The banquet hall was as silent as a graveyard. No one dared make a sound as they stared at the flaming figure at the center of the room.

“It's the Phoenix”

“So the rumors are true. She is the Phoenix Lady.”

Rao Wu raised a brow, his curiosity peaked by the crowd's random murmurs. What did they mean by phoenix? The little boy, who had yet to learn the importance of tact openly asked Aeriole. “Why are they calling you Phoenix?”

“I'll explain later,” Aeriole promised with a bitter smile. She then turned to look at Hao Feng and once again reiterated, “Order your Flamebeak Eagle to stand down. You know it can’t hurt me.”

Hao Feng was blue in the face. He never expected to eat so much crow from this interaction. Not only did he lose to some no-name brat, but now he was being threatened by the Phoenix Princess. Hao Feng could use his identity to bully anyone in this building, but the Phoenix Princess was a special entity.

Humanity was heavily indebted to the Von Basten family. The Von Bastens were not as rich or as powerful as the other kingdoms, but no one dared bully a Von Basten because of the immense responsibility this family held. Should the Von Bastens ever quit, humanity would certainly lose more than half its population.

Before the dinner, Hao Feng's father repeatedly drilled into his son the Von Bastens’ significance, and to never provoke them. As a result, Hao Feng could only swallow his embarrassment and rage and then muttered, “Return, Flamebeak Eagle.”

“Kii~” The Flamebeak Eagle let out a mournful cry, and then stopped struggling, ultimately surrendering to Aeriole.

Aeriole, upon hearing the Flamebeak Eagle’s surrender, promptly released the proud bird. She then watched as the bird flew over to Hao Feng and mournfully cried on his shoulder.

Hao Feng, however was too angry to acknowledge the Eagle’s mourning. Stifling his boiling temper, the child pointed at Rao Wu. “With all due respect, Ms. Von Basten, this boy tried to kill me. Surely, you will not interrupt justice being carried out?”

“Hah!?” Rao Wu’s expression distorted. He looked incredulously at Hao Feng like he had never heard such bullshit in his life. “What the he—” Rao Wu was about to let the pompous brat have a piece of his mind, but Aeriole’s outstretched hand gave him pause. He glanced at her, and saw her looking at him with pleading eyes. Evidently, she wanted to handle this case. Rao Wu hesitated, but ultimately decided to rely on her, seeing as this was her territory.

Seeing Rao Wu concede to her, Aeriole’s lips momentarily blossomed in a beautiful smile. She then turned to regard Hao Feng with a stern expression. “Do not play with my intelligence, Hao Feng. There are several witnesses who can testify that you attacked first.”

Hao Feng flinched. If it were just him against the nameless boy, he was certain most of the children would either support him or keep silent. However, with Aeriole taking the kid’s side, the neutral parties would most definitely take her side. The child bit his lips, but in the end, he did not give up. Instead, he said provocatively, “I was only going to give him a warning! A small burn can easily be cured! But his Dusklight Wolf was clearly going to kill me!”

Many children murmured in the surroundings. Indeed, they had felt the cub’s killing intent. If it weren’t for the scholarly boy’s water column, Hao Feng’s neck might already be a beautiful fountain.

Aeriole blanched, unable to come up with a quick retort. Indeed, even if Hao Feng attacked first, everyone knew his Phase one, Flamebeak Eagle’s flames could only cause bad burns at best. It was still far from being life-threatening. As a result, Rao Wu’s attempted murder was far too lopsided.

*cough*

Suddenly, a loud cough drew everyone’s attention to the scholarly youth. The child fixed his glasses, and then gazed at the crowd with calm, lukewarm blue eyes. “Actually, there’s no proof that the child over there wanted to kill you, Hao Feng. Unlike you, we never heard him issue any kill order to his soul pet.”

Hao Feng’s expression turned even more blue while Aeirole’s beamed.

“Yes! Yes!” Aeriole, with renewed vigor, screamed and then pointed at Hao Feng. “You have no proof that he wanted to kill you. For all you know, his Dusklight Wolf could have scratched you and be done with it.” She then added with a sardonic grin, “As you previously said, such injuries can easily be cured. It’s no big deal right? Just an argument between kid.”

“Y-You!” Hao Feng was beside himself with anger, but he could not retort. Indeed, he had no proof that Rao Wu wanted to kill him. He could not exactly claim killing intent as his proof. In the end, he had not choice but to leave in disgrace. But he did not forget to glare at the nameless boy before he left. “You. What’s your name?”

Rao Wu returned Hao Feng’s glare without backing down. “Rao Wu.”

“Rao Wu? I’ll remember it.” Hao Feng sneered and then added, “My name is Hao Feng. Remember it. One day, you’ll wish you never hear—”

“Yeah, I don’t care.” Rao Wu waved him off. “Just leave. My food’s getting cold.”

Hao Feng nearly exploded! Who dared treat him so dismissively!? However, seeing Aeriole by Rao Wu’s side, Hao Feng wisely chose to disengage. There would be many more opportunities to mess with someone like Rao Wu. When he had put enough distance between himself and Rao Wu, he turned to one of his lackeys and whispered “Tell your father to find out everything about this Rao Wu kid.”

Meanwhile, across the room, the scholarly boy approached Rao Wu and Aeriole with a bright smile. “Well, that was certainly dangerous.” He looked at Rao Wu with appreciative eyes. “Rao Wu, right? You certainly have guts to challenge Hao Feng like that.”

Rao Wu gave the scholarly boy a once-over. The child’s freckled puffy, baby-like face exuded innocence and purity, but his eyes shone with hidden mischief and curiosity. As a fellow mischief maker, Rao Wu immediately felt at home with the scholarly boy. As a result, he smiled and then offered the youth a chicken breast. “Thanks for helping me. Would you like one?”

The child stared at the chicken breast in Rao Wu’s hand in disbelief. He hesitated, but upon seeing Rao Wu’s clear eyes, chuckled and then accepted the meat. He then sat down opposite Rao Wu, and introduced himself, “My name’s Brian. Brian Stanley.” He then glanced at Aeriole and said, “I must say it is an honor to finally meet this generation’s Phoenix Princess. I certainly did not believe my ears when I heard you would be leaving [hometown].”

“You guys keep saying that.” Rao Wu looked up from his meal and then looked at Aeriole. “What exactly’s the Phoenix Princess?”

“You don’t know the legends of the Phoenix Princesses!?” Brian’s eyes widened with joy. Evidently, he was pleased with the chance to impose his knowledge on someone else. “You see. The Phoenix Prince—”

Clang!

Rao Wu and Brian flinched when Aeriole loudly smacked her plate with a spoon. She then glared at Brian, who wisely shut his mouth. Afterwards, she turned to Rao Wu. “Forget the Phoenix Princess rubbish. It’s just a useless title. More importantly, have you thought about what you’ll do if Hao Feng comes after you?”

Rao Wu knew that Aeriole deliberately changed the topic. His curiosity wanted to get to the bottom of the Phoenix Princess title, but he did not want to annoy Aeriole, so he chose to play along. Besides, he was also slightly interested in this Hao Feng character. Everyone seemed to walk on eggshells around him. “Who exactly is this Hao Feng guy?”

“So you really didn’t know?” Brian chuckled to himself. Was this the bravery of the ignorant? Brian sighed, and then decided to draw Rao Wu the full picture. He did not want this child to suffer an untimely death. “Hao Feng’s the son of Hao Ranhui.” Seeing Rao Wu’s clueless expression, he sighed and then explained, “Hao Ranhui is the branch manager for Jiandao’s Soul Society branch! Do you understand now!?”

Rao Wu, however, opened his mouth and asked a question that nearly made Brian throw up. “Is Soul Society really that great!?”

“You! Have you been living under a rock your whole life or something!?”

Rao Wu chuckled and scratched his cheek. Technically, since he spent most nights in a cave, he had been sleeping under a rock. But something told him that Brian would strangle him if he admitted to that much. Instead, he awkwardly laughed and said, “I don’t go out much.” Technically, he wasn’t lying. He almost never left the jungle.

“Ah, that explains it,” muttered Brian, but he then skeptically glanced at Xian Da. Could a pampered Dusklight Wolf have those reflexes? No, wait. He would ask that question later. First, to set this kid straight.

“Listen, okay. For every soul trainer, the most important things are soul monsters, soul cores and soul crystals. No soul trainer can improve with even one of these components missing.” Brian observed Rao Wu. Seeing that the kid’s eyes agreed with him, he was relieved that Rao Wu had at least received the basic education. “Good. Now, let’s say a soul trainer hunts for a year and only finds thousands of soul cores but can’t find a soul crystal. What do you think they would do?”

Rao Wu did not hesitate to answer, “Keep hunti—Ow!”

“Sorry.” Brian apologized as he massaged his sore knuckles. Rao Wu’s nonsensical answer caused him to default to the Stanley family’s disciplinary method. “Anyway, there’s no way you could keep hunting forever! Soul crystals are like gambling. There’s no guarantee you’ll get one even in ten years of hunting.”

“Okay. So, then what do you do?”

“You buy one from the market,” answered Aeriole as she regarded Rao Wu with curious eyes. This child was wrapped in layers of mystery. For how long exactly had he lived in the jungle? Did his family never bring him into the city for supplies?

“Exactly!” Brian praised Aeriole’s answer and then continued after adjusting his glasses, “But, the market’s are untrustworthy and prices can fluctuate at the drop of a hat.”

“That’s where Soul Society comes in,” Aeriole explained. “It’s the largest company that manages soul pets, soul crystals and soul cores at reasonable, fair prices that almost never change. Most soul trainers become members of Soul Society because of the discount and access to exclusive goods not available to the public. It’s almost impossible to rise to the top without buying one thing or another from Soul Society.”

Brian nodded, and then added, “Soul Society has branches in almost every city. Most city lords are members of Soul Society, so imagine how much power the organization has. A Soul Society branch manager has almost, if not more power than the local city lord. They just choose not to show it.”

Aeriole picked up from Brian. “If a branch manager of Soul Society hates a person, all they have to do is mention their dislike, and there will be countless assassins willing to kill in order to gain the branch manager’s favor.”

“Worst part is that no one can then blame the branch manager since it’s not a crime to dislike or hate someone.” Brian fixed his glasses and then looked at Rao Wu. “Do you understand now? Hao Feng is the son of such a figure. Without appropriate backing, you should not pick a fight with him, or you’ll most likely end up dead in a gutter somewhere.”

Rao Wu finally understood the severity of the situation. So, Hao Feng was this kind of powerful figure. However, was that enough to deter Rao Wu? The child looked gratefully at Brian and Aeriole. “Thanks for explaining.” He knew they were worried for him, which was why they asked. “But, that’s no reason for me to back down.” His lips spread in a broad smile as he said, “We’re all gonna die anyway. I’d rather die young and proud, than live a long, broken, cowardly life.”

“Bu—”

“But I’ll be smarter next time,” Rao Wu added with a wink. “If it happens again, I’ll kill him when no one’s looking. That should be fine, right?”

“Wha-“ Brian sputtered in shock as he stared disbelievingly at the smiling Rao Wu. “I mean, technically, yes.” How could a child say such a vicious thing with such innocent eyes and smile? Unfortunately, Brian had no way of knowing Rao Wu’s upbringing. To Rao Wu, killing was just as normal as breathing.

In the future, if Rao Wu ever saw humans as species above soul monsters, his disposition might change. At the moment, however, Rao Wu saw absolutely no difference between humans and monsters. So, to him, killing one was no less righteous or evil than killing the other.

“Do not listen to him!” Aeriole scolded Brian with a harsh look and then turned to Rao Wu. “You should never kill. That should always be your last resort, or we’re no better than savage soul monsters. Understood?”

‘You think we’re better than soul monsters?’ Again, Rao Wu held himself back from asking the question on his mind. Somehow, he felt he already knew Aeriole’s answer. He didn’t agree with her, but he was not in the mood to argue. After all, he was returning to the jungle that night, and chances were they would never meet again.

“So, Rao Wu, are you staying on campus or do you have a separate home?” Suddenly, Brian asked a question that left Rao Wu completely stumped.

Rao Wu looked at Brian with a confused expression. “Campus?”

“Yeah.” Brian, not even considering for a moment that Rao Wu did not know what he was talking about, said, “I heard the school’s made provisions for students to live on-campus if they cannot afford a home of their own. I could probably get my own place, but I’m choosing to stay on-campus. It’s much closer to the facilities, and I won’t have to wake up early all the time.”

“Mm-hm. That makes…” muttered Rao Wu as he nodded along. But then he suddenly raised his arms, put on an incredulous smile and then shrugged as he said, “…absolutely no sense! I get that campus is like a home in the school, right? But what school are you talking about? I’m not going to any school.”

Clang!

Brian’s fork fell onto the table as his mouth shot open in shock. “What did you just say? You’re not going to the school? You!?” Brian stared at Xian Da. Any child that could train a servant-ranked Dusklight Wolf cub to that level of skill could not have come from a small family. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Rao Wu, not understanding the reason for Brian’s shock, gamely answered. He then pointed at Aeriole and said, “She’s showing me around town. I’m going back home after this dinner.” He then looked at Aeriole and asked, “Is this dinner something special? I’m only seeing children here.”

Aeriole revealed a guilty smile and then replied, “It’s a welcoming dinner for Soul Academy’s newest students. Well, the most elite amongst the new students. I was hoping you would get influenced and choose to enroll.”

“Enroll? I can join the school?”

“Yeah!” Brian excitedly answered. “With your skill, it’s definitely possible. You just have to take the combat test. Anyone below ten will face a phase two third stage soul monster. If your soul pet can survive for thirty minutes, they will let you in. I saw your soul pet’s skills. If you raise it by a few stages, surviving for thirty minutes should be a cinch.”

“Oh?” Rao Wu’s eyes shone with a hint of challenge. “Forget surviving. What happens if I beat or kill the monster?”

Brian chuckled when he saw Rao Wu’s eyes. He was all too familiar with those eyes. That drive to fight was common amongst soul trainers. “If you win, then you’ll immediately be added to the list of elites and receive special privileges. What do you think? This year’s examination is already over. But you can certainly get in next year. By then your Dusklight Wolf should easily pass the exam.”

Rao Wu scratched his head. He couldn’t deny that he was indeed interested. The jungle was fun, but he would be able to interact with other soul trainers and battle to his heart’s content in the city. In any case, it seemed Uncle Twilight had a similar idea as he always said Rao Wu would have to leave the jungle once he reached ten. Rao Wu thus scratched his chin, and then noncommittally said, “I’ll think about it.”

“Don’t think too long,” cautioned Brian. “The deadline to register for the elite course is ten years old. If you haven’t enrolled by then, you’ll have to stick to the common course. Trust me. If you want to raise your quickly and efficiently raise soul pets, the elite course is the only way.”

Rao Wu nodded. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Satisfied, Brian relaxed, and then stared asking Rao Wu about Xian Da’s training. Rao Wu, in return, held nothing back aside from their true origins. He, Brian and Aeriole thus spent the rest of the dinner discussing about optimal ways to train soul pets.

Many onlookers jealously regarded Brian and Rao Wu with envy. They too wanted to enter the Phoenix Princess’ good graces in this dinner, but that opportunity had been monopolized by the two kids. However, the crowd then placated themselves with the knowledge that they had plenty of time going forward to ingratiate themselves in school.

“Ah, it’s getting late. I need to get going.” Eventually, Rao Wu’s internal clock warned him that it would soon be dark. Brian and Aeriole both tried to convince him to stay further, explaining that the core dinner had yet to even begin.

Unfortunately, Rao Wu was severely strict with his and his soul pets’ safety. Entering the jungle one minute late could be the difference between getting to his hideout on time, or encountering a horde of monsters. And so, he bid Brian goodbye while Aeriole walked with him as he exited the building.

“Gav will take you to the gate.” Aeriole summoned one of her guards, who regarded Rao Wu with a pleasant, but suspicious smile. Aeriole’s guards liked this little boy who saved their lives, but due to the nature of their job, they could not help but find his secretive identity suspicious. Aeriole, who was too young to read too much into her guard’s look, turned to Rao Wu and said, “I hope you’ll enroll. Graduating from Soul Academy will give you a jumpstart over most soul trainers.” She paused and then, while clutching her dress, muttered, “I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Don’t wait.” The tactless Rao Wu shut down the little girl. “My Uncle says I shouldn’t make promises I’m not certain I’ll keep. I may never come back, so don’t wait.” Rao Wu paused whe he saw tears begin to pool at the edges of Aeriole’s eyes. At the same time he felt a series of glares stabbing into his back. They seemed to be saying, ‘Lie, You Bastard!’

Rao Wu scratched his cheek and then added, “Think of it this way. If I come back, it’ll be a big, nice, surprise. That’s good, right?”

Aeriole nodded. “…Mm.”

“Rao! Rao!”

“Fine! Fine.” Rao Wu smothered the frantic Xian Da, and then looked at Aeriole. “I promise, after my training, I’ll do my best to convince my Uncle to let me enroll. Is that good enough?”

“Mm!” Aeriole’s expression brightened so quickly that Rao Wu thought he was hallucinating. “See you then.”

“Ha-ha.” Defeated, Rao Wu chuckled and then allowed Gav to lift him onto the Windfarer Stallion. “See you when I see you.” With those words, Gav and Rao Wu sped off into the city streets.

Aeriole watched them until they disappeared from sight then gently returned to the banquet, which for all intents and purposes was really made for her.