The Fiancé Arrives! A Storm Is Brewing!

At the training grounds of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

The sun was just right, and the breeze was gentle.

Perfect weather for training.

Several core members of the Imperial Fighting Team stood scattered around the edge of the field.

Osler leaned against the weapon rack with his arms folded.

The two brothers, Shi Mo and Shi Mo, squatted on the ground, drawing something with branches.

Yu Feng, meanwhile, idly kicked the little stones at his feet.

They had already been waiting around for nearly fifteen minutes.

"What exactly did Teacher Qin Ming call us all here for?"

Yu Feng kicked away the eighth pebble of the day, watching it arc through the air and land in the grass at the edge of the training grounds.

"I haven't even finished my flight training today. If we wait any longer, my wings are going to rust."

"Your martial soul is a Sharp-Tailed Swift, not an iron-winged eagle. It can't rust."

Osler replied flatly.

"It's a figure of speech! Do you even understand what a figure of speech is?"

Shi Mo raised his head, gave Yu Feng a dull look, then lowered it again and continued drawing with his branch.

Shi Mo made an "mm" sound beside him as if echoing him, though no one knew who he was agreeing with.

Yu Feng pinned his last hope on Yu Tianheng, who stood at the front.

"Captain, do you know what's going on?"

"You're the captain. Teacher Qin Ming must have told you something, right?"

Yu Tianheng shook his head.

"Teacher Qin Ming only said he had something to announce. I don't know what it is either."

He was telling the truth.

But Yu Feng noticed something.

Yu Tianheng's attention was not on what Teacher Qin Ming was going to announce at all.

Yu Tianheng's gaze seemed drawn by a magnet, locked firmly onto the other side of the training grounds.

Dugu Yan was standing there.

Her long jade-green hair gave off a faint, cool gleam beneath the sunlight.

She had her arms folded, her posture casual and languid.

After not seeing her for several months, Dugu Yan seemed to have changed.

Yu Tianheng could not say exactly where she had changed.

Her features were still the same.

Her jade-green eyes were still the same pair of eyes.

Yet her entire aura seemed to have been polished by something.

She had lost some of that sharpness that had once seemed ready to bristle at any moment.

In its place was an indescribable gentleness.

That gentleness was not weakness, but the ease of someone filled by something.

She stood there with the faintest trace of a smile on her lips.

She was so beautiful!

Yu Tianheng's heartbeat skipped half a beat.

He had not been pursuing Dugu Yan for just a day or two.

The entire Imperial Fighting Team knew how he felt about Dugu Yan.

But Dugu Yan had always been neither warm nor cold toward him.

When she was in a good mood, she might give him a roll of her eyes.

When she was in a bad mood, she could not even be bothered to do that.

Yet the more she acted like this, the harder it was for him to let go.

"Captain? Captain!"

Yu Feng waved a hand in front of Yu Tianheng's face.

"Hm?" Yu Tianheng came back to his senses.

"You were staring at Yanzi for at least ten seconds just now without even blinking."

"Even though we all know what you're thinking, could you at least restrain yourself a little?"

Yu Tianheng gave a light cough.

Just as he was about to say something,

Footsteps came from the entrance to the training grounds.

Everyone turned their heads at the same time.

Teacher Qin Ming, wearing glasses, was walking toward them with a young man following behind him.

The young man appeared to be around their age.

He was tall and slender, his steps unhurried, with a faint smile on his lips.

His gaze swept over everyone on the training grounds, lingering on Dugu Yan for a moment.

Dugu Yan was looking at him as well.

The moment their eyes met, the curve of her lips became more pronounced.

Ye Lingling stood beside Dugu Yan, studying the young man too.

Her expression was as calm as usual, but the curiosity in her eyes could not be hidden.

After returning to the dormitory last night,

she had spoken of what she had seen and pressed Yanzi for every detail.

Dugu Yan had blushed, a rare sight.

Then, haltingly, she had revealed her secret—she had a fiancé named Ye Qing.

At the time, Ye Lingling had thought she had misheard.

Dugu Yan, the Dugu Yan who looked down on everyone and never gave any male student at the academy the time of day.

She actually had a fiancé?

And now,

that legendary "Yanzi's fiancé" stood before her, following Teacher Qin Ming over.

Qin Ming pushed up his glasses and cleared his throat before speaking in his usual businesslike tone.

"Everyone, this is a new student who has transferred to Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

"Starting today, he will also join the Imperial Fighting Team and train with all of you."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone reacted differently.

Osler raised an eyebrow.

Yu Feng was exceptionally curious.

The Shi Mo brothers finally raised their heads.

The Imperial Fighting Team had not had any personnel changes in a long time.

Anyone who could be personally brought into the team by Teacher Qin Ming

either had an impressive background,

or possessed impressive strength.

Or perhaps both.

"Ye Qing, introduce yourself."

Qin Ming stepped aside.

The young man took a step forward, calmly sweeping his gaze over everyone present.

Then the corner of his mouth lifted.

Even the opening of his introduction carried a hint of irreverence.

"My name is Ye Qing. Ye as in Ye Hei, Qing as in Azure Emperor."

Yu Feng's mouth twitched. Leaning closer to Osler, he lowered his voice and said, "Ye as in Ye Hei? Qing as in Azure Emperor?"

"Why does this guy's self-introduction sound like he's reciting poetry?"

Osler ignored him, though his brows twitched almost imperceptibly as well.

Ye Qing had clearly heard Yu Feng's muttering, but he did not care in the slightest.

His gaze passed over Osler, passed over Yu Feng, passed over the Shi Mo brothers squatting on the ground, and landed precisely on Yu Tianheng.

The moment their eyes met,

Ye Qing read scrutiny and vigilance in Yu Tianheng's eyes.

Yu Tianheng was observing him, evaluating him as well.

Would this new teammate who had suddenly appeared pose a threat to him?

The smile on Ye Qing's face suddenly deepened.

His composed smile turned into an undisguised provocation.

He tilted his head slightly.

Before anyone could react, he added another sentence.

"By the way, I'm also Yanzi's fiancé."

Those words exploded across the training grounds like a soul tool cannonball.

The entire field fell silent. Even the wind seemed to stop for a moment.

Then,

everyone's gaze turned toward Dugu Yan in unspoken unison.

The Shi Mo brothers tilted their heads at the same time.

Yu Feng's mouth hung wide enough to fit an egg inside.

A crack finally appeared in Osler's eternally calm expression.

Ye Lingling's small mouth parted slightly.

Though she had known already,

she had not expected Ye Qing to throw the matter out so directly in front of everyone.

She let out a soft sigh in her heart.

When Dugu Yan had spoken of Ye Qing last night,

Ye Lingling had seen the softness and smile Yanzi could not hide.

She had known then just how much weight this boy named Ye Qing held in Yanzi's heart.

"Y-Yanzi? You're getting married?!"

Yu Feng's voice cracked from shock.

Osler and the others instinctively turned their eyes toward Yu Tianheng.

Everyone present knew how the captain felt about Dugu Yan.

That was no longer a secret crush. It was an open pursuit.

Yu Tianheng's countless rejections by Dugu Yan had long been a staple joke among the team during their downtime.

And now,

a newcomer who had just arrived

was declaring in front of Yu Tianheng that he was Dugu Yan's fiancé.

Yu Feng unconsciously took half a step back, clearing an open space between Yu Tianheng and Ye Qing.

Osler and the others had also secretly begun circulating their Soul Power, ready to break up a fight at any moment.

Everyone could feel it—a storm was brewing.

Dugu Yan stood where she was, feeling everyone's gazes sweep back and forth between her and Ye Qing like searchlights.

And at this moment, her feelings

were half an urge to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it,

and half a scorching sweetness she could not suppress.

She had not expected Ye Qing to be so direct either.

In front of the entire team,

in front of Teacher Qin Ming,

with one casual sentence—"I'm Yanzi's fiancé"—he had laid everything bare beneath the sunlight.

There was no concealment.

No preparation.

"Ahem."

Dugu Yan gave a dry cough.

Everyone's gaze shifted from Ye Qing to her.

She lifted her chin, trying her best to maintain her usual proud, composed expression.

But the blush she could not suppress on her fair cheeks betrayed her emotions.

"Yes, Ye Qing is my fiancé. We're together."

The moment those words landed,

a collective silence hung over the training grounds for several seconds.

Yu Feng finally closed his mouth, but shut it so hard that his teeth clicked together.

Teacher Qin Ming silently adjusted his glasses, their lenses reflecting an unreadable white gleam.

He knew that Ye Qing was someone recommended by His Excellency Dugu Bo, the Jade Phosphorus Douluo.

Yet he had never expected her to be so close to Dugu Bo's granddaughter.

Ye Lingling let out a soft sigh.

When she had heard Dugu Yan talk about Ye Qing in the dorm last night, she had known that her best friend had fallen completely.

Yanzi's voice changed whenever she spoke of Ye Qing.

It was soft, with a slight nasal lilt, like she was whispering a secret.

Back then, Ye Lingling had thought that anyone who could make Dugu Yan fall in love had to be extraordinary.

Now, it seemed she had been right.

Everyone instantly switched into spectator mode.

Good heavens.

This was the drama of the year!

It was even more exciting than the academy's final exams.

Yu Tianheng stood outside everyone's line of sight, yet it felt as if all their gazes had nailed him to an invisible rack.

His mind buzzed, his ears filled with the thunderous roar of his own heartbeat.

Dugu Yan had admitted it!

Everyone in the academy knew that he liked Dugu Yan.

He, Yu Tianheng,

the direct heir of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan,

the captain of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Imperial Fighting Team,

was powerful, well-connected, and had a bright future ahead of him!

How long had he chased after Dugu Yan?

The eye-rolls he had received could fill an entire encyclopedia of eye-rolls.

But he had never been discouraged.

Because he had one ironclad reason—no one dared compete with him!

With the young clan leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan here, who would dare get close to Dugu Yan?

Who had that ability?

Who had that nerve?

Yet after merely three months apart,

Dugu Yan had become engaged to some unknown brat from outside the academy.

And that guy had even been directly dropped into the Imperial Fighting Team.

Meanwhile, Yu Tianheng had not heard even the slightest whisper from beginning to end.

Someone had stolen his girl!

It had happened so fast that it caught him completely off guard, leaving him no chance to defend against it!

When everyone saw Yu Tianheng's face turn so green it looked like juice could be squeezed from it, they instinctively backed away.

Yu Feng ducked farther behind Osler and lowered his voice. "The captain's face has gone completely dark!"

Osler and the others quietly shifted a step to the side, neatly leaving Teacher Qin Ming exposed in the most convenient line of sight for calling for help.

No matter what happened, Teacher Qin Ming had to take the hit!