Xue Qinghe

"Stop right there!"

A young man blocked Qingxi's path. He wore his orange-gold hair long, and with a crowd of lackeys trailing behind him, his posture was arrogant and overbearing.

The youth looked the girl up and down, a flash of astonishment crossing his eyes before he sneered, "Who are you? How dare you trespass into our Heaven Dou Royal Academy. This isn't a place for commoners like you. If you know what's good for you, get lost."

"Trespass?" Qingxi tilted her head slightly, her clear eyes filled with confusion, before she pulled her school badge from her Storage Bag. "I have this."

The youth stepped forward, his gaze landing on the badge in Qingxi's hand: Heaven Dou Grade student, Dugu Qingxi.

Dugu Qingxi...

Combined with the girl's black hair and black eyes, the youth had already recognized who stood before him.

A strange look flickered rapidly across his eyes as he recalled someone else still in the school. He raised his hand to swat the badge from Qingxi's grip, lifted his chin arrogantly, and said haughtily, "I've never even heard of this name. Since when did the Heaven Dou Grade have someone like you? This badge must be a forgery. Get lost! You aren't welcome here."

Caught off guard, Qingxi was struck, and the badge rolled far away on the ground. Her eyes narrowed, and she turned a cold, icy gaze toward the arrogant boy, a dangerous aura radiating from her body.

"Pick it up!"

"Hmph." The boy sneered, not taking Qingxi seriously in the slightest.

Qingxi clenched her hand into a fist, just about to land a punch on the man's face, when a gentle, jade-like voice rang out.

"Xue Beng, do not be rude." The newcomer wore white-gold formal attire, his posture as upright as a pine tree. He had golden hair and golden eyes, and a comfortable, pleasant smile graced his face.

"It's His Highness the Crown Prince." A girl exclaimed, then collapsed into the arms of her companion.

"Your Highness." The crowd hurriedly cleared a path, bowing slightly to pay their respects.

Xue Qinghe bent down to pick up the badge from the ground. When his gaze touched the name on it, his pupils constricted slightly, but he calmly walked over to Qingxi and returned it to her.

"Is this yours?" Black hair, black eyes, the surname Dugu—was this the genius that Meng Shenji and the others had spoken of?

"Thank you." Qingxi took the badge and put it back into her Storage Bag.

"Xue Beng, apologize." Xue Qinghe cast a sharp, piercing glance at the cowering youth.

"I-I'm sorry," Xue Beng apologized, though he was clearly unwilling.

"It's nothing. May I enter now?" Qingxi asked, not caring in the slightest.

"Of course. Heaven Dou Royal Academy has always been a home for you, young lady. Please, come in." Xue Qinghe gestured for her to proceed, then followed Qingxi into the academy.

"What exactly is that girl's identity, to make His Highness the Crown Prince treat her with such importance?" Once the two were far away, someone whispered in discussion.

For once, Xue Beng put away his playboy demeanor, his gaze fixed gloomily on their retreating backs.

Recalling what his father had said, he clenched his fists in frustration.

"Why are you following me?" After walking for a while, Qingxi looked at the person still trailing behind her and frowned slightly.

"I heard that a genius comparable to Dugu Yan had arrived at the Heaven Dou Academy, and that her spirit ring configuration included a ten-thousand-year spirit ring, something never seen before. Seeing you today, I naturally wanted to take a good look." Xue Qinghe walked to Qingxi's side, tilting his head to smile at her, though a trace of confusion crossed his eyes when they landed on the birthmark on her forehead.

This pattern—he felt as if he had seen it somewhere before.

"I have a very good relationship with your sister, and I have seen her spirit ring configuration before; it nearly shattered the continent's long-standing understanding. When Elder Meng reported your spirit ring configuration, I didn't believe it. Now that I see you..." Xue Qinghe smiled, leaving the rest of his sentence unsaid.

In truth, Xue Qinghe had seen a few people with the lowest configuration of thousand-year spirit rings, so he wasn't surprised by that.

But a ten-thousand-year spirit ring was truly inconceivable.

"If you truly possess a ten-thousand-year spirit ring, it is a great blessing for my Heaven Dou Empire." He looked up at the sky, his golden eyes gentle and lingering.

The Dugu Family had two stars in one generation, plus a 95th-rank Title Douluo who had broken through five levels of spirit power in six years. If anyone claimed they had no one backing them, Xue Qinghe would not believe it.

One had to know that once one became a Title Douluo, every level of spirit power was incredibly difficult to cultivate; some could not break through a single level for decades. Yet Dugu Bo had risen five levels in six years—it was unfathomable.

He just didn't know what this faction intended, or whether they were friend or foe.

He inexplicably thought of that mysterious prescription from Spirit Hall and the effects it had brought.

The smile on Xue Qinghe's face stiffened, and his gaze fell suspiciously on Qingxi's face. He remembered where he had seen this girl before.

Qingxi looked at the youth in confusion, feeling that his expression had become somewhat strange at that moment.

She frowned slightly. "Your Highness is quite different, aren't you? You're unlike any other noble I've met."

"Oh?" Xue Qinghe put away the strange look in his eyes, becoming interested. "How so?"

"Your attitude." Qingxi thought for a moment before adding, "Most of them are arrogant and look down on commoners."

Yet this person was, if anything, too approachable.

However, perhaps for that very reason, he was quite suited to be an emperor.

"If you don't mind, Xier, you can call me Brother Xue, just like Yanzi does. Consider me your older brother." Xue Qinghe looked at the girl beside him gently, his attitude even more intimate than before.

"You and... sister Yan, are very close?"

"Naturally." Xue Qinghe smiled and took out a token, handing it to Qingxi. "Consider it a gift for our first meeting. If you ever run into trouble in the future, you can take this directly to the palace to find me."

Just as Qingxi was about to decline, Xue Qinghe added, "Yanzi has one too. Accept it."

After a moment of hesitation, she finally took Xue Qinghe's token.

Mainly, she quite liked this person.

"Thank you... Brother... Xue." Qingxi called out, feeling slightly unnatural.

As they spoke, the two arrived at the courtyard.

Xue Qinghe watched as she knocked on Dugu Yan's door, pushed it open, and then walked back out looking somewhat puzzled.

"Where could she have gone?" Qingxi muttered softly, noting the dust in the room; it seemed she hadn't been back for several days.

"Is Qingxi looking for your sister?" Xue Qinghe asked gently.

Qingxi nodded obediently. "Brother Xue, do you know where my... sister went?"

"She went out for training with a few Heaven Dou Grade students. If I'm not mistaken, they should be arriving at the Soto City Grand Arena soon." Xue Qinghe stepped forward, raising his hand to ruffle her hair, but she stepped back to dodge him.

Clutching her head, Qingxi looked at Xue Qinghe's hand with wariness. "Touching my head will stop me from growing taller."

That was what her senior brother had said.

Xue Qinghe withdrew his hand, the smile in his eyes deepening. "Alright, I won't touch it. Do you need me to send someone to take you to your sister?"

"No need." Qingxi shook her head in refusal. "Thank you, Brother Xue, but I'll be going now."

She bid farewell to Xue Qinghe and headed down the mountain.

Watching her figure grow smaller in the distance, the smile on Xue Qinghe's face did not fade. He never imagined that their Spirit Hall already had ties to this person.

"Young Master." At that moment, a dark shadow appeared silently behind Xue Qinghe. Watching Qingxi's retreating back, a flash of killing intent crossed Pufferfish Douluo's eyes. "Shall I take care of her?"

Such a heaven-sent talent—if she could not be brought into the fold of Spirit Hall, she would sooner or later become their enemy.

"Pass down the order: without my command, no one from Spirit Hall is to lay a hand on her!" The smile vanished from Xue Qinghe's face, his expression turning as cold as frost, carrying the invisible pressure of someone in a position of power.

"Uncle Ci, you are to secretly escort her to the Soto City Grand Arena, then return to Spirit Hall to find my Fifth Granduncle. Tell him that the little one he has been looking for... is in the Soto City Grand Arena."

Pufferfish Douluo looked up slightly, casting a surprised glance at his Young Master.

"Understood." He bowed in salute and chased after her.

After pursuing for quite a while without catching a glimpse of her, Pufferfish Douluo thought for a moment and flew directly toward Spirit Hall.

Since the girl's destination was the Soto City Grand Arena, there was nothing wrong with him going straight to find the Fifth Elder.

When Qingxi returned to Soto City, it was already nine o'clock in the evening, and the soul battles at the Soto City Grand Arena had already been underway for some time.

She took out a paper crane, infused it with spiritual power to send it off to find Dugu Yan, and then headed toward the Soto City Grand Arena herself.