Four-Ring Soul Ancestor

Three years later. Eastsea Academy.

September morning light spread across the training grounds, while the banner for the new student entrance ceremony snapped loudly in the sea breeze at the school gates. Director Long had been personally directing things there since early morning, running the upperclassmen ragged—"Move that flowerpot half an inch to the left." "Sort the sign-in sheets by class." "Who put the new student guide sign crooked?" The entire academy was filled with the unique chaos and vitality of a new school term.

Tang Wulin stood at the school gates with a backpack on his shoulders, looking up at the four words "Eastsea Academy" and taking a deep breath. He wore the academy's new student uniform and had shot up considerably since three years ago. The young blacksmith from back then was now a nine-year-old Soul Ancestor with four rings.

"Stop spacing out." Gu Yue's voice came from beside him.

Tang Wulin turned his head. Gu Yue stood to his left in the same new student uniform, with black hair and black eyes, her long hair falling to her waist. Her features were delicate, and her bearing was cold and ethereal. She was also a nine-year-old Soul Ancestor, with four all-purple Soul Rings.

"I was just feeling emotional. We're officially enrolled." Tang Wulin scratched the back of his head.

Gu Yue said nothing. Looking up at the plaque over the gates, she suddenly recalled the first time she had stood before these gates long ago, stubbornly refusing to step inside. In the end, that woman had shattered her way out with a tiger's roar. Now, dressed in Eastsea Academy's uniform and standing beneath the sunlight, she was about to enter as a new student—the instigator behind all this was currently smiling more brightly than anyone else in the crowd.

Lu Menge had returned to her signature teacher outfit today—her white lab coat hung open over a burgundy low-cut lace top and a black bodycon skirt with a side slit. Mismatched white stockings wrapped her straight, slender legs, while thin high heels clicked lightly across the training grounds. She moved through the crowd like a fish in water, greeting Director Long one moment, giving directions to new students' parents the next, then crouching down to tease some child brought along by a teacher and slipping a milk candy into the child's hand.

"Teacher Lu." Wu Changkong's voice sounded behind her. Dressed in white like fresh snow, he stood straight as a sword, holding the new student class roster with his usual expressionless face. He glanced at Lu Menge's skirt, his brow barely tightening before he swiftly looked away.

"Good morning, Teacher Wu—" Lu Menge turned around, looked him up and down, and smiled more brilliantly than the morning sun. "You look pretty good today. Did you sleep well last night? Have you been taking your medicine on time?" She pulled a neatly folded prescription slip from her pocket. "Who was it that I caught reviewing training logs until midnight last time? You're still recovering from the Heavenfrost Sword backlash, and the doctor's orders say you need to rest before ten—are Dr. Zhang's words just going in one ear and out the other?"

Wu Changkong glanced at the prescription slip. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, but he said nothing. Director Long pretended not to see anything and turned toward the new student registration area. Ye Ying clutched the sign-in sheets, struggling terribly not to laugh. Ever since the last physical examination results came out, the entire academy had known that Teacher Wu carried old injuries from the Heavenfrost Sword backlash in his early years and had been forcibly put into recovery by Teacher Lu. Now that Lu Menge had become his supervisor in turn, he could not even offer a word of rebuttal.

On the other side of the training grounds, Tang Wulin and Gu Yue stood together, watching Lu Menge and Wu Changkong's everyday interaction from afar before tacitly looking away at the same time.

"Three years," Tang Wulin said.

"Mm," Gu Yue replied.

"When will they get together?"

"Soon. Probably another dozen years or so."

"...That long?"

"Compared to her lifespan, a dozen years is equal to one human month. She only started truly looking at him three years ago. This pace is already light speed."

Tang Wulin did not know how to respond, so he could only give a dry cough.

Before the entrance ceremony officially began, Lu Menge called Tang Wulin and Gu Yue aside beneath a ginkgo tree at the edge of the training grounds. Little White Tiger lay sprawled over her shoulder, its tail swaying lazily. Holding a thermos in one hand and resting the other on her hip, she tilted her head as she sized up the two little ones before her, her amber fox eyes filled with calculation.

"You two—do you know what to say when you go on stage later?"

Tang Wulin froze for a moment. "Just say we're Soul Ancestors...?"

"Obviously you should say you're Soul Ancestors. I'm asking about your Martial Souls." Lu Menge shoved the thermos into Gu Yue's hands and freed up her own hand to gesture. "The names Golden Dragon King and Silver Dragon King cannot be mentioned in the human world. The Golden Dragon King alone would be enough to make those old fools in the God Realm chase you down with blades. Add the Silver Dragon King on top of that—are you here to attend school or declare war?"

Tang Wulin scratched the back of his head. "Then should I say Blue Silver Grass?"

"You can say Blue Silver Grass—it's a useless Martial Soul, harmless to humans and animals, perfect for concealing your Auxiliary Martial Soul. But you need a respectable Main Martial Soul." Lu Menge began making things up on her fingers. "Your Main Martial Soul will be called the Golden Dragon. No 'King' in the name. It sounds imposing without offending anyone. Tell people it's a dragon-type Martial Soul born from a bloodline mutation: golden scales, strength-based, adept at close combat. Half true, half false—the dragon is real, and its strength is real too. You just won't tell them which dragon it is."

Tang Wulin silently repeated the words "Golden Dragon" twice in his heart. The more he said them, the smoother they sounded, and his eyes brightened. "That's good!"

Gu Yue sharply noticed the ears of the Little White Tiger on Lu Menge's shoulder twitch three times—that was its habitual movement whenever Lu Menge was about to show off her skills. Sure enough, Lu Menge turned toward her. "Yours is even simpler—Rainbow Dragon."

Gu Yue raised her brow slightly. She remembered this. In the original story, "Rainbow Dragon" was the alias Gu Yue had used when she confessed to Tang Wulin. Of the nine attributes, light and darkness were removed, leaving only seven to be revealed. It was close to the Silver Dragon King's configuration without matching it perfectly, the ideal sort of half-truth to fool people.

"Main Martial Soul: Rainbow Dragon, with seven attributes. Auxiliary Martial Soul: Elemental Envoy." Lu Menge raised two fingers. "Rainbow Dragon is among the more noble tiers of dragon-type Martial Souls, and it suits your Silver Dragon King aura." Then she counted down item by item on her fingers. "You also need to come up with a name—the 'Na' in Gu Yuena can't be used anymore. It can't appear on any official forms from now on. Also, get those strands of silver hair under control. Last time, after you washed your hair in the dorm and failed to dry it properly, a few strands at the ends were glowing silver. Luckily, Ye Ying saw them and thought it was just light refraction. What am I supposed to say if someone else sees them next time?"

Gu Yue fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "Understood."

"Good, settled." Lu Menge clapped her hands in satisfaction. "One Golden Dragon, one Rainbow Dragon—two dragons, both real and not real. If anyone asks, it's a bloodline mutation. If anyone investigates, you're just exceptionally gifted. Anyway, your strength is right there for everyone to see. If anyone refuses to accept it, let them come up and fight you. Remember, half-truths are the easiest thing to believe. Three parts false, seven parts true. Telling nothing but lies makes it easy to expose you, while telling nothing but the truth is asking to die. Hide the most essential things well, and let them guess the rest for themselves."

She stressed the words "for themselves," then blinked her fox eyes and revealed a standard wicked grin. Tang Wulin and Gu Yue nodded together.

The entrance ceremony officially began. Director Long spoke on stage in a booming voice, going from Eastsea Academy's educational philosophy to the previous school year's achievements and honors, then from improving combat strength to daily attendance. Lu Menge stood among the teachers, helping maintain order among the new students. Halfway through lifting her thermos, she suddenly stopped. Wu Changkong had turned from the rear side of the stage and was walking toward her, holding an agenda sheet. His expression was as cold as ever, but his steps were clearly softer than usual.

"The new student representative speech segment, was that your arrangement?" He stopped in front of her.

"Yes." Lu Menge blinked. "Two nine-year-old Soul Ancestors who just enrolled. Let them go on stage and show their faces."

Wu Changkong looked at her in silence for a moment. He knew these two were no ordinary new students—they had lived at Eastsea Academy for three years and received three years of Lu Menge's personal instruction. Their true strength far surpassed that of children their age. But he also knew that Lu Menge was not putting them on stage to show off. She merely needed them to formally cement their half-true, half-false public identities in everyone's minds.

"Fine." He nodded, then added, "Tell them to mind the occasion."

"Don't worry. Those two are more composed than you think." Lu Menge smiled and made a gesture toward the stage.

When Tang Wulin stepped on stage, he worked hard to control his breathing. The sea of heads below reminded him of his first assessment at the Forging Association three years ago—he had been so nervous then that he had even swung his hammer crookedly. He walked to the center of the stage, cleared his throat, tightened his grip on the microphone, and began according to the script they had rehearsed. "Hello, everyone. My name is Tang Wulin. I am nine years old, a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor. My Main Martial Soul is the Golden Dragon, and my Auxiliary Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass."

As his voice fell, he raised his right hand. Golden light flashed from his palm, and a dragon-shaped phantom soared up behind him—its entire body covered in golden scales, its dragon head held high, its draconic might contained within. It was not as violent as the previous Golden Dragon King phantom. This was the form produced after the Golden Dragon King restrained its power from spilling out under Lu Menge's seal—the dragon horns were shortened slightly, the golden flames replaced by the sheen of reflected scales, and the vertical slits in its dragon eyes softened into round pupils. Even so, the naturally imposing aura of the dragon race made the Martial Souls of several upperclassmen in the front row visibly tremble. He then raised his left hand, and Blue Silver Grass spread from his palm, vines winding around his fingers into a gentle blue halo.

The audience fell silent for a moment. Someone was the first to gasp, "Wow!" Then thunderous applause erupted, and even the dormitory matron standing at the very edge was clapping.

Tang Wulin handed the microphone to Gu Yue. She took it, swept her gaze over the sea of people below, and spoke in an unhurried tone. Her black hair and black eyes made her seem particularly cold beneath the sunlight. "My name is Gu Yue. I am nine years old, a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor. My Main Martial Soul is the Rainbow Dragon, and my Auxiliary Martial Soul is the Elemental Envoy."

She raised her right hand, and a rainbow dragon-shaped phantom unfolded behind her—the Silver Dragon King's true form had been layered beneath two seals by Lu Menge, displaying the Rainbow Dragon Martial Soul outwardly. Six attributes were compressed into six colors, while the core silver was hidden away, leaving only a rainbow-like shifting glow. Another wave of shocked cries rose from below. Rainbow Dragons belonged to the legendary tier of the dragon race's lineage. Forget Eastsea Academy—there were only a handful in the entire Federation. She raised her left hand again, and the Soul Rings of the Elemental Envoy lit up. Flames, ice crystals, wind blades, and arcs of lightning flashed successively between her five fingers.

Lu Menge clapped from among the teachers and turned to glance at Wu Changkong's profile. He was clapping as well, his palms coming together again and again with complete sincerity, not a trace of perfunctoriness. Yet as he applauded, he tilted his head slightly—as a Titled Douluo, he could naturally sense that the brightness of the Rainbow Dragon phantom on stage was somewhat unnatural. The flash of silver deep within Gu Yue's eyes had also been swiftly suppressed by her. He looked toward Lu Menge.

Lu Menge met his gaze and smiled as she shook her head. This was not the time to discuss it.

Tang Wulin bowed, then walked down from the stage side by side with Gu Yue. As they descended the steps, Tang Wulin lowered his voice and muttered, "...Golden Dragon. Teacher Lu's naming ability is about as good as her tea-making."

Gu Yue kept her gaze ahead. "She has been brewing tea for too many ten-thousand-year periods. It's normal that she can't think of new names. I didn't come up with the name Rainbow Dragon. Your father did."

"My dad?" Tang Wulin's steps halted. "My dad knew about Rainbow Dragon?"

"Tang San helped you come up with that idea."

Tang Wulin fell silent and swallowed the rest of his question. Gu Yue said nothing more either, and the two returned to the new student ranks side by side.

After the entrance ceremony ended, the crowd gradually dispersed. Tang Wulin and Gu Yue were surrounded by a group of curious new students for quite a while before finally getting free—"What attribute is the Golden Dragon?" "Does the Rainbow Dragon really exist?" "How can Blue Silver Grass go with a dragon Martial Soul?" By the time they finally pushed their way through the crowd, they saw Lu Menge and Wu Changkong standing side by side beneath the ginkgo tree at the edge of the training grounds.

That ginkgo tree was thicker than it had been three years ago. Golden leaves carpeted the ground, forming a soft blanket. Lu Menge was standing on tiptoe, reaching for a certain leaf. She could not quite reach it, so she turned and said something to Wu Changkong. He did not say much, nor did he look at the leaf. He simply raised his hand and lowered the branch a little. Lu Menge plucked the leaf and casually tucked it into the pocket of her white lab coat. Her thin heels crunched softly over the fallen leaves, while her laughter drifted over on the wind, blending with his silence.

Tang Wulin and Gu Yue stood in the middle of the training grounds, taking in the entire scene.

"Gu Yue, do you think Teacher Lu knows?"

"Knows what?"

"That Teacher Wu treats her... differently from everyone else."

Gu Yue glanced at him, and the corner of her lips curved in a rare smile. "She knew three years ago. It just took her three years to learn not to run away anymore."

Lu Menge suddenly sneezed beneath the ginkgo tree. Rubbing the tip of her nose, she muttered, "At my age, there are still people thinking about me," then pulled out her phone and sent Gu Yue a message—There's sweet and sour spare ribs in the cafeteria for lunch today. You two little Soul Ancestors better not be late. Gu Yue lowered her head to look at the message. A golden ginkgo leaf had fallen onto her phone case, obscuring one corner of the words, and she gently brushed it away.

Tang Wulin leaned over to look at the screen. His eyes immediately lit up, and he broke into a run toward the cafeteria. Gu Yue followed behind him. The early autumn wind lifted several strands of her black hair, and the tips flashed with an exceedingly faint silver glow beneath the sunlight before she casually tucked them behind her ear.

Lu Menge leaned against the ginkgo trunk and put away her phone. The old tea leaves in her thermos slowly unfurled in the hot water. Two half-true, half-false dragons had been released into the human world. What remained was to see what they would grow into in this soil. But that was for the future. Today, the cafeteria had sweet and sour spare ribs, and her little supervisor was frowning as he confiscated the milk candy in her hand. "You've already eaten three today." She spread her hands helplessly, then smiled.