The Might of Liangtian Dou, Winning Lan Yu's Heart!

As the voice fell, Meng Shenji turned to Xue Qinghe at his side and apologized, "Your Highness, please forgive us. A teacher from the academy has an urgent matter to report; I hope you will be understanding."

"It is no matter, Chief Meng," Xue Qinghe replied with a faint smile, his tone as gentle as jade.

Qin Yue walked slowly into the room, bowing first to the three chief instructors before offering a respectful nod to Xue Qinghe and Xue Xing. Only then did she speak, "Reporting to the Chief, two children with exceptional talent have just arrived at the academy. I believe you should see them for yourself."

"What?!" Meng Shenji's voice rose sharply, laced with a hint of skepticism.

Are you listening to what you're saying?

If not for Qin Yue's reputation for being steady and composed, he would have wanted to crack open her skull to see what was inside. You're bothering me with such a trivial matter?!

Seeing Meng Shenji's bewildered expression, Qin Yue didn't know how to explain; after all, there were too many ears around. She had no choice but to emphasize her tone, "Chief, their talent is 'far beyond' that of ordinary people."

She placed heavy emphasis on the words "far beyond."

Once these words were spoken, it wasn't just the three chiefs whose expressions shifted; even Xue Qinghe and Xue Xing, who were seated on either side, looked up.

A flicker of light passed through Xue Qinghe's eyes as he raised a hand toward the nobles beside him, "You may leave first."

"Yes."

The group responded and filed out, leaving only Prince Xue Xing sitting motionless in his place.

"Royal Uncle."

Xue Qinghe still wore a faint smile, his tone as calm as ever, yet Xue Xing caught a hint of imperceptible chill. After his expression shifted several times, he finally stood up and swept out of the room.

He wasn't afraid of Xue Qinghe taking action against him: firstly, he had no claim to the throne, and unless all the princes died suddenly, it would never be his turn; secondly, he had done a favor for the Titled Douluo Dugu Bo. As long as Xue Qinghe wasn't out of his mind, he wouldn't dare touch him.

However, he was afraid that Xue Qinghe would vent his anger on Xue Beng.

Once everyone had departed, Qin Yue brought Lan Yu and Tang Shan, who had been waiting outside, into the room.

"Three instructors, Your Highness, this is Tang Shan."

Qin Yue led the young girl before them, her tone carrying a hint of admiration, "Only nine years old, with the Haotian Flood Dragon martial soul, a level twenty-five Great Spirit Master, and a spirit ring configuration of one yellow and one purple."

"What!!"

Meng Shenji stood up abruptly, stepping forward to place his hand on Tang Shan's wrist. After channeling his spirit power for a moment, he turned to look at Zhilin and Bai Baoshan, who were also wearing expressions of shock, "She is indeed only nine!"

"Child, quickly release your spirit rings for us to see."

Tang Shan looked back at Lan Yu timidly. Seeing the boy nod slightly, she raised her hand to summon her martial soul. Two spirit rings—one yellow and one purple—rose from beneath her feet, their light casting different expressions upon the faces of those present.

The three instructors stared at that purple spirit ring, their faces filled with approval and joy.

A trace of surprise flashed in the depths of Xue Qinghe's eyes, but he did not lose his composure like the others.

After all, he had reached the level of a Great Spirit Master at six years old. Although Tang Shan being a Great Spirit Master at nine was a peerless genius, there were true god-given monsters even above geniuses!

"Chief, there is one more." As soon as Qin Yue finished speaking, Lan Yu stepped forward and spoke for himself.

"Junior Lan Yu, nine years old this year."

Meng Shenji stroked his beard and nodded gently at Lan Yu.

In his view, peerless geniuses were hard to come by; having one Tang Shan was already a stroke of immense luck. Surely they wouldn't run into two in a row?

This boy might not be as strong as his sister, but his calm and composed temperament was rare.

"Martial soul: Primordial Dragonman. Level thirty-three Spirit Grandmaster. Spirit ring configuration: three purple."

Lan Yu's voice was not loud, but it struck the room like a thunderclap.

Xue Qinghe was shocked, his hand gripping the armrest of his chair tightly, "That is impossible..."

Yet, when he saw the three purple spirit rings circling Lan Yu, their light was blindingly bright.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Meng Shenji laughed toward the sky. After a long while, he suddenly stopped, stepped forward, and pressed his hands onto Lan Yu's shoulders, staring at him with burning eyes, "Good child, tell this old man, which academy did you come from before?"

He was both happy and worried. He was happy that such a world-class talent had joined Heaven Dou Academy.

He was worried that this child might have come from a major sect or power, hiding his identity for some ulterior motive.

Although such things were extremely rare, what if? What if some power had truly lost its mind and sent a peerless genius from their sect to act as a mole?!

"My sister and I were both at Notting Academy before; we were work-study students."

"Wo... work-study students?!"

Meng Shenji's eyes widened, and he pulled out a strand of his beard with a forceful tug.

Beside him, Bai Baoshan's expression changed drastically; losing his balance, he fell right off his chair.

"Do you not believe us? We have the Spirit Hall's martial soul certification!"

Seeing the reaction of the crowd, Tang Shan thought they didn't believe Lan Yu. Suppressing her timidity, she lifted her small face and explained loudly.

"If there hadn't been a certificate, Grandpa Village Chief wouldn't have been able to borrow a work-study quota from another village."

"You mean... you had your martial souls awakened by Spirit Hall, yet you only went on to be work-study students?" Meng Shenji was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh and burst into loud laughter. Even Zhilin and Bai Baoshan couldn't help but chuckle along.

In the eyes of the three, Tang Shan was guaranteed to be a Titled Douluo in the future.

As for Lan Yu, a Titled Douluo was merely his starting point.

Given time, let alone surpassing the youngest Title Douluo today, Bibi Han, even contending with Spirit Hall, annexing Star Luo, and unifying the Douluo Continent would not be impossible!

Even the usually composed and stern Zhilin could not help but chuckle, reciting with a smile, "I laugh at the Pope for his lack of strategy and Spirit Hall for its lack of wisdom. If our Heaven Dou personnel had gone to test their spirits, we certainly would not have let such peerless geniuses drift among the common folk!"

"Your Highness, why the long face? Is something the matter?" After finishing his laugh, Meng Shenji noticed Xue Qinghe's expression was off and couldn't help but ask.

"Ah? Oh! Haha, I was so excited for a moment that I lost my focus." Xue Qinghe snapped back to reality and immediately offered a smile.

How the hell does that damned Bibi Han manage Spirit Hall?!

In Qian Renxue's eyes, Bibi Han was nothing more than a biological father.

He must have drugged Qian Xunji back then to force her into that relationship.

Wait, that's not right. Could it be that her mother, Qian Xunji, disregarded the dignity of their master-disciple relationship and cornered Bibi Han in a secret room?!

How could that be possible!

As these thoughts raced through her mind, her gaze toward Lan Yu gradually grew intense.

Heaven bless the Heaven Dou Empire? Hah, it would be more accurate to say Heaven bless Spirit Hall.

Lan Yu looked at the predatory expression on Qian Renxue's face and felt a chill run down his spine.

For those who don't know the truth, treat them as men!

"Your Highness, these two siblings must be firmly bound to our Heaven Dou Empire. Do you think we should grant Lan Yu a marriage and bestow upon him a title of nobility?" Meng Shenji lowered his voice to suggest to Xue Qinghe.

As soon as these words were spoken, they jolted Qian Renxue awake.

Grant a marriage and bestow a title?

How am I supposed to win him over for Spirit Hall then?!

However, she could use the name of the Heaven Dou Empire to exhaust its resources in winning this youth over, making him feel grateful toward her.

Use the material wealth of Heaven Dou to win the heart of this child.

"Chief Meng's words make sense; this Lonely One has been instructed."

Xue Qinghe nodded slightly, then shifted the topic.

"However, the matter of marriage and titles requires careful deliberation. Being too ostentatious would easily attract attention from all sides and lead to complications."

"Yes, yes, it is this old man who failed to consider things thoroughly. I was too rash."

Meng Shenji stroked his sparse beard and gave an awkward smile.

"Qin Yue."

Meng Shenji turned his head, his tone solemn.

"From today on, I am promoting you to a Heaven Dou-level teacher. Your sole responsibility is to ensure the safety of Lan Yu and Tang Shan, do you understand?"

"Even if the two of them leave Heaven Dou Academy, you must not leave their side for a single moment. You must never let anyone else snatch these two precious treasures away!"

At the mention of "snatching away," Meng Shenji's anger flared up.

He didn't know where Lanba Academy had found such an idiot of a teacher; with a spirit power of only thirty-something levels, they had managed to catch Heaven Dou Academy off guard and poach the grandson of the Strength Clan's patriarch, even having the audacity to boast: "There are no unteachable students, only teachers who don't know how to recruit."