Vomiting Blood

"Duke, the Continent-wide Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament is almost upon us, and I happen to be making a trip to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Might you have time to go with me?" Xue Qinghe asked.

Every time he met with Wriothesley, they basically parted ways right after eating at most, so Xue Qinghe wanted to take this chance to get a little closer to him.

"I can, but I'll have to trouble Your Highness, the Crown Prince, to lead the way," Wriothesley replied.

???

Why was he so easy to talk to this time?

Xue Qinghe showed nothing on his face, still wearing that smile as he said, "Not at all. You're too courteous, Duke."

With that, Xue Qinghe turned and walked toward the main gate, while Wriothesley cast Sigewinne a look.

After giving a slight nod, the latter quickly followed.

After hearing it for so long, Xue Qinghe found that being called Duke did not seem to make Wriothesley so resistant anymore. It felt as if Wriothesley really was a duke.

Because Wriothesley truly did have the bearing of a duke.

His every word and action were nothing like a commoner's mannerisms. If he had not known a little about Wriothesley's background, Xue Qinghe might have thought Wriothesley had once gone to Moonlight Pavilion for further training.

After all, Moonlight Pavilion was a place that cultivated nobles.

After lunch, the three hit it off at once and headed straight out of the city, looking remarkably carefree. Heaven Dou Royal Academy was located on a certain mountain range outside Heaven Dou City, not far from the city itself. An ordinary person could reach it in about half an hour on foot.

For soul masters, however, it was practically like taking a short stroll.

The three of them walked leisurely along the road, while some of the major forces behind them had already noticed this movement. Whispers spread one after another, and people began heatedly guessing the purpose of Your Highness, the Crown Prince and Wriothesley's trip.

"Hey, look, their direction is Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Looks like that's definitely their destination!"

Sure enough, there were quite a few clever people. Based on Wriothesley's group's route, everyone more or less guessed their target, as if a little deduction game was unfolding.

As the Heaven Dou crown prince, even if he was a fake, he still had many guards around him, but with Wriothesley there, those guards were no longer necessary.

It was enough for them to follow behind for appearances' sake.

"What are the Duke and Your Highness, the Crown Prince going to Heaven Dou Royal Academy for?"

"Are you stupid? The soul master competition is only a few months away. Our Heaven Dou Royal Academy has been suppressed by Martial Soul Hall Academy for so many years. Naturally, Your Highness, the Crown Prince has to go inspect things."

"Then the crown prince could just go himself. Why bring the Duke and Miss Sigewinne?"

"What do you think? Do I really have to spell it out?"

"You riddling bastard!"

Along the way, voices of discussion kept sounding.

The academy was built on the mountain range, and reaching the academy gates required climbing more than a thousand steps.

Only after entering the mountains could one better appreciate the scale of Heaven Dou Royal Academy. The stone steps up the mountain were carved from white marble, each step bearing a different soul beast pattern, their craftsmanship exquisite. The sunset glow left uneven, swaying pale-red tree shadows across the stone steps, adding a touch more serenity and refinement.

Before they even went up the mountain, they saw several people in Royal Academy student uniforms protecting a man who had been beaten into a pig's head as they rushed down from the summit in a hurry. Clearly, he looked as if he had just been in a fight.

"Fourth Brother, what happened to you?" Xue Qinghe had not recognized this pig-headed man at first, but once he did, he was greatly surprised.

Because the pig-headed man who had been beaten was precisely his nominal "fourth brother," Heaven Dou's fourth prince, Xue Beng.

Xue Beng had just been beaten and had originally wanted to go find someone to demand justice while getting the injuries on his face treated, but when he saw Sigewinne, he froze at once.

Then he scrambled and crawled as he rushed up.

If Wriothesley had not reminded Xue Qinghe with his eyes to stop him, Xue Beng probably would have lunged right over.

Xue Qinghe, at the side, helplessly covered his forehead.

"Miss Sigewinne, save me!" Xue Beng cried out while clutching his face.

Watching this scene from behind Xue Qinghe, Wriothesley could only shake his head, though he did not say anything more.

For a prince to end up like this was really something.

Although there was an element of pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger in it, Xue Beng truly had taken himself for a pig!

Naturally, kindhearted Sigewinne could not just stand by and do nothing. From the heart-shaped "Melusine Dedicated Integrated Portable Medical Device" at her waist, she took out a small box, opened it, and removed a tiny syringe-shaped object from inside.

She crushed it between her fingers, and a great deal of dark-green liquid flowed out from within.

"Open your mouth, okay?" As she spoke, Sigewinne inserted the syringe into Xue Beng's mouth and poured in the dark-green medicine.

"Huh? Hiss..."

Xue Beng immediately felt a cool, refreshing sensation rapidly spread from his mouth through his body. The pain on his face vanished at once, and his whole spirit was greatly lifted.

At the same time, he also felt an exceptionally special and wonderful sensation, and he could not help letting out a moan.

Beside him, Xue Qinghe looked at Sigewinne, his expression also going blank.

This was his first time seeing such a method of treatment.

One had to know that treatment methods on Douluo Continent were likewise mainly based on martial souls, and methods of healing through external objects like this were very rare.

And physicians on Douluo Continent were basically collectively known as healing-type soul masters.

Looking at Xue Beng, who had been healed by Sigewinne, Xue Qinghe thought to himself that he would have to find an opportunity to discuss this aspect with Wriothesley.

Before Xue Qinghe could ask in detail, Xue Beng had recovered. If Xue Qinghe had not been present, he probably would have kowtowed twice to Sigewinne with loud thuds.

Respecting the worthy and honoring the strong was a required lesson for members of the imperial family, so naturally, Xue Beng knew how to do it too.

But a good-for-nothing had to play the good-for-nothing to the end, so after he was healed, he merely thanked her and left.

It was probably still because Wriothesley was present. If Wriothesley had not been there, he might have run up and clung to Sigewinne's leg.

And Xue Qinghe?

Seeing that Xue Beng had merely said thank you, he also showed Sigewinne an apologetic expression and slowly said, "I'm sorry. My fourth brother can be rather outrageous sometimes. I hope Miss Sigewinne won't take offense."

"It's all right."

Sigewinne waved her hand, indicating that she did not mind.

The main campus area of Heaven Dou Royal Academy was built entirely of single-story buildings, giving it the feel of a fortress. The outer walls were five meters high and entirely bright yellow, looking extremely striking. Even the tops of the walls were covered in glazed tiles, which looked especially dazzling under the setting sun.

After that, Xue Qinghe invited Wriothesley and Sigewinne into the teaching building.

"This place feels, compared with Fontaine, mm." Sigewinne lightly tapped a finger against her lips, a slight frown appearing on her pretty, adorable face.

"Very crude?"

"No, it's all wonderful. I'm used to the waters of Fontaine, so I need to take a good look at the scenery here!"

As she spoke, she reached up with her small hand and took Wriothesley's large one.

"Let's go."

Wriothesley nodded.

Xue Qinghe led the way ahead, but he could naturally hear the conversation between Wriothesley and Sigewinne.

Fontaine?

It seemed this was not the first time Wriothesley and the others had mentioned that word.