It turned out there was a whole world beyond the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul!
It turned out that the age of a Soul Ring really could be surpassed through sheer will!
Qian Renxue listened, utterly entranced. The admiration in her eyes as she gazed at Chen Xuan gradually transformed into an almost fanatical reverence.
This man wasn't human.
He was a god!
The only true god walking among mortals!
Without realizing it, Qian Renxue unconsciously edged closer to Chen Xuan, wanting to be nearer to him and feel more clearly the soothing Dao aura around him.
Her little movement immediately put Ah Yin on alert.
Though Ah Yin was listening attentively too, half her attention was focused on Chen Xuan.
Chen Xuan was the benefactor who had given her a new life, the only person she wanted to repay in this lifetime.
When she saw Qian Renxue move closer to Chen Xuan, a powerful instinct stirred within her.
It was the instinct of a plant defending its territory.
This man is mine.
Ah Yin barely had time to think before her body reacted. She too silently moved closer to Chen Xuan from the other side.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the courtyard grew rather delicate.
Chen Xuan stood in the middle, with the golden-haired, noble Qian Renxue to his left and the gentle, blue-haired Ah Yin to his right. The two peerlessly beautiful women looked like his most devoted followers—and like rivals secretly vying with each other.
Just then, another figure hurried into the courtyard.
"Teacher!"
It was Dugu Yan.
She had run into a cultivation bottleneck that day and couldn't figure it out, so she had planned to visit Chen Xuan late at night to ask for his guidance.
But when she stepped into the rear courtyard and saw the scene before her, she froze like a statue.
Beneath the moonlight,
her teacher, Chen Xuan, stood with his hands behind his back, like a deity.
Qian Renxue sat to his left.
To his right sat a blue-haired beauty she had never seen before.
One in each arm?
And one of them was the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire?
Dugu Yan's mind went "buzz," instantly filling with all kinds of scandalous thoughts.
She parted her lips and glanced back and forth between the three of them before finally managing to blurt out, "Teacher, you sure... get around, huh?"
At that, Qian Renxue and Ah Yin both frowned and turned to look at the brazen intruder.
Qian Renxue's heart leapt into her throat.
Dugu Yan!
What was she doing here?!
No one at the academy knew she was a woman except Chen Xuan. If Dugu Yan let it slip...
Dugu Yan didn't care about any of that. She sauntered forward and asked curiously, "Teacher, aren't you going to introduce us? These two are...?"
Qian Renxue's heart immediately leapt into her throat.
Chen Xuan glanced at Dugu Yan, his expression unchanged, and answered calmly.
"These two are your senior sisters."
S-senior sisters?
Dugu Yan was stunned. She looked at the noble, aloof "Xue Qinghe," then at the blue-haired woman, gentle as water.
That was it?
Senior sisters?
She curled her lip and muttered to herself,
"If you hadn't said anything, I'd have thought they were my two shifus."
Naturally, she didn't dare say that aloud.
Since they were her senior sisters, there was nothing to worry about.
Dugu Yan immediately put aside her playful mood and respectfully bowed to Chen Xuan.
"Teacher, I've run into some difficulties with condensing Soul Power while cultivating the 'Jade Phosphorus Profound Technique,' so I came to ask for your guidance."
Chen Xuan nodded.
"Sit down. You can listen along with us."
"Yes!"
Overjoyed, Dugu Yan quickly found a seat at the other side of the stone table and pricked up her ears, ready to hear his teachings.
And so, the three women sat around the courtyard, listening together to the Great Dao.
Meanwhile,
a luxurious carriage came to a slow stop outside the gates of Blue Silver Academy.
The curtain was lifted, and Ning Rongrong stepped down, dressed in a pink gown and surrounded by a group of guards.
She looked up at the famous academy before her.
"Hmph. I thought it'd be some immortal's residence. It's just a little more lavishly built than Shrek."
She curled her lip, her eyes full of disdain.
"There's not much difference."
In her eyes, the academy's architecture was crude rather than refined. Compared to the pavilions and towers of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, it was a hundred thousand miles behind.
Still wearing that judgmental expression, Ning Rongrong entered the academy.
As she walked, she saw that most of the students wore plain clothes and had all kinds of strange Martial Souls: hoes, sickles, Blue Silver Grass. It made her frown.
When she reached the academy's central plaza and saw the enormous statue of Blue Silver Grass, her disdain only deepened.
"They're using a Trash Martial Soul as their totem."
But the moment that thought crossed her mind, something strange happened.
She felt the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul within her tremble slightly, beyond her control. The moment she entered the area, the flow of her Soul Power sped up a little for no apparent reason!
It was only a little, but as the possessor of a top-tier Martial Soul, she could sense it clearly!
"What's going on?"
Ning Rongrong was startled. She quickly stopped and concentrated on the sensation.
That was right!
Cultivation really was faster here!
The discovery sent a shock through her.
Could Chen Xuan really have something special about him?
No, impossible!
Ning Rongrong quickly found an explanation.
"Hmph. This must simply be a blessed place, and he got lucky claiming it. It has nothing to do with his crooked theories."
She tried to convince herself, but her curiosity about Chen Xuan only grew.
Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a figure who seemed both familiar and strange.
A girl around her age was sweeping the plaza. She wore the academy uniform and worked hard, pushing her broom back and forth.
Ning Rongrong narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment before finally recognizing her.
"Xiao Xiao?"
The girl looked up at the sound of her voice. When she saw Ning Rongrong, her expression shifted slightly.
Xiao Xiao had once been an outer disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. With Foxtail Grass as her Martial Soul and only half a level of Innate Soul Power, she had been regarded as a disgrace to the sect and eventually expelled.
A mocking smile tugged at Ning Rongrong's lips.
This was even more ridiculous.
Blue Silver Academy accepted even people the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect didn't want?
She walked forward with an elegant stride and asked condescendingly, "Hey, where's the dean named Chen Xuan?"
Xiao Xiao recognized Ning Rongrong and instinctively tightened her grip on the broom.
Back when they were in the sect, this young lady Ning had often mocked her in public, saying her Foxtail Grass Martial Soul wasn't fit to carry the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda's shoes.
But now that they'd met again, Xiao Xiao no longer felt inferior. Instead, a sense of confidence welled up inside her.
She replied coolly, "Why aren't you staying at your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Miss Ning? What are you doing at our Blue Silver Academy?"
Ning Rongrong hadn't expected an outcast to speak to her in such a tone. Her brows shot up.
"Impudent!"
She snapped, "Someone the sect kicked out dares to give me attitude? Who I'm here to see is none of your business. Do I have to report it to you?"
Before you continue