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The names alone made it clear that the two weren't biological siblings—their appearances were worlds apart. One was ferocious and intimidating, while the other was delicate and refined like a porcelain doll.
"May I ask how you two are related?" Huo Quan scratched his head curiously.
Chen Youyu didn't consider this a secret, and since Huo Quan gave her a good impression, she answered frankly: "My brother and I both came from the same orphanage.
My brother is a year older than me. He was adopted by the orphanage at a very young age. Since he didn't have a surname and was the eighth child taken in by the orphanage, everyone there started calling him Ah Ba (Eighth). Over time, the name stuck.
But I prefer to call him Big Brother Ba because he always protected me when we were little, so we decided to consider ourselves siblings.
After graduating from primary school, both of us awakened innate soul power. Without any background or connections, we've been wandering the continent, training wherever we go."
"So you're here to apply for Tian Xing Senior Academy?" Huo Quan asked.
Their ages weren't too high—if they were indeed here to enroll, Huo Quan would gladly welcome them. After all, Ye Wen had instructed him to scout for talented young soul masters under the age of 16 with unique martial souls to recruit into the academy.
This was also why Huo Quan had extended an invitation to Ah Ba on the spirit battle stage earlier.
Chen Youyu nodded. "Yes, but there's still some time before the next semester starts. My brother and I thought we'd come to the spirit battle arena to see if we could earn some extra tuition money."
Huo Quan nodded in understanding. Although Ah Ba was already at the Soul Elder level with 38 levels of cultivation, he was close to breaking through to the Soul Ancestor rank. Once he did, he wouldn't be eligible for the 100-gold-soul-coin subsidy anymore. Not every teacher was like Ye Wen, who taught students to control their soul power output to prolong their eligibility.
"May I ask about your ages, martial souls, and cultivation levels?" Huo Quan inquired politely.
"My brother is 15 and will turn 16 just in time for the start of the semester. His soul power is at level 38.
I'm 14, and my soul power is only at level 20—barely meeting the admission requirements for Tian Xing Academy."
Huo Quan nodded in satisfaction. He hadn't expected that Ah Ba, who looked older, was actually the same age as him.
"Little miss, congratulations! Both of you meet the admission standards for Tian Xing Academy.
As you know, I'm a direct disciple of Master Ye Wen, the principal of Tian Xing Academy. He instructed us to seek out soul masters with unique martial souls and suitable ages to join his tutelage. Your brother excels in many aspects and is qualified to become one of my master's disciples. Do you think you could persuade him?" Huo Quan said, glancing at Ah Ba, who was still sulking over the unpleasant victory earlier.
Seeing her brother's stubborn expression, Chen Youyu sighed and tugged on his ear impatiently.
"Enough, Big Brother Ba, stop being upset.
A soon-to-be Soul King defeated you without even using soul skills. What's there to be dissatisfied about? If anything, you should thank him for holding back. Do you realize how many people around here want to take you down because you've been acting so arrogant lately?"
"Nonsense! I—" Ah Ba started to protest but stopped when he saw the increasingly dangerous look in Chen Youyu's eyes. Despite his superior cultivation compared to this seemingly ordinary girl, he inexplicably backed down.
Muttering a few words under his breath, he finally rolled over and said, "Fine, fine. When do we go to pay respects to your master?"
Seeing his goal achieved, Huo Quan smiled approvingly. "No rush. Master is currently away on a trip and won't return until the start of the semester."
"Tsk! So long? What a waste of time," Ah Ba grumbled unhappily.
However, Ah Ba seemed to recall something and sat up on the sickbed with a mischievous grin.
"Since you want me to be your junior, you'd better fulfill your duty as a senior. Let's continue our fight from earlier!"
What the… This guy must be addicted to fighting—he wants to battle even with his injuries not fully healed yet.
*Smack!*
Chen Youyu grabbed Ah Ba's head with one hand, her expression clearly annoyed.
"What did you say? Your wounds aren't healed yet, and you want to fight again? Lie down and rest properly!"
"Ow, let go, let go! I'm completely fine already!"
Ah Ba tried to shake her off, but her hand clung to his messy hair like glue, pushing him back onto the bed.
"I apologize. My brother has been obsessed with fighting ever since he awakened his martial soul. I hope you can understand," Chen Youyu said apologetically.
Watching this chaotic scene, Huo Quan chuckled awkwardly. Then, curious about Chen Youyu's martial soul—after all, her brother's mutated martial soul was incredibly powerful—he wondered what hers might be. Though she wasn't a top-tier genius, reaching level 20 before turning 15 already put her ahead of most people.
Perhaps Chen Youyu had the potential to become his junior sister.
Chen Youyu hesitated at first, but realizing that she'd eventually need to reveal her martial soul for the Tian Xing Academy entrance exam, she summoned it.
In her hand appeared a plain longsword. The blade was only as wide as two fingers and bore a striking resemblance to A Ba's damaged blade martial soul.
However, unlike the chipped and battered blade, this sword was well-proportioned, its surface shimmering faintly like rippling water.
The downside, however, was that the tip of the sword appeared broken, rendering what could have been a piercing weapon incomplete—a defective blunt sword.
Her soul skills were similarly unremarkable. She had two hundred-year soul rings—one granting her the ability to unleash long-range sword qi attacks, and the other providing a speed-enhancing breeze called Whispering Wind.
Sword qi was a common choice among weapon-type soul masters wielding bladed martial souls. But under Ye Wen's teachings, mastering such a skill required minimal effort. It was similar to how Tang San's Blue Silver Grass could develop entanglement abilities simply by enhancing its flexibility, without wasting a soul ring slot.
Still, for hundred-year soul rings, these skills were decent. As soul masters advanced, they rarely used such basic techniques unless they were particularly unique.
As for her second soul skill, Whispering Wind…
Hmm.
Tian Xing Academy's enrollment package included Shave. Who needed this kind of speed boost?
It seemed unlikely that Chen Youyu would become Ye Wen's disciple, but she was more than qualified to enroll in the academy.
Huo Quan didn't discourage her. Instead, he briefly analyzed her martial soul and encouraged her, saying that as long as she studied hard after enrolling, she'd have great potential in the future.
Chen Youyu listened attentively. While basic soul master knowledge was taught in primary schools, most of it was rudimentary.
The reason these two civilian soul masters were applying to Tian Xing Academy was to gain access to the legendary enrollment package offered by the academy.
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