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--- Chapter 529 ---
Amused by Xu Xiaoyan's impulsive answer, Xing Lan covered her mouth with her sleeve and let out a soft giggle. "What an interesting little girl."
"However... I'm afraid deciding on a whim won't do."
Xing Lan's gentle tone shifted, growing slightly more serious as her gaze swept over the family. "The Youth Genius Training Camp isn't merely an ordinary gathering of young prodigies under the Spirit Pagoda's banner."
"It is far more consequential than that... I could even go so far as to say that this gathering will shape the future powerhouses and core decision-makers of the Sun Moon Federation."
"Or perhaps... the entire world."
"Which is why, girl..." Xing Lan fixed Xu Xiaoyan with a calm, scrutinizing gaze. "You must consider this very carefully."
"After all... the path the Spirit Pagoda is taking will inevitably draw the wrath of some extremely dangerous and terrifying people."
The expressions of both Xu Tianyi and Shen Yuru hardened instantly as Xing Lan unveiled the true weight of the training camp. They had already suspected the Spirit Pagoda's sudden, grand expansion wasn't without purpose.
Unfortunately, it wasn't difficult for them to assume the "dangerous and scary people" Xing Lan was referring to. Nowadays, the obvious factions stirring up restlessness across the Douluo Continent were Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect.
The recent public exposure regarding how their godly ancestors might have manipulated the fate of the world for ten—no, twenty thousand years was no laughing matter.
Truthfully, Xu Tianyi and Shen Yuru had once thought of sending both their children to Shrek Academy. After all, the prestige of the academy that had stood tall for twenty thousand years was far too immense.
However, that ambition had long since been discarded.
They were terrified that Xiaoyu and Xiaoyan would be caught in the tense political crossfire—or worse, fall victim to Shrek's brainwashing methods, becoming like those fanatical supporters on the Sun Moon Net.
Just imagining Xu Xiaoyu and Xu Xiaoyan shouting 'for Shrek's glory,' and 'Live with Shrek, die with Shrek's' is enough to make Xu Tianyu and Shen Yuru feel a bone-chilling sensation in their very soul.
"No! I don't need to think about it at all!" Xu Xiaoyan pouted, hugging Han Yuan's arm even tighter. "I just want to go wherever Brother Yuan goes!"
"Xiaoyan..." Xu Xiaoyu might usually put on the airs of an arrogant young master, but he was far from a fool.
Having cultivated much longer, he understood that an opportunity like this Youth Genius Training Camp was a once-in-a-lifetime, life-altering event.
He looked toward Xu Tianyi and Shen Yuru. "Father, Mother... I don't think Xiaoyan should let this chance slip through her fingers."
Xu Tianyi and Shen Yuru exchanged a helpless look with their eldest child. While he tried so hard to maintain his aloof 'Ice Prince' persona, at his core, he was still a deeply protective older brother.
"Your Excellency, please grant us a night to think this through," Xu Tianyi gazed at Xing Lan and requested respectfully.
As the head of the Xu Family, he couldn't make such a monumental choice on impulse. Beyond their household, there were branch family members and elders who needed to be consulted first.
Yet deep down, Xu Tianyi had already made his decision. When it came to his daughter's future, her personal happiness and determination would always carry the greatest weight.
"That's fine," Xing Lan nodded gently with a warm smile. "You can find us at the Eastsea City Blacksmith Association. After all, we plan to stay in Eastsea City for a month or two."
"A month or two..." Xu Xiaoyan mumbled under her breath.
She lightly nudged Han Yuan's arm, looking up at him coyly. "Brother Yuan, can I come over to your place to play?"
Han Yuan patted Xu Xiaoyan's head gently. "Playing is fine, but at our current age... cultivation is what matters most."
"Well, of course, there's no rule saying you can't do both simultaneously," He added casually, recalling the upcoming expansion of DND Online. Among the next wave of players to enter the system, Xu Xiaoyan was one of them, alongside Xu Xiaoyu and Ouyang Zixin.
Hearing his words, Xu Xiaoyan's eyes lit up with joy. "Then I'll come over tomorrow!"
"I'll be waiting," Han Yuan offered a faint, gentle smile.
Watching their daughter act so unabashedly smitten, Xu Tianyi and Shen Yuru were entirely at a loss for words.
Meanwhile, Xu Xiaoyu's mouth twitched uncontrollably as the Blacksmith Association was the home ground of that terrifying girl!
A bone-chilling realization then struck Xu Xiaoyu's mind. 'Wait... Oh, no, if my sister hangs out at Mu Xi's place all the time, won't she turn into a violent brute just like her?!'
'Fuck!' he cursed inwardly, but found himself completely powerless to stop his sister's enthusiasm.
After chatting for a bit longer, it was time for dinner. Han Yuan and Xing Lan took their leave. The four members of the Xu Family stood at the front gate, watching them depart.
"Xiaoyan... do you really want to attend the Youth Genius Training Camp?" Shen Yuru asked her daughter, her voice turning soft yet serious. "If you go there, you'll have to take your cultivation far more seriously than you do now."
"I want to go!" Xu Xiaoyan declared thoughtfully, patting her chest. "Since Brother Yuan came all the way here to invite me, he must be attending the training camp too!"
"You silly girl... why do you like that boy so much?" Xu Tianyi couldn't help but sigh. His daughter's behavior was almost unnatural.
"Yeah! Isn't it weird?" Xu Xiaoyu chimed in, equally confused. "You usually ignore every single friend I try to introduce to you, but you're acting all chummy with a boy you just met!"
Xu Xiaoyan gazed into the distance toward the bustling street, her eyes trying to trace the silver-haired boy's figure, though he had already vanished into the crowd.
"You two don't understand at all..." She murmured.
"Brother Yuan... he's like the most dazzling, most incredible star in the entire world!"
"Even my Starwheel Ice Staff surrendered to him the moment he stepped into the garden."
"When I was standing close to him earlier, I felt an intense connection deep within my soul."
"It wasn't just comfortable—it felt so warm... like taking a hot bath in the middle of a freezing winter."
Hearing her description, Xu Tianyi, Shen Yuru, and Xu Xiaoyu all froze as a bold, astonishing theory crossed their minds simultaneously.
"Martial Soul Fusion!"
"To think that boy and Xiaoyan actually had a Spirit Fusion compatibility..." Shen Yuru rubbed her cheek in utter disbelief. "I've heard the probability of finding a compatible Martial Soul Fusion partner is even lower than finding true love."
"Though when it does happen... it's practically no different from true love itself."
"Of course, if the pair happen to be the same gender, they usually end up as sworn brothers or sisters—!"
Cough! Cough!
"Let's not blabber about such topics in front of the children..." Xu Tianyi cleared his throat loudly, causing Shen Yuru to blush in realization.
Steering the topic back, Xu Tianyi turned to his son. "Right, Xiaoyu. You were the one who brought young Han Yuan home. You must have seen his strength, right?"
Xu Xiaoyu's face instantly turned dark and awkward. "To be honest, Dad... it went like this..."
Xu Xiaoyu gave a brief, humiliating story of how he had been beaten up by Mu Xi, only for Han Yuan to step in, clear the lingering electricity from his body, and state that he had business with the Xu Family, specifically with Xu Xiaoyan.
"You actually got beaten up by Mu Chen's daughter?!" Xu Tianyi's mouth twitched violently. "If I ever run into Mu Chen at a banquet, that bastard is going to brag about this for the rest of his life!"
Shen Yuru gave her husband a sharp slap on the wrist. "All you care about is your face! Aren't you even a little worried that your son got thrashed by a girl?!"
"Hmph! Xiaoyu is lucky that I'm not beating him up myself for losing so miserably!" Xu Tianyi glared at his embarrassed son before narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. "Though... this is odd."
"If I remember correctly, Mu Chen's daughter was at roughly the same level as Xiaoyu a year ago."
"Yet in just one short year, she not only completely surpassed him, but beat him without even summoning her Martial Soul."
"And that silver-haired boy is only seven years old... meaning he has only been cultivating as a Spirit Master for a single year."
"There has to be a deeper connection here."
Xu Tianyi lowered his voice, his tone growing exceedingly solemn. "On top of that... did either of you notice something unusual about the boy?"
"What is it?" Shen Yuru, Xu Xiaoyu, and Xu Xiaoyan looked up in confusion.
Xu Tianyi spoke each word with deliberate gravity. "I couldn't detect his cultivation level at all."
"My realm may not be extraordinarily high. I am merely a Spirit Saint, but I couldn't pick up a single trace of spirit energy fluctuation from him!"
"W-Wait, you're right..." Shen Yuru, a Spirit King herself, gasped in sudden realization. She hadn't even noticed the lack of spirit energy until her husband pointed it out.
"Brother Yuan is so amazing!" Xu Xiaoyan didn't fully grasp what it meant for a Spirit Saint to be unable to sense someone's depth, but she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Han Yuan was incredible.
"..."
Xu Tianyi, Shen Yuru, and Xu Xiaoyu stared at her, completely speechless.
Xu Tianyi let out a long, helpless sigh. "Ah... my precious daughter is being completely charmed away by a boy... I really don't know how to feel about this."
"Haha, it should be fine," Shen Yuru laughed in amusement, patting her husband's shoulder. "From what I saw earlier, the boy was exceptionally polite, sophisticated, and soft-spoken for his age."
Xu Tianyi glanced at his beloved wife, then looked down at his bright-eyed daughter.
"Alright. Tonight, I will hold a Family Meeting. If this opportunity can truly secure a bright future for Xiaoyan, I will clear every obstacle in her path!"
"Dad is the best!" Xu Xiaoyan cheered, throwing her arms around Xu Tianyi's leg.
Xu Tianyi stroked her hair affectionately. "Alright, be a good girl and wait for my good news."
And so, within the quiet estate of the Xu Family, the gears of fate began to turn, setting the stage for a generational rise that would start with that very family meeting.