Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan

The next month and more flew by.

The two of them experienced firsthand what "resource favoritism" meant.

This was no ordinary favoritism. It was tsunami-level favoritism.

First came the Mimicry Training Rooms.

Behind the academy lay a dense forest cordoned off by Spirit Hall, where several training rooms had been built to imitate wilderness environments.

Normally, only the top-ranking students in the genius class had a chance to use them. Now, Ye Xunhuan and Xu Qingqing each had a key.

The environments simulated by the Mimicry Training Rooms were perfectly suited for spirit master cultivation, making them two or three times as effective as ordinary meditation.

Next came the spiritual medicines.

Pills that replenished spirit power, ointments that repaired meridians, medicinal baths that tempered the body—batch after batch of them were delivered to Dormitory 301.

Not to mention the meals made from thousand-year soul beast meat. They had them every meal.

Neither of them even had to hunt for it themselves; the academy delivered it right to their door.

Ye Xunhuan had also made good on Xu Qingqing's double portion of thousand-year soul beast meat.

At every meal, two portions of meat sat before Xu Qingqing. She ate until her cheeks puffed out like a hamster hoarding food.

They had more resources than they could spend, but neither of them slacked off in cultivation.

Every morning, Ye Xunhuan meditated in the Mimicry Training Room, circulating the Primordial Unity Art through two cycles as his spirit power steadily rose.

In the afternoons, he trained in actual combat with Pang Dahai and practiced coordination with Xu Qingqing.

Pang Dahai even borrowed soul beasts raised by Spirit Hall from the teachers of the Soul Beast Department to simulate battles against soul beasts.

Of course, the condition was that they could not injure those soul beasts.

After more than a month, Ye Xunhuan's spirit power was the first to break through the level-twenty threshold.

He had officially stepped into the ranks of a Great Spirit Master.

Xu Qingqing followed close behind, her spirit power stuck at the peak of level nineteen, only one final step away from a breakthrough.

This drove her frantic. Every day after cultivation, she would sit cross-legged for half the day, trying to pierce through that final barrier.

Ye Xunhuan told her not to rush it. Some things could not be forced.

Xu Qingqing said, "I know, I know," but secretly cultivated whenever she had a spare moment.

Until one utterly ordinary evening.

The two of them were having dinner in their dormitory.

That day's meal was especially nourishing: stewed thousand-year free-range chicken.

Snow ginseng had been added to the soup as well.

Free-range chicken was a type of soul beast poultry with an extremely low bloodline rank. Its meat was mediocre, but its bones contained a tiny bit of spirit power, making it ideal for soup.

It was cheap, yet exceptionally delicious.

Xu Qingqing picked up her bowl and gulped down more than half of it.

She set it down and let out a satisfied burp.

"Burp~."

Then her whole body froze.

Ye Xunhuan was shoveling rice into his mouth when he saw Xu Qingqing's eyes widen round. She still held the empty bowl in her hand, her mouth half open as though she had seen a ghost.

"What's wrong?"

Xu Qingqing said nothing.

She lowered her head and looked at her hand.

A faint silver glow flickered from her palm, then vanished.

A fluctuation of spirit power.

She had broken through.

She had broken through on the spot after drinking just one bowl of chicken soup.

Xu Qingqing stood there in a daze for three seconds, then looked up at Ye Xunhuan, her face full of disbelief.

Ye Xunhuan was stunned too.

Then...

"Pfft!" Ye Xunhuan sprayed out a mouthful of rice. "Hahahahahaha!"

He laughed so hard he could not straighten up. His chopsticks fell to the floor; one hand clutched his stomach while the other slapped the table. His face turned bright red from laughing.

"Qingqing, you're unbelievable. This is the first time I've seen someone break through halfway through a meal."

Xu Qingqing's face flushed with a whoosh, red from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears.

"What are you laughing at?! This is a natural culmination! A natural culmination, understand?!"

"Hahahahaha, a soup-ful culmination!"

"Ye Xunhuan, shut up!!"

Xu Qingqing grabbed her pillow again and hurled it at him.

Ye Xunhuan was laughing too hard to move, and the pillow hit him squarely in the forehead.

He did not get angry. Covering his forehead, he kept laughing. As he laughed, though, he also felt reassured.

Early the next morning, the two went to the academy's Academic Affairs Office and informed Cao Feng that they had broken through level twenty.

The moment Cao Feng heard, he sprang up from his chair.

"You're both level twenty already?"

"Yes." Ye Xunhuan nodded.

"Good! Good!" Cao Feng said "good" twice in a row before turning and leaving. "Wait here. I'll report to the Pope's Palace immediately."

He left in such a hurry that he did not even close the door.

Xu Qingqing reached out and shut it, then turned back to Ye Xunhuan. "Why is Teacher Cao more anxious than we are?"

"Normal." Ye Xunhuan sprawled carelessly in Cao Feng's seat. "The pace of my breakthrough directly affects the results he reports. This is a project His Holiness the Pope is personally watching. How could he not be proactive?"

Xu Qingqing gave an oh and found herself a seat as well.

The two waited for about two hours before hurried footsteps sounded in the corridor.

There was more than one person.

Two sets of footsteps, one heavy and one light.

Ye Xunhuan opened his eyes.

Xu Qingqing also woke groggily.

"Your Excellency Chrysanthemum Douluo, the two young geniuses are inside."

It was Cao Feng's voice.

Ye Xunhuan hurriedly got up to open the door, slightly startled. It was actually Yue Guan?

When the door opened, Cao Feng stood outside with a smile on his face, though his gaze was far more respectful than usual.

Behind him stood someone else.

Ye Xunhuan's gaze fell upon that person, and his pupils contracted slightly.

He was tall, easily over six foot three.

His figure was slender yet straight, like a tall poplar tree.

Long golden hair cascaded to his waist, each strand glimmering with specks of gold.

His features were almost excessively exquisite, with narrow brows and eyes, thin lips, and skin so pale it was nearly translucent.

If not for the slight protrusion of his Adam's apple, nine out of ten people would have mistaken him for a woman based on his face alone.

Even more eye-catching was his attire.

He wore a suit of golden armor that hugged his body, every plate polished bright as a mirror.

The armor was designed in a rather feminine style, cinched tightly at the waist and making his shoulders and figure seem even more bewitching. Sunlight struck the armor and reflected a blinding golden glare that made one's eyes ache.

Ye Xunhuan felt that even without hearing Cao Feng speak, he would have recognized Yue Guan at a glance.

That appearance was simply too distinctive.

Golden hair, golden armor, bewitching features, and a tall, slender figure.

When he had watched Douluo in his past life, this man's appearance had been quite controversial. Seeing him in person now, he was even more outrageous than in the animation.

Yue Guan's smile was gentle, the corners of his eyes slightly upturned. He really was good-looking.

Wait, something was wrong.

Why would I think something like that?

Seeing Ye Xunhuan standing there blankly, Cao Feng hurriedly introduced them. "Ye Xunhuan, Xu Qingqing, this is Chrysanthemum Douluo of the Elder Hall, a level-ninety-five Titled Douluo. His Holiness the Pope specially sent him to take you hunting for Spirit Rings."

Then he turned and introduced the two of them to Chrysanthemum Douluo. "Your Excellency Chrysanthemum Douluo, these are Ye Xunhuan and Xu Qingqing."

Chrysanthemum Douluo gave a slight nod. His gaze swept from Ye Xunhuan to Xu Qingqing, then back again, a faint smile on his lips.

"Not bad." His voice was soft as well, though not feminine—an androgynous voice somewhere between male and female. It sounded pleasant, yet made one's skin crawl.

"You're the little one with the Behemoth Martial Soul. Old Ghost mentioned you to me."

Chrysanthemum Douluo looked at Ye Xunhuan. "His Holiness the Pope thinks highly of you. I hope you won't disappoint me."