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Then Xue Qinghe picked up the teacup, took a sip, and asked casually:
"Cousin, how long do you plan to stay in Soto Castle? What are your plans for the future?"
Xue Tianxing leaned back in his chair and said in a calm tone:
"We should stay here tonight and return to Barak City early tomorrow morning. After returning, we should focus on training. After all, there are less than two years left until the Continental Soul Master Competition, so we need to improve our strength as soon as possible."
Xue Qinghe nodded and said in agreement:
"You're right. Strength is the foundation of success in Douluo Continent. By the way, when the Continental Soul Master Competition comes, your Barak Academy should go to Wuhun City to participate, right?
Then, maybe we can meet again."
Xue Tianxing sneered in his heart, but remained expressionless:
"I think I will go. Your Highness will be looking after me then."
The two chatted casually, seemingly in a relaxed manner, but in fact, every word they said was tentative.
Qian Renxue wants to find out Xue Tianxing's background and ambitions through the identity of "Xue Qinghe"; Xue Tianxing goes with the flow, pretending to be defenseless, occasionally revealing some insignificant information, while observing Qian Renxue's reaction.
Soon, the waiter came in with wine and food, and the atmosphere in the box became a little more lively.
Xue Qinghe enthusiastically poured wine for Xue Tianxing and said with a smile:
"Come, cousin, try your Soto City's specialty wine. It tastes very good. I still like it very much."
Xue Tianxing picked up his wine glass and clinked it with Xue Qinghe.
Then Xue Tianxing didn't say anything more to Xue Qinghe, who was pretending to be Qian Renxue.
Xue Tianxing and "Xue Qinghe" chatted casually about some irrelevant topics in the box, then stood up and said goodbye on the pretext of "going to find a companion."
Qian Renxue looked at his decisive back and did not try to keep him. She just held the wine glass in thought. In her opinion, Xue Tianxing's deliberate alienation just proved that the "cooperation bait" she threw out on the top of the mountain had worked. The other party was obviously deliberately avoiding the identity of "Prince Tiandou" to avoid getting into deeper entanglement.
After Xue Tian walked out of the restaurant, he was still thinking about Qian Renxue's intentions:
"Is it just a test? Or do you want to use Xue Qinghe's identity to further observe my movements?"
Finally, Xue Tianxing shook his head and temporarily suppressed these doubts. What Xue Tianxing wanted now was to find Shui Bing'er first so that she wouldn't worry.
As soon as he reached the entrance of the fighting arena, Xue Tianxing vaguely felt that someone was staring at him from behind, but when he looked back, he only saw a bustling crowd and nothing unusual.
He frowned, thinking that he was being too suspicious, and turned around and walked into the fighting arena.
He didn't notice that at the alley entrance not far away, a dark shadow was looking away, with a sinister smile on the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were full of calculation - that was the person sent by Xue Ye to secretly follow Xue Tianxing, and was recording his whereabouts one by one.
The fighting arena was bustling with people, cheering and shouting one after another.
Xue Tianxing walked quickly along the aisle of the auditorium and soon saw Shui Bing'er and Dugu Yan near the central fighting arena.
At this time, the two were standing on the fighting stage and had just finished a double fighting match.
Xue Tianxing stopped to observe and found that their opponents were two Soul Masters in their forties, whose soul power was two levels higher than Shui Bing'er and Dugu Yan.
But even so, Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix Martial Soul still showed an overwhelming advantage - she controlled the ice soul power, and the ice spikes continuously compressed the opponent's range of movement, and occasionally released ice mist to interfere with the vision; Dugu Yan cooperated by releasing the green phosphorus snake venom, and the poisonous mist entangled the opponent like a maggot on the tarsal bone, making them unable to defend themselves.
Although the opponent fought hard and even released a combination of soul skills to try to break through the defense line, he was eventually defeated under Shui Bing'er's absolute control and Dugu Yan's poison suppression.
When the referee announced that the two had won, Shui Bing'er and Dugu Yan smiled at each other, their faces full of relief.
"Tian Xing!"
As soon as Shui Bing'er stepped down from the fighting arena, she saw Xue Tianxing in the stands. Her eyes lit up instantly, and she ran over quickly, took his arm affectionately, and said:
"You're finally here! Are you done with this?"
Xue Tianxing nodded and said with a smile:
"It's done, it's nothing serious. You guys put up a good fight just now. Even if the opponent's spirit power was two levels higher, he wouldn't be your match."
"Of course!"
Shui Bing'er raised her chin proudly, then pulled Xue Tianxing's arm and said to him with a tone of expectation:
"We've already participated in several fighting spirits and have had enough. Now that you're here, we shouldn't fight anymore, right? I want to go explore Soto City with you—we've never been alone together in Soto City before."
Xue Tianxing felt warm in his heart. Seeing the expectation in Shui Bing'er's eyes, he nodded without hesitation and said to Shui Bing'er:
"Okay, I'll go shopping with you tonight. It just so happens that Yue'er, that little burden, isn't here today, so no one will disturb us."
"Hey! You two are taking it too far!"
Dugu Yan on the side couldn't help but rolled her eyes and grumbled in a pretended angry tone:
"I'm still here, can you please be more mindful of the impact? Don't show off your affection in front of me!"
Shui Bing'er made a face at her, then said to Dugu Yan with a smile:
"Who told you to be alone right now? If you want to show off, you can go find Xiao Ao. Didn't he go to Shrek Academy? Maybe he's on his way back now."
Dugu Yan's cheeks flushed slightly, she snorted softly, and said to Shui Bing'er:
"You guys should go shopping now and stop being an eyesore. I also need to go look for my little Ao."
Shui Bing'er smiled and pulled Xue Tianxing away. Before leaving, she turned around and waved to Dugu Yan:
"Then let's go. We'll meet at the restaurant tomorrow morning!"
Xue Tianxing was pulled by Shui Bing'er and walked out of the fighting arena step by step.
The lights of Soto City are bright in the night, and the shops on both sides of the street are still bustling. The sounds of hawking and music are intertwined, full of the atmosphere of fireworks.
Shui Bing'er held Xue Tianxing's arm and chattered about the interesting things that happened during the soul battle just now. Occasionally, she would point at small gadgets on the roadside and ask curiously.
Xue Tianxing listened attentively, occasionally responding a few words, his eyes fell on Shui Bing'er's bright profile, and the doubts and calculations in his heart gradually dissipated.
At this moment, he was no longer the prince of the Barak Kingdom, no longer someone who needed to work hard to cultivate to become a Soul Saint and go to the Far North to receive inheritance.
Now he is just an ordinary boy who goes shopping with the person he likes.
What Xue Tianxing didn't know was that not far behind them, the gloomy black shadow was still following them quietly, recording their whereabouts one by one, preparing to bring them back to report.