The Old Man and the Young Girl

Heaven Dou City.

Star Dou Avenue teemed with people. As the imperial capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, its bustle was far beyond that of tiny Nuoding City. Everywhere one looked, there were crowds. Moving even a single meter required squeezing through the gaps.

"Make way, make way! Hurry!"

Suddenly, a harsh, overbearing shout came from the far end of the avenue, followed by the rapid clatter of hooves.

The crowd immediately stirred, people scrambling in panic toward both sides. Some had no idea what was happening, but swept along by the flow of people, they could only retreat toward the roadside as well.

More than ten riders galloped down the street, utterly unconcerned with the commoners who had yet to move aside. If anyone was too slow, the riders lashed out with their whips without hesitation. For a time, the broad avenue descended into utter chaos.

"Are you blind? Want to die? I'll grant your wish! Get the hell out of the way!" The knights wore the uniforms of the Royal Imperial Guard, their bearing terrifying.

More than a dozen knights rode at the front, clearing the path as they escorted a young man who looked to be in his early twenties.

The young man was dressed in luxurious robes, his expression arrogant. He cast contemptuous sidelong glances at the commoners making way for him, his face carrying traces of disgust and disdain.

To him, these commoners were no different from ants. With just a casual word from him, he could take their lives.

"Who is that? He's awful. This is so crowded."

At the roadside, a young girl being jostled by the crowd pouted in dissatisfaction.

"Ah!"

The person ahead stepped back again. She failed to dodge in time, and her toes were stepped on. She tugged hard, but the person in front suddenly moved away, leaving her off balance. She stepped on someone's foot behind her, twisted her slender ankle, and tripped backward into the arms of a young man.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." The young girl hurriedly steadied herself and apologized to the young man behind her.

"It's all right." The young man was quite friendly, smiling as he shook his head. He explained, "You must have just arrived in Heaven Dou City, right? That man is Xue Beng, the Fourth Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. He is usually rather tyrannical when traveling, and ordinary people do not dare provoke him."

The young girl blinked and examined him. She found that the young man before her had refined features, deep eyes like a starry sky beneath his tousled hair, and a luxurious silk robe trimmed with gold thread. He seemed to be of no ordinary status.

"Thank you." The young girl stepped away from his embrace, a faint flush rising to her cheeks. The lingering warmth at her waist remained, and her gaze drifted away slightly, not daring to meet those deep eyes.

"Hehe, young man, it seems you know Heaven Dou City quite well." Upon hearing this, the old man beside them stroked his beard and looked at the young man and young girl with a smile.

"Not really. I only arrived a few days earlier and have already asked around about most of Heaven Dou City." The young man smiled and shook his head at the old man. "Having just arrived in Heaven Dou City, where nobles are as common as dogs and Soul Masters are everywhere, naturally I had to find out clearly whom I could offend and whom I could not. Otherwise, if I were to offend some important figure in the future, it would be difficult to clean up the mess."

"Nobles as common as dogs? Soul Masters everywhere?" The old man's hand paused as he stroked his beard, then he smiled.

The young girl beside him also burst out laughing.

It was the first time either of them had heard someone refer to nobles and Soul Masters in such a manner. These were people of noble status throughout the continent, almost unreachable in the eyes of commoners, figures they could only look up to for their entire lives.

Whenever commoners faced them, they would instinctively bow their heads, not daring to show the slightest disrespect, much less mock them with words.

Openly comparing nobles to dogs, and subtly comparing Soul Masters to... well, some sort of overpopulated animal. In the eyes of others, such behavior would be utterly outrageous.

From that one sentence, it was clear that the young man did not truly care about offending so-called important figures. Evidently, either he possessed an extraordinary identity, or he too was a Soul Master with the confidence not to fear trouble from others.

All at once, the old man recalled that it was currently the school enrollment season. Could this young man also be...

"Young man, you seem quite young. Have you come to Heaven Dou City to study?" The old man was not offended by the young man's words. Instead, he asked kindly, "Could it be Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"

"No. My Innate Soul Power is only rank one, and I possess a mutated Martial Soul. I will not get far down the path of a Soul Master." The young man cupped his hands and said humbly, "Therefore, my family arranged for me to study at Moonlight Pavilion and learn etiquette."

The young man was none other than Cheng Xiao, who had been sent by his uncle to study at Moonlight Pavilion!

His second Soul Ring was a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Before finding a sufficiently reliable faction to join, it was best for him to conceal his strength for the time being. Otherwise, rootless and without support, everyone would want to take a bite out of him and uncover the secrets he carried.

Although the Shadow Soul Beast under his control now meant he no longer feared petty figures coming after him, it was better to hide his strength and avoid trouble than waste energy dealing with greedy people.

The old man inwardly found it a pity. The young girl puffed out her cheeks, looking somewhat disappointed. She had thought she might have someone to enroll with.

"Sir, is your granddaughter preparing to enroll at Heaven Dou Royal Academy?" Cheng Xiao had gleaned some information from the old man's words.

"Yes. Her temperament is far too lazy, but fortunately, she barely meets Heaven Dou Royal Academy's admission requirements." The old man smiled.

"Grandpa!" The young girl stomped her foot coquettishly at his words.

"Oh, then your granddaughter's talent is quite good." Cheng Xiao casually praised her, paying no mind to whether she was lazy or not.

Every elder was like this. They would verbally say their own children were no good, but if one actually took it seriously and agreed with them, one would likely make them unhappy instead.

"However, Heaven Dou Royal Academy is not in the city. You are...?" Cheng Xiao asked with slight confusion.

"We have just arrived and are unfamiliar with the place, so we came out for a stroll," the old man said. "There is no harm in it, and we can visit an old friend while we are at it."

"Is there anything I can help with? I have been here for quite a few days, so I am somewhat familiar with Heaven Dou City." Cheng Xiao asked.

Cheng Xiao was not the charitable sort. He was someone who never rose early without profit.

Though they had exchanged only a few simple words, Cheng Xiao had already analyzed quite a few things.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy did not recruit students based solely on academic performance; it also had certain requirements regarding status. Shrek's entire academy had gone there, and the academy had welcomed them with open doors. Yet for commoners, Heaven Dou Royal Academy had an invisible, intangible threshold.

Moreover, Cheng Xiao could tell from the old man's manner that their identities were certainly extraordinary. They lacked none of the unease commoners felt upon arriving somewhere new, and after hearing Xue Beng's identity, neither envy nor inferiority appeared on their faces.

Clearly, the old man usually associated with people of no low standing, which was why Xue Beng's status left little impression on them.

People like this were worth befriending.

"Hmm..." The old man stroked his beard, his eyes narrowing as he sized Cheng Xiao up, seemingly guessing at Cheng Xiao's intentions.

Sorry, scene transitions are really too difficult to write. I struggled over this for a long time, deleting and revising, even pushing back the outline and starting over, yet I was never satisfied.