Meng Yiran Arrives

School time always passes quickly. Gu Tian awakened his martial soul in early July, and he had already spent three months with these three girls; now, only one month remained until the end of the year.

Winter on the Douluo Continent always carries a biting dryness, and the trees lining the streets of Nuoding City had already shed all their leaves. However, because Nuoding City is located near the equator, it does not snow here during the winter.

With the year-end approaching, the entire city was immersed in a festive and busy atmosphere.

The teaching pace at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy had also slowed down.

The academy system on the Douluo Continent is quite unique, with only one long vacation per academic year: the New Year holiday. Usually, during the month when two Douluo years transition, the academy grants students a break to return home and reunite with their families. After all, for many children studying far from home, this is the only opportunity to see their parents.

Gu Tian had spent this past month quite comfortably. During classes, Tang San would always hide in the corner of the classroom, staring at him like a rat in a sewer, yet he dared not make a move. After school, Gu Tian would take Xiao Wu, Gu Yue, and Na'er to wander around Nuoding City, tasting delicious food; life was nothing short of blissful.

However, there was a small knot in Gu Tian's heart. Meng Yiran, with whom he had made a promise in the Soul Hunting Forest, had still not appeared.

Could the Dragon Duke and Snake Matriarch have gone back on their word? Do they not intend to send her to this crummy little academy? Gu Tian sat in the classroom, propping his chin up and muttering to himself. After all, Meng Yiran was four years older than him and was already ten; logically, she should be pursuing advanced studies at a higher-level academy.

Early that morning, just as Gu Tian reached the entrance of the first-grade classroom, a tall and spirited figure caught his eye.

She was wearing a sharp, deep-purple outfit that outlined the budding curves of her figure, and her long hair was tied into a high ponytail, making her look full of energy. Who else could it be but Meng Yiran?

"Little Brother Gu Tian!"

The moment Meng Yiran saw Gu Tian, a look of surprise burst forth from her bright, large eyes. Ignoring the strange looks from the surrounding students, she trotted all the way to Gu Tian, a fine layer of sweat beads on her forehead.

"You finally came. I thought you had forgotten about me," Gu Tian said with a gentle smile, teasing her.

Meng Yiran stopped in front of Gu Tian, took a few deep breaths, wiped away her sweat, and explained somewhat anxiously: "Not at all! How could I forget such a handsome Little Brother Gu Tian? It's just that there was a situation at home... Grandpa and Grandma only brought me here yesterday, but they said they suddenly sensed that some extremely serious event was about to happen in Nuoding City; the atmosphere felt very oppressive. They said this city might face a storm and originally didn't want me to come, but I begged them for a long time. In the end, they left overnight, but before leaving, they urged me to come see you alone and insisted that we must not leave the academy."

Meng Yiran said all this in one breath, then twisted her fingers shyly, her voice dropping: "Gu Tian, have you been well lately? I've been working hard on my cultivation every day, and my soul power is now completely stabilized at level twelve!"

Gu Tian smiled, but in his heart, he was pondering: What kind of people are the Dragon Duke and Snake Matriarch? What could possibly be happening that would make them feel a major event was imminent and cause them to leave in such a hurry?

Just as Gu Tian was about to comfort Meng Yiran, Gu Yue, Na'er, and Xiao Wu walked out of the classroom, curiously sizing up this uninvited guest.

Gu Tian looked at the three girls with their distinct styles, then at Meng Yiran, who was a head taller than him. He rubbed his nose and said frankly: "Yiran, I haven't formally introduced you yet. This is Gu Yue, this is Na'er, and this is Xiao Wu." He paused, his tone becoming extremely natural and serious: "They... are all my wives."

Gu Tian had no intention of hiding it, but he had expected Meng Yiran to be furious or at least shocked upon hearing the word "wives." To his surprise, after hearing that these three excessively beautiful girls were Gu Tian's family, Meng Yiran didn't get angry at all; instead, her eyes lit up as she leaned in.

"Wow! What cute little sisters!" Since Meng Yiran was four years older than them, she was at that age where she had zero resistance to delicate and cute things. Looking at Xiao Wu's twitching rabbit ears and Na'er's silver hair and purple eyes, her heart nearly melted.

She actually wasn't angry at all, and instead said to Gu Tian with some embarrassment: "Little Brother Gu Tian, even though you... you are still so young and have so many wives, they are really beautiful. I... I want to play with them too, is that okay?"

Xiao Wu, who had initially harbored some hostility, saw Meng Yiran's friendly, big-sister demeanor, and that trace of wariness dissipated quite a bit.

Soon after, the bell rang for class. Because Meng Yiran had just transferred, she was specially permitted to sit in the row behind Gu Tian.

Taking advantage of the fact that the teacher hadn't entered yet, Gu Tian turned his head and whispered: "Yiran, what exactly did your grandparents mean by a 'major event'? Are there any specific clues?"

Meng Yiran shook her head in distress, her long ponytail swaying with the movement: "I don't know either. Grandpa's expression when looking at the sky yesterday was very grave; he only said that rain was coming. He urged me that for the next period of time, I must not leave the academy gates, and even more so, I must not leave your sight. He said that only by staying in the academy and by your side is the safest place."

"Little Tian, don't you know what happened last night?" Ao Linxi's voice came through, her tone sounding somewhat speechless: "Last night, an event occurred that nearly destroyed the world. I have already contacted Gu Yuena to have her teleport you away immediately if necessary."

Gu Tian scratched his head; he couldn't recall anything about what happened last night.

He only remembered that he had thought of his grandmother in the fields again, then fell into a deep sleep in Chiyan's arms, and after that, he remembered nothing.

"Sigh! I really can't do anything with you, you little lecher!" Seeing that Gu Tian truly knew nothing, Ao Linxi began to explain...

"Last night..."

Last night, the Heaven Dou Empire witnessed a rare blood moon phenomenon. While the night in Nuoding City remained calm, dozens of miles away on the outskirts of the Fasinuo Province—Holy Soul Village—a destructive baptism capable of shaking the entire Douluo Continent was taking place.

The crimson blood moon stained the piles of rubble behind Holy Soul Village with a heavy, dark red hue. The once-tranquil village was now deathly silent; birds were startled into flight, and beasts fled in terror. A suffocating, heavy sensation permeated the air, as if the gravity in this space had been forcibly increased several times over.

At the entrance of Holy Soul Village stood a dilapidated blacksmith shop. A tall figure stood quietly outside, gazing into the distance.

He wore a tattered gray cloth robe. Due to years of alcoholism and neglect, his hair hung in a messy tangle, obscuring a face etched with vicissitudes and decadence. Yet, at this very moment, his eyes, which were usually dull and murky, burned like two ghostly fires in the darkness, erupting with a sharp glint that made even ghosts and gods tremble.

He was the man who had once shaken the world, hailed as the youngest Title Douluo on the Douluo Continent—Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao.

"Hidden for six years, what must come will come," Tang Hao's voice was hoarse. He lowered his head slightly, looking at a stalk of Blue Silver Grass shivering on the ground, his eyes filled with extreme tenderness and bitterness.

"Second Martial Soul! Breaking the Cocoon War Song! Rise!"

From somewhere beside Tang Hao, a melody drifted forth, shattering the silent night.

"If you open your eyes in a nightmare~"

"Face this cruel world head-on~"

Tang Hao gripped the Clear Sky Hammer. This hammer was somewhat different from Tang San's; not only was the head larger, but a red halo flowed across its surface.

In the direction Tang Hao was staring, an anomaly suddenly occurred without warning. The blood moon in the sky was instantly obscured by a pitch-black shadow.

Five beams of light, each a different color yet equally terrifying, descended from the sky, positioning themselves at five points around the back mountain and sealing Tang Hao firmly within the core area.

"Tang Hao, six years later, you've actually become this wretched. It really disappoints me."

A sharp, feminine, and slightly mocking laugh pierced the sky. As golden light flashed, a man with an enchanting face, dressed in magnificent golden armor, slowly emerged. His long nails pinched a large Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, while the fingers of his other hand crossed into a delicate orchid gesture.

"Why waste words with him? His Holiness the Pope has ordered: kill without mercy."

Beside the feminine man, a mass of pitch-black smoke eerily coalesced, forming a man shrouded in shadows. He wore black clothing made of a unique matte material that reflected no light, save for a pair of greenish eyes that exuded the aura of death—Ghost Douluo, Gui Mei.

It wasn't just them.

Directly above Tang Hao, a silver-haired woman stood in mid-air, holding a longbow with an archaic design.

To Tang Hao's left and right, two people who looked almost identical held long, dark-red staves carved with golden dragons.

"Running dogs of Martial Soul Hall, state your names! Let me see which brats have the nerve to come here and stir up trouble!" Tang Hao pulled off the hood he was wearing and summoned his nine soul rings. The ninth soul ring was a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, appearing exceptionally striking in the night.

"Hmph! Aside from that sissy, aren't the rest of you going to introduce yourselves?"