Douluo Continent: The Destruction of Life, My Brother Huo Yuhao

He raised his head, his crimson kaleidoscope slowly spinning in his eyes, sweeping across the crazed faces in the audience. Then, he turned, stepped off the ring, walked through the automatically parting crowd, and headed for the exit.

The one-eyed old man caught up, his face beaming with smiles.

"Young man! No, Lord Black Eyes! Wait, wait!" He rubbed his hands together, his tone obsequious.

"You really stole the show today! Ten consecutive wins! In the fifty-year history of the Deathmatch Arena, you're only the third person to achieve this! How about a long-term partnership? We can split the profits easily—30/70, no, 20/80! You get 80%, we get 20%!"

Dai Tu continued walking, leaving behind only one sentence:

"Not interested."

"Wait! Wait!" the one-eyed old man exclaimed anxiously. "Could you leave your contact information? Where do you live? Are you coming again tomorrow?"

Dai Tu had already left the deathmatch arena, his figure disappearing into the night.

The one-eyed old man stood at the door, looking in the direction where Dai Tu had disappeared. The smile on his face slowly faded, turning into a gloomy contemplation.

"Investigate," he said to the shadows behind him. "Find out the origins of this 'Black Eye.' We can't let such a genius slip through our fingers."

A low reply came from the shadows, then silence fell.

Dai Tu did not return to the hotel.

He found a quiet alley, sat down against the wall, closed his eyes, and began to recover his soul power.

Today's ten battles have been very taxing; my soul power is almost completely drained.

Fortunately, the Tree of Life has an extremely strong regenerative ability, and with the assistance of the Life Mark, it can recover in at most an hour.

As night deepened, the hustle and bustle of the streets gradually subsided.

Dai Tu opened his eyes, preparing to get up and leave, but suddenly stopped.

At the entrance of the alley, someone was standing there.

He was a middle-aged man around forty years old, tall and dressed in ordinary coarse cloth clothes, looking like a farmer. But his two arms were unusually long, almost touching his knees when they hung down, and the muscles were bulging, with bulging veins, like two intertwined old tree roots.

The man stood at the alley entrance, blocking the moonlight and casting a long shadow. He stared at Dai Tu for a long time, then suddenly grinned.

"Kid, you were pretty impressive in the deathmatch arena today."

Dai Tu slowly stood up, without answering, just quietly looking at him.

The Mangekyou Sharingan had already quietly emerged in the depths of his eyes, ready to be activated at any moment.

The man seemed to sense Dai Tu's wariness, waved his hand, and smiled even more brightly: "Don't be nervous, I'm not here to cause trouble. On the contrary, I'm here to bring you a stroke of good fortune."

He paused, then pointed to his eyes: "Your martial soul is your eyes, right?"

Dai Tu's eyes narrowed.

How did you know?

"How would I know?" The man laughed, stretching out his two unusual arms and waving them in the air. "Because I am one too. My martial soul is long arms. My physical martial soul is two arms."

He took a few steps forward, the moonlight shining on his face, revealing the excitement and eagerness in his eyes.

"Hey kid, what's your name?"

"Dai Tu" (戴土).

"Dai Tu... Alright, Dai Tu, let me tell you, all the Body Martial Souls in this world should belong to one place." The man spoke each word clearly, his voice filled with pride, "Body Sect."

Dai Tu's heart skipped a beat.

But his face remained expressionless; he simply asked calmly, "So?"

"So?" The man laughed again, this time with a "don't pretend, kid" kind of laugh. "So you should go home. Go back to the home of our original spirit. All original spirits in the world are one family. A family should stay together."

He walked up to Dai Tu, stretched out his unusually long arm, and patted Dai Tu's shoulder. The gesture was heavy, but without any malice.

"My name is Wang Changbi, and my martial soul is these two arms. I am a four-ring Soul Master, which is quite a figure in the Body Sect."

Wang Changbi grinned.

"I happened to be watching the deathmatch arena today, and when I saw your eyes, I knew I had found you. Our Body Sect has gained another brother."

He paused, his smile fading, and looked at Dai Tu seriously:

"Dai Tu, I don't know what you've been through, nor do I know why you came to Heaven Dou City and fought to the death in a place like the Death Arena. But now that you've awakened your True Body Martial Soul, you're one of us. The True Body Sect will not abandon any brother, nor will it allow any brother to be bullied outside."

This statement is very simple and straightforward, without any fancy words.

But as Dai Tu listened, a strange emotion welled up inside him.

Like a pot of charcoal fire in the cold winter, like a clear spring in the desert, like... a hand reaching out in the darkness.

"Come with me." Wang Changbi turned and walked towards the alley exit. After a few steps, he turned back, grinned at Dai Tu, who was still standing there.

"I'll take you to see the sect leader. Our sect leader is a remarkable person. He'll be overjoyed to see you."

Dai Tu stared at Wang Changbi's back, at the shadow that appeared exceptionally long in the moonlight, and remained silent for a long time.

Then, he lifted his foot and followed.

Wang Changbi did not take Dai Tu out of the city, but instead traveled through an old town area on the westernmost side of Tiandou City.

This area is dilapidated, with low houses, narrow streets, and potholed, sewage-filled cobblestone paths. Most of the residents are poor people who have long since turned off their lights and gone to sleep; only the occasional bark of a dog echoes in the night.

Finally, the two stopped in front of an inconspicuous house.

The house was very ordinary, with gray walls, black tiles, and a mottled wooden door; there wasn't even a plaque at the entrance. If it weren't for Wang Changbi leading the way, Dai Tu could have passed by the entrance a hundred times and still wouldn't have noticed anything special about it.

Wang Changbi stepped forward and knocked on the wooden door three times (longer than two times) and five times (shorter than five times).

"Squeak!"

The door opened a crack, and a sleepy-eyed old man peeked out. Seeing Wang Changbi, he paused, then asked, "Changbi? What's up so late?"

"Uncle Liu, I brought a newcomer back." Wang Changbi turned to the side, letting the old man see Dai Tu behind him. "His main spirit is eyes. A genius."

The old man suddenly became sober. He looked Dai Tu up and down, and a glint of light flashed in his cloudy old eyes when he saw Dai Tu's eyes, which were still clear in the night.

"Come in." The old man opened the door and let the two in.

Behind the door was a very ordinary little courtyard, with some vegetables growing and a few clothes hanging out to dry, no different from an ordinary family's home.

After passing through the small courtyard, entering the main house, and then exiting through the back door of the main house, the scene before Dai Tu's eyes stunned him.

It was a group of ancient buildings built against the mountain.

The bluestone steps wind upwards and disappear into the night. On both sides of the steps are courtyards with gray walls and black tiles, arranged in a staggered manner and built according to the mountain's terrain.

Under the moonlight, you can see the lights shining from the courtyard, like stars scattered among the mountains.

There was no grand gate, no ornate plaque, and no guarding disciples.

But their unassuming and unassuming demeanor, hidden among the common people, is more awe-inspiring than any magnificent sect.

"Is this the Body Sect?" Dai Tu asked in a low voice.