. One additional Steal Chance awarded.]
"That fast? I just hit level 14 not long ago."
Just two days ago, Zu Zong had leapt from level 10 to 14 thanks to the breakthrough from absorbing his first spirit ring.
And now, after taking a stroll through the Dou Qi continent and nurturing Xun'er's meridians for a bit, he somehow gained another level. Ridiculous.
"System, show me my status panel."
[Ding. Opening personal panel.]
[
Host: Zu Zong
Gender: Male
Age: 6 years and 3 months (Actual: 25)
Martial Spirits: Extreme Flame Blue Silver Emperor / Sharingan
Innate Soul Power: Level 10
Current Soul Power: Level 15
Base Strength: 220 (Average adult male = 10)
Inventory: Kunai ×4, Clothing ×1, Transformation Pill...
Overall Evaluation: Congratulations, you are still a normal human being.
Remaining Steal Attempts: 14
Hatred Points: 10,500
Available Steal Worlds: Douluo Continent, Naruto (All targets dead, teleportation disabled), Battle Through the Heavens
Domain: Blue Silver Domain (First Form)
Achievements: Soul Master
]
"Huh, not bad. Gained 20 base strength with this level up."
Among low-level soul masters, unless there was a soul ring gap, the difference per level wasn't that big—just denser soul power. So getting a 20-point increase in base strength was actually quite impressive.
Zu Zong's base stats already rivaled that of a Soul Elder without a thousand-year ring.
"Wait… hold up. What the hell is an Extreme Flame Blue Silver Emperor?"
[Ding. During the process of nurturing Xiao Xun'er's meridians, host's Blue Silver Emperor accidentally absorbed a trace of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame's sub-flame, resulting in mutation.]
"Ah, makes sense! I remember in the original novel it said the Blue Silver Emperor had some kind of devouring ability. Let's try it out."
Zu Zong gathered soul power in his right palm. A faint white glow surfaced along his skin, and soon, deep blue Blue Silver Grass surged from his palm. A clear yellow spirit ring rose from beneath his feet, spiraling up and down his body.
"First Soul Skill—Poison Dragon Bind."
With a few strange hand seals, the ground beneath Zu Zong cracked apart. Over a dozen thick Blue Silver Emperor vines erupted and coiled fiercely around a massive tree, thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around.
The scales along the surface of the Blue Silver Emperor began glowing red-hot. As soon as they touched the tree's trunk, white smoke rose into the air. A burnt smell filled the forest. The scales—no, now it should be called the Extreme Flame Blue Silver Emperor—radiated intense heat.
"Venom Burn."
As he shouted, a red liquid oozed out from the glowing vine-scales. No longer the previous violet corrosive venom, this new substance resembled molten lava—except it was far more volatile.
The moment it made contact with the tree bark, the trunk sizzled, then collapsed. The break was charred black, and a whole chunk of wood had seemingly vanished into nothing.
"Damn, this isn't venom anymore! It's basically super-charged acid! If someone got caught by this and wasn't careful, even a Soul Ancestor would be in serious trouble."
Of course, that was assuming Zu Zong could actually catch a Soul Ancestor. After all, not everyone was a sitting duck.
Zu Zong once again summoned the Blue Silver Emperor with his right hand and let out a relieved sigh.
"Good, as long as I don't activate any skills, it's still the original Blue Silver Emperor. Otherwise, that greedy old rabbit would be cursing her head off."
[Ding. Host has 14 remaining steal attempts. Would you like to steal now?]
"Let's do it. No way I get unlucky again like last time."
[Ding. Congratulations! Host has stolen the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques from the Naruto world: Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, and Substitution Jutsu. Orochimaru's Hatred Value toward Host has increased to 1%. Hatred Points +10.]
"Hmm, not bad. Basic techniques, but life-saving in the right moment. Though… that's a bit low on hatred points."
[Ding. Since Yakushi Kabuto has inherited Orochimaru's legacy and evolved into Great Serpent Kabuto, simple E-rank techniques are basically meaningless to him now.]
Zu Zong nodded. "Makes sense. Kabuto's probably still in his identity crisis. Without Itachi's Mangekyō to cast Izanami, who knows how he ends up."
[Ding. When Host stole Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan and Taijutsu, Itachi had just died. Upon resurrection via Edo Tensei, he may regain his peak strength.]
"Oh damn… then once he finds out Sasuke's gone blind, he's gonna kill me, huh?"
[Ding. Highly likely.]
"Shit. I'll just run far, far away when I get sent to his world again. Ain't no way I'm surviving Izanami."
Meanwhile, in the Naruto world—border between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth, deep in an underground chamber—
Kabuto, now resembling Orochimaru more than ever, stuck out his long, snake-like tongue and licked his lips.
A strange feeling passed through his mind.
"Hmm? What's this? Feels like I forgot something…" he muttered.
But a second later, he waved it off. "Eh, probably not important. Time to resurrect Uchiha Itachi. Can't wait to see him and Sasuke reunite... hehehe."
Back on the Douluo Continent, Zu Zong had already integrated the Three Basic Techniques with ease.
"System, keep stealing."
[Ding. Congratulations! Host has stolen a bottle of the Daughter River Water from Journey to the West. Since the river is unclaimed, no hatred points were awarded.]
"Wait, the Daughter River Water?"
Zu Zong's eyes lit up. This was the legendary water that could make anyone pregnant after drinking it.
The perfect item for prank warfare.
Naturally, several targets immediately popped into his mind:
Tang San.
Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang.
And... Yu Xiaogang.
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