Heavenly Soul Orphanage, Zhang Lexuan's Enemy

A flicker of delight appeared in Zhang Lexuan's eyes.

This soul skill was simply far too powerful.

It could seal an enemy's soul power circulation, interfere with their use of soul skills, and was even exceptionally effective against Soul Bone skills. This was absolutely a top-tier control-type soul skill. Moreover, its activation condition was extremely simple—it only required close-range contact with the enemy.

Even against enemies who could kite from afar, Xiao An had his long-range first soul skill to force them into unfavorable positions.

And Xiao An would never fight alone.

When facing enemies who fought from a distance, she could also make use of her strong assault capabilities to force them into close combat with Xiao An.

"Hahaha, good!"

"Xiao An, this soul skill is enough to make you invincible against opponents of the same rank. Moreover, your Martial Soul has already undergone a Silver Rank Second Awakening. Even fighting above your rank will be no difficult task."

"I never expected that hunting this Soul Ring would yield such an outstanding soul skill."

Du Busi nodded repeatedly, unable to feel more satisfied. "Let's go, to Heaven Dou City. It's time for the Heavenly Soul Empire's royal family to see the young sect master of my Body Sect!"

Ye An slightly raised his head. "Teacher, when we pass through Guler Village, I want to visit the old village chief."

Du Busi was slightly startled by this, but quickly burst into laughter.

Naturally, he would not stop Ye An from making such a request.

Ye An valued loyalty and affection so deeply. Du Busi was pleased beyond measure—how could he possibly stop him?

As he walked along the country paths of Guler Village, Ye An's emotions were rather complicated.

This was the first time he had returned to the village to visit the old village chief in the three years since joining the Body Sect.

Of course, although he had not personally returned to Guler Village over the past three years, he had asked Du Busi to send people there with supplies every year. With the Body Sect's secret assistance, Guler Village had clearly developed far better than it had three years ago.

Most of the shabby wooden and thatched houses in the village had already been replaced with brick houses and tiled homes. The villagers passing by all wore sincere smiles.

Ever since Ye An had emerged from Guler Village and joined a great sect, life in the village had visibly improved. People had come specifically to help the villagers build houses, and no one would exploit the money they earned from selling crops before coming to awaken the children's Martial Souls. Not long ago, a fish pond had even been opened.

The villagers had become much better off, and naturally, there was far less worry on their faces.

Looking at the villagers they passed, Zhang Lexuan's eyes held a trace of curiosity.

"So this is where Xiao An grew up? They... look very happy when they smile."

Ye An gently nodded, a hint of reminiscence appearing in his eyes. "Actually, Guler Village had always been a very poor little village. People normally lived off the harvest. Some would risk going up the mountains to hunt, trading the game they caught for daily necessities."

"My father, whom I never met, died to wild beasts in the mountains. My mother also passed away giving birth to me, so the village chief had always taken care of me while I was growing up. Without him, I would never have survived."

As he spoke, Ye An paused slightly, and a smile touched his lips. "Look, that tiled house is Grandpa Village Chief's home. He never had children of his own and treated me like his real grandson. Now that I've become a Soul Master, I naturally have to repay him."

Following the direction Ye An pointed, Zhang Lexuan saw the small house that had been renovated and completely transformed. Her gaze became even gentler.

"He is your grandfather, so naturally he is my grandfather as well. So... since this is my first time visiting Grandpa, of course I need to bring gifts. Yet you said I didn't need to buy these things."

As she spoke, Zhang Lexuan playfully shook the gift box in her hand.

The box contained fruit and nutritional supplements.

In truth, the old village chief did not lack such things. Ye An had people bring him supplies every so often. However, Zhang Lexuan insisted on buying them, so Ye An simply stopped objecting.

After all, this was also a gesture of Zhang Lexuan's affection.

Before long, Ye An led Zhang Lexuan to the door.

He took a deep breath and gently pushed open the courtyard gate.

The old village chief, who had been lying in a wicker lounge chair in the courtyard, was first startled by the sound. Then he instinctively looked toward the gate.

Though the old village chief's eyesight had grown dim with age, he still recognized at a glance that the youth outside was Ye An, whom he had raised and who had left the village three years ago.

"Is... is that Xiao An? Xiao An, you're back?"

Seeing the old village chief shakily rise from the lounge chair, Ye An hurried over. "It's me, Grandpa. I brought my fiancée back to see you."

As he spoke, Zhang Lexuan obediently gave a slight bow and followed Ye An in calling him Grandpa.

The old village chief was immediately stunned.

Such a beautiful girl was Xiao An's fiancée?

Xiao An was only nine years old. How did he already have a fiancée?

Seeming to notice the old village chief's confusion, Ye An spoke softly. "Grandpa, don't worry. I'm doing very well in the Body Sect. Teacher values me greatly and has even decided to establish me as the sect's young sect master. In the future, I'll inherit the sect and become its master. Just enjoy your retirement in peace. You don't need to worry about me. Your grandson is already a powerful Soul Master now."

Hearing this, the old village chief immediately grabbed Ye An's hand and gently patted it twice.

"Good, good. Xiao An has grown taller and become more handsome."

"Grandpa always believed that Xiao An would become a powerful Soul Master."

Heaven Dou City.

Ten thousand years ago, this city had been the imperial capital of the Heaven Dou Empire. After ten thousand years, Heaven Dou City had not declined. Instead, it had become even more prosperous.

Ye An and Zhang Lexuan walked hand in hand through the streets of Heaven Dou City, occasionally looking around with curiosity. Having grown up in Heaven Dou City, Zhang Lexuan gently introduced everything to Ye An.

Although some places differed somewhat from Zhang Lexuan's memories, there had not been any particularly major changes overall.

At the very least, she had no trouble serving as Ye An's guide.

"The building not far ahead is the Heavenly Soul Orphanage. Most of the children here are descendants of soldiers who died in service. The royal family takes them into the orphanage to live, then awakens their Martial Souls when they turn six."

"If they awaken a decent Martial Soul, someone will take them to an elementary academy to study. These people might be nobles who have taken a fancy to their talent, or representatives from sects. If they are chosen by nobles, these children will join the noble families after graduating from advanced academies and serve them. If they are chosen by sects, they can skip elementary, intermediate, and advanced academies altogether and directly enter those sects."

"As for children who fail to awaken Innate Soul Power, the orphanage will continue raising them until they are twelve. If someone adopts them during that time, they will go to new families. Otherwise, they will leave the orphanage at twelve and live on their own."

"Today seems to be the annual Martial Soul awakening day."

Listening to Zhang Lexuan's explanation, Ye An looked at her in surprise.

"How do you know so much about this?"

"Because my father once brought me here and chose a child with pretty good talent. Unfortunately... on the day our clan was exterminated, that child happened to be dining with my father at our residence. She couldn't escape that tragedy either."

Hearing this, Ye An patted Zhang Lexuan's back comfortingly.

However, Zhang Lexuan merely shook her head gently to indicate that she was fine.

At that moment, Du Busi and Jin Peng, who were walking ahead, suddenly stopped.

"Since we're already passing by, let's go in and take a look. We still have time before the appointed meeting with the royal family."

Du Busi looked toward the Heavenly Soul Orphanage, faint anticipation visible in his eyes.

Seeing this, Ye An's mouth twitched.

He seriously suspected this was a lingering effect of Du Busi discovering in the village that he had picked up Zhang Lexuan from the roadside.

But then again... judging by the timing, Long Aotian should already be six years old now.

So... could Long Aotian really happen to be in this Heavenly Soul Orphanage?

Ye An found it hard to imagine what he would become if Du Busi happened to encounter Long Aotian this time as well and bring him back to the Body Sect.

Would he become some strange old man wandering everywhere in the future?

As long as there was a Martial Soul awakening site, the Body Sect master Du Busi could be randomly refreshed there?

It seemed... genuinely possible.

Ye An and Zhang Lexuan followed behind Du Busi and entered the Heavenly Soul Orphanage. At that moment, the orphanage's Martial Soul awakening ceremony was already halfway through.

Aside from the children lined up in rows and the two young Soul Masters responsible for awakening Martial Souls, there were also quite a few spectators standing nearby.

These onlookers were presumably the nobles and sect representatives Zhang Lexuan had mentioned. Only by doing this could they snatch away promising children the instant they were discovered.

As Ye An swept his gaze over the people around them, he suddenly felt Zhang Lexuan's hand tighten slightly around his.

Ye An raised his head in confusion and saw Zhang Lexuan staring at a middle-aged man in the distance.

The middle-aged man wore a steward's uniform, but its workmanship was exceptionally refined. In one corner of the clothing was embroidered a purple-black weapon shaped like a curved blade.

With a single glance, Ye An recognized that weapon.

More precisely, it was a Martial Soul—the Xuan Ye Blade.

This Martial Soul was precisely the inherited Martial Soul of the family belonging to Zhang Lexuan's earl enemy.

Xuan Ye Earl, Xuan Ye Blade.

His grandfather was Zhang Lexuan's grandfather. Therefore, Zhang Lexuan's enemy was naturally his enemy as well.

A trace of killing intent immediately surfaced in Ye An's narrow eyes.