Marquis Full Moon

As an adult, and with his experience of spending time with Xue Ke, Su Yu needed only one day to successfully coax his deskmate into complete delight.

After school, Aornia reluctantly bade Su Yu farewell and boarded a carriage bearing the Full Moon crest.

After watching the carriage disappear, Su Yu also boarded a carriage marked with a swan emblem and began his journey home.

Before long, Su Yu returned to the Crown Prince's Residence and found Qian Renxue in the study after she had finished handling state affairs.

Qian Renxue smiled. "How was it? Did you get along well with your classmates?"

Su Yu nodded. "I got along very well with my deskmate... She is Marquis Full Moon's daughter, Aornia."

"Brother Xue, could you tell me about Marquis Full Moon?"

"Marquis Full Moon?" Qian Renxue raised a brow, then slowly said, "Marquis Full Moon is a hereditary noble of the empire. The family's inherited martial soul is the Full Moon, a top-tier power-attack martial soul. As long as a family member awakens this martial soul, their Innate Soul Power is usually above level five. Occasionally, there are even those who awaken at level seven or even level eight."

"The current Marquis Full Moon is named Orlando, an eight-ringed Soul Douluo. However, with his talent, this is likely as far as he can go. He has virtually no chance of breaking through to the Titled Douluo rank."

At this point, Qian Renxue's tone carried a distinct hint of regret, as though she lamented the Heaven Dou Empire's inability to grow stronger.

Qian Renxue then continued, "As for Aornia, if I remember correctly, she is Orlando's youngest daughter. Her martial soul underwent a malignant mutation, and she failed to inherit the family's Full Moon martial soul. Her Innate Soul Power is also very low..."

"This matter caused quite a bit of discussion back then, so Orlando has never liked this daughter very much. He believes she has disgraced the family..."

"His other three children were all educated at home at her age. Only Aornia, whose martial soul mutated, was sent to school to cultivate on her own."

Hearing this, Su Yu's gaze flickered, but he offered no opinion. Instead, he asked, "Brother Xue, is there any connection between Marquis Full Moon and Full Moon Village?"

Qian Renxue was visibly taken aback by the question. She then answered uncertainly, "Probably... not? Marquis Full Moon's fief lies on the empire's border, adjacent to the Star Luo Empire. Their family's place of origin also seems to be there..."

Su Yu nodded, as though he had merely asked in passing and did not care much about it.

"By the way, Brother Xue, if I want to learn more about soul beasts, where should I look for the relevant books?"

Qian Renxue frowned slightly. "Didn't you say before that your soul skills are fixed and have little to do with the number of soul rings, their age, or what kind of soul beast they came from?"

"Is it for Aornia? Are you planning to help her find suitable soul beasts? But didn't you just meet her today? Have you already become that close?"

Su Yu did not deny it. "That is indeed part of the reason, but mainly, it is for myself. After all, battle is the main theme of a soul master's life."

"And the things one fights will certainly not all be soul masters."

"I don't want to encounter a soul beast someday and be unable even to identify its species or exact age... That would be too embarrassing."

"No, that isn't right. Embarrassment is secondary. If insufficient information costs me my life, that would be something to regret forever."

Qian Renxue neither agreed nor disagreed with Su Yu's explanation. "I will give you a token that grants access to the Royal Library. You can also have someone take you to the advanced division of Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Its library has quite a few books on the subject as well."

"Thank you, Brother Xue."

Qian Renxue nodded. "Go rest first. Come back later and have dinner with me."

After Su Yu turned and left, Qian Renxue watched his retreating figure with narrowed eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

Su Yu returned to his room, sat before his desk, casually opened a notebook, and began writing and drawing in it.

But before long, he was forced to put down his pen and look at the sweet, adorable little girl before him.

"Your Highness, do you have so much free time every day?"

During the month he had spent recuperating before obtaining his soul ring, aside from when he went to Full Moon Village to visit the village chief, this princess had come to see him almost every day, pestering him to play childish games with her.

Seeing the helpless look on Su Yu's face, Xue Ke frowned and gave a soft snort. "Hmph~ Who says I have lots of free time? I spend the entire day at Moonlight Pavilion, learning etiquette from Teacher Yue Hua."

Su Yu rubbed his brow. "If that is the case, why waste your precious rest time?"

"Ah?"

A clear, foolish look appeared in Xue Ke's eyes. "But I am resting, aren't I? Isn't playing with you resting?"

"Actually, I originally wanted to find Big Brother, but he still has things to do, and Fourth Brother and I can't play together, so I could only come find you."

"Then why don't you find other friends, such as the daughters of the noble lords..."

"Because none of them are as interesting as you?"

Su Yu's expression stiffened. He had not expected himself to be so popular with children.

"By the way, which families do Your Highness's classmates come from?"

Faced with Su Yu's question, Xue Ke began counting on her fingers. "Let me think... Count Green Vine's youngest daughter, Count Wind Bird's youngest daughter, Count Lionheart's only son, and Marquis Full Moon's son and daughter."

"Marquis Full Moon?"

Seeing Su Yu's interest in the subject, Xue Ke quickly added, "Mm-hmm. Besides his eldest son, he has two daughters and another son. Those two classmates of mine are fraternal twins~"

"Actually, I was curious before about why their other younger sister did not come to Moonlight Pavilion to study etiquette."

"But I saw that neither of them liked mentioning that younger sister, so I did not ask..."

At that moment, an image arose in Su Yu's mind of a pitiful little girl shunned by her older siblings and ignored by her father and mother.

"A malignant martial soul mutation... Truly a world where one knows their fate at six."

Xue Ke tilted her head. "What was Brother Su Yu saying?"

Su Yu shook his head. "Nothing. Come on, what do you want to play?"

"Um~ Are there any more stories like the ones Brother Su Yu told before?"

Heaven Dou City, Prince's Residence.

Xue Xing sat in the seat of honor, waiting quietly for his guest to arrive.

Before long, a tall, thin man with silver hair entered under a maid's guidance. He wore splendid formal attire, with a Full Moon crest embroidered over his chest.

He stopped before Prince Xuexing and gave a slight bow. "Orlando, Marquis Full Moon, greets Your Highness."