Chapter 62

“Say what you will, but the phrase ‘I’m done being a prince—I’m going to be a thief’ from Prince Duan is simply brilliant, no wonder so many beauties are drawn to him.”

“Zhang Jie of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber sighed, acknowledging Prince Duan’s considerable personal charm.”

“Hah, thinking of the Shaolin martial arts assembly, when Xu Zhu acknowledged someone as his father—that moment when Duan Zhengchun stepped forward to claim him without even knowing Ye Erniang—I can’t help but laugh.”

“Duan Zhengchun has one good trait: he dares to take responsibility—even for things he didn’t do.”

“Zhang Jie of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils chuckled and groaned.”

“When Xu Zhu claimed kinship, look how much the heroes trusted Duan Zhengchun—that’s the power of reputation.”

“Of all the martial world news, Duan Zhengchun alone claims eight out of ten.”

“The first time Duan Zhengchun truly shocked me was when Kang Min nearly killed him—and yet he still flirted with her. Too badass.”

“Zhang Jie of Water Margin couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up to Prince Duan, far away in The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils’ world.”

“Back then, if Old Duan had just accepted it, even if Xuan Ci himself admitted it, or if Ye Erniang described Xu Zhu’s birthmarks, or if Xiao Yuanshan produced a DNA report—”

“All the heroes in the martial world would’ve thought Old Xiao was running a fake document racket.”

“When the DNA report came out, Xu Zhu wasn’t Duan Zhengchun’s son because some dark sect master altered Xu Zhu’s DNA to frame a virtuous monk.”

“As the martial heroes watched Duan Zhengchun walk forward slowly:”

“‘Hey! Prince Duan is truly a man of courage and integrity!’”

“Prince Duan: ‘Mine.’”

“Xu Zhu: ‘Father!’”

“Xiao Yuanshan and Abbot Xuan Ci: ‘???’”

“All the heroes in the martial world: ‘The abbot is just too kind~’”

“Zhang Jie of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils chuckled and groaned: ‘Let’s be clear—Duan Zhengchun may be a scoundrel, but he dares to claim and even wants to take responsibility, giving people this weird mix of good and bad.’”

“What’s this called? This is reputation.”

“One Prince Duan says you’re his son—you’re his son.”

“One Flying Bat Ke Zhen’e says you’re evil—you’re evil.”

“Zhang Jie of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber smiled faintly and spoke slowly.”

“In The Condor Heroes, Yang Guo refused to believe his father Yang Kang was the traitor others—Huang Rong, Zhao Zhijing—called him, a man who sold his country and served the enemy.”

“But the moment Ke Zhen’e spoke, he believed.”

“Ke Zhen’e was truly righteous—he’d never wrongly labeled an evil man.”

“Though his strength was mediocre, he was the most upright man imaginable.”

“In The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Condor Heroes, you could call Ke Zhen’e weak—but never evil.”

“Zhang Jie of Water Margin’s mind turned, and he came up with a good idea:”

“‘Duan Zhengchun’s exploits could easily be turned into a standalone spin-off series—everyone would want to watch it.’”

“After all, what bad intentions could Prince Duan possibly have? He just wants to give all the beauties of the world a home, and all fatherless children a father.”

“Is it serious? The serious version probably won’t pass censorship.”

“But the unserious version? Everyone probably won’t like it.”

“Zhang Jie of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, who knew everyone loved watching Old Duan as a ‘walking jackhammer,’ asked.”

“Zhang Jie of Water Margin shrugged:”

“‘Whether it’s serious or not depends on the screenwriter—I can’t decide that!’”

“At that moment, Zhang Jie of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils spoke with a solemn expression:”

“‘I’m afraid that in the spin-off, young Prince Duan once traveled to the Khitan lands.’”

He merely wished to give all the beauties of the world a home, and all the fatherless children a father.

“Zhang Jie of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber fell silent, speechless.”

“If Prince Duan couldn’t control his second brother and gave Xiao Yuanshan a green hat too—what if he turned that guy with the built-in speaker into his son?”

“What if Qiao Feng didn’t become Xiao Feng, didn’t save Yelu Hongji to become Southern Court Grand Commander of Liao—but instead returned to the Duan clan, inherited the throne of Dali?”

“Prince Duan: ‘Mine.’”

“Qiao Feng: ‘Father!’”

“All the martial world elders and Xiao Yuanshan:”

“‘Did we misremember? Was there even an event at Yanmen Pass?’”

“‘But Old Duan is only nine years older than Xiao Feng!’”

“Faced with Zhang Jie of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils’ wild imagination, Zhang Jie of Water Margin stared blankly.”

“‘The heroes: No wonder Prince Duan is so powerful—he could do this at nine years old!’”

“Zhang Jie of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils brought up Prince Duan’s reputation again.”

Could it be that Qiaofeng would not become Xiao Feng, save Yelu Hongji, and assume the post of Southern Court Grand General of Liao?

“Zhang Jie of Water Margin was left utterly speechless.”

“Prince Duan was simply too authoritative in this regard—he was an unquestionable conceptual deity.”

“……”

“‘Better not.’”

“‘Duan Feng’ just doesn’t sound as natural as ‘Qiao Feng’ or ‘Xiao Feng.’”

“As Zhang Jie of Water Margin and Zhang Jie of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber stared speechless at Zhang Jie of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils’ wild imagination, a voice—both unfamiliar and familiar—entered their ears.”

Facing the wildly imaginative Tianlong Zhang Jie, the Water Margin Zhang Jie fell silent.

“There’s a new storm—no, a new Zhang Jie has arrived!”

“The three Zhang Jies were overjoyed.”

“They had all been seasoned veterans of the shared space for months, coming nearly every night to chat, their voices so familiar to each other.”

“In 21st-century terms, they had memorized each other’s vocal tones—able to identify each other by voice alone.”

“Now, with this unfamiliar voice appearing, it could only mean a new Zhang Jie had arrived in the shared space.”

“And familiarity? Only a Zhang Jie could come—they were all the same person!”

“The three Zhang Jies turned toward the voice and saw a young man with bronze-toned skin, wearing a brown vest, his exposed arms showing smooth, powerful muscle definition.”

“Though his face wasn’t exceptionally handsome, his bronze skin gave him a distinctly masculine aura, his shoulder-length hair casually tousled, standing over ten meters away, watching them.”

“Brother, which world are you from?”

“Zhang Jie of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber asked curiously.”

“The world I come from—if nothing unexpected happens—is One Piece.”

“The vest-wearing youth, or rather, the One Piece Zhang Jie, answered straightforwardly.”

“Though he didn’t know Zhang Jie of Water Margin or the others, his subconscious told him they wouldn’t harm him—he felt completely at ease.”

All three of them were seasoned veterans who had roamed the shared space for months.

“Zhang Jie of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils’ eyes lit up.”

“If One Piece Zhang Jie obtained a few powerful Devil Fruits, wouldn’t he skyrocket?”

“Then defeating Li Qiushui and the Heaven’s Mountain Old Witch and reviving the Xiao Yao Sect would be child’s play!”

“Why bother scheming against Duan Yanqing and painstakingly accumulating martial energy?”

“Bro, let’s share.”

“Excited, Zhang Jie of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils stepped forward with Lingbo Microsteps, flashing beside One Piece Zhang Jie in an instant.”

Dressed in a brown vest, his exposed arms displayed exceptionally smooth, powerful muscle contours.

“One Piece Zhang Jie grasped the hand extended by Zhang Jie of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.”

“Zhang Jie of Water Margin and Zhang Jie of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, seeing this, also moved to One Piece Zhang Jie’s side—share first, talk later.”

“Damn, bro, how did you reincarnate into Big Mom’s territory?!”

“Soon after opening his eyes, Zhang Jie of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber exclaimed.”

“One Piece Zhang Jie had not reincarnated as a Celestial, the so-called ‘descendants of the Creator God,’”

The young man in the hoodie, or rather the pirate Zhang Jie, replied bluntly.

Although he did not know the Water Margin Zhang Jie and the others, his subconscious told him that

the Water Margin Zhang Jie and the others would not harm him, so he was very relaxed.

“The Pirate King!”

The Dragon Ball Zhang Jie’s eyes sparkled.

If the pirate Zhang Jie obtained a few powerful Devil Fruits, wouldn’t he skyrocket?

Then defeating Li Qiushui and the Old Man of the Heavenly Mountains and reviving the Xiao Yao Sect would be child’s play?

Why would he still need to painstakingly scheme against Duan Yanqing and accumulate cultivation?

“Brother, let’s share it.”

The excited Dragon Ball Zhang Jie stepped on the Lingbo Microsteps, flickering instantly to the pirate Zhang Jie’s side.

“Fine.”

The pirate Zhang Jie grasped the hand extended by the Dragon Ball Zhang Jie.

The Water Margin Zhang Jie and the Heaven’s Blade Zhang Jie, seeing this, also came over to the pirate Zhang Jie’s side—share first, talk later.

“Damn, bro, how did you reincarnate into Mom’s Ten Thousand Nations?!”

After a moment, the Heaven’s Blade Zhang Jie opened his eyes and exclaimed.

The pirate Zhang Jie had not reincarnated as a Celestial, the so-called descendants of the Creator God,

He did not become a Fish-Man, a Fur Tribe member, a Giant, or a Dwarf.

He remained a purely human being, as pure as could be.

But the place of his rebirth was somewhat unusual:

It was neither Windmill Village, the so-called newbie pirate village, nor “The Beginning and the End,”

nor Loguetown, where the Pirate King Roger was born and died, nor any other sea region like the West Blue or North Blue,

but right on the Grand Line, within Big Mom’s Whole Cake Island!

“Being born in Big Mom’s Whole Cake Island isn’t so bad.

In this pirate world, after the Age of Pirates began,

places without protection might one day be looted by pirates or slaughtered by Celestial Dragons.

Regions under the protection of the Four Emperors are already paradise in this world.

In Whole Cake Island, you only need to surrender a little of your lifespan,

and the rest of your problems are handled by Big Mom’s crew,

something unimaginable in other regions,

the only downside being Big Mom’s unpredictable fits of madness.”

Water Margin Zhang Jie adjusted his nonexistent glasses and analyzed.

“Indeed.”

Pirate Zhang Jie nodded solemnly.

After comparison, Big Mom’s Whole Cake Island was undoubtedly the nation with the highest happiness index in the pirate world—a semi-utopia.

Six months, surrender one month of lifespan, no lack of food,

the surrendered lifespan becomes Homies who handle labor, effectively liberating productivity.

Big Mom’s outbursts occur almost exclusively on Cake Island, and her ministers are all responsible.

Trading one-sixth of your lifespan for such a semi-utopia is more than worth it,

especially in a pirate world where scum abound and everything is rotten.

Whole Cake Island can even be compared in some ways to the Celestial Dragons’ Mary Geoise:

For the Celestial Dragons, Mary Geoise is unquestionably the happiest place,

free of worries, where they can do as they please—but for everyone else, Mary Geoise is hell.

The difference between Whole Cake Island and the Celestial Dragons lies in this: for the Celestial Dragons, Mary Geoise is their innate Whole Cake Island,

while entering Whole Cake Island isn’t nearly so difficult.