Douluo Continent: The Legend of the Gods

The Emerald Swans lived in a valley near the Lake of Life. Brigitte landed on a huge ancient tree, and her people quickly gathered around her.

"Chieftain, what brings you here?"

"Has a new cub been born in the clan?" Brigitte asked directly.

Several older jade swans looked at each other and shook their heads.

"No, Chieftain. The last time a cub was born was over three hundred years ago."

Brigitte nodded, offered no further explanation, and turned to leave.

She stood on the cliff outside the valley, gazing at the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, a complex expression flashing in her eyes. No cubs had been born in the clan, so that aura... there was only one possibility.

Humanity.

It was humans who awakened the Emerald Swan Martial Soul.

Having lived for so long, Brigitte certainly knows about human history. More than 20,000 years ago, the bloodline of the Emerald Swan circulated among humans, and every few generations, someone would awaken this martial soul.

But then that great war happened, and the relationship between humans and spirit beasts deteriorated rapidly. The bloodline of the Emerald Swan also completely disappeared from humans.

While Yun Qinglin was treating the red-tailed fox, Bi Ji was hiding nearby, observing them.

She arrived when they first encountered the Azure Wave Deer. In the Star Dou Great Forest, unless one is a Limit Douluo or a Super Douluo with extremely strong mental power, it is almost impossible to detect Bi Ji, who is deliberately hiding her aura.

Therefore, Wang Xian'er and Yi Huo Douluo were completely unaware of Bi Ji's arrival.

After all, those ferocious beasts haven't left the forbidden zone of life in the Star Dou Great Forest for a long time.

Three days later, they finally entered the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Although it's called a mixed zone, it's actually an area where thousand-year-old and ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts coexist. It's not as safe as the outer area, nor as dangerous as the core area; it's the most complex transitional zone in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Wang Xian'er slowed her pace, letting Winged Fire Douluo lead the way while she followed behind Yun Qinglin, explaining the surrounding environment and the habits of various soul beasts as they walked.

"See that fallen tree over there?" Wang Xian'er pointed in a direction. "There are claw marks at the base of the tree, very fresh, probably made within the last three days. Judging from the depth and spacing of the claw marks, it belonged to a three-thousand-year-old Earth-Splitter Bear. This kind of spirit beast has a bad temper, but its activity range is fixed. As long as you don't go close to its territory, you'll be fine."

Yun Qinglin looked in the direction she pointed and indeed saw several deep claw marks at the base of the fallen giant tree. He nodded and memorized this information.

He learned a lot in those three days. Wang Xian'er taught him how to determine the type and age of a soul beast by its footprints, how to distinguish the level of danger by its scent, how to choose a safe campsite at night, and how to observe the soul beasts without disturbing them.

These are things that won't be written in books; only those who have truly walked through this forest can teach them.

But he learned more than just these survival skills.

On their first night, while camping by a stream, they encountered a team of soul hunters. The team had been lucky; they had killed an eight-hundred-year-old red-striped tiger and were skinning and extracting its bones, but no one was absorbing the soul ring. Wang Xian'er led Yun Qinglin around them at a distance, without disturbing them.

Yun Qinglin sighed inwardly.

"People will do anything for profit," Wang Xian'er said casually. "The skin of that tiger-spirit beast can be made into armor, its bones can be used in medicine, and its flesh is a great tonic."

The next afternoon, they encountered an injured, century-old Soft-Boned Rabbit. Its hind leg was mangled and bleeding, lying lifeless in the grass. Yun Qinglin instinctively wanted to go over and help it, but Wang Xian'er stopped him.

"Take a good look around," Wang Xian'er said.

Yun Qinglin focused his senses, and a few seconds later, he discovered the problem: deep in the grass, a pair of eyes were watching them.

It was a spotted leopard, lurking and waiting for its prey to come to it. The injured soft-boned rabbit was its bait; when other prey approached to eat the rabbit, it would launch a surprise attack.

Yun Qinglin felt a chill run down his spine.

Wang Xian'er led him away quietly, without disturbing the leopard.

"In this forest, kindness can sometimes kill you," Wang Xian'er said. "It's not that you shouldn't be kind, but that you should understand the situation before you act kindly."

Yun Qinglin nodded, keeping those words in mind. He did indeed have a problem with his mentality. He was still living in the rule-of-law society of his previous life. Although he had experienced hardship after transmigrating, he was still too comfortable. With Dan Chen protecting him, he had hardly encountered any danger.

It's impossible for a person to grow in an overly comfortable environment, especially for an adult who has already formed their values ​​and beliefs. Even if you keep telling yourself to change, your subconscious actions will sometimes betray you when you want to overturn the rules you've followed for decades.

That night, Wang Xian'er told him more.

"Do you know why nobles can hunt spirit beasts at will, while commoners can't even afford to awaken their martial spirits?"

Yun Qinglin understood the lesson Wang Xian'er wanted to teach him and nodded, saying, "Because nobles have power, that's the rule of this world."

Wang Xian'er and Yi Huo both looked at him in surprise. This child was only six years old, yet he could see things so clearly.

"That's right, because that's how the world is. The strong make the rules, and the weak obey them. Those nobles' ancestors also fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Their ancestors traded their lives for their current status, and their attitude is: why should their descendants be on equal footing with commoners?"

She paused, then continued, "You said you wanted to open a clinic to treat the common people, and I support you. But you must also understand that your kindness is based on your strength. If you were just an ordinary commoner child, unable to even awaken your martial spirit, what would you have used to help that Crimson Flame Fox that day? You wouldn't have even been able to get close to it."

Yun Qinglin fell silent.

"Having a powerful martial spirit but lacking powerful strength is a sin in itself," Wang Xian'er said. "If people with ill intentions knew about your Emerald Swan martial spirit, what would they do? They would capture you, keep you captive, and use you as a medical tool for them for the rest of your life. Your kindness would only be a exploitable weakness in their eyes."

She looked into Yun Qinglin's eyes and said, word by word, "Qinglin, you must remember, if you want to protect others, if you want to help others, you must first make yourself strong enough. Only when you stand high enough will your kindness have meaning. Otherwise, you will only be swallowed up by the cruelty of this world, and you won't even be able to protect yourself."

Yun Qinglin recalled the peaceful world of her previous life. Of course, there was injustice and cruelty there, but at least there was a set of rules that bound everyone. Murderers were punished with their lives, robbers were imprisoned, and even the weakest ordinary people were protected by law.

But the world is different.

There are no laws here, or rather, the law here is power. The strong can act with impunity, while the weak are left to be slaughtered. Why do the common people live such a difficult life? Not because they don't work hard enough, but because they lack power. Why are the nobles so high and mighty? Not because they are more outstanding, but because their ancestors were powerful.

He recalled that when he first transmigrated, his thought was, "I'll survive until Huo Yuhao becomes a god, and then go on a trip."

At the time, he thought this idea was very clever: to avoid trouble and get involved in anything, and to live a peaceful life.

But now he suddenly realized that in this world, living a peaceful life after awakening his martial soul was a luxury.

If you don't provoke others today, they might provoke you tomorrow. If you choose to back down today, they might take advantage of you tomorrow. You can't escape it by hiding; only by becoming strong enough can you truly gain a foothold.

He thought of the Crimson Flame Fox. If Wang Xian'er and Winged Fire Douluo hadn't been there, would he have dared to approach it? If they had encountered an even more powerful soul beast, would he have dared to intervene?

I dare not and cannot.

Because he is not strong enough.

"Teacher, I understand," Yun Qinglin said. "I will try my best to become stronger."

A complex mix of emotions welled up in Wang Xian'er's heart. This child truly had a good heart; kind but not foolishly so, gentle yet opinionated, able to listen to reason and figure things out on his own. Such a disciple would be easy to teach and bring her comfort.

But she also knew that Qinglin was sometimes too optimistic about the world. He would imagine the world to be a better place, but the world wouldn't change because of his imagination; it would remain cruel and bloody as it was meant to be.

Fortunately, I was still able to protect him.