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Looking at the noble and holy martial soul apparition, Ye Wen's expression changed.
"Qianqian? Qian Qian? Damn it! I originally thought her martial soul would be an elemental one like Huo Wu's in the original story. I never expected it to actually be a god-given martial soul—the Sacred Angel?
What a joke! If the Spirit Hall's Qian family knew that one of their own was under my care, this Tian Xing Academy would be turned upside down!"
It wasn't unreasonable for Ye Wen to think this way. As the core inheritance of the Douluo Continent, martial souls were directly tied to the heart of every soul master family. The leakage of martial soul bloodlines was a serious matter—unless you had a Title Douluo backing you up, even if the awakening occurred generations later, they would still force you to return to your roots.
This was why all the so-called upper three sects and lower four families on the continent had martial souls exclusive to their clans, with no second Hao Tian or Blue Lightning family existing.
As the pinnacle of all martial souls in this era, the Angel Family undoubtedly placed far greater importance on their martial soul lineage than ordinary soul master families.
However, after a moment of reflection, Ye Wen found himself puzzled: Why had Qianqian been abandoned in Da Wei City?
But now that Qianqian knew so many of his secrets, there was no way he could let her return to the Spirit Hall. He would have to make her suffer… No, wait, the Tian Xing Academy was Qianqian's home now. What did the Qian family, who had forgotten her for twelve years, matter in terms of emotional ties?
At this moment, Qianqian slowly opened her eyes. Beneath her thick lashes, her once brownish-yellow eyes now carried a faint golden hue.
Qianqian felt warmth coursing through her body, filled with an unprecedented sense of power.
"Cough, cough—"
Ye Wen quickly draped a cloak over Qianqian, causing her to pause in confusion.
During her martial soul's evolution, she had lost control of her soul power and accidentally burned away her clothing. The joy of her transformation vanished in an instant as Qianqian blushed deeply, hurriedly wrapping herself tightly in the cloak and shyly looking at Ye Wen.
"Master~"
This made Ye Wen, a man in his forties from both lifetimes, feel somewhat awkward. But at her age, Qianqian's figure hadn't developed much yet. Still, guilt pricked at him as he awkwardly scratched his head.
"Haha~"
At this moment, Qianqian also noticed her brand-new martial soul. Its sacred form caught her eye.
Instead of feeling the expected joy from evolving from a useless martial soul to a divine one, Qianqian nervously glanced at Ye Wen, seemingly burdened by something unspoken.
Seeing her demeanor, Ye Wen knew she understood the gravity of the situation. After all, he had taught them about the classification and introduction of martial souls early on. How could she not recognize the unmistakable form of the Angel martial soul?
"Go change into some clothes first. We'll talk about your martial soul afterward," Ye Wen said gently.
By now, Qianqian's figure had grown taller, reaching Ye Wen's shoulder. She quietly changed into a new set of clothes in the next chamber. Master and disciple sat silently across from each other in the dimly lit room.
After a while, unable to hold back any longer, Qianqian finally spoke first.
"Master, I didn't mean to hide this from you."
"Tell me. I'm not blaming you. Everyone has their secrets. The fact that you're willing to tell me already makes me very proud."
It turned out that Qianqian's father was indeed a Soul Emperor from the Spirit Hall's Qian family, tasked with hunting down fallen soul masters across the continent.
But love knows no bounds, and inevitably, he fell in love with a female fallen soul master.
Her martial soul was Dark Blue Silver Grass, which had the ability to devour life to increase cultivation. However, that female soul master hadn't harmed humans; instead, she targeted spirit beasts and ordinary plants. Still, she was eventually exposed.
The informant was a jealous noble soul master who resented her rapid progress.
It was a clichéd but believable story to Ye Wen.
As their entanglement continued, Qianqian's father neither exiled her mother to the Killing City nor killed her outright. But he also didn't release her. After all, Qianqian's mother hadn't killed humans—only harmed spirit beasts and plants—and hadn't violated human morality. After all, soul masters and spirit beasts were natural enemies.
Thus, he justified his actions as "monitoring" to prevent her mother from truly falling.
Then came the predictable romance. Over time, they conceived Qianqian.
However, Qianqian's mother still bore the label of a fallen soul master. They didn't dare return openly to the Qian family. For thousands of years, the Qian family had relentlessly hunted fallen soul masters, making them extremely hostile toward anyone bearing that title. If Qianqian's father had married a commoner woman, it might have been overlooked. But Qianqian's mother possessed the potential to become a fallen soul master, which complicated matters greatly.
In other words, having the capability to commit a crime made her a potential criminal in their eyes.
In the end, the couple chose to live in hiding in Da Wei City.
The last thing Qianqian remembered was her father leaving on a mission to hunt a Soul Emperor-level fallen soul master. Her mother, deeply worried, went to help him, leaving Qianqian in the care of a neighbor. Afterward, they disappeared without a trace. Eventually, a group of dark forces seized their home, and Qianqian became an orphan.
After hearing this story, Ye Wen sighed. It was truly a case of those who carried firewood for others freezing to death in the snowstorm.
But such tragedies of families being wiped out were not uncommon, whether in this life or his past one.
In ancient feudal societies, if a household had no male heirs to carry on the family line, they would often be devoured by greedy clans in rural villages—a practice known as "eating the last household."
"So, Qianqian, what are your plans now?" Ye Wen asked.
Though Qianqian's life had been full of hardships, she was still just a twelve-year-old girl. She could only shake her head in confusion and finally pleaded,
"Master, please don't send me away. I don't want to go to the Qian family of the Spirit Hall."
Ye Wen stood up and extended his broad hand, gently patting Qianqian's soft hair.
"Silly child, what are you saying?
The Tian Xing Academy is your home. However, from now on, you must be more careful when using your martial soul. You absolutely cannot let others know that your martial soul is the Sacred Angel. Even if they find out, you must pretend to have ties with the Qian family. Don't let anyone see through you, or your life will become difficult."
Warmth filled Qianqian's heart. The anxiety she had felt about her future eased significantly.
Afterward, Ye Wen and Qianqian began discussing her newfound four-winged angel martial soul.
A normal angel martial soul's complete form was that of a six-winged angel. Initially, it started with a single pair of wings, gaining a second pair upon reaching the Soul Sage level. Only at the Title Douluo level would the full six-winged angel form manifest.
In short, Qianqian's martial soul specifications had far exceeded the norm.
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