Chapter 226: A Day Without Incident, Listening to Music
After greeting the seven members of his team, Du Qianjue left. Training was definitely not his concern. If it were about devising strategies, there were plenty of people in the Sect more capable than him; he needn't waste his time there. Instead of focusing on tactics, he was better off figuring out how to quickly break through to become a Titled Douluo. Being stuck at level eighty-nine was particularly frustrating for him. He was only one step away from reaching the Nine Rings, but he had to slowly accumulate experience and reach level ninety.
However, upon reflection, many people spend their entire lives stuck at the Soul Douluo stage, unable to advance. At just seventeen, Du Qianjue was already at the threshold of Titled Douluo, and his combat power was close to that of a Limit Douluo. His progress was astonishingly fast. It seemed reasonable to take some time to advance further. Du Qianjue was confident that within a year to eighteen months, he would break through to Titled Douluo. Then, with the help of his second martial spirit and the ninth spirit ring of his primary martial spirit, he planned to reach the level of Limit Douluo as quickly as possible. This thought alone was overwhelming; he estimated that he might achieve this before turning twenty.
As for becoming a god? That shouldn't take much longer, he mused. "Fast enough, indeed fast enough!" Du Qianjue muttered to himself, psyching himself up, "This pace is outrageous; if I go any faster, the author will run out of things to write!"
After a self-pep talk, Du Qianjue managed to quell his impatience. Over the next three months, he and his father, Du Busi, who had actually reached retirement age, slipped into a retirement-like lifestyle. With nothing better to do, they took up Go as a pastime for mental and physical cultivation. Go did exist in their world, and some even had Go as their martial spirit, like one of the three commissioners from the Royal Academy of Heaven Dou a millennium ago.
But as for Du Busi... expecting a brute to play Go? So, the two lousy players ended up tormenting each other and their onlookers, Tang Ya and Xiao Xiao. Although Tang Ya had been thoroughly brainwashed by Du Qianjue to the point of losing her original self, she remained herself at heart, obedient to Du Qianjue yet a normal person in every other way. During this time, she and Xiao Xiao became good friends. While Du Qianjue and Du Busi tormented each other over chess, the two women would chat quietly on the side.
Xiao Xiao, familiar with Tang Ya due to Huo Yuhao, knew her well. Tang Ya had even invited her to join the Tang Sect, which she did, following her heart set on Wang Dong at the time. Meeting Tang Ya, now the sect leader, was initially awkward for Xiao Xiao since she had publicly left Shrek and the Tang Sect. But learning from Tang Ya that she had dissolved the Tang Sect eased Xiao Xiao's discomfort, and their relationship improved from there.
In conversations, Tang Ya learned much from Xiao Xiao, having been out of touch for nearly four years. Xiao Xiao, feeling stifled in the Sect, found in Tang Ya someone she could finally talk to, despite her awe of Du Busi, who had regained his youthful appearance.
"Shrek Academy was destroyed?" Tang Ya asked in surprise. "You didn't know?" Xiao Xiao replied, puzzled. "We're in the same sect, and I thought you'd be better informed. Are you cut off from the world?" Tang Ya shook her head silently. Thinking Tang Ya was saddened by Shrek's destruction, Xiao Xiao was surprised to see her laugh joyously instead. "Emergency help, not poverty help? My Tang Sect is gone, but isn't your Shrek Academy gone too?" Tang Ya said coldly, finding humor in Shrek's downfall. "You think you're so great, Shrek, in 1080p, but you're destroyed just the same." Tang Ya seemed to relish the schadenfreude. Transformed by Du Qianjue's brainwashing, she no longer cared about her past, including the deceased Beibei.
Upon hearing from Du Qianjue of Beibei's death, she felt a momentary sadness, then no more. She had no gratitude left for Shrek, only memories of its harshness and indifference. Xiao Xiao, confused by Tang Ya's indifference, wondered if Tang Ya cared less about Shrek than she did. Weren't the Tang Sect and Shrek both founded and expanded by Tang San a millennium ago? It seemed there was no sense of mutual support, but rather a bitter enmity.
Xiao Xiao gave up trying to understand. "Ah... I lost again!" Du Qianjue exclaimed in despair, collapsing into his chair like a deflated balloon, looking utterly defeated. Eve giggled behind her hand, eyes twinkling as she watched him. Despite both he and Du Busi being terrible at Go, Du Busi's experience gave him a slight edge. This led to Du Qianjue losing more than he won.
"What are you laughing at? Massage my legs!" Du Qianjue glared at Eve, trying to reclaim some semblance of authority. "Yes, yes, what can I do with you, master..." Eve rolled her eyes coquettishly and began massaging his legs with just the right amount of pressure. Du Busi, who had been laughing at another win, suddenly stopped smiling upon seeing this. He had won, but it felt like he hadn't. While he celebrated, Du Qianjue enjoyed the services of a Limit Douluo level mermaid maid. Du Busi felt alone in his joy, a bit lost.
Happiness doesn't disappear; it just shifts. Served comfortably by Eve, Du Qianjue basked in enjoyment. "I'm done playing, I'm out!" Du Busi glared at the decadent Du Qianjue and stormed out of the yard, not even taking Xiao Xiao with him. Du Qianjue laughed heartily, waving grandly. "Eve, sing me a song!"
(End of Chapter)