Suotuo City belonged to the Balak Kingdom under the Heaven Dou Empire and lay in the heart of the fertile Lima Plain.
Its location was excellent, too. It neighbored the Star Dou Great Forest, and the city housed both a Great Soul Arena and a Spirit Hall Main Hall, drawing an endless stream of Soul Masters from across the continent.
Thus, Suotuo City could be called the Balak Kingdom's second-largest city, surpassed only by its capital, Barak City.
In size and prosperity, it outstripped Nuoding City a hundredfold.
And that was no exaggeration. Suotuo City's main street was wide enough for four carriages to race abreast. Banners covered the shops on either side, and hawkers' cries rolled from one end of the street to the other.
People jostled shoulder to shoulder, while the jingling of horse bells never stopped.
It was Tang San and Xiao Wu's first time seeing anything like this. One quietly looked around, his eyes filled with anticipation and curiosity.
The other had already planted herself in front of a sugar-figurine stall, drooling and unable to budge.
To the two of them, little Nuoding City had already seemed bustling enough, let alone grand, wealthy Suotuo City.
At that moment, a blond young girl stood against the wall beneath the city gate, curiously studying Tang San's group.
The blond girl looked about sixteen or seventeen, but stood much taller than others the same age.
Long golden hair was tied in a high ponytail, with a few loose strands hanging beside the ears. Those features were striking, too: a straight nose and sharply defined brows, softened by a trace of youthful, delicate beauty.
Two oil-paper parcels dangled from one hand, as though their owner had just finished shopping and was about to head home.
With so many people passing through Suotuo City, the blond newcomer had paid little attention to anyone else.
Until those three passed by.
That gaze suddenly shifted, settling on the two little girls.
"Those soul power fluctuations..."
The blond girl murmured to himself, unconsciously straightening his chest.
The two girls' soul power was full and profound, its fluctuations extremely strong. They had to be above level thirty, in the Soul Elder rank, and might even be close to his own strength.
They looked barely eleven or twelve. How had they cultivated their soul power to that level?
Their cultivation speed probably rivaled even Spirit Hall's favored prodigies... no, it was even more outrageous.
He, Dai Mubai, possessed the White Tiger martial soul and level-eight innate soul power, and had cultivated painstakingly all these years.
Yet at sixteen, he had only just reached level thirty-eight as a Soul Elder, and had already considered himself exceptionally gifted.
These two girls looked considerably younger than him, yet their soul power levels were on par with his.
He looked again at the man in blue robes walking at the front.
The man barely released any soul power, but when the Golden-Scaled Dragon Beast beside him planted its foreclaws on the ground, the tremor made Dai Mubai's palms tighten for no apparent reason.
This man... his strength is even more terrifying. He's probably an expert on Teacher Zhao's level.
Dai Mubai gathered the oil-paper parcels into his hand and gave the three another look, committing them to memory.
The three were, of course, Li Hanqiu and his two disciples, who had just entered the city gates.
Li Hanqiu led his two disciples across the main street, then turned into a somewhat quieter side alley.
"You two find an inn first. Reserve three rooms, including one for your teacher," he said.
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. "Teacher, are you going to buy that?"
"Yes, that's what I'm buying. Everything I could get in Nuoding City was only around ten years old, after all. I'll see whether Suotuo City has anything older."
Li Hanqiu took a money pouch from inside his robes, hefted it, and placed it in Tang San's hands.
"I'll come find you later. Little San, keep an eye on Xiao Wu. Don't let her eat someone's stall bare."
Xiao Wu protested, "Teacher, I don't eat that much!"
"Heh. Then who stripped half a tree bare in the orchard below Holy Soul Village last month?"
Xiao Wu turned away, her cheeks flushing slightly, and began to whistle. "Th-that wasn't my fault. Who told Little San's village to grow such delicious peaches?"
Tang San chuckled, accepted the pouch with both hands, and tucked it into his robes. "Teacher, go take care of your business. We'll just look around the city," he said softly.
Li Hanqiu nodded. With Tang San there, he felt reassured. He reached out and rubbed the two little girls' fuzzy heads, then turned to leave.
His blue robes slipped into the crowd and soon vanished.
Tang San stood where he was, gazing in the direction Li Hanqiu had disappeared.
"Come on, come on! Still staring? Your eyeballs are about to chase after him." Xiao Wu tugged his arm.
Only then did Tang San look away, his face turning slightly red. "They are not."
The two little girls began wandering around the city.
Whenever Xiao Wu spotted food, she could not take another step. She would buy a bag and eat as they walked.
Tang San followed behind, paying. Every so often, she stuffed a piece of pastry into his mouth, and he narrowed his eyes at its sweetness.
Before they knew it, the sky had darkened considerably, and they reached a somewhat secluded street.
A small, three-story building stood on the corner.
Red roses covered its facade, trailing down in great clusters. Two pink lanterns glowed dimly at the entrance, and the fragrance was so thick it was cloying.
A sign upstairs bore the words: Rose Hotel.
Everyone coming and going was part of a young couple, arms linked, leaning close to whisper and laugh.
Tang San took one look, and his cheeks instantly burned.
"L-let's go this way." He lowered his head and tugged Xiao Wu. "That isn't a place for good children."
Instead, Xiao Wu caught his hand and stopped with a grin. "Little San, let's go in and ask. It looks like a hotel, too."
"Th-that place isn't respectable..."
"What's not respectable about it?" Xiao Wu leaned toward his ear and lowered her voice. "A hotel's just somewhere to sleep. What difference does it make where you sleep?"
"But..."
"Don't you have money in your pocket?" Xiao Wu winked at him. "At this hour, the other hotels will already be full. What if this one doesn't have three rooms, only two?"
She deliberately paused for a beat, drawing out her words. "I'm very particular, you know. I never share a bed with anyone. So if there are only two rooms..."
Xiao Wu's eyes curved into crescents.
"You'll just have to squeeze into a room with Teacher."
Tang San stopped dead.
Share a room... with Teacher.
His little face flushed red all the way to his ears, and even his neck turned pink.
"X-Xiao Wu, what nonsense are you talking about! Teacher, he... I-I couldn't possibly..."
"Why couldn't you?" Xiao Wu looked perfectly serious. "Teacher takes such good care of you. He buys you new clothes, combs your hair, and wipes away your tears. You two are the closest."
"That's different..."
"How is it different? Who stayed up with you all night the last time you had a fever? When I woke up in the middle of the night, I even saw Teacher sitting beside your bed, changing your towel."
Tang San fell silent, lowering his head and fidgeting shyly.
He bit his lip, his lashes trembling gently.
Stay in the same room as Teacher...
J-just for one night.
Tang San pressed his lips together. Something seemed to brush lightly against the tip of his heart, leaving it tingling and numb.
As though moved by some unseen impulse, he raised his head and took a step toward the rose-covered door.
Xiao Wu followed behind, grinning like a rabbit that had stolen a carrot.
"Come on, come on! I'll help you haggle!"
Tang San's back stiffened for a moment, but in the end, he did not turn around.
The pink lantern light fell over him, tinting his scarlet face almost the same shade as the roses.
However, just as Tang San, blushing, gathered the courage to ask about the hotel-
A cool female voice rang out, cutting him off.
"I had my eye on this hotel first."
Before you continue