Departure

The next day, a carriage that looked quite different from most others on the continent rolled out of Martial Soul City.

Sitting outside the carriage were two old men. One of them, wearing a red robe embroidered with golden crocodiles, was sitting with his eyes closed, meditating. No matter how much the carriage jolted, his posture remained as steady as a rock; he was none other than the Golden Crocodile Douluo, Tian'e.

The other old man driving the carriage was dressed quite strangely—at least by the standards of the Douluo continent. He wore a white undershirt, a blue coat, a peculiar strap hanging across his chest, and white gloves. He wore a pair of glasses, his face was aged, and his graying, medium-length hair was tied into a ponytail at the back of his head.

His name was Walter, the butler of the Qian family. He was one of the people who had watched the sisters Qian Renxue and Qian Ningshuang grow up from childhood; he had even been present for everything from the birth of the previous Pope, Qian Xunji, to his burial.

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

Inside the carriage, Qian Ningshuang—her golden hair loose, adorned with a white hairpin, wearing a black vest with blue trim, a pauldron on her left shoulder, a side cape that was black on the outside and cyan on the inside, and sleeves decorated with cyan lace—was letting out a high-pitched, marmot-like shriek. She wore a blue skirt with cyan ruffles, and on her right hand was a blood-red bracelet, while a small charm featuring an eight-pointed star and a small pouch hung from her side.

Hearing this crisp, complaining voice, Walter maintained his usual smiling expression. Tian'e, however, opened his eyes helplessly and sighed.

"Shuang'er, you aren't the only one here now. Besides, obtaining a soul ring isn't something you can rush. It's all the same whether we get there early or late."

Hearing this, Qian Ningshuang glared fiercely at the other two culprits in the carriage who were preventing her from reaching the Star Dou Great Forest quickly. Although her complaints were purely because she was bored and looking to stir up trouble, a part of her resentment was genuine.

One of the culprits was Qian Renxue, though her outfit had been changed to match Qian Ningshuang's. Aside from the difference in eye color, she looked like a larger version of Qian Ningshuang.

The other culprit also had golden hair, though it was much shorter than that of the two Qian sisters. She was dressed in a capable, form-fitting white top and matching white leather pants; she was Tian'e's granddaughter, Tian Yao.

"Are you still unsatisfied even though I specifically set aside time to accompany you? Besides, this carriage was built according to your own requirements, little sister. Shouldn't you be happy to finally get a chance to ride in it?"

The larger Qian Ningshuang looked at her bored younger sister with a smile.

"Of course I'm satisfied, but it takes at least two or three days to get to Star Dou by carriage. Do you really have that kind of time, sister? Although I've always thought that so-called Nation-Stealing Plan is a completely brain-dead scheme, you've already accepted the mission. Given your personality, you'll surely want to execute it perfectly. Are you really not worried about Heaven Dou suspecting something?"

Qian Ningshuang looked at Qian Renxue and asked with a solemn expression. It was only because the five people in the carriage were all high-ranking members of Martial Soul Hall that she dared to speak of the plan so openly.

Qian Renxue pulled Qian Ningshuang into her arms and, while stroking her golden hair, said, "You said it yourself—it's a brain-dead plan. Can the success or failure of a brain-dead plan be more important than my cute little sister? While I do have the obsessive-compulsive tendencies you mentioned, I don't demand perfection in everything. Giving up on some requirements makes things much more comfortable. Isn't that what you told me?"

Qian Ningshuang gave herself a mental pat on the back. It seemed her arrival had finally changed a few things.

For instance, Qian Renxue's pathological perfectionism. Once that was gone, even if Tang San were to stumble upon the Nation-Stealing Plan in the future, Qian Renxue wouldn't care too much, and naturally, she wouldn't view Tang San as her lifelong nemesis. Without that mutual appreciation found in the original story, Tang San would have died several times over by now.

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

Qian Ningshuang, feeling a little burst of joy inside, looked at Tian Yao, who was currently pretending to be a well-behaved child. Tian Yao rolled her eyes; she wasn't actually trying to act well-behaved.

Qian Renxue's gentle aura was simply too overwhelming, and having rarely seen her since childhood, Tian Yao felt too shy to act as rowdy as usual. Only Qian Ningshuang could be so uninhibited.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have just rolled her eyes; she would have gone over to pinch Qian Ningshuang's cheeks long ago.

"Are you so excited about your soul awakening that you've forgotten? I told you just a few days ago that I reached level twenty a long time ago, just waiting for you to awaken your martial soul so we could go get our soul rings together."

"Oh? Did you? And you're so confident that I'd have Innate Full Soul Power? That I could get a soul ring as soon as I awakened?"

"I believe it, why wouldn't I? A five-year-old who could beat me after I activated my martial soul—it would be the real surprise if a monster like you didn't have Innate Full Soul Power."

"And then, we agreed you'd come find us friends after your awakening to show us your martial soul, but we waited for half the day and you never showed! Nimo and the others couldn't wait any longer and left by evening, and I stayed at home waiting for you until nightfall!"

Tian Yao couldn't help but start complaining about Qian Ningshuang standing her up yesterday.

Looking at Tian Yao's resentful face, Qian Ningshuang awkwardly twirled her hair with her finger and said apologetically, "I was going to come find you guys after leaving Douluo Hall yesterday, but my sister took me away halfway down the mountain. I thought you would come to my place to look for me."

To avoid hurting Tian Yao's feelings, it was better to cover up the fact that she had forgotten her friends the moment she saw her sister.

Seeing that Tian Yao was still aggrieved and wanted to say more, Qian Ningshuang immediately changed the subject.

"Here, didn't you want to see my martial soul? I'll show you now."

Qian Ningshuang skillfully summoned her martial soul—it was clear she had released it countless times since returning yesterday. A cavalry lance with a white body and black hilt appeared inside the carriage. 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-looking lance! What's its name?"

Seeing Qian Ningshuang's martial soul, Tian Yao decisively abandoned her petty grievances from yesterday and leaned in to examine it with curiosity.

"Abyss Flower. And it's more than just cool!" Qian Ningshuang said with a proud expression.

"Look at you, so smug. This is clearly an extraordinary martial soul, just like my Golden Crocodile King; of course it's not just for show. Tell me, what other abilities does it have?" Tian Yao rolled her eyes again.

"Do you mind if I make a small cut on your hand, Sister Yao?"

Though she asked for Tian Yao's opinion, Qian Ningshuang's actions didn't seem to care much about what Tian Yao thought. Qian Ningshuang gripped the hilt of the Abyss Flower, and with a thought, she drew a black knight's sword from the lance and made a small cut on Tian Yao's outstretched hand.

Tian Yao didn't seem to care about Qian Ningshuang's rudeness. What a joke—if she were afraid of a little cut, she wouldn't be a soul master; she might as well go home and be a housewife. Besides, given her relationship with Qian Ningshuang, there was no need to worry about such things; they had grown up bickering and had been injured by each other's hands more times than they could count.