Heaven Dou Royal Academy, student dormitories.
Yu Tianheng opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling for a long while. As his memories returned, his face instantly darkened.
"The captain's awake?" Osler poked his head over.
"Where's that blond bastard?!"
"What kind of skill is sneaking up on me!"
Yu Tianheng's voice was low. After abruptly sitting up, he felt a dull ache at the back of his head.
"Captain, he didn't use Soul Power or reveal his Martial Soul."
Osler sounded helpless. "You lunged at him, he pressed your head down, and you fell... That guy was a little strange."
"My Spirit Rings weren't even fully activated!"
"You had already used Martial Soul Possession."
Leaning against the corner of the wall, Yufeng curled his lips in a faint, mocking smile.
"Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Dragon scales had already grown out, yet he pressed you into the ground like a thumbtack."
Yu Tianheng's face flushed crimson.
He wanted to argue, but the image in his mind was far too clear.
He had struck with all his strength, and with a casual press from the other party, he remembered nothing after that.
"Where's Dugu Yan?"
Suppressing his anger, he looked around but found no sign of Dugu Yan.
"She didn't come back with you?"
"She left with that blond youth."
Osler paused. "Ye Lingling went too."
Yu Tianheng clenched the bedsheet in his fingers.
Why had he come to Heaven Dou Royal Academy?
As long as he won over Dugu Yan, he could tie a Title Douluo to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's war chariot.
But now, Dugu Yan had left with an unfamiliar youth right in front of him.
"That guy..."
Yu Tianheng lowered his voice. "Where exactly did he come from?"
"Do you think someone who could make both Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling follow him would be simple? And you know Ye Lingling. She's the inheritor of the Nine Heart Begonia. Today, she obediently followed behind him all the way down an entire street."
As Yu Tianheng listened to Yufeng, his expression grew increasingly grim.
Just then, the door was pushed open and a figure walked in.
He wore a gray robe and had refined, handsome features. Though young, he already carried a composed air.
Qin Ming, twenty-six years old, a level fifty-two Spirit King. He had been specially recruited by Heaven Dou Royal Academy as the Imperial Fighting Team's instructor.
"You're awake?"
Qin Ming glanced at Yu Tianheng, then at the others.
"I heard you had a conflict with someone, and Tianheng was knocked unconscious in one move?"
That was what intrigued him most.
Yu Tianheng was thirteen years old, possessed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul, and was a level twenty-seven Soul Grandmaster with exceptional talent.
Yet he had been taken down in a single move.
"Teacher, that man ambushed me!"
"It wasn't an ambush."
Yufeng cut him off without hesitation. "The captain had already used Martial Soul Possession, and the whole team saw it. That guy pressed him down without even revealing a trace of Soul Power."
Qin Ming's eyes lit up instead.
"That blond youth knocked out Tianheng, who had used Martial Soul Possession, in one move without even using Soul Power? Did you see his age clearly? About how old was he?"
"He looked a few years younger than us."
Osler thought back. "His bone age shouldn't be high, but with that height... it was probably boosted after absorbing Spirit Rings. His actual age may be even younger. After all, that face looked far too young."
Qin Ming's gaze grew brighter and brighter, as if he had discovered an uncut piece of jade.
Young, yet powerful enough to crush a Soul Grandmaster... Such talent would be wasted at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
If such a prospect could be sent to his alma mater...
Shrek Academy, an academy dedicated to cultivating monsters.
"Teacher?" Yu Tianheng noticed his expression. "What are you thinking about?"
Qin Ming came back to himself and did not answer directly. "Where is he?"
"He left with Dugu Yan. He should have gone back to Dugu Manor."
Qin Ming nodded and turned to leave.
"Teacher!"
Yu Tianheng stopped him. "You're not thinking of going to find him, are you? He just beat me!"
"You were inferior to him. There's nothing more to say."
Qin Ming looked back at him. "I'm going to see what kind of person he is. Such a genius should not be buried."
The door closed.
The room fell silent for a while.
Yu Tianheng's face was so dark it seemed ready to drip water. "Is he my teacher, or that guy's teacher?"
"Teacher Qin Ming has always cherished talent. You know that," Osler tried to persuade him.
"Cherished talent?"
Yu Tianheng sneered. "I got beaten, and he didn't ask once whether I was hurt. Then he turned around and ran off to find the guy who beat me. Is that cherishing talent?"
He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking loudly.
He had been beaten, Dugu Yan had run off with someone else, and now even his instructor had gone to recruit that youth.
When had Yu Tianheng ever received this kind of treatment?
"Some fucking genius!"
He punched the headboard, making the entire bed tremble.
Yufeng leaned against the wall and snorted at the sight of him. Without saying anything, he turned and walked out.
At the end of the corridor, Qin Ming had already left the academy gates and was striding toward Dugu Manor.
Heaven Dou City, Dugu Manor.
Qin Ming stood before the manor gates, straightened his robes, and handed over his calling card.
After the gatekeeper announced him, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling emerged from inside shortly afterward.
"Teacher Qin Ming?"
Dugu Yan looked somewhat surprised. "Why are you here?"
"I heard that you had a conflict with someone on the street, so I came to see what happened."
Qin Ming's tone was gentle, but his gaze unconsciously swept toward the manor. "That... blond youth, is he still here?"
Dugu Yan froze slightly, then understood why he had come.
She shook her head. "You came too late. They've already left."
"They left?"
Qin Ming frowned. "When did they leave? Which direction did they go?"
"Not long ago."
Dugu Yan's tone remained calm. "I don't know where they went. They didn't say. They're my grandfather's guests, here in Heaven Dou City to handle some matters. Once they're done, they'll leave."
Qin Ming fell silent for a moment.
He knew Yu Tianheng's strength well. With the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul and level twenty-seven Soul Grandmaster cultivation, Yu Tianheng was already among the best of his peers.
Someone who could casually press down Yu Tianheng after Martial Soul Possession without using Soul Power or revealing a Martial Soul possessed rare talent.
If he could persuade the other party to join Shrek, Headmaster Flender would surely be ecstatic.
"Your grandfather should know their background, right? Could you help me ask—"
"Teacher,"
Dugu Yan interrupted him. Her tone was polite, but there was obvious distance in it.
"My grandfather's affairs are not something I, as his granddaughter, should ask too much about, nor can I speak for him. I truly don't know who those guests are or where they went."
What a joke. Even her grandfather had to address Beiming Lieyang as Lord.
Her grandfather had been instantly defeated by a single slash. Was she supposed to pry into his whereabouts and seek death?
Who did Qin Ming think he was?
Just an academy teacher, and he dared trouble him?
Qin Ming looked at her impervious expression and knew he would get nothing more from questioning her.
After pondering for a moment, he changed the subject. "Then what about you and Ye Lingling? When do you plan to return to the academy?"
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling exchanged a glance.
Ye Lingling said nothing. Dugu Yan hesitated briefly, then shook her head.
"Not for now. Grandfather left me some matters to deal with. I need to take care of them first."
Before Beiming Lieyang left, he had also assigned them some tasks.
He told them to purchase as many medicinal herbs and spiritual plants that still possessed vitality as possible in Heaven Dou City.
He also gave each of them a piece of Void Mysterious Ice as a reward.
Naturally, they were overjoyed and eagerly agreed. This was Void Mysterious Ice, after all.
What could possibly be more important than Void Mysterious Ice?
As for her grandfather, who had mysteriously gone off to work on something again...
She did not know much about that.
She only needed to complete her own task.
If she completed it well, perhaps there would be more Void Mysterious Ice in the future.
My Lord!
Loyalty!
Qin Ming's brows furrowed even tighter, but he ultimately said nothing more.
He was a teacher, not a nanny. His students had their own arrangements, and there was only so much he could manage.
Besides, Dugu Yan had the Poison Douluo behind her. He could not force the matter.
"Fine. Then keep yourselves safe."
Qin Ming nodded. "If you hear any news about that youth, or if he returns to Heaven Dou City, please tell him that Heaven Dou Royal Academy's gates are always open to him."
Dugu Yan gave a vague response. "...Understood."
How could that Lord possibly think highly of Heaven Dou Royal Academy?
Qin Ming turned and left. As he walked out of Dugu Manor's gates, his steps paused. He looked back at the manor, his gaze carrying regret and unwillingness.
Such a fine prospect had slipped away right before his eyes.
As he walked back to the academy, the matter turned over in his mind again and again. In the end, he made up his mind to write a letter and report it to Headmaster Flender first.
After returning to the academy dormitory, he picked up a brush and began to write.
Qin Ming wrote at great length, recording everything surrounding his encounter with Beiming Lieyang, along with his own observations and judgments. At the end, he added one more line.
"If this child joins Shrek, the academy's future will be limitless. I respectfully ask the headmaster to take note."
He folded the letter, sealed it with wax, and entrusted someone to deliver it to Shrek Academy.
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