Douluo Continent: An Adventure Begins in Wuhun City

And now, within the Martial Soul Academy, he saw a boy who looked remarkably similar. Even though it was only a fraction of the same person, and he was worlds apart from Chen Yao, it still made Qian Xunji feel somewhat incredulous.

However, Qian Xunji later learned from the instructor that Chen Ming and Chen Yao were indeed related. Although he didn't know the exact details, Chen Ming and Chen Yao were from the same village.

Or rather, he was arranged to be brought in by Chen Yao, who was already thriving in the Spirit Hall at the time.

At the time, he was serving as an outer deacon and had some connection with the Spirit Hall Academy, which was also located on the outer perimeter. Bringing in an unimportant person was not a difficult task.

However, perhaps it was because Chen Ming's connections were insufficient, or perhaps the benefits were not adequate.

In short, after Chen Yao assigned this person to the Martial Soul Academy, he never inquired about him again. Perhaps if you asked him now, Chen Yao himself wouldn't even remember that such a person existed.

As for Chen Ming himself, his martial spirit was not outstanding at the beginning, and his talent was also dull, placing him at a below-average level. He barely managed to avoid being eliminated by the Martial Spirit Academy, and his life was not very good.

After realizing that Chen Ming was a distant relative whom Chen Yao had arranged to join when Chen Yao was still serving as an outer steward, Qian Xunji found it quite reasonable that the two had a slight resemblance.

At the same time, he was explaining to Qian Renxue, who had started to make a fuss.

But young Qian Renxue didn't understand any of this. Coupled with the grief she felt at the time because of Chen Yao's departure, she was almost convinced that Chen Ming was Chen Yao.

Even though Qian Xunji took Qian Renxue away, Qian Renxue still came to the Martial Soul Academy on her own the next day and found Chen Ming.

At this moment, when Qian Renxue thought of Chen Ming's foolish behavior of relentlessly denying that he was Chen Yao, yet she pressed him to admit that he was Chen Yao, Qian Renxue's face twitched uncontrollably.

At that time, Qian Renxue was naive but not stupid. After harassing Chen Ming for several days, she discovered that apart from his appearance being somewhat similar to Chen Yao's, Chen Ming's timid and submissive nature was completely different from Chen Yao's, and he did not have that aura that captivated her and attracted her at all times.

Even being close to Chen Ming made Qian Renxue feel somewhat annoyed.

At that time, Qian Renxue also fully understood that Chen Ming, apart from being slightly similar to Chen Yao, was completely different from Chen Yao inside and out, so she didn't bother to pay attention to him anymore.

However, what Qian Renxue didn't know was that her frequent visits to Chen Ming in those days had been noticed by someone with ulterior motives. The higher-ups at the Martial Soul Academy even thought that there was some kind of relationship between Chen Ming and Qian Renxue, so they quickly began to take care of her.

From that time on, Chen Ming's instructor seemed to have changed overnight, showing him great care and attention, and his training conditions were the best among his classmates at the same stage.

In addition, Chen Ming himself was quite ambitious. After realizing the opportunity to change his destiny, he seized the chance and began to study his martial soul and soul skills.

As it turned out, he actually managed to figure things out and unleash the potential of his martial spirit.

Thus, with the mentors' meticulous guidance and the continuous allocation of resources, the enlightened Chen Ming gradually rose to the top.

Chen Ming will never forget the beginning of all these changes.

It was because of the white moonlight that was deeply engraved in his heart, Qian Renxue!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 154 The Rumble of the Engine

"It's you. What's up?"

Qian Renxue finally remembered this person, nodded, and asked in a calm tone.

"I...I'm here to thank Miss Renxue!"

At this moment, Chen Ming stared at Qian Renxue, his face flushed, and his voice stammered slightly because of shyness.

Perhaps because her martial spirit awakened early, Qian Renxue developed faster than girls of the same age.

In just three years, she grew to nearly 1.6 meters tall, with a slender and graceful figure, perfectly proportioned, and her long, fair legs shone brightly in the sunlight.

If it weren't for Qian Renxue's signature long, slightly wavy golden hair and her delicate features that were still vaguely discernible, Chen Ming wouldn't have dared to approach her to recognize her.

"Thank you? Thank me for what?"

Upon hearing Chen Ming's words, Qian Renxue was completely bewildered, her eyes filled with incomprehension.

Chen Ming did not respond immediately upon hearing this, but smiled. Then, his soul power surged around him, and behind him, three soul rings, one yellow and one purple, appeared, revealing his level 31 soul power.

Qian Renxue was also somewhat surprised to see this. If she remembered correctly, three years ago, Chen Ming was just a bottom-ranked student in the Spirit Hall's training class. At the age of 11, his soul power had barely reached level 15.

Now, only three years have passed, and he has actually surpassed others to break through to the Soul Venerable level.

At his current age, his strength truly deserves the title of genius, and he could even be ranked in the top tier among the geniuses of the Spirit Hall Academy.

Compared to Chen Yao back then, who was seventeen or eighteen years old and still stuck at level 19, relying on his connections with the Ghostly Demon to get by in the Spirit Hall, he is now much stronger.

Even Qian Renxue couldn't help but nod slightly at Chen Ming's unexpected turn of events, and at the same time, she understood the meaning behind Chen Ming's words of gratitude.

It was simply that she mistook Chen Ming for Chen Yao and went to see him several times. This was noticed by someone in the academy who then began to focus on cultivating her.

Having figured out the key point, Qian Renxue shook her head at Chen Ming, a slight smile on her face.

"No need to thank me. Although it was a misunderstanding back then, it can also be considered an opportunity for you. Moreover, in the cultivation of a Soul Master, although the help of the academy is indispensable, you still have to rely on yourself. If you don't live up to your potential, even a Title Douluo can't help you."

So the person you should be most grateful to for who you are today is actually yourself.

Qian Renxue didn't care about the unintentional help she received a few years ago. Being able to help the academy discover a genius because of her was also a good thing for the Spirit Hall.

Moreover, according to the information, although Chen Yao arranged for Chen Ming, who had just awakened his martial soul, to join the company and then ignored him, they were still related in some way. This made Qian Renxue feel that she had indirectly helped Chen Yao, which made her feel quite good.

Upon hearing Qian Renxue's words of approval, Chen Ming felt his heart skip a beat. Especially when he saw the smile on Qian Renxue's beautiful face, he felt a brief moment of suffocation and almost fainted.

"Thank you for your recognition, Miss Renxue!"

After patting his head, which was feeling a bit dizzy, Chen Ming quickly said with excitement.

Qian Renxue nodded.

"Work hard and bring glory to the Spirit Hall in the future. I'm leaving now."

With that, Qian Renxue lifted her leg to leave.

Chen Ming realized what was happening, his face full of reluctance. As if he had thought of something, he quickly spoke up.

"By the way, Miss Renxue, you were searching for Lord Chen Yao back then. Have you found anything now? How is Lord Chen Yao doing?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Renxue paused, looking at Chen Ming with some surprise.

"Chen Yao didn't really care about you after he brought you in, and you still miss him?"

"Yes, no matter what, it was Lord Chen Yao who gave me this opportunity to join the Spirit Hall and give me the chance to show my talent. So I am very grateful to Lord Chen Yao. I was also very worried about him because we had been out of touch for the past few years."

Chen Ming expressed his gratitude, but his smile was somewhat forced, and a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes.

Over the years, due to his demonstrated strength and talent, he has gained some influence within the Martial Soul Academy and has inquired about Chen Yao's information from the academy's higher-ups.

When Chen Yao returned to the Spirit Hall, the elder position that Bibi Dong gave him was just an excuse to keep him there. Apart from announcing it to the group of titled Douluo elders, it did not spread. In addition, Chen Yao disappeared without a trace not long after his return.

As a result, apart from the true high-ranking members of the Spirit Hall, very few people knew Chen Yao's identity. Their impression of him was only that of a young spirit master who had been favored by Bibi Dong when she was still the Holy Maiden eight years ago. Although he was incredibly popular for a time, he mysteriously disappeared not long after, and his fame was short-lived.

After the higher-ups at the academy told Chen Ming about their impression of Chen Yao, Chen Ming became even more disdainful of Chen Yao.

Chen Ming originally had low innate soul power. His father almost exhausted the family fortune to ask Chen Yao, who had once been favored by ghosts and was brought out of the village in a grand manner, to put him into the Spirit Hall.

At first, Chen Ming was full of longing for life in the Spirit Hall, but little did he know that Chen Yao would complain that his father was not giving him enough, and after casually stuffing him into the Spirit Academy, he would ignore him.

Within the academy, the heavy workload assigned to students like him who lacked talent and were at the bottom of the rankings caused him immense suffering, resulting in his cultivation being only so-so. As a result, every time during intensive training, he would be pulled out by the instructors and criticized as a negative example.

It was only after he met Qian Renxue that his situation improved. Otherwise, if things had continued like this, he would not have been able to discover his true talent. He would probably have been eliminated in the later rounds of the academy trials and expelled from the Martial Soul Academy. He would either have become cannon fodder in Martial Soul City or gone back to his village to raise pigs.

Therefore, Chen Ming harbored a great deal of resentment towards Chen Yao back then. This is why, when Qian Renxue initially mistook Chen Ming for Chen Yao, Chen Ming tried his best to clarify that he genuinely did not want to have any connection with Chen Yao.

Now, after learning about Chen Yao's past from the academy elders, Chen Ming's resentment towards Chen Yao deepened. He simply couldn't understand why Qian Renxue would be so attached to Chen Yao, a greedy, cunning, and mercenary man who was also a useless seventeen or eighteen-year-old who was not even level 20.

Qian Renxue is, after all, just a seven-year-old child. Even though her grandfather has taught her a lot, she still can't keenly see through people's hearts. She can't see the shadow of malice towards Chen Yao hidden in Chen Ming's eyes. Instead, she is very satisfied with Chen Ming's words of gratitude towards Chen Yao.

Just like modern fans, as long as you also like my pigeon, then we are good friends.

"You're very thoughtful. As for Brother Chen Yao, he's in a mixed state right now. It's no use telling you all this. Just know that he's safe and sound. I'm leaving now."

For Qian Renxue, Chen Yao's return to the Spirit Hall was a good thing, but being controlled by that old woman Bibi Dong was a terrible thing. Thinking of this, Qian Renxue's mood became even more depressed. After speaking, she ignored Chen Ming's hesitant expression and turned to leave.

As for Chen Ming, who remained where he was, his slightly long hair obscured his gloomy eyes, his hands were clenched tightly without anyone noticing, and his body began to tremble slightly with anger.

A low, hoarse roar came from his mouth.

"Chen Yao! Chen Yao, you despicable person with no morals or principles! You've been missing for so long, why didn't you just disappear completely? Why are you alright? Why did you come back? Why?!"

The next day.

After sleeping for two days and two nights, Chen Yao finally woke up slowly, but as soon as he opened his eyes, he felt dizzy.

Because I slept for too long, my brain started to throb and my vision became blurry.

After shaking his head and rubbing his eyes, Chen Yao finally got rid of the aftereffects of oversleep. He sat up lazily, leaned against the headboard, and stretched slightly.

He slept soundly and felt refreshed.

But his good mood didn't last long. When his vision became clear, a figure appeared before him.

Her figure possessed an extremely hot and graceful curve, and at this moment she was draped in a thin, transparent gauze dress.

Beneath that veil, though shrouded in mist, Chen Yao could clearly discern from his perspective that it was an utterly empty and wondrous sight.

The vast expanse of crystal-clear white, with its alluring, barely concealed beauty, was enough to make one's mouth dry.

Even Chen Yao's body stiffened, his outstretched hands paused, and he couldn't help but swallow.

But it wasn't driven by desire; it was simply a flutter in my heart.

Seeing Bibi Dong's attitude, he was really a little traumatized. He finally got a good rest, but was he going to be drained for another month after just waking up and recovering some energy?

This field is endless, and can never be fully cultivated, right?

For a moment, Chen Yao felt utterly hopeless.

Upon seeing Chen Yao's expression, Bibi Dong naturally understood his resistance and immediately let out a cold snort.

"Now you're scared? Weren't you quite enthusiastic about this back then? Now, I can completely satisfy you, let you eat your fill!"

As she spoke, Bibi Dong ignored Chen Yao's twitching lips and went to meet him.

Chen Yao understood that no matter how much he struggled, it would be in vain, and he would once again give up and let Bibi Dong shove his head into that astonishingly large snow mountain ravine.

However, Chen Yao still managed to find an opportunity to speak, and weakly asked Bibi Dong a question.

"May I ask, how long is this 'one-time' you're referring to?"

Upon hearing this, Bibi Dong raised an eyebrow and finally let out a cold laugh.

How long do you think you can live?

After saying that, Bibi Dong was unwilling to listen to Chen Yao's nonsense anymore. She buried her head again and focused on releasing the handbrake. She adjusted the gear and confirmed that the feel was familiar and the operation was sensitive. Bibi Dong's lips curled up in satisfaction. Then she put the gear back in and started in fifth gear. For a moment, the sound of the accelerator roared in the secret room!

Just when Chen Yao thought this was another endless long journey, unexpectedly, Bibi Dong only drove around the 100-kilometer circular track at an excessive speed for 11 laps before accelerating from the starting point and drifting in place for several laps, leaving deep tire tracks on the ground.

When Bibi Dong had finally recovered from the adrenaline rush of her previous high-speed driving, she finally pulled over, put the car in neutral, pulled the handbrake, took out the key, and got out of the car.