"Boss, the work-study students' dormitory isn't divided by gender. The teacher said we're all kids, so there's no need to worry about it." Wang Sheng came over to explain.
"..." If your face weren't so red and your eyes weren't darting around, that might've been a little convincing.
"My name is Xiao Wu. The 'Wu' means dancing." The girl gave Kai a strange look, but still went on to introduce herself.
Wang Sheng looked at Xiao Wu regretfully. Kai had just beaten him up, so he knew how strong Kai was. Now this pretty girl was about to get beaten by him too, and he couldn't bear to watch.
"My name is Kai. My Martial Soul is a blade. Let's finish this quickly!" Kai stepped forward, and the gleaming Demonic Blade appeared in his hand.
"What? Never mind. My Martial Soul is a rabbit. Here I come!" Hearing that Kai's Martial Soul was a blade, Xiao Wu looked disappointed. Before anyone could react, she bent her right knee and shot out her foot, kicking straight at Kai's chin.
Xiao Wu was young and female, with long, straight legs that didn't look particularly dangerous, but she was incredibly fast.
Kai's expression didn't change. He casually raised his left hand to block her kick, while the great blade in his right hand swung up. The blade was enormous, and given Kai's build, swinging it should have been clumsy and strenuous. But now it moved as if it were part of him, responding like an extension of his arm as it came down at a speed that left ordinary people astonished.
Seeing this, Xiao Wu tried to use the force of Kai's block to retreat and dodge.
But Kai had plenty of combat experience and knew his own weaknesses. He reversed his grip and caught Xiao Wu by the ankle.
He slashed at her. The blade reflected the girl's beautiful but pale face, and light flashed toward Xiao Wu. Faced with the blade's chilling, fierce gleam, she instinctively tried to fight back and retreat.
But... he had her ankle in a tight grip. There was no way to dodge.
A gust of wind brushed her cheek. As the blade rushed toward her, Xiao Wu couldn't help closing her eyes.
But the blow never landed. Trembling, Xiao Wu opened her eyes. There was nothing in front of her.
The pressure on her ankle eased. Xiao Wu stumbled backward from the momentum, then landed lightly after a backward flip, dispersing the force.
"Your speed is good, but your strength is too weak, and your attacks are wide open. They're easy to predict." Xiao Wu's Soft Skill attacks relied mainly on her flexibility to twist and lock her opponent's joints.
Her strength might have been impressive compared to that of an ordinary Soul Master, but against Kai, who had trained with blades since childhood and was exceptionally gifted, it was nowhere near enough.
Xiao Wu looked incredulous.
She was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form. Her body was top-tier in both talent and physical strength. On top of that, her Martial Soul was a Soft Bone Rabbit, and her legs were her weapons.
What kind of monster was he?
Meanwhile, in the teachers' office at Nuoding Academy.
Tang San had been summoned to Yu Xiaogang's office.
It wasn't hard for Yu Xiaogang to see from Tang San's clothes that he was short on money. It would naturally be easy to win over a child like him. He had already asked Teacher Mo Hen to bring him a set of bedding, and now he had also brought Tang San a chicken leg and a steamed bun.
After watching Tang San finish eating, Yu Xiaogang nodded in satisfaction and got down to business.
"You're six years old, with Innate Full Soul Power and 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.
At the sight of the small, finely crafted hammer, which nevertheless carried a sense of power, Yu Xiaogang's face instantly turned pale.
"The Clear Sky Hammer... Blue Silver Grass... six years old. You... you're that..."
"The Clear Sky Hammer... Blue Silver Grass... six years old. You... you're that..."
Yu Xiaogang's face turned almost green.
As the son of Yu Yuanzhen, a Titled Douluo of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, he knew about the scandal that had rocked the Soul Master World six years ago.
Tang Hao, one of the Clear Sky Sect's new-generation twin prodigies, had actually been involved with a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form. They had even had a half-human, half-beast child. It was said that the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's true form had been Blue Silver Grass.
Yu Xiaogang's father, Thunder Douluo Yu Yuanzhen, had taken part in the encirclement and had learned quite a few secrets as a result.
But the words "half-human, half-beast" stuck in Yu Xiaogang's throat. He couldn't bring himself to say them.
There were two reasons. The first, and most important, was that he had seen a bearded, extremely dangerous-looking man by the window: Clear Sky Douluo, the human traitor who had coupled with a Soul Beast—Tang Hao.
The second reason was that Tang San was the genius disciple Yu Xiaogang had finally found, someone he could win over and use to prove his theories.
His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing. The office fell into a terrifying silence.
Tang San sensed that something was wrong, but he had no idea what had happened. He could only look at Yu Xiaogang in confusion.
Why had his teacher stopped talking? Was there something wrong with his Martial Soul?
The longer the silence lasted, the more nervous Tang San became. He was afraid there was something wrong with his Martial Soul.
After a long while, Yu Xiaogang let out a deep sigh. "Forget it. Put your Martial Soul away, Xiao San. Don't reveal it in front of others. And without my permission, never attach a Soul Ring to this Martial Soul. Remember that."
Hearing this familiar warning, Tang San couldn't help asking, "Teacher, why? Is there something wrong with my Martial Soul?"
The hammer Martial Soul should have been powerful. Why couldn't he show it to anyone? His father and teacher had both warned him so seriously. What secret did this Martial Soul hold?
Yu Xiaogang studied Tang San's face. It resembled Tang Hao's by five parts, which only made him feel worse. "Xiao San, you don't want to know why. Just remember: this hammer Martial Soul must never be shown to anyone. Understood?"
"Yes, teacher." Hearing Yu Xiaogang's answer, Tang San instinctively sensed that the truth might be unpleasant. He nodded and asked no more.
Yu Xiaogang looked up again. The figure by the window had vanished.
Looking down at Tang San, the trace of affection in Yu Xiaogang's eyes had disappeared. In its place was a hint of eager curiosity and ambition.
This was... a half-human, half-beast child born of a Titled Douluo and a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form, with Innate Full Soul Power and Twin Martial Souls!
If he could discover something through research, the achievement would be every bit as significant as his Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul.
Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath and suppressed his excitement.
Heaven Dou Empire, Balak Kingdom, Suotuo City, Shrek Academy.
A green-haired little girl led a silver-haired girl with a pair of antlers atop her head as they stumbled here, destitute and exhausted.
They were Yao and Cai Wenji.
When two supports traveled together, one of them had to step up and deal damage.
Yao had also changed the way she addressed Cai Wenji, calling her Sister Ji and becoming her attached support.
"No one cares about us at all, Sister Ji! Sister Ji, are supports really worth so little? Boo-hoo!" They had traveled all this way without a single companion offering to help. Yao was heartbroken. She might have been a freeloader, but she was useful too!
Cai Wenji, who had learned to fend for herself, felt the hard muscles on her body. Then she turned to her clingy companion, who was always crying and holding her back. "Stop blocking the way. Hurry up."
"Oh!" Yao wiped her tears and hurried to catch up with Cai Wenji, the short-legged little girl whose muscular build didn't slow her down at all. π_π
At first, when Qian Xunji learned what had happened to Yao and Cai Wenji, he planned to have the other heroes in the Heaven Dou Empire take them in, at least to help them through the early stages.
After all, a support duo's Self-Created Soul Skills were either healing, control, or shields. Their damage was pitifully low, and hunting Soul Rings on their own would be even harder.
The other combat heroes, on the other hand, were still strong enough to fight in the wild and develop themselves by hunting monsters.
With two supports and one combat hero, they could make a go of the one-carry, two-support strategy.
After some discussion, they decided that Xiao Qiao, a royal bastard being raised by a noble family, was the most suitable person to take in Yao and Cai Wenji.
After all, the two girls were so striking that an ordinary child wouldn't be able to protect them. Xiao Qiao's status was prestigious enough.
Yao and Cai Wenji were sent to the Balak Kingdom under the secret protection of people Qian Xunji had assigned. But even the best-laid plans could go awry.
They had arranged a chance encounter, and Xiao Qiao had been about to bring the two girls in when the royal family summoned her, a genius with Innate Full Soul Power.
The noble family raising Xiao Qiao sent her to Heaven Dou City overnight.
The two groups missed each other just like that.
Cai Wenji and Yao had traveled all this way only to miss Xiao Qiao. They were stunned.
Qian Xunji asked if they wanted to return to Spirit Hall. He could have the people secretly protecting them bring them back as soon as possible.
But if they did that, they would lose the reputation they could gain from other powers and return to Spirit Hall instead.
The others at Spirit Hall, like Xiang Yu, had already gained a head start. Even if Yao and Cai Wenji returned, they would gain far less recognition than the others. After all, the more geniuses there were, the less valuable each one seemed.
Cai Wenji thought about where all the heroes had ended up. They had been placed in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Heaven Dou Royal Family, Skywater Academy, the Star Luo Empire, and elsewhere.
Even Sea God Island, far overseas, had been sent Doria...
Yao and Cai Wenji's original plan had been to grow up under the protection of foster parents who were minor nobles, then slowly team up with the other heroes gathered in Heaven Dou City to reduce the chances of running into danger.
They hadn't expected their foster parents to be the ones with ulterior motives.
Qian Xunji had also been closely tracking the heroes' movements, keeping tabs on whether they had safely entered the various powers.
Li Bai had successfully entered the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to study under Sword Douluo. Sikong Zhen had faked a Martial Soul Mutation and entered the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan as an illegitimate son.
A Ke had entered the Duke of Spirit Cat's estate and become its third young lady. Pei Qinhu was being trained as a member of the Star Luo Empire's royal clan.
Xiao Qiao had also entered the Heaven Dou Royal Family.
Zhen Ji and Wang Zhaojun had awakened their Martial Souls and caught the eye of the Dean of Skywater Academy, who had taken them on as disciples.
As for Kai, he had chosen a rather unconventional path. His Demonic Blade Martial Soul was sinister and actually suited the path of an Evil Soul Master. He could still gain recognition that way, though it would be notoriety. Qian Xunji had let him develop on his own.
In short, Qian Xunji had arranged a place for all the heroes whose Martial Souls could pass as similar to those of established powers. For those who couldn't, like Li Bai and Wang Zhaojun, he had them join the various powers as orphaned geniuses.
The only ones who had run into trouble were Cai Wenji and Yao.
There was no helping it. It was hard to pass off their Martial Souls as anyone else's, their looks made them easy targets, and they'd had bad luck besides.
Passing off a Martial Soul as another's and falsifying someone's lineage might have seemed easy, considering how smoothly Qian Xunji had managed it.
In reality, it was very difficult. The families and powers on Douluo Continent with powerful Martial Souls weren't afraid of people switching children or pulling off some true-heir, fake-heir scheme.
A single Martial Soul Awakening would expose everything.
Even if they tried to explain it as a Martial Soul Mutation, the mutation had to be based on the original Martial Soul. For example, Feng Xiaotian's Martial Soul had mutated from a Gale Demon Wolf into a Gale Two-Headed Wolf.
Anyone whose Martial Soul didn't come from a family inheritance would have their background investigated.
Before you continue