Setting Out

The next day, a carriage unlike most on the continent rolled out of Spirit City.

Two elderly men sat outside the carriage. One was an old man in a red robe embroidered with a golden crocodile, resting with his eyes closed. No matter how much the carriage jolted, his body remained perfectly still. He was Golden Crocodile Douluo—Tian'e.

The other old man, who was driving the carriage, was dressed rather strangely—at least by Douluo standards. He wore a white undershirt, a blue coat, an odd strip of fabric hanging from his chest, and white gloves. He had glasses on, an aged face, and graying shoulder-length hair tied into a ponytail behind his head.

His name was Walter, the Qian Family's butler. He was one of the people who had watched Qian Renxue and Qian Ningshuang grow up. In fact, he had been present from the birth of the previous Pope, Qian Xunji, all the way to his burial.

"Ah! Why can't Grandpa Tian'e and Grandpa Walter just fly me straight to the Star Dou Great Forest? Why do we have to take this slow carriage? How long is this going to take?!"

Inside the carriage, Qian Ningshuang was letting out a groundhog-like shriek. Her golden hair hung loose, fastened with a white hairclip. She wore a black vest trimmed in blue, a shoulder guard on her left shoulder, and a side cape that was black outside and teal within. Both sleeves were decorated with teal lace. Below was a short blue skirt with teal ruffles. A blood-red bracelet was on her right wrist, while a small ornament bearing an eight-pointed star and a little pouch hung from her waist.

Upon hearing her crisp complaint, Walter maintained his usual smiling expression. Tian'e, meanwhile, helplessly opened his eyes and sighed.

"Shuang'er, you're not the only one here now. Besides, obtaining Spirit Rings can't be rushed. A little earlier or later makes no difference."

Hearing that, Qian Ningshuang fiercely glared at the other two people in the carriage—the culprits preventing her from reaching Star Dou quickly. Though she had only complained out of boredom, part of her resentment was genuine.

One of those culprits was Qian Renxue. However, she was now dressed in an outfit similar to Qian Ningshuang's. Other than their eye colors, she looked like an enlarged version of Qian Ningshuang.

The other culprit also had golden hair, though it was much shorter than the Qian sisters'. She wore a neat, fitted white top and equally white leather pants. She was Tian'e's granddaughter, Tian Yao.

"I specifically made time to accompany you, and you're still dissatisfied? Besides, this carriage was built according to your request, little sister. You rarely get to ride in it. Shouldn't you be happy?"

The larger Qian Ningshuang smiled at her bored-looking little sister.

"Of course I'm satisfied, but it'll still take two or three days to reach Star Dou by carriage, right? Do you even have that much time, Sister? I've always thought that so-called Nation-Stealing Plan was a completely brain-dead plan, but since you've accepted the mission, with your personality, you'll definitely want to carry it out perfectly. Aren't you worried Heaven Dou might suspect something?"

Qian Ningshuang looked at Qian Renxue and asked with a grave expression. Only because all five people in the carriage were considered Spirit Hall higher-ups did she dare mention the plan so directly.

Qian Renxue pulled Qian Ningshuang into her arms, stroking her golden hair as she spoke. "You said it yourself—it's a brain-dead plan. Could the success or failure of a brain-dead plan possibly be more important than accompanying my adorable little sister? I may have the obsessive tendencies you mentioned, but I don't demand perfection in everything. Letting go of certain expectations at the right time feels much better. Isn't that what you said too, little sister?"

Qian Ningshuang silently gave herself a thumbs-up. It seemed her arrival had finally changed some things.

For example, Qian Renxue's unhealthy perfectionism. As long as that unhealthy perfectionism was gone, even if the Nation-Stealing Plan was exposed by Tang San in the future, Qian Renxue would not care too much. Naturally, she would not regard Tang San as her lifelong rival. Without that mutual appreciation from the original story, Tang San would have died several times over already.

"Then what about you? Why are you coming along, Sister Yao?"

Feeling a little pleased inside, Qian Ningshuang turned toward Tian Yao, who was pretending to be a well-behaved child in the carriage. Tian Yao rolled her eyes. She did not actually want to pretend to be well-behaved.

Qian Renxue's gentle aura was simply too powerful. Moreover, Tian Yao had barely met Qian Renxue while growing up, so she felt too embarrassed to act as boisterously as usual. Only Qian Ningshuang could let herself go so freely.

Otherwise, she would have done more than roll her eyes. She would have pinched Qian Ningshuang's cheeks first thing that morning.

"Did your Martial Soul awakening make you so excited that you forgot? I told you a few days ago that I'd already reached level twenty. I was waiting for you to awaken your Martial Soul so we could obtain our Spirit Rings together."

"Huh? Did you? And you believed I'd have Innate Full Soul Power? That I could obtain a Spirit Ring as soon as I awakened?"

"I did. Why wouldn't I? You beat me after I activated my Martial Soul when you were only five. It would be strange if a monster like you didn't have Innate Full Soul Power."

"And yesterday, you said you'd come find us after your Martial Soul awakening so we could play together, and you could show us your Martial Soul. But we waited forever, and you never came! Nimo and the others couldn't wait any longer by evening and left. As for me, I stayed home and waited until nighttime!"

Tian Yao could not help but begin accusing Qian Ningshuang for standing her up yesterday.

Seeing Tian Yao's resentful face, Qian Ningshuang awkwardly twirled her hair around a finger and said apologetically, "I was going to find you after leaving Douluo Hall yesterday, but Sister took me away halfway down the mountain. I thought you'd come to my house to find me."

To avoid hurting Tian Yao's feelings, she had better conceal the fact that she had forgotten her friends the moment she saw her sister.

Seeing Tian Yao looking ready to continue her indignant complaint, Qian Ningshuang immediately changed the subject.

"Look, didn't you want to see my Martial Soul? I'll show you now."

Qian Ningshuang skillfully summoned her Martial Soul. It was obvious that she had released it countless times after returning home yesterday. The white-bodied, black-handled Lance appeared in the carriage again. The Martial Soul could change to a suitable size according to Qian Ningshuang's will, so there was no need to worry about it bursting through the carriage.

"What a cool Lance. What's it called?"

The moment Tian Yao saw Qian Ningshuang's Martial Soul, she decisively abandoned her minor resentment from yesterday and leaned closer to inspect it curiously.

"Abyss Flower. It's more than just cool!" Qian Ningshuang said proudly.

"Look at you showing off. It's obviously as extraordinary as my Golden Crocodile King Martial Soul, so of course it can't just be cool. Go on, what other abilities does it have?" Tian Yao rolled her eyes again.

"You don't mind if I cut a little wound on your hand, do you, Sister Yao?"

Though she asked Tian Yao for permission, Qian Ningshuang's movements did not look as if she cared about Tian Yao's answer. Grasping Abyss Flower's shaft, she willed a black knight's sword out of the Lance and cut a small gash across Tian Yao's outstretched hand.

Tian Yao did not seem to care about Qian Ningshuang's rude behavior. What a joke—if she were afraid of getting hurt, why would she be a Spirit Master? She might as well go home and become a dutiful wife and mother. Besides, given her relationship with Qian Ningshuang, there was no need to care about such things. Since childhood, they had fought and played often enough to injure each other countless times.