When Liu Erlong saw Xu Yuan fall silent, she changed the subject. "Let's not talk about him. Starting tomorrow, I'll make training plans tailored to the characteristics of your three Martial Souls."
Xu Yuan nodded to show he understood. Seeing that Liu Erlong had nothing else to say, he stood up and said goodbye to her.
When Xu Yuan returned to the dormitory, he found it had been cleaned until it was spotless.
Xiao Wu came over to him, looking pleased with herself. "Well? Zhuqing and I cleaned your dormitory together. It's spotless!"
Xu Yuan looked around the clean room. The bedding had been folded into a neat square, and even the dust in the corners had been wiped away.
"It's very clean. Thank you both." Xu Yuan thanked Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing.
Xiao Wu puffed out her chest. "Of course! Zhuqing and I split up the work. She wiped the tables while I swept the floor. We finished in no time!"
Zhu Zhuqing stood by the door, still holding a half-damp cloth. At those words, she gave a quiet hum, the tips of her ears growing slightly warm.
She had come along with Xiao Wu to help, but she hadn't expected Xu Yuan to return so soon. For a moment, she didn't know what to do with herself.
Xu Yuan thought it over, then suggested, "I'll treat you both to dinner. It's my first time in Heaven Dou City, so we can look around while we're out."
"Dinner out?" Xiao Wu's eyes lit up at once, like two stars had been set in them. "Sure, sure! I heard Heaven Dou City has tons of delicious food."
Zhu Zhuqing looked up as well, a hint of anticipation flickering in her eyes, but she still asked softly, "Won't that be too much trouble? There should still be food in the cafeteria."
She knew that prices in a country's capital were quite high. Xu Yuan and Xiao Wu had come from a remote region, so they surely didn't have much money on them.
"It's no trouble." Xu Yuan smiled. "We can use it to get familiar with the place. Besides, Teacher Liu said training starts tomorrow. We probably won't have much free time after that."
Xiao Wu immediately grabbed Zhu Zhuqing's arm. "Zhuqing, see? Xu Yuan already said so. Let's go eat out!"
With Xiao Wu jostling her, Zhu Zhuqing had no choice but to nod.
Once they left Blue Tyrant Academy, the bustle of Heaven Dou City swept over them.
Lanterns glowed outside the shops lining the streets. Hawkers' cries and laughter rose and fell, while passersby in all kinds of clothing streamed past.
Xu Yuan and the two girls found a hotel and had a simple meal. After wandering around for a while, they returned to the academy to rest.
The sky had yet to brighten fully, and a thin layer of dew still coated the bluestone slabs of the training ground.
Xiao Wu yawned and rubbed her eyes as she complained, "Isn't this way too early? I haven't slept enough yet..."
Despite her words, her eyes were bright, and she kept glancing toward the entrance. She was clearly looking forward to Liu Erlong's training.
Zhu Zhuqing stood ramrod straight, her long black hair tied back with a ribbon, leaving her smooth forehead exposed.
She wore a short jacket over her usual clothes, clearly prepared for strenuous exercise.
Xu Yuan was loosening up, his joints giving off faint pops.
His gaze swept over the training ground. A number of wooden stakes and sandbags for sparring were piled in the corners, while the ground was covered in footprints of varying depth, left behind by years of constant use.
"She's here," Xu Yuan suddenly said.
The two girls followed his gaze and saw Liu Erlong striding toward them in a fitted outfit, a long whip in her hand.
"Right on time." Liu Erlong stopped in front of the three of them and glanced across their faces.
Liu Erlong lightly flicked the whip against the ground. The sharp crack made Xiao Wu jolt, waking her up most of the way.
"Since I'm personally training you, you'll follow my rules." Liu Erlong's gaze was sharp as a blade. "For the first lesson, we won't practice Soul Skills. We'll start with the basics."
Liu Erlong pointed at the track. "First, a hundred laps. Starting now—run!"
Xiao Wu was the first to dash off. As she ran, she looked back and made a face at Zhu Zhuqing. "Zhuqing, hurry up and catch me!"
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes narrowed. Her figure shot forward like a streak of pale-purple lightning, and she was soon running neck and neck with Xiao Wu.
She deliberately held back her speed, yet she ran far more steadily than Xiao Wu, her breathing even and her pace perfectly controlled.
Xu Yuan brought up the rear, striding along at an unhurried pace.
In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed.
After Liu Erlong's training, all three of them had improved noticeably, especially Zhu Zhuqing.
There was no helping it. Zhu Zhuqing had been the weakest among the three.
"Xu Yuan, I challenge you." Tailong came up to Xu Yuan and issued his challenge.
Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Tailong, are you sure? You're only a level 25 Soul Grandmaster."
He wasn't particularly surprised that Tailong had challenged him.
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing were known as the two great goddesses of Blue Tyrant Academy, and plenty of students pursued them.
But Xiao Wu had made it clear that she liked someone, and Zhu Zhuqing had a fiancé. After that, the number of people pursuing them had dwindled.
Tailong wasn't giving up. He wanted Xiao Wu to become his girlfriend.
Xu Yuan had told Xiao Wu to have Tailong come challenge him.
He hadn't expected Tailong to show up and issue the challenge so soon.
Tailong nodded. "Of course. I don't think I'll lose."
Although his level was lower than Xu Yuan's, he was a Battle Soul Master, while Xu Yuan was only an Auxiliary System Soul Master.
Everyone knew that an Auxiliary System Soul Master couldn't possibly defeat a Battle Soul Master.
As God King Tang San watched Tailong issue his challenge, he couldn't help sneering inwardly.
If Tailong hadn't been one of his future subordinates, he would have deserved to die long ago.
Over the past ten-odd days, he had secretly used his own origin power to transform Xu Yuan's body, making it better able to withstand his soul in the future.
His soul was at the god level. Xu Yuan's body couldn't withstand it at all; if he forcibly seized Xu Yuan's body, it would collapse.
Now, the more God King Tang San looked at Xu Yuan, the more satisfied he became. In every regard, Xu Yuan had already surpassed who he himself had once been.
He was confident that after taking Xu Yuan's body, he could reach even greater heights.
As for Tailong, after he was beaten, his grandfather would surely come seeking revenge. Then Xu Yuan could display the Clear Sky Hammer, and Tang San could use his own power to influence the old man and bring him into his service.
This time, he would make the Tang Sect his finest tool for spreading his name and gathering vast amounts of faith.
He would also make the entire Douluo Continent his back garden once again.
"Since you insist, I'll spar with you." Xu Yuan's tone was calm, but his gaze gradually sharpened.
With his current strength, even two Tailongs couldn't defeat him.
Before long, quite a few students had gathered around the training ground. After all, Tailong and Xu Yuan were both well-known at Blue Tyrant Academy.
Tailong was solidly muscled, and with his stubborn, unyielding streak, plenty of people had gathered to watch this clash between an Auxiliary System Soul Master and a Power Attack System Soul Master.
Almost no one thought Xu Yuan could beat Tailong.
Auxiliary Soul Masters were widely considered the weakest and the easiest to defeat across a gap in levels.
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