A Notable Figure, After All

Leng Yaozhu stared blankly at Xiling, her eyes reddening slightly. Then, under his puzzled gaze, she rose to her feet, walked over, and pulled him into an embrace.

"Xiling... thank you. Thank you so much."

This disciple of hers, only nine years old, had used the gentlest and most understanding way to accept all her selfishness, guilt, and weaknesses she could never speak of to others.

Xiling's body stiffened slightly before relaxing. He gently raised his arms and obediently hugged her back.

His young body leaned against Leng Yaozhu's warm embrace. "Teacher, you're my elder, and you've helped me so much. It's only right."

After dinner, Leng Yaozhu spent the night here. The next day, after saying goodbye to Xiling, she secretly left with Leng Yulai.

This had been Xiling's suggestion. The Evil Soul Masters were, in the end, still a problem.

After returning, Leng Yaozhu did as Xiling had said. She crippled Leng Yulai, imprisoned her at home, and kept her under strict guard.

From then on, there was no longer a Dark Phoenix Douluo in the world, nor one of the Holy Spirit Cult's Four Heavenly Kings, Dark Phoenix.

After Leng Yaozhu left, Xiling went to Eastsea Academy for class as usual. The only difference was that there was now a dragon perched on his shoulder.

It was worth mentioning that Tang Wulin had also had a dream the previous night. In it, a golden figure told him that a dragon lived inside his body, called the Golden Dragon King.

If he failed to gather the materials needed to unlock the first seal before turning ten, he would die.

The atmosphere in the Intermediate Division's first grade was completely different today.

The usually lively corridor fell instinctively silent whenever Xiling passed by.

Countless gazes landed on him in unison, filled with awe, shock, disbelief, and deep wariness.

The scene of Guang Biao, a six-ringed Soul Emperor, being instantly killed by Xiling, a three-ringed Soul Elder, at the academy gates yesterday had already spread throughout Eastsea Academy through videos recorded by students.

It had even spread through the internet into Eastsea City's Soul Master circles.

A Soul Elder had crushed a Soul Emperor across three ranks, and ended the battle with an absolute instant kill.

Such an absurd level of combat power was rare even in Eastsea Academy's history. Across all of Eastsea City, it was practically unheard of.

Everyone knew that the Intermediate Division's first grade had produced a monster genius who overturned all common sense.

Xiling remained calm and walked at an unhurried pace, completely ignoring every stare and whispered discussion around him.

On his shoulder, the petite Benares lay curled up, her dragon eyes half-closed as she lazily pressed against his collar. Her aura was concealed perfectly.

To outsiders, she merely looked like an unusual soul spirit.

The moment he entered the classroom, the noise died completely. The entire class focused on him. Although they had witnessed Xiling's strength before, seeing him again still left them deeply shocked.

Yesterday's battle had been enough to place this young man firmly at the very peak among Eastsea Academy's younger generation.

Xiling walked straight toward his seat. Xie Xie rushed over at once, his face full of excitement. "Brother Ling! You were way too cool yesterday!"

"Especially that line: since my reasoning won't get through to you, then I'll use your reasoning to talk to you!"

"If I'd known that was going to happen, Wulin and I wouldn't have gone to the cafeteria for dinner. We definitely would've gone with Gu Yue to witness your magnificence!"

The corner of Xiling's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. They had even recorded the dialogue?

Gu Yue came over at that moment as well. Unlike the others, she immediately noticed Benares on Xiling's shoulder, and a trace of surprise flashed through her eyes.

Others only took her for a soul spirit, but as the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yue was innately incomparably sensitive to the aura of the Dragon Clan.

Even though Benares was doing her utmost to conceal her dragon might, Gu Yue could still clearly sense that the terrifying power contained within that little creature was in no way inferior to Di Tian's.

Yet she could not tell which lineage of the Dragon Clan Benares belonged to. Since when had Douluo Continent possessed a true dragon soul beast of this level?

Logically speaking, the Dragon God was the origin of all Dragon Clan bloodlines. As the Silver Dragon King, she had inherited the Dragon God's wisdom and life. This should not have been something she failed to recognize.

Benares noticed Gu Yue's gaze and opened her dragon eyes. Six eyes met.

In that instant, Gu Yue's mind trembled violently, and towering waves surged within her heart.

She could not recognize her. She could not recognize her at all!

The other party clearly had a dragon's form, dragon eyes, and a dragon's body. She looked every bit like a true dragon, yet the origin of her bloodline, her power system, and the essence of her existence had completely transcended the Dragon God's bloodline system!

How was that possible?

Their brief one-second exchange of gazes ended, and the silent confrontation was over.

Benares lazily blinked, took the initiative to withdraw her gaze, and lay back down on Xiling's shoulder. Affectionately, she rubbed against his collar.

"Xiling, the one on your shoulder... is she?" Gu Yue finally could not suppress her curiosity and asked softly.

Hearing that, Xie Xie hurriedly leaned over to look as well. "Wow, this little dragon is so cute! When did she appear? I've never seen her before."

Xiling smiled and stroked Benares. "Her name is Benares. She's my partner. Don't underestimate her. She could hang Teacher Wu up and beat him."

Wu Zhangkong: ???

Xie Xie curled his lips, his face full of disbelief. "Brother Ling, don't joke around. Teacher Wu is a Soul Emperor. What, are you saying this little dragon is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"

Xiling only smiled faintly and had no intention of explaining.

Gu Yue, however, saw that Xiling did not wish to elaborate, so she did not press further. She could only sigh inwardly. As expected of a God King.

On the other side of the classroom.

Tang Wulin sat at his desk, still somewhat dazed.

All night long, he had been entangled by that bizarre dream, and his mind had been unable to settle for a long time.

The golden figure, the overwhelming and tyrannical dragon might, and the whisper that shook his soul were all vivid in his memory, too real to seem like a dream.

The Golden Dragon King resided within his body.

He had to gather the materials to unlock the first seal before he turned ten, or he would certainly die.

That cold warning had been branded deep into his soul. For the first time, the ever-optimistic and resilient Tang Wulin felt intense panic and confusion.

He was nine years old this year.

Less than half a year remained until he turned ten.

The countdown to death had quietly begun.

He subconsciously raised his head, his gaze passing through the crowd to settle on Xiling.

For some reason, whenever he was near Xiling, the restlessness and unease in his heart would inexplicably calm somewhat.

Tang Wulin bit his lip and quietly made up his mind.

At some point, he would ask Xiling.

He would ask him what exactly was happening to him.

The day quickly passed. After school, Gu Yue and the others easily won their promotion match against Grade One Class Two.

Tomorrow was a rest day. After that, it would be time for them to challenge Grade One Class One.

After dinner, Tang Wulin stopped Xiling and Gu Yue. He looked awkward and nervous. "Brother Ling, can you come with me for a moment?"

"There's something I want to talk to you about alone."

Xiling and Gu Yue exchanged a look, both noticing the oddness in each other's eyes.

Gu Yue nodded lightly. Considerately stopping in place, she smiled gently. "You two talk. I'll head back to the dormitory first."

After Gu Yue left, Xiling looked at Tang Wulin, who stood beside him tense and at a loss, then gently patted his shoulder. "Don't just stand there. Come on, let's sit by the training field. There aren't many people there."