Brother?

"These two will stay here from now on to attend to your daily needs."

He pointed at the two maids.

"If you need anything, feel free to tell them."

Li Hanche's gaze quickly swept over the two maids' faces.

Both were very beautiful.

One had willow-leaf brows and almond eyes; the other was delicate and gentle.

Then he lowered his head, his ears quietly turning red. His hands did not know where to go, and in the end, he twisted them together as he clutched the hem of his clothes, muttering softly.

"I... I can take care of myself."

Xue Qinghe looked at his reddened ears, an inscrutable smile flickering in his eyes.

"It is always good to have someone looking after you."

His tone allowed no argument.

"It's settled, then."

Li Hanche did not refuse again. He obediently nodded, his face wearing that same shy, awkward expression.

But his mind was clear at that moment, as though a basin of ice water had been poured over his head.

Seriously? He was only six. Six!

Qian Renxue was trying to buy him over with women?

No, no. Calm down. Think this through carefully.

Who was Qian Renxue? The daughter of Spirit Hall's former Pope, the Angel God's heir, a top-tier spy who had infiltrated the Heaven Dou Empire for twenty years. Her cunning, methods, and patience were all among the very best on the Douluo Continent.

How could someone like that truly care about a six-year-old with Innate Full Soul Power?

Innate Full Soul Power was rare, but not rare enough for Her Highness the Crown Prince to personally arrange a residence, give him money, and send maids to serve him.

There was only one reason she was doing all this.

It was not because she valued Li Hanche.

It was because she wanted to disgust her mother, Bibi Dong.

Spirit Hall's current Pope had given birth to Qian Renxue after being violated by Qian Xunji in a secret chamber years ago. Calling the relationship between mother and daughter "complicated" would have been far too mild.

It was a tangled mess of hatred, betrayal, abandonment, and longing that had persisted for twenty years.

Salas was Bibi Dong's man.

Xue Qinghe—no, Qian Renxue—every word she spoke and every arrangement she made in this room would eventually reach Spirit City through some channel and enter Bibi Dong's ears.

"The person your Spirit Hall wanted to recruit was snatched away by my Heaven Dou Empire. Not only did I snatch him away, I arranged a luxurious residence for him, gave him money, and sent maids to attend to his daily needs. Whatever your Spirit Hall can give him, I can give him too. And I can give him what your Spirit Hall cannot."

That was the message Qian Renxue wanted to convey.

It was not because she cherished talent.

It was a contest between mother and daughter, waged from afar.

And he, Li Hanche, had merely happened to become a chess piece on the board.

Once he understood that, Li Hanche felt much more at ease.

Chess pieces had their advantages. At least before the game was decided, the player would not easily allow a piece to be captured.

Looking at the two maids before him and the stack of glittering Gold Soul Coins, Li Hanche silently gave Qian Renxue a thumbs-up in his heart.

Big sister, you win.

I'll take this sugar-coated bullet.

Meanwhile, far away at the Spirit Temple, Salas sat before his desk. He picked up a brush and spread out a sheet of stationery bearing Spirit Hall's dark-patterned insignia.

"To Her Holiness the Pope."

"During today's awakening ceremony at the Heaven Dou City Spirit Temple, a special awakened individual appeared. Male child, six years old, both parents deceased, born in the slums, with no background whatsoever."

"His martial soul is named the Dark Nether Ice Soul Spear, a weapon martial soul. It possesses an ice attribute and is a mutated variant. The spear contains dragon might, and it is preliminarily judged to be a top-tier martial soul."

"He has been confirmed to possess Innate Full Soul Power."

"This child's talent is the greatest I have seen in my thirty years overseeing the Heaven Dou Temple."

"However..."

"When I attempted to recruit him, Heaven Dou's Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe, suddenly arrived and contended with me. Using his unwillingness to leave his hometown and his need to tend his parents' graves as an excuse, the child politely declined my offer and left with Xue Qinghe."

"Xue Qinghe immediately arranged a residence for the child and gifted him money and servants. His intention to recruit him could not be more obvious."

"I have observed that this child is pure-hearted and filial, of excellent character, and has a clean background with no ties to any faction. If he falls into the hands of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, then given time, he will surely become a grave threat to our Spirit Hall."

"This matter is of great importance. I dare not make the decision alone, so I have written this letter to report the matter to Your Holiness and request your judgment."

Salas set down his brush, picked up the letter, and blew the ink dry.

He folded the letter, stamped it with the seal of the Spirit Temple, then rang the bronze bell on his desk.

A black-clad deacon appeared soundlessly at the study door.

"Deliver this letter to Spirit City by urgent courier. Hand it directly to Her Holiness the Pope."

Salas passed it over, his voice low.

"There must not be the slightest mistake along the way."

"Yes."

The black-clad deacon received it with both hands, then vanished through the door in a flash.

Salas leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. His lips moved as he silently formed two words.

"...What a pity."

At the same time, Xue Qinghe was preparing to leave at the entrance of the three-story villa.

Standing beneath the porch, he turned to look at Li Hanche, who stood just inside the threshold.

The setting sun shone from the west. The six-year-old stood in the doorway, still dressed in his faded old clothes, with the lavish living room behind him. The sight carried a strange sense of incongruity.

"Oh, right."

As if suddenly recalling something, Xue Qinghe looked at Li Hanche.

"We have not formally introduced ourselves yet."

He lightly adjusted his collar and stood straight.

The sunset coated his moon-white robes with a faint layer of gold, making him seem like a famous sword sheathed in its scabbard. Its sharpness was hidden, yet it carried an air that made others wary of underestimating it.

"My name is Xue Qinghe, Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. From today onward, you may call me Brother Qinghe."

Li Hanche looked at him from within the doorway.

The sunset was a little dazzling. He narrowed his eyes, as though trying hard to get used to that form of address.

After several breaths, he finally spoke in a quiet voice, testing the words timidly.

"Brother... Qinghe."

"Rest well. Someone will come tomorrow to take you to register at the academy."

He turned and headed toward the carriage. After taking a few steps, he glanced back at Li Hanche once more.

There was a faint smile in that gaze, like shallow ripples spreading across a lake under a spring breeze.

Then he entered the carriage. The curtain fell, the wheels rumbled into motion, and it departed from the front of the villa.

Li Hanche stood under the porch and watched the carriage disappear. Then he turned, walked back into the villa, and shut the main door.

The two maids were waiting in the living room. When they saw him enter, they both bowed.

"Young master, dinner is ready. Would you like to eat now, or wait a while?"

Li Hanche glanced at them.

Out of Xue Qinghe's sight, the awkwardness and shyness on his face faded considerably, though they did not disappear entirely. Who knew whether they were Qian Renxue's planted eyes and ears?

"Wait a while. I'll go upstairs and take a look first."

As he spoke, he walked toward the stairs. After taking a few steps, he stopped again, as though he had remembered something. He turned to the two maids and hesitated for a moment.

"Um... thank you."

After saying that, he hurried up the stairs, his retreating figure carrying the air of someone fleeing in embarrassment.

The maid with willow-leaf brows and almond eyes froze for a moment, then covered her mouth and laughed softly.

"The young master is quite adorable."

The delicate and gentle maid also curved her lips into a smile. She said nothing, merely glancing toward the second floor, her eyes gaining an indescribable meaning.

Li Hanche went upstairs, pushed open the bedroom door, and threw himself onto the excessively soft bed.

A system notification suddenly sounded in his mind.

A line of small golden words appeared in the corner of his vision before quickly fading away.

[The cultivation technique Frost Heaven Record has been issued. Please inspect it yourself, Host.]

Li Hanche blinked.

Frost Heaven Record.

Li Hanche's martial soul had an ice attribute.

What were the characteristics of ice? Stagnation, freezing, sealing off all things—the power to return everything to silence.

From its name alone, the Frost Heaven Record was clearly an ice-attribute cultivation technique.

The system was giving him the option that suited him best.

Li Hanche closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his mind.

Within his mind, the phantom image of an ancient tome glowing with icy blue light emerged. Three ancient words were written upon its cover—Frost Heaven Record.

The ancient tome opened on its own, and the words inside flowed into the depths of his consciousness like a stream.

Those words were not ordinary strokes, but traces condensed from icy intent. Every stroke carried the biting aura of frost and snow.

"Frost Heaven is the utmost extreme of cold."

"To cultivate this method, one must draw the icy chill between heaven and earth into the body and transform it for one's own use. At minor achievement, frost and snow may whirl within thirty feet of one's body. At great achievement, with a single thought, one may freeze a hundred miles and make heaven and earth equally cold."

"This method is divided into seven levels, with each level corresponding to a realm."

"First level: Frost Condensation."

Li Hanche opened his eyes, and a faint icy-blue glimmer flashed through the depths of his pupils.

He raised his right hand, his thoughts stirring slightly.

The air above his palm abruptly cooled. Tiny ice crystals condensed out of nowhere and slowly drifted down around his fingertips like miniature hexagonal snowflakes.

It was very weak.

So weak that it could not even freeze an ant to death.

But it was a beginning.

He closed his hand, and the snowflakes scattered within his palm.

Looking at the ceiling, the corner of his mouth lifted.

Today had been quite an exciting day.

Martial soul awakening, Innate Full Soul Power, a red-robed bishop and the Crown Prince fighting over him face-to-face, a luxurious villa, a system cultivation technique, and two beautiful maids.

And all of this was only the beginning.