Tang Heng had given up. From now on, unless this thing boosted his luck by a hundred, he wouldn't go anywhere near it.
"When you evolve someday, I'll let you open it again."
He ruffled Golden Lion's big head, then took a bone from his backpack and tossed it over for her to gnaw on.
Golden Lion perked up her tail, ran over to grab the bone, then curled up in her kennel to enjoy her treat.
Now that she finally had a physical body, she needed to enjoy life a little.
Looking at Golden Lion's current state, Tang Heng couldn't see a trace of the dignity or elegance she'd once had.
Perhaps this was how the ancestors of dogs had gradually become what they were today.
The Ape God rocks!
Leaving Golden Lion here, Tang Heng returned to the Douluo Continent plane.
The night was quiet. A small amber light had been left on for him by the door; all the lights inside were off, so his family must have gone to bed.
Tang Heng tiptoed into Na'er's bedroom.
Na'er was sleeping soundly on the bed, her delicate little nose letting out sweet, soft snores.
Tang Heng hesitated for a moment, his eyes full of conflict and indecision.
In the end, he still reached out—
—and gently tucked the blanket around Na'er.
By the bedside, Tang Heng couldn't help murmuring softly, "Whew, this little rascal used to kick off her blanket whenever we slept together. Good thing I checked tonight."
Even though this girl wasn't a normal person—or, rather, wasn't human at all—by all rights, she shouldn't ever catch a little cold or anything like that.
But even a Divine King's wife could die of illness. Who was to say a Dragon King couldn't catch a cold or come down with a fever?
After leaving Na'er's room, Tang Heng went to peek into Tang Wulin's room as well.
Inside, Tang Wulin sat cross-legged on the bed, golden-patterned Blue Silver Grass gently swaying in his palm.
"Good kid, still meditating and cultivating. As expected of my little brother."
After making sure Tang Wulin was all right, Tang Heng returned to his own room.
Time to rest up and welcome a new school life tomorrow.
The next day.
The brothers gathered their luggage, said goodbye to their parents and little sister, then got into Mu Chen's car and headed to the academy to register.
Mu Chen's car was far too conspicuous in Eastsea City.
As soon as the brothers got out, they drew a crowd of curious students.
"Isn't that President Mu's car? Why did two little boys get out? They're quite handsome, but still a little too young~"
"You're really thinking of robbing the cradle? Have you looked in a mirror?"
"Oh, shut up! I'm only thirteen this year, and I'm as beautiful as a flower!"
Eastsea Academy was right next door. Its students were in the middle and upper divisions, and were generally older than those at the Primary Academy.
Hearing the older girls teasing them, Tang Wulin scratched his head awkwardly, looking a little embarrassed.
"Stand tall. Don't make us look bad!"
"Huh? O-okay."
Tang Heng took his little brother's hand and quickly led him through the crowd without lingering.
Following the signs around the academy, he soon found the principal's office.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Come in."
After getting permission, Tang Heng pushed open the heavy redwood door with his little brother.
Principal Hao Ren adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. Without looking up from the documents on his desk, he asked, "May I ask what you're here for?"
Several teachers stood nearby, apparently there to report on their work.
"Hello, Principal. Hello, teachers."
"My name is Tang Heng, and this is my little brother, Tang Wulin. We're transfer students this year. Here's our letter of recommendation. Please take a look."
Transfer students? Hao Ren was stunned, then remembered that there had indeed been something like that recently.
He recalled that someone from the Blacksmith Association had come to tell him about it: two children were transferring from Aolai City, a little backwater town.
Hao Ren looked up and examined the two brothers standing before him.
As for their looks, both boys were indeed striking, especially Tang Heng. He gave off a steady, mature air, seeming more grown-up than others his age.
But this was a Soul Master Academy, not some celebrity arts school. What mattered here were their Martial Souls and Soul Power.
Still, since the Blacksmith Association had vouched for them, they should be good enough.
Hao Ren took the sealed Red Mountain Academy file envelope Tang Heng handed him. The seal bore an expedited-processing stamp, as well as a golden star marking them as outstanding graduates.
Weren't they transfer students? Why was there this kind of stamp on it?
Hao Ren tore open the seal, took out both boys' files, and began examining them carefully.
Gradually, his face flushed, and even his breathing grew uneven.
"Smack!"
Hao Ren slammed the files down on the desk and shot to his feet. He walked straight over to Tang Heng himself.
"Son, y-you really have Soul Power at rank nineteen?"
Tang Heng smiled faintly, then shook his head.
The next moment, two deep purple Soul Rings slowly rose from beneath his feet.
"Sorry, I happened to break through on the way here. I should be at rank twenty-one now."
Although his actual Soul Power Level had already broken through to rank thirty-one last night, thanks to the Dragon God Vortex, no one could see his true cultivation unless they had reached the level of a Titled Douluo.
The office fell into deathly silence.
After quite a while, Principal Hao Ren was the first to recover. The stern look on his face melted away, replaced by the delighted warmth of someone who had just found a priceless treasure.
"Excellent, excellent! Truly, heroes come from the young!"
Throughout the Federation, Eastsea was rather weak when it came to Soul Master strength.
There wasn't a second seven-year-old Soul Grandmaster in all of Eastsea City. This was exactly the kind of talent that could secure a spot on the Youth Genius Ranking.
Normally, they begged talents like this to come, and still couldn't get them. Now that one had shown up on their doorstep, how could they let him go?
"Welcome to our academy! With your aptitude, both of you can definitely enroll in Class One! I'll arrange everything right away. Head to the Class One classroom first."
"Would you like me to show you the way?"
Tang Heng smiled and waved off Principal Hao Ren's eager offer.
As if he needed some uncle to show him the way.
The man had no sense at all.
If someone was going to show him around, it would be more suitable to have the charming, mature-looking uniformed female teacher standing beside him.
Tang Heng took Tang Wulin with him and followed the signs through the academy. It only took a moment to reach the Class One classroom Principal Hao Ren had mentioned.
Xie Xie sat by the window, watching a few white clouds drift across the azure sky.
White, white... Miss Angel.
Xie Xie shook his head. Why was he thinking about last night again?
That breathtaking sight had left a deep impression on his young heart, but once he came back to his senses, the beautiful, angel-like young lady had vanished like a bubble.
Afterward, he'd even gone over to the artificial lake and searched around, but hadn't found a trace of anyone.
Maybe it had just been a beautiful illusion?
"Everyone, quiet down for a moment. I've just received word that two new students will be transferring into our class. Today's the first day of the new Class One's school year. Let's all give them a warm welcome, all right?"
The teacher waved from the front of the room, and the Tang brothers walked in one after the other.
The girls nearby couldn't help gasping when they saw the two brothers.
Xie Xie had been pulled out of his daydream, and irritation welled up in him. He shot a cold look toward the front of the classroom.
Who had interrupted Young Master Xie at such a crucial moment?
Tang Heng and Tang Wulin onstage also spotted Xie Xie below at the same time.
"Country bumpkin!"
"City bumpkin!"
Before you continue