Just Beginning

Just Beginning

"Hey, look over there."

"Wow, how bold. And this is at the Academy."

The students walking along the road caught sight of Quan Yi and Huo Wu, teasing expressions on their faces.

It had to be said, children on Douluo Continent matured rather early. No, perhaps children in all ancient times matured rather early.

Still, these passersby could not really be blamed.

Anyone who saw a girl being carried like a princess by a boy in broad daylight would not be able to resist taking a look.

At that moment, however, Quan Yi had not noticed the people around him at all.

He was constantly replaying the battle from just now in his mind.

Although the talent Quan Yi had shown in close combat had been remarkable, this battle had exposed many problems Quan Yi had never thought of before.

The first was his lack of ranged attack methods, which had forced him into a passive defensive state for the entire battle.

The second was his lack of mobility. Quan Yi's footwork simply could not keep up with Bai Yan.

These were all Quan Yi's current weaknesses.

Of course, these were common problems Power Attack System Soul Masters encountered in the early stages.

Generally, they could only wait until the next time they obtained a Soul Ring and gained a Soul Skill that could make up for those shortcomings.

All Soul Masters on the continent were like this.

But Quan Yi had different ideas.

He felt that there was still room to develop his Martial Soul and Soul Skill.

For example, by imprinting Rhino's Mark onto a stone, he could turn a close-range attack into a ranged one.

Quan Yi sank into his own thoughts, falling deeper and deeper into them.

Huo Wu, on the other hand, had complicated emotions surging through her. Although her eyes were closed at the moment, the voices of passersby still reached her ears.

Huo Wu's cheeks slowly began to redden, and she started to feel embarrassed.

So Huo Wu opened her eyes, wanting to have Quan Yi put her down.

"Can you put me down?" Huo Wu whispered softly.

"What?"

Because Quan Yi had been absorbed in thought, he had not heard Huo Wu clearly.

Quan Yi immediately looked at Huo Wu and asked, "What did you say just now? I didn't hear you clearly."

Huo Wu looked at the face so close to hers. This was the first time she had observed Quan Yi's appearance from such a close distance.

Quan Yi's eyes were clear and calm, carrying a maturity and steadiness unlike others his age.

Huo Wu's heart skipped, and the words she had wanted to say would not come out.

"Nothing."

Although she was still a little shy, Huo Wu did not hate the feeling of being held by Quan Yi.

Besides, her body was still somewhat weak, and she could barely walk.

As she spoke, Huo Wu turned her face toward Quan Yi's chest and stopped paying attention to the outside world.

Quan Yi also sank back into his own thoughts.

The two fell silent again.

A short while later.

"What are you thinking about? You're so absorbed."

Huo Wu sensed that Quan Yi was somewhat distracted, utterly unresponsive to the outside world and completely immersed in his own thoughts.

"Ah, mm, nothing much. I just feel like there's still a long road ahead."

Quan Yi gazed into the distance, looking at the road that seemed to stretch on without end, and murmured.

Huo Wu was slightly dazed. Quan Yi had spoken vaguely, but she immediately understood.

"Yeah," Huo Wu replied, also somewhat unwilling to accept it.

This was their first victory, but at the same time, it was also their first defeat.

The two of them had joined forces and given everything they had, yet in the end, they had only managed to cause their teacher a negligible amount of harm.

Quan Yi and Huo Wu truly realized that there was still a long distance between them and the strong.

Although among their peers, they were outstanding existences, as Soul Masters, the two of them had only just begun.

The road was still long, and the two of them still needed to keep working hard.

Looking into the distant horizon, a sudden surge of heroic spirit rose in Quan Yi's heart. He lowered his head, smiled, and said to Huo Wu.

"Still, we've only just begun." Quan Yi was not the type to wallow in self-pity; his eyes were filled with anticipation for the future.

Huo Wu watched Quan Yi's eyes. As always, they were clear and bright, and through them, Huo Wu felt as if she could see into his heart.

She saw a blazing flame ignite in Quan Yi's eyes.

"Mm. We've only just begun."

Huo Wu's heart was ignited by Quan Yi as well.

That was right. The future belonged to the young, after all. At that moment, there was no disappointment in Quan Yi's and Huo Wu's eyes—only fervent longing.

Huo Wu gazed at Quan Yi a little dazedly. Quan Yi was like the rising sun, radiating dazzling brilliance.

She felt she could no longer be without Quan Yi, just as a shadow could not be without the sun.

I really wish time would pass a little more slowly.

Huo Wu wished this in her heart.

But beautiful moments always vanished in the blink of an eye.

"We're here. You used up quite a bit of Soul Power, so get some proper rest."

Quan Yi brought Huo Wu straight to the foot of the girls' dormitory building.

Quan Yi gently set Huo Wu down and did not go inside.

Though Quan Yi was not tired, men and women were different, and it was inconvenient for him to enter the girls' dormitory.

"Thanks."

Huo Wu patted Quan Yi on the shoulder, expressing her thanks.

"Can you walk by yourself?"

Quan Yi asked with some concern.

"I'm fine. Thanks to you, my body's recovered pretty well."

Huo Wu jumped in place, and she really did seem to have no problem.

Only then did Quan Yi relax and wave goodbye to Huo Wu.

"That's good. Then I'll head off first."

"Mm."

Quan Yi turned and left the girls' dormitory.

However, he did not notice that behind him, Huo Wu kept watching him, standing there for a long time without moving.

After leaving the girls' dormitory, Quan Yi did not return to his own dormitory. Instead, he headed toward the Training Ground where he usually exercised.

It was quiet and empty here. No matter what Quan Yi did, he would not disturb the other students.

Although it was not yet time to train, Quan Yi had a few things he wanted to try.

Quan Yi took several stones out of the Blazing Sun Heart. Each one bore a red rhinoceros-horn mark.

These were the "Hand Grenades" Quan Yi had specially prepared to deal with Teacher Bai Yan.

Although Teacher Bai Yan had said they could attack her directly, after thinking it over carefully, Quan Yi realized that unless she came right up close to him, he would not be able to touch her at all.

And Huo Wu's Soul Power was limited. She could not last fifteen minutes at all, so Quan Yi had made these "Hand Grenades."

However, because of Huo Wu's outburst at the end, a whole pile of them had been left over.

Quan Yi picked up one of them and weighed the stone in his hand.

Then, imitating the stance of a baseball pitcher that surfaced in his mind, he threw it forward with all his strength.

"Rhino's Mark, variant, Pitcher Mode."

Although the stone was lighter than a baseball, under Quan Yi's immense strength, it easily exceeded 200 kilometers per hour.

Bang!

The moment the stone passed fifty meters from Quan Yi, it immediately exploded with a blast.

Watching the explosion, Quan Yi fell into thought.

This time, Quan Yi had deliberately not summoned the Blazing Sun Gauntlets. He discovered that without summoning his Martial Soul, he could not sense or control Rhino's Mark.

However, the trait of exploding once it was fifty meters away from Quan Yi had not disappeared.

This was a new discovery.

Quan Yi committed this characteristic to memory.

"Blazing Sun Gauntlets."

Red light flashed over Quan Yi's hands, and they were covered in steel.

This time, Quan Yi planned to test what changes there would be while wearing the gauntlets.

As soon as his Martial Soul appeared, the location information of all the Rhino's Marks immediately surfaced in his mind.

Quan Yi closed his eyes, focusing his mind on the information in his head. Then, with his foot, he precisely kicked a pile of stones.

In Quan Yi's perception, he could clearly sense every change in position of each stone.

Then, keeping his eyes closed, Quan Yi picked up all the scattered stones he had kicked away.

Quan Yi opened his eyes again, unable to hide the smile on his face.

Sure enough, his earlier perception hadn't been wrong. I can actually clearly sense the positions of every mark.

For safety reasons, Quan Yi had never created large quantities of "Hand Grenades" at the same time before.

This unexpected discovery opened an entirely new door for Quan Yi.