Yu Ming rubbed his jaw with a wince, clearly the pain was still fresh.
Chen Dao scowled.
"Shut up, you Dragon Idiot!"
Yu Ming snorted, stepping closer with a mocking smirk.
"Sword Idiot, at least I don't scream random nonsense like a deranged rooster."
Then, with absolute seriousness, he added:
"Also! I bet my third sword is longer than yours."
Lu Ping almost choked on his skewered meat.
He stared at both of them slowly.
"…Looks like you two are very close friends."
Both immediately snapped toward him.
"Don't lump me together with this pervert!" Chen Dao barked.
"Don't make me friends with this sword-obsessed maniac!" Yu Ming retorted.
A heartbeat of silence.
Then—simultaneously:
"Who are you calling a pervert?!""Who are you calling a sword idiot?!"
The two glared at each other so fiercely that sparks might as well have been flying.
People walking by took a wide detour.
Lu Ping exhaled softly.
For the first time since leaving the arena, it seems a faint genuine smile tugged at his lips.
After the little quarrel cooled down, the three young men drifted toward a quieter corner of the street. A dim lantern flickered above them, casting warm light over the snack stalls and the lingering evening fog.
They chatted casually—about the match, the audience, stupid fighters, even some inside jokes from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Eventually, Chen Dao's gaze shifted again toward the mask that still covered the upper part of Lu Ping's face.
He hesitated, then asked bluntly:
"That mask… Did you suffer some heavy injury when you were a child?"
Lu Ping's fingers brushed the rough surface of the mask.
His gaze drifted downward, and the noisy street around them seemed to fade for a moment.
His voice came low, steady…
"Yes. The memory… is unforgettable."
The air grew still.
Chen Dao and Yu Ming exchanged glances and didn't ask any further.
Everyone in this world had their own past.After a while, Lu Ping stood.
"I'll take my leave first."
He clasped his fists lightly and walked away, blending into the thinning crowd.
Chen Dao and Yu Ming watched his back disappear into the night.
The moment he was far enough, Yu Ming asked in a low voice:
"Chen Dao… is he also like us?"
Chen Dao folded his arms.
"No. I already tested him."
Yu Ming's expression tightened.
"Then why the hell is he that strong? He's not even from a major clan!"
Chen Dao sighed.
"Yu Ming, wake up. This is the new world. Nothing is following the novel's original trajectory anymore."
He looked out toward the city lights with a pensive expression.
"The soul beast tide from years ago—did you ever read anything remotely similar in the Douluo novels? No."
His voice lowered.
"Our existence alone is a massive butterfly effect. The more we interfere, the more the world diverges."
Yu Ming's nails dug into his palms as he muttered:
"Butterfly effect? Don't joke with me."
"Both of us got beaten to death by that old bastard Dugu Bo when we went to get herbs at the Yin Yang Ice Fire Well. If that poisonous son of a b*tch hands those herbs to Tang San…"
His eyes glowed in fury.
"The moment I reach Titled Douluo, I swear—I'll tear that hypocrite Dugu Bo apart first."
Chen Dao quietly looked at him.
Inside, he sighed:
'This guy… I'm sure he'll do exactly that.'
But outwardly he spoke calmly:
"Lu Ping might not be a reincarnator… but I think he might be a disciple raised by a hidden clan."
Yu Ming frowned, eyes darkening.
"…Hidden clan, huh?"
After a few minutes of silence between the two reincarnators, Yu Ming suddenly chuckled, leaning back.
With a teasing smile he asked:
"Hey, Dao… how is Rongrong doing these days?"
The question sounded casual—too casual.
But Chen Dao's expression instantly collapsed.
The warmth disappeared from his eyes, replaced by a cold, razor-sharp hostility.
He turned toward Yu Ming slowly, jaw tightening.
"…Yu Ming."
His voice dropped several degrees, like a blade scraping across ice.
"I will say this again—keep your filthy paws away from Ning Rongrong."
"I know exactly what kind of scum you are."
This was no empty warning.Chen Dao had lived for years in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.He now treated the clan like a second home.He regarded Ning Fengzhi with genuine respect and Sword Douluo as a true elder.Ning Rongrong is a sister to him that he never had in his previous life.
And nobody touched his family.
Yu Ming blinked—and for an instant, the joking smile on his face cracked.
A moment ago the two were chatting like old friends.Now the tension between them was thick enough to split the stone beneath their feet.
Yu Ming quickly backpedalled, raising both hands as if surrendering:
"Whoa—calm down, Dao! You're misunderstanding."
He forced a grin—eyes half-moon shaped, lips curled in his 'innocent dragon' act.
"Rongrong is like a sister to me too."
Chen Dao stared at him.
But for a long, suffocating moment.
Finally, he found… nothing.
With slow reluctance, Chen Dao turned away.
"…It had better be like that."
He tossed the words over his shoulder, voice still cold.
Then he walked off into the street, steps steady and unhurried.
Yu Ming maintained his harmless smile until Chen Dao's silhouette disappeared around the corner