Chapter 14 – First Soul Duel
The teacher only came to his senses after hearing Ning Bei's explanation.
"Student Yu Tianheng, this is Student Ning Bei's soul skill. It doesn't count as a foul. If you know you can't win, you can concede directly."
After hearing the teacher's words, Yu Tianheng felt as if he had swallowed something foul. He was the one who had proposed the duel, and now if he gave up, what would that make him?
But if he didn't give up, how could someone with only one soul skill possibly stand against those two creatures?
Watching Yu Tianheng's face shift repeatedly, Ning Bei couldn't help but find it amusing.
"That'll teach you to act all high and mighty in front of me."
He then recalled the Gale Falcon back into the tower.
"You only have one ring, so I won't bully you. You can just fight my Golden Armored Battle Bear."
Ning Bei's words interrupted Yu Tianheng's train of thought. Seeing that only one soul beast remained before him, Yu Tianheng let out a silent breath of relief.
"With only one soul beast, even if I lose, I won't lose too miserably."
Having figured it out, Yu Tianheng immediately performed Martial Soul Possession. His entire body crackled with blue lightning, and a dragon's roar rang in everyone's ears.
"Thunderclaw!"
With Martial Soul Possession, Yu Tianheng's strength and speed increased significantly. He unleashed his first soul skill and charged straight toward the Golden Armored Bear.
"Golden Armored Bear, use Guardian's Aegis."
At Ning Bei's command, the Golden Armored Bear's body was instantly covered in a golden halo. When its claws clashed with Yu Tianheng's dragon claws, a piercing metallic screech rang out.
A few seconds later, Yu Tianheng was blasted backward dozens of steps. His right hand trembled uncontrollably—it was clear he had come off worse in that clash.
One had to understand: the Golden Armored Battle Bear had already cultivated for 860 years, equivalent to the strength of a human Grand Soulmaster. Someone with only one soul ring like Yu Tianheng had no chance of overpowering it, even if his martial soul was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
"Golden Armored Battle Bear, go! Use Earth-Splitting Claw."
The bear's sharp claws were once again covered in a pale yellow glow as it charged toward Yu Tianheng.
"Not good!"
The referee teacher, seeing this, was so shocked that his soul nearly fled his body. He leapt forward to stop the bear's attack.
Yu Tianheng seemed so frightened by the bear's movement that his soul left him—he stood frozen in place, unresponsive.
Just as the claws were five centimeters from Yu Tianheng, Ning Bei ordered the Golden Armored Bear to stop. The teacher, who had just reached Yu Tianheng's side, let out a long sigh of relief.
"This duel goes to Student Ning Bei."
The teacher's announcement snapped Yu Tianheng out of his daze. He gave a bitter smile—he could admit defeat without shame.
"I lost. You're strong."
Ning Bei waved his hand with a smile.
"It was just a friendly spar between classmates, nothing more. When you get your second soul ring, I might not be your match."
Lifting others up lifts oneself—Ning Bei had no intention of making an enemy out of Yu Tianheng and offered a well-placed compliment.
Sure enough, after hearing this, Yu Tianheng's mood immediately improved. He insisted on taking Ning Bei out for a meal.
Inwardly, Ning Bei thought, "Little brother, you're really easy to sway."
The surrounding classmates, seeing that there was no more drama to watch, left the Soul Arena one by one. From a distance, Dugu Yan's eyes glimmered slightly as she watched Ning Bei, Yu Tianheng, and the others leave.
"Ning Bei… Summoning Tower… interesting."
By the end of the meal, the two were already calling each other Brother Ning and Brother Yu. That's just how men's friendships work.
After parting with Yu Tianheng, Ning Bei returned to his dormitory. The place was about 200 square meters, a two-bedroom apartment he had arranged with the principal. It had already been cleaned spotless by Ning Tao.
The master bedroom naturally belonged to Ning Bei, while Ning Tao sensibly chose the smaller bedroom.
She then asked Ning Bei about his first day at the academy.
Ning Bei told her everything that had happened, earning an admiring, "Young master, you're amazing."
The flattery pleased Ning Bei greatly. Having someone nearby to hype him up felt wonderful.
The fight between Ning Bei and Yu Tianheng also reached the ears of Qian Renxue, who was disguised as Xue Qinghe. Listening to her subordinate's report, Qian Renxue fell into thought.
"Summoning soul beasts to fight for him? The early soul rings of that martial soul are practically useless in the later stages. Against high-level soul masters, even a ten-thousand-year beast would be just free food."
"Still, with the strength of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, getting him a few soul beasts close to 100,000 years shouldn't be difficult, and even a true 100,000-year beast isn't impossible. In that case, this Ning Bei would still be worth winning over. And his status in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan is… special."
Even after learning the apparent limitations of Ning Bei's martial soul, Qian Renxue decided to win him over at all costs. What her reaction would be once she learned Ning Bei was hiding something was another matter entirely.
After that fight, Ning Bei's classmates became more enthusiastic toward him. Strong in his own right and the young master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, he was worth befriending. The nobles attending the Royal Academy were likely even nudged by their elders to do so.
For Ning Bei, the biggest takeaway was that he seemed to have caught Dugu Yan's interest. In the following days, she approached him to chat several times.
From her, he had already learned that her martial soul was the Jade Phosphor Serpent and that she had a grandfather who was a Titled Douluo.
Upon finding out that Ning Bei had two Titled Douluo grandfathers, she puffed up her cheeks like a pufferfish.
Slowly getting familiar was fine with Ning Bei. He wasn't in a rush to achieve his goal—moving too fast would be too deliberate and might draw the old poison master's suspicion.
A week passed quietly. Early on the weekend, Ning Bei took Ning Tao back to Seven Treasure City.
He was eager to return and pinch Ning Rongrong's delicate, flawless cheeks.
Thankfully, only a week had passed, and Ning Rongrong still seemed to remember her older brother, greeting him with a smile. This, however, made Ning Fengzhi and their mother rather jealous.
"Well, well. When you first left, this girl cried nonstop for days. Now you're back and she still recognizes you. Once you leave again, I guess we'll have to suffer all over again."
While pinching Ning Rongrong's cheeks, Ning Bei shot a smug look at Ning Fengzhi.
"Can't help it, Dad—being handsome just makes kids like me."
Ning Fengzhi's face darkened.
"Put down the pill in your hand before you talk."
After some small talk, Ning Fengzhi asked about Ning Bei's life at the academy.
Learning that he had made quite a few friends, he nodded in satisfaction. As a support-type soul master, having connections everywhere was a very good thing.
He then reminded Ning Bei not to neglect his cultivation. Ning Bei handed over the Foundation-Building Spirit Liquid he had refined during the week, then passed the little bundle of cuteness back to his mother.
After playing for a bit, the little girl was already yawning.
"Children really do have it good—eat and then sleep."
His mother shot him a glare.
"You make it sound like your father and I mistreated you. You and your older brother are grown men now—do you still want me to hold you and rock you to sleep like Rongrong?"
Ning Bei scratched his head awkwardly.
"No, no, things are fine as they are."
(END CHAPTER)
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