Under the guidance of the Huo siblings, the four of them arrived at the Mimicry Training Grounds of Blazing Fire Academy.
These grounds were a necessity for every advanced academy. In the world of Douluo, where the alchemy and pill-refining industry was underdeveloped, these training grounds were the most valuable cultivation resources available. They occupied the largest area in each academy, and it was precisely for this reason that Beixuan had chosen to enroll here.
"We mostly have fire-attribute mimicry training zones. Brother, take that chubby one over there. Beixuan's situation is a bit unique, so I'll guide him myself," Huo Wu said.
"Alright. Junior Beixuan, you go with my sister then," Huo Wushuang agreed.
At the entrance to the training area, the four of them split up. Ma Hongjun's destination was easy to find—after all, ninety percent of the mimicry zones here were fire-based, so he could enter almost any of them. In fact, the same applied to Beixuan, as his Bixie Martial Soul possessed the attributes of gold, wind, and fire. The fire-attribute zone would suit him just fine.
However, since he couldn't reveal his martial soul for the time being, he chose to follow Huo Wu to a more secluded location.
Unlike the scorching heat of the other areas, this place was filled with an icy chill.
"I didn't expect Blazing Fire Academy to have a mimicry training zone like this," Beixuan remarked.
"Of course!" Huo Wu said proudly. "Our academy's facilities are top-notch. Within fire itself, there exists an attribute like yours—Yin-attribute Soul Fire. This zone was specifically designed for cultivators like you. But since your kind of martial soul is extremely rare, this place is almost never used. You're pretty lucky—it's basically all yours now. At present, you're the only one in our academy with a Soul Fire martial soul, so you can use this place freely. Go ahead and give it a try!"
"Alright!" Without hesitation, Beixuan stepped into the training zone.
As soon as he entered, he felt an overwhelming sense of tranquility. Mist swirled around the area, and strange, ethereal blue plants grew everywhere. The pollen released by these plants induced an illusory state upon inhalation, enhancing one's spiritual power.
For a soul cultivator, the most crucial aspect of growth was the development of spiritual power.
"This place… it's just like White Dream Marsh!" Beixuan murmured in surprise. He recalled that his mother, Yun Wuyue, had loved training in White Dream Marsh, located beneath the ancient corridors of Tianlu City. That was the ideal place for Nightmare-type cultivators to train.
Without further delay, Beixuan sat cross-legged and entered a meditative state.
Sure enough, in this environment, his soul power circulated much faster.
After absorbing the six-hundred-year Shadow Elf Soul Ring, his soul power had reached the peak of Level 15. Over the past few days of relentless cultivation, he had already begun to loosen the bottleneck. Now, within this mimicry zone, the timing was perfect for a breakthrough.
Since the area was also completely safe, Beixuan allowed himself to enter a deep meditation.
He hadn't expected, however, that this meditation would last an entire day. By the time he emerged, the sky was already pitch black.
"Yo, you're finally awake." Huo Wu approached slowly. "My brother and Ma Hongjun have already left. I checked on you a few times, but since you were at a crucial breakthrough moment, I didn't disturb you."
"Thank you, Senior Sister!" Beixuan clasped his fists in gratitude.
"It's nothing. Taking care of junior students is what a senior sister should do," Huo Wu said, clearly enjoying her role as an elder figure. She smiled and continued, "Judging by your expression, your breakthrough must've been successful. You've reached Level 12 now, right?"
In Huo Wu's mind, six-year-old Beixuan—assuming he had innate full soul power—would have reached about Level 11 after acquiring a soul ring. If he had trained diligently, Level 12 seemed reasonable. This belief was ingrained in her.
"Level 12? No, I've reached Level 16." Beixuan didn't bother hiding his actual level, as the academy frequently conducted soul power assessments to ensure students weren't slacking off.
Hearing this, Huo Wu's beautiful eyes widened in shock. "W-What did you just say? Level 16?! How is that possible?!"
"Uncle Yulin said it's because I accidentally consumed a rare celestial herb when I was young. This led to my innate soul power accumulating beyond its natural limits, so when I obtained my first soul ring, all that built-up energy was released at once, pushing me straight to Level 15," Beixuan explained. "Oh, right. Senior Sister, do you know what celestial herbs are? For example, the Martial Soul of Chrysanthemum Douluo from the Spirit Hall, the Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum, is one of them."
This was a cover story Beixuan had devised with Yulin in advance to avoid suspicion. With a Title Douluo like Yulin vouching for him, few would dare to question it.
Huo Wu instantly understood and looked at him with envy. "So that's how it is. You're really lucky! You actually ate a celestial herb on par with a Title Douluo's martial soul… No wonder your innate soul power was so high."
As the granddaughter of Blazing Fire Academy's dean, she was well aware that even without a soul ring, continuous cultivation could still increase one's soul power. This was one of Yu Xiaogang's core theories, and in mid-level and higher sects, it was already considered common knowledge.
To her, Beixuan simply belonged to this category. In fact, she even suspected that he hadn't been born with innate full soul power at all—he had merely gained it due to the celestial herb.
After all, true innate full soul power was exceedingly rare. Even the Fire Phoenix, a top-tier martial soul, couldn't guarantee it. So how could a mere high-tier martial soul like his achieve it?
Beixuan scratched his head sheepishly. "Hehe, if not for that stroke of luck, Uncle Yulin probably wouldn't have brought me out of the village. I'm really just a tag-along, after all."
"Yeah, I think so too. Compared to you, Lord Yumo definitely favors that chubby Ma Hongjun more." Huo Wu smirked, then suddenly recalled something. "Oh, right! Lord Yumo mentioned he had something urgent to handle and would be away for a while. He already bid farewell to Ma Hongjun and told me to let you know when you woke up. Honestly, you really are just Ma Hongjun's sidekick."
"But don't feel bad. Even if your uncle favors that little chubby one more, you have your own destiny. As long as you keep training hard, you'll definitely achieve great things in the future." Huo Wu reached out and ruffled Beixuan's hair, smiling like an older sister comforting her younger brother.
Little did she know, if Beixuan's three lifetimes were combined, he was old enough to be her father.
The act of Yulin favoring Ma Hongjun had been executed quite convincingly. But the most ironic part was Ma Hongjun himself—by all rights, he should have been Beixuan's subordinate.
Yulin had privately told Beixuan that he was only pretending to favor Ma Hongjun more because Beixuan had requested it. Beixuan felt sorry for Ma Hongjun, who had lost his parents at a young age, and wanted him to experience more of a parental presence.
That single statement had moved the naive Ma Hongjun to tears.
To him, his "Brother Xuan" was simply too kind.
The poor, clueless little fatty had not only taken on all the blame that should have fallen on Beixuan, but he was even grateful for it.
In the end, though, Beixuan would make it up to him. He would ensure that Ma Hongjun's fate wouldn't repeat the original story—no longer would he be a phoenix that lost both its rain swallow and its soul, doomed to a life of loneliness.