Level Twenty

In a room within Papal Hall at the center of Spirit City, the surface of an ornate bath, steaming faintly, rippled continuously, pulsing as though it were breathing. Suddenly, a column of water shot into the air.

"Phew~~~"

A figure sat upright. His skin had been scalded slightly pink by the warm medicinal bath, yet the aura around him was rather peculiar.

"Level twenty at last. It really wasn't easy. Dawn, scan my physical condition."

Yan sat in the bath and slowly exhaled a turbid breath. The faintly dark impurities stretched nearly three feet like an arrow of air. After finishing his cultivation, he felt his body relax, and the Soul Power within him had finally reached its limit.

"Beep beep beep..."

A series of electronic sounds rang out in his mind. A three-dimensional model appeared within his consciousness, while a waterfall-like stream of information ultimately formed detailed data.

Host: Yan

Martial Soul: Flame Commander/Earth Commander

Attributes: Fire/Earth

Cultivation: One-Ring Soul Master (Level Twenty Soul Power)

A rather simple information template appeared in Yan's mind, displaying his basic details.

Dawn, the intelligent computer, could scan his entire physical condition and obtain quite detailed data. This template could have been made much clearer; things such as strength, agility, and spiritual power could all have been represented numerically. But after giving it some thought, Yan decided against it.

Douluo Continent differed from ordinary fantasy worlds. Because Martial Souls varied, the paths people chose were also different. One could not use average figures to assess a Soul Master's relative capabilities—or rather, it was impossible to derive any meaningful average at all.

Take an example. In an ordinary fantasy world, the differences in cultivation methods or combat techniques might create obvious statistical gaps between cultivators of the same level. Yet those gaps were still relatively comparable, and an average could still be calculated.

But on Douluo Continent, two One-Ring Soul Masters—one with a turtle Martial Soul and the other with a bird Martial Soul—would be worlds apart if they compared speed. Was such a comparison meaningful? With a gap that enormous, taking an average would be a joke.

Yan's two Martial Souls, whether the Flame Lord or the Earth Lord, were both power-type Martial Souls suited for direct assaults. One excelled at explosive offense, while the other was better at defense. Neither had much to do with speed.

If he truly wanted to calculate averages for those at the same level, the other attributes would be fine, but speed? That would simply be asking for humiliation. Better to avoid the irritation altogether and remove all the specific attribute data.

"Big Brother Yan."

As Yan reclined in the bath, a crisp and gentle young girl's voice came from beyond the door. Helplessness flashed through his eyes, and he could only slowly rise. The moment he left the bath, his body temperature surged.

A haze of white mist rose, and the droplets on his body vanished. Yan casually picked up a bathrobe beside him and draped it over himself before opening his door.

"Big Brother Yan."

The call came again. Yan looked outside to see Hu Liena, dressed in a snowy-white gown, gazing at him pitifully as though she had suffered endless grievances.

"What is it... uh..."

Before Yan could finish speaking, Hu Liena rushed forward and threw herself into his arms. What else could he do when a girl offered herself so eagerly? He could only accept it.

"Teacher scolded me again."

Hu Liena raised her delicate face and looked at Yan with puffed cheeks. Her slightly swollen eyes glistened with tears. Anyone unaware of the truth would think she had suffered some tremendous injustice.

"Little fox, you're using Charm again."

Yan lowered his head to look at her. The teary-eyed little girl was truly pitiful, making one want to pull her into an embrace. Yet Yan reached out and accurately pinched her exquisite little nose.

"How did you know?"

Hu Liena immediately found it hard to breathe, and she could no longer maintain her pitiful act. As she opened her little mouth to gasp for air, she hurriedly used both hands to pull away Yan's hand pinching her nose. A girl's face was so delicate; she could not let this bad senior brother damage it.

"How many days have you gone without causing trouble these past few months? I'm used to it by now."

Yan's hand slid down to pinch the little girl's cheek, then he naturally wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her outside.

"Hmph! Stinky senior brother."

Hu Liena huffed as though she were quite dissatisfied, but her petite body moved eagerly closer to Yan. A smile faintly appeared on her exquisite face. "Senior Brother, Teacher really did scold me again. I'm so unhappy."

After casually pushing open the door ahead, Yan asked, "What was it this time? Did you go around charming people again?"

"No. I just made pastries according to the method you taught me and shared them with everyone. I only brought some to Teacher last."

Hu Liena gently stuck out her little tongue. The comfortable life of the past half year had restored her former liveliness, making her completely different from when Yan had first met her.

At the end of the day, she was still a child. More than a year ago, she had possessed a happy, complete family, with parents and an elder brother who doted on her. How could she not have been lively and adorable? It was only after her family underwent a terrible upheaval that she and her brother had both grown up. Their coldness when Yan first met them had merely been a way to protect themselves.

But after Bibi Dong accepted her as a disciple, she once again had an elder to care for her. Her life became comfortable and happy again, so naturally she became cheerful and lively. Then her true nature was unleashed, turning her into the mischievous little devil she was now.

"You really never stop making trouble."

Yan looked down speechlessly at Hu Liena's innocent expression and gave her exquisite little nose a hard flick. He was certain this little devil had done it deliberately; she had most likely been digging a pit for him.

However, Yan said nothing more. After giving Hu Liena another instruction, he released her and pushed open the hall doors ahead, entering the grand hall alone.

Bibi Dong sat behind the desk, dressed in a luxurious black robe embroidered with golden patterns and wearing the Nine-Curved Purple-Gold Crown. Scrolls of paper lay scattered across the floor, and the surroundings were a complete mess. It seemed that the Pope had just lost her temper.

Yan picked up several scrolls from the ground and looked through them before approaching the desk. The pastries Hu Liena had delivered sat to one side, though they had also nearly been overturned in the commotion.

He casually picked up a pastry and tasted it. Its lightly sweet fruity flavor was quite good; it really was a flavor Bibi Dong liked.

"What are you here for?"

Bibi Dong seemed only then to notice Yan's arrival. She brushed back the hair at her temple with a slender hand, then spoke after a sigh. Deep exhaustion filled her voice, utterly unlike the Bibi Dong Yan normally knew.

Yan shook his head and smiled. "You nearly knocked over the pastries Nana brought you just now. She thought you no longer liked her, so she tricked me into coming."

Second chapter update. Please support with bookmarks, follow-up reading, and votes.