Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.
Na'er sat perched on the carved railing, swinging her feet lightly.
Her silver hair drifted past her shoulders in the cool breeze, her violet eyes gazing eastward, pupils seeming to reflect the distant horizon where sky met sea.
"My Lady, the private soul-guided train is standing by at Platform Seven." The Spirit Pagoda attendant's voice was respectful and measured, carrying through the morning mist.
Na'er flipped off the railing and dropped down, her pink dress swishing around her as she landed. Her fair skin practically glowed against the soft color of the fabric.
The smile at the corners of her lips lingered, easy and unhurried, like she'd just woken up from a pleasant nap. "Got it, thanks."
Those two words hit the attendant in a way he couldn't quite explain. His whole body gave a small, involuntary shudder. He bowed deeply and kept his eyes down.
Na'er moved through the main hall with light, bouncy steps, her hair swaying as she walked.
A few young Spirit Transmission Masters caught a glimpse of her face and those violet eyes. That was all they allowed themselves.
Nobody dared walk up and say a word to her.
Sweet and adorable as she looked, Na'er had a well-earned reputation inside the Spirit Pagoda. They called her the "little terror," and it wasn't affectionate.
Not long ago, someone had challenged her directly. Anyone paying attention could see it for what it was: a fishing expedition by one of the Tower's internal factions. The Spirit Pagoda was packed with talented people, and resources only stretched so far. The idea was to test her, see what she was really capable of, and adjust their approach accordingly.
By any normal standard, Na'er should have crushed her challenger and made her point. She didn't bother.
She walked straight to her guardian, dragged Leng Yaozhu into the ring, and let her handle it. End of story.
No more testing. No more probing. If anyone gave Na'er a hard enough time, she'd turn on the charm until her master came in and flattened the whole situation. That was her strategy, and it worked every time, because Leng Yaozhu was completely helpless when Na'er got like that. She simply could not say no.
Over the past few years, Na'er had operated entirely on her own terms within the Spirit Pagoda. No one bothered her twice.
She reached the soul-guided train station and spotted a flash of fiery red immediately.
She walked over, her voice soft and sweet. "Teacher, what are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" Leng Yaozhu's expression darkened. "You were about to leave on a long trip without saying a word to me. Do I even register as your teacher anymore?"
"I just forgot, okay." Na'er looped her arms around her teacher's and started swaying. "Besides, you promised me. Three years, and then you'd let me go back."
"Let you go back." The student she'd spent three years raising was finally showing her true colors, and Leng Yaozhu felt something crack just slightly in her composure. "What is this place to you, a cage?"
"Hehe." Na'er realized she'd put her foot in her mouth, so she stuck out her tongue and played dumb.
"Alright, alright." Leng Yaozhu let out a long breath. "I'm not here to stop you. You're leaving on a long trip. The least I can do is see you off."
She wasn't particularly worried about Na'er's safety. She knew Na'er was heading to find Arthur. A quiet word to Su Wuyan to keep an eye out would be more than enough.
Within the Federation, what the Dragon Sparrow Douluo was most known for was his ability to track and monitor anything, anywhere. Even with her cultivation surpassing his, Leng Yaozhu wouldn't claim to beat him at that.
"Thank you, Teacher!"
The second Na'er heard she wasn't being stopped, she let go, bounced up on her heels, and skipped onto the train.
"Goodbye, Teacher!"
She left Leng Yaozhu standing alone on the platform, looking very much like a parent whose house had just gone quiet.
The inside of the compartment was simple. One seat, one window facing out at the passing scenery.
The train pulled away almost without a sound. Buildings blurred past the window and disappeared as the train left the inland regions and pushed toward Eastsea City.
Na'er leaned against the glass, tapping her fingertips against it absently. Arthur's face drifted through her mind.
Then Gu Yue's message came back to her.
She had long since absorbed the power of the Golden Dragon, settling it into its most natural and complete state.
Everything was ready.
---
"Golden Dragon King"
Today's session moved into live sparring.
Tang Wulin's voice was flat and direct. "You all have the same problem: you've barely been in real fights, and your technique shows it. That's what we're fixing. And I'm not talking about your martial souls or your soul skills. Those need work too, but they're not the main issue right now. What you actually need is the ability to fight without leaning on any of that."
He paused. "Arthur handles that better than anyone here." His tone shifted into something harder to read. "Better than me, honestly."
Every head in the room turned toward Arthur. They all knew he was dangerous in a straight fight. They'd felt it themselves. He didn't even need his martial soul against them. One exchange was usually enough. The gap was uncomfortable to think about.
But hearing Tang Wulin say it out loud, saying Arthur had surpassed him in that area, that was something else.
"Here's how this goes. I'll cap myself at two rings and fight each of you one-on-one. No martial souls, no soul skills."
He added: "Everyone except Arthur. He and I will spar after the rest of you are done."
Xie Xie and Tang Wulin both took that in stride. Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi exchanged a quick glance.
"Teacher, since Arthur's already at that level, why not have him work with me instead?" Gu Yue had thought of something and went with it. "It doesn't make much sense to have him just standing around while the rest of us go."
Tang Wulin looked at her for a moment without answering. Then: "That works. As long as he's fine with it."
Training started. Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and the other four got to work.
Arthur and Gu Yue moved to the far side of the floor and faced each other.
"I've been putting real time into close-quarters technique lately. You're not finishing this one in a single move." She was referring to their last spar, when he'd ended it before she'd had a chance to do anything.
Arthur thought it over for a second. He hadn't given that fight much thought since. Whether she'd been holding back on purpose or not, he still wasn't sure.
He still didn't have a clear read on what Gu Yue's real approach would be.
Strip away all the elemental power. What did the Silver Dragon King actually know about hand-to-hand combat?
"Coming at you."
She was moving before the words were out. Her body shot forward, but instead of a straight charge, her footwork curved around toward the blind spot on Arthur's left side.
Her right hand came in as a palm strike, pushing a sharp wave of force toward his flank. That was a real target. She had a working understanding of where the body breaks down under pressure.
Too bad Arthur didn't have blind spots. He could have stepped around it with his eyes shut.
His left foot slid back half a step. His body torqued at an angle that looked physically wrong, and he slipped cleanly through her palm wind.
At the same moment, his right arm bent at the elbow and drove into the inner side of her extended arm. The motion was almost too fast to follow.
Gu Yue felt something strange travel up through her arm, scattering most of her force in an instant.
She adjusted immediately. Her left hand clamped onto his elbow, trying to use his own momentum to pull him off balance.
The whole sequence was clean and natural.
Arthur gave his wrist a small flick. She had nothing to hold onto, and in the same motion his right foot came up and hooked her weight-bearing ankle with precise, almost casual accuracy.
The force behind it was light. It was more than enough.
Gu Yue stumbled and went down. Arthur moved with her, settling his weight over her and locking every angle she might use to push back.