"Dad."
A decisive yet gentle voice rang out.
It caught Yu Xiaolong completely off guard.
His expression froze. He turned around.
Shui Bing'er looked utterly serious. "If you don't mind, Master, Bing'er would be happy to be your daughter!"
"This..."
Even Yu Xiaolong, usually so proud and cold,
could barely keep his composure
at the sight before him.
What was more, every night,
his dragon nature stirred,
making the Evil Fire in his lower abdomen churn.
He looked at the young, tender body before him.
Her full chest seemed almost ready to burst free.
Yu Xiaolong felt a burning heat in his chest.
He couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
Shui Bing'er, however, was very gentle. "Dad? May I call you Dad?"
"This..." Yu Xiaolong was at a loss for words.
Looking at Shui Bing'er, she didn't seem to be joking at all.
He started to speak, then stopped. "Bing'er, you..."
Seeing that her teacher seemed about to say something,
Shui Bing'er shook her head.
Her gaze was filled with tenderness.
She stepped forward,
opened her arms,
and threw herself into Yu Xiaolong's embrace.
Yu Xiaolong's body went rigid.
In all these years of being single,
this was the first time a woman had hugged him.
And she was so young, her body suffused with a maiden's fragrance.
He felt two soft mounds pressing against his chest.
It was an exceedingly sensitive sensation.
"Dad..."
At Yu Xiaolong's ear,
Shui Bing'er's breath came sweet as orchids,
blossoming one flower after another in his heart.
Shui Bing'er left.
For now, she was staying at Skywater Academy.
Yu Xiaolong's resolve had wavered,
but he didn't dare dwell on it.
He returned to his room
and opened the system panel.
[ Ding ]
[Apprentice accepted: 1/9]
[First Soul Ring unlocked]
[Sagittarius Star Dragon]
Whoosh!
The Sagittarius Star Dragon Soul Ring appeared,
attaching itself as his First Soul Ring
and striking against the First Soul Ring he'd originally possessed.
His previous Soul Ring crumbled without the slightest resistance.
In its place
was the Sagittarius Star Dragon, with its formidable battle prowess!
"Roar!"
A dragon's roar rang out.
A huge red-and-white dragon appeared.
It eventually condensed into the form of a centaur,
bow and arrow in hand.
"That's... the Death God Rocket!?"
[Death God Rocket]: The most powerful weapon of the Twelve Star Dragons. It never misses, its attacks cannot be dodged, and it can instantly kill opponents of the same rank!
"Hiss..."
He looked at his First Soul Skill.
Its description was outrageously exaggerated.
He froze for a moment.
Never missed.
Could not be dodged.
These were all abilities on a conceptual level.
"I thought the Twelve Star Dragons could only be used to awaken my disciples' Martial Souls."
"I never imagined that the Sagittarius Star Dragon, the strongest of the Twelve Star Dragons in single-target attacks, would be mine!"
After absorbing the Sagittarius Star Dragon's Martial Soul,
he checked the panel.
[Sagittarius Star Dragon]
Age: 100,000 years
"Holy crap!"
Even Yu Xiaolong, usually so calm and indifferent,
was dumbfounded when he saw the Sagittarius Star Dragon's age.
One hundred thousand years!
On the Douluo Continent,
a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring
usually meant that a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast had perished.
And even in the Star Dou Great Forest,
Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were exceedingly rare.
"As expected of the strongest Star Dragon in single combat among the Twelve Star Dragons. It actually gave me a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!"
"A Star Dragon that submits completely."
"Even as my First Soul Ring, it can absorb a hundred-thousand-year ring!"
As he spoke,
he held out his hand.
The next second,
a crimson ring, symbolizing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring,
descended around him,
spreading out from beneath his feet.
With him as its center,
it filled the entire room.
"A red Soul Ring!"
Red signified a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.
Yu Xiaolong had never even dared to dream
that his First Soul Ring would be a hundred thousand years old.
"Only Huo Gua could pull off something even more outrageous than me."
A thought flashed through Yu Xiaolong's mind.
An arrow appeared in his hand.
He could clearly sense the scorching power of the flames within it.
"First Soul Skill, Death God Rocket. Once fired, it never turns back."
"This attack is too powerful!"
What Yu Xiaolong hadn't expected, however,
was that the system would prompt him.
[The Red Feather Divine Bow requires materials from the current plane]
[ Ding ]
[Materials for crafting the Red Feather Divine Bow obtained]
"Looks like I'll need to find a blacksmith at the Divine Craftsman level to forge this bow for me."
With that thought,
he decided not to keep fiddling with the power he'd just gained.
He went to bed early.
That night,
in Heaven Dou Imperial City,
at the imperial palace,
in the Crown Prince's residence,
"Your Highness, it's true."
"Oh? Twin Martial Souls?"
"Looks like I'll have to meet this Shui Bing'er's teacher in person."
Xue Qinghe, dressed in the Crown Prince's robes, stood beside the bed.
He gazed out at the imperial city by night,
a faint smile on his lips.
The next day,
before Yu Xiaolong had even gotten up,
he heard a series of loud bangs at the door.
"Who is it?"
He rose to his feet
and appeared at the doorway in a single step.
A gust of wind swept the door open.
Shui Bing'er stood outside.
Seeing her teacher like this, she froze for a moment.
"Teacher, His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived. He says he wants to see you."
Shui Bing'er was astonished.
She hadn't expected her teacher to have such wide connections.
Someone as important as the Crown Prince had actually come to see him in person.
"The Crown Prince? Xue Qinghe?"
As someone familiar with the story, Yu Xiaolong
knew very well that this Crown Prince was not only Xue Qinghe,
but also the young master of Spirit Hall, Qian Renxue!
Qian Renxue...
was not someone to trifle with.
Yu Xiaolong lowered his eyes. "Let's go."
"Yes, Teacher."
Shui Bing'er led the way.
On the plaza of Skywater Academy,
a man dressed in finery, with short golden hair,
turned around, a folding fan in his hand.
"Qinghe pays his respects to Senior Yu."
Even the crown prince of an empire had to bow and show him respect upon meeting him.
As the person involved,
Yu Xiaolong certainly didn't think this was normal.
On the contrary, he found it extremely strange.
"I pay my respects to Your Highness, the Crown Prince."
"May I ask what Your Highness wants with me?"
Yu Xiaolong's expression was indifferent.
Even if the other man was Xue Qinghe, crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire,
he wouldn't lower himself.
That was his pride.
Or you could call it arrogance.
"Qinghe heard that Senior Yu actually managed to awaken a Second Martial Soul in Shui Bing'er when she was eighteen..."
Whoosh!
At once,
Shui Bing'er and Yu Xiaolong's gazes
turned toward him.
The crown prince's information was far too well-informed!
Could he have come here for that?
"Heh."
As if sensing their astonished looks,
Xue Qinghe spoke at length with a smile: "I'd like to invite Senior Yu to the imperial palace as a guest. I hope Senior Yu won't refuse."
"I hope"
"you won't refuse."
Those words came from Xue Qinghe's mouth.
And especially after he'd finished speaking,
he looked at Yu Xiaolong with confidence,
a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
It seemed he was just waiting for Yu Xiaolong to nod and agree.
However,
this time,
Xue Qinghe was destined to be disappointed.
Yu Xiaolong turned around.
Then he spoke: "Your Highness, please return. I don't talk to the weak."
Boom!
The moment those words were spoken,
the entire room was stunned.
Shui Bing'er was dumbfounded.
Teacher, that was way too blunt!
This was the Crown Prince, after all!
And he'd actually called him weak?
Before you continue