Spirit Hall had none of the sects' hidebound obsession with bloodline supremacy, and its atmosphere was relatively accepting. Yet that had also given rise to the infamous Three Great Lovestruck Fools.
Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue, and Hu Liena.
Three peerlessly gifted women, all ultimately trapped by love, ruining their own lives and indirectly burying Spirit Hall's vast legacy with them.
Had something like that happened in the Upper Three Sects, they would have been expelled long ago.
The two most obvious examples were Tang Hao and Yu Xiaogang.
Tang Hao had married a soul beast and placed the Clear Sky Sect in danger. Even as the sect's young master, he had been expelled.
Yu Xiaogang was the son of the clan leader, Yu Yuanzhen, yet his martial soul had mutated into a pig, and he had even wanted to marry his own cousin. Thick-skinned as he was, even he had felt too ashamed to remain in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
But Zhang Fei saw it clearly: I've never had anything against lovestruck fools-as long as they're lovestruck over me.
As Snake Lance Douluo's only grandson, Zhang Fei had been destined from birth to belong to Spirit Hall's camp. He had no other choice.
But he knew how Spirit Hall would end.
Within its ranks, Bibi Dong, haunted by resentment over her own tragic experiences, had grown obsessive and deranged. Bent on avenging herself against the world and destroying the continent, she would bury Spirit Hall's foundations with her own hands.
Outside its ranks, that double-standard bastard Tang San, armed with his protagonist halo, would cheat his way to a meteoric rise and ultimately wipe out Spirit Hall.
Given a second life, and unable to change where he stood, Zhang Fei would never sit around waiting to die.
To protect himself-and, more importantly, rewrite Spirit Hall's tragic destruction-he had to secure his footing within Spirit Hall and hold sufficient power and strength in his hands.
And the strongest thigh to cling to in Spirit Hall was undoubtedly Qian Renxue's.
From the moment he fully understood his circumstances, Zhang Fei had settled on his guiding principle in life: Cling tight to the little angel's thigh and change her taste!
He could not let that double-standard bastard Tang San destroy everything again.
Zhang Fei drew a deep breath and pushed open the door, sunlight spilling over his young face.
He followed the maid through the corridors until they reached the study.
The maid stopped and respectfully knocked twice.
"Your Highness, young master Fei is here."
"Come in."
A gentle, clear voice came from inside.
Zhang Fei pushed the door open and entered. Behind him, the maid softly closed it.
He had visited this study countless times and knew it like the back of his hand.
The shelves lining the walls were filled with documents and ancient books, while unfinished official papers lay spread across the desk.
The entire room exuded an air of nobility, just like Xue Qinghe himself.
Crown Prince Xue Qinghe sat behind the desk, dressed in a moon-white crown prince's robe embroidered with gold and cinched with a jade belt. His features were refined and handsome.
Though he was only fifteen or sixteen, his seated posture was remarkably composed, his back straight as though shaped by years upon years of discipline.
Two elderly men stood beside Xue Qinghe.
One was tall and lean, with a stern face and slightly prominent cheekbones. A faint blue-purple gleam shimmered deep in his eyes. He was Zhang Fei's grandfather, Snake Lance Douluo She Long.
The other was slightly plump, with a round face and narrow eyes. At first glance, his appearance was rather unsettling, but the moment Zhang Fei entered, he broke into a smile like the Laughing Buddha's.
He was Porcupinefish Douluo, whose real name was Ci Xue. He possessed the Bloodthorn Pufferfish Martial Soul and rank ninety-three soul power, with abilities encompassing deadly poison, defense, and ranged attacks.
He and Snake Lance Douluo were close friends who often acted together.
Spirit Hall had specifically assigned the pair to Qian Renxue's side as her two guardian generals, dedicated to assisting her.
Zhang Fei stopped in front of the desk and bowed. "Greetings, Your Highness. Hello, Grandpa. Hello, Grandpa Ci."
He wore a plain blue-green tunic. After three years of pampered living, his little face was particularly fair and clean, though it still carried a trace of baby fat.
Yet his features were sharply defined, and a composure that did not belong to a child rested between his brows.
His eyes in particular were dark and clear, carrying an indescribable steadiness.
As Snake Lance Douluo looked at his grandson, the corners of his eyes curved involuntarily.
Xue Qinghe was also looking at Zhang Fei.
The child standing before her was neither servile nor arrogant, neat and poised. Both his personality and his looks perfectly suited her tastes.
When she had brought him to the Crown Prince's Residence three years earlier, she had only intended to do She Long a favor, taking the opportunity to settle a child somewhere.
She had never expected Zhang Fei to prove so much less troublesome than she had imagined over those three years.
Sensible and obedient, he neither made a fuss nor stirred up trouble. He also disliked playing with other children his age, instead spending each day quietly reading and learning his characters.
He was exceptionally bright, too, with a grasp of knowledge far beyond his peers. Occasionally, even she was stumped by his questions.
Most precious of all, the child knew exactly how to cheer people up. Spending time with him always brought her a rare sense of ease.
He both made up for her unhappy childhood and eased the strain of the open clashes and hidden struggles at court.
Xue Qinghe came around the desk, walked up to Zhang Fei, and patted his shoulder. "Little Fei, you're six now. It's time to awaken your martial soul. Ordinary families would go to a Spirit Hall Branch, but since you belong to my Crown Prince's Residence, there's naturally no need for all that trouble."
With that, she gave Snake Lance Douluo a slight nod.
In truth, Zhang Fei knew this was entirely because of his special identity. If he awakened the same martial soul as She Long, it would be difficult not to arouse suspicion.
She Long strode over to Zhang Fei, bent down, and patted his shoulder.
He took six Awakening Stones from inside his robes. With a casual wave, he sent them onto the blue-brick floor, arranging them into a precise hexagonal formation.
"Little Fei, step into the center of the formation."
Zhang Fei obeyed, stepping into the formation and standing still.
She Long summoned his martial soul.
A Blue-Purple Snake Lance nearly three meters long appeared in his hand out of thin air. Then nine soul rings slowly rose from beneath his feet: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black, black, black, black.
The nine rings of light emerged one after another. The rippling fluctuations of soul power suddenly made the air throughout the study feel heavier.
Yet Zhang Fei, standing at the center of the formation, showed not the slightest trace of fear. His gaze remained steady.
What he was actually thinking was: Holy crap, is this what a Titled Douluo's pressure feels like?
Xue Qinghe and Porcupinefish Douluo exchanged a glance, a flicker of approval passing through both their eyes.
"Raise your right hand." She Long's voice deepened.
Zhang Fei raised his hand as instructed, palm upward and fingers naturally spread.
Snake Lance Douluo gathered a wisp of soul power and tapped with his fingertip, sending a beam of blue light into the center of the formation.
In an instant, all six Awakening Stones lit up. Dense white light surged out, enveloping Zhang Fei's entire body.
Zhang Fei closed his eyes.
He felt a gentle force moving through his body, filling him with warmth.
Then, guided by that warm energy, something inside him seemed to shatter. All that warmth rushed into his right palm in an instant.
A scorching sensation spread through his right hand, as though something were about to emerge from his palm.
Soon, a pitch-black spear materialized in his hand.
The spear was over two meters long, its entire length gleaming black. Fine arcs of electricity faintly wound and darted along its shaft, giving off soft crackles.
Unlike the straight, tapering head of an ordinary spear, its tip resembled a snake. Both edges were sharpened along the blade's serpentine curves, narrowing with the snake's shape until a keen, cold gleam formed where its tongue would be.
The Eighteen-Foot Snake Spear.
Zhang Fei recognized it at once. It was the very weapon that had made its name in history in the hands of Zhang Fei, the fierce general of the Three Kingdoms.
But before he could take a closer look at the spear in his hand, another strange fluctuation came from behind him.
The phantom of an enormous golden python appeared behind his back. Its entire body shone a brilliant gold, every scale seemingly cast from gilded metal and gleaming with a cold metallic sheen.
The python coiled into a ring, its head raised high. A pair of golden eyes looked down upon everyone in the room, its oppressive presence heavy and profound.
Before you continue