That afternoon, Ying Chengfeng and Qian Renxue arrived at Yu Feiyan's home.
Yu Feiyan's parents sold fruit, and their living conditions were only just above subsistence level in Nuoding City.
But sending their child to a junior Soul Master Academy was still beyond their means.
After all, each village had only one work-study student slot.
Unless a child was a work-study student, the entire village practically had to pool its money to afford a place at a junior Soul Master Academy.
Nuoding City was relatively well-off. The land was fertile, and the common people lived comfortably.
In poorer regions, the entire village really did have to pull together to send one child to school.
Clearly, Yu Feiyan's Ghost Fire Martial Soul wasn't enough to make her parents spend much money on her.
Yu Feiyan's parents were both home at the time.
So Ying Chengfeng got straight to the point.
"You want to take our child away?" Yu's mother asked, frowning at Ying Chengfeng.
"I'm confident I can make her a Soul Master." Ying Chengfeng didn't overstate his promise.
In truth, he planned to train Yu Feiyan to become a Titled Douluo.
He wanted to silence his doubters and prove that his ideas were right—and prove that Yu Xiaogang was a good-for-nothing!
He wanted Bibi Dong to realize that Yu Xiaogang was a good-for-nothing!
At the moment, he wasn't very confident.
After all, Yu Feiyan's Innate Soul Power was only level 2, so her cultivation was too slow.
To defy fate, she first had to reach level 10 and qualify to obtain her first Soul Ring.
Of course, Yu Feiyan would definitely reach level 10. It would just take her a little longer.
Ying Chengfeng couldn't afford to wait.
He planned to sneak back to Spirit Hall and ask his maternal grandfather, Azure Luan Elder, to help him get an Immortal Herb from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
Ying Chengfeng wasn't a stickler for convention.
Why wouldn't he use a cheat if he had one?
Besides, no one would know he'd used it.
He only needed to prove himself to Bibi Dong. The process didn't matter.
At that moment, Yu Feiyan's parents were still hesitating.
They didn't quite believe Ying Chengfeng.
Ying Chengfeng could understand.
Who would readily believe what a child said?
But in the next instant, Ying Chengfeng showed them proof!
Two purple Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.
"Do you still have any doubts?"
Yu Feiyan's parents' eyes widened.
They had seen Soul Masters before, but their Soul Rings were usually white or yellow.
They'd never seen purple ones.
Yu's father dropped to his knees. "Lord Soul Master, can you really help my child become a Soul Master?"
"She will." Ying Chengfeng answered with just two words, then added, "Please get up. I won't hurt your daughter."
He'd used the respectful form of "you" out of respect for a father who loved his daughter.
Though they hadn't agreed to send Yu Feiyan to school, Ying Chengfeng understood that too.
Yu's father shakily got to his feet and looked at Yu Feiyan. "Do you really want to go with this Lord Soul Master?"
Yu Feiyan kept her head lowered. Only after a few seconds did she raise it and answer solemnly, "I do."
Yu's father nodded, then immediately murmured to his wife, "Go get the money from the house and give it to the Lord Soul Master."
It was strange. They hadn't been willing to pay for Yu Feiyan's schooling, yet they were willing to give their money to Ying Chengfeng.
Perhaps they just needed some peace of mind.
Parents were sometimes truly hard to understand.
Ying Chengfeng thought of his own mother in this world.
He lowered his head and looked at the neat ring on his left thumb. A jade stone was set into it. It was a Storage Soul Tool with a capacity of five cubic meters.
His mother had given it to him.
He hadn't seen her in so long.
He'd left in such a hurry back then that he hadn't even dared to go see her.
Sometimes, Ying Chengfeng felt that he owed too many people.
He accepted the box of coins Yu's mother handed him. It held more than a dozen Gold Soul Coins and nearly a hundred Silver Soul Coins.
Ying Chengfeng glanced at Yu's parents. "Then we'll be going now."
"All... all right." Yu's father nodded stiffly, murmuring, "Go on, then. Go on."
Ying Chengfeng sighed inwardly and said to Yu Feiyan, "Say your goodbyes properly. We'll wait outside."
He didn't have to wait long. Yu Feiyan came out two minutes later.
It wasn't that Yu Feiyan was eager to leave. Her parents had hurried her along.
Her eyes were red, especially after her parents urged her to go.
They'd hurried her only because they didn't want Lord Soul Master Ying Chengfeng to wait too long.
Yu Feiyan looked at Ying Chengfeng, her voice trembling slightly. "We'll come back, won't we?"
Her eyes held hope and pleading, as well as confusion and uncertainty.
"Yes." Ying Chengfeng replied earnestly.
He raised the iron box in his hand. "I'll keep this for you. When you come back, I'll return it to your parents myself."
"Now, let's go."
The three of them set off east.
This time, to avoid any unexpected trouble, Ying Chengfeng decided to let Yu Xiaogang off the hook.
If he got another chance, he'd make sure to pay him back in full.
Outside Nuoding City,
a carriage headed east.
Ying Chengfeng, Qian Renxue, and Yu Feiyan sat inside.
Watching Nuoding City gradually disappear below the horizon, Yu Feiyan took a long time to tear her gaze away.
Only then did she finally ask the question weighing most heavily on her mind. "Why are you helping me become a Soul Master?"
She couldn't understand. People like Ying Chengfeng and Qian Renxue seemed like nobles from a legend.
She didn't understand why the two of them had appeared in a place this small.
She had far too many questions.
Ying Chengfeng just smiled at her. "Don't you think it's a little late to ask that now?"
Yu Feiyan shook her head. "Not at all."
She remembered that day, when Ying Chengfeng had descended from the sky.
His first words had been: "Come play with us. You're not allowed to refuse. I'll be very angry."
At the time, she'd seen something obsessive in his eyes, along with a hint of domineering arrogance.
She'd felt like Cinderella, forcibly taken on as a maid by a noble young master who was elegant and refined, yet utterly unreasonable.
Back then, she hadn't had the courage to refuse.
But now she wondered what would have happened if she'd refused.
Yu Feiyan looked up and asked, "What do I have to do to become a Soul Master?"
In truth, Yu Feiyan had prepared herself for anything long ago.
"Pretend to be my younger sister for now. Before I help you become a Soul Master, I'm taking you to meet someone," Ying Chengfeng said.
"All right." Yu Feiyan answered just as briefly.
She seemed to have gotten used to speaking in short sentences.
Qian Renxue, sitting beside her, took her hand. "Don't be nervous. He won't do anything unless he's sure he can pull it off."
"Mm." Yu Feiyan nodded firmly at Qian Renxue.
The carriage moved slowly. It took nearly half a month to reach Spirit City.
Returning here, Ying Chengfeng was suddenly struck by the familiar feeling of being homesick upon returning home.
He settled Qian Renxue at an inn, then left with Yu Feiyan.
His mother, Ji Qingyi, was a Red-Robed Bishop in Spirit Hall and a level 79 Soul Saint.
Normally, one had to be a Soul Douluo to serve as a Red-Robed Bishop.
But Ji Qingyi was the biological daughter of Azure Luan Elder, so she'd been appointed a Red-Robed Bishop as an exception.
She lived in Spirit City's central residential district, where most of Spirit Hall's higher-ups also lived.
That was where Ying Chengfeng had once lived.
Before you continue