"What did you say?" Tang Wulin walked over in astonishment and grabbed the student's arm.
"Where did you say the fire was?"
The student froze for a moment when he saw someone he didn't recognize.
"At our Eastsea City Mecha Brigade. My dad said that fire was downright uncanny. No amount of water could put it out. Why? Don't tell me someone you know works there."
"No. Nobody."
Tang Wulin shook his head absently. He had already lost his appetite.
He switched on his Soul Guidance Communicator, his gaze lingering on Jiang Mingyuan's contact page.
Brother Yuan, you didn't do this, did you?
"Wulin! Did you hear? There was a fire at the Eastsea City Mecha Brigade last night!"
Tang Wulin looked up as Xie Xie hurried over in a panic.
Tang Wulin nodded.
"I already know."
"Do you think it might have been-"
Tang Wulin stopped Xie Xie from continuing. Whatever the case, Guanglong's older brother was dead. Their trouble was gone. As for the rest, they knew nothing, and they shouldn't let their imaginations run wild.
A red sports car stopped outside Eastsea Academy's gates. Jiang Mingyuan stepped out and said goodbye to the woman in the driver's seat.
"Little fellow, don't forget our agreement."
Jiang Mingyuan watched the sports car drive away, still replaying the events of the previous night in his mind.
The moment he entered Qin Yu's office, a petite figure threw herself into his arms. Luckily, he reacted quickly and stopped his hand in time. Otherwise, he would have nearly set her on fire.
"Big Brother!"
It was Na'er. Over the past three years, this scene had played out many times.
"Na'er. You..." Jiang Mingyuan was delighted, but he had no idea what to say. After struggling for ages, he finally squeezed out a few words.
"Have you been doing well?"
"Yes! Everyone at home treats me really well. But without you around, Big Brother, my heart always feels empty."
They held each other for a long time before Na'er finally let go.
Jiang Mingyuan noticed that besides Qin Yu, two other women were in the office, both watching them with smiles.
"President Qin." Jiang Mingyuan had some guesses about the two women's identities, but he wasn't certain, so he could only greet Qin Yu, whom he knew, first.
Na'er noticed the expression on Jiang Mingyuan's face.
She took Jiang Mingyuan's hand and led him over to a woman in purple. "This is my aunt, Gu Yue Yinhan," she introduced. "Oh, right, Big Brother, my name is Gu Yuena now. Look, my Martial Soul has awakened too."
A Silver-White Long Spear appeared in Na'er's hand. A Yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath her feet, and various Elemental Light Orbs appeared around her.
Well, then. She merged her two disguise Martial Souls into one.
Jiang Mingyuan looked at the seated Gu Yue Yinhan again.
[Name: Zi JI. Race: Hell Demon Dragon. Favorability: 50.]
This was where the system proved its worth. All Jiang Mingyuan needed was one glance to lay her identity bare.
"Hehe. Little Jiang, Na'er often tells us how good you've been to her when she's at home. Thank you for taking care of her these past three years."
"It was nothing. Na'er is a very considerate child too. We helped each other."
Gu Yuena pulled Jiang Mingyuan over to another woman, dressed in red with red hair. The woman's hair was a somewhat darker wine-red, whereas Jiang Mingyuan's was a vivid red.
"This is Leng Yaozhu, the Spirit Pagoda's deputy pagoda master, and my teacher. Her Martial Soul is a Phoenix, just like yours, Big Brother."
Leng Yaozhu smiled and extended her hand.
"Little fellow, your sister told me you're a very talented designer. Would you like to study under me alongside her? I'm a rank-nine designer, you know."
Jiang Mingyuan's mind was racing.
He needed to sort out the situation first.
Na'er-or rather, the Silver Dragon King-hadn't split her mind into separate personalities. He had known they would eventually meet again, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
Thinking about it, that made sense. In the original story, extracting the Golden Dragon King Bloodline meant hurting Tang Wulin. But Na'er's personality had developed feelings for him.
She had only split herself to avoid tearing herself apart from within.
"Big Brother?" Na'er noticed that Jiang Mingyuan was slow to respond. He must have been thinking about something.
In fact, on the day Gu Yuena left, she had assigned two of the Star Dou Great Forest's few remaining fighting forces, the Scarlet King and Demon Spirit of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, to take turns secretly protecting Jiang Mingyuan. (The original story never described what happened to the Scarlet King. Since his fate was unknown, let's let him live. Demon Spirit seemed to get a passing mention. By current standards, neither was particularly strong, so they were just here to serve as bodyguards early on.)
Gu Yuena had learned about what happened on the snack street right away.
That vile Guanglong must have thrown his weight around and bullied him. My poor, weak, helpless big brother must have been terrified.
Gu Yuena made up her mind. In a little while, she would have the Scarlet King kill that whole bunch of bastards.
"Deputy Pagoda Master Leng, your offer truly overwhelms me with favor. The Heavenly Phoenix Douluo's renown resounds throughout the world. It would be my honor to become your student."
Oh my, this little fellow certainly has a way with words. Leng Yaozhu was even more pleased.
"I'm lucky to have you siblings as my students too. I came in a hurry and didn't prepare any welcoming gifts. How about this-you must be close to rank thirty, right?"
Jiang Mingyuan nodded. He was already rank twenty-nine. He hadn't cultivated much lately, yet his cultivation had suddenly leaped forward.
When he left Aolai City, he had only recently reached rank twenty-eight. Even counting every day since then, it hadn't been a full month.
His cultivation seemed to have suddenly jumped during the first two days of school, though he didn't know why. Had anything special happened then?
Jiang Mingyuan thought it over. Aside from teaching Zhou Changxi a lesson a few days earlier, he had spent most of his time wandering around with Wulin.
"Yes, Teacher. I'm already rank twenty-nine. I'll reach rank thirty in two months at most."
"When the time comes, I'll choose the most suitable Soul Spirit for you." As the Spirit Pagoda's deputy pagoda master, Leng Yaozhu could easily select a suitable Soul Spirit for her student, especially since the pagoda master, Qiangu Dongfeng, could practically be called her lapdog.
"How about this? Come back to Shrek City with me tomorrow. I'll make arrangements to get both of you into Shrek Academy. What do you think?"
Setting everything else aside, Shrek Academy was the foremost academy, gathering the continent's finest resources in one place. Not to mention, Leng Yaozhu herself had graduated from Shrek Academy.
Leng Yaozhu would most likely never marry. To her, her students were her children and the inheritors of her legacy.
She could guarantee that she was the best teacher on the entire continent when it came to design. But she would leave the other subjects to the professionals.
Gu Yuena noticed a slight change in Jiang Mingyuan's expression.
"Big Brother, what's wrong?"
Jiang Mingyuan rubbed Na'er's little head, then bowed slightly to Leng Yaozhu.
"Teacher, please forgive my rudeness, but I cannot follow your arrangements. As you can see, I'm currently a student at Eastsea Academy. I have companions here whom I can trust. Shrek Academy is certainly excellent, but I won't abandon my companions."