The Great Stage of Douluo, My Name is Qian Xunji

"Boss, our dormitory for Work-Study Students doesn't separate by gender. The teacher said we're all just children, so there's no need to worry about it." Wang Sheng leaned in to explain.

"..." If your face weren't so red and your eyes weren't darting around so much, that statement might actually be convincing.

"My name is Xiao Wu, the Wu as in dancing." The girl noticed Kai's strange expression, but she chose to introduce herself anyway.

Wang Sheng looked at Xiao Wu with pity. He had just been beaten by Kai, so he naturally knew how formidable Kai was. Now that this pretty girl was about to be beaten by Kai as well, he couldn't bear to watch.

"My name is Kai. My Martial Soul is a blade. Let's make this quick!" Kai stepped forward, and the Demonic Blade, reflecting a cold glint, appeared in his hand.

"What's that supposed to mean! Forget it, my Martial Soul is a rabbit. Here I come!" Upon hearing that Kai's Martial Soul was a blade, Xiao Wu's expression turned disappointed. Without giving him time to react, she bent her knees, and her toes instantly flicked upward, aiming directly for Kai's chin.

Xiao Wu wasn't very old and was a girl, with legs that were straight and slender, appearing to lack any lethality, but her speed was incredibly fast.

Kai's expression remained unchanged. Facing the incoming kick, he easily extended his left hand to block it. Meanwhile, the large blade in his right hand was already swinging. Even though the blade was massive, which should have made it cumbersome and strenuous for someone of Kai's build to wield, it moved as if it were an extension of his own body, obeying his every command as it slashed down with a speed that would leave ordinary people in awe.

Seeing this, Xiao Wu tried to use the rebound force from Kai's block to retreat and dodge.

However, Kai possessed a wealth of combat experience. He knew his own weaknesses, so he reached out with his free hand and grabbed Xiao Wu's ankle.

He slashed his blade toward Xiao Wu. The surface of the blade reflected the girl's beautiful yet pale face, and the light reflected onto her. This sharp, cold-glinting blade light made Xiao Wu instinctively want to resist and retreat.

But... her ankle was held tightly, and she couldn't dodge at all.

A breeze brushed past her cheeks. Facing the incoming blade light, Xiao Wu couldn't help but close her eyes.

However, the attack never landed. Xiao Wu opened her eyes tremblingly, only to find nothing in front of her.

The pressure on her ankle loosened, and Xiao Wu retreated due to momentum, performing a light backflip to land and dissipate the force.

"Your speed is decent, but your power is too weak, and your attacks are too wide open, making them very easy to predict." Xiao Wu's Soft Bone techniques relied primarily on the flexibility of her body to perform joint locks.

For an ordinary Soul Master, her strength might be considered high, but for Kai, who had practiced blade techniques since childhood and possessed extraordinary talent, it was simply not enough.

Xiao Wu's expression, however, was one of disbelief.

She was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form; her body's talent and physique were top-tier, and since her Martial Soul was the Soft Bone Rabbit, her legs were her weapons.

What kind of monster was this?

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Meanwhile, in the teachers' office at Nuoding Academy.

Tang San had been called to Yu Xiaogang's office.

From Tang San's attire, it wasn't hard for Yu Xiaogang to see his financial struggles. Winning over such a child was naturally simple; he had previously asked Teacher Mo Hen to help deliver a quilt, and now he had brought Tang San a chicken leg and a steamed bun.

Watching Tang San finish eating, Yu Xiaogang nodded with satisfaction and began to discuss the main point.

"You are six years old, possess Innate Full Soul Power, and have Twin Martial Souls. Release your other Martial Soul and let me see it."

Tang San obediently released his other Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer.

Looking at the exquisite, small, yet powerful-looking hammer before him, Yu Xiaogang's face turned pale instantly.

"Clear Sky Hammer... Blue Silver Grass... six years old, you... you are that..."

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Chapter 26: Support Turns Carry

"Clear Sky Hammer... Blue Silver Grass... six years old, you... you are that..."

Yu Xiaogang's face turned almost green.

As the son of the Title Douluo of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, Yu Yuanzhen, he naturally knew about the scandal that had shocked the Soul Master world six years ago.

Tang Hao, one of the Clear Sky Twins of the Clear Sky Sect's new generation, had actually had an illicit affair with a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form and even fathered a human-beast hybrid. It was said that the original form of that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was the Blue Silver Grass.

Yu Xiaogang's father, the Thunder Douluo Yu Yuanzhen, had participated in that encirclement, which was why Yu Xiaogang knew many of the secrets.

But that final phrase, "human-beast hybrid," was stuck in Yu Xiaogang's throat; he couldn't bring himself to say it.

There were two reasons. First, and most importantly, he had seen a scruffy yet exceptionally dangerous man at the window: the Clear Sky Douluo, the human traitor who had consorted with a Soul Beast, Tang Hao.

The second reason was that Tang San was a genius disciple he had finally managed to recruit, one who could prove his own theories.

His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing. The office fell into a terrifying silence.

Tang San sensed that the atmosphere was wrong, but he didn't know what had happened, so he could only look at Yu Xiaogang with confusion.

Why had the teacher stopped talking? Was there something wrong with his Martial Soul?

The longer the silence lasted, the more nervous Tang San became, fearing that something was wrong with his Martial Soul.

After a long while, Yu Xiaogang let out a deep sigh. "Forget it, Little San, put your Martial Soul away. Do not reveal it in front of others easily. Without my permission, never attach a Soul Ring to this Martial Soul in the future. You must remember this."

Hearing this familiar warning, Tang San couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, why is that? Is there something wrong with my Martial Soul?"

Clearly, this hammer Martial Soul should be very powerful, so why couldn't it be shown to others? Both his father and his teacher had warned him so solemnly; what secret could this Martial Soul possibly hold?

Yu Xiaogang looked deeply at Tang San's face. The features that were five parts similar to Tang Hao's made him feel even more distressed. "Little San, you don't want to know the reason. You just need to remember that this hammer Martial Soul must never be seen by others, do you understand?"

"Understood, Teacher." Hearing Yu Xiaogang's reply, Tang San sensed that the truth might not be pleasant, so he nodded and stopped asking.

Yu Xiaogang looked up again, and the figure by the window had already vanished.

Looking down at Tang San before him, the trace of kindness in Yu Xiaogang's eyes dissipated, replaced by a hint of eager curiosity and ambition.

This is, after all, a human-beast hybrid with Innate Full Soul Power and Twin Martial Souls, born from a Titled Douluo and a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!

If he could research something out of this, his achievements would be in no way inferior to his own Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul.

Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart.

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Heaven Dou Empire, Balaque Kingdom, Suotuo City, Shrek Academy.

A green-haired little girl, accompanied by a silver-haired little girl with a pair of deer antlers on her head, had wandered here in a sorry state.

They were none other than Yao and Cai Wenji.

When two support-types team up to wander, one of them always has to step up to be the damage dealer.

Yao had also changed her way of addressing Cai Wenji to "Sister Ji," becoming a permanent attachment to Cai Wenji.

"No one cares about us at all. Sister Ji, Sister Ji, are support-types really that worthless? Wuwuwu." Having wandered all this way without a single companion offering a helping hand, Yao was very sad. Even though she was a freeloader, she was still useful!

The self-reliant Cai Wenji felt the hard muscles on her own body and spoke to the tearful, deadweight Yao, "Don't block the way, walk faster."

"Oh!" π_π Yao wiped her tears and quickened her pace to keep up with the short-legged but surprisingly fast muscle-loli, Cai Wenji.

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Chapter 27: Martial Soul Impersonation

After Qian Xunji first learned of the mishap involving Yao and Cai Wenji, he had intended to have other heroes within the Heaven Dou Empire guide them, just to help them get through the early stages.

After all, the Self-Created Soul Skills of the two support-types were either healing, crowd control, or shields; their damage output was terrifyingly low, let alone hunting for their own Soul Rings.

Meanwhile, other combat-oriented heroes had high combat power even while wandering, allowing them to "jungle" and develop on their own.

If two support-types paired up with one combatant, they could easily pull off a "pig-raising" strategy of protecting one carry.

After some discussion, it was decided that Xiao Qiao, who was living as an illegitimate child of the royal family fostered in a noble household, was the most suitable person to receive Yao and Cai Wenji.

After all, the two girls' appearances were truly outstanding; an ordinary child wouldn't be able to protect them, but Xiao Qiao's status was sufficiently noble.

Yao and Cai Wenji were sent to the Balaque Kingdom under the secret protection of Qian Xunji's men, but man proposes, God disposes.

Just as the encounter plan was finalized and Xiao Qiao was preparing to pick them up, the royal family demanded to see Xiao Qiao, the genius with Innate Full Soul Power.

The noble family fostering her sent Xiao Qiao to Heaven Dou City overnight.

The two parties missed each other just like that.

After walking for so long only to miss Xiao Qiao, Cai Wenji and Yao were completely dumbfounded.

Qian Xunji asked if they wanted to return to Martial Soul Hall; he could send those protecting them in the shadows to bring them back as quickly as possible.

However, if they did that, they would lose the reputation they could have gained from other factions and would instead return to Martial Soul Hall.

The likes of Xiang Yu and others in Martial Soul Hall had already seized the initiative; even if they returned, the reputation gained by Yao and Cai Wenji would be far lower than the others, as geniuses were no longer valuable when there were too many of them.

Cai Wenji recalled the distribution of the various heroes: the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Heaven Dou royal family, Skywater Academy, the Star Luo Empire, and others all had their peers planted within them.

Even the far-off Sea God Island had received Doria...

The original development route for Yao and Cai Wenji was to be sheltered by foster parents who were minor nobles, and then slowly team up with other heroes gathered in Heaven Dou City to reduce the possibility of encountering danger.

Unexpectedly, those foster parents were the ones who developed ulterior motives first.

Qian Xunji was also closely monitoring the movements of those heroes to see if they had safely entered their respective factions.

Li Bai successfully entered the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to apprentice under Sword Douluo, while Sikong Zhen faked a mutated martial soul to enter the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan as an illegitimate child.

A Ke entered the Duke of Spirit Cat's mansion to become the third young miss, and Pei Qinhu was being groomed as a member of the Star Luo Empire's imperial clan.

Xiao Qiao had also entered the Heaven Dou royal family.

Zhen Ji and Wang Zhaojun were valued by the dean of Skywater Academy and taken in as disciples after awakening their martial souls.

As for Kai, he took a rather wild path. His Demonic Blade martial soul was quite sinister and actually suited the path of an Evil Soul Master; he could also harvest reputation that way, even if it was a negative one, so Qian Xunji let him develop freely.

In short, Qian Xunji had tried to "impersonate" everyone he could, matching them with similar martial souls. For those he couldn't, like Li Bai, Wang Zhaojun, and others, they would join major factions as genius orphans.

The only ones who had an accident were Cai Wenji and Yao.

There was no helping it; their martial souls were difficult to fake, their beauty was too striking and easily attracted unwanted attention, and their luck was just poor, leading to the accident.

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Impersonating martial souls and confusing bloodlines sounded simple, especially since Qian Xunji had been so successful at it.

In reality, it was extremely difficult. The powerful martial soul clans and factions on the Douluo Continent were not afraid of people swapping children or playing out dramas of fake young masters and misses.

This was because everything would be exposed the moment a martial soul was awakened.

Even if one wanted to explain a martial soul mutation, it had to be based on the original martial soul, just like how Feng Xiaotian's martial soul mutated from a Gale Demon Wolf into a Gale Two-Headed Wolf.

As long as it wasn't a clan-inherited martial soul, one's background would be investigated.