"Then, I had an earth-shattering battle with Ye Tiandi. The fight was extremely difficult—stars shattered, heaven and earth were overturned. He truly lived up to his name, a peerless genius who had fought countless battles across the world. His supreme Dou Technique, the 'Heavenly Emperor Reincarnation Fist,' was incredibly powerful!"
"But I had my own methods as well! I unleashed the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder—the legendary thunder of the heavens, feared by gods and demons alike, capable of slaying immortals and annihilating deities! In the end, I barely won. My white robes were stained with blood, and I bled across the starry sky… but to face such a worthy opponent—what an honor, what a battle! I have no regrets!"
After finishing, Xiao Bai clasped his hands behind his back and gazed at the sky, sighing deeply as if he was still reminiscing about his honorable rival.
Xun'er glanced at him with amusement, rolling her beautiful eyes. A story? And you actually got so immersed in it? She was well aware that a mere Dou Practitioner couldn't possibly shatter the stars and overturn heaven and earth—even a Dou Di couldn't do that!
"Come on, let's go home," she said with a chuckle.
Xiao Bai, after dramatically sighing one last time, chose not to continue.
Not far away, hidden in the shadows, Ling Ying was on edge. What?! You're stopping now? He nearly ran out and grabbed the boy by the collar. You're leaving the story unfinished?
Ling Ying was completely absorbed, already imagining himself using these incredible lines in a fight. He hurriedly took out a scroll and a brush, frantically scribbling down the "Legendary Boastful Sayings" for future use. How could he let such an amazing script go to waste?!
Thankfully, at that moment, his young mistress spoke up.
"Brother Xiao Bai, weren't there three opponents? What about the last one?"
Seeing Xun'er's eyes sparkle with curiosity, Xiao Bai felt a headache coming. Damn, I hyped up the second guy too much! Who comes next?
Should it be "Gu Tiandi"? But he hadn't read Sacred Ruins.
Should he bring out the Milk Baby? But that guy's karma was too heavy, and Xiao Bai was a bit scared! After all, if he could transmigrate to Battle Through the Heavens, then it was possible that Zhetian and Perfect World existed too.
What if, when he called out that name, a voice suddenly echoed from the void—"I'm here. I have always been here."
…Shit. Just imagining that gave him chills!
No, no, I can't risk it. If I keep thinking about it, I'll start laughing.
"Let's go, let's go! We'll talk about it when we get back. I'll tell you about the last person, a story about a Milk Baby. Let me tell you, this guy is something else!"
Xiao Bai grabbed Xun'er's small hand and led her down the mountain.
Xun'er blinked in surprise. Did he just say… 'my Xun'er'?
She glanced down at their joined hands, realizing it was the first time Xiao Bai had ever held her hand. Her fair cheeks turned pink, and a sweet warmth filled her heart.
She didn't resist, letting him lead her all the way down the mountain, secretly wishing the path were longer so they could walk like this forever.
---
Back at his courtyard, Xiao Bai let go of Xun'er's hand.
"Wait here in the courtyard for a bit. I need to wash up first, and then I'll tell you the story," he said casually before heading inside to bathe.
Xun'er remained standing there, staring at her now-empty hand. She felt a little… disappointed.
If only the walk down the mountain had been longer…
She sat quietly at the stone table in the courtyard, lost in thought.
After freshening up, Xiao Bai emerged with a teapot in hand. He saw Xun'er sitting at the table, seemingly daydreaming. A soft smile appeared on his lips.
"What are you thinking about that's making you so happy?" he asked, placing the teapot on the table and sitting beside her.
Xun'er snapped out of her thoughts, startled. Her face turned slightly red, and she avoided his gaze.
"N-No, it's nothing. I was just remembering something from the past."
Xiao Bai noticed that Xun'er's expression seemed a little off and was about to ask further.
"By the way, Brother Xiao Bai, weren't you going to tell me a story? Hurry up, hurry up! I can't wait any longer!"
Xun'er quickly changed the subject, afraid that he would keep pressing her for answers.
Xiao Bai saw right through her little trick but played along, nodding. It's best not to pry too much into a girl's thoughts.
He picked up the teapot and poured them each a cup, filling the air with a rich, fragrant aroma. Taking a light sip, he recalled the story from his past life and began narrating.
"In ancient legends, the world was divided into Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow, as well as the Eight Cosmic Desolations. This story begins in one of those desolations, the Wasteland Region. Within it, there was a country called the Stone Kingdom."
"In the capital of the Stone Kingdom, within the Stone Marquis' Mansion, a child was born. His name was Shi Hao."
"Shi Hao was a Heaven-born Supreme, and within his body, he possessed a mystical bone known as the Supreme Bone."
"What does 'Heaven-born Supreme' mean? Is a Supreme very powerful? Stronger than a Dou Di? If so, does that mean someone can be born as a Dou Di?"
Xun'er interrupted with curiosity.
Xiao Bai rolled his eyes. Are you a nitpicker or what? Couldn't she use her imagination a little? These were different cultivation systems—how could they even be compared? Besides, if a comparison were to be made, it would be with the Sovereigns of the Great Thousand World. Even Potato himself had said that a Dou Di was equivalent to a Sovereign!
He flicked Xun'er's smooth forehead lightly, silently apologizing to the little milk baby in his heart, then explained in a way she could understand.
"A Supreme is basically the same as a Dou Di—just different names for the same thing. 'Heaven-born Supreme' means someone with extraordinary talent, someone highly likely to become a Supreme in the future. It's kind of like an old historical record I read before, which mentioned that the descendants of Dou Di's had something called Dou Di Bloodline, allowing them to have incredible talent. Got it?"
"Mm-hmm! I got it, I got it!"
Xun'er beamed with delight, nodding repeatedly. So I'm a Heaven-born Supreme too! That sounds way cooler than just having an "Dou Di Bloodline"—way more domineering!
Xiao Bai smirked. Just from her expression, he could already guess what she was thinking. See? This is the power of storytelling—total immersion!
He continued narrating, telling Xun'er about Shi Hao's tragic childhood—how his Supreme Bone was stolen and how he was sent away to Stone Village.
Hearing this, Xun'er clenched her teeth in anger. She imagined herself in Shi Hao's place—if her own clan had extracted her Dou Emperor Bloodline and abandoned her in the Xiao Clan—she shuddered at the thought, her hatred toward Shi Hao's aunt growing deep.
Then, Xiao Bai described Shi Hao's joyful childhood in Stone Village.
Xun'er's beautiful eyes softened, glistening with warmth. Shi Hao had elders, friends, a childhood full of laughter… but my childhood wasn't bad either. After all, I had Brother Xiao Bai.
As the story progressed, Xiao Bai narrated the moment Shi Hao left the Great Wilderness, defeating Shi Yi, the very person who had stolen his Supreme Bone.
Xun'er felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction.
Of course, Xiao Bai enhanced the story a bit. He made sure to highlight the presence of female characters like Huo Ling'er, Yun Xi, Qing Yi, and Yue Chan, ensuring they were all deeply devoted to Shi Hao. Not only did he keep the most touching moments from the original story, but he also added several tragic yet beautiful love arcs for them.
This was one of his ulterior motives—slipping in some personal influence.
"Proper education starts young!" Xiao Bai thought to himself with a sly grin.
However, not everyone appreciated these… romantic embellishments.
Ling Ying, still eavesdropping from the shadows, was getting impatient.
"Enough with the love stories! Get to the badass lines already!"
He was more interested in Shi Hao's legendary one-liners—those confidence-filled, over-the-top declarations that made one's blood boil!
"Defeated foes are never my equals. I'll give you time to catch up, but soon, you won't even be able to see my back!"
"Losing to me will be the only memorable thing in your entire life!"
"What are Emperor Clans? One day, I alone shall be an Emperor Clan! Without relying on ancestral blessings, I shall reign supreme by my own power!"
Ling Ying hurriedly wrote these down in his notes.
He glanced at the third quote… hesitated… then immediately crossed it out.
"If the clan leader ever saw this, I'd be dead."