"A fifty-thousand-year right-hand soul bone? Wonderful! Wonderful!"
Golden Crocodile Douluo's mustache trembled wildly, fully revealing his delight. Taking this disciple had been well worth it.
"What soul skill does the soul bone have?"
"It increases my right hand's attack power fivefold. It looks like it's swollen up."
Even Chen Xuanqing was surprised that he had managed to draw a soul bone. It seemed he really was a child of destiny.
An hour later.
Golden Crocodile Douluo and Chen Xuanqing set up a barbecue in the Star Dou Great Forest, where a plump sheep sizzled on the grill, dripping fat.
Even a Titled Douluo needed to eat, of course, so Golden Crocodile Douluo had brought no shortage of ingredients.
"My dear disciple, once you return to Spirit City, would you rather study at Spirit Hall Academy or have me teach you personally?"
Chen Xuanqing lowered his head in thought. After a long while, he said, "Then I'll study at Spirit Hall Academy for four years first! After that, I want to travel across the Douluo Continent."
"Isn't that a little early?" Golden Crocodile Douluo tore off a leg of lamb and handed it to Chen Xuanqing. "In four years, you should be a High-Rank Soul Ancestor! Will that be enough strength to travel the continent?"
Chen Xuanqing shook his head. Reaching only High-Rank Soul Ancestor in four years was setting the bar a little low. At the very least, he ought to manage Soul King.
"If I become a Soul King in four years, will you let me travel, Master?"
"You have my word. As long as you manage to become a Soul King in four years, I'll let you travel across the Douluo Continent."
Golden Crocodile Douluo's smile never faded. A ten-year-old Soul King? As your master, I'm rather looking forward to that.
After pitching a tent, Golden Crocodile Douluo simply went to sleep in the Star Dou Great Forest. There was no other reason-his strength gave him all the confidence he needed.
The night passed uneventfully.
After leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, Chen Xuanqing and Golden Crocodile Douluo immediately hurried toward Spirit Hall, moving considerably faster than on their outward journey.
For the sake of his disciple's emotional development, Golden Crocodile Douluo did not want his dear disciple to grow up without friends.
They returned to Spirit Hall a day faster than they had taken to get there. That evening, under Golden Crocodile Douluo's arrangements, Chen Xuanqing took a bath and changed into new silver-white clothes.
With his adorable, chubby appearance, Chen Xuanqing was enough to sweep countless young married women off their feet-His Holiness the Pope excepted, of course.
The next morning, Sirius woke Chen Xuanqing. After a simple breakfast, the two headed toward Spirit Hall Academy.
[Ding! System quest issued: enroll in Spirit Hall Junior Soul Master Academy. Reward: one lottery draw.]
After learning of the system's quest, Chen Xuanqing looked curiously at Sirius beside him.
"Grandpa Sirius, which class at Spirit Hall Academy has the most talented students? I want to join that class."
Sirius stroked his beard and smiled. "Young master, you'll be studying at Spirit Hall Junior Soul Master Academy, and you've already been assigned to the most talented class in this year's intake."
Only then did Chen Xuanqing understand. The system had handed him a free quest. It seemed this time it was letting him reap a reward for nothing.
Fifteen minutes later.
With Sirius leading the way, Chen Xuanqing quickly completed all the enrollment procedures and was taken straight to the most talented class at Spirit Hall Junior Soul Master Academy.
"Young master, your academy life begins now. You must get along well with your classmates in the days ahead. Golden Crocodile Douluo said he would be watching you from the shadows."
Chen Xuanqing had never expected that he would one day be nagged even in the Douluo Continent, though the feeling was rather nice.
Chen Xuanqing walked straight through the classroom doorway and bowed to the teacher, looking every bit the perfectly well-behaved child.
An elderly man with half-gray hair, dressed in a teacher's uniform, stood at the lectern. He looked at Chen Xuanqing with a warm smile and said, "You must be Chen Xuanqing! I'm your teacher, Song Qi, a level seventy-five Soul Saint."
"Greetings, Teacher Song Qi!"
Seeing how polite the newly arrived Chen Xuanqing was, without a trace of nervousness, Song Qi felt deeply pleased.
"Good. Then you can sit..."
Before Song Qi could finish, Chen Xuanqing interrupted him.
"I'll sit beside that cute little girl."
Chen Xuanqing jogged straight over and sat beside Hu Liena, then flashed her a goofy, toothy grin.
The sight infuriated the two children sitting behind Hu Liena, especially the red-haired boy.
"Big Brother Xie Yue, are you just going to let that pretty boy sit beside Liena?"
"First, call her Hu Liena. My sister isn't that close to you. Second, I'll deal with this guy after class. No one gets to harbor improper thoughts about my sister."
As Hu Liena's older brother, Xie Yue glared angrily at Chen Xuanqing, as did Yan, who already had a little crush on her.
Hu Liena, meanwhile, regarded the boy beside her curiously. He seemed to be the boy Golden Crocodile Douluo had taken as his disciple. She just wondered how much more talented he was than she was.
"All right, class begins. Next, we'll discuss how soul power forms..."
Song Qi spoke in an unending torrent at the front, but to Chen Xuanqing, it all sounded like a demonic lullaby. As time passed, his upper and lower eyelids fought ever more fiercely until he finally sank into a deep sleep.
As a Soul Saint, Song Qi naturally noticed, but he paid it no mind. This was a world of the strong. As long as you were talented enough, who cared how much you knew?
And so Chen Xuanqing's lesson ended while he was off playing chess with the Duke of Zhou in his dreams.
"All right, students. Next, we'll go to the field for combat training."
"Ah! Hooray!"
All the students below grew excited. These little six-year-olds had no desire to sit in a classroom through dry, tedious lessons.
Soon, Song Qi led all thirty-five students onto the academy's field.
"Next, we'll have..."
"Teacher, I want to challenge the new student, Chen Xuanqing."
As he spoke, Yan raised his eyebrows provocatively at Chen Xuanqing in the crowd, only to discover that Chen Xuanqing was chatting and laughing with Hu Liena. The two seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation.
Seeing this, Song Qi coughed to remind Chen Xuanqing to pay attention to what was happening on the field.
"You want to challenge me? Give me a reason."
Yan said angrily, "If I beat you, stay away from Liena. And whenever you see me from now on, you have to call me Big Brother Yan."
At that, Chen Xuanqing curled his lips disdainfully. Do you think you're Xiao Yan? Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west!
"Fine, I accept. The same conditions apply to you, but don't call me Big Brother Xuanqing. Only beauties like Nana get to call me that."
In truth, Chen Xuanqing could not really tell how pretty the six-year-old Hu Liena was, but he could nurture her as she grew!
[Ding! System quest: defeat Yan. Reward: one lottery draw.]
And so Chen Xuanqing and Yan stood facing each other, looking as though a great battle was about to erupt.
"Yan, level-nine Soul Scholar. Martial soul: Flame Lord!"
In an instant, Yan released his martial soul, and the towering Flame Lord looked immensely powerful.