Xiao San, This Is Your Theme Song

Beneath the Heavenly Screen, comments scrolled slowly past. The usual teasing banter had faded, replaced by a wistfulness stirred up by the song.

[Ah, this song brought my first love to mind. I can't stop my eyes from stinging.]

[It brought back memories. Suddenly, I miss my grandfather. There's no one by my side anymore.]

[My parents both died in the war in the Star Luo Empire. After all these years, I still wish I could tell them in person how much I miss them.]

[There are so many people I want to thank. By the time the song ended, my nose was stinging for no reason.]

[The melody was full of lingering sorrow, as though I could feel the pain of those two being torn apart back then.]

On the road to Heaven Dou City, inside a carriage.

Tang San's eyes were red, and tear tracks still marked his cheeks. His voice caught as he said, "Brother Xun, that song you'll write in the future is so good. Listening to it, I could almost believe you wrote it just for me."

"Haha, really?"

Li Xun rubbed the tip of his nose, a little uncomfortable. Others might not know where this song came from, but I certainly do. Xiao San, your instincts are right. This is your and Xiao Wu's theme song. Then his heart tightened. Wait. If we're all going to Heaven Dou City, what happens to Xiao Wu?

"Xiao Xun, you wrote a fine song."

A deep, rough voice spoke up.

Li Xun turned and was startled. Even a tough man like Tang Hao had tears glistening in his eyes, and he was quietly wiping their corners.

Then again, the song's sorrow of parting spoke just as much to what Tang Hao and Ah Yin had been through.

Li Xun cleared his throat. "Uncle Hao, the Heavenly Screen just mentioned that Xiao Wu, Xiao San's future wife, is still at Nuoding Academy. Why don't we turn back and see her?"

Tang Hao nodded slowly. "Of course. She's Xiao San's future wife. We can't let anything happen to her. Come, let's return to Nod Town first."

The carriage turned around and raced back the way it had come.

Tang San, who had been overcome with sadness moments ago, had wiped away his tears. Now he looked thoroughly embarrassed, his ears burning red. "Father, Brother Xun, Xiao Wu isn't my wife yet. Please don't tease me like that."

"She will be sooner or later, Xiao San." Li Xun patted him on the shoulder, his tone full of meaning.

[The final notes of "Reluctance" faded, but their echoes still lingered in the room.

Li Qingyang sat silently for a while before rising and walking over to the Laptop. He clicked play, starting the second song.

A gentle Piano melody flowed out first, warm and soft as an evening breeze, slowly filling the room.

Then a clear voice began to sing:

"What shape does this world take? I've crossed mountains and rivers, lived a dream along the way."

"How long until I meet the waves that cry out against the wind?"

"Do those who seek adventure ever grieve? Who will cherish a life that shines in the end?"]

As the lyrics flowed with the lilting music, the people beneath the Heavenly Screen were still caught in the sorrow of the previous song. Before their hearts had settled, they were drawn into an entirely different mood.

Compared with the last song, this one had a richer, more layered melody. Gone was the regret that filled "Reluctance." In its place was the thrill of meeting the love of one's life. The contrast could not have been clearer.

As the music built, the images projected on the Heavenly Screen shifted.

The scene settled on Spirit City, at the finals of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Tournament.

On one side stood the Heaven Dou Team, led by Li Xun. On the other stood the Spirit Hall Team, with Qian Renxue at its center. Two top teams faced off at the pinnacle.

Qian Renxue's brilliant golden hair fell over her shoulders like a waterfall, a few strands slipping past her ears to brush the edge of her veil. Her face was partly hidden, yet her noble, cool bearing, touched with a young woman's softness, was unmistakable. The veil only lent her beauty an air of mystery, leaving people wondering what breathtaking face lay beneath it.

A faint current of golden Soul Power flowed around her. She had not even released her Martial Soul, yet simply standing there, she carried the lofty grace of a goddess.

[The rousing chorus burst forth, the voice ringing across heaven and earth.

"You vow to be braver, to hold your dreams close all your life.

Will you keep going? Face the headwind and never retreat.

Let brilliance live within your eyes. Don't fear what the future holds.

Do not fail those who once looked to you. For every dream, let your song be sung again."

As the soaring melody reached its peak, the battle on the finals stage in Spirit City grew fierce.

Two powerful surges of Soul Power collided, sending shock waves in every direction. Li Xun blocked a blast from Spirit Hall, but a sharp gust swept out from the clash. He had not meant to hurt anyone, yet the stray burst of wind shot straight toward Qian Renxue's face.

Rip.

Her thin ivory veil was torn away by the wind. It spun through the air and drifted beyond the stage.

With the veil gone, Qian Renxue's peerless face lay fully exposed to every gaze. Her skin was luminous and white as snow, an inheritance of the Angel God's line. Her exquisite features and bright, golden eyes were revealed at last. Around the stage, the entire audience fell silent.

Li Xun stopped abruptly. Even the Soul Power gathering in his hands faltered.

He stared at Qian Renxue, who stood a short distance away, his pupils narrowing. The keen edge he had shown in battle vanished. His gaze fixed on her unveiled face, and for a moment, he forgot he was on a stage at all, let alone in the middle of a fight.

"A Xun, why aren't you fighting anymore?!"]

[Whoa... Qian Renxue of the Angel God's line is beautiful!]

[She's so beautiful. I'm in love.]

[Haha, Li Xun fought so hard in the finals, only to find out his opponent was the woman he loved.]

[This song is really good! It suits Qian Renxue perfectly.]

[Li Xun, you scoundrel, draw your blade! I challenge you to a duel. Qian Renxue is mine.]

[Buddy, keep dreaming. Those two are a perfect match. Who do you think you are?]

[I don't care! If I can't be with her, can't I at least talk big?]

Spirit City, inside the Papal Hall.

Bibi Dong sat on the lavish papal throne, staring intently at the scene on the Heavenly Screen. Her brows drew together in confusion.

"Something's wrong," she murmured. "According to the plan, Nana was supposed to lead the Spirit Hall Team in that year's All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Tournament. Why is Qian Renxue on the stage? Did that disobedient daughter sneak back to compete without permission?"

Inside the Heaven Dou Crown Prince's Residence.

The images on the Heavenly Screen continued to play. Bibi Dong might have been baffled, but Qian Renxue understood.

She thought back over the few words she had spoken in the scenes on the Heavenly Screen and quickly pieced it together. Those words suggested that she and Li Xun had met before the tournament began, and had even developed feelings for each other.

At the thought, a blush swept across Qian Renxue's cheeks. So that must be it.

When I learned the man I loved had reached the finals, I wanted to step onto the stage myself. I wanted to stand before him as his opponent and surprise him.

Thinking of how reckless her future self would be, disregarding her mission entirely, Qian Renxue lowered her head. Her long golden lashes trembled, and her heart filled with sweetness and embarrassment.