"I never imagined you'd be so ill-mannered on your very first day, child, and so unwilling to be disciplined... How did that woman Huo Yun'er raise you? If the young masters of the White Tiger Duke Mansion don't even respect their teacher, won't people laugh at us if word gets out?"
Xu Feiyan sighed. A smile surfaced on her pretty face, one that looked like a demon's to little Yuhao, as she sized up the child before her, whom she found loathsome no matter how she looked at him.
"Huabin, your little brother is so stubborn and unruly. As his big brother, shouldn't you teach him a lesson?"
Xu Feiyan yawned and said lazily.
"Heh!"
Dai Huabin immediately leaped up in excitement, cracking his knuckles with a series of sharp pops. Dai Yueheng, meanwhile, remained kneeling where he was, as though nothing around him had anything to do with him.
"Thud, thud, thud..."
The sounds of fists and feet landing, along with a young boy's defiant sobs, rang out within the Sky Screen.
"This... This is too cruel. Why treat a child like that?"
Many among the common folk couldn't bear to watch, finding the Duchess far too ruthless.
The people from the great sects, however, mostly watched with cold indifference. What they were more curious about was how Huo Yuhao, the Child of Destiny, would survive such a beginning.
Would he have to wait for Dai Hao to suddenly return someday? And if Dai Hao never came back, would Yuhao still have a chance to rise?
"That's enough for today. A lesson is all he needs. Next, I'll teach you the White Tiger Clan's inherited boxing techniques, as well as the breathing and meditation method of our Star Crown Clan. Watch closely, and learn carefully!"
The Duchess's expression grew somewhat more serious, and she began her demonstration. Dai Huabin and Dai Yueheng watched attentively, occasionally imitating the movements.
Little Yuhao lay on the ground, clutching the places where he'd been beaten and groaning. How could he possibly have the energy to study?
"Even if you beat me to death, I won't learn anything from you wicked people!"
Little Yuhao turned his head away, covered his ears, and said bitterly.
Early the next morning, as Dai Huabin and Dai Yueheng went through their usual ritual of paying respects, something unexpected happened—something that surprised all three of them.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Little Yuhao gritted his teeth, his eyes red, and knelt down too. He kowtowed three times.
"P-please... Teacher, teach me how to cultivate."
Little Yuhao clenched his jaw and spoke in a muffled voice.
At that moment, his mind flashed back to the words spoken the previous night, while his wounds were being treated with ointment.
That's right... Mother and I have to endure this humiliation and bide our time. I'll first learn what you know. Sooner or later, I'll use your own teachings to make you pay back everything you've done to Mother and me!
The Duchess gave little Yuhao a long look, then said coolly, "All right, get up. It seems you've improved a little. Study hard, and don't bring shame upon the White Tiger Duke Mansion!"
The scenes on the Sky Screen raced ahead, skipping two and a half years.
"Dai Luoli, Soul Power Level: twelve!"
"Dai Tian, Soul Power Level: fifteen!"
"Dai Yunfeng, Soul Power Level: seventeen!"
"Dai Huabin, Soul Power Level: twenty-four!"
After the Soul Power test was complete, Dai Huabin heard the examiner announce his Soul Power Level and proudly puffed out his chest. The collateral members of the Dai Family standing nearby looked at him with envy and awe.
"As expected of the Duke's legitimate son..."
"Innate Full Soul Power. We ordinary people just can't compare. Sigh!"
At that moment, a young boy with bright, resolute eyes stepped forward and placed his hand on the crystal ball.
Compared with two and a half years earlier, the boy had grown much taller. He was now only a little shorter than Dai Huabin. He was almost unrecognizable as the frail boy he'd been back then.
As Dai Huabin looked at him, the pupils in his usually arrogant eyes shrank slightly, and a hint of wariness showed.
"Let's see just how high your Soul Power Level is now!"
Dai Huabin stared fixedly at the crystal ball. As Yuhao slowly poured Soul Power into it and it grew brighter and brighter, Dai Huabin's expression darkened.
"Dai Yuhao, Soul Power... Soul Power..."
The examiner seemed unable to believe the number he'd measured. He stammered, unable to get it out.
"What level is it?"
At the Duchess's cold, impatient question, the examiner shuddered and finally announced the terrifying number:
"Twenty-two!"
In an instant, the whole crowd erupted in disbelief. Dai Huabin's hair stood on end, and he wanted nothing more than to pounce on this "little brother" right then and there and snuff him out completely!
It seemed he still had a two-level advantage in Soul Power. But this little brother of his was more than half a year younger!
In other words, at the same age, Yuhao had already surpassed him!
And this was despite their mother's constant favoritism, giving him and his older brother every extra lesson and answering each of their questions in detail, while she had always brushed off that damned Dai Yuhao with a few careless words—or simply told him to figure things out for himself!
Didn't that mean Dai Yuhao's talent truly surpassed his own by far?
In an instant, intense resentment and jealousy nearly tore him apart inside! At that moment, his hatred for Dai Yuhao had almost nothing to do with their family or their backgrounds anymore!
As Xu Feiyan looked at Yuhao, she seemed wary—but there was also something more complicated in her gaze.
Ever since that day, the child had never openly defied her again. No matter how she made things difficult for him, he bore it silently, quietly studying and honing the skills she taught him.
As a teacher, she had to admit that Yuhao worked and trained more than twice as hard as her own son.
He firmly remembered anything she demonstrated just once, then went over it again and again until he fully understood it—sometimes even finding ways to improve upon it.
At times, the changes and insights the child came up with on his own even made her eyes light up.
For a fleeting moment, she even thought: If only this child's mother weren't that wretched woman...
"Enough."
After a moment of silence, Xu Feiyan opened her eyes again. Her beautiful eyes held nothing but resolve.
"That woman has been secretly keeping a valuable Level Six close-combat Soul Tool."
Xu Feiyan said it calmly. Dai Huabin's eyes flew wide open.
"A Level Six close-combat Soul Tool?"
The Star Luo Empire wasn't the Sun Moon Empire. Nearly all high-level Soul Tools were spoils taken in battles against the Sun Moon Empire, or a few smuggled imports. Even the White Tiger Duke Mansion didn't have many.