Xuan Ming sighed and stood up, ready to put on a performance too.
He only hoped that while Qian Renxue was acting as Xue Qinghe, she would maintain her identity as a prince and keep her distance from him.
Otherwise... he would have plenty to suffer through.
"She... left?"
After a round of heartfelt inquiries about his well-being, Xue Qinghe looked around with feigned confusion, seemingly searching for someone.
"I don't know. When I opened my eyes, she was gone," Xuan Ming said.
"I see..." Xue Qinghe said no more and took Xuan Ming onto the carriage.
"You were missing for so long that everyone actually thought you were dead. Once we return to the city, I'll take you to Heaven Dou Royal Academy first to see Yanzi and the others."
"The others?" Xuan Ming paused.
"They still remember me?"
Xue Qinghe froze. "Of course they do. Why would you say that?"
"I only knew them for a few days. It would be normal... if they forgot," Xuan Ming said.
From the time Dugu Bo brought him back to Heaven Dou City, through the string of incidents he caused, to Yue Guan abducting him from Sunset Forest to Spirit City, fewer than ten days had actually passed.
He really had only known Dugu Yan and the others for a few days. That little time... might have been enough for children to consider one another friends.
It was just that he had had no attention to spare for such things back then.
"They were all very worried about you. Poison Douluo searched Sunset Forest for you for a long time. He even went straight to the Balak Kingdom to look for you," Xue Qinghe said.
"The Balak Kingdom?" Confusion appeared on Xuan Ming's face.
"Why?"
"Poison Douluo said the unrest among the Soul Beasts that night was extremely strange. The disturbance caused by the autumn hunt alone definitely wouldn't have been enough to draw out so many Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts from deep within Sunset Forest," Xue Qinghe said.
"Besides, you disappeared along with Baers. After learning about what happened between you and Baers, Poison Douluo suspected the Barak Royal Family was behind it. Afraid he would retaliate once he found out, they had staged that farce to muddy the waters."
"Then he charged into Barak Royal City."
Xuan Ming's expression turned somewhat unnatural. "Did Dugu Yan ask him to go?"
"No, Yanzi didn't think along those lines. Poison Douluo came up with that himself," Xue Qinghe said.
"Poison Douluo said he still had an unsettled debt to you. If you really had died in a scheme by the Barak Royal Family, he would at least avenge you and count that as repaying his debt."
"He really does draw a clear line between gratitude and grudges." Xuan Ming was somewhat speechless, unsure how to judge that shameless old bastard.
"What happened after that?"
"He investigated in Barak Royal City for a while and found that the incident had nothing to do with the Barak Royal Family. Now... I don't know where he's gone either," Xue Qinghe said.
"He didn't return to Heaven Dou City?" Xuan Ming asked.
Xue Qinghe shook his head. "No. Even Yanzi doesn't know where he went."
"Maybe he went somewhere for secluded cultivation."
"Secluded cultivation..." Xuan Ming's expression turned somewhat unnatural.
Dugu Bo couldn't have gone wandering around Spirit City, could he?
Chapter 61: The wrath of the masses is not to be provoked
"Heaven Dou Royal Academy was founded by the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and is managed directly by the emperor. It is the empire's largest advanced Soul Master Academy, with substantial funding and resources behind it. Most of its students are nobles. It offers an excellent learning environment and nearly a hundred mimicry cultivation grounds, providing suitable cultivation environments for Soul Masters with different Martial Souls."
As they entered Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Xue Qinghe began introducing the place to Xuan Ming.
The Heaven Dou Empire's elementary Soul Master Academies taught basic material, along with some academic subjects. They only accepted children whose Martial Souls had just awakened, and the course lasted six years. The graduation requirements were simple: students only needed to reach rank ten, obtain a Soul Ring under a teacher's guidance, and successfully advance to the title of Soul Master.
Intermediate Soul Master Academies taught more profound material than elementary Soul Master Academies, but the difficulty of studying also increased greatly. Those who could not meet the academy's requirements could not graduate.
After turning twelve, an ordinary Soul Master without much of a future would simply become an ordinary Soul Master. But those with decent potential mostly chose to pursue further studies at an intermediate Soul Master Academy until they were eighteen. To graduate from an intermediate Soul Master Academy, students had to reach rank twenty, obtain their second Soul Ring, and earn the title of Soul Grandmaster.
As for advanced Soul Master Academies, they only admitted Soul Masters above rank twenty and required rank thirty for graduation. Any student who graduated from an advanced Soul Master Academy would be eagerly sought after by both the state and Spirit Hall and would be granted a noble title directly.
Sometimes, however, students who met the graduation requirements would remain at the academy to continue their studies and compete in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.
Of course, some advanced Soul Master Academies also offered elementary Soul Master Academy courses and admitted exceptionally gifted students. Heaven Dou Royal Academy was one of them.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Xuan Ming asked.
Xue Qinghe paused. "Because you'll be studying here from now on, of course."
"I'm not a noble," Xuan Ming said.
"You aren't, but your talent qualifies you for special admission," Xue Qinghe said.
"Special admission?" Confusion appeared on Xuan Ming's face.
"Didn't you say they only admit nobles?"
According to Xue Qinghe, all Soul Masters who reached rank thirty or above and graduated from an advanced Soul Master Academy held noble titles, and Heaven Dou Royal Academy only admitted the descendants of those Soul Masters.
"Admitting only noble students is the convention, but there are exceptions," Xue Qinghe said.
"Why do you think Heaven Dou Royal Academy specifically established such a rule?"
"If it wants to recruit talent, why set up such a pointless barrier of nobility and shut talented Soul Masters out?"
Xuan Ming thought for a moment. "To attract high-level Soul Masters?"
Xue Qinghe froze, then laughed. "You really are clever!"
"That rule of Heaven Dou Royal Academy was indeed intended to attract high-level Soul Masters. After all, once Soul Masters cultivate to a certain level, they have to start thinking about nurturing their descendants. In the past, to attract more high-level Soul Masters to serve the Heaven Dou Empire, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family established Heaven Dou Royal Academy and restricted admission to nobles."
"If those high-level Soul Masters wanted their children to receive better training, they had to obtain noble status for themselves, naturally joining the Heaven Dou Empire in the process."
"Moreover, admitting only nobles and treating people differently also satisfied those high-level Soul Masters' desire to stand above others and be set apart."
"In its early days, this rule did indeed attract large numbers of high-level Soul Masters to the Heaven Dou Empire."
"Unfortunately, as time passed, this rule gradually became a one-sided restriction."
"In fact, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family wanted to abolish this restriction a long time ago. But the moment word got out, some unexpected incidents occurred. To stabilize the situation, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family abandoned its plans to change the rule."
"Still, although the restriction remains on the surface, exceptionally gifted Soul Masters can actually receive special admission to Heaven Dou Royal Academy even without noble status. Of course, it's rare-so rare it practically never happens."
Heaven Dou Royal Academy had an extremely strong teaching staff, and with its comprehensive supporting facilities, it was tremendously attractive to young Soul Masters. If this restriction were lifted, most advanced Soul Master Academies would find it almost impossible to recruit any outstanding students.
Behind those advanced Soul Master Academies stood Soul Master sects of various sizes or noble factions from the major kingdoms. For example, the Four Elements Academy was directed by renowned major powers in the Soul Master World, while the advanced Soul Master Academies in the major cities were controlled by local royalty and nobility.
These advanced Soul Master Academies were all means for those factions to recruit Soul Masters.
Once the Heaven Dou Imperial Family changed this rule, it would be competing with everyone else for benefits and incurring the wrath of the masses!
The cafeteria.
Since Dugu Yan and the others were still in class, suddenly going over to interrupt them would not have been appropriate. So, after taking Xuan Ming on a tour of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Xue Qinghe brought him to the cafeteria.
"Yanzi told me before that you could really eat, but I didn't have a clear idea of what she meant. Seeing it today..."
Watching Xuan Ming finish three people's portions in no time, Xue Qinghe wore an extremely peculiar expression.
She had obtained the relevant information about Xuan Ming's situation at Spirit Hall Academy. One detail was that this fellow could really eat, to the point that the students called him the "super big eater"...
"I have money. I can afford it." Xuan Ming took several Gold Soul Coins from his bracelet and placed them on the table.
"That's not what I meant..." Xue Qinghe's gaze shifted slightly.
"Where did you get so much money? And that bracelet-is it a Storage Soul Tool?"
"Someone gave it to me," Xuan Ming said.
Beneath the table, Xue Qinghe's fists unconsciously clenched. "Really? A Storage Soul Tool is quite precious. Anyone willing to give you something like that must value you highly."
"Perhaps." Xuan Ming kept his head down and ate.
The Storage Soul Tool Bibi Dong had given him contained a huge pile of Gold Soul Coins. By his rough estimate, there were at least twenty thousand, packed densely into a little mountain of gold.
Besides money, there were daily necessities and some of Bibi Dong's own cultivation insights. She really had given him everything he currently needed that she could provide.
That was how to win someone's heart-not by putting on a lofty air to bestow charity, without even treating him as a person.
Bibi Dong treated him like a child and did not scheme too much with him. She treated him the way an adult treated a child.
She coaxed him when he needed coaxing and hit him when he needed hitting, without spoiling him. She subtly closed the distance between them without making him uncomfortable.
But Qian Renxue had tried to sway him right from the start, wanting to conquer him directly on a psychological level. It was tantamount to demanding that he obediently do as he was told from the outset.
It was like certain internet celebrities or stars who thought that saying a word to you or shaking your hand was an enormous favor. Even if you were not moved to tears of gratitude, you should at least act overwhelmed by the honor. If you satisfied them, you could receive further rewards.
An ordinary child or a resident of Spirit City would certainly have accepted Qian Renxue's attitude with tears of gratitude.
But he was neither. First, he particularly disliked being looked down upon from on high. One could also say he had an especially strong rebellious streak.
Second, his impression of Spirit Hall was abysmal, even though he knew that had been an individual's conduct.
And Qian Renxue's attitude toward him from beginning to end was like a celebrity going out into the street, randomly grabbing a passerby who did not follow celebrities, then giving autographs and posing for pictures in a display that moved no one but herself.
For a fan who liked that celebrity, this would naturally be a happy occasion.
But he was not Qian Renxue's fan. He could even be considered a passerby who had been burned by her fan club, and she was using this "idol meets fan" routine on him...
Was she sick in the head?
Even more sick in the head, Qian Renxue insisted on putting Bibi Dong down to elevate herself in front of him.
Even though their aims were more or less the same, Qian Renxue considered herself nobler.
Formalistic bureaucracy, detached from the people at the bottom and perched high above them-and someone like that talked about all the people under heaven...
Chapter 62: A venomous woman
"Xuan Ming!"
They did not wait long before the morning classes ended. Xue Qinghe sent someone to tell Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling about Xuan Ming and bring them both straight to the cafeteria.
The moment they met, Dugu Yan rushed forward, seemingly wanting to give Xuan Ming a hug.
However, the moment she drew close, the two dragons on Xuan Ming's back showed clear resistance.
Dugu Yan also came to her senses in time and stopped.
Xuan Ming was not accustomed to excessive physical contact and maintained a sense of distance from everyone. Tugging at his hands and normal contact were fine, but overly intimate actions like hugging would provoke strong resistance from him.
Although Xuan Ming could hold it in, the two dragons on his back, which expressed his feelings, would make no attempt to hide their resistance!
"You..." Dugu Yan carefully looked Xuan Ming over. He was uninjured, and his mental state was no different from before.
"Yanzi, don't be nervous. He's fine," Xue Qinghe said.
"Sit down and talk. Lingling, you sit too. Don't stand."
Dugu Yan nodded, and Ye Lingling sat down as well.
But after only a few words, Dugu Yan began throwing out one question after another.
"Where have you been these past few months?"
"What exactly happened that night?"
"..."
"I... don't want to talk about it. Is that all right?" Xuan Ming said.
Dugu Yan paused. "Of course. If you don't want to talk about it, don't. All that matters is that you're back."
"Oh, right, have you eaten? I..."
"I just finished," Xuan Ming said.
Dugu Yan simply treated him as an unlucky child, a friend, just like Hu Liena did. He really did not want to fool her.
"Your hair..." Ye Lingling looked at Xuan Ming's hair.
"It's tied better than mine."