Dugu Yan looked over too. "Oh, it really is! Who tied your hair for you?"
Xuan Ming had usually worn his hair loose before, at most casually tying it back with a cord.
But now, this half-up high ponytail, paired with Xuan Ming's ice-cold demeanor, made for an utterly adorable contrast!
"Eldest Prince?" Dugu Yan looked at Xue Qinghe.
"I remember you being especially good at doing hair. I saw you doing the little princess's hair before."
"I wasn't the one who did his." Xue Qinghe forced a smile, but inside, he was on the verge of exploding.
She even taught him how to tie his hair!
Just how much had happened during those months at the Pope's Palace?!
"It wasn't the eldest prince?" Dugu Yan looked at Xuan Ming in puzzlement.
"Then who tied it for you?"
"I did it myself," Xuan Ming said.
Bibi Dong had asked Hu Liena to do his hair, but that girl kept giving him all kinds of braids and buns, having the time of her life!
He really couldn't stand it, so he had no choice but to learn a few ways of tying hair from Bibi Dong.
Besides, if he didn't tie it well himself, Bibi Dong would have something to play with.
Under the threat of braids, his progress could be called lightning-fast.
"You can even... do hair?" Dugu Yan wore an odd expression.
"I'm just young, not mentally disabled," Xuan Ming said.
"Ahem, that's not what I meant..." Dugu Yan was a little embarrassed.
She really found it hard to associate doing hair with someone as cold and slightly dazed as Xuan Ming.
"Why don't you do Yanzi's hair? I can learn from you too," Xue Qinghe suddenly said.
Dugu Yan paused briefly. "Sure."
With that, Dugu Yan let her long hair down and turned her back to Xuan Ming.
Xuan Ming hesitated, but still stood up and reached out. First, he gathered two sections of hair from the top of Dugu Yan's head and tied them at the flattest part of the back of her head, leaving a small loop on the final pass with the ends laid over the crown. Then he gathered hair from beside both ears and loosely tied it above the little loop, twisted the tied hair sideways, pulled the lower loop through the opening above, and finally flipped the upper hair down and tidied it up. Done.
"..."
Watching Xuan Ming's practiced movements, Ye Lingling looked envious, Dugu Yan was very pleased, and only Xue Qinghe was somewhat losing his composure.
Such practiced movements! This definitely wasn't Xuan Ming's first time doing someone else's hair!
What on earth had happened in the Pope's Palace?!
"Lingling, did you see that? Learn something. Stop making me help you every time." Dugu Yan was very pleased with her new ponytail, which matched Xuan Ming's.
"But you aren't that good at tying your own hair either," Ye Lingling muttered.
"Still better than you," Dugu Yan said with perfect confidence.
"You're five years older than me. By the time I'm your age, I'll definitely be better at it than you," Ye Lingling said.
"Oh? Are you rebelling?" Dugu Yan put on a fierce expression.
"Believe it or not, I'll give you a couple of bites of poison!"
"I believe you, but I'll go home and tell Grandma so she'll beat you up."
"..."
"Xuan Ming, did you... often do other people's hair before?"
While Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling were fooling around, Xue Qinghe asked out of the blue.
"I did it a lot while learning," Xuan Ming said.
"Then it seems whoever taught you is very close to you," Xue Qinghe said.
"Girls don't just let anyone mess with their hair."
"Close..." Xuan Ming's expression grew a little unnatural.
Bibi Dong had taught him how to tie hair, then made him do hers afterward. If he did a bad job, he would have to wear a topknot sticking straight up for an entire day, and he wasn't allowed to undo it, or she would shave his head.
When Hu Liena saw it, she wanted to play too and made him do hers as well. If he didn't do it properly, she would give him either twin ponytails or buns, then drag him around everywhere.
Once again, he had experienced what it meant for pressure to become motivation!
"Yanzi, I have something to attend to, so I'll leave Xuan Ming with you. Here are the documents I prepared for him. Take him to the Education Committee to handle the formalities."
Xue Qinghe handed Xuan Ming's identity documents to Dugu Yan, said a few more words, then stood up and left.
"What's wrong with the eldest prince?" Ye Lingling was a little puzzled.
"Why does his mood seem... a little off?"
"Does it?" Dugu Yan hadn't noticed.
"A little," Ye Lingling said.
"Maybe something came up," Dugu Yan said.
Ye Lingling was introverted, but her powers of observation made her extremely sensitive to changes in the emotions of those around her. Even the slightest fluctuation could catch her attention.
If she felt something was off, then something certainly was a little off.
The Education Committee.
Since Heaven Dou Royal Academy belonged to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, its nominal dean was the reigning emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, so the academy had no separate position of dean.
All academy affairs, great and small, were decided by the Education Committee, which consisted of the three most senior and powerful committee members. For important matters, they would also seek instructions from the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
The Heaven Dou Imperial Family placed great importance on the academy. Although the emperor had no time to attend to its affairs as well, he would generally appoint a high-ranking imperial family member to oversee them.
And currently, the imperial family member responsible for Heaven Dou Royal Academy was none other than the eldest prince, Xue Qinghe.
"Xuan Ming, all three members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Education Committee are Soul Douluos above rank eighty. Be polite when you meet them," Dugu Yan said.
"Polite?" Ye Lingling started to speak, then stopped.
Anyone could say those words, but weren't they a little inappropriate coming from you, Young Lady Dugu?
"Hmm?" Dugu Yan glared at Ye Lingling.
"Could you not undermine me?"
"Oh..." Ye Lingling fell silent.
"If you enroll now, you can be in Lingling's class..." Dugu Yan's expression grew a little unnatural.
"Why don't you transfer into my class instead? Join me?"
Everyone in this academy knew who she was, so naturally, Xuan Ming would be fine walking with her. But if he walked around alone, not only would his unusual appearance easily draw attention, even without those unusual looks, newcomers were easily bullied here!
Those little noble cliques loved nothing more than ganging up to bully others and taking in lackeys!
Basically every new student who arrived at Heaven Dou Royal Academy would be put through an ordeal, boys and girls alike.
Her poor reputation at Heaven Dou Royal Academy was also because she had already obtained her first Soul Ring when she enrolled. Then she had nearly poisoned the students who provoked her into cripples!
Although her first Soul Skill was a poisonous mist meant for control and disruption, her Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul was poisonous even without using Soul Skills!
Ordinary Soul Masters couldn't withstand her poison at all. She had only intended to warn them, but they were terrified and thought they were going to die.
Then, as the story spread, she became a vicious, ruthless poisonous woman.
Chapter 63: Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Education Committee
As Xuan Ming and the others entered the Education Committee, they immediately saw Xue Qinghe, who had left earlier to attend to something, sitting with three elderly men of different builds, seemingly discussing something.
"This is Xuan Ming." Xue Qinghe stood up and walked to Xuan Ming's side, introducing him to the three committee members.
"Xuan Ming, these three are members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Education Committee."
"Mm." Xuan Ming acknowledged them without saying anything more.
"Xuan Ming is rather aloof and cold by nature. Please forgive him," Dugu Yan explained.
"It's quite all right. Geniuses naturally have their pride." Committee Member Meng Shenji, who sat in the middle, was of average build with white hair and beard. He stood up and walked over as well.
"It isn't really pride. He simply doesn't know how to talk to people. After all..." Xue Qinghe didn't finish.
Meng Shenji nodded slightly. Naturally, they had just learned something of this child's past from Xue Qinghe.
After experiencing those things, it was normal for him to be cold. If he still had no wariness, he really would be a fool.
After another round of introductions, Committee Member Meng Shenji finally got to the point.
"I heard from the eldest prince that your Martial Soul is somewhat unusual. May I take a look?" Meng Shenji maintained a kindly smile as he spoke softly to Xuan Ming.
Xuan Ming paused, raised his right hand, and brought out the Blood Spear.
It was pitch-black throughout, with dark red bloodlight flickering at its tip like a beating heart. Faint black lightning mingled with the bloodlight, and a closer look revealed that the pitch-black lightning had also been tinged slightly red.
"It truly is brimming with ferocity." Meng Shenji's gaze shifted slightly.
"But vicious weapons have always harmed both others and their wielders. Does your Martial Soul have any drawbacks, such as backlash against you?"
"...Yes." Xuan Ming briefly explained the Blood Spear's drawback of devouring its master. It wasn't anything he couldn't talk about anyway.
"Devouring you?" Meng Shenji frowned, and the other two committee members came closer as well, reaching out to touch the Blood Spear.
"This is the first time I've seen such a vicious Martial Soul," said the gaunt Committee Member Zhi Lin.
There were countless Martial Souls in this world, but those that could be described as vicious could be counted on one's fingers.
"Xuan Ming's circumstances are rather special. I hope the three of you will take good care of him," Xue Qinghe said.
"Naturally," Meng Shenji said.
"However, I still need to learn more about his Martial Soul."
"Child, don't be nervous."
As his words fell, the air around Meng Shenji suddenly warped slightly.
Xuan Ming immediately felt as though the air around him had solidified. Vast fluctuations of Soul Power swept toward him, leaving him unable to move.
Unlike the wild Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Soul Power Dugu Bo had previously used to restrain him, this Soul Power was like a dark mire. Even if he wanted to resist, there was nowhere for him to exert his strength.
"Hmm?" Meng Shenji's gaze shifted slightly.
When low-ranked Soul Masters faced direct pressure from the Soul Power released by high-ranked Soul Masters, let alone resisting, even circulating their Soul Power became extremely difficult. Yet this child's Soul Power was full of aggression. Facing his Black Demon Soul Power, it not only failed to retreat but instead surged forward to tear and bite!
Before Meng Shenji could continue examining this peculiar Soul Power, the stimulated Black Dragon Martial Soul entered Berserk Transformation outright. Xuan Ming's body swelled along with it, faint black scales emerging on all four limbs, while his hands showed clear signs of beast transformation.
"This..." Meng Shenji's expression changed, and the other two committee members also looked surprised.
Martial Soul Berserk Transformation?
"When my body or mind is subjected to too much stimulation, they enter Berserk Transformation," Xuan Ming explained.
"A controllable Berserk Transformation?" Meng Shenji stopped probing further.
Berserk Transformation was extremely dangerous. It released mental restraints to draw out a Martial Soul's power beyond its limits, making it an ability that overdrew one's reserves. Because of this, Soul Masters would enter a period of weakness afterward and would be unable to activate Berserk Transformation again for some time.
Even high-ranked Beast Soul Masters found Berserk Transformation difficult to control, yet this child could remain lucid?
It seemed this child not only possessed astonishing talent, but also truly formidable willpower...
"Can you enter Berserk Transformation voluntarily?" Zhi Lin asked.
"No, it's passive," Xuan Ming said.
"I can't suppress its activation either."
As long as he received sufficiently intense stimulation, Berserk Transformation would activate automatically, unless the disparity in strength was too great, as when Qian Daoliu and Qian Renxue had knocked him unconscious outright in the Worship Hall.
"It seems your Martial Soul's situation is rather complicated. We'll have to take our time learning about it," Meng Shenji said.
"Sorry for troubling the three of you," Xue Qinghe said.
"It's no trouble. Since he has joined Heaven Dou Royal Academy, these matters naturally fall within our duties," Meng Shenji said.