"Little Wuchen, you actually think your big sister is lying to you? Just watch me teach you a lesson."
The Snow Empress immediately raised herself up and pinned Gu Wuchen beneath her, looking at him with a mischievous grin.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm not even allowed to say it?"
The sudden movement gave him no chance to react.
"You can't say that. Shouldn't your big sister be the most perfect person in your heart?"
The Snow Empress raised an eyebrow and smiled. As the ruler of the Far North, she ought to be flawless in Gu Wuchen's eyes.
"Dream on!"
"How could you be perfect when you're bullying someone younger than you? You're a Ferocious Beast of the Far North, too. You really don't deserve that title."
Gu Wuchen snorted and struggled wildly, using every ounce of strength he had to break free, but the Snow Empress's hands were too strong. It was as if he had been nailed to the bed.
"You're really naughty!" the Snow Empress chided coquettishly.
The little fellow was good in every way except for that mouth of his.
"Hmph, you're the naughty one!" Gu Wuchen snorted.
The Snow Empress thought of something fun and immediately bent down slightly.
"What are you doing?!" Gu Wuchen went pale with shock. As he watched the Snow Empress's almost breathtakingly beautiful face draw closer and closer, his heart began to race.
What was the Snow Empress going to do?
Even when he spoke, she pretended not to hear him.
Amid the chaotic struggling, a powerful force suddenly burst out of Gu Wuchen, and in an instant, he raised his arms.
His body thrust upward, and his lips suddenly kissed something cold and soft.
"???"
The Snow Empress's eyes widened. She had only meant to tease Gu Wuchen, but the fellow had actually unleashed such tremendous strength.
Gu Wuchen twisted his body, only for the Snow Empress to force him back down.
"Mm, how greedy. You actually dared to force a kiss on Sister Xue."
A faint blush appeared on the Snow Empress's icy cheeks, like a snow lotus on an iceberg blooming just for you.
"What do you mean, I forced a kiss on you? You were the one who did it."
Gu Wuchen was dumbfounded. She was actually turning the tables on him.
"Could you have kissed me if you hadn't moved your body? So it's your fault."
The Snow Empress didn't care how Gu Wuchen explained himself. Might made right.
Just as he was about to continue, a knock came from outside the room. "Young master, the Great Enshrined ordered me to bring you dinner."
The little maid's voice rang out from outside, while the Snow Empress gave a chuckle, still wanting more. "We'll stop here for today. I won't tease you anymore."
With that, the Snow Empress turned into a streak of light and slipped into the space between Gu Wuchen's brows.
Gu Wuchen rubbed his forehead, got up, and opened the door. A delicate-looking young maid walked in carrying three dishes and a bowl of soup.
The little maid was somewhat surprised to see that he was a young boy, and a rather handsome one at that.
In all her years at Spirit Hall, this was the first time she had seen a boy with such an extraordinary bearing.
The little maid set the food on the table, then turned and left.
Her task was simply to deliver the meal. Saying anything more would have been unnecessary.
Gu Wuchen watched the little maid leave, closed the door, and began to eat. Though the food couldn't compare to Shen Suwei's, it still tasted quite good.
After eating and drinking his fill, Gu Wuchen didn't rest. Now that he had awakened his Martial Soul, he would rather meditate than sleep.
Sitting on the bed, Gu Wuchen summoned his Martial Soul.
The Dustless Sword circled before him as Gu Wuchen recalled the effects of his first Soul Skill.
A basic assault skill that coated the Dustless Sword in a layer of clear ice-dust blade, greatly increasing the sharpness and base power of its slashes.
Upon hitting a target, it would leave a [Wuchen Mark], purifying one layer of the target's beneficial buffs while also applying the extreme cold of the Far North, reducing the target's movement speed and Soul Power circulation speed by 20% for three seconds.
A Soul Skill like this was well suited to being his first, and he also seemed able to experiment with creating a sword song of his own.
He sat cross-legged and began to meditate, constructing his own sword song.
Driven by his state of mind, guided by his own sword intent!
Just like that, the night passed in the blink of an eye. When Gu Wuchen came to himself, he found that the sky was already growing light.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Golden Crocodile Douluo's voice soon came from outside. "Wuchen!"
Hearing Golden Crocodile Douluo's voice, Gu Wuchen immediately put away his Martial Soul and opened the door.
"Grandpa Golden Crocodile."
Golden Crocodile Douluo nodded. "Did you rest well last night?"
"Pretty well."
As for last night, he had only kept trying to condense his own Golden Crocodile and hadn't gone to bed.
"Then let's go. Grandpa will take you to Spirit Hall Academy," Golden Crocodile Douluo said.
"Okay."
Gu Wuchen got ready and headed to Spirit Hall Academy with Golden Crocodile Douluo.
Spirit Hall Academy, junior academy.
The two arrived, and when Jiang Wuji, the junior academy's dean, heard that the Second Worship had come, he hurried over without stopping.
"Second Worship, what brings you here?"
Jiang Wuji spoke respectfully.
The Second Worship rarely ever left Elder Hall.
Golden Crocodile Douluo said, "I've brought the child the Great Enshrined brought here to enroll. Make the arrangements!"
"The child the Great Enshrined brought?"
Jiang Wuji caught that it was the Great Enshrined who had brought the child, while the Second Worship had merely brought him here on his behalf.
Following his gaze, Jiang Wuji saw Gu Wuchen, dressed in white and possessing an otherworldly bearing.
"Rest assured, Second Worship. Just leave the rest to me."
Jiang Wuji nodded in agreement.
Golden Crocodile Douluo nodded in satisfaction and said, "Wuchen, come back after school. If you're worried, Grandpa Golden Crocodile can come pick you up."
"There's no need to trouble you to take me back, Grandpa Golden Crocodile. I can go back on my own. I've already memorized the way here."
Golden Crocodile Douluo was taken aback, then smiled kindly and turned to leave the junior academy.
Jiang Wuchen, meanwhile, took Gu Wuchen inside the junior academy. He also wanted to take a look at Gu Wuchen's Martial Soul and Soul Ring before deciding which class would suit him best.
Gu Wuchen revealed the Dustless Sword and his Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
"A Thousand-Year Soul Ring???"
Jiang Wuchen was dumbfounded.
Where had the Great Enshrined brought this child from? His talent defied the heavens to such an extent that his First Soul Ring was actually a Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
"Student Gu, I'll take you to the junior academy's genius class. It suits you, and before long, you should be moving on to the intermediate academy."
Jiang Wuji took Gu Wuchen to the genius class, where most of the students were a few years older than Gu Wuchen.
As it happened, the genius class was holding an internal sparring session today.
Seeing this, Jiang Wuji served as the referee. There were fifteen people in the class, and with Gu Wuchen, there were exactly sixteen.
When they arrived at the sparring ground, a boy named Chu Feng stepped forward, pointed at Gu Wuchen, and said, "As a newcomer to the genius class, let me test how capable you are!"
Gu Wuchen stepped onto the arena. His calm, unhurried manner alone was enough to annoy Chu Feng.
Nothing annoyed him more than someone who put on more airs than he did.
"Martial Soul Possession!"
The phantom of a Gale Wolf appeared behind Chu Feng.
Immediately afterward, a Hundred-Year Soul Ring rose.
"First Soul Skill, Gale Thrust!"
Chu Feng transformed into a gale-like afterimage, forming a spike that stabbed toward Gu Wuchen.
Gu Wuchen summoned the Dustless Sword and told himself inwardly that his heart had to be calm and steady.
When he opened his eyes again, he found that Chu Feng's movements had slowed considerably before his eyes.
Immediately afterward, a Thousand-Year Soul Ring appeared!
"First Soul Skill, Dustless Blade!"