Douluo Continent: Reincarnated as the Rock King Emperor, Wandering the Mortal World

Chapter 34: Young friend, do you have any dreams?

Zhongli and Paimon strolled leisurely toward Tiandou City, passing through many villages and towns, and experiencing the local customs and culture.

The two landed in Tiandou City.

It can be said to be the most "beautiful" landing point in the entire Heaven Dou Empire.

In Tiandou City, whether commoners or nobles, people live relatively well, and at the very least, they have a stable diet of three meals a day.

I still have some spare money to spend on entertainment, like watching Soul Fighting or listening to music.

The villages and towns we pass through now are worlds apart from Tiandou City.

Regardless of its level of prosperity, the food alone is hard to describe.

Food is something we can only pursue and study when we are already well-fed.

Most ordinary people can only eat one meal a day, so how could they possibly have access to gourmet food?

That day, the two passed by an unknown village.

The village is small, with about eighty households.

"Thank you for your hospitality, sir."

Paimon, holding a bowl of porridge, spoke somewhat apologetically to an old man.

It's called porridge, but it's practically the same as plain water.

They were so poor, yet they still offered her porridge, which made Paimon feel somewhat embarrassed.

Originally, Zhongli intended to leave, but she showed no intention of leaving. Instead, she savored the bowl of porridge, discussing things like the cooking time and temperature.

This left Paimon completely baffled.

Seriously? You're the Prince of Yan, and he's so poor, how can you have the nerve to drink his porridge?

Paimon stared wide-eyed at Zhong Li in disbelief, as if he were meeting him for the first time.

"No need to thank me. I'm very sorry, we don't have much to offer you two."

The old man looked very honest, and his words were very sincere.

They were not entertained because Zhongli was dressed in fine clothes and spoke with great eloquence.

And then there's Paimon, this little guy is very endearing. He's lived for decades and this is the first time he's ever seen such a magical martial spirit!

The little guy has a sweet tongue, but unfortunately there really wasn't much food at home, otherwise he would definitely have brought it out to treat us.

Beside the old man was a boy who looked to be about ten years old. He was dressed in patched clothes and looked extremely thin.

At this moment, he was staring longingly at the porridge that Zhongli was drinking, and swallowed hard.

His eyes were filled with longing, but he gritted his teeth and held back.

What level of strength does Zhongli possess?

Wouldn't he know about this family's situation?

He continued to drink his porridge calmly, completely absorbed.

"Grandpa, how old is your grandson this year?"

At some point, Zhongli put the empty bowl aside and calmly asked the old man.

This porridge was probably the simplest he had ever eaten; normally, given his personality, he wouldn't have eaten it.

However, this porridge was more than just a bowl of porridge, so Zhongli drank it without any distractions.

Upon hearing this, the old man was slightly taken aback, and the child was equally surprised. How old was he?

It seems like four...five, or six years have passed since my Martial Soul Awakening?

For children from poor families, birthdays and such are not important.

"My lord, my grandson should be, should be twelve years old."

Zhongli sighed, looked at the empty bowl, and then at the thin, bony child.

The twelve-year-old child was smaller than the eight-year-old child in Liyue. It was pitiful and lamentable.

The child's body does not exhibit the soul power fluctuations that a soul master should have, indicating that he does not possess innate soul power and cannot become a soul master.

The best way for ordinary people to rise in social status is for their family to produce a Soul Master. Once a Soul Master is produced, it's considered to have crossed a social class.

"Young friend, what's your name?"

Hearing Zhong Li's deep and reassuring voice warmed the boy's heart. He blinked and said, "Sir, my name is Wang Gou Dan..."

Zhong Li: "..."

So close! So close!

Zhongli was just a hair's breadth away from breaking through her defenses!

That's really the name...

Taking a deep breath, Zhong Li finally calmed himself down.

"king……"

"Hmm~"

Zhong Li was about to call out "Wang Gou Dan" when he swallowed the words back down his throat.

"Sir, please excuse our lack of education. My name is Wang Mazi. His father, Wang Tiezhu, passed away early, so I gave him this name."

"Sir, you look like a learned nobleman. Why don't you give Gou Dan a name?"

Wang Mazi asked tentatively, "The villagers have all sorts of strange names, just the ones that come out of the mouth."

Anyway, everyone's used to it.

However, having a better name is also a good thing.

Hearing this, and seeing the expectant expressions on the old man's and the boy's faces, Zhongli finally nodded.

Choosing a name is a matter that is neither too big nor too small.

"Zhongli, your extensive knowledge has finally come in handy!"

"I heard you named Xiao, right?"

Paimon flew to Zhongli's side at this moment and laughed.

Zhong Li turned his head and glanced at Paimon.

In fact, he named many of his old friends.

Whenever one of them fell, it felt as if something was blocking his heart...

"That's true."

Zhong Li nodded but did not continue the conversation.

The world may not be worn down, but the heart can still ache!

"Sigh~"

After a long pause, Zhongli finally spoke, "Young friend, your surname is Wang. How about I give you a simple given name, Chen?"

"Wang Chen, Chen as in sun, moon and stars."

Most people can't suppress this word, but this child might.

"Wang Chen?"

Upon hearing the name, the boy's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Thank you, sir. From now on, my name will be Wang Chen!"

Chen (辰) has the meaning of dragon, soaring into the sky.

Born in the darkest corner under the starry sky, you will surely overcome all obstacles...

"Young friend Wang Chen, do you have any dreams?"

"dream?"

"I... I have no soul power, and my martial soul is a useless one..."

Wang Chen lowered his head, as if resigned to his fate.

That's how it is in Douluo Continent. Even if you only have one level of innate soul power, you can still have dreams. As long as you become a Soul Master, most of your dreams can be realized.

Zhong Li nodded thoughtfully and did not press the matter further.

Suddenly, as if he had just remembered something, he said, "Oh right, there's also Wang Chen, old man. Paimon and I never accept handouts."

Paimon: "???"

"Since I have nothing of value to offer, I'll use this piece of amber to pay for this meal."

After saying this, Zhongli took out an amber-colored "glass bead" from somewhere and placed it on the somewhat broken table.

"Need not……"

"Gentlemen, we have urgent business to attend to, goodbye!"

Before Wang Mazi and Wang Chen could react, Zhong Li gave Pai Meng a wink, and the two of them left immediately.

"???"

After Wang Mazi and Wang Chen came to their senses, they looked at the gem on the table. Even though they had never seen such a thing before, judging from its quality, it was definitely not an ordinary object!

(End of this chapter)