Douluo: When the piano sounds, the hidden weapon returns to the factory

The night was as dark as ink. Feng Yao arrived at the simulated training ground under the starlight. Pushing open the familiar metal door, he saw Qian Renxue leaning against the window with her arms crossed under the dim blue soul-guiding light inside.

"Xue'er?" Feng Yao paused slightly. Moonlight streamed through the window lattice, flowing over her long, gilded hair, but it couldn't illuminate the melancholy in her eyes.

"You've finally decided to come back?" Qian Renxue's voice was colder than the night wind. Feng Yao noticed that she had changed back into her daughter's attire, her snow-white dress shimmering faintly in the moonlight.

The hooting of the owl outside the window added a touch of awkwardness to this unfortunate reunion.

Seeing this, Feng Yao immediately put on a fawning smile and tiptoed forward: "Xue'er, what's wrong? Who upset you?"

Qian Renxue snorted coldly, her golden eyes glaring at him fiercely: "I knew letting you go back wouldn't end well!" She turned and flicked her sleeve, her long dress drawing a sharp arc in the moonlight. "In just one day, you've caused such a commotion, even that old fox Ning Fengzhi has come knocking on our door!"

Feng Yao gently pulled Qian Renxue into his arms, resting his chin on her fragrant hair, and said with a wry smile, "I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence, that Rongrong had to run into us."

"Oh?" Qian Renxue suddenly looked up, her golden eyes narrowing dangerously. "So you're planning to agree to that little girl from the Ye family?" Her fingertips had already quietly crept up to the soft flesh on his waist.

Feng Yao was startled and touched the tip of his nose guiltily: "Sister Lingling is a very nice person. Even if you want to refuse, you have to find a suitable reason, right?" Before he finished speaking, he felt a sharp pain in his waist.

Feng Yao also held back and didn't say anything. Qian Renxue glanced at Feng Yao and let out a soft snort, but ultimately didn't pursue the matter further.

Seeing this, Feng Yao rubbed his waist and quickly changed the subject, taking a step closer and saying, "That old fox Ning Fengzhi came specifically to see you, surely not just to badmouth me, right?"

Qian Renxue leaned against the window, the moonlight casting a silvery glow on her exquisite profile. Her fingertips lightly caressed the jade pendant of the Crown Prince of Tiandou, and she sneered, "That old fox has secretly increased his investment in the palace, and now that he's found a backer, he naturally doesn't take me, the 'Crown Prince,' seriously." Her golden eyes glanced sideways at Feng Yao, "You hurt his precious daughter, so of course he'll use me to teach you a lesson."

Feng Yao immediately leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her slender waist from behind again, his chin gently brushing against the top of her head: "Too bad that old fox never expected this." His warm breath brushed against her sensitive earlobe, "My Xue'er and I are bound by an unbreakable bond."

"Hmph!" Qian Renxue snorted again, deliberately nudging herself backward with her elbow, but without much force. As she turned, her skirt fluttered, carrying a faint fragrance: "Stop with your glib talk." Although her tone remained cold and hard, the chill in her eyes had softened somewhat.

Feng Yao gently took Qian Renxue's slender hand and solemnly promised, "Alright, Xue'er, I promise you—before the great cause of Tian Dou is accomplished, I will strictly adhere to the bottom line." His thumb gently caressed the delicate skin on the back of her hand, his eyes so sincere that they made one's heart tremble.

A faint smile unconsciously curved Qian Renxue's lips, but it was quickly tinged with guilt. She lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting soft shadows in the moonlight. "Xiao Feng," her voice was as soft as a sigh, "do you hate me for binding you to my side with that vow?" Her fingers unconsciously tightened around his collar. "If it weren't for that vow, perhaps we would never have..."

Feng Yao gently stroked Qian Renxue's cheek, his fingertips tracing her delicate features, his voice soft and gentle: "Xue'er, to be honest," his gaze was candid, "I did feel uneasy at first. Anyone would be afraid of the feeling of not being in control of their life."

Moonlight streamed through the window, bathing the two of them in a silvery glow. Feng Yao's fingertips lingered on the corner of her lips:

"But perhaps this is fate. The time I've spent by your side has allowed me to gradually understand you." He chuckled softly. "We support each other, and everything is getting better."

Qian Renxue noticed that when he said this, his eyes shone with a firm light, brighter than the stars in the sky.

“Some choices in life may be beyond our control,” Feng Yao suddenly hugged her tightly, “but I believe we’ll make the right choices from now on.” His warm breath brushed against her ear, “Look how great things are now! I’ve gotten a beautiful, capable, and well-connected wife for free.”

Qian Renxue suddenly raised her hand to lightly cover Feng Yao's lips, a complex emotion flashing in her golden eyes: "But all of this is based on the premise that you are useful to me." Her voice lowered, "If anyone else were to discover my true form, I'm afraid..."

Feng Yao grasped her soft hand and kissed her palm. "Xue'er is right." A gentle smile played in his eyes. "But fate is fate precisely because it requires meeting specific people at specific times to create specific stories." His fingertips lightly traced the lines on her palm. "There are no 'what ifs' in this world."

Qian Renxue stared at him blankly, the moonlight casting a silvery glow on her long eyelashes. Feng Yao continued, "Besides," he suddenly chuckled, "I can see how much Xue'er has changed for me. If it were you in your old ways—if you discovered your partner was so philandering, you probably would have already drawn your angelic sword and burned that person to ashes, wouldn't you?"

A night breeze swept past the window, scattering stray hairs along Qian Renxue's cheek. She suddenly realized that, without noticing, her hands hadn't done those sordid things in a long time. This realization sent a shiver down her spine; she realized that, unknowingly, she had already removed the strongest armor from this young man.

Upon hearing this, Qian Renxue's beautiful golden eyes flashed with a hint of embarrassment and annoyance. She raised her small fist and lightly punched Feng Yao's chest: "I think you did that on purpose!" She bit her lower lip, her eyes sparkling with a touch of anger, "Were you just waiting for me to give in so your little wives could come in?"

Feng Yao chuckled as he gazed at Qian Renxue, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear with his fingertips. "I think, with Xue'er's intelligence, how could she not understand?" His eyes gleamed with an all-knowing light. "As long as you make a little fuss, I'll agree to any condition."

Under the moonlight, Qian Renxue's ear tips were slightly flushed. Feng Yao continued, "But my Xue'er is proud to the core." He lightly tapped her heart with his finger, "Even if they marry into the family in the future, you will always be the most special one in my heart."

"You!" Qian Renxue's pretty face flushed red instantly. She turned her face away in embarrassment and anger, but she couldn't hide the curve of her lips.

"The reason we're not giving in now," Feng Yao gently cupped her face, "is because the great cause of the Heavenly Battle is not yet complete. You can't stand beside me in your true form to assert your dominance over them, right?"

Caught off guard, Qian Renxue resorted to shamelessness: "I don't care!" She grabbed Feng Yao's collar, her golden eyes flashing with stubbornness. "Before the Heavenly Battle is over, you're not allowed to agree to them! Even if... even if later..." Her voice trailed off, "I must still be the Empress, that's the bottom line."

Finally, she buried her face in Feng Yao's arms, her voice muffled: "Letting them in is already very generous of us."

Feng Yao couldn't help but chuckle as he hugged her tighter. Even the bright moon outside the window seemed to shyly hide behind the clouds. He knew this proud girl in his arms all too well—her current stubbornness was merely a way of masking her inner unease. Feng Yao gazed at Qian Renxue's slightly flushed profile, a warm feeling welling up inside him. Moonlight streamed through the window curtains, flowing across her long, golden hair, outlining her stubborn yet gentle features. He understood that this was the greatest concession she, so proud as she was, could make to atone for the bondage of their past vow.

"Xue'er." Feng Yao gently lifted her chin, looking into her uneasy eyes. "You don't need to wrong yourself because of what happened back then." His fingertips traced her slightly furrowed brow. "I've already let go of those past events."

Qian Renxue nestled gently into Feng Yao's embrace, pressing her cheek against his warm chest, listening to his strong heartbeat: "Little Feng, I'm truly happy that you can let go of the past." Her voice was as soft as a feather's touch, "This isn't resentment, but rather it allows me to more readily accept your kindness."

Feng Yao unconsciously tightened his arms, pulling her soft body even deeper into his embrace.

Qian Renxue tilted her head back, her golden eyes sparkling with arrogance: "Of course—" She poked Feng Yao's chest with her slender finger, "I must be the biggest."

Moonlight streamed through the window, casting dappled shadows on her delicate face. Feng Yao, seeing her feigned insincerity, couldn't help but chuckle, leaning down to kiss her forehead: "Okay, you're the boss." His tone was full of doting affection.

Qian Renxue then squinted her eyes in satisfaction, snuggling back into his arms like a contented cat. Feng Yao looked down at the person in his arms and noticed an undisguised smile on her lips, even the ends of her hair radiating joy—this was the Qian Renxue he loved, proud yet genuine.

Feeling Feng Yao's restless little hand, Qian Renxue glared at him, embarrassed and annoyed, but he took the opportunity to steal a kiss on her lips. She wanted to punch him, but he grabbed her wrist. Under the moonlight, the two smiled at each other, all the suspicions and barriers of the past had long since transformed into the deepest love.

"Alright, let's get down to business." Qian Renxue blushed and gently straightened her clothes, her golden eyes regaining some clarity. "How's the work on compiling the classics you did today?"

Feng Yao smiled slightly and released his arms from her embrace. He lightly touched the soul tool with his fingertips, and an anciently bound book appeared in his palm.

“Since we're going to shake up the existing Soul Master system,” he handed the booklet to Qian Renxue, the five characters on the cover, “Soul Power Circulation Method,” gleaming faintly in the moonlight, “we must naturally start with cultivating the foundation. This is a cultivation method I've modified.”

Qian Renxue took the booklet in surprise: "So fast?" She flipped to the title page and saw dense annotations alongside detailed diagrams of meridian pathways. "Only one day."

Feng Yao meticulously dissected the complete cultivation method of the Xuan Tian Gong, retaining only the most basic Small Heavenly Circuit method. Under the moonlight, his slender fingers lightly tapped the pages, explaining, "If I were to reveal the entire cultivation method, the impact on the Soul Master world would be too drastic." His fingertips traced the meridian diagram. "This basic section is enough to change Soul Master cultivation; the rest..."

Qian Renxue noticed that the key points that had been deliberately hidden were all marked with the words "to be studied further." She suddenly understood Feng Yao's profound meaning—this gave Soul Masters hope for breakthroughs and left room for future generations to make progress.

“You’ve thought of everything.” She gently stroked the pages of the book.

Feng Yao gazed at her focused profile and said softly, "Change needs to be gradual, just like our relationship." He suddenly leaned close to her ear and whispered, "The warm breath made Qian Renxue's ears turn red, and she almost dropped the book in her hand."

Qian Renxue rolled her eyes at Feng Yao, her cheeks slightly flushed, and pushed him away again. She lowered her head, carefully flipping through the ancient texts, her fingertip pausing on a certain page: "Using soul power circulation instead of meditation?" Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. "It seems much more complicated. What's so special about it?"

A hint of admiration flashed in Feng Yao's eyes: "Xue'er truly has discerning eyes." He pointed to a meridian circulation diagram, "The greatest advantage is..." He circled a circle on the diagram, "...even children under six years old can cultivate."

"What?" Qian Renxue suddenly looked up, her golden eyes widening slightly. "You can do this without even awakening your martial soul?" She paused halfway through her sentence, as if she had thought of something.

“Not bad.” Feng Yao tapped a page of the book, which detailed a simplified route for young children. “But the price is…” He turned to the next page, which was covered with densely packed acupoint diagrams, “requiring much more knowledge; the difficulty far exceeds that of ordinary meditation methods.”

Qian Renxue's slender fingertips lightly tapped the pages, her brows furrowing slightly. "Wouldn't this drastically increase the learning cost?" A hint of worry flashed in her golden eyes. "Sect disciples have elders to assist and guide their cultivation, but commoner Soul Masters..."

Feng Yao looked at her approvingly, a smile playing on his lips. "Xue'er has considered everything very thoroughly." He turned to the next page, which contained detailed instructional diagrams. "That's precisely why the major sects would support this reform—" he lightly tapped the complex meridian diagrams with his finger, "They can use it to expand their advantage."

The moonlight outside the window suddenly brightened, illuminating Feng Yao's earnest profile: "But the real key lies in postnatal education." His voice grew firmer, "Under traditional meditation methods, the quality of one's martial soul and innate soul power determine everything; ordinary people, no matter how hard they try, will find it difficult to break through."

Qian Renxue unconsciously sat up straight, listening as he continued, "But the laws governing the circulation of soul power are different." He emphasized the four characters "diligence can make up for lack of talent" with his fingertip, "As long as one perseveres, even ordinary people can achieve a decent level of soul power through hard work."

Feng Yao's lips curled slightly, his fingertips lightly tapping the pages of the book. "Has Xue'er ever considered this?" He suddenly lowered his voice, "The Spirit Hall controls seventy percent of the continent's grassroots Spirit Masters." A glint of light flashed in his eyes, "It's self-evident who benefits more from this cultivation technique."

Qian Renxue suddenly looked up, her golden pupils slightly contracting.

"While a power like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School can certainly cultivate more elites, the Spirit Hall can only cultivate tens of thousands of rank-and-file Soul Masters."

Feng Yao gently closed the booklet, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "This is merely the tip of the iceberg of what I've compiled." He tapped the cover lightly with his fingertip. "No rush, there's plenty of time."

Qian Renxue gazed at his composed profile, a sudden surge of emotions coursing through her. Moonlight streamed across the book cover, and she realized with a start that if this book were to truly be published, it would be tantamount to reshaping the entire Soul Master system, and Feng Yao might indeed become a god.

A night breeze swept through the window, causing the candlelight to flicker. The shadows of the two figures on the wall flashed on and off, as if foreshadowing the impending upheaval in the world of Soul Masters.

(End of this chapter)