"Since that's the case, I can rest easy. His Highness the Crown Prince recommended you for admission, and no one in Heaven Dou City would dare lay a hand on you. Just focus on your cultivation. I'm looking forward to seeing you shine at the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament in two years."
Sun Buyu sighed and led Lan Si to a one-story building more than ten meters tall. He stopped and knocked on the door.
A moment later, the door slowly opened, and Sun Buyu led Lan Si inside.
Heaven Dou City, Crown Prince's Mansion.
Xue Qinghe, with Qian Renxue disguised as him, sat leisurely in a pavilion, sipping her tea with elegant little sips.
Across from her sat a charming young girl, playfully teasing a parrot. She looked quite adorable.
"Imperial Brother, your parrot is so pretty. But why won't it talk?" The girl puffed out her cheeks and blinked her big, bright eyes, sounding rather troubled.
Qian Renxue smiled and shook her head, a hint of fondness in her eyes. "Xue Ke, not every parrot can talk."
"But I heard people say that all parrots can talk—" Before Xue Ke could finish, a servant approached and bowed to them both. "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Greetings, Your Highness the Princess."
"What is it? Speak," Qian Renxue said lazily in Xue Qinghe's voice.
"Your Highness, word has just arrived from Heaven Dou Royal Academy. His Highness Xue Beng has been beaten."
At that, Qian Renxue froze for a moment. Could that fellow A-Si have done it? Then she put on a suitably surprised expression and asked casually, "What? Who did my younger brother provoke this time?"
"Hmph, that annoying fellow must have tried to bully someone again, then got beaten up for it," Xue Ke chimed in. Clearly, she didn't like her brother Xue Beng at all.
Xue Beng had been beaten before. The last person to do it had been Dugu Yan, Dugu Bo's granddaughter. He had tried to pursue her, only to be beaten until he was crawling all over the ground.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Princess, the one who beat the prince was Lan Si, the student you recommended for admission. Just after he entered Heaven Dou Academy, he ran into Prince Xue Beng and his group. The prince's men used Lan Si's failure to bow to the prince as an excuse to strike first, and a conflict broke out."
The servant didn't dare conceal anything and immediately recounted what had happened.
"Wow!" At the servant's account, Xue Ke's round eyes lit up, glittering brilliantly. She immediately grabbed Qian Renxue's hand and pressed her with questions. "Imperial Brother, who is this Lan Si? How did you meet him? He actually took on ten people by himself!"
"I ran into him the last time I went out to obtain a Soul Ring. I thought he had good talent, so I recommended him to Heaven Dou Academy," Qian Renxue said, gently patting Xue Ke's head. She made it sound like nothing, but beneath her mask, her slender brows couldn't help but furrow.
Xue Ke pressed on. "Then when will you introduce us? And is he handsome? He's only twelve, but he knocked down six Soul Grandmasters and two Soul Elders in an instant, and he even dared to beat up that stinker Xue Beng. He has to be handsome!"
"Maybe some other time. You stay here and play. I'm going to the palace," Qian Renxue said with a faint smile, changing the subject.
No way was she letting Xue Ke get close to that fellow A-Si. What would happen then?
She knew just how devastating Lan Si was to lovestruck young girls. As long as they didn't interact, things were fine. But once they did, a girl could fall straight into his trap before she knew it. Even she had nearly—Ahem. In short, she couldn't let the two of them meet.
What if that brat A-Si charmed Xue Ke away and ended up bound to this leaky ship of an empire for good?
"What are you going to the palace for? It's so gloomy and stifling there," Xue Ke said, puzzled.
Qian Renxue gave a faintly amused smile. "Now that your brother Xue Beng has suffered such a big loss, he'll probably run to Father and lodge a complaint. Since I recommended Lan Si for admission, I should at least give him an explanation."
As she spoke, Qian Renxue rose and headed toward the palace.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
After the three education committee members put him through a series of tests, Lan Si became a member of the Imperial Fighting Team without a hitch.
But the Imperial Fighting Team had gone to Heaven Dou City for Soul Fights, so it would be a week before they returned. Lan Si was left to live the life of a lone wolf.
He went to class in the mornings, trained at the Mimicry Training Ground in the afternoons, and practiced the Supreme Universe Art and Five Thunders Heart Art to temper his Soul Power at night. Every so often, he skipped class to go to Sunset Forest, claiming he was fighting Soul Beasts to improve his practical combat skills. In truth, he was drunk on the wine and cared only for the cheese, heading off to search for Dugu Bo's poison formation.
The academy's teachers turned a blind eye. After all, he had been recommended by His Highness the Crown Prince, and the academy's lessons really weren't much use to Lan Si anymore.
Rather than fuss over all those rules and regulations, they might as well let him grow at his own pace.
On the eighth day, a middle-aged man came looking for Lan Si. He appeared to be around thirty, with an ordinary face, simple black hair, and plain clothes. Only his eyes were exceptionally bright. He didn't stand out in appearance, but Lan Si sensed a Soul Power fluctuation from him no weaker than Qian Renxue's. Clearly, he was a Soul Emperor.
"May I ask who you are?" Lan Si asked the middle-aged man.
The man smiled faintly. "You're Lan Si, the new student recommended by His Highness the Crown Prince, correct? I've heard about you. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Qin Ming, the leader of the Imperial Fighting Team. My Martial Soul is the Blazing Gray Wolf, and I'm a Level 62 Power Attack System Battle Soul Master. The academy's three education committee members have sent me to invite you to join the Imperial Fighting Team."
Lan Si understood and nodded. "Nice to meet you, Teacher Qin Ming."
During this time, Lan Si had openly beaten up Xue Beng and his group, and the story had spread throughout Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Although the matter had been quietly dropped after Crown Prince Xue Qinghe intervened, people with an agenda had spread rumors about Lan Si. His frequent absences from class had earned him quite the reputation for arrogance, leaving even a few of the academy's teachers helpless.
Lan Si didn't care in the slightest and carried on as he pleased.
Seeing that Lan Si wasn't as domineering as the rumors had made him out to be, Qin Ming felt greatly relieved. He chuckled. "All right, come with me. I'll introduce you to the members of the Imperial Fighting Team. For the next two years, you'll fight shoulder to shoulder."
"Thank you for the trouble." Lan Si nodded slightly and followed Qin Ming to the Imperial Fighting Team's meeting place.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the plaza, a pavilion nearby.
It was called a pavilion, but it covered several hundred square meters. The huge square stone table was over fifteen meters long and two meters wide, and long sofas stood around it, spacious enough for dozens of people to rest in comfort.
At the moment, only seven people were in the pavilion. Each had a distinctive look. The oldest was a little over twenty, while even the youngest was fifteen. Unlike the other Heaven Dou Royal Academy students, they weren't wearing pale yellow uniforms. But the students passing by didn't find this strange; they simply kept their distance, afraid of provoking them.
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