Six Years of Growth, Part One

Six Years of Growth, Part One

Startled winds drift through the bright day; light and shadow race westward. Prime years do not come again; in a hundred years, suddenly I am old.

—Cao Zhi, "Konghou Ballad"

Six years later.

Heaven Dou Empire.

Heaven Dou City.

The rear courtyard of the Crown Prince Residence, Observation Pavilion.

It was noon. Sunlight fell from the sky, passed through the hollow carvings along the pavilion eaves, and scattered across an ancient wooden chessboard. Black and white pieces lay arranged across the board in orderly disorder.

Beside the chessboard, two men sat facing each other.

The black-haired youth sat on one side of the board, light of thought flickering in his deep eyes. His short, glossy black hair swayed gently in the breeze, making him seem both mysterious and steady as he confidently waited for the young man opposite him to make his next move.

The Blond Youth sat across from him. His dazzling golden hair shone brilliantly beneath the sunlight, like an angel's, sacred and solemn. He wore a smile, his eyes revealing steadiness and confidence, and his every movement gave off a powerful personal charisma. Yet at this moment, his brows were tightly knitted as he racked his brains, trying to find a way out amid killing intent on every side.

The atmosphere between them was tense yet harmonious. Each move landed with a soft sound that echoed through the quiet air.

"Ah, I lost again. Brother Wu Tong, your chess skills are still as superb as ever. This black-and-white chess you invented really isn't simple. I've fumbled around with it for so long, yet I've only just entered the door." After thinking for a long time and still failing to find a way to break the position, the Blond Youth sighed and chose to concede.

"Brother Xue, you flatter me. Your chess skills are already very strong. It's just that you aren't familiar with the rules yet. Once you are, perhaps you'll surpass me." The black-haired youth, Wu Tong, said modestly.

And the Blond Youth whom Wu Tong called Brother Xue was none other than the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, one of the two great empires of this age, Xue Qinghe.

At the same time, she was also the Saintess of Spirit Hall, the granddaughter of Qian Daoliu, the sky-invincible one of the three great Limit Douluo, and the daughter of Spirit Hall's Pope Bibi Dong: Qian Renxue.

Qian Renxue looked at Wu Tong before her, and for a moment her heart could not help drifting. Even though six years had already passed, she still felt endlessly glad about having recruited him back then. The boy who had stirred up a sensation among every major Faction had now grown up and become a true Sage known throughout the world.

When Wu Tong saw Qian Renxue's eyes growing somewhat unfocused, he knew she had zoned out again. He shook his head, picked up the teacup beside him, brought it to his lips, and took a sip. Mm, not bad. As expected of the tea a crown prince drank, it really was good tea. But why did this taste so much like the tea in his own Wutong Courtyard?

Just as Wu Tong was wondering inwardly, Qian Renxue came back to herself and looked at Wu Tong with a teasing smile.

"Master Wu Tong, your name can already be said to be known throughout the land. What are you planning to do next?"

"Brother Xue, I've said it several times already. Don't call me Master. That title easily makes me think of another 'Master.'"

Wu Tong said helplessly to Qian Renxue. Now he finally understood Xiao Pang's pain.

"Next, I should first help Old Master Dugu resolve the poison in their Family. He's already come looking for me several times."

Wu Tong thought for a moment, then said in a tone that seemed somewhat helpless.

"That's true. After all, Senior Poison Douluo has already come to you almost five or six times. If you still don't help, I'm afraid he'll start acting shameless again."

After Qian Renxue heard this, she did not feel very surprised. After all, anyone who knew even a little about the young man before her knew his eccentric habit: before one thing was finished, he absolutely would not touch a second.

Dugu Bo simply had bad luck. Every time he came, Wu Tong had a task he had yet to complete.

Dugu Bo had no choice either. He had tried everything he could try and everything he shouldn't try, yet he still could not resolve the poison afflicting his Family. In that case, the method most likely to succeed now was to obtain Wu Tong's help.

But Dugu Bo did not dare threaten Wu Tong either. After all, if Wu Tong suffered the slightest loss, there would be no place for him to stand in all Douluo Continent, because nearly everyone on Douluo Continent had received Wu Tong's Falna.

Although Dugu Bo did not fear those people, he could not ignore Dugu Yan's safety.

What could he do, then? He could not hit him, so he could only act shamelessly. Just like that, every time Dugu Bo came to find Wu Tong, he made a scene and rolled around, without the slightest bearing of a Titled Douluo. Over time, Wu Tong had been pestered into something of a headache.

As for doubting whether Wu Tong could solve a poison that even Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo, was helpless against?

Qian Renxue only wanted to say that those who doubted him truly knew nothing about Wu Tong.

Who was Wu Tong?

The publicly acknowledged First Sage under heaven on Douluo Continent, a famous Martial Soul research master, and the Medicine Saint.

Even her own teacher, Ning Fengzhi, whose standards were higher than the sky, praised Wu Tong highly: "He who gains Wu Tong can gain the world."

Just as Qian Renxue was about to continue speaking, a guard suddenly appeared behind her and bent down to say something to her.

Then Qian Renxue's eyes abruptly widened, as if she had encountered something unbelievable.

"Brother Wu Tong, something urgent has suddenly come up. I'll take my leave first. Brother Wu Tong, please do as you like."

After Qian Renxue finished speaking, she hurried away.

Wu Tong watched her departing figure. While feeling puzzled, his expression also grew somewhat dazed.

It had already... been six years?

For Wu Tong, these six years had been enough to experience many things.

After buying the Soul Tool, Wu Tong had originally planned to keep lying low at Notting Academy. But after Wu Tu and the others returned, he learned from them that Mu Lan's Martial Soul had strengthened, just as he had expected.

This news thrilled Wu Tong immensely. Although he believed there was no problem with his theory, it was like data validation: one success could not prove anything. Only when repeated data validations all succeeded could it prove that the conclusion was correct. Since Wu Tong could already basically determine that his theory had succeeded, his hands naturally itched, and he tried compiling Martial Soul Evolution Theory.

After spending several months finishing the compilation, he planned to wait until after graduation to publish it, using it as capital to fight for a voice for himself in the future.

But what no one expected was that while Wu Tong was resting, he failed to put the theory away properly, and it was seen by Principal Charles, who had come to talk with him.

After reading it, Principal Charles was astonished and felt that Wu Tong could become a scholar who researched Martial Souls, just like his good friend Yu Xiaogang, even with a useless Martial Soul.

So the overly excited Charles directly sent Wu Tong's theory to Martial Soul Monthly, a newspaper capable of spreading news across the continent, intending to help his student make a name for himself.

The reviewers at Martial Soul Monthly did not take it seriously either. After all, there were countless people who wanted to become famous. They glanced at the title, were amused, and thought it should be a fantasy story, so they directly registered it under the Children's Literature section of Martial Soul Daily and published it.

After that, those who saw this theory were like Bloodthirst sharks suddenly smelling blood. All of them became interested in Wu Tong, the researcher behind the theory.

Once Wu Tong found out, there was nothing he could do. He could only end his career of lying low ahead of schedule and join a major Faction early to seek protection. And there were only three that could protect Wu Tong: Spirit Hall, the Heaven Dou Empire, and the Star Luo Empire.

Spirit Hall had Bibi Dong as its Pope. As Yu Xiaogang's old lover, she was very likely to find him unpleasant to the eye. After all, his theory might strike a blow against Master Yu Xiaogang, and this was someone capable of destroying the world for Yu Xiaogang's sake. So to avoid a situation where he was stabbed eight times in the back and forced to commit suicide, he absolutely could not go to Spirit Hall.

The Star Luo Empire revered military power above all. The law of the jungle prevailed there, the weak were prey to the strong, and only the fittest survived. Someone like Wu Tong, who had no strength, definitely would not be valued if he went there, so he could not go there either.

Of the three Factions capable of protecting him, two were off-limits. That meant the only place he could go was the Heaven Dou Empire.

Because it was the closest, the people from the Heaven Dou Empire also came the fastest. And the one who came from the Heaven Dou Empire to recruit him was none other than the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe, who had read Wu Tong's theory and become very interested in him.

At that point, Wu Tong directly made his decision. After all, the "Xue Qinghe" before him was not only the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, but also Spirit Hall's Saintess, Qian Renxue.

As long as he accepted Qian Renxue's recruitment, not only could he obtain the Heaven Dou Empire's protection, he could also be said to have directly entered Spirit Hall's upper ranks, conveniently achieving his original goal along the way.