NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 21: Luan Yu is Back
Unconsciously, time flies. Liuxing and Liuying have been at the Earth Dragon Sect for almost a year.
Both of them are already five years old, and there is still a year left before their martial souls awaken.
Meanwhile, Nan Qiuqiu is almost seven years old, and her soul power has reached the fifteenth level. She has improved by four levels in a year, largely due to the stimulation from Liuying's influence.
Otherwise, given her playful nature, it would have taken her much longer to reach this level.
With Nan Qiuqiu's innate ninth-level soul power talent, combined with the resources and cultivation provided by the Earth Dragon Gate, she is expected to reach the Soul GrandMaster level before the age of twelve. A twelve-year-old Soul GrandMaster is already considered a genius.
If it weren't for Nan Qiuqiu's carefree and playful personality, her progress might have been even faster. After all, her talent is remarkable, and she has the full support of the sect.
Over the past year, Liuxing also had the chance to meet Yu Tianlong, the young genius of the Heavenly Dragon Sect.
Yu Tianlong, the possessor of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul, is already tall and robust for his age. It seems likely that he will grow to over two meters tall in the future, embodying the macho figure that Liuxing dreams of becoming.
Unfortunately, Liuxing's body is the same as Liuying, making it difficult for him to grow to such a height. His dream of becoming a macho man was doomed from the start, but he has come to accept this reality.
Yu Tianlong, with his full innate soul power and relentless dedication to cultivation, has far surpassed Nan Qiuqiu.
At the same age as Nan Qiuqiu, he is already a seventeenth-level Soul Warrior. It's clear that his first soul ring surpasses Nan Qiuqiu's, as the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Rex, once the continent's top beast martial soul, provides a significant boost to physical attributes that a mage-type martial soul like the Rouge Dragon cannot match.
With Yu Tianlong's talent, advancing to the Soul Ancestor level before the age of twelve is almost guaranteed. There is even a strong possibility that he could reach the Soul Emperor level before the age of twenty.
On the Douluo Continent, it is widely recognized that achieving the Soul Emperor level before twenty is a clear indicator of future success in breaking through to the Title Douluo level.
Yu Tianlong is Heavenly Dragon Sect's most promising genius, with the highest potential to advance to Title Douluo.
In comparison, the most talented disciple of the Earth Dragon Sect is Nan Qiuqiu, the Young Sect Master. With her innate talent, she still has a chance to reach the Soul Emperor level before the age of twenty.
However, her playful nature and tendency to slack off in her training—practicing for three days and slacking for two—have hindered her progress. Nan Shuishui was reluctant to be too harsh on her, which further slowed her development.
Due to the longstanding traditions between Heavenly Dragon Sect and Earth Dragonmen, Nan Qiuqiu often led Xu Shenshu and others to challenge Yu Tianlong and his group.
Unfortunately, they never managed to secure a single victory. Nan Shuishui, also forbade Nan Qiuqiu from bringing Liuying along and urged Liuying to avoid taking action outside the sect.
Every time Nan Qiuqiu lost to Yu Tianlong and his peers, she would become furious and vow to improve, but her determination would quickly fade.
Her bursts of motivation rarely lasted more than a few minutes, earning her a reputation for being "hot for three minutes." This pattern of behavior left Nan Shuishui sighing in disappointment.
Over the past year, Liuxing and Liuying had also been deeply concerned about Luan Yu.
Nan Shuishui had dispatched disciples from the Earth Dragon Sect to gather information about Luan Yu's whereabouts.
According to reports from a soul hunting group that ventured to the outskirts of the Far North in search of rare treasures, someone resembling Luan Yu had been seen crossing the outer regions and heading toward the central area of the Far North—a zone that even the most daring soul hunting groups avoided.
The central region of the Far North is perilous, bordering the innermost depths of the territory. Not only is the environment harsher, but it is also inhabited by 10,000-year-level ice-attribute soul beasts.
Without the strength of at least a Soul Saint, entering this area is tantamount to seeking death. These soul hunting groups, accustomed to living on the edge, dared not venture into the central region, a testament to the extreme dangers of the Far North.
However, Nan Shuishui reassured Liuxing and Liuying that, given Luan Yu's cultivation level, she should be able to survive as long as she did not venture into the innermost depths of the Far North or encounter the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North or other 100,000-year soul beasts. This provided some comfort to Liuxing and Liuying, though their worries remained.
Before Luan Yu departed, she had mentioned that her journey might take up to a year. Otherwise, Liuying might have transformed and rushed into the Far North herself.
She had little regard for the Three Heavenly Kings of the Extreme North, believing that her flames could burn through anything.
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On this particular day, Nan Qiuqiu returned once again, dejected and disheveled, accompanied by Xu Shenshu and the others. It was clear that they had suffered yet another defeat at the hands of Heavenly Dragon Sect's group.
In Liuxing's opinion, it was no surprise that Nan Qiuqiu and her team struggled to win against their Heavenly Dragon Sect peers.
Aside from Yu Tianlong, the Heavenly Dragon Sect also had another prodigy—Xingyan, whose martial soul was the Scarlet Dragon.
Xingyan, like Yu Tianlong, was born with full innate soul power and was also expected to reach the Soul Emperor level before the age of twenty, making him another potential candidate for Title Douluo in the future.
Whether it was a one-on-one duel or a group fight, Nan Qiuqiu and her companions were no match for Yu Tianlong and Xingyan.
However, both sides exercised restraint. Although Nan Qiuqiu and her team often returned with injuries, Liuxing noticed that these were mostly superficial wounds.
With a bit of medicine, they would heal within a day or two. In fact, many times, Nan Qiuqiu didn't even sustain any injuries—it was Xu Shenshu and the others who bore the brunt of the blows. Yu Tianlong and his group were careful, targeting Xu Shenshu and the others while sparing Nan Qiuqiu most of the time.
It was fortunate that they showed such restraint. Otherwise, Liuying would not have hesitated to step in, regardless of Nan Shuishui's advice.
She would have undoubtedly sought to avenge Nan Qiuqiu. Even so, Liuying had already made up her mind to help Nan Qiuqiu vent her frustration before leaving the Earth Dragon Sect. She planned to teach Yu Tianlong and Xingyan a lesson herself.
"What's going on? Who dares to bully our Qiuqiu?"
Just as Nan Qiuqiu and her group, dejected after another defeat, were about to enter the Earth Dragon Sect's gate, a surprised voice called out from behind them.
Nan Qiuqiu found the voice somewhat familiar and turned to see a woman in her thirties with long, ice-blue hair walking toward them.
Nan Qiuqiu was momentarily stunned but soon recognized the woman. Her face lit up with joy as she exclaimed, "Auntie, you're back!"
Luan Yu approached Nan Qiuqiu, gently patting her head, and smiled. "Yes, I'm back. What's going on with you? Where are Liuxing and Liuying?"
Nan Qiuqiu pouted and said, "It's nothing. We just lost another fight. Liuxing and Liuying are inside. I'll take you to them."
Nan Qiuqiu was no stranger to defeat, but she never admitted it. Otherwise, she wouldn't keep challenging Yu Tianlong and his group time and time again, only to lose repeatedly.
This stubbornness pleased Nan Shuishui, as it showed that her daughter was not one to back down from a challenge. She had a fighting spirit, though in Liuxing's eyes, it was more like sheer stubbornness.
Soon, news of Luan Yu's return reached Nan Shuishui. When she arrived at Liuxing and Liuying's residence, Luan Yu was already there. "Sister, you're finally back! If you hadn't returned soon, these two little ones might have rushed into the Far North to find you," Nan Shuishui said with a smile.
Luan Yu was equally relieved to see Nan Shuishui safe and sound. Although the two hadn't known each other for long, they shared a mutual respect as strong women. They had bonded quickly, even referring to each other as sisters. It was this bond that had given Luan Yu the confidence to entrust Liuxing and Liuying to Nan Shuishui's care before her departure.