Douluo Continent: Starting from Tianshui Academy

Chapter 16: Tactics Win Hearts

Time passed slowly, and three hours later, Zhu Yuling successfully absorbed the 4000-year-old Netherworld Wolf Soul Ring, and her soul power reached level 41.

"It's getting late, and it's not safe for Miss Zhu to be alone with her child in the Starry Sky Forest. Why don't you stay with us and continue your journey when it gets light tomorrow?"

Lan Xiaodie offered to let the other party stay, because if they were to take the little girl away from here, their lives might be in danger in the perilous Star Dou Forest.

"Zhu Yuling thanks you, sir."

Zhu Yuling was deeply moved that a powerful Contra player had taken her in; it was the first time she had ever received such treatment.

"You're welcome," Lan Xiaodie waved her hand dismissively.

The two walked slowly towards the cave. Lan Xiaodie looked at the woman, who was nearly 40 years old and only had the strength of a Soul Master. She already knew that the woman's status in the Zhu family of the Star Luo Empire was very low. She just didn't understand why the woman had to bring a 6-year-old girl with her when she was getting her fourth Soul Ring. Moreover, the little girl only had 8 levels of Soul Power. Wasn't that just dragging her down?

"Little Aunt..."

At this moment, Xiao Zhuqing ran over from the front, threw herself into Zhu Yuling's arms, and burst into tears.

"Qing'er, quickly thank the master for saving your life."

Zhu Yuling hugged her poor little niece, feeling very sorry for her. This feeling of surviving a disaster was really frightening to her.

"Zhu Zhuqing is very grateful to you for saving my life, sir."

Xiao Zhuqing immediately knelt down and bowed to Lan Xiaodie, who was a Soul Douluo, and she dared not be impolite.

"Silly girl! Get up quickly!" Lan Xiaodie found it interesting to see how sensible the little girl was, so she reached out and helped Xiao Zhuqing up.

"Senior sister! Dinner's ready." Su Lin's voice came from inside the cave at that moment.

"Ms. Zhu, please bring your child and have dinner with us! You must be hungry after a long day."

Lan Xiaodie said something to Zhu Yuling, then took Ye Liangchen's hand and walked towards the cave.

"Thank you, sir."

Zhu Yuling was deeply moved and followed Lan Xiaodie with Xiao Zhuqing in her arms.

The meal was very lavish; Su Lin and Lan Xiaoling prepared a total of ten dishes, which satisfied everyone's appetite.

"May I ask your names, gentlemen? So that Qing'er and I may remember them."

After dinner, Zhu Yuling helped boil water and wash the cooking utensils, and also inquired about Lan Xiaodie and the others' identities.

"We are teachers from Tianshui College."

Lan Xiaodie and her two companions had activated their martial souls, revealing their light blue hair and water-attribute martial souls. Coupled with their stunningly beautiful appearances, they could no longer conceal their identities.

Throughout the entire continent, only the beauties of Tianshui Academy meet these three conditions; this is common knowledge in the Soul Master world.

"So you gentlemen are teachers from Tianshui Academy."

"A few years ago, I had the honor of seeing the contestants from Tianshui Academy at the Soul Master Competition in the Star Luo Empire. They were all beautiful women, which left a deep impression on me."

Having seen the three people's martial souls before, Zhu Yuling had already guessed Lan Xiaodie and the others' identities, especially the Ice Phoenix martial soul, which was rumored to be possessed only by the dean of Tianshui Academy.

"Tianshui College is a college that specializes in admitting beautiful girls. Our students are always the center of attention wherever they go."

Su Lin smiled. As a teacher at Tianshui Academy, she felt a great sense of accomplishment knowing that her students were all beautiful and intelligent.

"Tianshui Academy is a holy land for female soul masters, but unfortunately you only accept water-attribute soul masters, which makes countless female soul masters who want to enter the academy hesitate."

Zhu Yuling sighed, saying that as a female Soul Master, it was too difficult for her to survive in this cannibalistic world, and Tianshui Academy was undoubtedly a sanctuary for female Soul Masters.

"Yes! Our Tianshui Academy..." Su Lin rambled on to Zhu Yuling about the glorious history of Tianshui Academy, feeling that Tianshui Academy was the number one academy on the entire continent.

Xiao Zhuqing listened quietly to the adults talking about these things, and was very shocked. Her little mouth was open in an "o" shape. She had learned about Tianshui Academy from the adults in her family, and naturally longed for it. If she could enter this academy, she could save her life.

But she also knew it was impossible. Her martial soul was the Netherworld Cat, which had nothing to do with water attributes and did not meet the requirements at all. Moreover, she was a citizen of the Star Luo Empire, and her identity was also very sensitive.

Ye Liangchen was too lazy to listen to the boasting of feminists like Su Lin. After resting for a while, he went alone to the open space outside the cave entrance to practice the Five Elements Divine Fist.

"Huff huff..."

Ye Liangchen used his soul power to attach to his fist and began to practice those moves. The wind from his fist made a whooshing sound and was very powerful.

However, he cannot yet manifest his soul power into physical form. It is estimated that he will need to train for a few more years before he can use his soul power to manifest the five forms of dragon, snake, tiger, leopard, and crane.

"He's amazing!"

Ye Liangchen's actions aroused Xiao Zhuqing's curiosity. Seeing Ye Liangchen's small body with such great strength, she was very shocked.

"Sir, who is that little boy?"

Everyone was captivated by Ye Liangchen's demonstration, especially Zhu Yuling and Xiao Zhuqing, who were quite surprised.

"He is our nephew."

"This little guy is intelligent and loves to learn. He usually likes to study some martial arts techniques, just practicing randomly," the Lan sisters said casually. They couldn't tell outsiders about the Five Elements Divine Fist.

Douluo Continent also has martial arts techniques. The soldiers of the empire who do not have soul power often practice martial arts techniques to kill enemies, but they are very crude and not as exquisite as the Five Elements Divine Fist.

As Lan Xiaodie gradually learned more about the Five Elements Divine Fist, she realized that without detailed instructions such as the manual, mental techniques, and footwork, others would not be able to learn it. Even if the two women saw Ye Liangchen's demonstration, there was no need to worry about them learning it.

Xiao Zhuqing watched intently, thinking to herself: How wonderful it would be if I had such strength!

Ye Liangchen practiced the Five Elements Divine Fist in front of everyone, with a clear purpose: to deliberately attract the kitten's attention and make a good impression on her.

Ye Liangchen was practicing intently when he glanced over and noticed the kitten's envious gaze, which he found quite amusing. He thought to himself: "Little kitten! Envious, aren't you? Want power? Want to break free from fate? Come join me, and I'll guarantee you soar to the heavens; becoming a god will be child's play."

Zhu Zhuqing's wish is simple: to become stronger and survive. Ye Liangchen is now showing her a tiny bit of his strength, letting her witness his power and giving her another option.

This is called: Since ancient times, deep affection cannot be retained, but tricks win people's hearts.

Zhu Zhuqing's fiancé, Dai Mubai, should be around 9 years old now. His innate soul power seems to be level 8. Because he couldn't stand the suppression from his older brother, he fled from Xingluo Kingdom to Shrek Academy and began to live a life of indulgence. Even so, when he was fifteen or sixteen years old, his soul power still reached level 37, which shows that his talent for cultivation is also quite good.

Ye Liangchen didn't comment on Dai Mubai's character. He was quite loyal, but his statement that women weren't considered part of the population but rather resources was disliked.

The Star Luo Empire's inhumane competitive system left Dai Mubai powerless to resist his fate, turning him into a down-on-his-luck prince indulging in brothels and pleasure quarters.

As for the Shrek Seven Devils, Ye Liangchen planned to poach the kitten; he would never leave such a top-tier goddess to the White Tiger. As for the other six, Ye Liangchen only needed to intercept the immortal herb, and they would be unable to grow.

After finishing practicing the Five Elements Fist, Ye Liangchen took out the sword given to him by Lan Xiaodie and practiced the sword technique left by his father. Although that sword technique was not as good as "Ten Thousand Plum Blossoms Welcoming the Wind" and "Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens", it was already a top-level sword technique in the Douluo World.

Learning from Su Lin that the sword was a gift from his mother to Lan Xiaodie, Ye Liangchen named it the Blue Smoke Sword, symbolizing the deep sisterly bond between his mother, Liu Ruyan, and Lan Xiaodie.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

In Ye Liangchen's hand, the Blue Smoke Sword drew beautiful sword flowers, which were so dazzling that they dazzled the audience.

"He also knows swordsmanship! That's amazing."

Xiao Zhuqing was stunned. At home, besides cultivating her soul power, she could only practice some simple fighting skills, which were taught to her by her aunt.

Seeing Ye Liangchen's exquisite swordsmanship, she was deeply impressed, her large eyes filled with longing. She thought to herself: "How wonderful it would be if I could learn it!"

"Sir! This child has a very bright future!"

Zhu Yuling was stunned by Ye Liangchen's performance; she had never seen such an outstanding six-year-old child before.

Sure enough! The best kids are always someone else's. Although Zhu Yuling doesn't have any children, comparing that little boy to Zhu Zhuqing is like comparing heaven and earth.

"This child is also very pitiful. He lost his parents when he was only three months old."

"We just hope he can live a peaceful life, that's enough. We don't dare to ask for anything else, we'll leave it to fate."

Lan Xiaodie and the others couldn't casually reveal Ye Liangchen's twin martial souls in front of outsiders.

"He lost his parents in just three months. What a pitiful child," Zhu Yuling exclaimed, lamenting the cruelty of the world.

Xiao Zhuqing sighed inwardly: He lost his parents at just three months old. It turns out he was even worse off than me! But even though I have parents, it's as if I don't. We are both pitiful.

……

It was late at night when Lan Xiaodie, carrying a large bucket of hot water, walked up to Ye Liangchen and interrupted the little guy's rehearsal.

"Xiao Chen! That's enough practice for today. Auntie has prepared hot water for you. Go take a bath and you should rest." Lan Xiaodie took the little guy's hand and walked towards the river.

"Thank you, Aunt Lan."

After arriving at the river, Ye Liangchen took off his clothes, jumped into the large wooden tub, and enjoyed a wonderful hot bath, feeling incredibly refreshed.

Seeing Lan Xiaodie carefully taking care of Ye Liangchen from a distance, Xiao Zhuqing thought to herself: Although he has no parents, he still has relatives who care for and love him, which makes him a thousand times happier than me.

Nothing more was said that night. The next morning, after eating some dry rations, the group began to leave the Star Dou Forest.

Lan Xiaodie was worried about the safety of Zhu Yuling and Xiao Zhuqing, so she took them out of the Star Dou Forest and sent them to the border of the Star Luo Kingdom, which took two more days.

"You should be safe here now, so we'll be leaving."

The group waved to Zhu Yuling and Xiao Zhuqing, then quickly headed towards the Soul Hunter Town.

"Thank you so much for saving our lives, gentlemen." Zhu Yuling pulled Xiao Zhuqing and bowed to Lan Xiaodie and the others.

Xiao Zhuqing watched the group of people leave quickly, wanting to remember the little boy's figure forever. However, the advanced soul masters were too fast, and the figures disappeared in no time.

"Qing'er! Do you like that little guy?" Zhu Yuling smiled sweetly as she looked at Xiao Zhuqing's expression.

"Ah...! Aunt! I didn't!" Zhu Zhuqing immediately shook her head, her face slightly red, but she remembered the little boy named Ye Liangchen in her heart.

"Qing'er! Being born into our Zhu family is your misfortune, and you had no choice in the matter."

"But your aunt still hopes you will live on strongly."

Zhu Yuling held little Zhu Qing in her arms, feeling sad for her fate. Without a miracle, the girl's life would have ended at the age of 25.

The little girl awakened her martial soul, and her innate soul power reached level 7. Her eldest sister considered her a threat, so she secretly sent people to interfere with the little girl's cultivation and would catch snakes and insects to scare her from time to time, making the girl live in fear and anxiety every day.

Zhu Yuling sighed and carried Xiao Zhuqing towards Xingluo Kingdom. Although she felt sorry for the girl, her strength was limited and she couldn't change anything.

(End of this chapter)