The Three Elders

She was a slender blue-haired girl, her eyes as clear as the azure sky, yet devoid of any emotion. She wore a black dress with a short skirt, revealing a pair of long, fair legs clad in white knee-high stockings.

"Lingling?" Dugu Yan stared at the girl before her in surprise, then sprang up and pulled her into a big bear hug.

"Lingling, I've missed you so much!"

Ye Lingling wrapped her arms around Dugu Yan. Her face remained expressionless, but her voice was gentle. "You call that missing me? You've been gone for over half a year without even sending a message, and now you expect me to welcome you back?"

"Oh, come on. We agreed we'd enter this year's Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament together. How could I not come back? You're the best, Lingling~" Dugu Yan clutched Ye Lingling's hand and wheedled, then led her over to the table. "Let me introduce you. This is my younger sister, Dugu Qingxi, a level twenty-eight Power Attack System Battle Soul Master. This is my best friend, Ye Lingling, a level thirty-four Auxiliary System Tool Soul Master."

"Thirty-six," Ye Lingling corrected coolly. Her gaze settled on the girl opposite her, and her eyes widened slightly, a flicker of admiration passing through them.

The girl looked nothing like Dugu Yan. She seemed barely ten, yet her Soul Power had already reached level twenty-eight.

She couldn't compare to her best friend, but she was still exceptionally gifted.

"Hello!" Qingxi waved at her, looking very well-behaved.

"H-hello..." Ye Lingling replied stiffly. She had few friends at the academy and rarely spoke to anyone.

"Half a year apart, and you've already reached level thirty-six." Dugu Yan rested a hand on Ye Lingling's shoulder and called over a server to bring another set of bowls and chopsticks.

"Enough about me. What about you?" Ye Lingling glanced coolly at the lively girl beside her. With Dugu Yan's talent, she might well have surpassed her.

After all, she was known as the leading talent of Heaven Dou Empire's younger generation. If she hadn't stayed to compete in next year's Soul Master Tournament, she would have graduated already.

"Me? I haven't improved much. My Soul Power just broke through to level fifty-two a couple days ago." Dugu Yan played it off casually, though inside, she was over the moon.

"You!" Ye Lingling's pupils contracted, but her naturally cool temperament kept her from showing much, no matter how shocked she was.

She clearly remembered that when Dugu Yan had left the academy six months ago, she had been a level forty-seven Soul Ancestor. To gain five levels of Soul Power in half a year—what monstrous talent!

She picked up the teapot, poured herself a cup, and took two slow sips to calm down before speaking. "We've been training hard, too, but we still can't catch up to you. You and the captain..."

The gap between level thirty-six and level fifty-two was as vast as heaven and earth.

Ye Lingling understood what was between Yan Yan and Captain Yu Tianheng. They cared for each other, but with such an enormous gap in Soul Power, how could they ever be together?

At the thought of him, complicated emotions welled up in Dugu Yan's heart. "Can we not talk about him?"

She didn't know how to respond to those feelings.

"You'll meet sooner or later. You can't avoid him." Ye Lingling's voice was soft.

Qingxi nibbled her way through the rice in her bowl, watching the two across from her with avid curiosity.

"Who's 'him'?"

Dugu Yan looked up at the girl's wistful expression and picked a piece of braised rabbit meat for her. "Eat more. You'll waste away if you don't..."

Qingxi snorted and put down her chopsticks. "I'm full."

"If you're full, let's go. Lingling, want to come with us? I'm going to show her around." Dugu Yan asked.

Ye Lingling nodded. She had nothing else to do, so she might as well join them.

The three left the cafeteria and toured Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Qingxi memorized the layout of a few buildings.

They saw the Education Committee, which belonged to the three elders, the training grounds, the Mimicry Cultivation Environment, the library, the cafeteria, and the teaching buildings. They had dinner in the cafeteria before finally heading to the dormitories.

The dormitories stood halfway up a mountain. Beyond a winding corridor, they came upon small houses built against the slope, with carved beams and painted rafters, white glazed tiles on the roofs, and ornate iron railings painted white in front of the doors. Red bricks paved the ground, and tall white stone columns stood there, each topped by a sculpture of the Swan Spirit, symbolizing the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.

"Through that maple grove, you'll reach the dormitory area for Heaven Dou Grade students. Usually, each team shares a courtyard, so they can get to know one another. You'll live next door to me." Dugu Yan pointed to the maple grove in the distance.

Ye Lingling gave Qingxi a surprised look. She hadn't expected the girl to be placed in Heaven Dou Grade. Her Soul Power wasn't high enough to meet the requirements, so she must have had some other remarkable quality.

The setting sun painted the horizon a dazzling crimson. It was autumn, and fiery maple leaves carpeted the ground. The three crossed the grove and rounded a bend, where they spotted a courtyard with its lights still on.

Beneath a dim streetlamp, a stern-looking young man leaned quietly against the doorway. Head bowed and arms crossed over his chest, he waited with his eyes closed.

Hearing footsteps, he opened his eyes. The coldness in his gaze softened when he saw Dugu Yan.

"Yan... you're back."

"Mm." Dugu Yan nodded. She looked at Yu Tianheng, unsure what to say.

"What's going on with them?" Qingxi edged up beside Ye Lingling and whispered.

Ye Lingling glanced sideways at her. "Children shouldn't concern themselves with this."

"The three elders have been waiting for you in the reception room for a long time. Go inside first." Yu Tianheng sighed softly and turned toward the courtyard.

"What are the elders doing here?" Dugu Yan frowned slightly. Then her eyes lit up as she looked at Qingxi. "Oh, right! They must be here for you. Come on, let's find out."

Ye Lingling followed the two in silence. She, too, wanted to know what could bring the three elders here in person.

Qingxi surveyed the courtyard. It was a white-and-gold compound, so lavish it would not have been out of place in a palace. Whoever lived here was clearly rich or noble.

Dugu Yan led Qingxi into the reception room, where three elderly men she had never seen before were seated. Teacher He, the man from noon, stood nearby.

When they saw the girls, the three elders promptly rose to greet them.

"Student Yan, it's been half a year. How did your training expedition go?" The man in front was lean, with white hair and a white beard. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he turned his bright gaze to Qingxi. "This must be your younger sister. Excellent, excellent. A level twenty-eight Soul Grandmaster at eleven—what an extraordinary young talent."

"My gains?" Dugu Yan's lips curled into a smile as she summoned two purple and three black Soul Rings. "Elder Meng, what do you think of my gains?"

"A... a Soul King!" the portly old man behind Meng Shenji exclaimed in shock.

A flicker of surprise crossed Meng Shenji's eyes before he burst into laughter. "Excellent, excellent... Such talent—you truly are the leading figure of Heaven Dou Empire's younger generation. A twenty-year-old Soul King... You could comb through all of Douluo Continent's history and still not find a second one."

"Elder Meng, you didn't come all this way just to celebrate my breakthrough to Soul King, did you? Just say what you came for. My sister and I have been out all day, and I'd like to get some sleep." Dugu Yan yawned. They had to get up early tomorrow, and she hadn't seen her teammates in a long time.

"We heard that your younger sister's first and Second Soul Rings are both ten-thousand-year Soul Rings, so we came to verify it." Meng Shenji fixed a fervent gaze on the little girl behind her.

"Child, would you let us have a look?" The portly old man stepped forward, visibly excited.

Qingxi furrowed her brows but didn't refuse. She couldn't sense any threat from these people.

She gently stirred her Soul Power, and two black Soul Rings appeared around her, carrying an inexplicable pressure.

"Good heavens! This... this is practically a miracle!" the portly old man, Bai Baoshan, cried, staring at the black Soul Rings in disbelief.

Such a genius, if she survived, would surely reach the legendary realm. She had practically overturned every established theory in the Soul Master World.

"Child, would you let Grandpa test something? Don't worry, Grandpa won't hurt you." Zhilin, who had been holding himself back all along, stepped forward excitedly.

"Zhilin, don't be reckless! The child's Soul Power is only level twenty-eight. How could she withstand your power?" Meng Shenji rebuked him.

"Good child, think of the academy as your home. If you need anything, tell your instructor, and someone will take care of it." Meng Shenji's gaze at Qingxi was warmer than before. He reached out to pat her head.