"Alright, it's getting late. Let's head out."
Xu Jiujiu suppressed the reluctance in her heart and urged them with a smile.
Caelus nodded and gave Xu Jiujiu one last deep look, as if trying to carve her image into his heart.
Then, he turned around and, leading Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo, boarded the spacious soul tool carriage.
The door closed, and with a slight ripple of Soul Power, the carriage slowly started. It sped along the broad official road toward the east, in the direction of the Continent's Number One Academy.
Xu Jiujiu stood where she was, watching the carriage gradually disappear at the end of the road; Jiu Jiu did not move for a long time.
A light breeze brushed through her hair, and the figure of the traveler was gone.
Inside the carriage, Caelus leaned back against the comfortable cushions, watching the scenery flash by outside the window. In his fragmented gold eyes, the sadness of parting was gone, replaced by anticipation for a new journey.
The spacious soul tool carriage sped east along the official road. After several days of travel, it stopped briefly for a rest at a post station for travelers.
Caelus led Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo out of the carriage, preparing to stretch their limbs.
There weren't many people at the post station. Besides them, there was only another carriage parked nearby that looked ordinary but faintly exuded an extraordinary aura.
Just then, the door of that carriage opened, and a young girl jumped down first.
The girl looked to be about eleven or twelve years old, with a tall and straight posture. She had golden hair as brilliant as sunlight, fair skin, and features as delicate as a porcelain doll's. Her azure eyes were clear and spirited, and her every glance carried an Innate nobility and an indescribable liveliness.
She curiously surveyed her surroundings, and her gaze was quickly drawn to Caelus's group.
Caelus's striking short silver-white hair, exceptionally handsome appearance, and steady, unique temperament caused a flash of undisguised surprise and admiration in her eyes.
Behind Caelus, the sweet-looking and identical sisters Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo were also a beautiful sight, prompting the blonde girl to take a few extra glances.
Their gazes met briefly, and the blonde girl gave Caelus a friendly and slightly curious smile as a greeting.
Caelus also nodded slightly in response, his expression calm.
However, when the person behind the blonde girl fully stepped out of the carriage, Caelus's heart, which had been as calm as a deep well, suddenly surged with turbulent waves.
It was a figure draped in a large black robe. The entire body, including the head, was shrouded in shadow, making the face invisible. One could only vaguely judge from the build that it was a humanoid.
She stood silently one step behind the blonde girl, like a shadow.
To others, this might just be the guard of some noble Young Miss, a bit strange but not incomprehensible.
But Caelus's heart was not so peaceful.
He didn't know the blonde girl, but as for the black-robed person beside her—others might not see it, but how could he not sense it?
That was a Nirvana Corpse, and a terrifyingly powerful one at that, even more terrifying than Spirit Kite Douluo, who had escaped from Yan Shaozhe and Man Yi in the Star Dou Great Forest.
But why would such a terrifying Nirvana Corpse be with a blonde human girl? Was it treating her as emergency rations?
Seeing the blonde girl's innocent appearance, completely unaware and even occasionally turning back to whisper and laugh with the black-robed person, a faint trace of pity did cross Caelus's heart.
Such a vibrant and beautiful life might be in extreme danger without even knowing it.
But this trace of pity was instantly suppressed by his absolute rationality.
Step in to save her?
Not to mention that it was unknown whether his guess was correct; even if it were, what did he have to save her with?
Even if Man Yi were here, she would likely just be delivering herself on a silver platter.
His only potentially effective trump card was to use Castorice to exert the authority of the myriad karma true blood to influence this Nirvana Corpse.
But what would the consequences of doing that be?
One of his greatest secrets—his identity as the source of the Nirvana Corpse—would be directly exposed before this terrifying and unpredictable Nirvana Corpse.
Once his identity was exposed, he would become public enemy number one of the entire Douluo Continent.
Most importantly, was it worth gambling everything he had painstakingly built for a complete stranger?
The answer was clearly no.
In this World, people died every moment—the wronged, the unjustly killed, the innocent... they were countless.
He could save one, but he couldn't save everyone, even if the suffering this girl was about to endure was partly due to his own sins.
But he could not put himself in danger for a momentary impulse of kindness.
If this Nirvana Corpse weren't strong enough, he wouldn't mind doing a good deed and saving a life.
But as it happened, this was the strongest existence Caelus had met so far, far stronger than those enshrined experts of the Star Luo Imperial Family.
He calmly moved his gaze away from the blonde girl and the black-robed person, as if they were just the most ordinary travelers on the road.
He said softly to Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo, "We've rested enough. Let's get back on the carriage and continue our journey."
The twin sisters nodded obediently. Although they felt the black-robed person was a bit strange, they didn't sense anything abnormal.
Caelus was the first to turn and board the carriage. From beginning to end, he didn't look back at them again.
However, in his heart, he had already marked this strange pair, especially that terrifying Nirvana Corpse, as subjects to be wary of and avoid.
The carriage started up again and gradually moved away.
At the post station, the blonde girl watched the direction Caelus's carriage was leaving, blinked her azure eyes, and said softly to the black-robed person beside her:
"Ancestor, that person... feels so special. And his hair is silver-white; it's really beautiful."
From beneath the black robe came a slightly low female voice that still retained its original cold and noble quality, though it sounded as if it were covered in dust:
"Yes, he is indeed special."
The black-robed person called "Ancestor" was none other than the god of angels, Qian Renxue, whose God Position had been shattered ten thousand years ago. She spoke slowly:
"At such a young age, his Soul Power cultivation is already close to that of a Spirit Ancestor. His Foundation is incredibly solid, and his aura is refined. In terms of talent, he is the most... terrifying Genius I have ever seen."
Her tone was flat, yet it carried a trace of imperceptible amazement. She looked at the blonde girl beside her and compared,
"He is much more formidable than you, little Gu Yi."
Mentioning this, Qian Renxue's consciousness involuntarily drifted back ten thousand years to the moment that decided her life's fate.
That blue-haired figure holding the Sea God Trident, the opponent she had once poured her emotions into, only to be utterly defeated by him—Sea God Tang San.
'Even Tang San, at his age, was far inferior.'
This conclusion surfaced in her heart, bringing with it an indescribable, complex flavor.
The man who had caused her a mix of love and hate, and who had ultimately shattered her pride and God Position, seemed to be surpassed in pure Innate talent by this strange silver-haired youth.
However, this thread of thought did not cause much of a stir in her heart.