Xue Qinghe, Arrival in Heaven Dou City

The newcomers were Qian Renxue and the two Douluo, Pufferfish and Snake Lance.

At first, Qian Renxue had not intended to get involved. She was only passing by, and incidents like this happened all the time. She did not have the time to intervene in every one.

Besides, those were the rules of this world: the weak were prey to the strong.

But the instant Huo Linfei revealed those two purple Thousand-Year Soul Rings, even someone as gifted as she was had been stunned. Her own Soul Rings had only turned purple starting with her third.

Pufferfish and Snake Lance, despite both being Douluo, were no less shocked than Qian Renxue.

A first and second Soul Ring that were both Thousand-Year Soul Rings—this was utterly unprecedented.

She did not know how he had done it, but she could not let a talent like him die such a senseless death. That would be too great a waste. She had also begun to think of recruiting him.

If she could bring him to her side, he would surely become a powerful ally one day.

With talent like that, becoming a Titled Douluo was practically set in stone. Even reaching that higher realm might not be impossible.

She had originally planned to step in at once, but when she saw how calmly Huo Linfei faced a Soul Elder, she decided to watch first.

What she saw stunned her all over again.

He had easily defeated a Soul Elder as a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster. Qian Renxue knew she could have done the same, but never so effortlessly.

Later, when he faced a Soul Ancestor, she thought he would be out of options. Yet he had managed to kill his opponent instead!

In less than half an hour, the red-haired girl before them had stunned Qian Renxue and the two Douluo, Pufferfish and Snake Lance, three times.

A first and second Soul Ring that were both thousand-year rings; a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster who had easily beaten a Soul Elder and killed a Soul Ancestor. And he had suffered little harm himself—he had merely exhausted his strength and Soul Power.

Who else under heaven could have done that? Even Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Douluo once hailed as the Clear Sky Sect's greatest genius, could not have managed it, could he?

"Elder Pufferfish, heal him."

Qian Renxue gazed at Huo Linfei lying on the ground, a complicated look in her eyes, and spoke to the burly, red-haired man beside her.

"Yes, young master."

Porcupinefish Douluo answered respectfully, then gathered his Soul Power and channeled it into Huo Linfei.

After roughly two minutes, Porcupinefish Douluo stopped. Huo Linfei's fingers twitched faintly, and he showed signs of waking.

Seeing this, Qian Renxue immediately activated the Soul Skill of the Thousand-Envoy Skull to disguise her true appearance.

In moments, the stunning blonde girl had vanished. In her place stood a handsome, refined young man with an elegant bearing.

Just then, Huo Linfei opened his eyes. He looked at the three people before him in confusion, still rather dazed.

"You're awake? How do you feel? Is anything still bothering you?"

The young man Qian Renxue had disguised herself as spoke to Huo Linfei.

"I'm fine now. Thank you."

Huo Linfei shook his head. He did not need to think hard to know these three had helped him.

Otherwise, whether he would have woken up at all—or when—was anyone's guess.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Xue Qinghe. These two are my guards."

"Hello. I'm Huo Linfei, from Nuoding City."

After the other party introduced himself, Huo Linfei shared his own details without hiding anything.

But as he looked at the handsome young man, Huo Linfei frowned despite himself.

He vaguely remembered that, before he passed out, one of the three newcomers had been a stunning blonde girl. Oh... no, an older sister, rather. Not this young man.

Qian Renxue did not notice anything unusual about Huo Linfei. She assumed he was still groggy from waking up, entirely unaware that he had seen her true appearance.

"Nuoding City? That's a long way from here. What brings you all the way to Heaven Dou City?"

Xue Qinghe looked at Huo Linfei as he asked.

"I'm looking for someone, and I want to see if I can enroll in a good Soul Master Academy."

Huo Linfei had no intention of hiding it. After all, the other party had helped him—had practically saved his life.

Besides, he sensed that killing him would be effortless for them. The two guards beside Xue Qinghe seemed unfathomably powerful, and he could not even gauge Xue Qinghe's level.

"I see. Then let's travel together. I'm returning to Heaven Dou City myself, and that should keep anything like this from happening again."

Xue Qinghe smiled gently, warm as a spring breeze.

"All right. Thank you."

Huo Linfei did not refuse. His body was still weak, and he did not know the way. Traveling with them was clearly an excellent choice.

With that, the four of them set off for Heaven Dou City together.

Along the way, Xue Qinghe would strike up conversations with Huo Linfei from time to time, and Huo Linfei would respond. He also discovered that this young gentleman knew a great deal.

Through Xue Qinghe, Huo Linfei learned many things.

As their conversations continued, the two grew increasingly familiar.

Later, when Huo Linfei casually slung an arm around Xue Qinghe's shoulders, Pufferfish and Snake Lance nearly attacked him. Xue Qinghe stopped them.

She could tell Huo Linfei had meant no offense; that was simply his nature. And once she told him she did not much like it, he did not do it again.

As evening fell, the four stopped at an inn along the road.

"Linfei, I have some standing and resources in Heaven Dou City. If the person you're looking for can't find you a good place, you can come to me."

Xue Qinghe spoke to Huo Linfei over dinner.

"I couldn't ask that of you, Brother Xue. I haven't done anything to earn it. You already saved my life. If you hadn't helped wake me up, some Soul Beast might have carried me off by now."

Huo Linfei spoke freely, saying whatever came to mind.

"Hahaha! You call me Brother Xue, yet you still stand on ceremony?"

Xue Qinghe waved a hand and spoke softly.

"By the way, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Xue Qinghe changed the subject.

"What is it?" Huo Linfei looked puzzled.

"Your Soul Rings."

Xue Qinghe did not beat around the bush.

Huo Linfei's eyes sharpened, and he gave Xue Qinghe a longer look. Sure enough, those two Soul Rings were probably why the other party had stepped in to help him.

Still, he had no reason to hide it. The main problem was that he could not explain it himself.

"To be honest, I'm not too sure either. I just absorbed them naturally."

Huo Linfei scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed as he answered sincerely.

???

What kind of answer was that?

All three stared at him, baffled.

But the sincerity on Huo Linfei's face did not look like a lie, so they fell silent.

Early the next morning, the four set out again.

After roughly another half day's travel, a magnificent city slowly came into view.

After more than a month on the road, he had finally arrived.

Once they entered the city, Huo Linfei said goodbye to Xue Qinghe and parted ways with the group. He then followed the address Director Su had given him...