"Tower God?!"
Hong Yu was stunned.
"The hell's with that look? Are you questioning my identity? Looks like if I don't show you what I'm made of, you won't know your place."
The childish shouting had just ended when the Profound Celestial Tower flashed with black light, enveloping Hong Yu.
When the black light faded, Hong Yu was seen lying on the ground, still holding the Profound Celestial Tower, his eyes vacant and lifeless...
"Where is this?" Hong Yu asked in astonishment, staring blankly at the surrounding void filled with stars.
"Hahaha, now you know how powerful I am, don't you? Bet you don't dare question my identity as the Tower God now, huh?"
The void trembled, and a colossal figure appeared before Hong Yu. It was a ferocious Ancient Beast, a full hundred meters long, its entire body a dark gold. Two pairs of bony wings shimmering with black light were draped at its sides, giving it an exceptionally domineering air.
At that moment, this incredibly imposing Ancient Beast was tilting its head up slightly, looking down at Hong Yu with a smug gaze.
"Are you really the Tower God?"
Hong Yu blinked, utterly bewildered.
Hearing the childish voice of this Tower God, who was so fond of cussing, Hong Yu's first impression had been of an adorable, cherubic little kid.
'But how could I have ever imagined he'd look like *this*?'
'Did he grow up too fast? Or maybe this guy just has a big body, but the mind of a child?'
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" the Giant Beast spoke, its childish voice a stark contrast to its enormous body.
"I was thinking about why you'd turn yourself into this. Could it be... you're afraid of me?"
Having lived two lives, Hong Yu's mind was sharp. After some thought, he concluded that the Giant Beast was definitely not the being's true form—or at least, it couldn't possibly look like this naturally. So, he decided to press his advantage with a bluff.
Hearing this, a flash of astonishment crossed the Giant Beast's lantern-like eyes. Its childish voice now held a note of curiosity. "Dammit, how did you know this body was something I transformed into? Did I slip up somewhere? No, that can't be right. My Transformation Technique is flawless..."
As it muttered to itself, the ferocious Giant Beast began to shrink. In just a moment, a cherubic little boy appeared before Hong Yu.
Staring at the little boy who had suddenly appeared, Hong Yu was completely dumbfounded!
'A cute little porcelain doll? Check.'
'Two adorable pigtails sticking straight up? Check.'
'A longevity lock swinging back and forth on his chest? Check.'
The problem was...
'When a little brat possessing all these cute features appears before you, and he's also got a large pipe puffing white smoke dangling from his mouth, you can't help but feel speechless!'
'Holy crap, this isn't a Tower God! This is a thug version of Nezha, isn't it?!'
Hong Yu muttered blankly.
"Hey, how on earth did you see through my Transformation Technique?" Little One took a puff from his pipe, the smoke billowing out and completely obscuring his cute little face as he asked in his soft, childish voice.
Hong Yu shook his head. "I didn't see through your Transformation Technique. I just felt that your voice and tone didn't match the Giant Beast's appearance at all. I had a gut feeling that it wasn't your true form, so I decided to test the waters. I just didn't expect..."
Hong Yu didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was crystal clear.
'I didn't guess you had a Transformation Technique. I was just a little suspicious, and you exposed yourself!'
Little One slapped his forehead in frustration, his chubby, tiger-cub-like appearance looking quite adorable. He took another pretentious puff from his pipe, blowing out a cloud of smoke. "Scrub, seeing as you're reasonably clever, I've decided to give you a chance. Acknowledge me as your boss and stick with me! From now on, I'll have your back, and I guarantee you'll live the good life!"
"COUGH, COUGH..."
Hong Yu let out a dry cough. 'Follow this little hooligan? No way in hell am I doing that!'
He rubbed his nose and asked, "Who are you, really? And where is this place?"
"Dammit, stop calling me 'you'! You're supposed to call me Lord Tower God!"
Little One jumped up high, tapped Hong Yu on the head with his big pipe, and said with a grimace, "I am the Tower God, so this is obviously the inner space of the Profound Celestial Tower. But you're such a scrub you haven't even unlocked the First Layer... If I hadn't happened to wake up, find that Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass, and absorb it myself, I'd still be sleeping right now."
The topic seemed to infuriate him, as Little One jumped up again and rapped Hong Yu on the head a few more times to vent his frustration.
Clutching his head, Hong Yu finally understood that this little brute had devoured the Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass. He stared speechlessly at the fierce Little One. "Hold on. What did you just say about an inner space, the First Layer, and sleeping?"
"Huh? You mean you don't know the secrets of the Profound Celestial Tower?"
Little One adjusted the sunglasses on his nose, staring with his round, dark eyes.
Hong Yu nodded.
Little One plopped down on the ground, pouting in frustration. "I was wondering why you've been carrying the Profound Celestial Tower for so many years without even being able to open the First Layer. Turns out you were sitting on a Treasure Mountain without even knowing it. Dammit, it's a good thing I took the initiative to absorb that Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass, otherwise who knows how much longer I'd have been asleep!"
"Hey, Scrub, how about we make a deal?" Little One suddenly looked up, his tone tempting.
"Stop calling me Scrub."
Hong Yu grumbled, pursing his lips. "What kind of deal?"
"I know you need to deal with the Red Yin Poison Scorpions, right? Haha, don't look at me like that. I am omniscient and omnipotent..."
Little One took another smug puff from his big pipe and continued, "You came looking for the Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass to earn some money to buy things like the Antitoxic Pill, Cloud-Piercing Bow, and Armor-piercing Arrows to deal with the Red Yin Poison Scorpions, didn't you? But now that I've swallowed the Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass, there's no way you can earn enough money to buy that equipment in time. Hehe, but don't worry. As long as you agree to a few of my demands, I'll give you a hand! How about it? Tempted, aren't you?"
Under Little One's big, glistening dark eyes, Hong Yu simply shook his head. "I refuse."
"Urk..."
Little One, who had a whole speech of smug remarks prepared, choked and was left speechless. Then came a torrent of curses. "Dammit, how can you refuse? How can you turn down such a great opportunity? Dammit, have you forgotten you only have one month for that mission? Aren't you afraid you'll fail?"
"Of course I'm afraid, but I'm even more afraid of you screwing me over."
Hong Yu said bluntly, "You claim to be the Tower God, but I have no way to verify your identity. If you trick me, it'll be too late for regrets. Besides, you just swallowed my Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass, and that was worth tens of thousands of Gold Coins. You ate it without offering any compensation, which makes me seriously doubt your character."
"..."
Little One was completely stunned.
'It was true he was powerful, and yes, he was the great and mighty Lord Tower God...'
'But only he knew all that. And, for certain reasons, he couldn't even prove his identity. On top of that, just as Hong Yu said, he really had swallowed the Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass. So far, he was the only one who had benefited, while Hong Yu had gained nothing at all.'
'How was he supposed to get anyone to trust him like this?'
Little One's eyes darted around, and he suddenly said, "Scrub, how about this? I'll help you earn enough money to complete the Red Yin Poison Scorpion mission first, as compensation for the Three-Flower Three-Leaf Grass. After that's done, we can continue talking about the deal?"
"Deal!"
Hong Yu grinned. 'That's what I was waiting for.'
Seeing this, Little One immediately realized he'd been had. The little guy shook his fist indignantly, so mad he could grind his teeth.
But even though he acted like a total hooligan, the kid was true to his word. As if to vent his anger, he took a long drag from his pipe, exhaled a cloud of white smoke, and slowly uttered a sentence that left Hong Yu utterly flabbergasted...
"Alright, Scrub, listen up! I'm going to teach you how to become a Spiritual Craftsman!"