"Attack."
The instant the last word fell, a terrifying pressure of Soul Power erupted from him.
Eight Soul Rings rose one after another from beneath his feet. He was clearly a Soul Douluo powerhouse. The three men behind him released their Martial Souls at the same time, their Soul Rings glowing in the dim cabin until the light joined together, pressing down on the entire space with a suffocating weight.
The middle-aged woman pressed the baby hard against her chest. Her ice-blue eyes swept over the four men, who had sealed off every escape route. She was no match for them.
With only the cultivation of a Soul Emperor, she had no chance of escaping with the baby in her arms.
But the madam's child absolutely could not fall into their hands.
Summoning all her strength, she raised the baby in her arms high and took one last look at the tiny body wrapped in swaddling cloth. The baby's face peeked out from its edge, its bright black eyes gazing quietly at her. It neither cried nor fussed, and was very well-behaved.
She gathered all her Soul Power into that single throw and hurled the baby through the porthole. The tiny bundle traced an arc through the air, moonlight falling upon it and making the small stretch of fair forehead seem almost translucent. Then it plunged straight into the sea.
"No! Grab that child! Alive!" the middle-aged man in the lead roared.
The middle-aged woman gave them no chance to pursue. The brightest light of her life burst from her body, and she became an ice-blue shooting star, hurtling toward the four Evil Soul Masters who were about to give chase, at the cost of burning through her life force. Vast Soul Power exploded inside the cramped cabin.
The instant the baby hit the water, a black figure shot after it. The woman was only a Soul Emperor; even if she self-destructed, she could not stop a Soul Douluo.
His hand was already reaching for the sea's surface. That gray-white palm was only a few feet from where the baby had fallen. At that very moment, a golden light shot skyward from beneath the sea.
An utterly pure aura of divine holiness erupted, illuminating the surrounding waters in brilliant gold.
The baby that had been thrown into the sea was wrapped in a blazing mass of golden flames. It slowly rose from the water, hovering in midair.
The swaddling cloth had come undone in the sea, revealing a delicate little face like a porcelain doll and a pair of bright black eyes, still as calm as a deep pool. Those eyes had now turned pure gold, with patterns of light slowly turning deep within their pupils. The faint, translucent shadows of six golden wings flickered in and out behind him.
They were nowhere near forming true angel wings—only an exceedingly blurred outline—yet they carried a sacred majesty that brooked no offense.
The Evil Soul Master's hand froze in midair. His gray-white eyes bulged as if they might fall from their sockets, and he looked down at the hand he had reached toward the baby.
Starting at his fingertips, golden flames scorched his skin black. He let out a shrill scream and sprang backward like a beast that had been burned.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" The middle-aged man in the lead watched with violently constricted pupils. For the first time, fear appeared on his normally cold face.
This was the Angel Martial Soul!
Leng Yunling's child, that Xue Family bloodline bastard, actually possessed the Angel Martial Soul! But even an Innate Full Soul Power Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul could never awaken by itself in a baby who had just turned one. Unless...
There was no time to think further. The golden flames surrounding the baby abruptly surged, their dazzling light turning the entire sea into broad daylight.
A slender golden figure slowly took shape in the void behind the baby. She was a woman, with waterfall-like golden hair falling to her waist and deep, limpid violet eyes. Six fully formed golden wings spread wide behind her, blotting out the sky.
The Soul Douluo did not even have time to scream. The Angel Holy Sword's blade flashed across the sea, cleaving his body in two. The moment the blade touched his skin, golden holy flames incinerated him from the inside out.
A Soul Douluo Evil Soul Master vanished into a wisp of smoke on the sea breeze, without even managing to scream.
Three more figures burst out of the cabin. The three Soul Saints had finally broken free of the cabin's wreckage, but the instant they rushed through the doorway, their will to fight crumbled.
They had seen with their own eyes as the Soul Douluo was obliterated by a single sword strike, his soul scattered, not even a trace left behind. They turned to flee, but the Angel Holy Sword's flames were faster. Three golden holy flames shot from the blade like three living fire dragons, catching up to the Soul Saints in an instant.
All three became golden torches at once. They struggled on the deck for a moment before crashing to the ground, their bones burned away without a trace.
The golden light slowly faded. The Six-Winged Angel lowered her head and looked at the baby in her arms, who still gazed up with bright black eyes. The corner of her mouth curved into a faint smile. Her figure, along with the six golden wings, turned into countless tiny specks of light and sank back into the baby.
A golden light wrapped around him and carried him toward the nearest shore.
And so, by the seaside...
"Honey, look! That glowing thing looks like a child!"
"Let the spear follow your heart!"
"Moon Breaker, Cloud Chaser, Star Chaser!"
"Hundred Prairie Slashes!"
On the training ground at the Shen Family residence, two small figures practiced in the morning light, working up a sweat. Na'er stood in the middle of the arena. The Silver Dragon Spear spun through a beautiful flourish in her hands, its tip tracing three consecutive silver-white streaks in the morning sun.
Shen Nanxun stood not far behind her, holding the Golden Dragon Spear and following along with the practice.
He had not begun training in earnest after obtaining the Golden Dragon Spear. So, now that he was back, he had asked Na'er to teach him the basics of spearplay.
As a divine weapon, the Golden Dragon Spear was certainly good to use, but he still needed to learn at least the basics of spearplay.
"Xiaoxun really is lucky. He went to Eastsea City and came back with a divine weapon." In front of the house, Shen Yue watched the two training and sighed.
Ye Li smiled warmly. "You can say that again. Even Na'er was picked up by Xiaoxun and Xingxing. My Xiaoxun really is lucky."
"Mm, Mom, you should know about Xiaoxun's background by now." Shen Yue's tone suddenly turned serious. "If he wants revenge, he'll have to go up against the entire Dou Ling Empire."
"It's fine." Ye Li's expression remained unchanged. Though she smiled, her words were domineering. "It's only the Dou Ling Empire. If it makes my son unhappy, so what if we destroy it?"
This was no empty boast. The Shen Family was one of the leading families in the military, and the head of the Shen Family—Grandpa Shen—was currently the Minister of the Military Department, one of the military's three top leaders. The Federation had long been planning to unite the other two continents.
Though Shen Nanxun was adopted, the entire Shen Family doted on him. Na'er, by comparison, received far less attention, though the way the two interacted at home made it seem as if she were the favorite. But in truth, Na'er only had Ye Li's affection. Even though she had established contact with Yue Tian Douluo, that had only won her the approval of Shen Nanxun's father.
The only one Grandpa Shen had ever acknowledged was Shen Nanxun.
Unlike other great families, Grandpa Shen had started from nothing. He had risen to become Minister of the Military Department solely through his extraordinary personal ability. The other two top military leaders, Yu Guanzhi of the Central Legion and Chen Xinjie of the Sea God Legion, both came from great families.
His life was a legend in itself.
Later, he had Shen Nanxun's father, his only child, with no other branches of the family. Shen Nanxun's father, in turn, was deeply in love with Ye Li and would never have children with any other woman. As a result, Shen Nanxun, their adopted son, was the only male heir in the Shen Family line.
When Shen Nanxun had first been brought into the Shen Family, Elder Shen had shown no interest in him. But for some reason, he later grew so fond of him that he spoiled him rotten. Before coming to North Sea City, Elder Shen had kept him by his side almost all the time.
Later, when Shen Nanxun was attacked by Evil Soul Masters in North Sea City, Ye Li had only planned to come and look after him for a while. She had a post in the military herself and was very busy. But at Elder Shen's request, she had stayed in North Sea City for all these years.
For the sake of Shen Nanxun's peace of mind on his future cultivation path, the Shen Family could easily set all of this in motion ahead of time. That was the Shen Family's confidence: backed by the Federation's military, they were unrivaled.
Na'er lowered her spear and stood at attention, lightly tapping its butt against the flagstones. The ahoge on her forehead bobbed with the movement, and her bright silver eyes turned toward them.
"See? The key to this move is the flick of your wrist and the spear tip's successive changes of direction. Moon Breaker is a feint, Cloud Chaser is a real thrust, and Star Chaser is the true killing move."
Ahoge King's teaching was practical and to the point, with no empty talk. In return, she got to bite Shen Nanxun once a day, whenever she pleased.
Today, she wanted the spicy-hot flavor!
"How's your practice going?"
Shen Yue walked over, gently rubbed Na'er's smooth silver hair, and asked with a smile.
"Of course it's going well."
Na'er's ahoge bobbed proudly as the butt of her spear tapped lightly against the flagstones.
Shen Yue smiled and reached over to gently press down the ahoge, which was sticking straight up. Her gaze lingered on the two of them for a moment before she changed the subject. "Now for the serious business. Classes at North Sea Academy end when you turn nine. Following the usual process, the two of you should apply to a Federation-run Soul Master Academy next. I spoke to Father over soul-conducting communication a few days ago. He wants you to attend the junior division of Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy. Xingxing is there too, so she can look after you. What do you think?"
Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy was one of the top three Soul Master academies on the continent, located in the Federation capital, Ming Capital. Shen Xing was studying in its senior division.
"Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy..." Shen Nanxun mused. "Most officials and families in the North Sea faction graduated from there."
"Exactly. Shrek may call itself the number one academy on the continent, but in the military, especially among the North Sea faction, Sun Moon's alumni network is far more useful than Shrek's. Our whole family is part of the Sun Moon faction. If you go there, you'll be the third generation of the Sun Moon faction, with every right to claim it."
Shen Yue paused, then added, "Besides, didn't you just turn Shrek down? Ming Capital is our home turf, after all. No matter how far Shrek's reach extends, it can't reach into the military compound."
At the mention of Shrek, Na'er's ahoge instinctively bristled a little, but quickly settled down. She put away the Silver Dragon Spear and tilted her face up toward Shen Yue. "Na'er's going too."
Shen Yue bent down to meet her silver eyes and reached out to smooth her wind-tousled silver-white hair, her touch gentle. "Of course you're going together. Grandpa mentioned you in his message. He said he wanted to meet you. Among the students graduating from North Sea Academy alongside you, there are a few others hoping to go to Ming Capital. Ye Xi and Dong Yi'an will probably apply to Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy too. You'll have familiar faces around in Ming Capital."
Na'er nodded without saying anything, simply leaning a little closer to Shen Nanxun. He glanced at her, then turned to Shen Yue. "When do we leave?"
"In three months. Spend the next three months increasing your Soul Power. The entrance competition at Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy isn't as fierce as at Shrek Academy, but it's still very strict." She smiled, patted his shoulder, and turned toward the house. "I'll go tell Mother. You two keep practicing."
"We're going home, huh." Shen Nanxun thought about it. They had indeed been away for four years. He had come to North Sea City when he was five and had hardly gone back since.
Ming Capital was their real home. They had only come to study at North Sea Academy because Shen Yue was stationed in North Sea City.
It was like switching to a new map, but Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy really wouldn't pose much of a challenge for him.
Ye Family.
Ye Xinglan had been back for some time. Ever since losing to Shen Nanxun, she had not returned to Shrek Academy, choosing instead to go straight home.
The girl sat in front of the courtyard, replaying that day over and over in her mind. It wasn't the battle she had lost to Shen Nanxun that she kept thinking about, but what had been said at the hotel.
It was true. She had realized that she couldn't explain what that glory had to do with her. Apart from having spent a little over three months at the academy, practicing swordsmanship from five thirty every morning and wearing a shit-green uniform, what could she point to as proof that she had any connection to that glory?
Her family and her own cultivation were what mattered more.
"Cousin, are you there?"
A clear, familiar voice came from outside the courtyard gate. Ye Xinglan looked up. Ye Xi was standing on the stone steps by the entrance, wearing a neat, light-blue outfit.
Ye Xinglan stood up, a faint smile appearing on her face. "Xiaoxi, what brings you back?"
Ye Xi sat down on the stone stool opposite Ye Xinglan and smiled. "I graduated from North Sea Academy. I'd just come back when I heard you were here too. I heard you'd taken a long leave, so I guessed you'd be home."
Ye Xinglan sat back down. "You're well informed."
"By the way, I heard you're going to North Sea City this time too?" Ye Xi asked.
"Mm. Mother said I should go pay my respects to Aunt." Ye Xinglan nodded slightly, her expression calm.
Everyone in the Ye Family was trying to curry favor with Ye Li. Sending Ye Xinglan now was nothing more than an excuse to get her face known.
"Great. We'll go together, then. Once we get there, I'll introduce you to a swordswoman your age. You two can have a match." Ye Xi was excited. She had wanted to see it for ages, and now was the perfect opportunity.
At this point, Ye Xi knew Shen Nanxun had beaten Shrek in Eastsea City; word had spread throughout North Sea Academy. But she didn't know that Ye Xinglan, who studied at Shrek Academy, was among those he had beaten.
Ye Xinglan certainly wasn't about to go around telling people she had lost a match.
"Sure." Ye Xinglan let out a breath. She had been cooped up at home for days and was dying for a change of scenery and some fresh air. A fight might also help her regain her confidence.
It wasn't as though everyone her age could fight at Shen Nanxun's level.
Before you continue