Qian Renxue and Lan! Darkness, Light, Salvation?!

Three days later.

On the main road leading to Skywater City, a luxurious motorcade was slowly approaching.

The lead carriage was inlaid with the emblem of the Heaven Dou Imperial family.

Inside the carriage.

A youth dressed in fine robes sat upright. His face was as handsome as jade, his temperament gentle and refined, and his eyes were deep and calm. He was none other than the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe.

Opposite him sat a tall youth with an arrogant expression.

"Your Highness."

The youth spoke, his tone carrying a hint of disapproval.

"This friendly match, I see it as entirely superfluous."

"The Skywater Team has always been mediocre among the Five Element Academies. We have faced them so many times; when have we not won with ease?"

"I truly don't see what there is to compare."

This person was the captain of the Heaven Dou Royal Team, the pride of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Tianheng.

Hearing this, Xue Qinghe merely smiled faintly and remained silent.

Sitting beside Yu Tianheng was a girl with a slender figure and a beautiful face.

She was the vice-captain of the team, Dugu Yan, whose Martial Soul was the Jade Phosphorous Serpent.

Dugu Yan ignored Yu Tianheng and instead cast her gaze toward a quiet girl in the corner of the carriage.

"Lengleng, what do you think?"

The girl known as Lengleng had been resting with her eyes closed. Hearing Dugu Yan's inquiry, she slowly opened her eyes.

She was extremely beautiful, yet carried a cold, aloof temperament that kept others at a distance. She was the team's only support-type Spirit Master, Ye Lingling.

As the core of the team and a close friend of Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling held significant influence.

"If it were the usual Skywater Team, we should be able to defeat them easily."

Ye Lingling's voice was as cold and clear as her temperament.

"But you must not overlook their new captain."

"Lan."

"If he were not powerful enough, Skywater Academy would not have made an exception to specially recruit a male student, let alone let him serve directly as captain."

She paused, her gaze flickering almost imperceptibly toward Xue Qinghe opposite her.

"The reason His Highness the Crown Prince agreed to this friendly match must also be because of this Lan."

After hearing Ye Lingling's words, Yu Tianheng scoffed.

"Just some kid who popped out of nowhere."

He clenched his fists, his joints popping, and purple electric arcs danced at his fingertips.

"I don't care if his name is Lan or Wave!"

"As long as he dares to stand before me, he will have to submit beneath the feet of my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!"

As a direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, one of the Upper Three Sects, Yu Tianheng had the capital for his arrogance.

After speaking, his arrogant expression changed instantly as he turned to look at Dugu Yan, putting on a fawning smile.

"Yanyan, just watch."

"Watch how I deal with those little girls for you."

Dugu Yan rolled her eyes at him, said nothing, and turned her head toward the window.

Inside the carriage, silence returned.

Xue Qinghe picked up his teacup, took a light sip, and looked through the window at the city standing amidst the lakes and mountains in the distance.

His eyes were calm, without a single ripple.

Yet, no one knew what was truly hidden beneath his gentle, jade-like exterior.

Skywater Academy, by the lake.

The morning mist had not yet fully dispersed, draping this shimmering, watery land in a light veil.

Lan stood with his hands behind his back at the very front of the formation, with Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, and the other members of the Skywater Team behind him.

The chattering discussions of the girls rose behind him, only to be blocked out by the aura of detachment radiating from his body.

His gaze rested calmly on the academy gate in the distance.

Before long, a luxurious motorcade appeared at the end of the main road, slowly approaching.

The motorcade came to a steady halt in front of the academy.

An attendant respectfully opened the carriage door.

A foot stepped out first; it was an exquisitely crafted white boot, embroidered with intricate patterns in gold thread.

Immediately after, a figure stepped out from the carriage.

The newcomer was dressed in a luxurious moon-white robe, his posture upright and his face as handsome as polished jade, exuding a gentle and scholarly temperament, much like a piece of fine, warm jade.

He simply stood there, yet an undeniable air of nobility radiated from him.

It was none other than the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe.

Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and the others followed closely behind, stepping off the carriage and casting provocative glances toward the Skywater Team.

Xue Qinghe's gaze, however, bypassed everyone else and landed directly on the young man at the very front of the team.

He took a step forward, wearing a gentle smile as he approached.

"You must be the new captain of the Skywater Team, Lan, am I right?"

Xue Qinghe's voice was just like his person: warm and melodious, making one feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.

Lan raised his eyes.

Their gazes met.

Is this... my sister, Qian Renxue?

Deep within Lan's heart, a voice whispered softly.

Even though it was their first meeting, and even though the person before him was disguised as a man, the stirring from the depths of his bloodline could not be deceived.

It was an indescribable sense of closeness, as if he had been sleeping in the ice and snow of the Far North for eighteen years, only to be awakened at this very moment.

At the same time.

Xue Qinghe's heart was likewise stirred by turbulent waves.

The moment he saw Lan, an inexplicable sense of familiarity surged through his limbs like an electric current.

Why?

I have clearly never met this person before.

But why does my bloodline tremble because of him?

Who... exactly is this person?

Though waves of turmoil crashed within Xue Qinghe's heart, his face remained masked by that flawless, gentle smile.

He walked up to Lan and naturally reached out, patting Lan's shoulder lightly.

"Lan, I am a few years your senior. If you don't mind, you may call me Brother Xue from now on."

Lan's eyes flickered as he looked at that peerlessly handsome face, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

"Alright, Brother... Xue."

He reached out and grasped the hand Xue Qinghe had left suspended in the air.

The moment their hands touched, Lan's nostrils flared slightly.

His sense of smell, comparable to that of a deep-sea shark, captured a trace of a scent—extremely faint, yet incredibly distinct.

"Brother Xue."

Lan spoke, his tone flat, revealing no particular emotion.

"Why do you... have a fragrance on your body?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the surroundings fell instantly silent.

Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, and the others all looked at Lan with strange expressions.

Yu Tianheng nearly burst out laughing.

Xue Qinghe's heart gave a violent jolt.

A flicker of panic, almost impossible to detect, flashed deep in his eyes, but it was quickly and perfectly concealed.

He withdrew his hand calmly and laughed with a look of complete composure:

"Brother Lan, you are joking."

"How could a grown man like me have a natural fragrance?"

"This must be the floral perfume I sprayed before leaving; it is concocted from over a thousand types of thousand-year-old flowers and herbs using a secret method, so the scent is a bit unique."

Lan looked at him without speaking, his deep, dark eyes seemingly capable of seeing through everything.

Perfume?

Lan understood in his heart.

The scent of the perfume was merely a surface layer; beneath it, there was indeed the faint, elegant fragrance that only a woman would possess.

A very good disguise.

This disguise was so perfect that even a Titled Douluo might not be able to detect it if they were standing right in front of him.