"Yue Guan, don't rush. Let's test him first."
Black mist hung at the edge of the clouds, with half of Gui Mei's body hidden in the night.
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan stood atop the phantom of a Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, his long robe whipping in the fierce wind high above.
He looked down toward Dorm Seven and brushed a fingertip over a petal.
"His Holiness the Pope only told us to keep an eye on him, not to stand around like wooden dolls."
"This kid's first ring is a thousand years old, and his Martial Soul carries Dragon Might."
"Gui Mei, don't you think that's absurd?"
Gui Mei didn't answer.
Notting Academy wasn't much beneath their feet. It was a junior Soul Master Academy where even Soul Ancestors were rare, let alone students capable of drawing the attention of the two of them.
And yet, an order had come from the Pope Palace.
Investigate Su Hang. Keep an eye on Su Hang. Do not harm him.
Those words together were strange in themselves.
"Go easy."
Gui Mei raised a hand from the black mist.
"Just suppress his Soul Power. Don't hurt him."
Yue Guan snorted.
"Relax. I know what I'm doing."
The next moment, the phantom chrysanthemum high above began to turn.
An invisible aura descended from the sky, enveloping Dorm Seven.
The work-study students in the corner didn't make a sound as they toppled to the ground one after another.
Wang Sheng had just hauled himself halfway up by the bedframe when he crashed back onto the floor, white foam at his lips.
The iron bedframes groaned, and plaster flaked from the walls.
The oil lamp's flame was pressed against its wick, plunging most of the room into darkness.
Xiao Wu's body stiffened.
She knew that aura all too well.
Soul Hunters, Spirit Hall, a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse.
She'd heard Daming and Erming talk about them countless times in the Star Dou Great Forest.
To a human powerhouse, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was the most tempting source of a Soul Ring and Soul Bone.
She forced her Soul Power down and took half a step back, her back bumping into Su Hang.
"Brother Su Hang..."
"They're here."
She didn't dare look out the window. Instead, she ducked behind Su Hang and wrapped both arms around his waist.
Su Hang lowered his gaze to the small hands clasped around him.
Good grief. This little rabbit had run into people from Spirit Hall right after arriving. From now on, she'd probably cling to him wherever she went.
"Don't shake."
Su Hang rested a hand on Xiao Wu's head.
"I'm here. No one can touch you."
Xiao Wu buried her face against his back, her voice trembling.
"I don't want to become a Soul Ring."
"I don't want Daming and Erming to become Soul Rings, either."
"Brother Su Hang, please don't hand me over, okay?"
Su Hang had been about to tease her, but the moment he heard that, his urge to joke faded.
In the original story, Xiao Wu sacrificed herself, then Daming and Erming sacrificed themselves. Tang San leveled up all the way, while the people around him became one opportunity after another.
They called it devotion, but in the end, he reaped every last benefit.
That plot really needed changing.
"Don't worry."
"If anyone tries to turn you into a Soul Ring, I'll beat him until he goes in a circle."
Xiao Wu pressed even closer to him.
"Then I'll stay with you from now on."
"Even if you tell me to leave, I won't."
Before Su Hang could reply, the pressure above suddenly intensified, this time bearing down entirely on him.
The stone tiles cracked beneath his feet, sinking half an inch.
The rafters of Dorm Seven couldn't take it, and wood chips rained down.
High above, Yue Guan narrowed his eyes and pressed his fingers down farther.
"He's still standing?"
"A kid who just enrolled has a body tougher than a Soul Elder's?"
Gui Mei cautioned him from the side.
"That's enough. If you press harder, the girl beside him will be hurt."
Yue Guan didn't let up.
"I'm only testing him."
"Someone the Pope wants investigated must have something to him, right?"
The pressure bore down again.
The Chaos Thunder Shadow Dragon bloodline within Su Hang was fully roused by the external force. He didn't actively release his Martial Soul, but thunder began to course through his body of its own accord.
Dark-purple lightning crawled from his shoulder down his arm, and the rubble on the ground bounced into the air.
The deep-purple Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet. Black markings along its edge began to flow, carrying a heavy pressure.
Pressed against his back, Xiao Wu felt her weakening legs slowly steady.
The aura remained, but a safe zone had formed around Su Hang.
Hidden within it, she began to feel the hunter's gaze recede.
Xiao Wu lifted her face and looked at Su Hang's back.
He still looked like a boy, yet he could withstand a test from powerhouses of this level.
The diary was real, and so was this strong backing. She'd chosen the right person to cling to.
Su Hang looked up at the roof, his gaze cutting through the hole straight to the clouds.
"Stop hiding your heads and showing your tails. What's the point?"
High above, Yue Guan's fingertip paused. Gui Mei also stopped moving.
They hadn't expected Su Hang to detect where they were.
A One-Ring Soul Master had spotted two powerhouses of their caliber.
No one in Spirit City would believe it if they heard.
The next instant, a pair of dark wings unfurled half an inch behind Su Hang.
The wings didn't fully appear; only their edges sliced through the air. But an aura, domineering to the bone, surged up against the pressure.
At the same time, the Chaos Thunder Shadow Dragon bloodline fully sprang to his defense.
A dragon's roar tore through the night sky.
Ordinary students couldn't hear it, but Yue Guan and Gui Mei heard it clearly.
The roar pierced straight into their spiritual seas, throwing the Soul Power in their bodies into disarray.
The phantom Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum shuddered violently, and the black mist around Gui Mei split open.
They both retreated half a step.
A few petals scattered beneath Yue Guan's feet. Blood and energy churned in his chest, and he nearly lost his composure on the spot.
"What kind of Martial Soul is that?"
"Not even a top-tier dragon Martial Soul can suppress us like this!"
Gui Mei raised a hand to stop him.
"Enough. We can't test him any further."
This time, Yue Guan didn't insist. He withdrew his Soul Power, and the phantom chrysanthemum in midair faded away with it.
"I've seen the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, and I've seen His Holiness the Pope's Twin Martial Souls."
"But this kid's Martial Soul is far too strange."
"What was that sinister aura?"
Gui Mei stared at Dorm Seven.
"The diary."
Yue Guan fell silent for a moment.
The indestructible diary in the Pope Palace had already said enough. Now a work-study student had appeared who could reflect their test back at them.
No one could predict what might happen if they actually attacked.
If some god-level being stood behind the kid, the two of them would just be delivering themselves on a platter.
"His Holiness the Pope told us to keep an eye on him," Gui Mei said again.
"Then we'll just keep an eye on him."
Yue Guan flicked his sleeve, the playfulness gone from his face.
"Fine. I'll admit, this kid has something going for him."
"To think a freak like this is hiding in a backwater like Notting Academy."
"The game of Douluo Continent is about to turn upside down."
Inside Dorm Seven, the pressure vanished, and the oil lamp brightened again.
Wang Sheng and several work-study students were still sprawled on the floor, white foam at their lips, sleeping peacefully.
The Soul Ring beneath Su Hang's feet returned to his body, and the shadow of wings behind him vanished as well.
He could tell that he hadn't actively struck back just now. The Chaos Thunder Shadow Dragon bloodline had defended him on its own, while the Dark Demon Evil God Wings had been partially activated by the pressure.
This reward was seriously incredible. A One-Ring Soul Master could withstand a test from powerhouses of that level.
It had only been a passive retaliation, but if he told people about it, he could already grind Tang San's Tang Sect Hidden Weapons into the dirt.
Su Hang lowered his gaze. Xiao Wu was still clinging to him, with no intention of letting go.
"It's safe now. You can let go, right?"
Xiao Wu shook her head, rubbing it against his back.
"No."
"I was terrified just now."
"Brother Su Hang, my legs are weak. Let me hold on for a while."
Su Hang was a little helpless. This little rabbit was attaching herself to him faster than the system could send notifications.
He patted Xiao Wu on the head.
"If you squeeze any harder, you'll break my waist."
Only then did Xiao Wu loosen her grip a little, though both hands still clutched his clothes.
"Then I'll hold you more gently."
"Anyway, I'm not going far from you."
The system notification rang at just the right moment.
[Ding! Detected a significant increase in Xiao Wu's sense of security with the host!] [Xiao Wu's favorability has stabilized at 40%!] [Current status: Actively dependent, clinging fiercely, mildly clingy!] [Tip: The target has identified the host as her highest guarantee of survival. Please continue maintaining your persona!]
Su Hang nearly laughed aloud when he heard that.
Mildly clingy? She was practically treating him as a portable shield.
Still, with her favorability stable, the reward multiplier would stay stable too. If he kept writing in the diary and exposing the pitfalls in Tang San's future, Xiao Wu's favorability could keep rising.
And tonight, he had two free Spirit Hall spectators. There was something he could do with that.
Su Hang glanced at the hole in the roof.
He couldn't see anyone, but those two auras hadn't entirely left. They were still watching.
Fine. Let them watch.
Now that Bibi Dong had seen the diary, she would surely hesitate, grow suspicious, and send people to verify what it said.
As long as she began investigating Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, the original storyline would start to split apart.
When that happened, the power of Spirit Hall might be turned around and used to cut Tang San down.
Su Hang walked over to the bed and kicked away the half-collapsed bedboard.
"No one can sleep in this dorm tonight."
Xiao Wu followed him.
"Then where are we going?"
Su Hang looked at the work-study students sprawled unconscious on the floor, then glanced at the empty hallway beyond the door.
"Isn't Xiao Chenyu pretty rich?"
"He broke the door and scared our classmates unconscious. It's not too much to make him pay for a better dorm, is it?"
Xiao Wu blinked, then nodded at once.
"Not at all!"
"That's perfectly reasonable!"
"Brother Su Hang, you really know how to make the most of things."
Su Hang was amused by her.
"Come on, let's go collect rent from the school bully."
Xiao Wu stood beside him and deliberately grabbed his sleeve.
"I'm coming with you."
"Next time you beat someone up, I'll cheer you on."
Su Hang stepped through Dorm Seven's broken door without looking back.
"Then cheer louder."
Xiao Wu hopped after him.
"Brother Su Hang is invincible!"
Before you continue