Douluo: Unparalleled General, Starting by Deceptive Thousand-Snow-Peak 3

Chapter 3: The Past, Tang Hao and Lan Xue

About half an hour later, the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony drew to a close.

This awakening ceremony was considered a success, at least enough to satisfy Nan Tianchen. The children of the various families all possessed at least three levels of innate Soul Power, with some exceptional ones nearing five levels. With proper cultivation and resources, becoming a Soul Ancestor, Soul King, or Soul Emperor wouldn’t be difficult. As for reaching Soul Sage, that would depend on their effort and luck.

Only Nan Feiling possessed innate Soul Power exceeding seven levels—a true prodigy.

But Nan Tianchen wasn’t disappointed, as his precious son hadn’t awakened yet. Even disregarding himself, given Lan Xue’s talent, their son’s aptitude couldn’t possibly be bad.

Lan Xue was one of the most outstanding prodigies Nan Tianchen had ever seen.

Furthermore, this prodigy’s growth trajectory was unique. Born a commoner in Ancient Thunder King Country, she awakened the top-tier ice-elemental Artifact Soul, the Mystic Ice Spear, and traveled to the Heavenly Dou Empire to study at the Heavenwater Academy, one of the Five Elements Academies.

With full innate Soul Power, her cultivation speed was unparalleled before level 30.

The current Heavenwater Academy dean was her close friend; they had even participated in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament together.

That was Heavenwater Academy’s best performance in a century.

With the combined power of the top-tier Beast Soul Ice Phoenix and the top-tier Artifact Soul Mystic Ice Spear, they swept through the other Five Elements Academies, as well as the Heavenly Dou and Star Luo royal academies, advancing to the finals against the Martial Soul Temple Academy.

Unfortunately, they were outnumbered. After a long battle against the Martial Soul Temple team, they were narrowly defeated.

Even Qian Xunji acknowledged Lan Xue’s talent at the time, predicting she had the potential to become a Super Douluo.

But afterwards, strange things happened. After breaking through level 30, Lan Xue’s cultivation speed slowed considerably. Before level 50, it was still faster than others, but after that, her progress became extremely slow, and she was gradually surpassed by many, such as the昊天双星 (昊天双星 – literally “昊 Heaven’s twin stars”, referring to a pair of brothers famous for their strength in the novel), who completely stole her limelight.

Many believed she was just a flash in the pan, and gradually, Lan Xue blended into the crowd.

But she didn’t give up. After graduation, Lan Xue traveled the continent, her battle spear sweeping across the land, punishing evil and upholding justice. She managed to break through to level 60 at the age of 35, earning some renown and attracting many suitors among the elite noble youth, all of whom were rejected by her icy demeanor.

From then on, many called her the “Ice Snow Goddess!”

Through relentless hard work and cultivation, years later, Lan Xue finally broke through to level 70, ushering in her second transformation. Her cultivation speed returned, even exceeding her pre-level 30 speed.

In an instant, she caught up with the昊天双星 again. By then, Lan Xue was renowned throughout the land, once again hailed as a genius destined to become a Title Douluo.

Only Nan Feihuang knew the reason behind her fluctuating cultivation speed, having heard Lan Xue’s story. She possessed the Ultimate Ice attribute; at the time, Soul Masters didn’t fully understand Ultimate Attributes. Ultimate Martial Souls have normal cultivation speed before level 30, extremely slow speed from level 30 to 70, and incredibly fast speed after level 70; their Soul Power is purer and more resilient.

This period coincided with the rise to fame of the昊天双星. Tang Hao, wanting to test the prowess of this woman compared to them, challenged her to a duel.

Lan Xue, possessing a somewhat martial spirit, readily accepted. They agreed to a fair fight on Mount Guters, near Gu Lei City.

In that battle, their Soul Power and Martial Soul quality were evenly matched, a stalemate.

Unfortunately, due to certain reasons, Lan Xue’s Ultimate Ice was semi-disabled and unusable; otherwise, she would have had the upper hand.

But Tang Hao grew anxious. As the most outstanding heir of the昊天宗 (昊天宗 – the昊天 school, a powerful clan of Soul Masters), losing to a woman would be a disgrace. Therefore, he used his newly mastered technique, the Exploding Ring.

With the Exploding Ring, the tide turned instantly. However, Tang Hao, using it for the first time, lost control and struck Lan Xue with a mighty hammer, sending her plummeting off the cliff.

Lan Xue, severely wounded by the昊天锤 (昊天锤 – literally “昊 Heaven’s Hammer”, Tang Hao’s powerful hammer Martial Soul) and then the fall, was left near death. She was rescued by Nan Tianchen, the then-crown prince of Ancient Thunder King Country.

After all, with two such outstanding individuals battling within his kingdom’s borders, how could he not pay attention?

Nan Tianchen brought Lan Xue back to the palace and nursed her back to health with the utmost care.

To repay Nan Tianchen’s kindness, Lan Xue asked what she could do for him, promising to fulfill any reasonable request.

Nan Tianchen immediately proposed marriage, hoping she would become his crown princess. To repay her life debt, Lan Xue accepted.

Perhaps Nan Tianchen’s actions had elements of taking advantage of the situation, but there was no coercion. The final decision rested with Lan Xue herself.

Moreover, Nan Tianchen truly needed such a top-tier genius. Ancient Thunder King Country was different from the Barak Kingdom. The Barak Kingdom was the strongest military kingdom under the Heavenly Dou Empire, with an army exceeding 400,000, a force even the Martial Soul Temple couldn’t ignore.

Ancient Thunder King Country, however, was an agrarian nation with abundant food production but only 150,000 troops and few Soul Masters. Therefore, it was the closest and most dependent of the four kingdoms on the Heavenly Dou Empire.

Through annual tributes of exorbitantly expensive grain, they received the Empire’s protection; otherwise, Ancient Thunder King Country would have been swallowed by Star Luo.

But if the kingdom had its own Title Douluo, the situation would change dramatically.

In a time when only a dozen or so Title Douluos existed openly on the continent—not even the Heavenly Dou Empire possessed one, relying instead on the support of the three great clans—Lan Xue possessed the potential to become one.

After their marriage, they lived harmoniously. Two years later, they had their first child, Nan Feihuang, enjoying a relatively good relationship. While their union started because of gratitude, years of companionship fostered some genuine affection.

Perhaps their relationship could be described as 4 parts mutual respect, 4 parts love, and 2 parts gratitude—a surprisingly successful marriage.

In any case, Lan Xue never regretted her decision to marry Nan Tianchen.

A child born to such a woman could not possibly be ordinary, unless they were like a certain individual from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan—the son of a Super Douluo whose Martial Soul mutated into a pig.

Nan Tianchen led Feihuang and the others towards the inner hall.

“Cough…” On the way, Lan Xue suddenly coughed.

Nan Feihuang quickly stepped forward to pat her back. “Mother, you’re coughing again. Are you alright?”

Lan Xue smiled, stroking her son’s head. “Good boy, Mother’s fine. It’s an old ailment.”

Nan Feihuang looked at Lan Xue with worry. The injuries she sustained that day were never fully healed, leaving many hidden wounds.

Her aptitude was no less than, perhaps even surpassing, Tang Hao’s. Tang Hao broke through to the Title Douluo realm at 44; Lan Xue, having already surpassed the level 70 hurdle for Ultimate Attributes, should have been about the same.

But now, at 48, she was stuck at level 89, a Soul Douluo. No matter how hard she trained, her Soul Power wouldn’t improve even a fraction.

Nan Feihuang understood that her foundation had been damaged by Tang Hao. Without any miraculous encounter, her limit would likely remain at level 89 Soul Douluo.

Nan Feihuang considered how to heal Lan Xue: the Ice and Fire Two Eyes Spring and its miraculous herbs—there must be something there that could heal her hidden injuries.

As for Tang Hao, Nan Feihuang would settle that score personally in the future.

Lan Xue had said she didn’t hate Tang Hao. Though he had ruined her foundation, their battle had been fair. The Exploding Ring was his ultimate move, and using it to win was acceptable. She had simply been outmatched.

Nan Feihuang acknowledged that this was true.

The battle itself was fair; Tang Hao hadn’t used any underhanded tactics, winning cleanly. Thus, Nan Feihuang wouldn’t resort to any dishonorable means of revenge.

It was simply a matter of Nan Feihuang’s resentment for his mother’s plight.

Tang Hao was born into the昊天宗, enjoying the best resources since childhood – the Crazy Wind Hammer Method, 昊天九绝 (昊天九绝 – the Nine Absolutes of the昊天 school), the Exploding Ring, and inherited Soul Bones.

Lan Xue, despite her exceptional aptitude, was of commoner origin. Heavenwater Academy was a prestigious school, but it couldn’t compare to the昊天宗. Her spear techniques were honed through her own efforts and battle experience.

The resource disparity was too vast!

Therefore, he would strengthen himself with even greater resources than the昊天宗, then, in a fair and open manner, without resorting to any underhanded tactics, challenge the Tang family on behalf of his mother. Whether it was Tang Hao, Tang Xiao, or even Tang San, whoever accepted the challenge would be irrelevant.

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