Xiao Wu's Request

"Who is your teacher?" Ma Xiunuo asked.

"Everyone calls him Sword Saint Chen Xin," Ye Feng replied.

"Sword Saint Chen Xin? The Guardian Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Sword Douluo Sword Saint Chen Xin?" Ma Xiunuo's expression changed dramatically. Seeing Ye Feng nod, he looked at him with envy and continued, "Child, I never expected you to take a Titled Douluo as your teacher. I suppose you have no intention of joining Spirit Hall now, do you?"

"My teacher never asked me to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. He said my future was mine to decide. Besides, I'm doing fine at Notting Academy for now, and I don't want to leave it," Ye Feng answered.

"Mm, indeed. Even Spirit Hall has no right to forcibly steal people from Notting Academy. What about you, Xiao Wu? Are you willing to join Spirit Hall?" Ma Xiunuo looked at Xiao Wu beside Ye Feng.

"Wherever Ye Feng goes, I'll go," Xiao Wu replied.

Hearing Xiao Wu's answer, Ma Xiunuo helplessly shook his head. Xiao Wu was still a child, after all. Such an answer was truly childish.

"What about you, Tang San?" Ma Xiunuo's gaze fell on Tang San.

"I... I'm already studying at Notting Academy," Tang San declined tactfully.

"Ah."

Ma Xiunuo sighed and could not help but complain, "It's all that Su Yuntao brat's fault. He should have brought all of you to Spirit Hall. All right, your advancement assessment is over. From now on, Xiao Wu and Tang San, you are honored Soul Masters of the Heaven Dou Empire. As for you, Ye Feng, you are now an honored Soul Elder of the Heaven Dou Empire. From now on, you may use the badges I'll give you shortly to collect monthly stipends from Spirit Hall. Tang San and Xiao Wu are Soul Masters, so each of you may receive one Gold Soul Coin per month. Ye Feng, you are a Soul Elder, so you may receive a Soul Master stipend of twenty Gold Soul Coins per month."

Xiao Wu, Tang San, and Ye Feng received a badge specially made by Spirit Hall from Ma Xiunuo, then left Spirit Hall together. As they stepped out of Spirit Hall's gates, Xiao Wu seemed to dislike Tang San greatly. She casually made up an excuse and pulled Ye Feng away from Tang San.

After they had gone some distance, Ye Feng could not help asking, "Xiao Wu, do you dislike Tang San?"

Without a moment's thought, Xiao Wu answered, "Who would like him? He's cowardly, afraid of trouble, and selfish. If I weren't a Work-Study Student, I wouldn't want to live under the same roof as him. Oh, right, Ye Feng. Now that we can collect Soul Master stipends every month, we never have to be Work-Study Students again."

"That won't do. You can stop being a Work-Study Student, but I can't," Ye Feng said.

"Why?" Xiao Wu tilted her head and looked at Ye Feng in surprise. After thinking it over, she recalled that Ye Feng had a Black Card and had no need to be a Work-Study Student at all, yet he still was one. After a pause, she asked, "Don't tell me you really are what Wang Sheng said—a child of some great family here to experience life?"

"More or less. My teacher said that cultivating one's character is also part of a Soul Master's cultivation. Work-Study Students stand at the very bottom of society, which is an excellent way to temper one's character. He told me to continue being one," Ye Feng said.

"Then... I'll stay with you too. I'll temper my character as well." Xiao Wu's eyes shifted, and she abandoned the thought in her heart.

Xiao Wu and Ye Feng collected this month's Soul Master stipends at Spirit Hall. Then they went to a restaurant, ordered their own dishes, and had a meal together. Afterward, they strolled along the shore of an artificial lake in Notting City.

"Ye Feng, I want to tell you something," Xiao Wu suddenly said.

"What is it?" Ye Feng asked.

Xiao Wu stopped walking and faced Ye Feng directly, her expression turning incomparably serious.

"Ye Feng, thank you," Xiao Wu said gratefully.

"What are you thanking me for?" Ye Feng asked in confusion.

"Thank you for always staying by my side," Xiao Wu said gratefully.

"Why say that all of a sudden?" Ye Feng smiled and reached out to stroke Xiao Wu's ears. They were fluffy and soft, with an excellent feel.

A rabbit's ears were a sensitive spot. Yet when Ye Feng touched them like this, Xiao Wu surprisingly neither got angry nor dodged away.

"Ye Feng, you're alone in your family, and I'm alone in mine. We're both orphans. I've always wanted family. How about I become your Elder Sister?" Xiao Wu suggested.

"Huh?" Ye Feng looked at Xiao Wu in surprise.

In the original storyline, Xiao Wu and Tang San had become family. Yet because of Ye Feng's appearance, Xiao Wu was now taking the initiative to become family with him!

"What? You don't want to?" Xiao Wu raised her brows slightly and looked at Ye Feng with a hazy gaze.

"It's not that. I'm just wondering why you get to be the Elder Sister while I have to be the younger brother," Ye Feng said.

"I'm a lady, so naturally I'm the Elder Sister. Hurry up and call me Elder Sister a few times," Xiao Wu said with a smile.

"That won't do. By age, your human age is a few days younger than mine. By the rules of the Seventh Dorm, I'm still the Boss of the Seventh Dorm. By Soul Master rank, I'm a Soul Elder while you're a Soul Master. No matter how you look at it, you should be calling me Older Brother," Ye Feng argued with a smile.

"Hmph. I'll only be the Elder Sister, not the younger sister. Can't you give in to me just a little?" Xiao Wu pouted and looked at Ye Feng resentfully.

"This is a matter of principle. If I'm the younger brother, then you'll have to protect me. But if I'm the older brother, then protecting my younger sister is naturally my responsibility." Ye Feng's tone was serious, and both his expression and manner made him seem like an adult.

"Are you serious?" Xiao Wu stared blankly at Ye Feng.

"This is an important matter, so of course I'm serious," Ye Feng replied.

"Then will you protect me forever and never let me suffer even the slightest harm?" Xiao Wu asked, moved.

"Of course." Ye Feng nodded firmly.

"If... if one day, many people want to kill me, and you can't defeat them, what would you do?" Xiao Wu asked.

"Then they'll have to step over my corpse before they can kill you." Ye Feng answered without hesitation, his voice firm and powerful. Then he stroked Xiao Wu's head and continued, "You're talking about your identity as a soul beast, aren't you?"

Soul beast

Xiao Wu's eyes went blank. She took two steps back, looking at Ye Feng with fear in her eyes. She murmured, "You... how do you know my identity?"

"Did you forget? I have a Titled Douluo as my teacher. My teacher said that transformed soul beasts can escape most people's notice, but not the eyes of Soul Douluos and Titled Douluos. My teacher already told me that you are a transformed soul beast," Ye Feng replied.

"Then... do you also want to kill me and take my soul ring and soul bone?" Xiao Wu looked at Ye Feng with vigilance and wariness in her eyes.

"Wrong. I'd rather knead you into my body and become one with you. There's such an adorable little... well, little rabbit in this world. Killing you would be such a pity. Keeping you by my side, even just looking at you, would be a pleasure." Ye Feng smiled as he spoke, looking straight into Xiao Wu's eyes without the slightest ulterior emotion.

"What? You... you actually think of me as a pet rabbit?" Hearing Ye Feng's words, Xiao Wu angrily raised her hand to hit him. Before her delicate pink fist could fall, Ye Feng's palm wrapped around it.

"Xiao Wu, are you willing to be my younger sister?" Ye Feng looked straight into Xiao Wu's eyes and persuaded her earnestly. "As long as you become my younger sister, a Titled Douluo will protect you. Perhaps even the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

Xiao Wu met Ye Feng's gaze. Their eyes locked. Xiao Wu could see no other emotion in Ye Feng's eyes. After a pause, she said, "It's settled, then. I'll be your younger sister, not your pet rabbit!"