"Hm. We'll need to pass this onto them as well."
The family was preparing to leave late at night. Karni and Siduo were overlooking some of the designs they were going to leave behind for the Tie Family.
"You two ready?" Ta Siyu approached. "You want to go to Green Tiger Town first, right?"
The two nodded.
"That's fine, it's not much of a detour."
Siduo turned back towards Karni. "Are you planning to leave your project here too?"
"Of course not. I plan to complete it by the time I return from Star Luo Continent. I should have a ton of free time on the way there as well."
"Made any progress recently?"
Karni scratched his head in frustration. "No. If anything I've hit a roadblock. The more I work on the glasses, the more it seems that they're reaching the 5-star level. Particularly with space perception. I need to make it work for augmented reality. I've basically completed all of the UI."
Siduo just shook her head. "Yeesh. Do you realise that you're applying technology that uses space on only a 4-star or 5-star tool? They're usually at least 7-star."
"You say that, but I'm not really using the actual space element as I don't understand a thing about it yet."
"Haiya. You… you're a bit crazy, you know? I hope I'll be able to create it later on for you."
Karni waved her worries away. "It's not like you have to make something beyond the level of a 4-star Mecha Manufacturer. It would be a 5-star tool more on the principle of complexity of everything working together more so than it being difficult to create."
Siduo gave him a look that was telling him he's a weirdo. "You do realise that what you just said is amazing right? You know how rare those types of soul tools are?"
Karni didn't really know how to react to that. To him, the fact he couldn't yet complete it was the most important thing about it. Circumstances surrounding those facts didn't change the current situation.
She slapped him on the back.
"Ouch!"
"C'mon now. We're travelling to a different continent. Focus on that for now. You'll have plenty of time for breakthroughs there. That's why we're going there, no?"
Karni just released a sigh of defeat. "Yeah, yeah. You're right."
The family left for the train station. Just in case, both Ta Siyu and Wu Jianguo were releasing menacing energy on their way there. It was clear that the two were a threat to any Soul Sage that would dare to approach.
Luckily they got there without any rash people like the police captain approaching them. Little Jianyu was oblivious to any threats. He had no clue that there was a constant mark on Wu Siduo and Val Karni while they were in Star Luo City. He was simply excited about going on an adventure.
It was his first time travelling by train and that was more than enough to occupy his six year old mind.
"At least our Jianyu is a normal child, right, dear?"
"Hey, hey! Mum! What's that supposed to mean?"
"Mm. He's a good kid, very adorable." Karni added.
"You too, Kiki?!"
"You forget how weird you were, Sisi. I still remember our first encounter, you know?"
"Ugh." Siduo's face was flushed. "Are you ever gonna let me live that down?"
"Of course not. As long as we're friends you're going to be listening to that, you know?"
Siduo slumped her shoulders. Then raised them again, with a smile on her face. "Well, I remember you crying as well, so I guess we're even."
"H-hey. I was lonely, okay? You know how long it's been since I last saw…"
"Don't worry." She slapped his back. "Someday you'll be able to see them again. Even if they are in a different world." She whispered that last sentence.
"How are you so sure?"
"Once there was a divine realm covering multiple planets. Even if it's gone…"
Karni understood. As long as he can reach such heights. He might just be able to achieve his dream. "Thanks."
Though these days, unless he could bring the people he met here with him - at the very least, Siduo - he would not return to Earth anymore.
… … …
They got off the train, Wu Jianyu seeming sad.
"Don't worry, there'll be a longer ride later on. We're just stopping here for a second." Karni comforted the boy.
"Mm, mm. It's gonna be so long, you'll get tired of it." Siduo gave her little brother a cheeky smile.
The little boy pouted. "No I won't. I have my martial soul now. Those days are behind me."
"Mm. Sure, sure." She ruffled his hair, much to the little boy's dissatisfaction.
The group entered the town. Karni and Siduo were leading the way. They haven't been here in three years, but they still remembered where they had to go to reach the Tie Family house.
But while walking through the town someone else called to them. "Wu Siduo?"
The group turned around. "And Val Karni?"
The two nodded. It was a girl with completely black hair that greeted the two of them. She seemed a bit younger than the two of them, but they didn't quite recognise her.
Then Siduo noticed a fluorescent glow in her eyes. "Hu Fuya? My, you look so different. Looks like you've gotten the hang of your martial soul in the last three years."
Hu Fuya was surprised. "You can tell? I did, yeah. I'm a Soul Grandmaster already, I should be able to reach 3 rings by the time I enter advanced academy."
"Hoo. That's impressive." Karni gave her a thumbs up.
"That's not just impressive. It's amazing." Another girl behind Hu Fuya complained and gave them the side eye. "She's the second strongest class president of our academy you know?"
"There now. Calm down. If it weren't for Wu Siduo, I wouldn't have reached this level." Hu Fuya pushed her friend back.
"Eh?" The friend looked surprised. "Wait, do you mean these two are the…"
"Mm. They're the geniuses from the Star Luo Academy."
"They are? They don't look that much older than us."
"I'm sorry about her." Hu Fuya apologised.
"My big sister and big brother are about to become Soul Ancestors, you know?!"
Karni and Siduo may not care about such things, but a certain younger brother certainly did.
"Eh?" Both of the girls looked shocked. Then they looked towards the teens that seemed only a year older.
The two nodded, before Siduo covered her little brother's eyes in a teasing way. "This here is my adorable little brother. He just got awakened this week."
"Oooh." Hu Fuya didn't mind the attitude, her friend was in the wrong after all. The friend herself looked apologetic by now.
"Hi, there. I'm Hu Fuya, and you are?"
The boy managed to shake off her big sister. "I'm Wu Jianyu." He said in a huff.
"He'll likely enter the intermediate academy about the same time you go to the advanced academy. I hope you take care of him." Siduo smiled, while rubbing the boy's head again, annoying him.
"Well, he'll have his big sister to take care of him, so I don't think I'm going to be of much help." Hu Fuya smiled.
"Well. Not really. We're taking Shrek Exams in a year, so we might not be able to help him grow much." Siduo pointed to herself and Karni.
"Sh-Shrek?" Hu Fuya and her friend were speechless.
"Karni, Siduo, is that you?" Another voice greeted them from behind.
The group turned around. "Tiao, Fai, we were actually on our way towards you."
A bright, smiling boy with short, brown hair and a lady with shorter hair that was bright red in colour much like Siduo's approached them.
The friend of Hu Fuya was now sure that the two weren't trying to bluff their way. When she said that Hu Fuya is the second strongest president, she was referring to Ma Fai as the strongest. Tie Tiao was actually second strongest overall in the school. Meanwhile Hu Fuya has become third strongest overall.
"Well, we need to go anyway, so we might as well come along with you." Karni said to Tie Tiao and Ma Fai.
"Mm." Siduo agreed, then looked at Hu Fuya. "My little brother here also has a cat type martial soul, so I hope you help him out in the future in my stead."
Hu Fuya breathed in and looked with pride. "I promise."
"Aiyo, no need to take it that serious, just helping out is fine."
"Yes!" Hu Fuya said again.
Siduo looked a bit awkward when they left. This was the effect she had on the girl. She discovered her martial soul's properties, so Hu Fuya was incredibly thankful to her.
"So? What are you two doing here exactly?" Ma Fai asked. She's gotten close to the two of them as well. They were quite good friends. She was confused, since usually she, Tie Tiao and Tie Kexin visited them.
"Ah! Is it about the message you sent? You're going away?" Tie Tiao remembered.
"Oh yeah, you did mention that." Ma Fai finally remembered too.
"Yep. We're going to the Star Luo Continent for a year."
The two were shocked and quiet. For a whole year?
"So we came to bring a lot of our plans for the next year. They should be able to keep our business afloat for a year."
"We also have a prosthetic to give your sister." Karni smiled.
They were taken to the family residence. Siduo gave Ma Fai all of the things for the next year, while Karni went to give Tie Kexin the prosthetic.
"Here. This one should be better than the last one. It should need less maintenance too."
"Thank you. Mm. It's easier to move." Tie Kexin tried it out.
"It should last a year, otherwise you can reach Teacher Ye. I've already asked her to perform maintenance if necessary."
"Thank you." Tie Kexin really was thankful. Her life has changed in a major way since she could use some of her limbs again.
"Sis, how do you like it?"
"Mm. They're perfect. Tiao, you've really made some good friends."
"We're your friends as well, you know?" Karni smiled.
They left not too long after. They couldn't stay for an extended period of time at the moment. They had a long journey ahead of them and it was already far into the evening.
… … …
"Haiii. Jianyu, you should really go to sleep." Siduo practically begged. The little guy was so excited to ride the train while it was dark. It really was a feeling of going on a road trip. It was also rare for him to be allowed awake at night, so he didn't want to miss the opportunity.
"But sis, it's just all so cool!"
"Now, now." Ta Siyu interrupted. "You can't be too loud. Other passengers are asleep as well. We can't bother them."
"Oh." The little boy was a little sad. It was one thing to be scolded by his sister, but a completely different thing to be scolded by his mother.
Karni looked at him. He smiled, remembering such trips, entertainment was paramount to not be bored. Thankfully he thought of that.
There wasn't as much entertainment in this world, despite being technologically highly advanced. Some of the poorer areas didn't even have TVs yet, while entertainment in terms of video games has barely begun for the general populace.
Most of the technology was always used for soul masters and the rich, and entertainment wasn't really made in the same way as it was on earth. Yet some games did exist and Karni, as a proud gamer in his previous life, obviously had them.
It was a bit funny. The world was capable of making games that would resemble something like Sword Art Online, except good, in terms of technology. Not just that, but likely far better than that as well. A fully immersive Virtual Reality game, Spirit Ascension Platform was something like that, but to have it available for the general populace? That was much farther away here than on Earth.
"Jianyu." Karni called out and brought him closer. The boy sat next to him.
"Want to try something?" Karni gave him a little device. It was a gameboy looking thing.
Karni had all of the devices that existed for the general populace, they were very cheap for him after all. He even made combinations of his own. This particular one had a pokemon-esque game installed on it. One that looked somewhat similar to their third generation games.
He gave another one to Jianyu and showed him how you can even trade between the devices and what not. Karni was a fan of those games, especially the fan made ones, so he created a close equivalent here as a fun project, though he wasn't thinking of continuing with this. He usually didn't have the time.
The little boy was incredibly excited. He's also started learning Mecha Engineering by now, so he understood these things easily. He was walking the path of a mechanic because he couldn't choose what he liked more yet.
It didn't take long for the boy to immediately fall in love with this little thing. He was finally quiet, but he was also fully awake. It took a few hours before he finally tired out. Karni was a bit scared that he just created an addict.
The rest of the trip went by peacefully in such a way. It took them the whole night and day to get to the east side of the continent. Siduo was right. The boy did get tired travelling quickly. If it weren't for Karni and Siduo entertaining him, he would've thrown a tantrum long ago.
Hopefully the travel by sea wouldn't be as intense for the little guy.
They stepped out of the train for the first time in a while. "Oooh! It really smells like the sea."
"The architecture looks different as well. It feels sturdy like ours, but more… sideways?" Karni wasn't quite sure.
Both the south and the east were regularly bombarded by typhoons, but due to differences in cultures from the past they went about facing them in a different way.
They travelled for a whole 20 hours. It was late afternoon when they arrived, but they truly felt refreshed taking a step outside.
"Let's go look at the sea, let's go look at the sea!" Wu Jianyu pulled the two with him.
"Wait a bit, Jianyu." Wu Jianguo laughed. "We're sleeping here for a day, so we need to put our luggage back first, you can go look around later on."
"But."
"No, buts, be a bit patient will you."
Ta Siyu laughed. "He truly got his sister's spirit for adventure."
Siduo blushed. "Let's quickly pack so we can explore, what do you say Jianyu?"
"Yes, yes. We need to be fast." The little boy was determined as he tried to lead the way, while not knowing the way.
The family rented a room in an inn for one night, then Jianyu quickly pulled both his sister and Karni out to have some fun.
The first order of business was obviously the sea. They travelled during a hot time of the season, so the beach, despite it being quite late, was packed with people.
Luckily, since they were going to travel by the sea, everyone had swimwear with them. Who says that Soul Master's can't enjoy the mundane things?
"Ew. It's salty."
Karni burst out laughing. "Well, yeah it's the sea, did you think it will taste like normal water?"
The boy pouted. Siduo splashed him. He got angry and splashed back.
The beach was quite nice. It had some beachy places and a lot of touristy shops. The surroundings were clearly fortified against the Sea Soul Beasts, so people could peacefully enjoy the atmosphere.
They played around for almost three hours, it was now already past nine in the evening. It was time to go.
"Let's go eat something as well. I feel famished." Karni complained. The water really tired people out quickly. This day was really nice to him. It felt like he was back home, going to the sea for holidays.
Going through the streets felt familiar as well, this particular area really reminded him of the mediterranean architecture, it felt warm at all times, even if it was a big city. Only the inner parts of the city felt very modern. Eastsea City was one of the major commercial cities in the federation. The sea parts on the other hand were intentionally kept old.
Even the sea food felt familiar. Karni wanted to check out some places. Siduo and Jianyu agreed without a problem.
They entered a cosy restaurant with beautiful orange lights that felt like they were warming up the night life of the city.
The place was generally filled up, but not to an insane degree. There were a lot of similar restaurants by the seaside of the city. They didn't need to think long to pick a place to sit. They chose an outside seat of the restaurant since the night was still warm.
"Hm, hm. What to choose, what to choose." Siduo was excited to try some food. She wasn't a foodie in how much she would eat, but was definitely when it came to exploring different tastes.
Karni didn't need a lot of time to choose. He chose what he was familiar with, or what looked familiar. He wanted to see if the tastes of this world were similar to Earth. Those in Star Luo City had some similar foods, so what about seafood?
Meanwhile Jianyu had the most problem out of them all. He wanted to try everything, because they were only staying a night, but he knew he couldn't, so the boy was conflicted.
"Hey now, if you don't decide about something, you wont get to try anything, you know?" Siduo teased, while she herself still hasn't chosen anything to eat.
"Sis, you're one to talk."
"There, I got it." She called out to the waitress that they chose what to eat. Staff came by to see what they decided for.
Karni ordered, Siduo ordered, but Jianyu didn't. He really wanted to try everything.
"I can come back later if you want." The staff offered.
"That's okay. Jianyu come on, don't keep the lady waiting."
Jianyu looked frustrated right now. He really didn't like this. He wanted to yell at this sister of his, but he knew that it wasn't polite to do so in public.
The staff worker smiled, to try and put some pressure off the boy, but it seemed to just add more.
"Mm. This shrimp is very tasty." A sudden voice came in from the side, by a young teen that seemed to still be munching on food.
"Eh?" The boy turned to look at the newcomer. It was a truly handsome teenager. Deep, round eyes and beautiful black hair with steady shoulders, he looked quite a bit better than his big brother.
Siduo was unbothered, but got surprised when she noticed Karni's look, who had the most amazing expression on his face right now. There was incredulity, confusion and a bit of guess work in his eyes as well.
Is this really who he thought he was? It certainly fit the description to a T. Strong, annoyingly handsome, likes food… Everything seemed to fit.
"I'm Tang Wulin. I live here, so I know my stuff. That one is best if you want to try our local cuisine." He gave the boy a nice smile.
Karni would've spit out his food if he had any already. Meanwhile Siduo just silently whistled to herself right now. She's seen this kind of behaviour before.
"Take it, Jianyu, he does look like he's from here." Siduo smiled.
"Oh. Okay then. Thank you uncle."
"U- uncle? I'm only 12 you know?" Tang Wulin made a weird smile.
"Eh? You're younger than my sister? She's thirteen. So is my big brother over there." Jianyu introduced.
Karni and Siduo smiled. "I'm Wu Siduo."
"I- I'm Val Karni."
Tang Wulin immediately noticed the weird look from Karni.
"Have we met before?"
"U- um no." Karni answered hesitantly.
"Oh, do I look weird?" Tang Wulin looked at himself.
"No. Well, yeah a bit, you're eating while talking." Karni made an excuse.
Tang Wulin smiled. "Well, food here is just the best, so of course I eat."
The trio made weird looks together this time.
"Captain!" A call came from afar as three other people came close to the table.
Karni looked at the new group, and honestly he really wanted to be excited right now but had to hold himself back. It wasn't like in the novels he read. They also looked differently from the visual stories format. These were actual real people in front of him.
A boy with short brown hair and green eyes that looked very lively. He was the one that called out.
A pretty girl with blue hair tied into ponytails, she looked surprisingly fragile.
And lastly an unassuming girl with dark grey hair who had a completely neutral expression. She didn't notice the three of them, she only looked towards Tang Wulin.
They were definitely Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue. Future members of Shrek Seven Monsters.
Of course, Siduo didn't let the fact that Karni was holding back his excitement right now slip her eyes.
"Sorry. Hope you guys eat well, I have to go." Tang Wulin waved the two and lastly, the little boy goodbye.
The group went away and Siduo suddenly stood up.
"Eh? Sisi, where are you going?"
"I'll be right back." She followed the group while Karni looked in horror. He wanted to stop her, but it's not like he could just leave Jianyu alone when they just ordered food.
"Hey, wait a bit!" Siduo yelled out as the group of four turned around confused.
"Wu Siduo was it?" Tang Wulin asked. He remembered her a bit better than the other guy since she stood out more because of her cat-like features.
"Mm. You guys are Soul Masters right?"
The four looked a bit weary when she said that. She was a complete stranger after all.
Xie Xie was the first to talk. "Yeah, so what abou-" A hand was raised to stop him, by Tang Wulin.
"We are. How'd you know?"
"Well you guys look strong and me and my friend over there are ones too. I was thinking if you guys would like a little sparring session tomorrow morning?"
"Not interested." Tang Wulin immediately rejected her.
"Eh?" Siduo was taken aback by the quick rejection. "We're quite strong, you know? We're even on the Genius Youth Ranking, though Karni isn't officially. I'm sure it would be mutually beneficial." They were. Siduo was at rank 19 at the moment, while Karni chose not to participate, but that accidentally made it more known that he was an equal to Siduo. So those who cared, considered him a part of the ranking too.
"No need. We don't know about that ranking and we have regular practice by ourselves. And… we know nothing about you."
Siduo clasped her hands together. "Pleaaaase, I just want to show my little brother some cool things before we depart. We're already leaving tomorrow." It was more of an excuse, but she seemed sincere.
Tang Wulin sighed. "Fine, but you'll have to buy us breakfast tomorrow."
"Mm. Sure, you can eat as much as you want."
Tang Wulin's eyes shined, while the others made weird expressions.
"Mm. Sure you have a deal."
Siduo's eyes turned into slits for a second, before returning to normal. She was excited. "Good. Meet us at five by the sea. The main beach."
"Sure. You guys enjoy your food." Tang Wulin was in a good mood as he waved her goodbye. Though he had to admit, he felt a sense of danger coming from her.
Siduo returned back while a different conversation was going on in the group.
"Captain, you're really cruel you know?"
"She offered."
Meanwhile Karni looked at returning Siduo. "What did you talk to them about?"
Siduo made an ok sign. "I got us an early match tomorrow. Those guys are strong right? We can use the practice. Jianyu wanna watch?"
"Um sure!"
"They just agreed?" Karni questioned.
Siduo sighed. "No, that Tang Wulin guy who's the captain wasn't really easy to agree with."
Karni got a sense of dread when he heard that. "What did you do?"
"I just offered to pay for their breakfast tomorrow."
"WHAT! WU SIDUO! YOU'LL BANKRUPT US ALL!" Karni screamed in absolute panic.
The voice travelled far. This was a genuine scream after all. Tang Wulin heard it and turned around with a raised eyebrow. "That guy definitely knows me from somewhere."