Titled Douluo

On the Douluo Continent, Spirit Masters were considered adults at twelve. Mu Qian was already nearly six feet tall, but that was nothing special in this world.

Some Spirit Masters with strength- or defense-type Martial Souls were simply enormous!

Take the Strength Clan, for example. Their houses had to be built tall, or people would bump their heads.

After the incident outside the hotel, the atmosphere in Spirit City suddenly grew tense.

Mu Qian had no idea how Spirit Hall had dealt with the matter, but golden-armored patrol soldiers could be seen everywhere on the streets.

He had turned it over in his mind again and again, but he had too few clues and couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Maybe he would have to visit Guja City to uncover the truth. That was where he was most likely to find a lead.

But that wasn't something Mu Qian could worry about right now. He would leave it to the people in charge to fret over. Once he was strong enough, he would return to Guja City.

"A-Mu..." Zhu Zhuqing's affectionate voice came from behind him.

Mu Qian gently rubbed her head. "Don't you want to sleep a little longer? It's still early."

Zhu Zhuqing shook her head and took his warm hand in hers. "No. The final assessment starts today. Let's get there early so we won't be late."

"Then let's get up and have breakfast. We bought plenty of supplies over the past few days, but once we enter Death Canyon, we might not get to enjoy a breakfast this comfortable."

Mu Qian chuckled as he set the breakfast the hotel had delivered on the bedside table.

Looking at the lovely girl beside him, Mu Qian felt a warm glow inside. It felt like having a home. No longer being alone gave him a sense of security and comfort that put him at ease.

Having lacked warmth in his previous life, he had always longed for a family.

Across both his lives, since his parents' accident, he had felt that same way only with Zhuqing and Snow Maiden.

After breakfast, they checked out of the hotel and followed the same road as before to the plaza outside Spirit Hall Academy.

Golden morning light drove away the last trace of darkness before dawn, clothing the imposing school gates in a brilliant, radiant glow.

The sunlight slanted across the plaza. The air still held a faint chill, and wisps of mist danced through the sky as if welcoming the newcomers.

By the time Mu Qian and Zhu Zhuqing arrived, the plaza was already crowded with young men and women waiting. Their appearance caused quite a stir.

It was mainly because of their looks. Both Mu Qian and Zhu Zhuqing were the sort of people you'd be lucky to find one in ten thousand.

Boys were always a popular topic among the girls.

Some girls caught sight of Mu Qian's face, as if it had been kissed by the gods, and felt their hearts race. Their eyes sparkled, and they seemed to be surrounded by a rosy haze.

"He's so handsome! Is he one of this year's new students too?"

"My heart's beating so fast. Oh no, I think I'm falling for him!"

"He's exactly what I imagine a prince on a white horse should look like. You girls better not try to steal him from me!"

"You? Go home and look in a mirror. Have you even seen the girl beside him? She's hundreds of times better than you!"

"Hmph! She's just got a better figure than me. Whatever, I'm the prettiest!"

There would always be lovestruck girls in the world.

Mu Qian shook his head and glanced awkwardly at Zhu Zhuqing. When he saw that she looked unbothered, he let out a long breath of relief.

As a matter of fact, Zhu Zhuqing was already used to it.

They had visited quite a few cities over the past year, and nearly every place had brought the same scene.

What could he do? Her big boy had a face that attracted trouble from women wherever he went.

Luckily, she had her fingers tightly interlaced with Mu Qian's. No lovestruck girl with no sense of boundaries dared come up and flirt with him.

The boys, of course, were discussing Zhu Zhuqing's looks and figure too.

But perhaps because they were all newcomers and didn't know each other's backgrounds, none of them did anything outrageous.

Mu Qian couldn't help reflecting that, in the real world, though lovestruck girls existed, the truly brainless ones were still few and far between.

Most people stayed sensible when dealing with strangers they didn't know.

Yan the lovesick lapdog was an exception, of course.

Their good sense had helped them avoid disaster.

Mu Qian didn't care about rules, or what kind of place they were in.

If anyone so much as laid a finger on Zhu Zhuqing, he wouldn't mind letting them find out what bone-chilling cold felt like.

Mu Qian looked around, but didn't see anyone who caught his interest. He stopped paying attention and chatted with Zhu Zhuqing instead.

Time flew by amid the newcomers' nervous anticipation.

Once the sky was completely bright, the academy gates slowly opened, and a group of elegantly dressed figures strode out.

Most of them were older teachers, with many upperclassmen following behind.

At the head of the group was an old man dressed in purplish-black armor. His long hair had long since turned white, but his face still looked young, without the slightest trace of age.

At the same time, his exposed skin was marked with numerous black, ghostly patterns that gave him a strangely frightening appearance.

Most striking of all was the immense presence radiating from him. He didn't release any Soul Power, yet he was still awe-inspiring, making the newcomers in the plaza lower their heads without thinking.

Behind him, a breathtakingly beautiful young woman searched the crowd for someone. When she spotted Mu Qian, she playfully winked at him, making his eyelids twitch.

There was nothing he could do about her. He could only look away helplessly and focus on the old man at the head of the group.

That presence... Could he be a Titled Douluo?

From the man's appearance, Mu Qian had some idea of who he might be.

If he wasn't mistaken, this had to be that "Old Ghost."

"This is only a newcomer assessment at Spirit Hall Academy. Is there really a need to send a Titled Douluo?" Mu Qian couldn't help wondering what Spirit Hall was up to.

If this was Ghost Douluo, since he reported directly to the person in the Pope Palace, he wouldn't normally show up at an insignificant event like this.

A Soul Douluo would be more than enough to oversee the newcomers' assessment and keep everyone safe.

A Titled Douluo?

There was no need for that.

"A-Mu, are you saying the man at the head is a Titled Douluo?" Zhu Zhuqing asked in surprise.

Even across the entire Star Luo Empire, there weren't many top experts of that caliber.

She had never even heard of a Spirit Master with that level of strength in the Star Luo Empire. Maybe there simply weren't any.

Mu Qian clasped her delicate hand. "That's right. I can't be mistaken about a presence like that. If I'm not wrong, he's the famous Ghost Douluo who's been with Spirit Hall for a long time."

Maybe it was just Mu Qian's imagination, but as he spoke, the man at the head of the group seemed to glance his way.

His gaze held a hint of curiosity and scrutiny.

No, it definitely wasn't his imagination.

In that instant, Mu Qian clearly felt their gazes meet.

"What's with that look?" Mu Qian couldn't help glancing at Hu Liena beside the man.

"Did Hu Liena say something that made the higher-ups in Spirit Hall notice me?"

Mu Qian couldn't be sure, but it was very likely that the man had come for him.

Otherwise, there was no reason to send a Titled Douluo to oversee a mere newcomer assessment.