Brother?

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

He pointed at the two maidservants.

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

Li Hanche's gaze quickly swept across the two maidservants' faces.

Both were very pretty.

One had willow-leaf brows and almond-shaped eyes, while 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 and clutched the hem of his clothes as he muttered softly.

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

Xue Qinghe looked at his crimson ears, and an unreadable smile flickered in his eyes.

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

His tone allowed no argument.

"It's settled, then."

Li Hanche stopped refusing and obediently nodded, his face still carrying that bashful, awkward look.

Yet his mind was as clear as though a basin of icy water had been dumped over his head.

Seriously? He was only six. Six!

Qian Renxue was trying to buy him over with women?

No, no. Calm down. Think carefully.

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

How could someone like her 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 him a residence, give him money, and send maidservants to care for him.

There was only one reason she did all this.

It was not because she valued Li Hanche.

It was to disgust her mother, Bibi Dong.

The current Pope of Spirit Hall had given birth to Qian Renxue after Qian Xunji violated her in a secret chamber years ago. Describing the relationship between mother and daughter as "complicated" would have been far too understated.

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

Salas was Bibi Dong's man.

Xue Qinghe—no, Qian Renxue—every word she said 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 wants to recruit has been 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 maidservants to attend to his daily needs. Whatever your Spirit Hall can provide, I can provide too. And I can provide what your Spirit Hall cannot."

That was the message Qian Renxue wanted to convey.

It was not some eagerness to nurture talent.

It was a distant game of chess between mother and daughter.

And Li Hanche had merely happened to become one piece on the board.

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

Chess pieces had their advantages. At least until the match was decided, the player would not easily let his pieces be captured.

Looking at the two maidservants 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 Martial Soul Temple, Salas—

He sat before his desk, picked up his brush, and spread out a sheet of letter paper marked with the hidden pattern of Spirit Hall.

"To Her Holiness the Pope."

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

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

"Confirmed to possess Innate Full Soul Power."

"This child's talent is the finest I have seen in the thirty years since I took charge of the Heaven Dou Temple."

"However..."

"While recruiting him, Xue Qinghe, the Crown Prince of Heaven Dou, suddenly arrived and competed with me. The child declined me on the grounds that he did not wish to leave his homeland and needed to tend his parents' graves, then left with Xue Qinghe."

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

"I have observed that this child is dutiful 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, 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 it 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 Martial Soul Temple, then rang the bronze bell on his desk.

A black-clad deacon appeared soundlessly at the entrance to the study.

"Send this letter to Spirit City by express delivery. Deliver it personally into Her Holiness the Pope's hands."

Salas handed it over, his voice low.

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

"Yes."

The black-clad deacon accepted it with both hands, then vanished outside in a flash.

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

"...What a pity."

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

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 wearing those old clothes washed nearly white, with the magnificently furnished living room behind him. The contrast looked strangely out of place.

"Oh, right."

As though he had suddenly remembered something, Xue Qinghe looked at Li Hanche.

"We haven't formally introduced ourselves yet."

He lightly adjusted his collar and stood straight.

The sunset coated his pale moon-white robe in a faint golden hue, making him seem like a famous sword sheathed in its scabbard—its edge hidden, yet carrying an innate bearing that made others hesitate to underestimate him.

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

Li Hanche stood in the doorway and looked at him.

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

After a few breaths, he finally spoke in a small voice, tentative and timid.

"Brother... Qinghe."

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

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

That glance held a faint smile, like shallow ripples stirred across a lake by the spring breeze.

Then he boarded the carriage. The curtain fell, the wheels rumbled into motion, and it drove away from the villa.

Li Hanche stood beneath the porch and watched the carriage disappear before turning around, walking back into the villa, and closing the doors.

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

"Young Master, dinner has been prepared. Would you like to eat now, or wait a while?"

Li Hanche glanced at them.

Outside Xue Qinghe's line of sight, the awkwardness and bashfulness on his face had faded considerably, though it had not completely disappeared. Who knew whether they were Qian Renxue's spies?

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

As he spoke, he headed toward the stairs. After taking a few steps, he stopped as though he had remembered something, turned toward the two maidservants, and hesitated for a moment.

"Um... thank you."

With that, he ran up the stairs, his retreating figure carrying the air of someone fleeing in embarrassment.

The maidservant with willow-leaf brows and almond-shaped eyes froze for a moment, then covered her mouth and chuckled.

"The Young Master is quite adorable."

The delicate, gentle maidservant also curved her lips, but said nothing. She merely looked toward the second floor, and an indescribable meaning appeared in her eyes.

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

A system notification suddenly sounded in his mind.

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

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

Li Hanche blinked.

Frost Heaven Record.

Li Hanche's martial soul had an ice attribute.

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

Frost Heaven Record sounded like an ice-attribute cultivation technique just from its name.

The system was giving him the option most suited to him.

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

A phantom of an ancient tome glowing icy blue emerged in his mind. Three ancient characters were written on its cover—Frost Heaven Record.

The ancient tome opened on its own, and the words within flowed into the depths of his consciousness like water.

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 energy between heaven and earth into the body and refine it for one's own use. At minor achievement, frost and snow may whirl within three zhang of one's body. At great achievement, a single thought can freeze a hundred li, and heaven and earth shall share the same cold."

"This method has seven levels, each corresponding to a realm."

"First level: Frost Condensation."

Li Hanche opened his eyes, and an icy blue glimmer flashed deep within his pupils.

He raised his right hand, his thoughts stirring slightly.

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

It was 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 dispersed into his palm.

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

Today had been truly exciting.

Martial soul awakening, Innate Full Soul Power, a red-clad bishop and the Crown Prince fighting over him in person, a luxurious villa, a system cultivation technique, and two flower-like maidservants.

And all of this was only the beginning.