Return and Uproar

When this bedraggled yet strangely unsettling group from Blazing Fire Academy returned to Heaven Dou City, the sensation they caused far exceeded anyone's expectations.

The first thing to draw attention was Huo Wushuang, lying on a crude stretcher with a pale face and feeble breath. The leading figure of Blazing Fire Academy's younger generation, a Soul King-level powerhouse, had actually been seriously injured? What had they encountered?

Then there were the lingering-fear expressions of the others, as though they had survived another world, and the undisguised mixture of awe, fear, and confusion in their eyes whenever they looked at the unfamiliar young man in their group.

Finally, and most importantly, there was the unmistakable aura of a Soul Ancestor emanating from Huo Wu—and not one belonging to someone who had only just entered the rank, but an overwhelmingly powerful presence!

"Have you heard? That Huo Wu from Blazing Fire Academy broke through to Soul Ancestor!"

"More than that! I heard she shot straight up to Level 43!"

"My god! How is that possible? She absorbed one Soul Ring and jumped three levels?"

"That's not the point! The point is, it seems they ran into a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!"

"A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?! How did they survive? Even Huo Wushuang was seriously injured!"

"It was because of that unfamiliar young man! I heard... I heard he casually killed a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in one blow!"

"Bullshit! How is that possible? Even lies need limits! Killing a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in one blow? Even a Titled Douluo wouldn't dare say that!"

"It's absolutely true! My second uncle's third aunt's neighbor's son is a student at Blazing Fire Academy. He saw it with his own eyes! They say it was a twenty-thousand-year Earth Fire Dragon King!"

"T-Twenty thousand years?! An Earth Fire Dragon King?! And it was killed in one blow?! Are you writing a fucking novel?!"

"Believe it or not! Blazing Fire Academy is going crazy over it right now! That young man is called Zhang Bufan, and he's from Heaven Dou Royal Academy!"

The rumors spread and fermented through Heaven Dou City's Soul Master circles at an astonishing speed, as though they had grown wings. Everyone who heard the news initially refused to believe it, thinking it was utterly absurd. But as more and more sources emerged and the details became increasingly elaborate—even though they had already been distorted beyond recognition—especially with Blazing Fire Academy insiders swearing to it with fearful conviction, people could not help but doubt their disbelief.

Could it... be true?

Heaven Dou City instantly erupted over this sudden news!

Every family, sect, and Power Base mobilized every possible channel to verify the news and investigate the mysterious young man named Zhang Bufan.

Meanwhile, at Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Committee Conference Room.

Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin, the three Soul Douluo Committee Members, were listening to their subordinates report the wildly circulating rumors outside. The expressions on their faces were as colorful as an overturned paint shop.

Shock, confusion, wild joy, lingering fear... all kinds of emotions intertwined.

"K-Killed a twenty-thousand-year Earth Fire Dragon King in one blow?" Bai Baoshan nearly crushed the teacup in his hand, his voice trembling. "Old Meng, just how much strength did this kid hide during the test?!"

Zhi Lin also wore an incredulous expression. "I knew he was extraordinary, but I never expected... extraordinary to this extent! A twenty-thousand-year Soul Beast! Even if the three of us old men joined forces, we would likely have to pay a terrible price just to drive it away... killed in one blow?"

Meng Shenji took several deep breaths before barely suppressing the raging storm in his heart. He shook his head with a bitter smile. "Hidden strength? What he showed us back then probably did not even amount to the tip of the iceberg! We thought we had found a treasure, but now that I think about it... we were the ones reaching above our station!"

He recalled the unfathomable Soul Power and mysterious, powerful Martial Soul Zhang Bufan had displayed during the test. At the time, he had merely thought Zhang Bufan was an unparalleled genius. Only now did he understand that it had been like a divine dragon playing in the water, revealing only the occasional scale and claw!

"Thankfully! Thankfully, we treated him sincerely from the start and overrode all objections to give him the highest standard of treatment!" Meng Shenji felt immensely fortunate, cold sweat breaking out across his back. If they had shown even the slightest neglect back then, or if that fool Prince Xue Xing had ruined things, Heaven Dou Royal Academy—and even the entire Heaven Dou Empire—might have missed a heaven-sent opportunity, or perhaps even brought disaster upon themselves!

"Send out the order immediately!" Meng Shenji decisively commanded. "All information regarding Zhang Bufan is to be classified as the academy's highest secret! No one is allowed to leak anything! At the same time, fulfill every one of his requests! Give him whatever he wants! Let him do whatever he wants! Never attempt to restrain him, and most certainly do not make him unhappy!"

"Yes!" The subordinate hurriedly accepted the order and left.

The three Committee Members exchanged silent looks, each seeing the same resolve in the others' eyes: at any cost, they had to firmly tie Zhang Bufan to Heaven Dou Royal Academy's... no, to the Heaven Dou Empire's chariot! Even if only in name!

At the same time, at Blazing Fire Academy's Barracks.

Huo Wu's father, Huo Lie, the headmaster of Blazing Fire Academy, looked at his safely returned but severely injured son, then at his daughter whose Soul Power had soared. As he listened to Teacher Chen and Teacher Li's detailed report, still trembling and filled with disbelief, his entire mind went blank.

Especially when he heard how Zhang Bufan had waved his hand and turned the Lava Lizard into pure energy, then waved again to completely obliterate the Earth Fire Dragon King, and finally seized a Soul Beast from afar for his daughter to absorb... Huo Lie felt that his mind had stopped functioning altogether.

He had lived for so many years and weathered countless storms. He considered himself well-traveled and knowledgeable, yet everything he heard today had completely overturned his understanding.

"He... toward Wu'er..." Huo Lie asked hoarsely, voicing the most crucial question.

Teacher Chen and Teacher Li exchanged looks, their expressions strange. Teacher Li carefully chose his words before replying, "Young Master Zhang seems... extremely attentive toward the young lady. The way he addresses her... is also quite intimate. And the young lady... does not seem particularly resistant."

Huo Lie fell silent.

He looked at his son lying unconscious on the bed, then at his daughter nearby, whose expression was complicated and who seemed hesitant to speak. He let out a long sigh.

If Zhang Bufan truly possessed such unfathomable, almost divine power, then his attitude toward Wu'er was of critical importance. Whether it would bring fortune or disaster was impossible to predict.

But regardless, Blazing Fire Academy—and even the entire Huo Family—had to adjust their attitude toward Zhang Bufan.

"Pass down the order," Huo Lie said deeply. "From today onward, Zhang Bufan is the most honored guest of Blazing Fire Academy. If he comes, he must be received with the highest courtesy and shown not the slightest neglect! Also... today's events are strictly forbidden from being spread outside... Forget it, it probably cannot be concealed anyway. Tell them not to embellish anything and simply recount the truth."

He rubbed his brow, feeling utterly exhausted.

The heavens were about to change.

Yet the instigator behind this enormous uproar—Zhang Bufan—returned to his luxurious dormitory at Heaven Dou Royal Academy as leisurely as though nothing had happened.

He did not care in the slightest about the commotion outside or the shock among the various Power Bases.

He was happily thinking about his "date" with Huo Wu tomorrow.

"Shopping... hehehe." Lying on the bed with his hands behind his head, he grinned from ear to ear. "This is a great chance to deepen our relationship! I need to plan the route carefully—see where's fun, where has good food..."

As for the uproar caused by killing Soul Beasts in one blow?

To him, it was no different from stepping on a few ants while going outside. Was that really worth making such a fuss over?

His mind was filled with Huo Wu's eyes, as blazing and bright as flames, and her pretty face, faintly flushed when she agreed to go shopping with him.

"Mm, tomorrow, I have to let her see what 'overbearing CEO-style' pampering really means!"

With wonderful expectations for tomorrow, Zhang Bufan drifted off to sleep.

What he did not know was that his name had already stirred up an unprecedented storm among Heaven Dou City's upper circles.