Chapter 64: Princess Tian Zhen
"Boss, I think we should change the name of this Toad Technique. Maybe call it the Golden Toad Divine Technique. That sounds way more imposing."
Xiao Hongchen urged him to change the name. The name Toad Technique just sounded too low-class.
"Are you trying to tell me what to do?"
Yang Hao shot him a sidelong glance. Which one of them was the boss, him or Xiao Hongchen?
"No, absolutely not!"
Xiao Hongchen was at a loss.
"You can cultivate these two techniques, but you absolutely cannot pass them on to anyone else. Otherwise, it'll be considered betrayal, and the cult will hunt you down without rest. Even my teacher will get involved."
Yang Hao warned them. Though he had casually created the techniques himself, they still had to be kept secret. That was the rule, and it would also make the techniques seem more valuable.
"We'll keep them secret. We won't tell even Grandpa."
Meng Hongchen promised at once, using their own grandfather as an example.
"Boss, I heard Grandpa say you have something called Soul Armor here, too."
After promising to keep the secret, Xiao Hongchen brought up the Soul Armor.
Grandpa hadn't said much about it, but he'd treated it as extremely important. That meant it had to be something good.
"You're the dean's closest relatives and members of the academy's Reserve Team, so you meet the requirements for receiving Soul Armor."
Yang Hao nodded in approval, then activated the Deep Silver Mother within his body, making it manifest across his skin as Soul Armor.
The moment they saw the cool-looking Soul Armor, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen couldn't take their eyes off it. They were filled with longing.
"It's a deeper way of developing rare metals. First, you use your body's blood and qi, Soul Power, and spiritual power to successively refine and infuse them into the metal, giving you greater control over it.
"Once Blood Refinement is complete, the rare metal can merge into your body. When you extend it out, it can take the form of this Soul Armor. You can also engrave it with various Soul Guidance Arrays to add special effects. Its potential is no less than that of a Soul Bone..."
Yang Hao explained the essence of Soul Armor and the Three Refinements Method for Rare Metals. Now that he'd brought it out as something to trade, he naturally intended to expand its use. At most, he'd limit the number of people who could use it at first, to keep outsiders from learning the technique.
The first users would be the members of this year's team. Xiao Hongchen and the other Reserve Team members would be in the second batch.
"Soul Armor is special. The rare metal you choose must be compatible with your Martial Soul so you can complete Soul Refinement more effectively. In the future, it may even merge with your Martial Soul to form your own Soul Armor.
"Xiao Xiao, you have a wide range of options. You can choose according to your needs.
"Xiao Meng, your Martial Soul has both ice and fire attributes, so you should choose a rare metal with both. Cold Iron would work—ideally, Cold Heart Iron Essence. There's also Flame Sun Iron, which has a fire attribute..."
At first, Soul Armor's defensive strength depended mainly on the material's toughness. The tougher the material, the stronger the defense. You could think of it as physical resistance.
Soul Guidance Arrays could further enhance its toughness and improve its defense against energy-based attacks. In simple terms, they provided magical resistance.
Meng Hongchen listened attentively, already thinking about checking her grandfather's little treasure vault as soon as she got back.
Xiao Hongchen had his eye on their grandfather's little treasure vault, too. It held a great many precious materials.
"Good, that's enough for today. It's late, so you should head back soon."
After drinking a cup of sweetened coffee made by Meng Hongchen, Yang Hao indicated that the two of them could leave.
"Didn't Grandpa tell you? This villa is going to be the team's shared dormitory from now on. You're the captain of our Reserve Team."
Meng Hongchen blinked, making it clear that she'd be living here from now on.
She felt a little shy, thinking mainly of what her grandfather had said earlier.
"Huh?"
Yang Hao was dumbfounded. Wasn't this villa his private property?
"Living together will make it easier for us to work as a team and build our rapport."
Xiao Hongchen said it was all for the team and the academy's victory, though inwardly he was smirking.
Once my little sister wins you over, you'll have to call me big brother. Then I'll show you who's really the boss.
He was very pleased with this future brother-in-law. He was powerful, had frightening potential, and was worthy of his little sister.
"Oh, I see!"
Yang Hao had no idea what his little brother-in-law was scheming. He agreed with the explanation.
Good coordination was indeed important for a team. In the Soul Master Tournament ten thousand years ago, the Spirit Hall Team had been defeated after the Shrek Team seized an opportunity to overcome a stronger opponent, all because the Spirit Hall Team hadn't worked together well enough.
The lesson was right there before them, so they had to stay on their guard.
The experience of the successful was worth learning from, but so was that of the failed. They couldn't repeat the same mistakes.
"Now our Reserve Team has me as its captain, and with the two of you, that makes three. We're still short four members. Ideally, they should have powerful Martial Souls."
Yang Hao considered his options. The people in the original story were all too weak. He needed to build a perfect team.
Tang Ya might work, though she'd need some time to train.
That left three more.
"By the way, I wonder if the Holy Spirit Cult has anyone suitable."
His thoughts quickly turned to the Holy Spirit Cult. Yang Hao needed a true ally on the team, someone who could help him keep an eye on everyone.
"This is a list of the academy's eligible students. Some of them are quite good."
Xiao Hongchen took out a file. He'd been planning to form a team for a long time, since he'd once been expected to serve as captain himself.
Yang Hao took the file and read through it carefully. There weren't many names, just twenty-two, all elites among elites. Among them, he spotted a name and Martial Soul he vaguely recognized.
"Nana, Ghost Martial Soul."
He pondered it. He remembered that this girl seemed to have some connection to the Holy Spirit Cult. Her parents' souls had been taken by members of the cult, and she'd eventually joined the Tang Sect and revealed information about the Holy Spirit Cult to Huo Yuhao.
She also seemed quite talented, so she could be worth training. But first, he'd have to get his hands on her parents' souls.
That left two more people.
Just as Yang Hao was worrying over the last two spots, someone brought him a teammate. The Crown Prince, Xu Tianran, had personally brought her over.
Xu Tianran had walked here on his own. He could now control his prosthetic legs well enough to walk, and a lively girl who kept looking around followed behind him.
"Luo Feng, this is my little sister, Tian Zhen. She's very talented."
Xu Tianran hoped to place his sister on the team and, ideally, help the two of them get together.
Jing Hongchen had already reported the girl's awakening of the Ultimate Fire Domain. Her Ultimate Fire attribute and the domain she'd formed meant she had immense potential. Becoming a Super Douluo was all but certain.
What's more, Ultimate Fire was extremely important to the imperial family's Sun Martial Soul. The Sun Martial Soul already came close to Ultimate Fire, but it was only close—it wasn't the real thing.
If she could use her Ultimate Fire to help his sister's Martial Soul evolve and gain the Ultimate Fire attribute, that would be perfect.
This wasn't just for his sister's sake. It would benefit him, too.
Tian Zhen was his younger sister. If she became stronger, that would also help secure his own position. That was why he'd brought her in person.
"Your Highness, she's being naughty. Can I beat her?"
Looking at the lively girl, Yang Hao suddenly asked a bizarre question.
She looked like a handful. He had no interest in being her personal babysitter.
Everyone present froze. Xu Tianzhen was especially bewildered.
"You want to beat me?"
"You dare beat me!"
The girl was furious. In all her life, no one had ever dared say they wanted to beat her.
Chapter 65: The Princess in Tears
"You can spar during training, but try not to leave any obvious injuries. Otherwise, I won't be able to explain it to Father."
Xu Tianran's face twitched. In the end, he politely limited it to sparring during training.
A real fight was bound to leave a few bumps and bruises, and she really did need someone to knock some sense into her. Their father had practically spoiled her rotten.
"I'll spar with you right now!"
Xu Tianzhen glared at him furiously, eager to challenge him to a duel.
"Ow!"
"Why can't I move?"
She was about to summon her Martial Soul when she realized that her Soul Power was blocked and she couldn't move. Some places also stung.
Xu Tianran, standing beside her, saw the hundred or so fine silver needles stuck in his sister and realized she'd already lost.
"Now do you understand that there's always someone better?"
He tapped his sister on the forehead. He was quite satisfied with the outcome. Someone needed to teach the girl a lesson and rein in her lawless temperament.
"Luo Feng, I'm entrusting Tian Zhen to you."
After leaving his sister in the young man's care, Xu Tianran finally left.
He was very busy these days. He had to help their father handle government affairs, oversee the Three Refinements Method for Rare Metals, and deal with the little schemes his brothers were pulling now that he'd regained the use of his legs.
He'd squeezed this visit in during a rare lull, so he couldn't stay long.
"Good. We now have four members on our Reserve Team. Once we find three more, the team will be complete."
Yang Hao studied the girl, who was still fuming, and was fairly satisfied. Whatever else could be said about her, her Martial Soul talent was truly excellent—definitely no worse than Ma Xiaotao's.
Of course, she'd still need a lot of training. She was far too unruly.
"Shouldn't you take the princess down?"
Ju Zi, who'd stayed behind, reminded him that Princess Tian Zhen was still pinned in place by those silver needles.
"What princess? There are no princesses on our team. There are only teammates who can trust one another with their backs."
Yang Hao emphasized that on his team, everyone had just one identity: team member.
"We'll let her go once she forgets she's a princess."
Ju Zi understood. He meant to put Princess Tian Zhen in her place.
It was certainly necessary. Otherwise, it would be hard to get along with a princess of such a temperament.
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