(not unsealed yet, I'll keep editing; I refuse to believe this!)
"Funny, these people are so careless when naming things."
Qian Renxue and the other two felt that whoever had named this little creek must have been a genius.
"All right, let's go check out Rising East Creek."
After receiving treatment from a healing Soul Master, the three boys and Xiao Wu had already woken up.
The Shrek Seven Devils and several teachers were gathered in a room, discussing how to handle the battle six days from now.
Flender had come to terms with it.
If all else failed, he'd take the Little Monsters and go seek refuge with Er Long.
She had an academy in Heaven Dou Imperial City, where the Little Monsters could also compete in the Soul Master Tournament.
A foolish, lovestruck grin spread across his face.
He'd get to see Er Long every day, too. Just thinking about it made him happy!
The hot-tempered Zhao Wuji spoke up forcefully.
"Who cares what they do? There are two Soul Saints on our side. How hard can it be to take down one guy?"
"When the time comes, we'll call the shots!"
Ning Rongrong spoke up slowly, explaining Lin Huai's status to the others.
"Whenever I leave home, my father has at least several Soul Saints follow me. Sometimes, there's even a Soul Douluo."
Hearing that a Soul Douluo was often by Ning Rongrong's side, Xiao Wu did her best to keep her aura in check, afraid she'd be discovered.
"When Lin Huai became the Holy Son, more than ten Titled Douluo congratulated him in unison."
"Even the Pope didn't receive that kind of welcome at his inauguration. Teacher Zhao, do you really think Lin Huai would have only one Soul Saint by his side?"
Ning Rongrong's words put an end to the teachers' plans to sneak up on Lin Huai and knock him out.
Ning Rongrong recalled that Ning Fengzhi had told her the Spirit Hall was undergoing sweeping reforms, and that turmoil would soon grip the continent.
She looked over at Zhao Wuji, who was still trying to come up with other underhanded tricks.
"Teacher Zhao, I advise you not to act on your own. The Spirit Hall might not have held you accountable before because they realized you truly hadn't killed the wrong person."
"The Spirit Hall acted decisively before, killing a group of Soul Masters who had crossed the line of the law. Several of them were Soul Douluo!"
Zhao Wuji's breath caught. The others in the room were shaken as well.
They hadn't expected the Spirit Hall to kill even Soul Douluo!
"So, Teacher Zhao, although you were lucky enough to escape the Spirit Hall's punishment, if you lay a hand on Lin Huai, I can guarantee that only my father's intervention could save me. The rest of you would certainly be doomed!"
Only then did everyone realize how powerful the Spirit Hall was. Dai Mubai looked especially grim.
He remembered how, five years ago, two Spirit Hall elders of at least rank ninety-six had openly barged into the imperial palace. After announcing their purpose, they had left just as openly.
After that, the city lord's mansion had taken over distributing the Soul Master subsidies.
Ma Hongjun shuddered and stammered:
"Then what are we supposed to do?"
Yu Gang coughed, trying to rally the seven.
"Don't worry. Since he's given us a chance to challenge them, let's discuss how to deal with them."
He looked at Ning Rongrong. After all, she was the only one who knew anything about them.
"Rongrong, I need you to tell me what you know about Lin Huai and the others so we can prepare."
Ning Rongrong shook her head helplessly.
"All I know is that Lin Huai is twelve or thirteen. I don't know anything else, including about the three girls."
"No one can get near the spies the Spirit Hall raised for us."
Everyone was stunned by how young Lin Huai was.
Then they remembered that Lin Huai had defeated Tang San and the others yesterday without even using a Soul Ring.
Flender thought that they were going to disband anyway, so there was no harm in letting them fight. He encouraged Yu Gang to come up with a plan.
"Xiaogang, with your peerless wisdom, I'm sure you can work something out."
With that, Flender left with the other teachers.
Thinking about seeing Er Long soon, Flender nearly laughed aloud as he walked out.
The seven all turned to Yu Gang, hoping he'd offer some useful advice.
Yu Gang went to the window and stood with his hands behind his back, looking outside.
"All we know is that Lin Huai has Twin Martial Souls. One is a blade, and the other is probably light attribute. His combat strength is terrifying."
"We know nothing about the other three girls. This is going to be tough!"
Thinking of a loophole in Lin Huai's words, Tang San's mouth curled into a slanted grin.
"Teacher, Lin Huai only said we could choose one person to challenge. He never said it had to be one-on-one!"
Everyone except Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing's eyes lit up.
Tang San thought, This time, I'll make Lin Huai taste what it feels like to see the one he loves badly hurt!
Hehehehe...
Yu Gang also suddenly saw the light and clapped his hands.
"That's right. Seven against one doesn't break the rules!"
"I'm out. Don't count me in."
Ning Rongrong spoke up at once.
Rules or no rules, she didn't want to provoke Lin Huai.
Zhu Zhuqing's cool voice rang out.
"I'm out too. I think I'll have a breakthrough in the next few days."
Dai Mubai was about to scold Ning Rongrong for lacking team spirit when Yu Gang spoke first:
"Fine. We'll choose the youngest girl. We might not even need five people!"
Yu Gang turned to face Tang San and the others.
"I'll train the five of you to work together over the next few days. As for you two, consider yourselves on break. Cultivate on your own."
With that, Yu Gang led the five away.
In the room, Ning Rongrong studied Zhu Zhuqing and said confidently:
"Zhuqing, you just can't stand what they're doing, can you?"
Zhu Zhuqing gave a faint, knowing smile.
"Yes. I can't stand them acting like this. I didn't expect you to see through me."
Ning Rongrong didn't reveal her own thoughts either. She took Zhu Zhuqing by the hand and went shopping in Suotuo City.
East of Suotuo City, beside Rising East Creek.
Lin Huai was on the mountaintop, meditating on the flowing water.
The three girls were training by the creek.
The stream wound its way from the mouth of the valley. Suddenly, a chunk of earth broke off the mountainside and tumbled into the water, stirring up muddy currents.
The muddy water flowed downstream, carried by the stream all the way to a distant place beyond Lin Huai's sight.
Lin Huai felt as though he was about to grasp something,
but in truth, he grasped nothing.
As he pondered, he saw a rotted branch fall onto the water's surface.
The stream carried it, deftly weaving around the rocks in the shallows. It plunged straight through the whirlpool formed by a drop in the riverbed, only to be battered into pieces by the current on a flat stretch and swept into the distance.
After flowing through the muddy runoff and past the rotting branches and leaves, the stream still remained clear.
He rose to his feet, and a long blade quietly materialized in his right hand.
He closed his eyes, but the blade in his hand began to move slowly.
The blade technique Lin Huai used now had evolved over the years, as he gradually worked the basics into the Flowing Water Sword Technique.
The technique had no name. Even though Lin Huai had grasped the flow of the blade, he still hadn't named it. He feared that naming it too early would limit his understanding of flowing water.
The flow of his blade began to circle around him. As it skimmed past leaves and flowers, it made a rustling sound,
blending with the burbling of the stream.
The blade movements flowed without end, the plants rustled ceaselessly, and the stream never stopped murmuring softly.
The flow around Lin Huai began to change.
Had Qian Renxue and the other two been there, they would have felt as if an endless stream encircled Lin Huai.
As his mind suddenly cleared,
the rushing, unceasing stream slowly faded away.
The trees around him stopped swaying, too.
After a long while, Lin Huai opened his eyes.
"Congratulations, Lin Huai!"
"You've successfully comprehended your own Blade Intent!"
Before you continue