"The Ice Jade Scorpion Martial Soul is a low-rank Beast Martial Soul. Those who awaken it generally have no more than three levels of Innate Soul Power. Its attribute is ice..."
Yu Xiaogang rambled on and on. In his view, a bug-type Martial Soul was bound to be low-rank. Besides, he'd never heard of any famous Ice Jade Scorpion Titled Douluo on the Douluo Continent.
Its potential definitely couldn't be that high.
Watching Yu Xiaogang pretend to know what he was talking about, Qian Xunqian didn't laugh. Sky Crocodile did.
"The Ice Jade Scorpion Martial Soul isn't the low-rank Martial Soul you claim it is. It's of the same quality as my family's Golden Crocodile Martial Soul—a top-tier Beast Martial Soul!"
Yu Xiaogang broke into a cold sweat. It seemed he'd talked himself right into a corner...
Even as he faced death, he still tried to argue:
"Your Excellency, Sky Crocodile, what proof do you have? How can you prove that your theory is correct?"
While Yu Xiaogang was stunned, Qian Xunqian snatched the book from the Grandmaster's hands with a hop and flipped straight to the page about the Ice Jade Scorpion.
Now it was Sky Crocodile's turn to show off:
"As a top-tier Beast Martial Soul, the Ice Jade Scorpion possesses two elements: ice and poison. It's a ruler-level Soul Beast in the Far North, with formidable strength. Those who possess its Martial Soul have never had less than six levels of Innate Soul Power..."
"Within the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan, there's also an emperor. We call it the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. It casts aside the poison innate to the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan and cultivates its ice element to the utmost limit."
"And that kind of ice is Ultimate Ice. Ultimate Ice can suppress all ice-type Martial Souls and Soul Beasts except those with Ultimate Ice."
"The Ice Jade Empress Scorpion Martial Soul and my Golden Crocodile King Martial Soul are both super Martial Souls. Their owners have never had less than nine levels of Innate Soul Power. As long as they don't die prematurely, they're sure to reach the Titled Douluo level!"
Qian Xunqian added without a shred of shame:
"Uncle, it's written right there in the book, exactly as you said. Look."
Yu Xiaogang nodded shakily. At that moment, he'd lost all face, and all he could think about was how to escape.
As for concepts like "Ultimate Ice" and "super Martial Souls," he didn't understand a thing about them, and had no desire to think about them either.
But Qian Xunqian wasn't someone you could push around. Throwing her weight around—who couldn't do that?
"Uncle Sky Crocodile, he's the one who stole my book!"
"Well, well! You good-for-nothing! How dare you bully my little niece like this? Take this!"
Yu Xiaogang was beaten until his face was bruised and swollen, then tossed out like a stray dog at the entrance to Spirit Hall's library.
And that wasn't all. Citing his offense against Spirit Hall's Second Young Lady, Sky Crocodile ordered that Yu Xiaogang be barred from entering the library to read.
"I finally have a reason to kick this freeloader out."
Sky Crocodile had nothing but scorn for Yu Xiaogang's theoretical talent. He didn't believe the man could come up with anything worthwhile. Although the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Spirit Hall were on good terms at the time, he still understood the principle that water and fertilizer shouldn't be given away to outsiders.
"Snowflakes drift, the north wind howls..."
Yu Xiaogang shakily reached out his right hand and stared at the towering Spirit Hall library. Then he let out a desperate cry:
"No!..."
In the blink of an eye, Qian Xunqian had turned six.
In those three years, she'd nearly "devoured" every book in the library.
Of all the people who came and went through the library, the one who left the deepest impression on her was Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden, Bibi Dong, the last emperor.
There was no other reason: as the Holy Maiden's unpaid therapist, she'd left quite an impression.
Yu Xiaogang had been banned from the library, but Bibi Dong hadn't. So for the past three years, Bibi Dong had kept borrowing and returning books at the library.
Thinking of what lay in store for this last emperor, Qian Xunqian had tried talking with her.
"Hey, Sis Bibi, why are you working so hard to borrow and return all these books?"
Bibi Dong knew that Yu Xiaogang had been banned from the library for offending the Second Young Lady in front of her. Their first conversation didn't earn Qian Xunqian a warm reception.
"Knowledge belongs to everyone. Why won't you let Xiaogang in?"
"Because he offended me!"
Bibi Dong paused. That blunt?
"But you can't just throw your weight around like that!"
Qian Xunqian shot Bibi Dong a cold look, stood up, and challenged her:
"May I ask, Holy Maiden, are you the Holy Maiden of our Spirit Hall, or the Holy Maiden of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?"
"Of course I'm Spirit Hall's."
"Then why should we freely hand over Spirit Hall's theoretical knowledge, built up over a thousand years, to Yu Xiaogang?"
"But... but..." Bibi Dong was at a loss for words. Her mind raced, and then—aha!
"His Martial Soul Theory is brilliant! He recently came up with a theory called the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul. And since the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan looks down on him, we could win him over! What an incredible theoretical master!"
Qian Xunqian's lips twitched. Was this what it was like talking to someone with a love-addled brain?
"First, whether or not the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan looks down on Yu Xiaogang, his father, Yu Yuanzhen, is still the clan leader. And Yu Xiaogang is the clan leader's son. How likely do you think it is that a prince with no military power and no strength would defect to our side?"
"Um..." Bibi Dong fell silent.
Qian Xunqian's little political class was now in session:
"At Spirit Hall, even if he were a master theoretician, what level is he? How much has he taken from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, only to barely reach level eighteen? What kind of status do you think he could have in our Spirit Hall?"
Bibi Dong said, "Well..."
"Spirit Hall has no shortage of people who research theory. But they aren't nearly so weak. Titled Douluo, Soul Saints, and Soul Douluo are the minimum standard. Why?"
Bibi Dong replied, "Because as a Soul Master's level rises, their lifespan increases too."
"Exactly! The most important thing for researchers is their lifespan. Let's assume, at best, that Yu Xiaogang can reach Soul Ancestor level. How long will he live? About as long as an ordinary person—no more than eighty years."
"Spirit Hall can make use of him for only eighty years, yet we'd have to give him a political position equal to the clan leader's son in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Holy Maiden, is that deal worth it?"
Looking into Qian Xunqian's delicate yet serious eyes, Bibi Dong couldn't utter a word in the face of the hard facts.
"And since our Spirit Hall can't offer him those terms, any sensible person would still choose the better option: the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Especially since, as you said, he's a brilliant theoretical master!"
Qian Xunqian's lips curled into a faint, scornful smile.
"But... but I like him!"
Seeing that she couldn't win against Qian Xunqian on political grounds, Bibi Dong could only change tack and steer the conversation toward love.