Two Girls at Daggers Drawn

This small city on the border of the Heaven Dou Empire lay a thousand li away from Heaven Dou City.

News traveled slowly here. The genius in Heaven Dou City who had been born with full soul power at six and possessed a two-thousand-one-hundred-year first soul ring was hardly ever mentioned.

Occasionally, traveling merchants arriving from the direction of Heaven Dou City would bring it up in taverns, saying that an extraordinary child had appeared there. Everyone else simply took it for boasting and forgot it as soon as they heard it.

Notting Junior Soul Master Academy

Office

Yu Xiaogang sat with his hands clasped atop the desk.

His face bore heartfelt satisfaction—or, more precisely, smug pride.

Just moments ago, Tang San, who had returned with the academy headmaster, had reported to him on the process of obtaining his second soul ring and the details of his soul skill.

His second soul ring was a seven-hundred-year Ghost Vine, granting the soul skill "Parasite."

The headmaster had been the one Yu Xiaogang asked to help hunt the second soul ring. In truth, there was very little he, as Tang San's teacher, could offer.

It had been the same with the first soul ring. He could only stand to one side and watch that child face the soul beast alone, absorb the soul ring alone, and endure all the pain and danger alone.

His theories were plentiful and his knowledge profound, but on the practical battlefield, there was indeed little he could give Tang San.

Yet Yu Xiaogang did not see that as a problem.

Theory was the foundation of a soul master; practical combat was merely an extension of theory.

He believed his theories were flawless, and he believed that his disciple Tang San would be their most perfect proof.

Leaning back in his chair, he gazed out at the bleak gray sky above Notting City.

This disciple had been born with full soul power, possessed twin martial souls, and was so diligent and disciplined that he seemed nothing like an eight-year-old child.

Given time, Tang San would surely stand at the pinnacle of the continent's soul masters. And when that day came, his name, Yu Xiaogang, would be remembered across all Douluo Continent as "Grandmaster."

From Spirit Hall to the Heaven Dou Empire, from a useless waste mocked by all to a renowned teacher who had single-handedly nurtured an unmatched genius—that day was not far away.

"Teacher, then I'll go back and cultivate first."

Tang San's voice pulled Yu Xiaogang from his thoughts.

He nodded, his usual stern expression returning to his face.

"Mm. You still need more practice in using your second soul skill. The parasitic effect of the Ghost Vine is highly compatible with the control-system path of your Blue Silver Grass. Study it carefully."

Tang San bowed, then turned and left the office.

The door closed behind him, and his steps were steady.

Blue Silver Grass, Ghost Vine Parasite, control system—he had no doubts about the path he had chosen.

Teacher was right. On the path of a control-system soul master, he would go very far.

What he did not know was that, a thousand li away in Heaven Dou City, a child his own age had just absorbed a twelve-thousand-year second soul ring, broken through six levels of soul power in succession, and obtained a ten-thousand-year head soul bone.

Nor did he know

that when bro and his teacher stepped out of the newbie village that was Notting City, what awaited them would not be the world he imagined—a world he could slowly bind with Blue Silver Grass.

Notting City's walls were not high, but they blocked the winds of the outside world.

A few days later, when Li Hanche left the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, he had an additional roll of silk in his hand.

It was not an imperial decree, but a document granting him a noble title.

Emperor Xue Ye had written it personally, and it bore the imperial seal of the Heaven Dou Empire.

It listed a proper noble title—not an empty honorific, but one with a fief, a salary, and an official rank.

From that day onward, Li Hanche was a noble as well.

Just now, in the imperial study, Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin had sat on either side, while Xue Qinghe stood beside Emperor Xue Ye.

Li Hanche had stood in the middle of the imperial study, briefly explained what had happened in the Far North, and thanked His Majesty for the Spirit-Concentrating Jade Marrow, as well as Big Brother Xue Qinghe for sending people across the continent to search for a head soul bone!

Emperor Xue Ye sat upon the dragon throne. As he listened, he began to laugh, his beard trembling with it. Then he swept out a hand and said, "A dragon and phoenix have flown from Heaven Dou City's slums. If I do not grant him a noble title, would that not make the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Spirit Hall laugh at us?"

He immediately had an attendant spread out silk and grind ink. The reason for the ennoblement was written in lofty, dignified terms: a genius soul master of the Heaven Dou Empire, who had set a precedent for soul rings across the continent.

Li Hanche did not feel much about it. Noble or not, he did not care.

But having a title was indeed convenient. The next time he beat up those spoiled young masters who oppressed commoners in the streets, besides saying, "My big brother is the crown prince, and my teacher is a Titled Douluo," he could add, "I'm a noble myself."

Triple insurance!

By the time the carriage stopped before the villa, the sky had already darkened.

From afar, he could see light shining through the villa windows.

A small figure was crouched by the door, her blue dress fluttering gently in the night breeze.

The moment Ning Rongrong saw the carriage come to a stop, she sprang up from the steps and ran over, lifting the hem of her dress.

She ran up to Li Hanche and tipped her head back. Her large dark eyes glittered beneath the streetlamp, and her lips moved several times, as though she wanted to say many things.

From worry to tension, then from tension to the relief of seeing him safe and sound—those emotions flashed across her face several times in turn.

In the end, she swallowed them all back, clasped her hands behind her back, lifted her chin slightly, and spoke in a tone that tried to sound casual but could not hide her pride.

"I'm very proud to have a little brother like you."

Li Hanche raised a hand and flicked her forehead.

The force was light, just enough to make her tilt back slightly.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

Ning Rongrong covered her forehead, her little mouth pouting.

"Shouldn't it be that you're proud to be the little brother with such a big brother as me?"

Still covering her forehead, Ning Rongrong snorted, but no matter what she did, she could not press down the corners of her mouth.

Su Nianxue arrived just as Li Hanche and Ning Rongrong entered the sitting room.

Her carriage practically screeched to a stop in front of the villa. Before it had even fully stopped, she leaped down, startling the coachman so badly he nearly sprang from his seat.

She was still panting when she pushed open the door, her chest heaving sharply and beads of sweat dotting her forehead.

Her family was aristocratic as well, with ears everywhere. They had learned from the palace that very afternoon that Li Hanche had returned to the city.

There had never been a ten-thousand-year spirit ring on the continent. No one knew what might happen during its absorption.

Her worry had not begun today. Ever since the day she learned from him that he intended to challenge a ten-thousand-year spirit ring, she had slept poorly for several nights in a row.

Now, seeing Li Hanche standing safely in the sitting room, the heart that had been hanging in the air for days finally crashed back down—but her eyes reddened of their own accord.

She jogged over to Li Hanche and immediately put both hands on his arms, squeezing from his wrists to his shoulders, then patting from his shoulders to his back, as though inspecting some precious treasure she had lost and regained.

Her hands trembled slightly when they touched his arms.

"Are you all right, Hanche? Are you hurt? Did the spirit ring absorption go smoothly? What rank is your spirit power now?"

"Don't touch him!"

Ning Rongrong rushed over from the sofa, grabbed Su Nianxue by the sleeve, and pulled her back.

Su Nianxue did not let go. She merely turned her head and gave Ning Rongrong a calm glance.

"I'm worried about my classmate. What's it to you?"

That one look only made Ning Rongrong angrier. Her fingers stayed tightly clenched around Su Nianxue's sleeve.

Li Hanche stood between them, with Su Nianxue feeling up his left arm and Ning Rongrong tugging on his right. Neither of his hands was free.

On the other side of the sitting room, Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Xue Qinghe had somehow already risen to their feet.

Xue Qinghe's gaze swept back and forth between Ning Rongrong and Su Nianxue, a gleeful, trouble-loving smile hanging at the corner of his mouth.

"Teacher, I suddenly remembered there's something to take care of in the palace."

"Fengzhi also just remembered there are some matters in the sect that need handling."

Chen Xin said nothing. Wearing an expression that clearly said, "This old man is a Titled Douluo; I should not meddle in this sort of thing," he was the first to turn and head for the door.

The three adults moved with astonishing speed, vanishing out the door in the blink of an eye.

The moment the door shut, Li Hanche realized that the three old foxes had slipped away.

He looked down at Su Nianxue on his left, then at Ning Rongrong on his right.

The two girls were glaring at each other. One still had red-rimmed eyes, yet refused to yield an inch; the other had her lips pursed and her fingers clenched tight.

"...Sister Baiwei! Serve tea! We have guests!"