The First Step to Getting Help Is Asking for It

Qian Renxue cursed under her breath, her fingers tapping irritably against the tabletop.

It was not as if she had no one to use.

Pufferfish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo were both titled Douluo sent by the Worship Hall to assist her.

But so what?

The identities of titled Douluo were far too sensitive. The moment they appeared near the Heaven Dou royal family, Xue Ye would immediately notice something was wrong, and her nine years of infiltration would be exposed at once.

Those old fossils would not obey her commands at all. Nominally, they were her protectors; in truth, they were Qian Daoliu's eyes at her side.

What she truly lacked were young talents she could openly place before the world.

Ideally, they would be talented enough to overshadow Xue Huan's group in the Soul Master tournament. Better yet, they would come from humble backgrounds with no foundations—people who could help her win over those young noble heirs still sitting on the fence, while remaining firmly in her grasp and unlikely to betray her.

But how could common-born talents like that be so easy to find?

"...Do I really have to transfer people over from Spirit Hall?"

Qian Renxue frowned, then immediately dismissed the thought.

No. Spirit Hall people would leave too obvious a trail. Xue Huan was looking for leverage against her; she could not walk straight into his trap.

She walked to the window and looked toward the academy gates.

In a few days, it would be the spring admissions period. Talents from all across the Heaven Dou Empire would be arriving.

Hopefully... she could pick up a few useful prospects this time.

Even one would be enough, if they could help her stabilize the younger generation.

The wind swept up the hem of her robes. Beneath that gentle mask lay nine years of buried endurance and ambition.

On the official road leading to Heaven Dou City, a figure in green walked along at an unhurried pace.

The youth was tall and handsome, looking no more than twelve or thirteen. He wore an utterly ordinary green martial outfit and carried nothing but a simple cloth bundle on his back. No matter how one looked at him, he seemed like a Soul Master from an ordinary background traveling to study abroad.

No one knew that this seemingly ordinary youth was Ning Yuan, Spirit Hall's Holy Son, whose status now stood second only to the Pope's.

Since Bibi Dong had assigned him a secret mission, he had slipped out without causing any stir.

Bibi Dong had not given him a specific deadline either, so he simply treated the journey to Heaven Dou Royal Academy as a vacation.

After all, he had been transported here for twelve years and had yet to truly explore this world.

He would consider this a company-funded trip.

To be fair, the scenery of Douluo Continent was quite beautiful.

Mountains and flowing waters.

Birdsong and fragrant flowers.

It stirred Ning Yuan's poetic spirit, but unfortunately, he had no literary talent. After holding it in for ages, all he managed was an "ah."

[I'm bored to death! Venom is about to grow mushrooms from being cooped up!]

At that moment, Venom poked a huge head out from Ning Yuan's shoulder, even shaping it into the form of a mushroom.

[You spent six years meditating every day, fine, but now that we're out traveling, you're walking slower than a snail! There's a Soul Beast den up ahead. Can't we go around and take a few bites? Just a couple!]

[Behave.]

Ning Yuan's tone was calm, but it carried an unquestionable force.

[There will be plenty of opportunities once we reach Heaven Dou City. If you eat too much now and expose your aura, the loss will outweigh the gain.]

He had come as an undercover agent this time, so naturally, he could not use his original identity.

Before leaving, he had used the Sleeper template to mimic a new appearance, adopting the alias "Lin Yuan."

To outsiders, he was an orphan from a small border family, with a mutated Shadow Nether Vine martial soul.

He kept his Soul Power Level suppressed at forty-five, with his soul rings mimicked as the standard yellow, yellow, purple, purple.

After all, his goal was to infiltrate Qian Renxue's faction. Being too weak would not attract attention, while being too strong would invite suspicion. This level was just right.

The wind carried leaves past his ears, thick with the scent of pine from the mountains and forests.

He was considering how to get in touch with Qian Renxue once he reached Heaven Dou City.

As for the immortal herbs of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Dugu Bo's poison, and those protagonist opportunities of Tang San's, he had no intention of leaving even a fraction for that Tang family brat with Innate Full Soul Power.

[There's movement up ahead!]

Venom shouted in his mind.

[I smell a cat! A dark little kitty! It's running this way!]

"Mind your own business." Ning Yuan chewed on a foxtail stalk without even changing position. "There are vendettas in the martial world every day. Traveling is exhausting enough. We'll talk after I've rested."

He was no saint. There was no reason for him to rush in and play the hero whenever he saw people fighting. When it had nothing to do with him, lying down and watching the show was better than anything.

The moment he finished speaking, a black figure shot past a huge boulder with a swish, the gust it stirred lifting the loose strands of hair before his forehead.

Ning Yuan raised his eyes.

It was a girl dressed in black. Her close-fitting black martial outfit clung to a slender figure with striking curves, accentuating her long, smooth limbs.

But she looked tense at the moment, her face smeared with dirt. A bone-deep wound on her left arm was streaming blood.

A black cat tail stretched taut behind her. She was in Martial Soul Possession state.

It seemed someone was chasing her.

At that moment, a pair of catlike eyes as cold as ice met his.

When she saw the green-clad youth lying on the boulder without the slightest fluctuation of soul power, she was visibly stunned for half a second.

She did not stop, only wanting to escape this place as quickly as possible.

But the wound on her leg hurt too much when pulled. Her body swayed, and she eventually leaned against a nearby tree trunk, panting heavily. She barely had the strength left to lift her arm.

[Heh, this little kitty is pretty kind-hearted.]

Venom chuckled.

Before Ning Yuan could respond, three men in gray martial outfits had already caught up. Leopard patterns covered their faces, and soul rings spun beneath their feet.

The lead assassin glanced at Zhu Zhuqing leaning against the tree, then at Ning Yuan lying on the boulder, and let out a cold laugh.

"Second Miss, stop struggling. Come back with us, and First Miss Zhu Zhuyun may still spare your life. Otherwise, we'll cripple your martial soul and drag you back tied up if we have to."

"Zhu Zhuyun?"

"Second Miss?"

"Does that mean... that girl is Zhu Zhuqing?"

He truly had not wanted to interfere.

But if the girl before him was Zhu Zhuqing, then that was another matter entirely.

She was one of the future Shrek Seven Devils, Dai Mubai's destined partner, the owner of the Hell Spirit Cat martial soul, the one every transmigrator had to pursue... ahem, one of the absolute core members of the protagonist group.

She was an important aid on Tang San's path to godhood.

If he could recruit her into Spirit Hall's forces, would that not weaken the strength of Tang San, the Child of the Plane?

But he could not help Zhu Zhuqing proactively either. That would make him seem too cheap.

Ning Yuan chose to wait and watch, deciding whether to intervene based on the situation.

Though Ning Yuan wanted to turn a major matter into a minor one and a minor one into nothing at all, some people did not think the same way.

The lead assassin raised his chin at the two men behind him. His gaze was filled with malice as it swept over Ning Yuan. "This kid saw us at work. What should we do?"

"What else?" One subordinate sneered, his soul rings flashing. "We're in the middle of nowhere. Kill him and bury him. That'll keep him from running his mouth outside and ruining the Zhu family's business."

The other man was already walking toward the boulder with a blade in hand, its edge gleaming coldly. "Kid, blame your bad luck. In your next life, don't wander down roads you shouldn't."

Ning Yuan did not react at all.

In his senses, even the leader was only a three-ring Soul Master. Dealing with them would be effortless.

His gaze returned to the girl leaning against the tree. Her fingers were digging into her palm, her face deathly pale. She could barely remain standing, yet her back was still ramrod straight, and there was not the slightest hint of surrender in her eyes as she stared at the assassins.

Meanwhile, the assassin with the blade had nearly reached the foot of the boulder. Even the wind from his blade brushed Ning Yuan's shoes.

Ning Yuan did not even look at him. He simply lay on the boulder, his voice quiet yet clear enough to pierce through the killing intent in the forest and reach her ears.

"Do you want my help?"

"The first step to getting help is asking for it."