Qian Renxue

"Brother Lin Yao, I almost forgot. Dad told me to come find you and take you to the main hall once you were nearly done with your Cultivation.

It's about time to leave now. If we arrive too late and leave him with the impression that I'm unreliable, it'll all be your fault."

Ning Rongrong's watery eyes were filled with anxiety. Her fair little hand tugged lightly at Lin Yao's arm as she pouted coquettishly.

"Uh..."

Lin Yao smiled helplessly and said,

"Uncle Ning won't think that. He'll only think I was too absorbed in Cultivation and went past the agreed time.

Too much is as bad as too little. He might even advise me to balance work and rest. Still, if Uncle Ning asked you to bring me over, there must be something important. It would be good to find out sooner. I'm curious too."

"Mm, once we're done with the important matter, don't forget that today is the day you promised to take me out to play."

Ning Rongrong took Lin Yao's hand and walked ahead, turning back to look at him.

Her eyes were full of expectation, and her face plainly said, If you break your promise, I'll hold it against you for the rest of my life. It was utterly adorable.

"Don't worry. This is our promise. You worked so seriously and diligently to follow the training plan I made for you, so how could I possibly forget?!"

Hearing this, Lin Yao gently clasped Ning Rongrong's soft, boneless hand in return. The touch was delicate and warm.

Then, with his free hand, he gently tidied the loose strands of her slightly messy hair. Wearing a warm smile, he said earnestly,

Hearing Lin Yao's answer, Ning Rongrong's smile became even sweeter. The corners of her lips curled up, revealing two adorable little canine teeth.

Even her steps toward the main hall became much lighter, her skirt swaying softly with every stride. Though still so young, she already possessed a hint of her future peerless grace.

Before long, Lin Yao and Ning Rongrong arrived at the main hall. The instant they stepped inside, a solemn and majestic air washed over them.

The hall's decorations were simple yet grand, displaying the deep foundations of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Lin Yao and Ning Rongrong looked up and saw that besides Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo, there was also an unfamiliar youth in the hall.

Lin Yao was certain that during his time in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he had never seen this person before.

What surprised Lin Yao even more was that this youth looked only fifteen or sixteen, yet was able to sit beside Ning Fengzhi.

Do not be fooled by Ning Fengzhi's refined and gentle manner around Lin Yao and Ning Rongrong. That was because he valued his daughter and the Sect's future guardian.

In truth, as a powerful seven-ring Soul Saint and, more importantly, the leader of the Upper Three Sects' Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, both his temperament and methods inspired awe.

For someone so young to sit calmly beside Ning Fengzhi, he either possessed astonishing strength or an identity and background valued by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

The first possibility was clearly unlikely.

If someone could, at the age of fifteen or sixteen, raise their strength to a level that made the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect Master take notice while finding them somewhat difficult to eliminate—

They would need to at least rival Yun Ming, the top genius from twenty thousand years later who would have created his own godhood and become a god long ago if Tang Hao had not suppressed him.

But Lin Yao had never heard of such a genius in Soul Land I. Even the nearest example, the Sea God, had needed faith and spent more than a thousand years becoming a god.

There was also the Angel God, who had led Douluo Star's humans through an era when terrifying, dark, bloodthirsty soul beasts such as the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger devoured them at will, carving out a path of survival and gathering the continent's faith to become a god.

Perhaps the Angel God had been younger and become a god slightly earlier than the Sea God, but it had still taken several centuries.

If Yun Ming had not been suppressed, he might have become a god in just a few decades. Even considering the changes of the era, the emergence of the Soul Core System and Soul Spirit System, and the historical trend of later generations surpassing those before them, he was still a terrifying existence.

Therefore, Lin Yao concluded that the youth before him definitely came from a top-tier power and held no low status within it, making him worthy of Ning Fengzhi's efforts to win him over.

From the looks of it, Ning Fengzhi even intended to introduce him to Lin Yao.

"Master, Uncle Ning, Elder Gu."

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but Lin Yao's movements did not change. He quickly led Ning Rongrong forward and greeted the three of them.

"Hello, Dad. Hello, Grandpas!"

Ning Rongrong also obediently greeted them.

Then, thinking that Ning Fengzhi had something to say and not wanting Lin Yao to tire himself standing—

After all, Lin Yao had only just finished Cultivation.

Ning Rongrong did not wait for her father to react. She directly pulled Lin Yao to a nearby seat, then smiled at Ning Fengzhi.

"Rongrong, you really can't bear to let your Brother Lin Yao get tired. You're so considerate of him."

Ning Fengzhi said with a smile, his eyes full of affection and teasing. Seeing his daughter's concern for Lin Yao, he felt both gratified and a little jealous.

"Yao, my precious daughter has never shown this much concern for her own father. Your status as her brother is even higher than mine, her old father, in her heart."

Ning Fengzhi then half-jokingly said to Lin Yao, the smile on his face growing even brighter.

"Dad, when have I ever not cared about you? I just thought Brother Lin Yao must be tired from Cultivation. Is it wrong to let him rest a little more...?"

Hearing Ning Fengzhi say this, Ning Rongrong immediately protested. She went to his side, hugged his shoulder, and shyly acted cute, her cheeks faintly flushing.

"Thank you for your concern, Sister Rongrong..."

As for Lin Yao, the corners of his lips lifted slightly. He accepted it calmly and spoke up, sparing Ning Rongrong from becoming too embarrassed.

Lin Yao's words dissolved Ning Rongrong's awkwardness. This was the tacit understanding between the two of them.

"Alright, it's time to get to business. Yao, Rongrong, let me introduce you to an older brother."

Ning Fengzhi greatly appreciated their tacit understanding. After teasing his daughter as usual, he introduced the guest with a gentle smile.

"This is the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe. He became my disciple not long ago. From now on, treat Qinghe as your own elder brother."

As Ning Fengzhi spoke, he pointed at Xue Qinghe, his eyes filled with expectation.

"Xue Qinghe?! No, Qian Renxue."

Hearing the name, Lin Yao's heart stirred before he quickly realized the truth.

He understood that this person was the peerless prodigy with the greatest talent of her era, a heavenly daughter who had chosen the so-called path of strategy to prove her abilities to her mother.

She could have simply advanced step by step and crushed everything in her path, yet she insisted on all sorts of time-wasting schemes. In her early years, she was practically a female version of Yu Xiaogang.

She gave people the feeling that she was missing a screw, and she was stubborn to the end. Such people rarely came to a good end.

Still, to be fair, Qian Renxue had spent ten years undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire, wasting her terrifying Innate Level 20 Soul Power—the greatest talent in history.

Yet even after wasting so many years, Qian Renxue's cultivation quickly caught up. Yu Xiaogang could never compare to someone of her caliber.

During the Angel God Exam, the Angel God behind her had fallen. The Sea God, who had held a grudge ever since the Angel God drove him into the ocean when becoming a god, pulled all sorts of tricks and stabbed her in the back.

Even so, she had still become the Angel God with ease.

The destined Angel God was far stronger than Tang San, that puppet barely propped up by the Asura God and Sea God through all kinds of rule-breaking interference on Douluo Star.

Although Lin Yao found Qian Renxue's astonishing wisdom rather speechless, if one truly earned her trust, her character was far better than people like Tang San with his constant talk of having a death wish. Lin Yao held no great dislike for her.

With that thought, Lin Yao smiled and greeted Xue Qinghe.

"I am Lin Yao. Greetings, Brother Xue Qinghe."

Since Ning Fengzhi had told him to address Xue Qinghe as an older brother, Lin Yao saw no reason to stand on ceremony.

Besides, with his current status as Sword Douluo's last disciple, he could stand on equal footing with Qian Renxue's public identity as Xue Qinghe without issue.

His tone was neither servile nor arrogant. It conveyed respect without sacrificing his own bearing.

As for Ning Rongrong, seeing Lin Yao address him that way, she also called him Brother Xue Qinghe and said nothing further.

In truth, Ning Rongrong had met Xue Qinghe before. Although Xue Qinghe had not yet become Ning Fengzhi's disciple then, they had known one another.

Hearing their greetings, Xue Qinghe stood and first looked at Ning Rongrong.

"Sister Rongrong, it has been a long time. Not only are you adorable, but your talent is outstanding as well. You became a First Ring Soul Master not long ago. Such top-tier talent is enough to make ordinary talents like mine feel endlessly ashamed.

I had originally prepared a congratulatory gift for you, but it is still on the way and has not arrived yet. So I have nothing suitable to offer right now. Once it arrives, I will personally place it in your hands."

Xue Qinghe's voice was as warm and gentle as jade. Every word carried the warmth of a spring breeze. A sincere smile rested on his face, and his eyes showed concern.

"Thank you, Brother Xue."

Ning Rongrong was not particularly interested. She did not know why, but although her father's disciple gave off a gentle impression, she simply did not like him.

Though she had known Xue Qinghe longer than Lin Yao, the latter gave her a sense of closeness that the former could never match.

It was precisely because of this inexplicable feeling that Ning Rongrong especially enjoyed playing and being close with Lin Yao during breaks, after both had completed their respective training tasks.

Xue Qinghe did not know Ning Rongrong's thoughts. Otherwise, she would surely have secretly thought that a child's keen instincts were sometimes stronger than anything else.

Then, she looked at Lin Yao.

"Brother Lin Yao, I heard Teacher say just now that His Excellency Sword Douluo has accepted a disciple he is extremely satisfied with. That must be you. You reached the First Ring Soul Master level at such a young age as well. What a terrifying genius—you possess the potential to become a Title Douluo! This is truly a great fortune for the Heaven Dou Empire."

Xue Qinghe spoke gently, with a sincere smile on her face that made her praise sound genuine.

If Lin Yao had not known that the Xue Qinghe before him was Qian Renxue, whose talent and background both surpassed his and Ning Rongrong's, he might truly have believed her self-deprecating words.

As expected of the most terrifying Head Soul Bone in the Angel God Set. Its soul bone skill was actually this powerful.

"Brother Xue, there is no need to be so polite. Since you are Uncle Ning's disciple, we only need to spend more time together in the future. There is no need for such formalities."

Lin Yao shook his head. If Qian Renxue had been giving him something, Lin Yao might have looked forward to it. It could very well have been something valuable, such as a soul bone.

But this was Xue Qinghe, Qian Renxue's disguise. Given the resources Xue Qinghe was supposed to possess, there was no way she would give him anything truly precious, so there was no need to expect much.

Of course, Lin Yao was quite interested in befriending Qian Renxue. Perhaps because she had lacked affection since childhood, if they treated each other with genuine respect, she was someone worth becoming close to.

However, there was a premise to all this. Qian Renxue was a very practical person, and Lin Yao needed to display his talent more than anything else.

"I think I must give you something. After all, this is our first meeting, and what I am giving you is not particularly precious. It simply suits you perfectly, so please accept it."

Xue Qinghe took an object flickering with considerable Soul Power from her chest.

"A Soul Tool?!"

The moment Lin Yao saw the object, his eyes lit up, and a name immediately surfaced in his mind.

An item with the properties of a Soul Tool was a Soul Tool unique to Douluo Star.

Moreover, encountering a Soul Tool of this level in Soul Land I was extremely rare.

After all, Soul Land I's Soul Tool system relied entirely on digging up ancient relics, then imitating small devices such as soul lamps.

As for everything else, there was no systematic theory. Combined with the suppression of powerful soul masters, there were simply no strong offensive Soul Tools capable of taking the stage of history.

The item before Lin Yao, if nothing unexpected happened, was likewise not a Soul Tool that could strengthen his combat trump cards. It was most likely an auxiliary Soul Tool.

"Yao, this is a Storage Soul Tool. It is very suitable for you at your current stage."

Xue Qinghe smiled and held the Soul Tool out before Lin Yao.

"More importantly, compared to ordinary Soul Tools, this is a rare Soul Tool capable of storing animals and plants.

Ordinary Soul Tools are already quite expensive, but a Soul Tool with the ability to store living creatures is worth more than ten times as much."

After explaining it in detail, Xue Qinghe looked at Lin Yao before her, light glinting in her eyes.

"It really is a Soul Tool, and a rare one that can store living creatures?!"

Lin Yao was tempted upon hearing that.

Such rare Soul Tools were uncommon even in Peerless Tang Sect. In the original Soul Land I story, the only one that appeared was the one Tang San obtained from Dugu Bo.

It was precisely because of that Soul Tool that Tang San had the chance to transplant all the Immortal Herbs, leaving Dugu Bo with no opportunity to obtain any Immortal Herbs for a hundred years.

Later on, he even displayed the Tang family's ancestral craft, surrounding and forcibly occupying the Yin Yang Ice and Fire Well, then activating the Book of Ages skill.

"This Storage Soul Tool is indeed quite good. Thank you, Brother Xue."

Lin Yao felt that this item suited him very well at his current stage, so he did not bother with empty politeness.

Later, he would get closer to this little rich lady and see if he could obtain some good things.

That was the thought that surfaced in Lin Yao's heart as he accepted the Storage Soul Tool from Xue Qinghe.

Though living off a woman sometimes drew strange looks from others, it truly was delightful.