Heaven Dou City, Blue Tyrant Academy.
This was the largest stretch of primeval forest in Heaven Dou City. White buildings stood scattered among the trees, surrounded by the forest. This was the main campus of Blue Tyrant Academy.
Some distance from the campus, in a forest with crisp, fresh air, lay a lake.
A young man sat cross-legged beside the lake. His black hair was slightly tousled, and though his face was still youthful, it was rather delicate and handsome. His features were gentle, his eyes clear, and there was something quite pleasant about his appearance.
Behind the boy, Liu Erlong stood with her hands on her hips, brows tightly furrowed as she stared at him with displeasure.
Feeling the gaze behind him, Mo Li turned around and looked at Liu Erlong awkwardly. Before he could say a word, Liu Erlong reached out and grabbed him by the ear, her voice ringing out crisply.
"Brat, if you still don't go awaken your Martial Soul today, believe me, I'll haul you over there by the ear myself!"
As Liu Erlong's fingers tightened slightly, Mo Li's expression immediately turned pained. He gave a sheepish laugh. "Sister Erlong, not so hard! I'll go, I'll go right now."
Only then did Liu Erlong give a soft snort and release his ear, though the displeasure on her face remained.
Mo Li rubbed his ear as he slowly stood up.
He wasn't from the Douluo World. Six years ago, an accident had sent him tumbling into this world.
He'd been abandoned just outside Heaven Dou City as soon as he was born, and Liu Erlong had happened to find him and take him in.
Three years ago, Liu Erlong had brought him back to Heaven Dou City, bought this stretch of primeval forest, and founded Blue Tyrant Advanced Soul Master Academy.
After that, the two of them had lived at the academy.
Now, Blue Tyrant Academy had been open for three years and was gradually getting on its feet. He had just turned six, the age when he should awaken his Martial Soul.
Mo Li had crossed over at around the same time as Tang San. If nothing unexpected happened, they should awaken their Martial Souls in the same year.
But the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony, which should have taken place a week ago, had been dragged out until today by one excuse after another.
And that was how they had ended up here.
This forest was where the two of them lived. The grass was level, the lake water clear, and verdant trees surrounded them on all sides. The lake reflected the drifting clouds in the sky and the figures of the two of them—a scene of peaceful, carefree days.
But clearly, Liu Erlong wasn't in the mood to admire any of it.
"Every time I tell you to go awaken your Martial Soul, you come up with one excuse or another. How much longer are you going to put it off?" Liu Erlong said irritably.
The academy's affairs were already enough to give her a headache. She had reminded Mo Li about his Martial Soul Awakening last week, but the brat had treated her words like wind in his ears. In the end, she had to come and "invite" him in person.
"Get up right now. I'm not doing anything else today. I'm keeping my eyes on you and seeing what other tricks you can pull!"
Seeing Mo Li slowly get to his feet, Liu Erlong was instantly exasperated and swung a leg at him.
Luckily, Mo Li reacted quickly and sprang up to dodge.
Just as Liu Erlong was about to kick him again, he seized the chance to hug her leg and put on a pitiful expression. "Sister Erlong, please calm down! You're a dignified Soul Saint. How could my little body take a hit from you?"
At that, Liu Erlong glared at him in annoyance. "So now you're scared?"
"Let go. I'm holding back."
Of course, Mo Li didn't let go. Instead, he quietly studied Liu Erlong's expression. Only when her cool, beautiful face softened did he slowly release her and secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
Over six years together, Mo Li had gradually figured out Liu Erlong's temper. In front of others, she was the aloof, stern, domineering Dean Liu, a woman whose strength matched her authority. All the academy's teachers and students held her in awe.
In private, though, Liu Erlong never hid her forthright and generous nature. She had founded the academy and welcomed Soul Masters from humble backgrounds, all out of a sincere, kind heart free of prejudice.
Most of the time, when it came to him, she was all bark and no bite. She never actually got rough with him.
Seeing Mo Li still standing there in a daze after getting up, Liu Erlong said impatiently, "Why aren't you going already?"
With her words having gone that far, Mo Li could only dust off his clothes and head toward the edge of the woods, with Liu Erlong following behind him.
Mo Li smiled helplessly. His memories had only fully returned two years ago. In the years before that, he had often fallen asleep, and his every move had been like that of a child, guided entirely by instinct.
After his consciousness had fully awakened, he was astonished to discover that a mysterious manual he'd stumbled upon in his previous life had come with him too, hidden in the depths of his sea of consciousness.
Mo Li hadn't gotten hung up on the existence of the manual. Since it was in his sea of consciousness, it was his own opportunity. He'd already crossed into another world—what else was impossible?
In short, fortune favored the bold, while the timid went hungry.
So, after two whole years of painstaking study, he had finally broken through to the first stage the previous night.
At the same time, it seemed some kind of restriction had been broken, and he had learned the name of the art: the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Art!
While cultivating it, he had vaguely sensed that only after making a successful breakthrough would the timing be right for his Martial Soul Awakening. But he couldn't exactly tell Liu Erlong that, so he'd come up with excuse after excuse to put it off.
The two walked side by side along a narrow flagstone path. Tall forest canopies and dense leaves towered overhead, and the path led straight from their home to the academy's main campus.
"Sister Erlong, I can go by myself. You're really coming with me?"
"What, I founded the academy, and I'm not allowed to go there?" Liu Erlong folded her arms and glanced at Mo Li, her tone indifferent.
"That's not what I meant." Mo Li smiled.
"Don't think I don't know what you're up to. I've been busy lately and haven't kept an eye on you, but today you aren't going anywhere until you finish awakening your Martial Soul."
"Of course, if you really don't want to go, I don't mind hauling you over there myself. Unless you don't care about making a fool of yourself."
A faint smile tugged at Liu Erlong's lips. Paired with her lovely features, it gave her a special kind of charm.
But Mo Li wasn't taken in by that smile. He knew perfectly well that Liu Erlong really would do something like that.
Blue Tyrant Academy had a dedicated place for awakening Martial Souls. If she hauled him through the academy, his face would be utterly ruined. He still had to live and study there afterward.
"Ahem. Of course I'm going. How could I refuse when Sister Erlong has taken time out of her busy schedule to accompany me?"
The two continued down the path, and Mo Li took another look at Liu Erlong beside him. He had to admit, in terms of figure and bearing, she was the best he'd encountered in this world so far.
She was tall and curvaceous, her long green-black hair unbound, cascading like a waterfall to her slender waist. She looked both relaxed and natural.
Her fitted black dress only accentuated her cool, stern bearing, and her legs beneath the hem were straight and long.
Her features were exquisite, her skin fair, and her dark eyes always held a forbidding air that kept strangers at a distance. A faint trace of melancholy lingered between her slightly knitted brows, adding a unique charm to her otherwise frosty demeanor.
Dressed in something more luxurious, she would have been the very picture of an elegant ice beauty.
But, as it happened, Liu Erlong's temper was one of the fiercest in the original story.
After she took him in, he'd assumed that life with her temper would be rough.
Unexpectedly, the two of them got along remarkably well. They sometimes bickered, but Liu Erlong never held it against him.
She was still clumsy about looking after him, but she did her best. His Sister Erlong really was quite different from the one in the original story.
Thinking of this, Mo Li let out a laugh without realizing it.
"What are you grinning about?" Liu Erlong asked, puzzled.
Mo Li smiled. "Nothing. I just thought of something happy."
Liu Erlong didn't pay his answer much mind and merely warned him, "No matter how happy you are, you're still going to awaken your Martial Soul today. Unless you can slip away right under my nose, I'll haul you there myself."
Mo Li felt rather helpless. He hadn't even awakened a Martial Soul yet. How was he supposed to slip away from Liu Erlong, a Soul Saint?
"That's so unfair, Sister Erlong. I never said I wouldn't go. Don't we have at least a little trust between us?"
"What do you think?" Liu Erlong's red lips curled slightly, and she replied with a faintly amused expression.
"You raised me. Surely you can trust me at least a little?"
Mo Li leaned closer and asked with a smile.
Liu Erlong glanced at him. She knew he was playing on their bond, and her expression softened despite herself. She gave a soft snort. "At least you remember that I raised you."
She had never interfered much with Mo Li's nature as a child, only guiding him when necessary, which hadn't happened often.
Who knew that the sweet, well-behaved Mo Li of childhood would grow more and more mischievous as he got older?
But she'd taught him properly. How had he turned out like this?
Thinking of that, Liu Erlong couldn't help glancing at Mo Li and letting out a soft sigh.
"That doesn't seem right, Sister Erlong. Why are you sighing? I should be the one sighing. What if I can't become a Soul Master? Maybe then you won't want me anymore."
"What nonsense are you spouting now, you little brat!" Liu Erlong stopped abruptly and turned to glare at Mo Li.
"I was wrong." Realizing he'd said the wrong thing, Mo Li hurried to apologize.
Liu Erlong frowned, about to speak, but then she caught sight of the guilt on Mo Li's face.
A moment later, she exhaled and gently ruffled Mo Li's hair. Her touch was unexpectedly soft and tender, and her voice was gentle, though tinged with helplessness.
"All right, I wasn't blaming you. Don't overthink it. When have I ever said I didn't want you?"
"You were raised by me, Liu Erlong. Nothing will ever change that. Understand?" Liu Erlong's voice rang out crisply, yet it was utterly firm.
"Even if you can't become a Soul Master, I can still raise you just fine. Besides, you haven't even gone yet. Who says you can't become one?"
The moment Liu Erlong's hand rested on his head, Mo Li froze in place, staring blankly at her.
He had meant it as nothing more than a bit of teasing. After all, he had never truly thought he might be unable to become a Soul Master.
But Liu Erlong's serious reply was like a warm current, crashing unexpectedly into his heart.
Feeling the touch on his head, Mo Li's nose tingled. He pressed his lips together, tamped down the stirring in his heart, and smiled. "Sister Erlong, you're going to make me cry with something like that!"
"You little brat. You never know when to be serious!"
After entering the main campus, the two arrived in front of a white building.
"We're here. Go on in." Liu Erlong turned to look at Mo Li.
"Do I have to invite you in again?"
"No need to trouble yourself, Sister Erlong."
Mo Li smiled at her and entered the room first, moving without the slightest hesitation. Clearly, this wasn't his first time here.
Only after his figure disappeared through the doorway did Liu Erlong let out a sigh of relief. The little rascal had finally stopped making excuses to slip away this time.
Then she looked at the building before her, and she couldn't help feeling a little nervous too.
After a moment's hesitation, she breathed out softly and followed him inside.