Early the next morning,
Xiao Wu carried a bundle of bedding and a pile of supplies toward Nuoding Academy.
The girl waved. "The rivers and lakes flow on, and the green mountains never change. From now on, Sister Xiao Wu has your back!"
Xiao Yan paid for her things with a dark expression.
"Since we're friends now, there's something I should warn you about!" After some thought, Xiao Yan decided to give Xiao Wu a warning about Tang San.
This girl was obviously very innocent.
She was far too easy to fool!
"Watch out for Tang San. That guy is deeply scheming!"
Xiao Wu nodded, only half understanding, and recalled the poisonous black fog from last night.
"That poison?"
Xiao Yan nodded. "That was his doing!"
"Hmph! He dared bully Sister Xiao Wu's little brother? Just watch, I'll settle the score for you at school!"
Xiao Wu patted her chest, letting Xiao Yan's warning to stay away from Tang San go in one ear and out the other.
Not only was she not going to avoid him, she was going to seek him out!
"Stay safe." Xiao Yan gave Xiao Wu a long look.
Could this guy know something?
Xiao Wu shook her head repeatedly.
Even Da Ming had said everything was fine. What could this little brat possibly see?
She could never have guessed that Xiao Yan was running two accounts at once.
Yao Lao, inside the ring, had long since seen through everything.
Xiao Yan clapped his hands, finally feeling somewhat relieved and refreshed.
"I went up three levels in one night. I need to consolidate them!"
Xiao Yan prepared to return to the inn and meditate.
Suddenly, he saw a young man come racing toward him.
Sure enough, Xiao Yan was his target!
Before reaching him, the young man pitched forward and dropped straight to his knees.
Xiao Yan blinked and said speechlessly, "Good grief, you can pull a scam like that!?"
The young man slid forward, sending sand flying.
He wrapped his arms around Xiao Yan's leg!
"Brother, just look at these ragged clothes of mine and you'll know I'm dirt poor."
"What are you after?"
The young man raised his head slightly and looked at Xiao Yan. "You're my own grandpa!"
With Soul Power reinforcing him, Xiao Yan broke free and backed away.
Xiao Yan spread his hands helplessly. "I'm definitely not your grandpa!"
"But you really are quite the little shit."
After standing there for a while, the young man smiled faintly and explained, "Grandpa Yan, you've misunderstood."
"I'm Ancestor Tianming's adopted grandson!"
"Ancestor Tianming?" After a brief silence, Xiao Yan suddenly remembered something.
Was that the Vice Hall Master Yu Tianming who had insisted on calling him his own elder brother?
"Ancestor Tianming calls you brother, and I'm his grandson, Lan He. Naturally, that makes me your grandson too!"
"Oh, Grandpa Yan!"
"You and your grandpa really are something."
Looking at the solemn young man, Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly.
He helped Lan He up and hurriedly instructed him, "Don't call me Grandpa anymore. It doesn't look good!"
Though it was early morning, a crowd had already gathered in the street.
Quite a few people were glancing at this unusual "grandfather and grandson."
Lan He nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice. "Understood! From now on, I'll call you Grandpa Yan in private!"
Xiao Yan's eyelid twitched at that.
Well.
He might as well have said nothing.
"Forget it."
Xiao Yan sighed and asked, "What does Vice Hall Master Yu want? He even sent you, his good grandson, to find me."
"Brother Grandpa Yan, your foresight is divine! You guessed right away that Ancestor Yu sent for you!"
"Can I say something?"
"Of course you can!"
"You're really bad at flattery!" Xiao Yan said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Then I'll be sure to practice harder from now on!" Lan He said with a serious expression.
"Go on, then. What do you want with me?"
Lan He chuckled. "The Hall Master's old injury has healed, and his strength has risen to a new level. He's reached the Soul Saint level now!"
Soul Saint!
A Soul Saint was second only to a Soul Douluo or a Titled Douluo!
A powerhouse above level seventy!
"The Ancestor is overjoyed and has specially invited all the city's powerhouses to a banquet. He also gave me special instructions to make sure I invited you!"
Lan He searched through a pile of invitations inside his robe.
Most were yellow or purple, with only a few black ones.
At last, his eyes lit up.
He handed Xiao Yan a red invitation!
"You're one of only two red-tier honored guests invited by the Ancestor!"
Xiao Yan accepted the invitation and glanced over it. The red invitation alone was probably worth quite a bit.
"Teacher, should we go and join the fun!?" He was somewhat undecided. After all, he was still a child, and attending as an honored guest like this would surely attract attention!
Xiao Yan didn't like appearing in public.
"Go! But not as a red-tier honored guest!" Yao Lao gave an affirmative answer and had Lan He exchange it for a white invitation on the spot.
"Even I don't yet understand cultivation on the Douluo Continent. Going to this banquet won't just be doing Yu Tianming another favor; it'll also give us a way to learn about this world."
In the end, Xiao Yan exchanged his invitation for a white one from Lan He.
"The banquet will be held tonight. I hope you'll arrive on time!"
Lan He bowed, then hurried away.
Back in his room, Xiao Yan lay quietly on the bed and began meditating.
Though Dou Qi and Soul Power were different, they were both powers used in cultivation. Different paths led to the same destination!
"Dou Qi has ten stages in a realm, and Soul Power has ten levels in a rank. They're quite similar in that respect!"
Xiao Yan's eyes suddenly flashed.
Yao Lao, inside the ring, also grew slightly solemn.
The two spoke almost at the same time. "Wouldn't using Soul Power to cultivate Dou Techniques make them even stronger!?"
Yao Lao said excitedly, "The Douluo Continent doesn't seem to have Dou Techniques or cultivation techniques to practice. All its abilities come from Martial Soul skills!"
"The only variation is their Self-Created Soul Skills!"
"Then couldn't the Dou Qi Continent's cultivation techniques in our heads become our Self-Created Soul Skills!?"
Xiao Yan slapped his thigh. "Wouldn't that mean any casual auto-attack I use in the future would be a kind of ultimate move!?"
"Hehe, Teacher!" A wicked smile appeared on his youthful face.
Xiao Yan held out his hand and asked with a smile, "Since you're the great Yao Lao, shouldn't you give me a Heaven Tier Cultivation Technique!?"
"Bullshit! Do you think Heaven Tier Cultivation Techniques grow like cabbages!?"
Yao Lao's face twitched as he struggled between laughter and exasperation.
"If I hadn't been after a Heaven Tier Cultivation Technique back then, how would I have ended up trapped here?" Recalling the past, Yao Lao spoke with some melancholy.
Xiao Yan noticed the change in Yao Lao's mood.
This old man had a story of his own.
Suddenly, Yao Lao floated out of the ring, his wrinkled old face grinning as he said, "I really don't have a Heaven Tier Cultivation Technique."
"But..."
"I do have a cultivation technique even more powerful than a Heaven Tier Cultivation Technique. Do you want to learn it!?"
Xiao Yan looked hopeful and swallowed. "Heaven, earth, black, yellow-stronger than Heaven Tier? What tier is it!?"
"Yellow Tier!"
"You old coot, can't you go a single day without messing with me!?" Xiao Yan's little face stiffened at once, and he wanted to give Yao Lao a whack.
Yao Lao smiled faintly. "Do you know why a Yellow Tier Cultivation Technique could be more powerful than a Heaven Tier Cultivation Technique?"
"Because you're senile."
"No!"
"Because it can evolve!"
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(End of chapter)