Qian Renxue Was Moved! Protection!

Lin Yuan thought of the three-year assessment the two gods had assigned him.

He could handle it on his own, but with these two errand boys, he could save himself a lot of effort on all the tedious little tasks.

Since they'd offered themselves, there was no harm in accepting.

"Get up."

Lin Yuan nodded and gave them his answer.

"From now on, stay by my side and follow my rules."

Hearing Lin Yuan agree, Yan and Xie Yue were overjoyed.

They hurried to their feet, rubbing their hands excitedly and grinning like fools. All their earlier arrogance had vanished.

Just then.

Hu Liena, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally came back to her senses.

When she saw Yan and Xie Yue had gotten ahead of her and latched onto Lin Yuan, she panicked.

"Hey! How could you two get in first?"

The little girl took off on her slender legs, like a cheerful orange butterfly, and dashed over from the sidelines.

Hu Liena shoved Yan out of the way and threw herself down beside Lin Yuan.

Her pretty little face was flushed from running, and a fine sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead.

Her big golden eyes flickered as she looked at Lin Yuan, filled with admiration and eagerness.

The little girl grabbed Lin Yuan's sleeve and gave it a gentle tug. Her voice was soft and sweet, utterly adorable.

"I want in too! I want in too!"

"Lin Yuan, I want to be your underling too... No, I want to be your number-one follower!"

Lin Yuan looked at the cute little girl before him. Seeing the hope in her big golden eyes, he agreed casually.

"Sure. If you want to follow me, go ahead."

"But I'll lay down the rules first. I don't keep useless deadweight. If you can't keep up with me, you'd better leave sooner rather than later."

Hearing this, Yan and Xie Yue scrambled to their feet and thumped their chests so hard they boomed.

"Don't worry, big brother! We'll never let you down!"

Hu Liena was so happy she jumped up, circling Lin Yuan like a cheerful little sparrow.

Over the next few days, the three geniuses handpicked by Spirit Hall as the Golden Generation became Lin Yuan's devoted little shadows.

Their usual pride, the sort that let them bow to no one, had long since been cast beyond the nine heavens.

Whenever they had a free moment, they gathered around Lin Yuan in the Guidance Room, humbly seeking his advice.

Whenever they hit a bottleneck in their cultivation, Lin Yuan could pinpoint the problem at a stroke, thanks to the dimensional superiority of his Martial Soul and his understanding of the essence of power.

"Big brother, my Flame Lord Martial Soul uses up Soul Power way too fast whenever I release high-temperature flames. I often run out of steam before I'm even halfway through a fight. How do I fix that?"

Yan scratched his red hair, looking troubled.

Lin Yuan sat in a chair and casually picked up the teacup on the table.

"Your Martial Soul has both fire and earth attributes. You focus on driving the fire's explosive force, but you've thrown away the earth's solidity."

"If you want your flames to burn without letup, you need to use the earth attribute within your body to build a stable furnace base. Compress your Soul Power into it, then release it like a volcanic eruption instead of scattering it everywhere like water through a sieve."

Yan's eyes lit up as soon as he heard this.

He immediately closed his eyes and circulated his Soul Power as Lin Yuan had instructed.

A moment later, a dark-red flame rose in his palm. It no longer leapt about wildly as before; instead, it burned with astonishing density, warping the air around it with its heat.

"Incredible! Big brother, you're incredible! This cut my Soul Power consumption by at least thirty percent!"

Yan shouted with excitement.

Xie Yue wasn't about to fall behind. He hurried over to ask about the cutting path of his Moon Blade.

Lin Yuan pointed out the unnecessary movements Xie Yue made with his wrist when swinging. He told him to discard all the flashy flourishes and aim for the most direct, purest straight-line cut.

Xie Yue took up the Moon Blade and swung it through the air several times. Hearing its crisp, clean whistle, he nodded in wholehearted agreement.

Hu Liena propped her chin on both hands and leaned across the table, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

"Lin Yuan, how does your brain even work?"

"Even the Red Cardinals in the Pope's Palace who teach us can't explain things as clearly as you do!"

Lin Yuan smiled and didn't say anything more.

Just as they were chatting animatedly, the Guidance Room door opened from the outside.

Qian Renxue walked in with a light step.

She wore a fitted, pale-gold outfit that outlined her already graceful figure and accentuated her long, straight legs.

Her bright golden hair fell smoothly over her shoulders, and her delicate face bore a hint of curiosity.

As soon as she entered, she saw the utterly bewildering sight before her.

The three most notoriously difficult geniuses in Spirit Hall were gathered around a six-year-old boy, behaving like three obedient students.

Qian Renxue's red lips parted, and her eyes widened.

"You three... What are you doing?"

She walked up to Yan and looked him over.

"Yan, don't you always brag that you're invincible among your peers? What happened to you today?"

Yan flushed and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"Sister Xue'er, don't tease me. I'm nothing in front of big brother! He's the real peerless genius!"

Xie Yue nodded repeatedly beside him, clearly agreeing.

Hearing them call him "big brother," Qian Renxue was utterly astonished.

These three had been personally chosen as disciples by Bibi Dong. They were so proud they looked down on everyone, yet now they were utterly devoted to Lin Yuan and obeyed his every word.

Before Qian Renxue could think any further, Lin Yuan had already hopped down from his chair.

"Sister Xue'er, you're here!"

Lin Yuan rushed over, opened his arms, and hugged Qian Renxue around her slender waist.

Qian Renxue had grown taller over the past few years, and her figure had developed beautifully.

The faint, distinctive fragrance of the girl drifted straight into Lin Yuan's nose.

The sudden show of affection made Qian Renxue's pretty face flush.

But ever since Lin Yuan had eased the knot in her heart with pastries, she hadn't been able to dislike the handsome, absurdly gifted boy.

She gently wrapped her soft, fair hands around Lin Yuan's shoulders and stroked his silky black hair.

"How did you get those three to listen to you so well?"

Qian Renxue asked with a smile, her voice tinged with affection.

Lin Yuan lifted his head, revealing a row of neat, white teeth.

"Because I'm really strong."

He let go of Qian Renxue, took half a step back, and clenched his chubby little fist.

"Sister Xue'er, when I grow up, I'll protect you too. If anyone dares to bully you, I'll beat them until they're crawling on the ground!"

A warm current surged through Qian Renxue's heart, and her eyes stung.

All her life, her mother had been cold and distant, while her father was too busy with the affairs of the Pope's Palace to show her much care.

No one had ever told her, with such conviction, that they would protect her.