On the other side.
Gu Yue and Na'er lay on the soft bed, staring at the ceiling, their minds in turmoil.
In the end, Gu Yue was the first to speak, breaking the silence.
"Xiao Qian hasn't changed at all. Even after reincarnation, he still loves children."
"Heh. Back then, that old Dragon God was always up to no good. He gave Xiao Qian plenty to worry about."
Gu Yue turned her head and rolled her eyes at Na'er. "We're both halves of the Dragon God, and we inherited his wisdom and some of his memories. If you insult him like that, aren't you insulting yourself?"
"Doesn't that guy deserve to be insulted? In the end, he went mad and killed Xi and the others with his own hands. Though he was eventually killed by the humans who came to stop him, at least that's what gave rise to the two of us."
Gu Yue's thoughts drifted, and her memories seemed to return to the day of the Star Ascension Ceremony.
Her memories of that part were incomplete.
But after the Dragon God's madness passed, he was overcome with guilt and self-reproach for killing the Nine Great Dragon Kings, the children Dragon Venerable had personally raised and who were like younger brothers and sisters to him.
That was also why Gu Yue had never dared tell Qian Jue about what had happened in the past.
As the Dragon God's other half, she had to bear this sin.
Na'er placed her hands behind her head and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling. "Gu Yue, do you think that guy, the Dragon God, is really dead?"
"He should be dead. Otherwise, neither the Golden Dragon King nor I would have come into being."
All the signs suggested the Dragon God was dead. Otherwise, the Dragon Clan wouldn't have fallen so completely.
It couldn't be that the Dragon God killed the Nine Great Dragon Kings, failed to ascend to a higher dimension, gave up hope of reviving Qian Jue, and then just threw in the towel, could it?
Na'er breathed a sigh of relief. A dead Dragon God was a good Dragon God.
Otherwise, they'd have another powerful rival to contend with. Gu Yue was still manageable, since the gap in their looks spoke for itself.
But if that Dragon God, love-addled and deeply in love with Dragon Venerable for hundreds of thousands of years, with a twisted personality from constantly researching ways to bring him back, suddenly appeared and tried to take their man...
The thought was too terrifying.
Sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day.
Na'er had only just closed her eyes when she realized that Gu Yue had already fallen asleep beside her.
That peaceful expression was probably because she had seen Qian Jue, who was still so gentle even after being reincarnated.
Good night, my other half.
Early morning, Eastsea Academy.
Wu Zhangkong looked at Na'er, who stood beside Qian Jue, delicate as a doll, and asked, "So this child is joining our class too?"
"As class monitor and team leader, I need a good reason."
"Na'er's Martial Soul is the Silver Dragon Spear, and she has a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with me. Is that enough?"
Wu Zhangkong gave a slight nod.
Fine. One more dragon was one more dragon. He was used to it by now.
"Remember to come by the testing room before school ends. I need to take some preliminary measurements of your body."
"Okay, Teacher Wu~"
Na'er looped her arm around Qian Jue's and smiled sweetly. "Xiao Qian, we'll be classmates from now on. I hope we get along."
Gu Yue subtly pulled Na'er away before she could cling any closer.
Though what Qian Jue had said yesterday had dispelled much of her hostility toward Na'er, she still couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy when she saw someone getting close to her wife.
It was strange.
She had inherited the Dragon God's wisdom. She should have been a being of reason and sound judgment.
So why did she feel like a lovesick fool, with such an intense possessiveness?
Gu Yue seriously suspected that when the Dragon God was split in two, he had given her the lovesick fool part.
Whatever. If she was a lovesick fool, then so be it. As long as it was for Qian Jue, nothing else mattered.
Na'er's arrival caused quite a stir in Class Five. Though the students might never forget what had happened over the past few days, Na'er's striking looks and lively, cheerful personality still caught the attention of many boys in the class.
But when they saw how close Na'er was with Qian Jue, they immediately came to terms with it.
As expected, beauties were made for heroes.
Just like that, a month flew by.
The much-anticipated Class Promotion Tournament at Eastsea Academy was about to begin.
During that month, the roster for Class Five's team had been finalized.
Qian Jue was the captain, Gu Yue the vice-captain, followed by Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Na'er, and Wang Jinxi.
It was truly a Dragon Clan Squad. With Qian Jue's Dragon Rising Pillar at its core, this team—with an average level of no more than two rings—could stand against a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor.
And that was without even counting their trump card, the Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
So, before the tournament began, many of the higher-grade classes forfeited on their own.
Wu Zhangkong was very unhappy about it.
He had wanted to use those older students to give Qian Jue and the others some solid combat experience. Instead, every one of them had fled without a fight.
It was infuriating.
"There's another place where you can work on your teamwork."
Wu Zhangkong pulled a few tickets from his pocket and placed them on the table.
Tang Wulin picked one up and asked, "Teacher Wu, what are these?"
"Admission tickets to the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform. It's the most mysterious place in the Spirit Pagoda. Soul Masters can return there to an age when Soul Beasts thrived, ten thousand years ago."
"Besides training your combat instincts, hunting Soul Beasts there can also help your Soul Spirits evolve. That's the main reason why Soul Rings in our era have a higher age limit than those from ten thousand years ago."
As he spoke, six Soul Rings—three purple and three black—appeared around Wu Zhangkong, radiating a powerful aura.
Indeed, with Wu Zhangkong's Soul Ring Configuration, if you put it in Tang San's era two thousand years ago, it seemed that no one could have had a thousand-year First Soul Ring unless they had taken part in a divine trial.
The theoretical grandmaster of the Martial Soul World—who broke through to level thirty at fifty, and was the mentor of a God King—Yu Xiaogang had said that the age limit for a Soul Master's First Soul Ring was 423 years.
Though those specific figures seemed rather dubious in a world where Soul Masters had different Martial Souls and physical constitutions, they still showed from another angle just how difficult it was for a First Soul Ring to surpass the hundred-year mark.
"Teacher Wu, I really hate to say this, but it seems we don't actually need to buy tickets to enter the Spirit Ascension Platform."
"My grandpa told me."
Wu Zhangkong froze, then instinctively asked, "Can I still get a refund if I return them now?"
"You probably can, but the staff get off work at five thirty, Teacher Wu. If you hurry, you might still make it."
At once, Wu Zhangkong stood up and rushed out the door.
After Wu Zhangkong left, the dismissal bell rang.
Qian Jue and the others strolled toward the villa, discussing who would cook tonight, what they would eat, and how they would go to the Spirit Ascension Platform together the next day, Saturday.
Suddenly, two people appeared in the street and blocked their way.
One was an old man. The other was a youth about their age, perhaps two or three years older.
For some reason, Qian Jue felt a familiar warmth from the old man, much like the feeling he got from his grandfather.
"You're my great-grandson?"
Qiangu Dieting? Why had that old fellow emerged from seclusion?
The moment he heard those words, Qian Jue immediately realized who the man before him was.