Sibling Bond

After Lin Jin left the training grounds with Lin Xue, the members of the Royal Fighting Team finally came back to their senses.

"Who would have thought that the Heavenly Wolf General, whose name had been spreading through Heaven Dou City for so long, was actually Lin Xue's older brother?" Osler smiled awkwardly, somewhat moved.

"Teacher Qin, could you tell how strong he was? What level had his Soul Power reached? Why did I lose even the courage to attack the moment I met his eyes? Even Yu Feng, a level 37 Soul Elder, couldn't withstand a single blow from him." Yu Tianheng's expression was grim, but what filled him more was unwillingness to accept it.

As the heir of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, wielding the top-tier Martial Soul, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, and serving as captain of the Royal Fighting Team, he had nearly been unable to maintain his Martial Soul before that man. To him, that was the greatest humiliation.

"Yes, Lin Xue's older brother looks about our age, yet he possesses such terrifying strength." Dugu Yan's face was also full of bewilderment.

Qin Ming looked at these proud students and shook his head helplessly. "I couldn't see through him."

"However, judging by the faint fluctuation of Soul Power he released just now, he had not surpassed the Soul King rank."

Qin Ming's words were like a heavy hammer striking every team member's heart.

They were all geniuses among their peers. Otherwise, they would not have become members of the Royal Academy's team.

"Not... not beyond Soul King?" Yu Tianheng repeated in a daze, his face filled with disbelief. "He was below Soul King, yet he could suppress us so completely with nothing but his presence?"

This fact was even harder for him to accept than if the other man had been a Soul Sage or Soul Douluo.

It meant that the gap between them did not come entirely from Soul Power Level, but from experience, temperament, and combat instincts tempered between life and death.

"How... how is that possible?" Osler was dumbfounded as well. "It's not like we've never fought Soul Kings before. Teacher Qin, you're a Soul Emperor, yet we've never been this terrified of you!"

"That's because I bear no killing intent toward you." Qin Ming hit the nail on the head. "And Lin Jin... although he deliberately restrained himself just now, the murderous aura he carried from that Sea of Corpses and Blood could not be concealed. It wasn't killing intent directed at you, but an instinct formed after being steeped in it for so long."

His gaze swept across them, his tone solemn. "You must understand that every battle he had experienced was a fight for survival. Every one of his soul skills existed to kill the enemy as quickly and efficiently as possible. That is entirely different from the sparring matches in the academy, where people stop short of causing harm."

Dugu Yan recalled Lin Jin's calm, unruffled eyes and could not help shuddering. "So when he looked at us, it was like... like he was looking at..."

"Like he was looking at a flock of harmless sheep," Shi Mo said in a muffled voice. Even he, usually so steady, still felt lingering fear.

Shi Mo nodded in agreement. "I don't even have confidence that the Xuanwu Turtle's defense could block him."

Ye Lingling spoke softly, voicing the most crucial point. "And from beginning to end, he never released his Martial Soul."

Those words silenced everyone once again.

That was right. He had not even used his Martial Soul. With Physical Strength and that terrifying presence alone, he had instantly shattered Yu Feng's attack and knocked him unconscious.

If he used his Martial Soul, if he used soul skills...

No one dared think further.

"Enough." Seeing their expressions, Qin Ming knew that they would have difficulty accepting this fact for the moment. "Continue training. This is not something you should be worrying about right now. Becoming a major general of an Empire is no simple matter."

"Besides, you are all geniuses of the Soul Master World. Your talent is not lacking. What you lack is tempering."

Meanwhile, Lin Jin, who had taken his younger sister out of the academy and was heading home, knew nothing of what had happened on the training grounds behind him.

Even if he knew, he would only have given it a calm glance.

Lin Xue tightly held her older brother's hand, as though afraid that he would disappear the moment she let go.

"Brother, you really became a general?" She tilted her head up, her eyes shining with admiration. "I heard all about the Heavenly Wolf General of the Northern Border at the academy."

"I thought it was just someone with the same name."

Lin Jin rubbed her hair and smiled gently. "None of that matters. What matters is that your older brother can protect you from now on."

Lin Xue immediately nodded with earnest certainty. "Mm, Brother is the best!"

He led his younger sister toward the academy gates, where A Tu waited with the horses.

When A Tu saw Lin Jin approaching with a young girl, he immediately bowed. "Miss."

Seeing a stranger come up to her, Lin Xue shyly hid behind Lin Jin.

Lin Jin smiled as he introduced them. "Don't be afraid, Xiao Xue. This is A Tu, Brother's comrade from the Northern Border. A Tu, this is my younger sister, Xiao Xue."

"Hello, Miss!" A Tu smiled honestly. "The general started making preparations yesterday. He had been waiting to bring you home today."

Hearing A Tu's words, Lin Xue's eyes grew moist again. She gripped her older brother's hand tightly and said in a soft voice, "Thank you, A Tu Brother."

That "Brother" made even A Tu, a man who had lived with a blade at his throat in the Northern Border, feel a little embarrassed. He scratched his head and smiled foolishly. "Miss, you're too polite. Just call me A Tu."

Lin Jin mounted the horse, then reached down and pulled his younger sister up behind him, seating her in front of him. "Hold on tight. We're going home."

The horse moved forward slowly. Leaning against her older brother's sturdy chest, Lin Xue felt a sense of security she had never known in eight years.

The scenery along the streets slowly receded as she softly asked about his experiences in the Northern Border over the years.

"Brother, in the Northern Border... was it very hard?" She looked up and could see the sharply defined line of his jaw.

"It wasn't hard." Lin Jin brushed it off lightly, then began telling her about the customs and scenery of the Northern Border. "Although it's cold there, the night sky is especially clear. The stars are much brighter than the ones you can see in Heaven Dou City. There's also a kind of Snow Fox with pure white fur. They're very adorable..."

He deliberately chose interesting stories to tell her, lightly passing over the bloody, brutal battles and life-or-death dangers.

Before long, as the siblings talked, they arrived at the Count's Mansion.

"Xiao Xue, this will be our home from now on," Lin Jin said as he introduced the Count's Mansion.

"Mm. Wherever Brother is, that is home." Lin Xue replied with a smile.

Lin Jin led his younger sister through the carefully tended front courtyard and into the room beside the Master Bedroom that had been specially prepared for her.

The room was warm and elegant, with exquisite pastries and a pair of adorable dolls placed on the table.

"Xiao Xue, do you like it?" Lin Jin asked softly.

Lin Xue looked at everything before her, and tears welled up once more. "I like it... Thank you, Brother."

She suddenly threw herself into her older brother's arms, her voice choked with emotion. "Brother, for these eight years, I thought about you every day. I was afraid you would get hurt on the battlefield, afraid you would forget me..."

"Silly girl." Lin Jin held his younger sister close, his heart aching. "How could Brother forget you? Every day for the past eight years, I thought about staying alive so I could return and see you."

He took his younger sister to sit by the table and poured her a cup of hot tea. "From now on, we will never be separated again. Brother promises you."

Lin Xue nodded vigorously, finally smiling through her tears.

Just then, A Tu reported softly from outside the door, "General, the Crown Prince's Mansion has sent an invitation, inviting you to visit tomorrow for a discussion."

Lin Jin's eyes flickered slightly.

He responded calmly, "Understood. Reply to His Highness the Crown Prince that I will attend the appointment on time tomorrow."

Lin Xue looked at Lin Jin with some curiosity. "Brother, are you going to see Qinghe Brother?"

"Yes." Lin Jin rubbed Lin Xue's head. "His Highness the Crown Prince took such good care of you while Brother was away. I should go thank him properly."