Arduous Training

At dawn, as the sky began to brighten, he was dragged out of his blankets by Bei Bei.

"Xuanheng, get up."

"Bei Bei? Why so early?"

Bei Bei did not look pleased: "It's all because of you. Grandmaster Xuan wants me to train with you."

The two of them strapped on their weighted blocks and began their morning run.

Xuan Zi had risen early specifically to turn up the intensity for these two.

Even though he disliked Soul Tools, he had specifically asked Qian Duoduo to make weighted Soul Tools.

By injecting soul power, the weight burden on the user could be increased.

The weighted blocks the two were wearing were exactly that.

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

Xuan Zi: "I can fly."

He even flew right in front of them, brandishing a freshly roasted chicken leg: "It smells so good, too bad you two can't have any."

Bei Bei: "Elder Xuan, could you please move? We need to accelerate."

As soul masters, they couldn't just train for speed; short bursts of explosive power were even more important.

Every day, they ran several laps around Sea God Island, followed by a stretch of full-speed sprinting.

After finishing the run, both of them were drenched in sweat and collapsed, unconscious.

At this moment, someone arrived to clean up the mess.

"Lexuan, girl? It's you? I thought it would be Shaozhe."

A young woman flew out from the lake; it was the eldest senior sister, Zhang Lexuan: "Dean Yan is very busy, so naturally, he won't be watching over their training every day."

Her gaze toward Bei Bei was very gentle: "After all, he is my fiancé, so naturally, I have to be the one to look after him. Now, I'm taking them both for their medicinal bath."

Xuan Zi took a swig of wine: "Alas, it's a pity that little fellow Xuanheng doesn't have a good fiancée to look after him."

"Old man, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Mu Xuanheng woke up faster than Bei Bei: "I have a clear goal, you know." After saying this, he closed his eyes again, completely unable to move.

Zhang Lexuan: "It seems little Xuanheng has had his heart set on a goal for a long time."

She looked at 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 brat. He carries my name, calls me an old man all day long, and I still have to look after him."

When Mu Xuanheng woke up again, he was in a wooden tub for his medicinal bath.

Xuan Zi was gnawing on a duck leg nearby: "Heh, you woke up quite early. Tomorrow, I'll have to increase the intensity for you."

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

"It's certainly not enough. By rights, you should have waited another 15 minutes before waking up. Bei Bei will probably wake up around that time, but you're way too early."

"Where's Bei Bei?"

"In the next room. He has a fiancée to take care of him, while you only have this old geezer."

Mu Xuanheng closed his eyes. He knew that eldest senior sister, Zhang Lexuan. When he was first found, Zhang Lexuan was already Bei Bei's fiancée.

But it really had nothing to do with him; with the second martial soul contract, he had already locked onto his target.

It was a certain soul beast that had failed its transformation.

A lifetime of devotion to one person was also quite wonderful. It was just that, in this matter, he had already been sentenced to death.

"Tsk tsk, I envy Bei Bei."

"No, old man, shouldn't you add more medicine? The water in the tub has already turned clear."

Xuan Zi immediately took a look: "You brat, you're ruthless. I'll have to add more for you tomorrow. Get out of there and go eat."

Mu Xuanheng's six-year-old physique was already no worse than nine-year-old Bei Bei's.

Following Xuan Zi's guidance, he arrived at their exclusive small dining room.

Their food was specially provided every day.

This morning, it was five-hundred-year-old Earth Lizard Dragon meat and Moon Crystal Rice.

As before, the portion belonging to Mu Xuanheng was less than what he actually needed.

He would just have to suffer for now and make it up at lunch.

"Bei Bei, why are you so late?"

A faint blush appeared on Bei Bei's face: "It's not that I'm late, it's that you came too early."

He asked cautiously: "Who was the one who took you for your medicinal bath?"

"Ah? Old man Xuan. He said he's going to give me extra training."

Mu Xuanheng knew what he wanted to ask: "Don't worry about it so much, I don't mind at all. If you have something on your mind, think it through properly; I'll eat your share for you first."

He reached out to grab the meat in front of Bei Bei, but was blocked by him: "Eat your own. Mine isn't enough for me to eat as it is."

The chef looked at today's feedback: "Are these kids? How can they eat so much? Forget it, eating a lot just means my cooking is good. Add more!"

The morning class was led by Gong Changlong to help them learn about spirit beasts.

How could a spirit master not know about spirit beasts?

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

They originally thought it would be an easy class, but Gong Changlong immediately threw them into a great escape.

He placed them together with spirit beasts and had the beasts hunt them down.

For every new type of spirit beast they learned about, another one was released into the area.

Because of Gong Changlong, these spirit beasts wouldn't kill each other; they were all focused on chasing the two of them.

Combined with the forest terrain, every spirit beast could fully utilize its unique characteristics.

Mu Xuanheng had it miserable, as he was the one being chased the most every single time.

Compared to him, the difficulty for Bei Bei was like a stroll in the park.

In the afternoon, Qian Duoduo was supposed to lead them in learning about soul tools, but due to special circumstances, Mu Xuanheng's teacher was changed to Fan Yu. His talent was so highly recognized by Fan Yu that he strongly insisted on teaching him personally.

He claimed, "He will definitely reach level nine, with the potential for level ten. He can surpass the Sun Moon Empire."

With this added layer, Mu Xuanheng's workload became even heavier.

Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo also took turns checking on him, giving evaluations that were more or less the same.

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

For Mu Xuanheng, there was no such thing as an easy class.

Originally, there was no such item as soul tools, but Mu En had overruled all objections to add it directly.

The evening training was much simpler; it was purely sparring between him and Bei Bei.

He was restricted from using the Void Dragon Claw, but everything else was allowed.

Bei Bei, however, had no restrictions at all.

Though they were both at the first ring, Bei Bei's spirit power was higher than his.

"Xuanheng, you need to be careful."

But the suppression of a martial spirit was not something that could be resisted so easily.

Coupled with the fact that Mu Xuanheng's close-quarters dragon claw ignored defense, he won every time, and always by a landslide.

Eventually, they gave up on this segment to leave the two of them some time to rest.

At night, it was Mu Xuanheng's exclusive curriculum.

Solo simulated battles against spirit beasts.

"A 500-year Flame Demon Lion is no match for him. Even at the first ring, few can fight like he does."

Mu En: "High combat power is a good thing; we'll just increase his spirit power at night. If we can't even see his limits, then the two of us Titled Douluo would be a joke."

The final assessment: at the first ring, he could defeat an 800-year spirit beast. By using the Void Dragon Claw, he had the qualifications to risk his life against a thousand-year spirit beast.

Xuan Zi: "He can be considered an elite even among three-ring Soul Elders. With this kind of strength, can we really keep him hidden?"

His spirit skill effects were ridiculously strong, and his martial spirit suppression was absurdly powerful. If they said it was a mutation of the Bright Holy Dragon, who would believe it?

Mu En: "Let's keep him hidden for now; we'll hide him as long as we can.

Chaofeng is a close call; within a few years, Xuanheng will inevitably be fighting opponents above his rank.

He will certainly reveal his talents, and by then, anyone with eyes will recognize them. Everything we do now is paving the way for his future."

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

"By laying a solid foundation for him, there will come a day when he exceeds our expectations. I only hope that by then, he will be able to protect himself."