"Holy crap, Brother Xun, you're so cool!"
The three of them sat on the beach, enjoying the sand and sunshine they'd missed for so long. Dong Yi'an had already turned into Shen Nanxun's number-one fan, hovering around him and recounting just how earth-shaking their exploits in Skysea City had been.
"That slash! That one slash—the Angel Holy Sword combined with Sun True Fire came crashing down from the sky and instantly took out Shrek's agility-type fighter! I've watched the battle replay at least fifty times. Every time I get to that part, the comments flood the whole screen with 'A new god is born!'"
The more Dong Yi'an talked, the more excited he got. He jumped to his feet and enthusiastically mimed Shen Nanxun's sword swing, bending his knees so far that he nearly plopped down into the sand.
Shen Nanxun lounged in a beach chair, shaded by the umbrella overhead. He wore a loose white shirt, its collar hanging open, and the hem fluttered lightly in the sea breeze.
"You've watched it fifty times. Did you learn anything?"
Dong Yi'an was just about to answer when he suddenly froze.
What could he have learned?
He wasn't an agility-type fighter. Every time he watched the replay, his attention was entirely on Brother Xun's slash. He couldn't remember a thing about how Zhou Min had gotten taken out. He scratched his head and gave an awkward grin. "I learned that Brother Xun is really cool."
"Flattery won't work. Go back and write a ten-thousand-word review. Don't copy it off the internet; put your heart into it!"
"..."
On the other side of the beach umbrella, Na'er lay on the spread-out beach blanket, her legs kicking idly in the air as she chatted up a storm on her Soul Guidance Communicator. On the screen was Xu Xiaoyan's chat window, with her latest message featuring a photo of herself in pink bunny pajamas, holding up a pillow.
Na'er's cowlick quivered, and her eyes lit up as she tapped away at the screen.
Shen Nanxun heard the occasional silly giggle from the Ahoge King beside him, followed by the furious tapping of her screen. The corner of his mouth twitched.
Dong Yi'an glanced at Brother Xun on his left, then at the boss on his right. He pulled out the little notebook he always carried and solemnly wrote a line: Brother Xun and the boss are going strong. Report complete.
"Brother Xun, you have no idea—the Youth Genius Ranking put you in first place! Reaching the top at your age, you're unprecedented and unmatched!"
"Oh." Shen Nanxun didn't care about such empty honors. He asked casually, "By the way, are you going to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy too?"
"Yeah." Dong Yi'an nodded slightly, though for some reason his mood suddenly sank.
"What's wrong?"
Shen Nanxun took off his sunglasses and sat up, looking at Dong Yi'an, who had even lowered his head.
"It's just... my older brother is at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Master Academy too." Dong Yi'an's voice grew quieter and quieter as he squeezed his coconut juice until the straw bent out of shape. "He's two years older than me. When we were kids, he went to the Western Legion while I stayed in North Sea. Later, he got into the academy's junior division, and last year he moved up to the intermediate division."
He paused, set the coconut juice down on the sand, and looked at his feet in their flip-flops. Four years ago, he'd stood with his head bowed just like this, sitting alone on the steps at the edge of the sports field after losing to Na'er in a sparring match.
Back then, though, he could still force himself to shout that he wouldn't lose. Now, he couldn't even say those words.
"Whenever he comes home from the academy, Father makes him test how well I've been training. He calls it a test, but really, I just get beaten up. He has a way of making me look bad in front of Father. It happens every time. Father says I've disappointed him, says my brother is the one he's proud of. Eventually, I stopped wanting to go back to the Western Legion, so I stayed in North Sea City even during breaks. This time, when I'm going to Sun Moon, my brother said..."
He took a deep breath and raised his eyes. On his sun-darkened face, he forced a smile more painful than tears. "He said he welcomes me to Sun Moon, and that he'll take good 'care' of me on the training field."
The Dong family had always believed in that kind of upbringing. Dong Zi'an worshipped the law of the wolf, but didn't consider it bullying or favoritism. Whoever had more talent and strength got more of the family's resources, including his affection.
Having clawed his way up from the bottom, he would never allow his children to live too comfortably. They had to be put through the wringer.
And compared with Dong Yi'an, who hadn't inherited Dong Zi'an's martial soul, he naturally favored his older brother. Dong Yi'an and his brother had also grown up in different environments: his brother had been with their father in the Western Legion, while he had been with their mother in North Sea City. Aside from their blood tie, the brothers had almost no affection for each other. They weren't even ordinary friends.
After saying all that, Dong Yi'an seemed to have set down a burden he'd carried for a very long time. He picked up the crushed carton of coconut juice and put the straw to his lips, only to find it pinched shut and impossible to drink through. So he simply peeled the lid off and tipped back a big mouthful.
Coconut juice trickled from the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away carelessly with the back of his hand, unable to tell whether it was coconut juice or something else.
Leaning back in his beach chair, Shen Nanxun gazed at the line where the sea met the sky. His voice was calm. "So what are you going to do?"
Dong Yi'an froze. No one had ever asked him that before. His father had given him only one option: get stronger and catch up with his brother, or he didn't deserve to be Dong Zi'an's son. His teachers had only told him to get stronger and work harder.
"I don't know." He set the empty cup down on the sand. "But I'll beat him. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next year, but someday. Not to earn his approval, but to earn my own. Until I do, I won't let anyone look down on me again. Not my brother, not my father, and not even myself!"
"Good. Just keep your confidence." Shen Nanxun spoke lazily. "Don't worry. No one dares bully someone who has to write my reviews. Just focus on training hard. Once you're at Sun Moon, no one will dare bully you—not even your dad."
"Exactly, exactly!" Na'er, the big sister of the group, was even more incensed. She gritted her teeth and said fiercely, "If anyone dares bully my little brother, I'll poke him full of holes!"
The Silver Dragon Spear appeared in her hand, its tip sweeping a bright arc through the sunlight. Dong Yi'an looked at Brother Xun, then at the boss. His eyes grew hot, and he hurriedly lowered his head, pretending the sea breeze had gotten in his eyes.
"You're more likely to bite someone than poke them."
"Ah, Shen Nanxun, you jerk! I'll bite you to death today!"
"Ow, ow, ow!"
"Hahaha!"
Just as they were fooling around, the Soul Guidance Communicator on Shen Nanxun's wrist suddenly vibrated. He glanced down at the name flashing on its screen. The hint of a lazy smile vanished from his lips as he sat up straight and answered.
Ye Li's gentle voice came from the communicator.
"Xun, bring Na'er home. We have relatives visiting."
Relatives?
Shen Nanxun had wondered who it could be, but only understood when he got home and saw the blonde girl sitting on the sofa. He froze.
"Ye Xinglan!?"
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