The Twin Autumn Duo, and the Romance Sent Packing

The days after the assessment sparring match passed much faster than Ye Zhiqiu had imagined.

Every morning, he got up at seven, washed up, ate breakfast, caught a ride to school with his father, attended classes, cultivated, ate, cultivated, and went home. The cycle repeated day after day.

But he didn't find it boring, because someone was always there to provide a little entertainment.

Dong Qianqiu, for instance.

Ever since that assessment match, Dong Qianqiu had set herself against him, challenging him to a fight almost every two or three days.

At first, it was during lunch break. Later, she started dragging him to the training ground during free time in their afternoon practical classes. Eventually, she wouldn't even let him off after school, insisting on fighting a round before she would leave, despite never winning a single one.

"Come on. Let's fight."

"Again? Didn't we just fight yesterday?"

"Yesterday was yesterday. Today is today. Are you fighting or not?"

"Yes, yes, yes. Whatever you say."

Then they would trade blows in another sparring match.

Provided, of course, that Ye Zhiqiu didn't use his first Soul Skill.

Dong Qianqiu's position on that was crystal clear. She stood in the middle of the training ground, a deep-blue shark phantom slowly floating behind her as an ice spear formed in her hand, its tip pointed straight at Ye Zhiqiu.

"You're not allowed to use that Concept Severance."

Ye Zhiqiu had just summoned his Absolute Blade. He paused at her words and asked, "Why?"

"That Soul Skill of yours is a cheat. There's no point if you use it."

Ye Zhiqiu fell silent for two seconds, then said with a smile, "Doesn't that count as playing dirty?"

"No." Dong Qianqiu was utterly unapologetic. "Your Soul Skill is too strong. It's unfair. If we're going to fight, we should fight fair and square."

Hearing the words "fair and square" coming from a six-year-old girl was somehow rather comical.

But Ye Zhiqiu didn't argue with her. And so the two became a fixture of the training ground, standing in the middle of the field every few days, one holding an Ice Spear and the other a white blade, filling the air with the lively clang of their exchanges.

The little first-year kids gathered around to watch. Over time, someone—no one knew who—started calling them the "Twin Autumn Duo."

"Twin Autumn?"

Ye Zhiqiu was drinking water the first time he heard the nickname, and he nearly spat it out.

"Who came up with that name? It's so lame."

A little girl with horn-shaped pigtails beside him said earnestly, "It's not lame. You and Qianqiu both have 'autumn' in your names, and you fight together every day. What else should we call you?"

Ye Zhiqiu opened his mouth to argue, but after thinking it over, he couldn't really find a flaw in her reasoning.

"Fine. Twin Autumn it is."

He turned to glance at Dong Qianqiu beside him. She had her head lowered, flipping through the notebook in her hands. The tips of her ears were faintly red, but she said nothing.

Ye Zhiqiu was amused. This girl was clearly quite pleased, yet insisted on acting as though nothing had happened.

The days passed just like that. In the blink of an eye, the first semester ended, and most of the second had gone by too.

Over those six-plus months, Ye Zhiqiu's Soul Power soared from level eleven when he enrolled straight to level nineteen, leaving him just one final step away from level twenty.

That rate of advancement was unprecedented in the entire history of the Junior Academy affiliated with the Heaven Dou Advanced Academy of Sciences.

At first, the teachers were still shocked. Eventually, they grew numb to it. Whenever they saw Ye Zhiqiu's results during a test, they simply nodded, wrote a few words on their record boards, and silently marveled, This kid really is a monster.

Dong Qianqiu hadn't fallen too far behind either. She had risen from level eleven to level eighteen, an equally astonishing pace.

But she didn't seem particularly satisfied with it.

Once, while they were walking together after school, she suddenly spoke from beside Ye Zhiqiu.

"When will I finally catch up to you?"

Ye Zhiqiu tilted his head to look at her. Her voice was very soft, quite unlike the Dong Qianqiu who usually charged at him with an Ice Spear in hand.

"Why do you need to catch me? I'm not going to run away."

"That's not what I meant." Dong Qianqiu wrinkled her nose. "I mean, you're always one level stronger than me. It's always like this, and I can't accept it."

"Then you could practice more."

"I practice every day."

"Then keep practicing."

Dong Qianqiu was silent for a while, then murmured, "Oh," and said nothing more.

Ye Zhiqiu didn't say anything else either. He simply walked beside her, his pace a little slower than usual.

In truth, he knew perfectly well that even if Dong Qianqiu worked harder, she would struggle to catch up to him anytime soon.

It wasn't that there was such a huge gap in their talent. His way of cultivating was simply different from everyone else's.

Having lived two lives, his spiritual power far surpassed that of his peers, and his precise control over Soul Power was well beyond the norm. With the foundation of his twin martial souls on top of that, he was naturally bound to advance faster than others.

But he didn't tell Dong Qianqiu any of this. It would sound like boasting, or like making excuses. There was no need.

Apart from cultivation, something else during those six-plus months had left quite an impression on Ye Zhiqiu.

His luck with romance in class.

It was honestly rather absurd. He was just a six-year-old brat. Sure, he was good-looking—even he couldn't help taking an extra look or two in the mirror—but surely it wasn't to that extent?

Yet before the semester was even over, three or four little girls in class were already finding ways, openly or otherwise, to get close to him.

Some brought snacks, some gave him little handmade crafts, and others simply ran over to ask whether they could share his desk.

Ye Zhiqiu always sent them away with a smile and never took it seriously. After all, to him, they were just six-year-old girls. What real feelings could they possibly have?

But while he wasn't concerned, someone else was concerned on his behalf.

Dong Qianqiu.

The first time it happened, a little girl with twin ponytails ran over, holding a jar filled with paper stars she had folded herself. Blushing, she offered it to Ye Zhiqiu.

"Ye Zhiqiu, this is for you."

Ye Zhiqiu was leafing through a book. He looked up and smiled. "Thanks. Just put it there."

The little girl had barely set the jar down when Dong Qianqiu walked over.

She came to Ye Zhiqiu's desk, glanced at the jar of paper stars, then at the little girl. Without any expression, she picked up the jar and pushed it back into the girl's hands.

"He doesn't want it."

The little girl froze, her eyes reddening slightly. "H-how do you know he doesn't want it?" she asked, sounding hurt.

"He said to put it there. He didn't say he'd accept it. Besides, there's no room left on his desk." Dong Qianqiu pointed at the neatly arranged row of little crafts on Ye Zhiqiu's desktop, all gifts from other girls.

The little girl looked at the row of gifts, then at Dong Qianqiu. Her lips moved, but in the end, she ran off clutching her jar.

Ye Zhiqiu watched the whole thing. Only after the little girl had run far away did he lean back in his chair and look at Dong Qianqiu with a broad smile.

"Why are you chasing away all my romantic prospects?"

"You're only six. What romantic prospects?" Dong Qianqiu said coolly, her expression unchanged.

"Six-year-olds are people too."

"Six-year-olds should focus on cultivating." Dong Qianqiu glared at him. "You spend all day thinking about this nonsense. No wonder your Soul Power is improving so slowly."

"I'm level nineteen. How is that slow?"

Dong Qianqiu choked on her words, then turned her face away. "It's just not allowed, anyway."

Ye Zhiqiu couldn't hold back his laughter.

He could more or less guess what Dong Qianqiu was thinking, but he didn't call her out on it. In any case, he genuinely had no interest in those little kids.

After that, the little girls in class seemed to gradually catch on to something.

Whenever one of them came looking for Ye Zhiqiu, if Dong Qianqiu happened to see her, nine times out of ten she would find some way to send her packing.

Dong Qianqiu didn't say much else. She would simply stand nearby without a word, and her expression alone was enough to make the little girls recognize the obstacle and retreat.

As time went on, fewer and fewer people came looking for Ye Zhiqiu.