Training Away From Home

"Quit acting smug after getting such a bargain. Put that soul bone away already—we're heading back!"

Zhao Ming chuckled and nodded. After putting away the soul bone, he immediately set off back toward Heaven Dou City.

Upon returning to the Crown Prince's Palace, Zhao Ming first washed up and changed into a clean robe before heading straight to Qian Renxue's study.

In the morning study, Qian Renxue sat behind her desk, reviewing memorials.

She wore a moon-white robe today, her golden hair draped over her shoulders. A few loose strands fell beside her ears, making her already exquisite features seem even more cool and ethereal.

Hearing his footsteps, she looked up. Her violet eyes swept over Zhao Ming, and the corners of her lips lifted slightly. "You're back? Did the hunt for your second soul ring go smoothly?"

"It couldn't have gone more smoothly." Zhao Ming sat opposite Qian Renxue and recounted everything that had happened in Sunset Forest in full detail.

When she heard that the Emerald Demon Bird and the Sharp-tailed Swift had knocked themselves unconscious against a cliff face, Qian Renxue's expression became rather peculiar as well.

She fell silent for a moment, studying Zhao Ming with an odd look before slowly saying, "Xiaoming, your luck is absurdly good."

Zhao Ming scratched his head and chuckled without replying.

Qian Renxue did not press him. She merely gave him a deep look before changing the subject. "How is your second soul skill?"

"My second soul skill is called Emerald Feather Protection. It increases all attributes by thirty percent, while speed and agility receive an additional one-hundred-percent boost." As Zhao Ming spoke, he activated his soul power and released the strength of his second soul ring.

A pale emerald film of light emerged around his body, feather-like patterns flowing across its surface with a light, agile grace.

A trace of approval flashed through Qian Renxue's eyes. "A fine soul skill. It happens to compensate for the cumbersome weakness of your Steel Whip martial soul. With both strength and speed, your combat style is beginning to take shape."

After a pause, she asked again, "What are your plans next? Will you continue cultivating in the residence, or...?"

"Sister Xue'er." Zhao Ming interrupted her, sitting upright with a serious expression. "I want to discuss something with you."

"Oh?" Qian Renxue set down her vermilion brush and looked at him with interest. "What is it? Let's hear it."

"I want to go out and train alone for three months." Zhao Ming spoke slowly and deliberately, meeting Qian Renxue's gaze with firm eyes. "I've only just acquired my second soul skill. I need actual combat to familiarize myself with how to use it."

"Also, the combat techniques Uncle Snake Spear taught me can only truly be mastered in real battles. If I keep cultivating behind closed doors in the residence, my progress will be too slow."

Seemingly afraid that Qian Renxue would refuse, he added, "After I acquired my first soul ring, I trained in Star Dou Forest for half a month under Uncle Snake Spear's protection. That experience benefited me greatly. This time, I want to go a step further and try facing some challenges on my own."

Qian Renxue did not answer immediately. Instead, she narrowed her eyes slightly and examined the child before her, who was barely seven years old.

After a year together, she understood better than anyone just how mature Zhao Ming was.

This child never acted without reason. Since he had made this request, he must have had his own considerations and preparations.

Moreover, what he said made sense. Flowers raised in a greenhouse could not withstand wind and rain. True powerhouses all grew through trials of blood and fire.

Back when she had cultivated in Spirit Hall, she too had experienced no shortage of life-and-death battles.

With that thought, Qian Renxue gave a slight nod. Her tone was gentle, yet carried an unquestionable boundary. "All right. But I can't rest easy letting you go out alone. I'll have Uncle Snake Spear follow you in secret. Don't worry—he won't interfere with your training. He'll only act if your life is in danger."

Zhao Ming inwardly groaned. The true purpose of this trip was not merely combat training. He wanted to experiment with his second martial soul, the Treasure-Dropping Coin, learn more about some of its properties, and incidentally obtain the Blue Silver Emperor's soul bone.

How was he supposed to do any of that with Snake Spear Douluo following him?

Yet he did not reveal the slightest hint of it on his face. He merely nodded obediently. "Thank you, Sister Xue'er. I'll be careful."

Qian Renxue smiled in satisfaction and gently rubbed his head. "Go on, make your preparations. Tomorrow, I'll arrange for someone to send you out..."

Halfway through her sentence, Qian Renxue seemed to recall something. She took out a crystal ball from her storage soul tool and held it out before Zhao Ming.

"Come, Xiaoming. Test your soul power level."

Zhao Ming placed his hand on the crystal ball. Qian Renxue looked closely and smiled. "Not bad. Your soul power is at level twenty-three and a half. At your cultivation speed, you should reach level thirty soul power in a little over a year. A Soul Elder at eight, or at most nine years old... Xiaoming, your cultivation speed is truly fast!"

The next morning, before dawn had broken, an ox cart carrying vegetables swayed out through the back gate of the Crown Prince's Palace. Mixed among the farmers bringing vegetables into the city, it leisurely passed through the southern gate of Heaven Dou City.

After traveling roughly five li beyond the city gate, the ox cart stopped beside a secluded patch of woods.

The driver lifted the oilcloth covering the cart. A boy who appeared to be twelve or thirteen crawled out from beneath a pile of vegetable baskets. It was Zhao Ming.

On Douluo Continent, absorbing soul rings promoted physical growth and development. It was perfectly normal for Zhao Ming, who had absorbed soul rings beyond their age limit, to look twelve or thirteen.

"Young master, this is as far as I can take you," the driver said quietly.

"Thank you for your trouble." Zhao Ming nodded at him, jumped down from the ox cart, and slipped into the woods without looking back.

Zhao Ming immediately activated his second soul skill and sprinted away. Snake Spear Douluo, hidden in the shadows, promptly followed.

As he entered the depths of the forest, Zhao Ming silently said, Uncle Snake Spear, forgive me.

After walking for about half an hour, the trees ahead grew increasingly dense. Their canopy blotted out the sky, splitting the sunlight into countless fragments, and the light within the woods became dim and mottled.

Zhao Ming stopped before an ancient tree so massive that four or five people would need to link arms to encircle it. He glanced back in the direction he had come from, a sly smile curling across his lips.

This was the place.

With a thought, his entire body vanished from the spot, leaving behind not even a trace of his aura.

Moments later, a tall, gaunt figure flashed out from the dense forest behind him. It was Snake Spear Douluo, She Long. He landed where Zhao Ming had disappeared and swept his sharp gaze around the area, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.

Where was he? He had clearly kept Zhao Ming's aura locked onto all along. Yet in the span of only a few breaths, that aura had vanished into thin air, as though something had forcibly erased it from this world.

Snake Spear Douluo circled the area several times, then leaped onto the canopy to search from above. Within a radius of several hundred meters, there was not so much as a human shadow—let alone a ghost.