?Huo Long''s Awakening


    After Huo Long''s departure, nothing significant would happen in Xue Bai''s life for almost another year.


    As per tradition in The Great Xuan Empire, noble heirs at the age of nine would undergo etiquette training to prepare for when they would seed their parents.


    Usually, heirs would go to a school in the capital for it. However, Xue Bai was a Young Duke, so he asked his father to invite a teacher to the Dukedom instead of going to the capital.


    Though it was an odd request, as it would be hard to build connections without going to the Imperial Capital, Xue Feng assumed his son''s shut-in nature wasing out again and agreed.


    The reason why Xue Bai didn''t want to associate with the nobles of The Great Xuan Empire was simple. He didn''t like any of them.


    Though his only knowledge of them was from the game, they were all horrible people from what he knew there. Every single heir was always plotting and backstabbing at every moment. And Xue Bai wanted nothing to do with that.


    The only good people in The Great Xuan were Duke Yan and his n and his father''s other subordinate, Marquis the Zhang n.


    But as the Young Duchess of the Yan n was Huo Long''s future wife, Xue Bai didn''t want to get anywhere near her for fear she would fall in love with his looks.


    While the Zhang n were Martial Fanatics who idolized strength more than anything. And with Xue Bai still not able to cultivate, it made them very hard to get along with.


    Thankfully Xue Bai''s father was a Duke, so Noble heirs would still try and build connections with him even if he didn''t leave his Dukedom.


    His etiquette teacher was a schrly-looking middle-aged man that always walked around with an ink brush and paper as if ready to paint a masterpiece at any moment. He always dressed in Confucian robes, too, which made Xue Bai think.


    ''Did Earth get Confucianism from here or the other way around.''


    However, without any solid leads, Xue Bai only wrote them down in his journal to remember in the future.


    On another note, while Xue Bai was studying tirelessly at home, Huo Long sessfully awakened his Low ck Grade Martial Veins, shocking the continent.


    There were eight young geniuses currently on the southern continent with Low ck Grade Martial Veins. Equally split up between the four major forces, so an heir to a fallen Marquis n awakening one hadpletely broken the bnce.


    However, the continent was still in store for surprises. After The Emperor personally inspected them to make sure the ims were true, he discovered that besides being Low ck Grade, Huo Long''s Martial Veins also had a Fire Elemental affinity.


    After hearing that, the other three forces all started offering olive branches to Huo Long, wanting to recruit him even if it meant angering The Great Xuan Empire.


    And after a long bidding war, just like in the game, Huo Long chose Wushen Academy.


    His choice was simple. He didn''t use a sword crossing out the Soaring Sword Sect. The 100 Flowers Sect only sent an invitation as a formality and didn''t want him, so Huo Long crossed them out as well. And Huo Long didn''t want to stay in The Great Xuan Empire as he knew that his enemies would always be around him if he did.


    So Wushen Academy was his only real choice.


    Xue Bai also visited the protagonist before he left for Wushen Academy and got Huo Long to call him brother, which brought a smile to his face.


    After Huo Long left, Xue Bai''s life descended into a peaceful time. However, he knew that this calm period was going to be rare in the future, so Xue Bai enjoyed it as much as he could.


    It was only after his tenth birthday that Xue Bai could finally start the beginning of his n.


    The Celestial Void Fruit only needed a week until it would ripen.


    With Xue Bai''s authority as a Young Duke, he had evacuated the town near where the Fruit would ripen. Xue Bai had staked his entire future on the Fruit. He wasn''t taking any chances with it.


    Xue Bai also nned to pick the Fruit himself. Though he wasn''t exactly sure how fate worked, he guessed that he should be the only one able to pick that Fruit without any repercussions. Moreover, since none of the "Children of the ne" have awakened yet, he should currently have the highest fate value in this world.


    However, Xue Bai still had a problem, how would he let his father allow him to go to where to Fruit was?


    The Fruit was even further away from the Dukedom than Frontier City, and convincing his mother to let him go there was enough of a headache.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But this matter was as important as his life, so Xue Bai mustered up his courage and went to his father''s office. Resolved never to leave until Xue Feng said yes.


    "That little quarantine in the sticks you made me order? If you want to go, you can just make sure to bring the Wang Twins with you." Xue Feng responded calmly.


    Xue Bai was stunned. He had prepared almost twenty minutes'' worth of counterarguments, and his dad said yes on the first attempt.


    "Father, you''re not even going to think about it? You haven''t even looked up from your paperwork." Xue Ba couldn''t help but ask.


    Raising his head, Xue Feng replied, "Don''t you want to go? Why are you asking me to reconsider?"


    Xue Bai quickly covered his mouth and smacked his forehead.


    ''Idiot, you got what you wanted. Just go''


    "Thank you, father!" Xue Bai yelled before he ran out of the office.


    After Xue Bai left, his father also got up and left the office and made his way to Li Rou''s courtyard.


    "Rou''er, did you hear our conversation." Entering the courtyard, Xue Feng asked.


    "Yes, I heard it. It''s about the second entry in Bai''ers journal." Li Rou answered.


    "Do you think that there is actually a Low Heaven Grade Natural Treasure there, Rou''er?"


    "That Huo Long, Bai''er wrote about did instantly be a rising star in our continent. So most likely, it''s true."


    Xue Feng nodded at that, but there was still something he was confused about.


    "But there is one thing that confuses me. The second entry was a Natural Treasure of the legendary Heaven Grade. So why would Huo Long, a kid with only a Low ck Grade Martial Vein, be written above it?"


    However, Li Rou only shrugged her shoulders at that question. The only reason they knew about these two things was because of their snooping. And even then, they didn''t know the ins and outs, only names leaving them halfway in the dark.


    "Well, enough of guessing which one of us is going to follow him." Xue Feng asked.


    "I''ll go. You have to watch the Dukedom, and if you leave, people will notice." Li Rou offered.


    Xue Feng agreed with his wife''s decision, but he still reminded, "Don''t let him know you''re there. It would be best if Bai''er told us himself about his memories. If he found us to be stalking him, it would destroy his trust in us."


    Still unaware of his parent''s suspicions of him, Xue Bai had already barged into the Twins'' courtyard and ordered them to follow him to the outskirts of the Empire.


    "Young Duke, why must we go so far away?" Big Wang couldn''t help but ask.


    "Yes, Young Duke, we are getting closer to the Law Manifestation every day. Taking us away will only dy us." Little Wang seconded.


    "I have spoken, and you both will follow me. We are leaving in the hour. Ready your things." However, Xue Bai ignored their pleas and ordered.


    Seeing they couldn''t escape their fate, the Twins got up from their meditation mats and walked out of the courtyard. Everything of use to them was already in their spatial rings.


    "Young Master, how are we going to get there?" After leaving the Duke Estate, Little Wang asked.


    "Go get your mount. Father gave me permission to leave, so it''s fine for you to bring her out." Xue Bai answered.


    Nodding, Big Wang went to get his Bear Griffen from the enclosure. Quickly returning, the group of three flew off toward the outskirts of the Empire.


    ''The First step of my ascension is almostplete!''