Xu Yang cautiously asked, "What brings you here, junior sister?"
Seeing Xu Yang's demeanor, Qian Renxue found it amusing; she thought her senior brother was quite interesting, as he seemed like a different person every time they met. Clearly, the identity of Xue Qinghe was quite useful.
With a smile, Qian Renxue replied, "Can't I come to see my senior brother if there's nothing going on?!"
"Of course you can, but I'm currently focused on my training and don't have much time!" Xu Yang responded.
"So you came all the way here to wait for me in this library," she noted.
"You knew I was coming to the library…" As soon as he said this, Xu Yang realized his mistake and smiled wryly. "That's right; with your identity, it's easy for you to find out my habits. You probably know I come here to read and study theoretical knowledge."
He had spent a lot of time in the library at Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School whenever he had a chance. Given Qian Renxue's status, figuring out his habits would be quite simple.
"It's not that I'm rejecting you, junior sister; it's just that I don't know how to interact with you. You know that you're a prince of the empire while I'm just an orphan. If it weren't for a bit of talent and luck, I wouldn't even have the chance to sit here and talk with you."
While Xu Yang mentioned her royal status, he was more concerned about Qian Renxue's true identity. Being a disciple of Ning Fengzhi put him on somewhat equal footing with her; their statuses weren't too far apart due to their connections with Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
However, Qian Renxue essentially belonged to the Spirit Hall, specifically its core faction. Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and Spirit Hall were at odds not only because of their opposing powers but also due to past grievances.
First of all, aside from the two elders Chen Xin and Gu Rong, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School didn't have any other Title Douluo. This fact alone is intriguing since Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has been one of the top three sects for many years.
What defines these top sects? Title Douluo!
Without Title Douluo, how could one be considered among the top three sects?
But why were Ning Fengzhi's predecessors not present? Xu Yang had personally asked Ning Fengzhi about this matter and learned that the older generation of Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School perished in battles against Spirit Hall, including Chen Xin's father; they had become sworn enemies.
Not only Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School but also Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex Sect faced similar fates. Only Haotian Sect retained much of its strength due to Tang Chen being an Ultimate Douluo during the chaotic struggles among various forces on the continent.
Although it has been said that interactions between major powers are fundamentally based on interests, whether they are willing to exchange benefits is often influenced by personal feelings. Given such deep-seated enmity, Ning Fengzhi was unlikely to cooperate with Spirit Hall.
Thus, until Xu Yang grew stronger, it would be wise to avoid provoking Qian Renxue. Even if she herself was infatuated with him due to their martial soul connection, he couldn't guarantee that her backing forces would feel the same way.
After all, Qian Renxue was destined to be the inheritor of the Angel God; Qian Daoliu would not allow anything to happen to her.
This was also why Xu Yang kept his distance from Qian Renxue outside of classes; there was no need for him to stray too far from Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
"Alright then!"
Qian Renxue nodded helplessly, believing Xu Yang felt somewhat inferior. Many commoners held such thoughts; even when suddenly elevated to high positions, they still felt this way in front of those with higher status.
"However, I still hope you won't mind my identity; let's interact as equals!"
"I'll try my best!"
Xu Yang replied dismissively and shifted his gaze to several books in front of Qian Renxue: "Glazed Meditation Method," "Visualization Method," "How to Accelerate Cultivation," and "The Benefits of Martial Soul Fusion Techniques."
This puzzled him; given Qian Renxue's innate level 20 talent and the meditation methods passed down from the Angel lineage, she shouldn't need these books. Curiously he asked, "Junior sister, why are you reading these books?!"
"You mean these?" Qian Renxue shook "How to Accelerate Cultivation" in her hand and explained: "Actually, there's nothing special about it. After reaching level 30, my cultivation speed has been slowing down significantly; I'm looking for solutions."
"Slowing down in cultivation speed."
Xu Yang frowned; before age 30 was typically a golden period for cultivation. Logically speaking, one's speed wouldn't decrease but instead increase as their body developed faster—how could it slow down?
"What makes Qian Renxue different from other soul masters?!"
"An innate level 20 soul power?!"
"A divine six-winged angel martial soul?!"
"No, it should be due to her extreme attributes; her six-winged angel martial soul possesses both extreme light and extreme fire attributes. I vaguely remember that extreme attributes come with a training debuff—cultivating between levels 30 and 70 is exceptionally slow; only after reaching Soul Sage does the speed increase dramatically."
"If I remember correctly, extreme martial souls cultivate slowly so that their bodies can adapt to their powerful attributes. This means that the physical strength associated with extreme martial souls increases alongside soul power while also providing attribute suppression. Most importantly, after level 70 they adapt to their own martial soul attributes without facing any bottlenecks until level 98."
"I see! No wonder in the original work Qian Renxue's innate level 20 soul power talent surpasses Tang San's by over ten levels despite being more than ten years younger than him. Besides being a royal undercover agent, another reason must be due to the slow growth from having extreme attributes."
Understanding this point made Xu Yang yearn for extreme attributes immensely; simply not facing bottlenecks until reaching level 98 was enough reason for him to cultivate his already close-to-extreme light and extreme fire Sun Martial Soul towards extreme attributes.
"Can I take a look at these books?" Xu Yang extended his hand and asked.
"Of course!" Qian Renxue pushed the four books on the table toward Xu Yang. He picked them up and began reading.
First up was "Glazed Meditation Method," which turned out to be an ordinary advanced meditation method—the best technique available in Heaven Dou Royal Academy's library. It encouraged readers to imagine themselves as a crystal-clear piece of glazed glass for purifying both body and spirit—a decent method overall.
After briefly flipping through it twice, Xu Yang placed it back on the table since it held no value for him or Qian Renxue.
Next he opened "How to Accelerate Cultivation." After just a few pages he tossed it back onto the table; all theories within were nonsense—pure imagination that wouldn't accelerate growth but rather cause irreversible damage instead.
(End of chapter)