Douluo Dalu: Stealing Through The Heavens

"Strange, where did that brat from our village go? Why haven't I seen him come out yet? Master Su Yuntao, have you seen that brat from my village?"

Old Tom asked Su Yuntao.

Su Yuntao's mouth twitched slightly. He was also quite surprised by Zuzong. Pointing to the blue-haired, fair-skinned boy standing next to Old Tom, he said, "Old Tom, are your eyes failing you? Isn't that brat standing right behind you?"

Zuzong tugged at Old Tom's sleeve, complaining, "Grandpa Tom, I've been standing here for ages!"

Old Tom rubbed his cloudy eyes. Yes, it was that brat's voice—no one else had such an aggravating tone. He began to take a closer look at Zuzong.

Whoa!

It really was the brat from his family!

His hair had turned blue and even grown longer!

He had gotten a lot taller, growing from 1.2 meters to 1.3 meters. The emaciated figure caused by chronic malnutrition had disappeared, and he now looked lean and muscular. The originally loose hemp clothes he wore now clung more snugly to his body, vaguely outlining some muscle definition.

The once dark face had turned milky white, as if sculpted from jade. If not for some traces of his original features, Old Tom would have thought Su Yuntao was lying to him.

Old Tom sighed, "So the ugly duckling really can turn into a swan!"

Patting his nearly bald head, Old Tom straightened up and shouted loudly on purpose, "Aha! It really is our little brat from the Emperor Spirit Village. Kid, how did you end up like this? Grandpa almost didn't recognize you. This is way better than that kid from the Holy Spirit Village. Quickly, tell Grandpa what martial spirit you awakened."

The way he spoke and acted! Look at him! No different from Old Jack earlier, if not worse. Old Jack was so angry that he almost choked.

Zuzong crossed his arms over his chest, tilted his head slightly upward, and assumed a proud and cocky stance.

[Ding! Tang San feels jealous of the host. Hatred level increased to 9%. Hatred points +100]

Tang San: Why is it that his Blue Silver Grass allowed him to be reborn, while I'm still just a nobody?

Zuzong's eyes darted toward Tang San. It looks like there's an opportunity to get more out of him. The hatred points are his tickets for future conquests across worlds.

Zuzong said mischievously, "Grandpa Tom, unlike that Xiao San earlier who awakened a trash martial spirit, Master Su Yuntao said my Blue Silver Grass underwent a mutation and became stronger than a normal blue silver grass. It's a beneficial mutation! My body also changed; I got more handsome and stronger. Oh, by the way, I have innate full soul power too!" He struck a pose, showing off his muscles, and released his Blue Silver Emperor martial spirit. The onlookers around them were filled with envy.

[Su Yuntao: Did I say that much? What's a beneficial mutation???]

[Old Jack: It looks like the Holy Spirit Village really lost to the Emperor Spirit Village. How frustrating.]

[Old Tom: Good job, brat.]

Zuzong glanced at Tang San out of the corner of his eye.

Go on, make a move! The moment you do, I'll hide behind Su Yuntao. Let's see if you can defeat a Soul Grandmaster barehanded.

As expected, Tang San, who was already extremely envious and jealous of Zuzong's Blue Silver Emperor martial spirit, felt even more stifled. His breathing grew heavy, as if the opportunity that should have belonged to him had been snatched away. The more he thought about it, the more real it seemed.

Finally, Tang San couldn't hold back and was about to make a move on Zuzong.

[Ding! Tang San is envious, jealous, and hateful towards the host, wanting to beat the host up. Hatred level increased to 10%. Hatred points +100]

Hearing the system's voice, Zuzong thought, "Can't hold it in anymore?" He immediately moved closer to Su Yuntao.

Old Jack, who was holding Tang San's arm, noticed something wrong with him.

Old Jack:

Why has this child's face been red since he came out? Why is he gasping and gritting his teeth as if he's incredibly angry?

Hmm? He seems to be looking in the direction of Master Su Yuntao (Zuzong, hiding behind Su Yuntao's back~ smile). Could it be that he blames Master Su Yuntao for not awakening a good martial spirit for him?

This is not okay. Master Su Yuntao is a person of the Martial Soul Hall and an esteemed Soul Master. We absolutely can't offend him.

I didn't realize that, despite usually being so sensible, this child has such a strong sense of resentment. 

Although Old Jack was unhappy that the Holy Spirit Village had lost to the Emperor Spirit Village, he still held on to the principle of preventing Tang San from doing anything foolish. Old Jack tightened his grip on Tang San's arm. The caught-off-guard Tang San couldn't break free immediately but did not give up and continued to struggle.

[Tang San: I'm definitely going to beat that brat Zuzong today. Not even Xiao Wu can stop me. Wait, who's Xiao Wu?]

[Old Jack: So this kid really intended to attack Master Su Yuntao! Luckily, I was observant and stopped him in time, or there would have been big trouble.]

Old Jack was always gentle with good children, just as he often helped Tang San's family because Tang San was sensible and a good kid.

But when facing a brat, he never held back when it came to discipline.

So, when Tang San tried to attack Master Su Yuntao (Zuzong), Old Jack was the first to object. He summoned his ten kilo heavy martial spirit, a big white radish, and smacked it on the struggling Tang San's head.

Caught off guard, Tang San fell to the ground.

"You, child, how can you be so insensible? Master Su Yuntao awakened your martial spirit for free, and you dare to blame him because you awakened a poor one! If you want to blame someone, blame that useless Tang Hao."

Upon hearing Old Jack's words, Old Tom immediately understood. Seeing that Old Jack was struggling to hold Tang San down by himself, he quickly went over to help. The two of them worked together to press Tang San firmly to the ground.

—Hmm! At a critical moment, Old Tom still cared about Old Jack.

Su Yuntao, who was watching Tang San's struggle with a bewildered expression, thought Tang San was just throwing a child's tantrum. He was shocked when he realized that Tang San was blaming him for not awakening a good martial spirit!

Even an uncle could tolerate this, but an aunt could not!

Su Yuntao immediately cursed, "You little brat, you look like a decent kid, and I thought you were a good one! I traveled all this way to awaken your martial spirits for free, and not only do you not appreciate it, you even want to attack me? I've never seen such a wild child!"

Hiding behind Su Yuntao, Zuzong didn't expect things to escalate like this. He almost couldn't help but laugh out loud. He chimed in, "Yeah, Xiao San, how can you blame Master Su Yuntao? That's just unreasonable. Everyone's martial spirit is innate. Dragons give birth to dragons, phoenixes give birth to phoenixes, and the children of mice dig holes. Of course, I'm not saying you were born of mice. No, you were born of mice... no, you weren't... oh, I'm all confused!"

Tang San, pressed to the ground, had one cheek against the dirt. His eyes were bloodshot, staring at Zuzong like a beast ready to devour its prey. He was so angry he couldn't speak, finally managing to squeeze out, "I'll kill you."

[Ding! Tang San's hatred for the host has intensified. He wants to take a bite out of the host. Hatred level increased to 11%. Hatred points +100]

[Ding! Tang San's hatred for the host has intensified. He wants to make a "Silent Sleeve Dart" to shoot the host's... Hatred level increased to 12%. Hatred points +100]

The system notifications in his mind made Zuzong, hiding behind Su Yuntao, break into a cold sweat. "Damn, he's this ruthless! He actually wants to make me a eunuch. Luckily, he hasn't created the Silent Sleeve Dart yet, or I'd be in danger."

Oh well! He thought. Since I'm already this far, I might as well add more fuel to the fire.