Douluo Phoenix

Chapter 9

After a day of travel, they finally arrived back at Holy Soul Village in the afternoon. From afar, Xiao Fei saw Old Jack waiting for him at the village entrance. Xiao Fei had already informed Old Jack of his return date via letter.

Xiao Fei ran towards Old Jack as fast as he could, almost summoning his martial spirit. Reaching the village entrance, seeing Old Jack's aged face, Xiao Fei felt a lump in his throat: "Grandpa, I'm back."

"It's good to be back, it's good to be back. Studying at school must be tiring. Let's hurry home. I stewed a chicken at home, so we can have a good meal together when we get back."

Old Jack kept grabbing Xiao Fei's body, looking him over here and there, afraid that Xiao Fei might have been injured or that there might be other changes in his body. After all, he was well aware of the cruelty of the Soul Master world.

After a while, Tang San and Xiao Wu also arrived at the village entrance.

"The mistress is back too!"

"Grandpa Jack, is my dad home now?" Tang San asked.

Old Jack rummaged through his pockets for a moment, then pulled out an envelope and handed it to Tang San: "Little San, your father isn't home right now. He left you a letter. Give it to you when you return to the village."

"By the way, your dad has been gone for a while now, and your family hasn't cooked in a long time. I don't know if you have any food. Why don't you come to my house for a meal first?"

Tang San nodded, then opened the letter and read it carefully several times. Suddenly, tears streamed down his face, and he involuntarily kept saying "Dad, Dad." The group didn't know what to say. Finally, Xiao Wu comforted him, and Tang San and Xiao Wu then went with Xiao Fei and Old Jack to Old Jack's house.

Perhaps knowing Tang San would be coming over for dinner, Old Jack prepared a very lavish meal. After the meal, Tang San thanked Old Jack again and then took Xiao Wu back to his home.

That evening, when only Xiao Fei and Old Jack were together, Old Jack looked at Xiao Fei with a strange expression that made Xiao Fei's scalp tingle. Trembling, Xiao Fei asked, "Grandpa, is something wrong at home? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Old Jack said, "Your mistress went to school with you, and after a year she came back with such a beautiful girl. How come you still came back alone? Next time, remember to bring a beautiful girl back too. If you're still alone, you'd better not come back at all."

Xiao Fei was speechless after hearing Old Jack's words tonight. Xiao Wu was a real rascal; he'd feel uncomfortable being with a girl like that. Being single was much happier. Of course, Xiao Fei didn't dare say these things aloud and quickly agreed to Old Jack's suggestion.

Then Xiaofei took out several packages he had brought back and gave them to Old Jack, especially a few sets of clothes, and asked Old Jack to try them on. Old Jack put on the new clothes, felt refreshed, and had a smile that he couldn't stop smiling.

He also angrily retorted, "You're studying alone in Nottingham City, so the academic pressure is high, and you have many expenses. You spend money recklessly buying me things. We have everything at home. Save your money so you can get married." Hearing this, Xiaofei was speechless again. Why did it always come down to getting married?

For the next period of time, aside from his own training and meditation, Xiao Fei spent the rest of his time helping Old Jack with chores, including hoeing the ground and tidying the house. He even hunted a wild boar in the back mountain to improve the family's meals. Sometimes, Xiao Fei felt that perhaps this was what home truly felt like, and that this period was the warmest time of his two lives.

Time flies, and it's almost time for school to start again. On this day, Xiao Fei, Xiao Wu, and Tang San left Holy Soul Village together. Old Jack stood at the village entrance, watching the three of them leave.

As Xiao Fei walked along the road, when he could barely see the village anymore, he turned back for one last look at Old Jack. After thinking for a moment, he turned away and left the village without looking back, leaving Tang San and Xiao Wu waiting.

Back at school, Xiao Fei resumed his busy life. Due to the problem of the "evil fire," he intensified his training. He crafted two wrist guards, two ankle guards, and an iron vest himself using high-density smelt silver, weighing approximately 100 kilograms in total. Except for showering, Xiao Fei rarely removed the weights. Because of the weights and his demanding work, Xiao Fei was practically exhausted every day, and the "evil fire" had little effect on him.

That day, the principal suddenly summoned him to his office. Xiao Fei was immediately confused. "What's wrong? Why does the principal want to see me?"

Upon reaching the office, Xiao Fei saw both the principal and Yu Xiaogang. Yu Xiaogang's physical and mental state was noticeably better than when the school year began last year. He looked energetic and no longer depressed. Xiao Fei thought to himself, "Did the principal call me here because of Yu Xiaogang?"

Sure enough, the principal introduced him: "This is Yu Xiaogang, known as Master, a figure in the Soul Master world who is said to be invincible in theory. He has a question for you."

Xiao Fei quickly replied, "Master, what is it you wish to ask me?"

Yu Xiaogang nodded and asked, "You must be Wang Xiaofei. Your first spirit ring is the Flaming Lion King, which is about 600 years old. Could you tell me what it felt like when you absorbed the spirit ring? I used to study various data theories and remembered that the annual limit for absorbing the first spirit ring is 423 years. Exceeding this limit will basically cause the body to explode and die. Your physical condition is so good now, I'd like to know more about it?"

Xiao Fei was speechless. Your theories are based on some data compiled by the Spirit Hall. These things may be suitable for most ordinary people, but they may not be applicable to some special situations.

Although Xiao Fei was somewhat dissatisfied, Yu Xiaogang was the principal's friend, and the principal had even helped him acquire this spirit ring. While some of Yu Xiaogang's theories were rather rigid, they were indeed helpful to ordinary spirit masters. Furthermore, using his theories could reduce the occurrence of body explosions caused by failed spirit ring absorption. It could be said that Yu Xiaogang did make a certain contribution to the spirit master world, even if the source of his theoretical knowledge wasn't necessarily ethical.

So Xiaofei politely replied, "When I first absorbed the spirit ring, I felt like my body was about to explode, like countless flames were burning my body. At that time, I felt like my body was on the verge of collapse. I gritted my teeth and endured it. I felt that if I gave up, my body might suffer irreversible damage."

Xiao Fei recounted his feelings about absorbing the spirit ring, but of course, he didn't reveal anything about the twin martial spirits or the external spirit bone. Yu Xiaogang nodded repeatedly after listening to Xiao Fei's explanation. He also asked Xiao Fei some questions about his own training.

When Yu Xiaogang heard that Xiao Fei was now living in the blacksmith's shop and meditating there every night, he nodded and said...

"The blacksmith shop is indeed a good choice. It's like a simulated fire environment, which can definitely accelerate your cultivation speed, especially for a fire elemental martial soul like yours. It seems you have a lot of ideas about cultivation."

(End of this chapter)