"Should we add Tang Shan?" Zhilin asked.
"Add her." Meng Shenji thought for a moment, then made the decision. "Move Osler and Yu Feng to the substitutes."
They had to give Dugu Bo some consideration. The Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul was already rare, and with two Black Tortoise Soul Masters added to the mix, their value far exceeded that of Yu Feng and Osler.
"We might just be able to break Spirit Hall's legend of winning the Continental Soul Master Tournament year after year!" Meng Shenji stood before the window with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing into the distance.
After Qin Yue led Lan Yu and Tang Shan to a standalone villa, she said, "This will be your home from now on. Let me know if you need anything."
With that, Qin Yue turned and left.
That night, wind and rain raged, lightning flashed, and raindrops pattered against the windows.
Tang Shan, sleeping in the room next door, heard the thunder outside. A crafty glint flashed in her eyes as an idea struck her. She put on her pajamas, hugged her pillow, and tiptoed to Lan Yu's door. Seeing a faint light shining through the crack, she raised her hand and knocked.
"Knock, knock, knock—"
Inside, Lan Yu sat at the desk, pondering how to approach Dugu Bo and obtain the Immortal Herbs. At the sound of the knock, he paused in surprise, then got up and went to open the door.
Click.
The lock turned, and the door swung open.
The girl stood outside, her warm brown hair loose down her back, falling to her waist.
A few wisps rested against her collarbone, setting off her jade-white neck.
Her crystal-clear, tender pink feet were bare against the floor, and her loose pajamas made her slender figure look even more delicate.
She hugged a rectangular pillow to her chest and looked up at Lan Yu, her clear eyes glistening.
Half of her fair face was hidden in Lan Yu's shadow; the other half was lit by the warm yellow light inside, its cheeks flushed.
"Big brother~"
"Xiao Shan, what's wrong?" Lan Yu's voice softened.
"There's thunder outside... I'm scared. Could you stay with me, big brother?" Tang Shan's voice was soft and trembling at the end, almost as if she were about to cry.
Was Tang Shan afraid of thunder?
Lan Yu couldn't remember, but seeing her like this softened his heart. "Come in. It's cold out there."
The girl's eyes lit up. She rose onto her tiptoes and hurried inside, her bare feet pattering across the floor.
She tossed her pillow onto the bed and swiftly burrowed under the covers, leaving only her fluffy little head visible.
"Big brother, hurry up and go to bed. I'm sleepy."
"Got it."
Lan Yu returned to the desk and switched off the lamp. The room plunged into darkness.
After a few footsteps, he lifted the covers and lay down.
Outside, rain poured and lightning flashed. Inside, the room was quiet, save for the sound of their breathing.
After a soft rustling, Tang Shan inched toward him, her little hand unconsciously reaching for him.
"Go to sleep. Behave yourself." Lan Yu's voice held a hint of helplessness.
Hearing the resistance in his tone, Tang Shan let out a little whimper and cooed, "Big brother, you know I've never had a father, and Mom isn't here with me either... I only have you. I'm just scared~"
"Sigh~"
Lan Yu let out a long sigh.
What could he do? He'd raised her himself.
When he said nothing more, Tang Shan slowly draped her whole hand across his waist, pressed herself tightly against him, and buried her head in the crook of his neck. Before long, she fell fast asleep.
Feeling the softness pressed against his waist, Lan Yu suffered his first sleepless night.
At noon the next day, Lan Yu was still fast asleep when the loud, chattering argument outside woke him.
Carefully moving the leg draped over his waist, he got up with a frown and stepped outside the villa.
"Tian Heng, maybe you should let it go. The instructors did give the order, after all." Beside the blue-clad young man at the front, a woman with neat, short dark-purple hair tried to persuade him.
Lan Yu glanced over their clothes and immediately figured out who they were.
But he paid them no mind. He went to the pool outside the villa, washed his face, and rinsed away the exhaustion of the night. Only then did he look up at them.
"Hey! You've got some nerve!" Yu Tianheng, who had nearly been talked into backing down, flew into a rage when he saw Lan Yu's "looking down on everyone" attitude.
He stepped forward, pointed at Lan Yu, and demanded, "You're the one trying to steal my captain's position?!"
Heaven knew how wronged Yu Tianheng felt. He'd woken up that morning to find out that some new kid had taken his position as captain?!
Someone had pulled strings to get into the Heaven Dou Team, which was supposed to bring honor to the empire?
And he'd even shoved aside the future heir of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?!
If he swallowed this insult, where would that leave the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's dignity?
"What are you babbling about? What captain's position?" Lan Yu rubbed his brow, barely holding back his anger. "You woke me up over this stupid little matter?!"
"Huh?" Yu Tianheng froze, then turned to Osler and Yu Feng.
"Boss, this is the place. We made sure to ask around," Osler and Yu Feng said quickly, exchanging a glance.
Neither of them came from a prestigious family. They'd held on to their places on the team only because they were aligned with Yu Tianheng. Now that Yu Tianheng had fallen, they'd been sent to the substitutes too.
Yu Tianheng frowned and turned back to Lan Yu. "Are you called Lan Yu?"
"So what if I am?"
At those words, Yu Tianheng's face flushed crimson.
Damn it. So this kid hadn't even cared about the captain change, making Yu Tianheng look like a clown who'd come knocking to pick a fight!
"You're all talk and no guts! Do you dare face me one-on-one?"
He roared, and three Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—rose abruptly from beneath his feet.
Lan Yu considered himself a kind person, but that didn't mean he was easy to bully!
"One-on-one? Fine!"
With that, Lan Yu stepped forward. Three purple Soul Rings revolved around him, and a terrifying pressure swept toward the group.
What?!
Not only Yu Tianheng, but even Dugu Yan beside him stared wide-eyed.
All three of his first Soul Rings were thousand-year rings?! Could he be some peerless genius invited from a hidden sect or clan by the academy?
Yu Tianheng stood frozen, caught between a rock and a hard place.
Seeing his awkward predicament, Lan Yu scoffed. "Call everyone around you over. Come at me together, so you can't say I bullied you."
"Arrogant!"
Yu Tianheng roared, and even Dugu Yan, who had wanted to smooth things over, turned cold.
The Shi Brothers at the back of the group spoke up to dissuade him. "Captain, he's a genius with three thousand-year Soul Rings, so we can't underestimate him. Besides, even if you're no longer captain, you're still on the team, aren't you?"
"That's right, vice-captain. You should talk some sense into him."
As far as the Shi Brothers were concerned, it made no difference who was captain. They were the team's only two defense-type Soul Masters, and their positions were irreplaceable. There was no need to offend a genius with such a promising future for Yu Tianheng's sake.
"Enough!"
Yu Tianheng roared. He looked around, saw that everyone had lowered their heads and fallen silent, and felt his anger swell.
"I don't understand why everyone keeps talking about changing captains."
"As if this contest is already a foregone conclusion and we're bound to lose."
"A year ago, I was selected from the academy to join the Heaven Dou Team and began my first campaign. Half the academy fell to me."
"Everywhere I went, the entire student body and the teachers welcomed me with open arms. I was truly riding high.
That flourishing vitality, that scene of all things striving to grow, is still vivid before my eyes."
"In just one short year, are we really supposed to raise our hands and surrender here just because our opponent has three thousand-year Soul Rings?"
"However you look at it, it's one Soul Elder against six Soul Elders. The advantage is ours."
"Well said, Captain!"
Rallied by Yu Tianheng's speech, everyone's confidence surged, and they chimed in one after another.