"Brother, just now, there seemed to be a strong soul power released from that ring belonging to someone named Xiao Yan. Moreover, the master of that soul power seems to also be a soul entity, though it's very weak and looks like it might fall into slumber at any moment," Long Kui's light voice echoed in Xiao Se's mind as he activated his Qi Concealment and Soul techniques to hide his soul power and Qi level.
"Yes, I felt it too. Long Kui, did they detect you?" Xiao Se nodded slightly, asking the most pressing question on his mind.
"Don't worry, brother. Long Kui stays inside the Demon Sword, and as long as I don't intentionally release any energy, no one can detect me. Plus, with your Return To Origin technique, I can hide my soul power while investigating. Just now, I scanned the owner of that ring completely," Long Kui said with a playful laugh.
"Did you discover anything?" Xiao Se breathed a sigh of relief and asked again.
"No, that ring has a soul imprint. I could only detect that the soul inside is very weak. Unless we remove the imprint, we can't explore further," Long Kui sighed softly.
After a while, when the soul power that had been scanning Xiao Se dissipated, his slightly furrowed brows relaxed. He nodded quietly to Xiao Yan, glanced at the ancient ring glowing faintly on his finger, and then continued walking up the mountain path.
Watching Xiao Se's fading silhouette, Xiao Yan's heart filled with mixed emotions. There was a time when every member of the Xiao family would greet him with respect. Now, even someone like Xiao Se, whom he had never considered a threat, was ignoring him.
Although Xiao Se didn't show the ridicule and disdain of other Xiao family youths, Xiao Yan recalled how two months ago, Xiao Se had spoken intimately with Xun'er, and this morning, he sat close to her and received her close attention.
These memories caused a faint trace of resentment to surface in Xiao Yan's disheartened eyes.
"Ah, strength... If I had power, Mei'er wouldn't have left me, and Xun'er wouldn't be laughing and chatting with Xiao Se like that..." Xiao Yan sighed and walked down another mountain path.
As Xiao Yan was lamenting, the ancient ring on his finger flickered slightly. The soul within it, Yao Lao, had just awakened and regained some soul power.
"Strange... Just now, I clearly sensed a sharp soul force from that kid named Xiao Se. But as I got closer, it disappeared. Did I sense it wrong? Damn, looks like I need to go back to sleep again..." With that doubt, Yao Lao slipped back into slumber.
Inside a stone chamber in a cave
It was nearing midnight. Xiao Se sat cross-legged in the center of the stone chamber, forming hand seals as he practiced, inhaling and exhaling the energy of the Dou Qi from the surrounding world.
The moon hung like a silver disk in the sky, surrounded by countless stars.
Pure moonlight streamed through the stone chamber's ventilation shaft, casting a soft glow on Xiao Se's handsome, pale face.
"Brother, it's time to rest. In a few days, you'll be heading out for your training, so you should get some good sleep." Nearby, Long Kui had already laid out the bedding and was lying on it.
"Alright." Hearing Long Kui's call, Xiao Se withdrew from his cultivation state, removed his shirt and boots, and climbed into bed. Long Kui snuggled into his arms.
It was clear that this wasn't the first time they had slept like this together.
Although Xiao Se stayed up late to cultivate every night, he still needed to sleep, as his Dou Practitioner level wasn't high enough to substitute cultivation for sleep.
Over time, Long Kui had developed the habit of preparing his bed and reminding him to rest.
Comfortably lying in Xiao Se's embrace, Long Kui said softly, "Brother, it seems like Little Hong hasn't come out all day, not even to train with you during your practice."
"Little Hong" was Long Kui's nickname for Hong Kui. Privately, Hong Kui would also call Long Kui "Little Lan." Both of them addressed Xiao Se as "Brother,".
"Um, maybe she's just tired. Alright, let's sleep now." Xiao Se said somewhat guiltily, remembering how he had touched Hong Kui the previous night… inappropriately.
"Okay." Long Kui closed her beautiful eyes. Even though she didn't need to sleep, she enjoyed lying in Xiao Se's arms, feeling secure.
[Ding! The one-month period is up. The system has granted you one exchange opportunity.]
Hearing the system's notification in his mind, Xiao Se fell into deep thought. He wanted to exchange for a Dou Technique but realized he had no blank scrolls left.
His eyes landed on the basket on the bedside table, where there was one last egg, leftover from the dinner Long Kui had made for him.
Grabbing the egg, Xiao Se called out in his mind, "System, exchange this egg."
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for exchanging for Yu Xiaogang's egg.]
"What the—" Xiao Se muttered under his breath, almost spitting out blood.
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Douluo Continent
Tian Dou Empire, Notting City.
In the Notting Academy, Yu Xiaogang's dormitory.
Yu Xiaogang sat at his desk, organizing his "Invincible Theory" notes.
Today, Yu Xiaogang was in high spirits because his prized disciple, Tang San, had broken through level 20 spirit power.
This meant that with a second spirit ring, Tang San would become a Spirit Grandmaster.
A Spirit Grandmaster under the age of ten—this was unheard of.
At least, aside from that one woman who was also a Twin Spirit user, the one he once pursued but could never win over, Yu Xiaogang had never seen another person who could break through to Spirit Grandmaster before the age of ten.
"Xiao San is really making me proud. If he can fully cultivate his Twin Spirits in the future, my 'Invincible Theory' will be recognized and even revered by the world. When that time comes..."
A trace of hatred flashed in Yu Xiaogang's eyes. His once stiff, calm face contorted with malice, and he muttered coldly, "One day, I will make those who looked down on me pay. And Bibi Dong, just wait, I'll prove it to you."
After his harsh declaration, Yu Xiaogang's face returned to its calm expression. He yawned and made his way to bed.
Just as his rear was about to touch the mattress, a sudden, excruciating pain surged through his lower body, as if the yolk of an egg had been forcibly scooped out and replaced with a much larger, shelled egg.
Unable to contain it, Yu Xiaogang let out a scream: "AHHHH!"
But it didn't stop there. The pain caught him off guard, and in his panic, he sat down harder than expected.
With a loud "crack," the egg shattered.
"AHHHH!" Another deafening scream echoed, piercing through the night.
That night, the entire Notting Academy remained sleepless .
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