Leng Yaozhu sat upright directly across from Long Zijin.
Ever since she had stepped through that door and first laid eyes on this boy, an inexplicable fondness had risen within her.
It had nothing to do with attraction between the sexes, but rather a dazed sense of "meeting again today after years apart."
It made her unable to stop herself from asking, "Have we met before... somewhere?"
"Xu Zijing."
Long Zijin frowned slightly and sighed. In the end, you were not him.
Then he corrected her, saying, "My surname is Long, not Xu."
Leng Yaozhu realized that she had been rather presumptuous, so she cautiously asked, "You're not from the Xu Family?"
Long Zijin shook his head. "No."
"No?" Leng Yaozhu found it strange. Could the Federal Old Imperial Family actually recommend some gifted commoner? Was the Xu Family truly so selfless?
Thus, she continued, "Are you related to the Xu Family by blood?"
Long Zijin pondered for half a second. Going by the proper order, it should have been the Xu Family that was related to him by blood.
"Yes, but not closely."
Now Leng Yaozhu understood. It seemed this child was a Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon Martial Soul wielder born to a woman from the Xu Family who had married out.
She went straight to the point. "Your Martial Soul is the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon, correct?"
Long Zijin shook his head again. "The Amethyst Dragon is not the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon, because the power it controls has not yet reached the level of destruction."
"Oh? Is that so?" Leng Yaozhu felt as if she were an examiner conducting an interview; she asked one question, and he answered one question.
As a Limit Douluo, this made her rather uncomfortable. Usually, aside from the Xu Family's clan head and councilors, its other members would not even have the chance to meet her, much less take up so much of her time.
Still, he was only a child, and she could not judge him by adult standards. Leng Yaozhu patiently fired off a string of questions. "What attributes does your Martial Soul possess? Which branch do you intend to specialize in? Do you have a second profession? What is your current cultivation level?"
Long Zijin had long been prepared and answered truthfully, "My Amethyst Dragon Martial Soul has both gemstone and strength attributes, but I mainly cultivate the strength attribute."
"As for my Soul Master branch, I haven't decided yet."
"For my second profession, I'm currently a blacksmith."
"My Soul Power cultivation is level 29, Soul Grandmaster."
Although copying the Sub-Dragon Origin Data in the Dragon Tomb had cost him three full years of cultivation, after returning to the Flower Immortal Body, he had received the Amethyst Dragon Martial Soul through divine bestowal, along with nine levels of Soul Power infused into his body.
After hearing this, Leng Yaozhu lowered her eyes and instructed him, "Focusing on the strength attribute is indeed the right choice. Your level is still low, so wait until you have cultivated strength, this foundational attribute, properly. As for the gemstone attribute, which resembles neither metal nor earth, you can set it aside for now."
"You're still young as well. It won't be too late to choose a branch after you turn twelve. As for blacksmithing, that profession depends on steady accumulation over time. Those who achieve great success are generally no longer young, so I suggest that you switch professions."
"But reaching level 29 by the age of twelve is already extremely rare..."
"Wait!" Leng Yaozhu suddenly opened her eyes.
She examined the boy before her, whose appearance was highly deceptive, and asked tentatively, "May I test your bone age?"
Leng Yaozhu was not merely asking Long Zijin. She was also asking the "parent" standing upright and impeccably poised behind his seat.
Yet the cold, aloof man in white with golden hair did not even deign to look at her directly. His expression seemed to say, I already wiped out your origin. What is a fragment like you worth?
Moreover, studying the details of his face, Leng Yaozhu kept feeling that he looked familiar, as though she had seen that face on some powerhouse of the same level.
Just as she was about to connect him with the Beast God, Di Tian, Long Zijin happened to extend his arm and release a trace of Soul Power.
From the intensity of that trace, Leng Yaozhu confirmed that the child truly was a level 29 Soul Grandmaster.
She could not help nodding. Reaching out, she pinched one of his middle finger bones. Her phoenix eyes closed and reopened, and shock instantly filled them. He really was nine years old!
It seemed that even the top-ranked geniuses in every previous edition of the continent's young genius rankings had never reached the threshold of three rings before the age of ten.
She raised her ruby-red eyes and looked at the purple-haired boy with undisguised delight, practically wearing the words "what a treasure" on her face.
The Xu Family had effectively delivered the future top-ranked young genius straight to her doorstep.
Unable to control herself, Leng Yaozhu rose and lunged forward in a single step, nearly pressing her face against his.
Suppressing her excitement, she asked, "Can you show me your Amethyst Dragon Martial Soul?"
To have cultivated to level 29 at such a young age, even if his Martial Soul was not a legend like the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon, it had to be among the most powerful super Martial Souls.
But Di Guangming placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed Leng Yaozhu back half a step, away from his Dragon Emperor's face.
"Sorry." Leng Yaozhu realized that she had lost her composure.
Long Zijin looked at her expression as though he had expected it all along, so he agreed directly. "No problem."
He withdrew his finger from Leng Yaozhu's grasp.
Under those ruby phoenix eyes brimming with anticipation, Long Zijin slowly closed his eyes.
In an instant, his shoulder-length purple hair took on the flowing texture of crystal-smooth silk.
Even more gorgeous purple light seeped out from within his body.
The next moment, a pair of violet-gold vertical pupils abruptly opened, seizing the soul.
A dragon cry, neither fierce nor sharp but instead somewhat muffled, rang out from within the amethyst light.
"Ooo—"
This was the awakening cry a true Sub-Dragon should possess.
The next instant, the splendid purple radiance drew inward. Clusters of rugged amethyst crystals, like dragon scales, arranged themselves in orderly layers across Long Zijin's body.
Rather than dragon scales, they were closer to scale armor. At a glance, they possessed a beauty like chaos giving birth to creation, stealing all the ingenuity of heaven and earth.
It was like an intricate geometric composition: the more profound it was, the more beautiful it became.
"Wow." Leng Yaozhu's eyes lit up. What a beautiful beast Martial Soul.
Any intelligent, thinking creature spent its life pursuing beauty, and even a Limit Douluo was no exception.
Thus, upon seeing such a splendid dragon Martial Soul, Leng Yaozhu, as a Phoenix Martial Soul wielder who also loved beauty, was naturally overjoyed.
The last time she had seen something so aesthetically exquisite was when she had studied the Light Dragon God Butterfly Martial Soul in the mural of Winter Butterfly Douluo on the first floor's dome.
But with her position as vice tower master, she could only restrain her expression and say with some seriousness, "Come, show me your Martial Soul's strength."
Long Zijin's voice became several degrees deeper as he asked, "How should I show it?"
Leng Yaozhu had never taken on a disciple, so she did not know how to test him. However, recalling how Elder Cai of the Sea God Pavilion had tested her when she was still a Shrek student...
She bent slightly at the waist. "Come, hit me with all your strength."
But Long Zijin frowned for the first time. "Are you sure you want my full strength?"
The implication seemed to be that he doubted whether this Heavenly Phoenix Douluo could take one of his punches.