His Eminence, Abundance

For several days in a row, Ning Yao lived in the residence arranged for him by the Skywater Academy headmaster, enjoying a rare stretch of peace and quiet.

Not even anyone from Skywater Academy came to disturb him again.

Perhaps deliberately, they had not leaked any information about him either.

And so, a month passed.

Knock, knock, knock!

Early in the morning, Ning Yao was lying on a recliner on the balcony with his eyes closed, resting, when a hurried knock sounded at the door.

Opening his still slightly bleary eyes, he got up and walked to the door.

With a click, the door opened, revealing Shui Bing'er standing respectfully outside.

"Greetings, Abundance... Your Eminence."

Although she was still somewhat unaccustomed to Ning Yao's status, Shui Bing'er addressed him respectfully upon seeing him.

Compared to "senior," this was the proper title used by low-level soul masters like them when addressing a Titled Douluo on the Douluo Continent in formal settings.

"It's you. Come in. Is there something you need?"

As he spoke, Ning Yao stepped aside and made room for her.

But Shui Bing'er frantically shook her head.

The headmaster had specifically instructed her: once she arrived, say what she needed to say and leave immediately. She was not to disturb Ning Yao excessively.

"It's like this, Your Eminence Abundance. The headmaster sent me to ask whether you have any other needs or anything you are dissatisfied with. You may tell me, and Skywater Academy will resolve it for you."

She hurriedly relayed all of the headmaster's instructions.

Then, she pulled a letter from beneath her skirt and handed it to Ning Yao.

"And this as well. Senior... oh no, Your Eminence Abundance, the headmaster said Spirit Hall gave this to her a few days ago. Whether to accept it is entirely up to you."

Ning Yao raised his hand to take the letter and nodded at Shui Bing'er outside the door.

"Mm, I understand. Would you like to come in and sit for a while?"

"No, no, Your Eminence. The headmaster specifically instructed me not to, and I still need to return and report back to her."

Shui Bing'er hurriedly waved her hands. After giving a slight bow, she jogged away from the residence.

Ning Yao said nothing more. He closed the door, turned around, and returned inside.

"Am I really that scary?"

Sitting on the sofa in the living room, he felt somewhat helpless.

But after muttering that casually, he looked down at the letter in his hand.

The letter had clearly already been opened. According to Shui Bing'er, it should have been sent by Spirit Hall to their headmaster.

Yet it had ultimately ended up in his hands, so it was likely related to him.

He casually opened it. There were two pages in the letter, and Ning Yao took them both out and gave them a rough read.

"So they came knocking in person."

His brow rose slightly. With a faint exertion of his fingers, the letter turned to ash and scattered through the air.

He had guessed correctly. This letter was indeed related to him.

Or rather, Spirit Hall had sent it specifically because of him.

The contents were simple. Spirit Hall had come looking for him.

Literally.

Through some unknown channel, Spirit Hall had learned that Ning Yao had already left Suotuo City and was living in seclusion in Skywater City.

But they did not know exactly where he was.

Thus, while dispatching people to Skywater City, they had also sent a letter specifically asking the Skywater Academy headmaster whether she had seen Ning Yao.

Naturally, the headmaster had not replied. In the end, she had even told him about the matter directly.

That made Ning Yao view the academy somewhat more favorably.

They would not betray him and had even gone so far as to conceal the truth from Spirit Hall. That suited Ning Yao's wishes perfectly.

"But another Titled Douluo, huh?"

"It seems Bibi Dong wants to recruit me just as much as Qian Daoliu does."

His fingers lightly tapped against the table as Ning Yao pondered in silence.

The sender of this letter was Yue Guan, one of the original story's famed duo and Bibi Dong's right-hand man, the Chrysanthemum Douluo.

The letter had even specifically mentioned that he had already arrived in Skywater City.

It seemed this Chrysanthemum Douluo very much wanted to see him.

With a faint curl of his lips, Ning Yao stood up and stretched.

"Then I'll go see him. It's not like I have anything else to do."

The Skywater Academy headmaster had helped conceal him so thoroughly, yet this letter had still ended up in his hands several days later. She was probably afraid that Chrysanthemum Douluo would cause her trouble.

In return for her stance of standing with him, Ning Yao would not allow that to happen.

With a thought, he vanished from where he stood.

Skywater City, Spirit Hall.

"Hello. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Having just passed the two guards and entered Spirit Hall, a young-looking soul master approached Ning Yao with a smile.

His attitude was excellent, but Ning Yao felt that it had the same flavor as salespeople from his previous life.

"I'm looking for someone."

He spoke softly, his eyes sweeping over everything within Spirit Hall.

It seemed that Spirit Hall's construction was also determined by the size of the city.

This one in Skywater City was clearly far superior to the one in Suotuo City.

"Oh? Looking for someone? May I ask who you are looking for, sir?"

The Spirit Hall staff member clearly froze for a moment, as if he rarely encountered such a request, but he quickly recovered.

"Yue Guan."

The staff member's hand trembled, and the documents in his hand nearly fell to the floor.

Had he heard that correctly?

Who was this boy, who looked even younger than him, looking for?

Yue Guan? Elder Chrysanthemum?

Never mind how he knew Elder Chrysanthemum was here—this guy actually dared to call the elder by his full name...

That was a Titled Douluo!

Yet just as he was still wondering what to do, an exceedingly effeminate voice sounded beside his ear.

"Bring this Eminence to me."

As the words fell, the low-ranking Spirit Hall worker shuddered from head to toe.

That voice could only belong to that lord.

And what did "this Eminence" mean?

He cautiously raised his head to look at Ning Yao.

Could this youth, who looked even younger than him, also be a Titled Douluo?

He unconsciously swallowed, his posture instinctively becoming much more humble.

"Your Eminence, please follow me."

He did not know what was going on, but since his own elder had spoken, there could be no mistake.

Leading Ning Yao through several checkpoints, he finally arrived before a white door.

"Your Eminence, Elder Chrysanthemum is resting inside."

With that, he consciously withdrew.

Ning Yao, meanwhile, pushed the door open and walked in.

A somewhat alluring figure entered his sight.

Chrysanthemum Douluo sat there sipping tea, seeming not the least bit surprised by Ning Yao's arrival.

He even stood up and smiled faintly at Ning Yao.

"Your Eminence Abundance, it is our first meeting. There were too many eyes around, so I could not personally welcome you. Please forgive me."

Ning Yao looked at Chrysanthemum Douluo noncommittally.

"Chrysanthemum Douluo, there is no need to be so polite."

As he spoke, his words paused slightly.

"But I think we should all be more honest. Since everyone is here, why not show yourselves and have a chat together?"

(Today was unlucky. My computer broke, so the update was late...)