NOVEL WEB Chapter 8: You Should Have Talked First
The road to Nuoding City was long but unremarkable. A single caravan creaked along a narrow forest trail, pulled by a tired brown ox whose hooves squelched in the early autumn mud. Inside sat a family of three: a boy no older than six, his father and his mother sat across from him, quietly watching the horizon. Their presence—refined, restrained—still exuded power that made the driver avoid eye contact.
Xie Yulong sat with his legs folded beneath him, hands clasped in his lap. He wasn't meditating, not truly—but his mind was elsewhere.
> Nuoding Academy…
He had read the information his system offered. A second-rate academy in a third-rate city. But for some reason, it still lingered in the story of history. Not because of its prestige—but because of what would begin there.
> Tang San… should also be enrolling.
The thought made him smirk faintly.
Just as the city's walls came into view—low, moss-laced stone lined with dull copper gates—both Lan Xueyao and Xie Tianyan suddenly stiffened. The lazy air vanished. In the next breath, their eyes sharpened like drawn blades.
"...Did you feel that?" Xueyao whispered.
Xie Tianyan straightened. "A Title Douluo? In this city?"
> "That's not normal," Lan Xueyao added. "Something's wrong."
Even Yulong lifted his eyes. He didn't feel anything —but his parents' senses were far beyond his. A brief ripple of killing intent, cloaked and subdued, like thunder muffled beneath ocean depth.
He tilted his head, pretending confusion.
> That must be Tang Hao… he probably got spooked watching over Xiao Wu.
He didn't speak aloud.
His parents had already risen.
> "We'll catch up," Tianyan said. "You go to the academy first."
Yulong nodded wordlessly. A moment later, they vanished.
--
The alley near Nuoding's western district was deserted save for a single cloaked figure. Wrapped in coarse black robes, the man leaned against a crumbling wall, breath low, presence masked.
But a moment ago, when he saw a girl with bright eyes and two braids step through the gates—his guard had faltered.
And in that flicker—
He had leaked killing intent.
Enough for two apex predators to smell it.
He looked up.
Fire.
Ice.
They landed before him without sound—one clad in burning gold, the other robed in ethereal blue.
--
In the Shadows of Nuoding City
The figure they found was hunched near a worn stone wall, dressed in rough black robes wrapped tightly. His aura, though masked, had flared for an instant—and that was enough.
Xie Tianyan narrowed his eyes. "That's not just anyone."
Lan Xueyao said nothing, but her stance had already shifted.
On the other side, Tang Hao cursed silently.
> Dammit. I lost control for a second when I sensed her transformation. And now—two Title Douluo? Spirit Hall? Here?
He couldn't risk Xiao Wu being discovered. If these two realised what she was… Tang San would lose the greatest soul ring of his life.
So he didn't hesitate.
The Clear Sky Hammer appeared mid-spin, summoned with a roar of black light, and he launched forward.
The hammer came crashing down like judgment.
Lan Xueyao's eyes shimmered—icy vertical slits glowing blue—and she sidestepped cleanly.
Voidstep Mirage.
She vanished in a trail of mist and reappeared at Tang Hao's flank.
Her elbow struck his ribs before he could blink.
Tang Hao twisted, swinging wildly to create distance—but Tianyan was already there.
Dragon Jade Hand flared on his palm—scarlet light laced with scale—and he caught the handle of the hammer directly.
The hammer stopped mid-swing, flames licking up Tianyan's forearm harmlessly.
He didn't even blink.
Tang Hao tried again—fast footwork, a feint left, pivot right. His hammer blurred.
But Tianyan's Dragon Eyes—fiery red and vertically slit—shimmered with layered insight.
> "He'll spin his wrist next."
Tianyan ducked under the move before it began, driving a flaming knee into Tang Hao's chest.
Coughing, Tang Hao fell back, gritting his teeth.
He erupted his spirit power outward to distort their senses—but it failed.
Lan Xueyao appeared above him in a curved arc of frost. A glowing palm reached out.
He blocked, or thought he did—until her other hand slipped through and landed a slap so sharp it echoed through the alley.
Desperate, he used a short-range burst, pushing his strength to the edge and charging again.
Tianyan let him approach.
> "Angle… low."
Dragon Eyes flickered.
Tianyan sidestepped at the perfect moment, twisting his hips and landing a palm strike across Tang Hao's back.
Flames exploded outward. Tang Hao stumbled again.
He roared. The Clear Sky Hammer spun.
But Xueyao didn't retreat. She raised both hands in a defensive cross, her Dragon Jade Hand pulsing with frigid glow.
The impact cracked the ground—but not her arms.
Tang Hao's own hammer rebounded into his chest.
He backed off, sweat cold on his skin.
> They… they're anticipating everything…
He tried a feint, spinning left with a pulse step, then came from above—
Only for Xueyao to murmur, "Obvious."
She vanished.
Voidstep Mirage shimmered behind him, and her boot slammed into his spine.
Tianyan waited. When Tang Hao tried a direct hammer throw, he simply sidestepped and punched the ground.
A geyser of fire erupted under Tang Hao's legs.
He flew backwards.
Midair, Tang Hao tried to recover.
But Tianyan was already there.
He leapt up—Dragon Jade Hand flaring—and drove it into Tang Hao's gut like a meteor.
> Thud.
Tang Hao coughed blood and dropped to one knee.
A final attempt. He summoned all his strength, roaring, hammer glowing darkly—
But both Xie Tianyan and Lan Xueyao now stood still.
Their Dragon Eyes glowed.
One red.
One blue.
They moved.
Frost and flame laced the air—not touching him, but warping the space between.
Tang Hao's body froze—not by force, but by pressure.
Tianyan calmly walked up and flicked him in the forehead.
Tang Hao collapsed.
He fell.
But Tianyan caught him before he hit the ground.
> "He's about to faint," he said dryly.
Then… a final punch to the abdomen—Dragon Jade Hand laced with spiritual power.
Tang Hao slumped against the wall, black-eyed, bruised, stunned.
He looked at them carefully and then...
His eyes widened.
> Not a single scratch on their robes...
> They predicted every move I made...
> What kind of monsters…?
> Even in my prime… I couldn't have touched even one of them…
---
As Tianyan stepped back, Tang Hao rasped out: "Fire Dragon Douluo… and Ice Dragon Douluo."
They paused.
Xueyao's frost-laced voice came. "Clear Sky Douluo… you've fallen far."
Tianyan nodded. "Didn't you have a child once, before you vanished?"
Tang Hao didn't answer at first.
Then he mumbled, "I was protecting mine."
They exchanged glances. Tianyan raised a brow.
> So, you're here for...
> "Yeah. He's enrolling today."
> "And the girl?
Tang Hao paused. His eyes narrowed.
> "She's not your concern."
He turned away, slightly hunched.
> They didn't see through her. Good.
> If San can bond with her… and she sacrifices herself…
> He'll gain a rare 100,000-year soul ring. A 100,000-year soul bone.
They watched him in silence.
Then, after a long breath—
Tianyan said. "We're here for our son too."
Behind him, Lan Xueyao stared, then sighed.
> "We'll pretend this didn't happen."
Tianyan nodded.
> "But next time, try talking first."
They turned and left, vanishing into mist and fire.
Tang Hao watched them go, silent.
> They… have a child?
> I never fought anyone this terrifying…
> Fire Dragon Douluo… Ice Dragon Douluo…
> Their martial souls… compared to Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon…
> They make it look like a joke.
He spat blood.
Then smiled weakly.
> "Good thing they were in a good mood."
---
Back in the academy, Xie Yulong stood beneath the Nuoding gate, eyes half-lidded.
He looked up at the sun and exhaled.
> "Ten minutes late," he muttered. "Guess they found who they were looking for."
He turned.
A quiet smirk formed at his lips.
> "Clear Sky Douluo, huh? And targeting a soul beast in disguise."
> "How amusing."
And so, with no fanfare, no cheers, and no prophecy… he stepped into Nuoding Academy.
Where another legend was already unfolding.
And his own had just begun.