Reunion with Qian Renxue

Wallace hurriedly crouched down and began examining Yu Tianheng's injuries. He found that the impact of the flame explosion had knocked him unconscious, and that he had suffered nothing more than a few burns.

He immediately sighed in relief. With the medical facilities of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, injuries this minor would heal in just a few days.

"Lingling, did you notice it?!"

Seeing Xu Yang withdraw his Martial Soul and stretch as he walked toward the rest area, Dugu Yan suddenly spoke to Ye Lingling beside her, her face solemn.

"Notice what?! The battle looked perfectly normal. Yu Tianheng was no match for Xu Yang at full strength. Didn't you see the cold sweat beading on Xu Yang's forehead?!" Ye Lingling asked in confusion, but when she turned her head, she discovered that Dugu Yan had completed Martial Soul Possession at some point.

"Lingling, my Martial Soul is the Jade Phosphor Serpent, and snakes are extremely sensitive to temperature. After Xu Yang summoned the Sun Martial Soul, the temperature throughout the arena kept rising. It rose especially quickly after that fellow used his Second Soul Skill—more than twice as fast. It's just that the battle ended too quickly, making it difficult to notice!" Dugu Yan said seriously.

"So, Yanzi, you mean..." Ye Lingling had somewhat understood, but she was still puzzled.

"Xu Yang's strength doesn't end there. Based on what I sensed, the temperature contained within his Sun Martial Soul was enough to make my heart tremble. I'm afraid the sweat covering his forehead earlier was caused by his effort to control the Soul Skill's power so he wouldn't injure Yu Tianheng, rather than because he was fighting at full strength."

As the granddaughter of Poison Douluo Dugu Bo, Dugu Yan had her own understanding of Lightning Attribute and Fire Attribute Spirit Masters. After all, both attributes heavily countered the Poison Attribute. Under her grandfather's tutelage, she had learned how to deal with Spirit Masters of those two attributes, so she could clearly sense the power of Xu Yang's Martial Soul.

However, this only made her even more interested in Xu Yang.

"This..."

Ye Lingling turned to look at Xu Yang, who had already returned to his usual calm, unable to believe what she was seeing. She really couldn't imagine that someone two years younger than them could be so terrifying.

"..."

Noticing Ye Lingling looking at him, Xu Yang waved with a cheerful smile before continuing to review the battle just now.

To be honest, he felt a little foolish. Why had he engaged in close combat with a Beast Spirit Spirit Master like Yu Tianheng? Wouldn't it have been better to make full use of the Sun Martial Soul's advantages? But when he thought about it, something still felt off. Ultimately, he simply had too few Soul Skills, so he could only focus on close combat during the early stages.

Xu Yang did not take the field again during the Practical Combat Class that followed. Instead, he sat below and watched the matches. To be honest, the students' skill levels varied greatly.

The strong ones truly possessed impressive combat instincts. Their applications of physical techniques, Soul Power, and Soul Skills had formed complete systems of their own, allowing them to display their full strength. Dugu Yan and Osler, for example, each had their own unique fighting styles.

The weak ones were genuinely poor. They basically stood in place and unleashed attacks, clashing Soul Skills head-on and making it easy for their opponents to seize an opening. Most of them were fallen minor nobles from remote regions.

In particular, Xu Yang had gained a clear understanding of the advantages held by major powers and clans. These forces and families had thoroughly studied their own Martial Souls, and their Soul Skill combinations were even more flawless.

Take the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul, for example. Its first three Soul Skills had remained unchanged for countless years: Thunder Dragon Claw, Thunderous Might, and Wrath of Thunder. Together, these three Soul Skills covered ranged attacks, close combat, area attacks, and status enhancement. Combined with the powerful body granted by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, they left the user virtually unrivaled among opponents of the same rank.

The Star Luo Royal Family's Evil Eye White Tiger and the Zhu Family's Hell Spirit Cat were similar. On Douluo Continent, countless examples like this could be found.

At that moment, Xu Yang suddenly felt extremely fortunate. He had been accepted as Ning Fengzhi's disciple when he awakened his Martial Soul, gaining access to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's foundation and avoiding countless detours. Otherwise, he would probably still be studying Martial Soul theory and searching for his own fighting style in some junior Soul Master Academy.

After the Practical Combat Class ended, Xu Yang noticed that many students had begun skipping class. The teachers did not intervene. Only after asking around did he learn that they simply could not control the situation. Those skipping class were all children of great nobles. They already possessed inherited learning methods and techniques from their families, while the school's lessons were not particularly suitable for them. Thus, even if they did not attend class, they could still pass the academy's assessments.

After learning this, Xu Yang did not hesitate. He immediately chose to skip class and headed for the academy's library.

He had already picked through quite a few books on Spirit Master cultivation within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Most were suited to him, while he had ignored the rest because he felt they were useless. He was now heading to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's library to see whether it contained books that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect did not, such as Meditation Methods or records of Immortal Herbs.

Spirit Masters had existed on Douluo Continent for countless years. Records of Immortal Herbs could not possibly be limited to the Breaking Clan and Chrysanthemum Douluo. Other forces must have records as well; it was just that such things were far too rare, so most of those records had probably been left gathering dust.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect also had records of Immortal Herbs, but unfortunately, they were incomplete. They only introduced two plants: the Jade Bone Fruit and the Bone Cleansing Flower. Both were Immortal-grade medicinal herbs that tempered the body and improved one's aptitude.

That was why Xu Yang wanted to see whether he could find anything useful on the subject at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. As for Meditation Methods, he did not hold out much hope. What worthwhile things could be hidden in a library, anyway? The Meditation Method he currently practiced came from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and was among the finest on the continent. Compared with the Mysterious Heaven Skill, it might be considerably inferior in Soul Power cultivation, but it was definitely superior in terms of Spiritual Power.

After all, Spiritual Power was the most important thing for an auxiliary Spirit Master.

Using his student token, Xu Yang entered the academy library without hindrance. Quite a few students were inside, each sitting quietly in a chair and reading with complete concentration.

"Looks like there are quite a few clever people among the students."

After sweeping his gaze over them, Xu Yang continued toward the deeper part of the library. When he passed a private room, he saw someone who surprised him somewhat: Xue Qinghe, played by Qian Renxue.

Logically speaking, shouldn't Qian Renxue be busy figuring out how to kill her two brothers at this time?

Why was she here?

After thinking it over, Xu Yang pushed open the door and walked inside. Looking at Qian Renxue, who was seated there reading, he asked in confusion, "Junior Brother, what are you doing here?!"

"Of course I'm here to wait for you, Senior Brother!" Qian Renxue closed the book, the corners of her lips curling into a smile as she looked up at Xu Yang. She continued, "Besides, I'm also a student of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Not only me—my two younger brothers are students here as well. All three of us study at the academy."

"Waiting for me? Junior Brother, what kind of joke is that?!" Xu Yang gave an awkward laugh and carefully sat down opposite Qian Renxue. He had clearly become a target, and that was genuinely dangerous.

"This Palace Master isn't joking. Senior Brother came to Heaven Dou City without even visiting me, so I had no choice but to come find you myself!" Qian Renxue wore a radiant smile, but dangerous light flickered in her eyes. One look was enough to tell that she was not someone to provoke.