Three months later, in the Balak Kingdom, at the Great Soul Arena in Barak City.
"Congratulations to the Imperial Fighting Team for defeating the Undying Phoenix Team and winning this group Soul Fight. They have successfully advanced to Gold Soul rank."
As the tuxedo-clad host announced the results from the main arena, cheers like a crashing sea of sound swept across all of Barak City.
The Imperial Fighting Team returned to the waiting area.
"Wow, A-Si, you guys are incredible! You actually beat the Undying Phoenix Team, even though they had two Soul Ancestors." As soon as they walked in, Osler, who Lan Si had substituted out, rushed at Lan Si with a look of adoration.
Lan Si was holding Ye Lingling's hand. He slipped aside, and Osler promptly sprawled face-first on the ground.
"You're too heartless." Osler rubbed his sore arm and cried out in pain.
Lan Si smiled faintly. "Sorry, Leopard, my preferences are perfectly normal. If you want a hug, go find Tian Heng, or that guy Yu Feng."
At this, Yu Tianheng rolled his eyes. His rigid face, which bore a faint resemblance to Yu Xiaogang's, managed a rare smile as he teased, "So my preferences aren't normal?"
Clearly, winning this Soul Fight had put him in a very good mood. He was even joking around for once.
"Exactly. I have no objection to you saying that about Yu Feng, but my Tianheng is a perfectly normal man," Dugu Yan, standing beside Yu Tianheng, chimed in.
"Why am I the one who—" Yu Feng, standing at the back of the group of seven, began weakly, but he swallowed the rest of his words when Dugu Yan glared at him with her violet eyes.
Hearing them talk over one another, Osler climbed to his feet and protested indignantly, "My preferences are normal too, all right? I like beautiful women! I like beautiful women!"
Unfortunately, no one paid him any attention. They all looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Lan Si gave a slight shrug, removed his half-mask, and sat with Ye Lingling on the long sofa opposite them.
Three months had passed since Lan Si enrolled at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. During that time, their group had traveled west from Heaven Dou City and visited three major cities. In each one, they had donned disguises and entered Soul Fights. In the first two cities, they had each earned Silver Soul rank in the group category within a month. In the third, Barak City, they had gone a step further: despite being Soul Elders, they had defeated a team with two Soul Ancestors and five members whose Soul Power exceeded level thirty-seven, earning Gold Soul rank.
The Soul Power Levels of the Imperial Fighting Team members had all risen to the levels they had reached when they appeared in the original story. A month earlier, Lan Si had also reached level thirty-three.
At the Soul Elder stage, raising his Soul Power by a full level in under three months had truly stunned the Imperial Fighting Team.
Everyone knew that the higher one's Soul Power Level, the harder it was to advance. Even geniuses like Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan were doing well if they gained one level in four or five months at the Soul Elder stage. Sometimes it could even take more than half a year. Yu Tianheng, for instance, had been stuck at level thirty-nine for over half a year. Unless something unexpected happened, even another month or two might not be enough for him to break through to level forty.
Lan Si's rate of advancement had undoubtedly put pressure on them, periodically creating an atmosphere of urgency in the Imperial Fighting Team's cultivation.
That was exactly what Qin Ming, the team's leader, wanted to see.
Everyone took their seats. Osler, now playing the role of errand boy, picked up the teapot and poured water for them. When he got to Lan Si, he glanced at the mask on the table and casually asked, "A-Si, why do you wear a mask every time you enter a Soul Fight?"
At Osler's question, the other members of the Imperial Fighting Team also turned to Lan Si, curiosity in their eyes. After spending the past few months together, they had come to know him somewhat.
He was even-tempered and didn't like fighting, but he wasn't afraid of it either. He was incredibly talented, trained hard, and his strength spoke for itself.
Though they had never truly crossed hands with Yu Tianheng, everyone on the team already regarded Lan Si as his equal. In some ways, they even thought that if the two really fought, Lan Si would have a slight edge. No matter what opponents they faced in a Soul Fight, they entrusted their backs to Lan Si and charged forward without hesitation.
And every time, Lan Si snuffed out any potential danger before it could take root, keeping the entire match under control.
He had become another central figure on the team, second only to Yu Tianheng.
Meeting their gazes, Lan Si picked up his cup and took a leisurely sip. He shook his head and smiled faintly. "It's better for young people to keep a low profile. Unlike all of you, I don't have powerful forces or important figures backing me. If someone targeted me one day, I might not even know how I died."
The others understood at once. Now they finally knew why Lan Si had asked everyone not to reveal that he was Ye Lingling's cousin. No matter how powerful the Nine Heart Begonia was, it was still a Support-type Soul Master, and its lineage was small and weak, unlike the mighty Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Meanwhile, Lan Si's talent was beyond reproach. If the wrong people set their sights on him, he really would be in danger.
"In that case, why not join my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan? With your talent, I'm sure my grandfather would give you the very best training once he heard about you. Then no one would dare touch you." Yu Tianheng eagerly extended the invitation. The pride of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan made him reluctant to admit it, but when it came to talent, Lan Si truly outclassed him. At Lan Si's age, Yu Tianheng would never have been able to withstand even one of his attacks.
Yu Tianheng's girlfriend, Dugu Yan, had also recognized Lan Si's talent and tried to persuade him on her boyfriend's behalf. "That's right, A-Si. Tianheng's grandfather is the renowned Thunder Douluo, and he possesses the world's greatest Beast Martial Soul, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. If you join, no one will dare set their sights on you. And even if anyone does, I'll have my grandfather, Poison Douluo, teach them a lesson."
At Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan's words, Lan Si nearly spat out the tea he had just sipped. Join the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?
Don't make me laugh.
For one thing, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had an almost pathological obsession with pure bloodlines, even worse than the Clear Sky Sect's. Joining them would mean a life of servitude and exclusion. Even Yu Xiaogang, the clan leader's own son, hadn't escaped that fate.
And even if, as Yu Tianheng claimed, he would receive the clan's very best treatment, the clan was still destined to be wiped out by Bibi Dong in the future.
I'd have to be out of my mind to join the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and die alongside them.
Besides, wouldn't marrying Qian Renxue and inheriting Qian Xunji's legacy be a much sweeter deal?
"Ahem." Lan Si cleared his throat and shook his head with a smile, politely declining. "I'd rather be on my own than join any particular faction. I don't like being tied down, and my dream for the future is to travel the continent. So I'm sorry."
A trace of regret flashed across Yu Tianheng's eyes, but he wasn't angry. Taking the stance of a trusted teammate and friend, he said solemnly, "In that case, I won't press you. But the doors of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan will always be open to you."
P.S.: Second update.
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