By the time everyone returned to Mingdu aboard the Jing Hongchen airship, the sun was already setting. But that did nothing to dampen the group's enthusiasm.
With a grand wave of his hand, Jing Hongchen announced that in celebration of the new students enrolling, he was granting Lin Jiayi permission to take them out for a night of fun at the Mingdu night market—and best of all, everything would be on the Dean's tab!
The group of students, including Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, burst into excited cheers. Even those who hadn't met Xu Tianxi before found themselves warming up to him.
As for Xu Tianxi himself, he was being personally escorted by the ever-enthusiastic Dean, who was now affectionately peppering him with all sorts of questions.
"Little Xu, I've known your grandmaster for quite some time, but I still don't know much about your background. Mind telling me more? For instance, what happened to you at the Xuanming Sect? And what led you to leave home?"
Xu Tianxi looked around curiously at the city's buildings, which were now switching to their nighttime configurations. His expression was tense.
"I received devastating news about my mother even before my martial soul awakened. From that point on, I stopped taking part in any of the sect's internal affairs and devoted all my time to cultivation. Because of that, I didn't get along well with most of the sect members.
Later, the Matriarch, Xue Lingxun, made a deal with Yan Shaozhe to wear down my will to cultivate. I couldn't take it anymore, so under the protection of an elder from the Xuanming Sect and an old servant who had been with my mother, I left.
I first went to the Extreme North to hunt down my second soul ring, then traveled to Hanhai City to seek refuge with my grandmaster. That's where I finally settled…"
"Oh? Then those two must have been great benefactors to you. Do you know where they are now? Are they in Hanhai City as well?"
Xu Tianxi lowered his head and murmured softly,
"No..."
His voice was heavy with sorrow.
"We traveled by sea to Hanhai City and got caught up in a battle between evil soul masters and a Domineering Abyssal Overlord. We joined the fray, but something went wrong…
The elder from the Xuanming Sect never made it to Hanhai City. After I disembarked, I never saw him again… I miss him a lot."
As he spoke, Xu Tianxi's eyes turned red. Tears welled up, threatening to fall.
"Ah, child…" Jing Hongchen hadn't expected Xu Tianxi to open with something so tragic. He quickly exchanged glances with the Red Dust siblings, who had been quietly listening behind them.
Xiao Hongchen looked confused and sorrowful. Meng Hongchen immediately pulled out a pack of tissues and handed it over.
Smart girl, Jing Hongchen thought, fumbling to help Xu Tianxi wipe his eyes while offering words of comfort.
Once he had dried his tears, Xu Tianxi continued, head lowered.
"Not long ago, I traveled to the Sun Moon Empire with that same old servant of my mother's. Near the Mingdou Great Forest, we ran into the notorious Hatred Demon Soul Assassins and were forced into a fierce battle.
I gave everything I had to defeat one of their envoys, and completely exhausted my soul power. After I recovered, I crossed the Mingdou Mountain Range alone.
Before we parted, they told me the rest of the journey would be mine alone to walk…"
"Ah…" Jing Hongchen prided himself on having seen it all, but even he had never come across a backstory so bleak.
Was this child cursed to clash with evil soul masters wherever he went?
Given his Titled Douluo cultivation, Jing Hongchen could tell Xu Tianxi wasn't lying. The sorrow and bitterness in his spiritual energy were all too real.
But still, this was too much! What had that grandmaster of his been thinking, not even personally escorting such a child?
Wait—could it be that the man was trying to tell him, This boy has no remaining ties to the Xuanming Sect. You can invest in him freely, no need to worry about his loyalties?
"Then what about your father, child? Didn't he care for you at all?"
"He went into seclusion the same day I awakened my martial soul. I've never seen him."
Jing Hongchen was speechless. At this point, the kid was basically an orphan.
He had been monitoring Xu Tianxi's soul fluctuations the entire time and hadn't detected a single irregularity. He prided himself on being able to read people—especially children. He was sure the boy wasn't lying.
"And you had no other family in the Xuanming Sect? Any siblings?"
Unable to hold back, Meng Hongchen stepped up, her face filled with sympathy.
Xu Tianxi shook his head and sighed.
"I had a half-brother, same father, different mother. He was the only one I got along with. But he's a student at Shrek Academy, so he's rarely home."
"Huh? So even less reliable than Xiao?" Meng blurted out.
"Ahem, hey! What's that supposed to mean? I'm totally reliable…" Xiao Hongchen retorted as he stepped up beside them. "Your brother's at Shrek Academy? Is he any good?"
Xu Tianxi thought back on the self-praise in Xu Sanshi's letters and replied,
"He awakened the Xuanming Sect's direct-line martial soul, the Xuanming Turtle. We occasionally correspond. He claims he's already become the number one defense-type soul master in Shrek's outer court."
"The number one defense-type in Shrek's outer court? Then he might've taken part in the Soul Dueling Tournament the year I competed! You sure your brother's not exaggerating?"
Jing Hongchen's eyes gleamed as he caught onto something crucial.
Two top talents from the Xuanming Sect, each attending one of the two greatest academies of the time? That kind of fortune seemed a bit... too convenient.
Could it be that the sect deliberately split its talents to hedge its bets?
"I really don't know. But Dean, if you want, I'm sure you could check for yourself," Xu Tianxi said calmly.
True enough—his story was easy to verify.
Jing Hongchen mentally cross-referenced the intel he had, and most of his concerns were eased.
Yes, this made sense. Divide the sect's prodigies and invest in both sides. That was typical behavior for those power-hungry old foxes.
Each brother stood on opposing sides. No matter who won in the end, the sect would retain a legacy.
But looking solely at Xu Tianxi's situation, he really was all alone. That much was clear. As long as he remained cautious, there shouldn't be any issues.
"Sigh…"
Jing Hongchen sighed heavily and shook his head. Then he smiled kindly at Xu Tianxi.
"Child, even if you no longer have a home, the Sun Moon Empire is full of opportunities. As long as you work hard, a bright future awaits—one where you can build a family, leave behind a legacy. As your Dean, I'll do my best to guide you."
"From the looks of you, I doubt you're in the mood to play. Come, I'll take you back to the academy and arrange your accommodations."
With that, he waved to his grandchildren, then soared off with Xu Tianxi toward the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.
Back on the ground, the Red Dust siblings exchanged glances.
"Meng, is it just me or does Grandpa care more about Xu Tianxi than us? You think our positions are at risk?" Xiao asked, eyes gleaming warily.
He leaned close to whisper in her ear, watching their grandfather fly off like he'd just seen his greatest treasure.
Meng rolled her eyes.
"Weren't you the one who told Director Lin the other night that Grandpa dreamed of taking in a new disciple? Lin asked Grandpa, and he didn't deny it. So isn't this more or less official already?"
Xiao scratched his head sheepishly.
"Well, I couldn't think of a better excuse at the time. Besides, Grandpa's always busy. He barely has time to teach us, let alone someone new."
"Then you better hope some master at the academy discovers Little Xu and takes him in as their personal disciple. Though I doubt anyone would dare compete with Grandpa for him."
Meng didn't want to keep arguing with her brother. She turned and waved him along, signaling it was time to shop.
Xiao grimaced in defeat and followed after her.
Shopping with girls is agony—especially when it's your own sister. No escape!