First Meeting with Xie Xie

"Haha, I'd been staying at Spirit Pagoda Headquarters for too long lately, so I decided to come out and get some fresh air."

Looking at Tang Wulin, Mu Tianchen could not help but reveal a faint smile.

At this moment, seeing Tang Wulin, who had already grown into a handsome young man, Mu Tianchen could not help recalling his nine years in the Spirit Pagoda. Yes, he had already trained in the Spirit Pagoda for nine years.

Endless emotion welled up in his heart. Quite a few things had happened within the Spirit Pagoda over those nine years. In order to better control the Spirit Pagoda, its master, Qiangu Dongfeng, had directly launched a large-scale purge of dissidents within the organization.

Anyone who refused to obey Qiangu Dongfeng's orders would be expelled from the Spirit Pagoda by him, even powerful Title Douluo above Level 90.

Within the Spirit Pagoda, he was the youngest Six-Ring Soul Emperor expert. He had reached Level 69 at just fifteen, and becoming a Title Douluo in the future was practically certain. He might even attain Level 99 and become a Limit Douluo.

Of course, there had also been people who supported him. With their backing, he had become an elder of the Spirit Pagoda at the age of fifteen, his status surpassing even the presidents of branch chapters in major cities.

However, as Qiangu Dongfeng began purging dissidents on a massive scale over the past few years, those who had supported him in the early days were transferred away from their positions one after another. Some were even framed with various charges by Qiangu Dongfeng and kicked out of the Spirit Pagoda outright.

To protect themselves, those people had no choice but to draw a clear line between themselves and him, then pledge themselves to Qiangu Dongfeng.

He did not hate them. After all, everyone needed to survive.

Now, under Qiangu Dongfeng's ruthless purge of dissidents, the vast Spirit Pagoda had effectively become the personal domain of Qiangu Dongfeng, that Level 99 Limit Douluo.

Even his teacher, Sky Phoenix Douluo Leng Yaozhu, who was likewise a Level 99 Limit Douluo, had gradually withdrawn from the center of power. Her authority within the Spirit Pagoda was far inferior to what it had once been.

That was only natural.

After all, before a veteran Limit Douluo like Qiangu Dongfeng, his teacher Sky Phoenix Douluo Leng Yaozhu was ultimately only a newly advanced Limit Douluo.

Whether in strength or prestige, his teacher Sky Phoenix Douluo Leng Yaozhu fell short of Qiangu Dongfeng.

But what enraged people was this.

Three years ago, that old bastard Qiangu Dongfeng had actually colluded with the Holy Spirit Cult in order to further expand the Spirit Pagoda's power.

He had indirectly aided the Holy Spirit Cult in carrying out several city-wide massacres across the Federation.

Those had all been living, breathing human lives, yet in Qiangu Dongfeng's eyes, those lives were worth less than nothing.

It was as if, in Qiangu Dongfeng's eyes, ordinary people were merely materials that could be expended at any time.

Mu Tianchen sighed inwardly. Sure enough, Qiangu Dongfeng in this world had not changed his nature just because of Mu Tianchen's appearance.

Instead, Mu Tianchen's appearance had forced Qiangu Dongfeng to tighten his control over the Spirit Pagoda.

Mu Tianchen himself felt helpless as well. This was simply because he was not strong enough. If he were a Level 99 Limit Douluo now, none of this would have happened.

He remembered that, in his previous life, someone had once told him something: when a person's strength reached a certain height, there would no longer be any storms in their eyes.

This time, he had left Spirit Pagoda Headquarters precisely to improve his strength more effectively.

He was already a Level 69 Soul Emperor. Remaining at Spirit Pagoda Headquarters would no longer be of much help in improving his strength.

Rather than continue staying at Spirit Pagoda Headquarters, he might as well go out and see the world.

"That's true. You train so hard all the time, bro. You really should relax properly."

Tang Wulin nodded at those words. Naturally, he had no idea what changes had taken place within the Spirit Pagoda.

Because he was only a boy who had just turned twelve. What he needed to do was constantly improve his strength!

Still, Tang Wulin was extremely happy that his older brother had come here. His face was full of smiles at that moment.

"Um, bro, this is your first time at our Eastsea Academy, right?"

"Let me tell you, our academy may not be the strongest academy on the continent, but the food here is really delicious. Uh... I've spent almost all the Federal Coins you sent me on food."

Tang Wulin scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, not quite daring to meet Mu Tianchen's eyes.

At first, he himself had not known why, but ever since awakening his martial soul, his appetite had been several times greater than that of ordinary people.

It was not until later, when Old Tang appeared within his Sea of Consciousness and sensed his Golden Dragon King secret, that he understood what was going on.

If not for the large amounts of Federal Coins his brother sent home every month over the past three years, he might not even have been able to eat his fill.

Moreover, after coming to Eastsea Academy and trying its Grade A Meals, his appetite seemed to have been completely awakened.

Every time he ate, he could consume dozens of Grade A Meals in one sitting. That was undoubtedly terrifying.

Eastsea Academy's Grade A Meals were not something everyone could afford. One meal could cost as much as his parents' monthly wages.

Mu Tianchen felt that this was perfectly normal. This was the appetite the Golden Dragon King ought to have. If his younger brother with Golden Dragon King bloodline did not eat a million Federal Coins' worth of food every month, Mu Tianchen would worry that he might starve himself thin.

He patted Tang Wulin on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Haha, it's nothing. Your bloodline is somewhat different from ordinary people's, so having a big appetite is normal. If you run out of money, remember to tell me. I'll give you some."

However, upon hearing that, Tang Wulin immediately shook his head. "Bro, bro, you don't need to give me money anymore. Actually, I've had some talent in blacksmithing these past few years, and I've made quite a bit of money through it."

"Bro, let me tell you, I'm already a Level 5 Blacksmith now! Haha, aren't I amazing?"

Tang Wulin put his hands on his hips and looked at Mu Tianchen with immense pride, a smile on his face.

In Tang Wulin's view, although his martial soul was not powerful enough and his Soul Power Level was not high enough, his status as a Level 5 Blacksmith was enough to make up for his shortcomings in Soul Power cultivation.

Furthermore, as his blacksmithing skills had steadily improved over the years and his cultivation resources had increased, he felt that the rate at which his Soul Power Level rose had clearly accelerated.

He believed that it would not be long before he caught up to his companions.

By then, once his level caught up and he also possessed powerful blacksmithing skills, he would not be inferior to anyone.

Over the years, he had always lived in the shadow of his older brother. Although his brother had never said anything, Tang Wulin had always been pushing himself forward. Even if he could not surpass his brother, he had to be stronger than others.

It was precisely under the drive of that powerful motivation that he had been able to maintain such a rapid pace of improvement all these years.

However, just as Tang Wulin was showing off his progress to Mu Tianchen, a figure suddenly burst into the dorm room and wailed loudly.

"Ah!! Help! Captain! Captain! Come save me! Gu Yue said she's going to beat me to death!! Hurry up and save me!"

The figure was a boy about Tang Wulin's age. He had a head of golden hair and looked somewhat slender, but his bearing was rather striking, making him seem like a young noble.

The newcomer was Xie Xie. He had accidentally run into Gu Yue outside just now.

On a whim, he had not been able to resist teasing Gu Yue a few times.

But who would have thought that Gu Yue would suddenly chase him down like she had gone mad? If he had not run fast enough, he might already have died at Gu Yue's hands.

However, when he had wanted to return to the dormitory and ask Wulin, his captain, to save him—

He had unexpectedly seen a tall young man in Wulin's room, smiling as he spoke with Wulin.

At that moment, when Xie Xie saw this tall young man with golden hair just like his own, his mind immediately went blank.

Staring dumbly at Mu Tianchen, Xie Xie froze in place.

"Wulin, this is..."

Xie Xie glanced at his captain, Tang Wulin, then at the tall, imposing young man standing beside Wulin.

Xie Xie felt rather awkward. For a moment, he did not even know how to ask.

Was he supposed to say, Wulin, who is this person?

Or perhaps, Wulin, aren't you going to introduce this person to me?

Xie Xie's arrival interrupted Mu Tianchen and Tang Wulin's conversation. At that moment, both Tang Wulin and Mu Tianchen turned their gazes toward Xie Xie.

In truth, Mu Tianchen's spiritual power had long reached the peak of the Spirit Abyss Realm. Even compared with some Title Douluo, it was not much weaker.

Therefore, when the boy began wailing, he had already sensed his presence.

Looking at the somewhat awkward Xie Xie, Mu Tianchen smiled faintly. "Haha, if I remember correctly, you should be Wulin's classmate at Eastsea Academy, Xie Xie—the one with Twin Martial Souls, right?"

"Ah? You are?"

Hearing Mu Tianchen's words, Xie Xie quickly came to his senses and looked at him with some shock.

Right, it seemed Wulin really had mentioned to them that he had an older brother, someone named Mu or something.

But how did Wulin's older brother know that he had Twin Martial Souls?

Only a handful of people should know about his Twin Martial Souls. Just who was this guy?

Under Xie Xie's astonished gaze, Mu Tianchen smiled and extended his hand toward him.

"Hello, I'm Wulin's older brother. My name is Mu Tianchen. If you'd like, you can call me Brother Tianchen."

"Uh... hello, hello."

Xie Xie had not reacted at all. Seeing Mu Tianchen extend his hand, he reflexively reached out as well and shook Mu Tianchen's hand.

The instant he grasped Mu Tianchen's hand, Xie Xie felt an extremely warm sensation coming from it.

That feeling was very similar to the aura emitted by his Light Dragon Dagger martial soul.

This guy's light aura is so dense—more than ten times denser than mine. No, at least twenty times.

Xie Xie stared at Mu Tianchen in utter shock, as though he could not understand why the light aura around Mu Tianchen was so overwhelmingly dense.