The next morning, at breakfast time.
Chu Chengzhou sat at the table, radiant and refreshed, while Tang Yuehua's cheeks glowed with a healthy flush.
Opposite them, Tang San slumped in his seat—dull-eyed, listless, radiating an unmistakable air of exhaustion.
"Xiao San, didn't you sleep well last night?"
Tang Yuehua couldn't help but ask, concerned by her nephew's pallor.
"No… no, I'm fine~"
Tang San glanced sideways at Chu Chengzhou and lied with forced cheer.
How could he have slept well? To be precise—he hadn't slept at all.
Not because Chu Chengzhou had spent the entire night in exertion, but because every time he imagined what that old scoundrel was doing next door—with his own aunt—his chest burned with rage.
That simmering fury was why his spirit was so drained.
After all, even a full night without sleep meant little to a Soul King.
Seeing through his falsehood, Tang Yuehua reached under the table and pinched the soft flesh of Chu Chengzhou's waist with surprising force.
It was all his fault—making her lose face in front of her nephew.
As his aunt pinched him, Chu Chengzhou didn't flinch. Instead, he gave her a mischievous eyebrow raise.
She shot him a glare in return.
At that moment, two maids ascended to the fifth floor, carrying breakfast and fine porcelain dishes.
Breakfast arrived. Tang Yuehua ladled a bowl of savory meat porridge for Tang San and said, "Eat up, Xiao San. Afterward, I'll help you master the Killing God Domain."
"Mm."
Tang San accepted the steaming bowl with a nod, and a quiet warmth bloomed in his chest.
Not because the porridge was delicious—though it was—but because his aunt had served him first. Not Chu Chengzhou.
Tang San: My aunt still loves me!
He watched as she poured herself a bowl next—and then, to his astonishment, she did not offer any to Chu Chengzhou.
No portion for the old scoundrel?
His joy deepened. He dared to glance at Chu Chengzhou with a smug, challenging look.
Chu Chengzhou noticed, of course—but he only shook his head with a faint, amused smile.
Under Tang San's watchful gaze, Chu Chengzhou reached into his storage soul device and pulled out a jade container the size of a washbasin. He lifted the lid, dipped in a large spoon, and filled his bowl with a thick, luminous golden paste.
Instantly, an intoxicating aroma flooded the air.
Tang San's eyes locked onto Chu Chengzhou's bowl.
He could sense it—the golden paste wasn't just fragrant. It radiated immense, gentle, and profoundly pure energy.
With even a fraction of this, he could ascend to the sixth rank—Soul Emperor—in mere days.
"You're eating that whale brain? How are we supposed to enjoy our breakfast now?"
Tang Yuehua wrinkled her nose, glancing disapprovingly at Chu Chengzhou.
Yue Xuan's cuisine was exquisite—even simple meat porridge was a delicacy. But beside this golden paste? It was like comparing mud to nectar.
'Whale brain? Is that… the brain of a whale-type soul beast?' Tang San swallowed hard, bewildered.
"Then you should eat some too," Chu Chengzhou said casually, raising an eyebrow toward Tang San before scooping a spoonful and gently offering it to Tang Yuehua's lips.
"No, you finish it," she replied, shaking her head.
Though the substance was divine and nourishing, her current priority wasn't rapid soul power growth—it was mastering control over her existing energy.
Besides, Chu Chengzhou's strength was higher than hers, yet his soul power level was lower. He needed it far more than she did.
As for her nephew, who looked half-starved and hungry beside them?
He wasn't a child begging for candy. She knew her place. If she asked, Chu Chengzhou would give it to him—no doubt. But that would create an awkward tension.
They were peers. Chu Chengzhou needed advancement just as much as Xiao San did. She couldn't bring herself to ask for her nephew's sake.
After all, Xiao San had innate full-soul-power potential—he didn't need this treasure. With time and discipline, he'd catch up.
"I've still got plenty," Chu Chengzhou grinned, tapping the massive jade container on the table. "You take one bite, I take one—we'll share till the end of our lives!"
"Still so childish," she scolded lightly, rolling her eyes.
As an elder, she had dignity. Had Xiao San not been present, she might have accepted. But with her nephew watching? She couldn't possibly indulge in such overt affection.
What happened last night? Her nephew was next door—so if he didn't see it… then it didn't happen. Right?
"Tsk~"
Chu Chengzhou sighed dramatically, shook his head, then turned to Tang San with a pointed chin and began eating the golden paste with quiet relish.
'Damn it! Such a divine treasure in the hands of that old scoundrel? It's an unforgivable waste!' Tang San seethed inwardly, his envy and resentment boiling over.
Amidst Tang San's burning gaze, breakfast ended—"pleasantly," if one ignored the silent war of glares.
But Chu Chengzhou didn't stop eating. As long as his body could digest it without overloading, he kept consuming.
For Chu Chengzhou, his top priority was clear: reach Level 90 as quickly as possible, attach his ninth soul ring, and ascend to Titled Douluo.
Because once he reached Titled Douluo, his AFK cheat would upgrade again.
And beyond that—even without the theoretical Soul Armor he hadn't yet invented—his strength would approach invincibility. Soon, he'd become truly unmatched on the continent.
"Xiao San," Tang Yuehua said after breakfast, shifting to business, "release your Killing God Domain."
Her nephew's condition was unstable. She needed to help him master it swiftly.
"Mm."
Tang San nodded slightly.
A surge of brilliant white light erupted from his body—then faded into invisibility.
In its place, an overwhelming, violent aura of slaughter swept through the hall, thick with the stench of countless deaths.
Tang Yuehua furrowed her brows, carefully observing Tang San's state.
In the past, without activating her own Wishful Ring's domain, she would have been shaken to her core by such raw, murderous energy.
But now? As an eight-ring Soul Douluo, adorned with eight hundred-thousand-year soul rings and six hundred-thousand-year soul bones, her physical and spiritual foundations surpassed even most Soul Emperors.
Though the Killing God Domain pressed against her power, it couldn't break her composure. She stood calm—unmoved, unshaken.
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