"Where is this place?" Scarlet Heaven Sword asked. How did Song Shuhang even know this place?

Song Shuhang's primordial soul floated in the sky, looking over the castle built on the mountain, and whispered, "This is the home of Black Pupil XIII."

When it came to karmic ties in the Black Dragon World, the only ones with whom he had relatively deep ties were Lady Kunna and Black Pupil XIII.

The former was due to them being allies plus the Will of the Dragon Network and her having something to do with the fat ball, while the latter was an existence that Song Shuhang had once lived as in the dreamland, though he did only live the younger years of his life. 

During that dreamland, Song Shuhang had gotten a complete 'Black Dragon World language pack' and a complete meditation technique from the other party.

"Is that the Black Dragon World youth who went through a lot of trouble to break out of this world, and then died in the end?" Senior Scarlet Heaven Sword asked. That young man was also the opportunity that led Song Shuhang and others to the Black Dragon World.

Song Shuhang responded, "Mm-hm... Yes, it's him."

Senior Scarlet Heaven Sword curiously said, "That young man is already dead, so what are you doing here?"

After thinking for a while, Song Shuhang said, "Actually, I came here simply by following my gut. I have the feeling that the opportunity for the 'finishing touch' for one of my small golden cores can be found here."

His sixth sense was telling him that there was something here that could help him break through, and along the way, he could settle his karma with 'Black Pupil XIII'.

Senior Scarlet Heaven Sword said, "Okay. What are you going to do next, then?"

There were times when cultivators would get mysterious feelings and urges; even Scarlet Heaven would experience this every now and then. The greater one's strength, the more one would get these mysterious urges. Scarlet Heaven called them hidden fate or hidden karma. Scarlet Heaven Sword always felt that this was an illness that needed to be cured.

Song Shuhang said, "Let's have a look around, shall we?"

After saying that, his primordial soul and Senior Scarlet Heaven Sword descended to the castle together.

When they reached a certain altitude, several layers of magical defense barriers appeared above the castle. This was one of the defenses set up against the invasion of zombies and evil beasts.

However, with Scarlet Heaven Sword right by the side, Song Shuhang unknowingly found himself inside the castle. Scarlet Heaven Sword easily took advantage of the flaws in the barriers to get past them.

"Thank you, Senior Scarlet Heaven Sword," Song Shuhang said. He was very grateful that Senior Scarlet Heaven Sword was willing to protect his primordial soul this entire time.

Scarlet Heaven Sword replied, "It's not much effort. Just make sure to remember to send me a few treasured swords later on."

Song Shuhang smiled, and said, "No problem."

The interior space of the castle was huge... Nevertheless, its architectural style was very similar to the Dragon Blood Sub-Tribe of the old tribal chief. From this, it could be assumed that the Dragon Blood Clan had a rather unified preference when it came to the style of their buildings.

Song Shuhang floated aimlessly inside the castle.

One of the greatest advantages of a primordial soul was that it could phase through walls, not having to take the long way around areas.

Following his intuition, Song Shuhang's primordial soul finally arrived at a lawn in the southwest area of the castle.

There was a four-year-old boy on the lawn, carrying a spear and swinging vigorously.

The boy should be a 'hybrid'; although he had several dragon scales on his wrists, as well as several dragon scales by the edges of his eyes, the rest of his body was no different from that of humans of the Black Dragon World.

The black and frail-looking boy wielded a spear stubbornly, somewhat giving the image of a child who had suffered from child labor.

Song Shuhang's primordial soul stopped.

He looked at the dark-skinned boy, and couldn't help but feel a sense of closeness in his heart.

Song Shuhang softly said, "Found it, it's this boy."

This sense of closeness should be an aftereffect of his dream of Black Pupil XIII's life. It worked in the same way as to how he felt like a 'father' to Li Yinzhu after having entered the dreamland of Daoist Priest Li Tiansu's life.

Scarlet Heaven Sword asked, "Who is this boy?"

Song Shuhang squeezed his chin for a moment, and guessed, "He should be the son of Black Pupil XIII, I think? Although Black Pupil XIII was known as the strongest among the youth of the Dragon Blood Clan, he was at the Fifth Level in terms of strength. That being the case, his real age shouldn't be that young, thus making it very normal that he has a son. If so, then this should be Black Pupil XIV?"

Generally speaking, it was only blood relatives that could give him this feeling of closeness.

Black Pupil XIII was a pure-blood member of the Dragon Blood Clan, but this one was a hybrid. Therefore, the chance of this boy being his son was relatively high, the other possibility being that Black Pupil XIII's father or mother had remarried, and produced a little brother.

Senior Scarlet Heaven Sword asked, "Now what? Are you going to make contact with this boy?"

Song Shuhang thought for a while. "I want to observe him before deciding further."

On the lawn, the young man waved his spear stubbornly, sweat coming off of him like rain.

However, he clearly didn't have any talent for spear techniques as he was very stiff while practicing, showing neither flexibility nor fluidity in his movements. Every move gave whoever was watching a feeling of incoherence and incompatibility, making the entire routine uncomfortable to watch.

Song Shuhang said, "He looks just like how I looked when practicing the sword. I think he should change weapons."

Scarlet Heaven Sword remarked, "It's not a problem regarding the weapon. If you observe his movements carefully, you'll be able to sense that something is off. It's not that he isn't suitable for the spear, he is just simple-minded and stupid."

Song Shuhang said, "Isn't that very bad?"

Scarlet Heaven Sword responded, "Don't worry, it's not that big of a problem in the Black Dragon World if you aren't suited for martial arts. Don't forget, this is a world of magic, and their process of casting spells is extremely simple. Who knows, perhaps he's very talented in magic? The heavens are quite fair when it comes to some aspects. After taking away a kind of talent from people, they might provide them with a hidden talent. There are some mentally unstable people who have excellent artistic talent. Also, there are some who have no talent for the sword, but have peerless talent in the saber instead."

"That's true. Also, in the Black Dragon World, hybrids are generally geniuses," Song Shuhang said with a nod—after he and Li Yinzhu had been mistaken for precious hybrids, they immediately enjoyed the treatment that was normally reserved for geniuses.

While they were talking, a pair of figures approached the lawn.

One was a man who was a pure-blood member of the Dragon Blood Clan, with black scales on his body—this was the father of Black Pupil XIII, looking exactly like what Song Shuhang had seen when he had entered the dreamland.

The other was a female who was a Black Dragon World human with a great figure. Her facial features were somewhat similar to those of the boy training with the spear. She should be his mother or sister.

The human woman softly said, "Scarlet Pupil, it's time to take a break."

Scarlet Pupil seemed to be the name of the thin black boy.

Wasn't it supposed to be Black Pupil XIV?

Could it be that the name 'Black Pupil plus number' was similar to how the names in the Spirit River Su Clan were, such that one first needed to be recognized by the clan before a naming ceremony could be carried out?

But from what Shuhang could recall, Black Pupil XIII had been given his name at a very young age, and there had been no ceremony or ritual.

Then, taking into account that Black Pupil XIII's father was here as well... Was this thin black boy perhaps the younger brother of Black Pupil XIII?

The young Scarlet Pupil pulled back his spear, lowered it, and then ran to the woman's side. "Mom, have you received any news of big brother?"

The human woman shook her head slightly. "Not yet, but don't worry, your big brother Black Pupil is very strong. He's definitely fine. Moreover, he has only been out for a little over two months. Before, when he would go out for half a year, it was normal for him to only send back one letter."

"..." Song Shuhang. 

This really was Black Pupil XIII's foolish little brother.

"Alright, you should take a break first. Your dad has brought you your favorite bucket of chicken wings. After you eat, you'll have the strength to practice so that you can catch up to your big brother in the future." Papa Black Pupil on the side took out a small bucket, and placed it on the table.

Scarlet Pupil ran over happily, and took the bucket. "Thank you, Dad."

Scarlet Pupil liked eating chicken wings?

Scarlet Pupil asked, "Dad, when can I go to the temple and get my magical power top-up device?"

Papa Black Pupil's large hands stiffened slightly, but he immediately showed a gentle smile. "When you make further progress in your meditation technique, you can go and get your magical power top-up device. As such, make sure to cultivate diligently."

Scarlet Pupil confidently said, "Mm-hm, I will definitely succeed."

Papa Black Pupil sighed secretly, and looked up at the sky.

The mother at the side also raised her head, looked up at the sky, and sighed slightly.

"..." Song Shuhang. 

These two rich expressions already told him everything he needed to know.

Scarlet Pupil, Black Pupil XIII's younger brother, probably didn't have any talent for magic, either.

What happened to hybrids being geniuses?

Where exactly was this Scarlet Pupil's 'talent' hidden?

Was his talent to eat chicken wings?

After finishing his meal and sitting next to his parents to rest for a while, Scarlet Pupil picked up his spear and ran out to diligently practice, now filled with energy.

Papa Black Pupil and the mother still had a lot of things to deal with, so after sitting for a while, they got ready to leave.

"Scarlet Pupil, make sure not to overexert yourself," Papa Black Pupil urged before leaving. 

Scarlet Pupil nodded vigorously. "Don't worry, Dad, I will only practice 200 more times and then rest."

Papa Black Pupil's hand stiffened slightly again. He nodded silently, and then walked away quickly with his wife.

His eldest son was a pure-blooded member of Dragon Blood Clan and the strongest member of the younger generation of the tribe.

His youngest son was a precious hybrid with no talent whatsoever despite being so diligent in his practice.

He would practice every day, only for nothing to come of it.

I taught him the basics of spear techniques three years ago, but even after practicing several hundred times a day, there hasn't been much progress.

There was no fluidity between one move and the next.

It was said that sacrifices brought results, but his youngest son continued to sacrifice time and effort for nothing in return. This brought Papa Black Pupil great distress.

It was said that hybrids were peerless geniuses, but what talent did his son have?

Was his talent to eat chicken wings? Papa Black Pupil looked at the small bucket in his hand. Scarlet Pupil ate the bucket of chicken wings, not sparing a single scrap. It was indeed amazing in its own way.

Can my stupid son still be saved?

❄️❄️❄️

On the lawn, only Scarlet Pupil was left.

Although he looked like a thin, four-year-old child, he was actually nine years old this year.

He brandished his spear over and over again, sweat coming off of him like rain.

After 200 repetitions, he thrust the spear into the ground forcefully.

Then, he crashed onto the ground.

Scarlet Pupil softly said, "Sure enough, I'm a fool."

It turns out that he himself knew that he was an idiot. Song Shuhang initially thought that the boy was too innocent, and that he hadn't even realized that he was an idiot. But it appeared that this was not the case.

Song Shuhang's eyes followed Scarlet Pupil silently. At the same time, on the Golden Core Composition of the virtuous diamond ball, the eyes of the Sage, who was delivering a speech, slowly opened...