Tough Training

At dawn, as the sky began to lighten, Bei Bei dragged him out of bed.

"Xuan Heng, get up."

"Bei Bei, why are you up so early?"

Bei Bei didn't look happy. "It's because of you. Progenitor Xuan told me to train with you."

The two of them strapped on their weights and started their morning run.

Xuan Zi had gotten up early just to push them both harder.

Even though he didn't like Soul Tools, he'd gone out of his way to ask Qian Duoduo to make weighted Soul Tools.

By infusing them with Soul Power, the wearer's load increased.

The weights the two of them wore were those very devices.

"Old man, why aren't you running?"

Xuan Zi replied, "I can fly."

He even made a point of flying in front of them and showing off a freshly roasted chicken leg. "Smells great, doesn't it? Too bad you two can't have any."

"Elder Xuan, could you move aside? We're about to speed up," Bei Bei said.

As Soul Masters, they couldn't train only their speed. Short bursts of power mattered more.

Every day, they ran several laps around Sea God Island, then sprinted all-out for a stretch.

After they finished, both of them were drenched in sweat and passed out.

That was when someone came to take over.

"Lexuan? It's you? I thought it was Yan Shaozhe."

A young woman flew out of the lake. It was the senior disciple, Zhang Lexuan. "Dean Yan is very busy. He can't watch the two of them train every day."

She looked at Bei Bei with great tenderness. "He is my fiancé, after all, so naturally I should take good care of him. Now I'm taking them both for medicinal baths."

Xuan Zi took a swig of wine. "Ah, what a pity that little Xuan Heng doesn't have a good fiancée to look after him."

"Old man, what are you talking about?" Mu Xuanheng came to faster than Bei Bei. "I already have a clear goal." With that, he closed his eyes again, completely unable to move.

Zhang Lexuan said, "Looks like little Xuan Heng already has someone he likes."

She turned to Xuan Zi. "Elder Xuan, you and Elder Mu don't need to worry about him anymore."

"Fine. You take care of your Bei Bei, and I'll take care of this kid. He carries my name, calls me 'old man' all day, and now I have to look after him too."

When Mu Xuanheng woke again, he was soaking in a wooden tub.

Xuan Zi was beside him, gnawing on a duck leg. "Huh, you woke up pretty early. I'll have to push you harder tomorrow."

Mu Xuanheng felt pain all over his body. "Damn, this still isn't hard enough?"

"Definitely not. By rights, you shouldn't wake up for another fifteen minutes. Bei Bei will probably wake around then, but you're way ahead of him."

"Where's Bei Bei?"

"In the room next door. He has a fiancée to look after him. You've only got me, this decrepit old man."

Mu Xuanheng closed his eyes. He knew the senior disciple, Zhang Lexuan. When he'd been taken in, Zhang Lexuan was already Bei Bei's fiancée.

But it really had nothing to do with him. With the Contract of his Second Martial Soul, he'd already settled on his own future partner.

A Soul Beast who'd failed to take human form.

One devoted partner for life was a wonderful thing. It was just that, in this matter, he'd already been sentenced to death.

"Tsk, I'm jealous of Bei Bei."

"Hey, old man, shouldn't you add more medicine? The water in the tub has gone clear."

Xuan Zi took a look. "You little devil, you're something else. I'll have to add more tomorrow. Get over there and eat."

At six years old, Mu Xuanheng was already as physically fit as nine-year-old Bei Bei.

Following Xuan Zi's directions, he went to the small dining room reserved for them.

Their meals were specially prepared every day.

That morning's meal was five-hundred-year-old Earth Lizard Dragon meat and Moon Crystal Rice.

As before, Mu Xuanheng's portion was smaller than what he needed.

They could only shortchange him for now and make up for it at lunch.

"Bei Bei, why are you so late?"

Bei Bei's face was tinged red. "I'm not late. You came too early."

He asked cautiously, "Who gave you your medicinal bath?"

"Huh? Old man Xuan. He says he's going to make me train even more."

Mu Xuanheng knew what he wanted to ask. "Don't worry about it. I don't mind. If something's on your mind, think it over. I'll eat yours for you in the meantime."

He reached for the meat in front of Bei Bei, but Bei Bei stopped him. "Eat your own. I don't even have enough for myself."

The cook saw their feedback that day. "Are these kids? How can they eat so much? Never mind, eating more means my cooking's good. Give them more!"

Their morning lesson was about learning to recognize Soul Beasts, taught by Gong Changlong.

How could a Soul Master not know about Soul Beasts?

Gong Changlong took the two of them into the Beast Fighting Area.

They'd thought it would be an easy class, but Gong Changlong sent them fleeing for their lives instead.

He put them in with Soul Beasts and had the beasts chase them.

Every time they identified a new Soul Beast, he added another one.

Thanks to Gong Changlong, the Soul Beasts didn't attack one another. They all chased the two boys instead.

With the forest terrain, each Soul Beast could make full use of its strengths.

Mu Xuanheng had it rough. He was always the one being chased by the most beasts.

Compared to him, Bei Bei might as well have been out for a leisurely stroll.

In the afternoon, Qian Duoduo was supposed to teach them about Soul Tools, but for special reasons, Mu Xuanheng's teacher was changed to Fan Yu. Fan Yu was even more impressed by his talent and insisted on teaching him personally.

The reason he gave was, "He's destined to reach Level Nine, and may even reach Level Ten. He could surpass the Sun Moon Empire."

With that on top of everything else, Mu Xuanheng's workload grew even heavier.

Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo took turns visiting and gave much the same assessment.

He was the shared hope of the Spirit Martial Department and the Soul Tool Department.

For Mu Xuanheng, none of his classes were easy ones.

Soul Tools hadn't originally been part of the curriculum, but Mu En overruled everyone's objections and added them.

His evening training was much simpler: just sparring with Bei Bei.

He wasn't allowed to use Void Dragon Claw, but everything else was fair game.

Bei Bei had no restrictions at all.

They were both Soul Elders, but Bei Bei's Soul Power was higher.

"Xuan Heng, watch out."

But it wasn't so easy to resist the suppression of a Martial Soul.

On top of that, Mu Xuanheng's close-range dragon claw ignored defenses, so he won every time—and won by a wide margin.

After a while, they gave up on that part of training and let the two of them rest.

At night came Mu Xuanheng's personal lesson.

A solo simulated battle against a Soul Beast.

"The five-hundred-year-old Flame Demon Lion was no match for him. They're both at the first ring, but hardly anyone else can fight like he can."

Mu En said, "Being strong is a good thing. We'll just increase his Soul Power training at night. If the two of us Titled Douluo can't even see his limits, that would be ridiculous."

The final assessment was that, with one ring, he could defeat an eight-hundred-year-old Soul Beast. If he used Void Dragon Claw, he had a chance of fighting a thousand-year-old Soul Beast to the death.

Xuan Zi said, "He'd be one of the best even among three-ring Soul Elders. Can we really keep his strength hidden?"

His Soul Skills were absurdly powerful, and so was his Martial Soul's suppressive effect. Who would believe it was a mutation of the Bright Holy Dragon?

Mu En said, "Let's keep it hidden for now. The longer, the better.

"Chaofeng is fortunate. Within a few years, Xuan Heng is bound to fight beyond his level.

"He'll inevitably show his talent too. That's when anyone with an eye for it will recognize what he can do. Everything we're doing now is laying the groundwork for his future."

His gaze passed beyond the simulated battlefield, as if he could see Mu Xuanheng's future battles.

"We'll give him a solid foundation. One day, he'll surpass even our expectations. I only hope that by then, he'll be able to protect himself."