Douluo Continent: Ink Bamboo as a Cauldron to Break Through Ten Thousand Heavens

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" Xiao Xiao gasped in surprise at the sudden question, "You, you, how did you know?"

Chen Cheng's expression was as bitter as if he had eaten a lemon. He raised his hand to greet the people around him, acting as if nothing had happened. Xiao Xiao's reaction made it seem like he had bullied a little girl in public. But he was used to it. When he used "fortune telling" as an excuse to reveal Bei Bei and the others' secrets, he wasn't much better than Xiao Xiao.

"Maybe her family said something like Tang Hao? 'Little San, remember, no matter what, use the hammer in your right hand to protect the grass in your left hand,' blah blah blah, and then told him to hide the Clear Sky Hammer. But that doesn't make sense, does it? Tang San is afraid of being caught, so why is Xiao Xiao hiding it? If she wanted to hide it, why didn't she wait until she got her ten-thousand-year spirit ring before showing herself? Why would she need to get a hundred-year spirit ring in the freshman competition? Making one stupid move after another, there must be a dwarf behind her guiding her..." Chen Cheng complained in his heart.

"Keep your voice down. Don't you want others to know you're making such a fuss? It'll make it seem like I'm bullying you! How will your brother Chen ever get along at the academy again?" Chen Cheng said irritably.

However, this lighthearted banter calmed Xiao Xiao down, and she whispered, "Brother Chen, please don't tell anyone, I..."

Three black lines appeared on Chen Cheng's face. Why did it look more like he was bullying a new student? He quickly interrupted, "I said stop!"

"Brother Chen, my name is Xiao Xiao..."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Chen Cheng said that he had finished his freshman registration for the day and hoped that Xiao Xiao could wait until he delivered the materials to Du Weilun in the Martial Soul Department before they could come back to find a quiet place to talk in detail. To show his sincerity, Chen Cheng also took out a level-two paralysis ray soul tool that he had made before, which he had originally kept for himself, but now he was giving it to Xiao Xiao.

"Actually, I just hope this girl won't be so easily startled. What was it about her that made her seem cute just now? Was it an illusion?... " He shook his head as he thought about it. He had meant well and wanted to help her out, but it turned into something that resembled school bullying.

After delivering the documents without mentioning Xiao Xiao, I greeted the director and then went back to find Xiao Xiao.

"If 'standing out from the crowd' means a tall person is noticeable among short people, then someone as short as Xiao Xiao would also be quite unique among tall people." Chen Cheng thought to himself as he walked. "What would it look like if she kept adding weight to the cauldron and then used it to smash people during a fight?"

As he was thinking, Chen Cheng couldn't help but let out a mischievous smile, which was then caught red-handed by Xiao Xiao, who was waiting for him.

"Well, my reputation is definitely going to be ruined now. I've built up a good reputation over the past three years!" Chen Cheng was inwardly furious, but on the surface he managed to put on a calm demeanor.

"Pfft, I say, Senior Chen, stop pretending. Your lips are twitching." Xiao Xiao couldn't hold back any longer, completely disregarding Chen Cheng's gradually darkening face.

"Well, it's getting dark. I'm hungry, treat me to dinner." Chen Cheng forcefully changed the subject.

"Why should I? When men and women go out together, isn't it always the guy who pays the girl to eat? How can you expect me to pay for you?" Xiao Xiao said, dissatisfied.

"Gender equality!" Chen Cheng said earnestly.

  

"Then I should also say we should respect the elderly and care for the young!"

"You admit you're too young? Invite your older sister over to meet you; she's not interested in you!"

"Chen! Cheng!"

……

Amidst their playful banter, the two arrived at the cafeteria. In the end, Chen Cheng paid for the meal, as jokes aside, it was still important to maintain good relationships with the main characters.

"It's definitely not because Xiao Xiao is too fun that I made this decision, hmm."

"Alright, let's talk." After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the two went to a quiet place, where Chen Cheng broke the silence first.

"Okay, alright, what do you want to talk about?" Xiao Xiao suddenly lowered her head, and even in the darkness, a blush could be seen on her face.

"...Why are you blushing like a teapot?! Did you somehow manage to boost my buddy's popularity? If we were ranking the most love-struck characters in Douluo Continent II, Xiao Xiao would be second, and nobody would be number one! ...No, wait, Meng Hongchen is another character. He likes Wang Dong, who's dressed as a man, a total looks-obsessed guy. Hmm, Xiao Xiao was like that back then too. Oh, and there's Ju Zi, and the simp Xu Sanshi. I almost forgot about the main character—Huo Yuhao, this prodigy, 'Thinking of Winter Fist! Thoughts Flow Like a Spring! Remembering Winter Sword! Unforgettable!...' Truly, this is the Land of Love, a land of outstanding people..."

Chen Cheng resisted the urge to steer the conversation off-topic again and asked seriously, "Why are you so afraid of people knowing you have a second martial soul? Is it something your family asked you to do?"

Seeing that they were getting down to business, Xiao Xiao stopped thinking about things and said seriously, "It was indeed my family's request. They said that 'a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime,' and they were afraid that I would be harmed by jealous people. So I have been hiding it and have not told anyone outside my family."

"Yeah, so Xiao Xiao didn't plan to reveal her second martial soul when she first enrolled. But being in Monster Academy, there are just too many talented people around. You could even say that if it weren't for her twin martial souls, the current level 19 Xiao Xiao wouldn't even be getting any attention from the academy. It's probably because she wanted to secure resources for herself later. Of course, if it really was that old woman from Class One demanding some kind of 'sacrifice for the team,' he would definitely drag Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi along to beat her up. Anyway, we're all connected, and we can't expel them for that crazy old woman. The academy might even reward us for protecting the future of a genius student with twin martial souls, hehehehe..."

"Hmm, your idea is right, but have you thought about your current situation?" Chen Cheng held back this time, feeling that for some reason, his acting skills were always useless in front of Xiao Xiao.

"My situation?" Xiao Xiao's interest was immediately piqued.

"As a senior student, I was tasked with registering new students and assigning them to classes. This year's students alone are like gods fighting. There's the young sect master of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School, the young master and fiancée of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, and several disciples with Body Spirit Martial Souls, who can be considered as hidden Body Spirit Sect disciples. Moreover, there are plenty of people in their twenties, not to mention the three-ring Soul Masters... Among all these people, do you think you can stand out with just a level 19 Soul Suppressing Cauldron?"

Xiao Xiao remained silent, contemplating her situation. After a long while, she finally spoke, asking, "Should I add a spirit ring to my second spirit now to get the academy's attention?"

If he had just drunk water, Chen Cheng would have choked to death. Now he is 110% certain that the blunder in the original story was made by Xiao Xiao on a whim, and that old woman didn't criticize her, but instead said something about how good she was for the team. She was really corrupted by fame and honor.

"I didn't mean that, and you absolutely shouldn't have that idea anymore! Sigh, let me be a good person and play the teacher this time. Theoretically speaking, when you have twin martial souls, you should cultivate one martial soul first. Once you can withstand soul rings that are ten thousand years old or even longer, you can gradually add them to the other martial soul. This way, your soul power will surge up, and when you show your soul rings, they will all be a large patch of black and red. Isn't that cool?"

Chen Cheng felt he had never been so mentally exhausted before...