Dominating the Rankings

The morning sun shone through the cafeteria windows, spilling across the polished wooden tables.

On the table, steamed buns, soy milk, and fried dough sticks were steaming hot.

Xiao Xiao took a big bite of a meat bun, her cheeks puffed out as she mumbled, "Xiao Xue, how do you think Senior Sister Yu is going to thank you?

She was clutching that Radiant Holy Butterfly soul ring yesterday, so excited she couldn't sleep all night."

She stirred the soy milk in her bowl with a spoon, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Xue Yuheng with gossip on her mind.

Sitting opposite them, Xue Qingwu drank her porridge quietly, her long eyelashes lowered to hide the emotions in her eyes.

"Thank me for what? We're all friends." Xue Yuheng picked up a fried dough stick, broke it into small pieces, and dropped them into his soy milk, his tone indifferent.

He hadn't helped Yu Mengdi for the sake of any reward.

Once her Six-Winged Angel martial soul matured, she would become one of his most powerful assets in the future.

"Friends?" Xiao Xiao curled her lip, put down her spoon, and leaned forward, lowering her voice. "On the way back yesterday, Sister Qingwu told me everything.

That was an Emperor Auspicious Beast, the only one in the entire continent.

Under those circumstances, if you had asked Chi Wang to capture a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, he would have certainly agreed.

But you only had him catch a light-attribute soul beast over ten thousand years old. Didn't that mean Qingwu and I got beaten up for nothing?"

As she spoke, she deliberately rubbed her shoulder, pretending it still hurt.

During the battle the night before, she had been grazed by Chi Wang's flames, and a large patch of her dragon scales had been singed off.

Although she had fully recovered the next day thanks to the healing properties of Xue Yuheng's Power of Creation, she was still keeping score.

"Xiao Xiao, we need to look at the big picture." Xue Yuheng looked up at her and said solemnly, "Once we unify the continent, all the soul beasts in the world will be ours.

By then, let alone hundred-thousand-year ones, you can have as many million-year soul beasts as you want."

Xiao Xiao rolled her eyes, clearly not buying it, and muttered, "Feeding me empty promises again."

Xue Yuheng chuckled and was about to speak when he noticed Xiao Xiao suddenly frown and lean in to examine him closely.

"Xiao Xue, why do I feel like there's something strange about you since you woke up?"

Xiao Xiao tilted her head, her emerald eyes filled with confusion.

"It's like... something has been added, but something else is missing. I can't quite put my finger on it."

Her God Level martial soul granted Xiao Xiao a keen intuition far beyond that of an ordinary person; she could clearly sense a few faint, golden threads lingering around Xue Yuheng.

Xue Yuheng's heart skipped a beat.

It was indeed the influence of the Power of Destiny.

However, Xue Yuheng had never believed in destiny; he only believed in himself.

Xue Yuheng calmly changed the subject: "By the way, Xiao Xiao, if a girl who looked exactly like you appeared one day, would you be afraid?"

Xiao Xiao was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Why would I be afraid? I don't have any twin sisters. If someone really looked exactly like me, either some soul master used a transformation soul skill, or some soul beast took human form."

Xiao Xiao said dismissively, waving her small fist, "If anyone dares to impersonate me, I'll flatten them with my Divine Dragon Fist!"

Xue Yuheng nodded.

It was such a simple question, yet some people just couldn't seem to grasp it.

After breakfast, the three of them walked side by side toward the teaching building.

It was worth mentioning that after they returned from the Star Dou Forest, Zhao Yan had braved the pressure from the entire faculty to promote the three of them directly from the second year of the junior division to the second year of the senior division, class one.

After all, three seven-year-old children—one Soul Elder and two Soul Grand Masters—possessing the strength of a Soul Ancestor, would simply be wasting their time if they stayed in the junior division.

The senior division's curriculum was more than a grade harder than the junior division's. In addition to basic soul master theory and soul power cultivation, it included courses on the creation and use of first and second-level Soul Tools, soul beast compendiums, and combat sparring.

Furthermore, the senior division operated on a credit system. Attending classes, completing assignments, donating to the school, and participating in Heavenly Ranking matches all earned credits. If one didn't have enough credits, they couldn't even take the final exams.

After a full day of classes, Xiao Xiao was drowsy, Xue Qingwu remained her usual cold and detached self, and only Xue Yuheng listened with genuine interest.

After school, the sunset cast long shadows of the teaching building.

Xue Yuheng and Xiao Xiao didn't return to the dormitory but headed straight for the senior division's arena on the west side of the academy.

According to Xiao Xiao, Xue Qingwu had become a "big sister" in the girls' dormitory, forming cliques and staying busy with endless tasks lately.

She returned to the dorm very late.

This was the Snow Empress's freedom, and Xue Yuheng didn't interfere.

The lobby of the Heavenly Ranking registration office was still bustling with people.

Teacher Zhang, who was in charge of registration, looked up and saw the two of them, immediately revealing a helpless yet familiar smile. "You two are truly punctual, not missing a single day."

For the past two months, Xue Yuheng and Xiao Xiao had come here almost every day after school, turning the senior division's Heavenly Ranking upside down.

"Hello, Teacher Zhang." Xiao Xiao waved with a smile.

"Same as usual today, challenging the singles ranking?" Teacher Zhang said while pulling out the registration form. "By the way, that kid Wei Ran came early this morning and is waiting at Arena One, saying he insists on having another match with you, Xiao Xiao."

Hearing this, the image of Wei Ran surfaced in Xue Yuheng's mind.

In the Douluo Continent, there is no shortage of strange and wondrous Martial Souls, and the reason Wei Ran possesses combat power at the invincible Soul Ancestor level is due to his unique Martial Soul.

His Martial Soul was originally just a dilapidated Four-Story Bronze Pagoda, and the special thing about this Martial Soul is that it comes with its own spirit rings.

Wei Ran was originally just a farm boy from a town under the jurisdiction of a major city in the Heaven Dou Empire.

When his parents took him to the city to awaken his Martial Soul at the age of six, the tower was already surrounded by four spirit rings: purple, purple, black, and black.

The Martial Soul examiner at the time thought he had encountered a treasure that only appears once in ten thousand years, so he traveled thousands of miles to bring him to the pride of the commoners, Tianzheng Academy.

However, to the disappointment of the master of Martial Soul theory at Tianzheng Academy, although these four spirit rings were all spirit skills that perfectly suited the small pagoda itself, they also completely stifled Wei Ran's growth potential.

His Martial Soul is broken, and unless he encounters rare treasures capable of repairing it, he may never be able to break through the Soul Ancestor realm in his entire life.

Yet, Wei Ran takes it all in stride.

He comes from a remote town, and being able to reach this point today already makes him much luckier than most of his peers.

At the very least, he has already seen the most magnificent scenery in the world of spirit masters.

Moreover, at the current stage, he, Wei Ran, is still recognized as the number one Soul Ancestor at Tianzheng Academy.

For the past seven years, he has not slacked off for a single moment; with innate level four spirit power, he cultivated to the level forty-one Soul Ancestor realm by the age of thirteen, and his hard work has been witnessed by everyone in the school.

For Xue Yuheng and Xiao Xiao, Wei Ran is the best whetstone they could ask for.

"It's him again." Xiao Xiao's eyes lit up as she rubbed her hands together and said, "Perfect, last time I only used...

Anyway, it wasn't a satisfying fight.

This time, I'm going to have a real match with him!"

As she spoke, she moved to step forward and register.

"Wait." Xue Yuheng held her back.

Xiao Xiao looked back at him in confusion: "What's wrong?"

Xue Yuheng looked up at the massive electronic screen on the hall wall, where the rankings of the overall Heavenly Ranking were scrolling by.

Wei Ran's name was prominently displayed in seventh place on the overall list.

Xue Yuheng smiled faintly.

"This time, let me try."

Xiao Xiao was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant and widened her eyes: "Xiao Xue, you want to challenge Wei Ran?

That broken tower of his is very strong."

Xue Yuheng shook his head and chuckled softly:

"It's not just Wei Ran."

"We came here today to sweep the rankings."