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There was this one time when Liuying got really interested in a Grade 9 fixed-installation soul tool cannon shell—she really wanted to fire one just to see how powerful it was.
That freaked Luan Yu out a bit. Her first instinct was to hide all the dangerous soul tools, just in case Liuying couldn't help herself and ended up blowing up the whole villa.
But truth be told, Liuying just enjoyed the feeling of using powerful soul tools. She had zero interest in making them, and she definitely wasn't planning to become a soul engineer.
In her own words, she was just a warrior—her job was to fight using weapons. As for inventing and studying weapons? That was the scientists' business.
Liuxing was the same way. Sure, he liked reading books, but he wasn't into research either. Compared to burying his head in books or tools, he much preferred the thrill of battle.
That feeling of unleashing supernatural power freely—that's what really hooked him.
Back in the day, he spent most of his time lying in a hospital bed, super envious of people who were healthy and could run and jump around. Now that he finally had the chance to do all that himself, no way was he gonna waste it.
Sitting around studying? Boring. Fighting people like Ye Guyi was way more fun.
The clash of strength and speed, the racing heartbeat, the way your brain entered a kind of clear, empty state, and the rush of dodging soul skills—it all pumped up his adrenaline and gave him this intense emotional high.
To him, combat wasn't just physical—it was mental, strategic, a game of wits. Every fight was full of unknowns and challenges, pushing him to discover his limits and feel something he couldn't reach in everyday life.
He wasn't exactly a battle junkie, but he didn't mind that kind of feeling. In fact, he kinda enjoyed it.
That's why he never turned down a challenge from Ye Guyi or Xu Tianzhen.
After they came back to Mingdu from getting their soul rings, Ye Guyi and Xu Tianzhen ended up brawling right in front of Shangguan Weier and Xu Tianran. Just as Liuxing expected, Xu Tianzhen's Sun Martial Soul, while powerful and with a decent first skill, had too much startup time. Ye Guyi interrupted her skill with one hit using her "Dispel" soul bone ability.
What happened next was pretty predictable. Both girls had just gotten their first soul rings, so their levels, physical strength, and martial souls weren't that far apart. But Ye Guyi had the bonus from Holy Praise, while Xu Tianzhen lost the boost from the power of the sun. The outcome was clear.
Xu Tianzhen took a punch and walked off with Xu Tianran, clearly frustrated, but not before throwing down a threat—she was definitely going to settle the score with Ye Guyi next time.
Feeling a bit overconfident after her win, Ye Guyi turned around and challenged Liuying—only to get knocked out in one punch. Totally expected.
Over the next month, Xu Tianzhen kept challenging Ye Guyi. Most of the time she lost, with only a few wins sprinkled in. Meanwhile, Ye Guyi didn't dare take on Liuying again, so she shifted her focus to Liuxing.
Too bad for her—Liuxing might've lacked combat experience compared to Liuying, but his physical abilities were on par. So, Ye Guyi ended up losing to him too, racking up a glorious 0–7 record over the month.
Her soul bone skill "Dispel" was strong, no doubt, but Liuxing had a better physique. And even though he didn't have the Secondary Burn boost anymore, Ye Guyi didn't have any offensive soul skills either. With only Holy Praise to enhance her, she still couldn't overpower him.
Of course, fighting Liuxing wasn't as humiliating as getting crushed by Liuying. Even though she still lost, at least she could hold her own for a few rounds.
When fighting Liuying, she usually got one-shotted.
Surprisingly, Xu Tianzhen actually posed more of a threat to Liuxing than Ye Guyi. Sure, she didn't have a soul bone skill like Dispel, and her Sunlight Beam was slow to launch and easy to dodge—but if it did hit, it hurt like hell.
All this sparring and messing around actually brought the group closer together. And an unexpected twist? Meng Hongchen somehow managed to find Luan Yu's villa and showed up for a visit. Under Liuying's cautious gaze and Luan Yu's amused one, she joined their little crew.
Liuxing was actually happy Meng Hongchen came. He believed the more friends, the better. Plus, Meng Hongchen's grandfather was the head of Mingde Hall, a big deal in the Sun Moon Empire—maybe even more powerful than his own Aunt Feng. It definitely wouldn't hurt to get on her good side.
Besides, he didn't dislike Meng Hongchen. If it were someone he couldn't stand, he wouldn't bother being polite just because of their status. And speaking of status, both he and Liuying had a god-king backing them.
Who else in the Douluo Continent could top that? Well… maybe someone could.
Liuxing remembered the netizens talking about a certain female lead—the daughter of a former protagonist-turned-god-king, and now a little princess of the Divine Realm.
Compared to that, she probably had the deepest background of them all.
With Luan Yu watching from behind, Liuxing and Liuying chatted and laughed as they walked into the Mingdu Junior Soul Engineer Academy, heading toward the teaching building following the signs.
BANG!
Suddenly, someone popped out around a corner. Liuxing was in the middle of talking to Liuying and didn't react in time—he crashed right into the figure.
He felt like his chest had taken a headbutt, let out a grunt, and stumbled back a few steps. The person who appeared from the corner fell flat on their butt.
The sudden collision stunned Liuying for a second, but then she quickly came to her senses and looked over in concern.
"Liuxing, are you okay?"
Liuxing rubbed his chest and shook his head. "I'm fine."
Then he and Liuying finally looked at the other person involved in the crash. It was a silver-haired, purple-eyed girl, clutching her forehead as she shakily tried to stand.
Liuxing gave Liuying a look, and she hurried over to help the girl up.
"Sorry! Are you okay? I didn't expect you to pop out like that. Do you want me to take you to the nurse's office?"
Liuxing glanced at the girl's school uniform—yup, definitely a student at Mingdu Junior Academy. Judging by her age, she was probably a new student like them.
"I'm okay, thank you. It's my fault too—I was running too fast," the girl replied, shaking her dizzy head. Her voice was crisp and sweet, like a songbird.
"Glad you're alright. I'm Liuxing, and this is Liuying. We're both new here. Are you a new student too?"
Liuxing glanced at the badge on her chest—it matched his exactly.
"Yeah. Nice to meet you. I'm Gu Yuena, from the Real-Time Control Soul Tool Division."
"No way, same here! What a coincidence. I wonder if we'll be in the same class."
"No wondering needed," Gu Yuena said with a soft laugh. "There's only one class in the Real-Time Control division at Mingdu Junior Academy."
"So that means… we're classmates now."
"Exactly, Liuxing and Liuying! Class is about to start. Let's go together?"
With a bright smile and her shining purple eyes, Gu Yuena looked at the two of them.
Of course, they didn't say no. The three of them followed the signs, heading off to find their classroo
"....."