Mediation

"My soul power is level thirty-eight now. I should reach level forty in another year. Well, Snow Sis? I haven't disappointed you, have I?" Lu Yang hid nothing and directly revealed his soul power level.

"Level thirty-eight?!" Qian Renxue was slightly startled. She had thought her guess was already outrageous, yet Lu Yang's actual soul power was even more outrageous?

Even She Long, hidden in the shadows, secretly marveled at Lu Yang's words. He was already level thirty-eight before turning nine, so reaching Soul Ancestor before ten would be absolutely no problem.

If Qian Renxue had not brought such a genius under her command, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect or the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had lured him away instead, he would definitely have become a thorn in Spirit Hall's side in the future.

But now that Lu Yang belonged to Qian Renxue's camp, She Long naturally entertained no more crooked thoughts.

Inside the room, Qian Renxue turned to Lu Yang. "Are you a human or a beast, you little brat? How do you cultivate so fast?"

"Wait, Snow Sis, are you praising me or insulting me?" Lu Yang spread his hands helplessly. His cultivation had already slowed after he reached level thirty. It was all thanks to the soul power boost from the singular velvet sky chrysanthemum; otherwise, his soul power would have been level thirty-three or thirty-four at most.

Qian Renxue gave a soft snort. Before Lu Yang, she could no longer put on the airs of a genius, even with her innate soul power of over twenty. She felt that it might not be long before Lu Yang caught up to her soul power.

Still, Qian Renxue did not let this affect her. She raised a hand to dismiss the maid behind her, then rose and approached Lu Yang. She was still somewhat taller than him. Looking down at him, she revealed an inscrutable smile after a long moment.

"Come on, little fellow. I'm in a good mood today. Come out for a stroll with me."

With that, Qian Renxue took Lu Yang by the hand and walked straight out of the Crown Prince's Residence. With the soul bone concealing them, the two soon blended into the crowds of Heaven Dou City.

Dragging Lu Yang out had actually been a sudden whim of Qian Renxue's, but once she was on the street, she became awkward instead. Lu Yang, on the other hand, was quite at ease. He led her around, buying plenty of snacks on the food street before they finally arrived outside the finest hotel in Heaven Dou City.

"The Seven Treasure Hotel is the best hotel in Heaven Dou City. Let's eat here today," Lu Yang said.

"Here it is, then," Qian Renxue said indistinctly, biting into a candied hawthorn skewer.

The two had just entered the Seven Treasure Hotel when two figures, one large and one small, came down from the second floor.

The petite girl stopped when she spotted Qian Renxue and Lu Yang in the lobby. As the young sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Little Demoness Ning Rongrong considered herself someone who had seen plenty of people, but the appearance of these two left her astonished.

They're so good-looking! The Little Demoness was screaming inside. Although she was not obsessed with looks, Lu Yang's appearance was truly captivating. With the noble bearing of Qian Renxue beside him, she nearly cried out aloud.

Ning Rongrong really wanted to go over and get acquainted with them, then see whether she could lure that handsome young boy back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. She felt that with Lu Yang keeping her company, she might even have a little more enthusiasm.

Unfortunately, Lu Yang and Qian Renxue did not notice the Little Demoness screaming inside. A server led them to a table, where they sat down.

Just as Ning Rongrong was about to approach, the person behind her caught hold of her. "Rongrong, it's time we went back."

"Grandpa Sword, can I go and meet those two?" Ning Rongrong turned around and hugged Sword Douluo's arm, shaking it as she wheedled.

She nearly shook Chen Xin's heart right out of him, and he hurriedly nodded in agreement. Thus, the two came over to Lu Yang's table.

"Hello, I'm Ning Rongrong from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. May I sit with you?" The Little Demoness Ning Rongrong concealed her true nature, greeting Lu Yang and Qian Renxue with the manner of a well-behaved girl.

Little did she know that both knew her true colors perfectly well. Seeing her approach, they both felt that they might have had some bad luck on this outing.

Still, upon seeing the old man behind Ning Rongrong, whose figure resembled a longsword, Lu Yang nodded. "It's our honor to have your favor, Miss Ning. Please sit."

The relaxed atmosphere grew complicated after Ning Rongrong and Chen Xin joined them. Throughout the meal, Ning Rongrong kept pressing Lu Yang for personal information, including his background and soul power cultivation.

Left with no choice, Lu Yang could only invoke Qian Renxue's other identity, finally putting a stop to Ning Rongrong's questions.

Learning that Lu Yang and Qian Renxue were both advisers to the crown prince instead made Chen Xin take note. Although he had not made direct physical contact with Lu Yang to examine his bone age, he judged from his appearance that Lu Yang should be quite young. Yet the soul power fluctuations coming from him were far from ordinary, and that was what drew Chen Xin's attention.

With Xue Qinghe's name in the way, Ning Rongrong's "abduction" plan naturally could not succeed. Before they parted, however, she still enthusiastically told Lu Yang that she would visit the Crown Prince's Residence to play with him when she had time.

Watching Ning Rongrong leave, Qian Renxue chuckled and teased, "Now that Ning Rongrong, that Little Demoness, has latched onto you, your days won't be so easy."

"Uh, Snow Sis, how about letting me move out after all? Dealing with that girl will hold up my cultivation," Lu Yang said with a wry smile.

"Oh, spare me! Do you think I want to deal with her? If her surname weren't Ning, and she didn't have those two old fellows, Sword and Bone, guarding her closely, who knows how many times she would have been beaten to death by now with that love of playing tricks on people," Qian Renxue said with disdain.

The two did not discuss the matter much further. To them, this meal had been nothing more than an unexpected little interlude, and neither took it to heart.

After strolling around Heaven Dou City a while longer, the two returned to the Crown Prince's Residence. What had happened earlier had merely been a little diversion in their lives. Back in the Crown Prince's Residence, they returned to their original routines.

The next day, Lu Yang arrived at Heaven Dou Academy. Before he could enter his classroom, however, he was summoned to the education committee's office.

The academy's students might not have known Lu Yang's soul power cultivation and age, but the three committee members knew them perfectly well. Upon learning that Lu Yang had refused Qin Ming's training and withdrawn from the Heaven Dou Team One selection, taking Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling out with him, the three old men could no longer sit still.

"Little Yang, I heard you withdrew from the Heaven Dou Team One selection. Is that true?" Bai Baoshan asked.

"Yes. Teacher Qin Ming's training methods are too outdated. Not only do they offer little help with my cultivation, they would slow it down, so I withdrew," Lu Yang answered directly.