Tang Yuehua nodded firmly. "The evening hours are yours to do with as you please. But during the day, you must study these things with me — until I'm satisfied. Do you know what my Moon Pavilion does?"
Tang San shook his head.
Tang Yuehua smiled faintly. "This is the Tian Dou Empire's Imperial Etiquette Academy. We specialize in teaching the etiquette of the nobility. You must have sensed my domain by now. My innate domain is called the Noble Circle. And my Soul Power is currently at the ninth rank."
"What?" Tang San stared blankly at Tang Yuehua, unable to fathom that she, a direct descendant of the Clear Sky Sect, possessed Soul Power at only the ninth rank. "You have a... Mutant Martial Soul?"
Tang Yuehua smiled and nodded. "Perhaps you think I'm the most useless direct descendant of the Clear Sky Sect, but I can tell you this: if your father had possessed everything I'm skilled in, the outcome of what happened twenty years ago would have been completely different. Sometimes, strength alone doesn't represent everything. You must learn to protect yourself without relying on strength alone. You must also master the art of language, learn how to navigate among the various powers, and understand how to wield authority. I can see your excellence, but there is still so, so much you need to learn."
Tang San finally nodded with some difficulty. Though he was unwilling to admit it, he had no choice but to yield to this elegant lady before him. After all, she was his own aunt.
Tang Yuehua smiled gently. "Don't look so troubled. Like I said, it won't be long before you understand the importance of everything I'm teaching you. Having left Slaughter City, what you need most right now isn't to train harder, but to stabilize everything you've gained. I already know about your father's condition. Don't worry — I won't pressure him anymore. Neither will the sect. Though he is no longer part of it, the sect has never forgotten him."
Sighing, Tang Yuehua fixed Tang San with a deep gaze. "If you don't want your father to be troubled again, then you must become stronger. The responsibilities he was meant to fulfill will all fall upon your shoulders."
……
One year later. Tian Dou City, Moon Pavilion.
The nightscape of Tian Dou City had always been beautiful, owing in large part to its highly developed commerce. As the capital of the Tian Dou Empire, in all of Soul Land, only Star Luo City could barely compare. Star Luo City's beauty came primarily from the delicacy of the south, while Tian Dou City was filled with the grandeur of the north — each with its own distinct strengths.
Elegant, soft light radiated from Moon Pavilion's multi-story buildings as a steady stream of people continuously entered, invitations in hand.
As the Tian Dou Empire's Imperial Etiquette Academy, anyone who wished to study at Moon Pavilion had to possess at least a noble title and be no older than thirty. Undoubtedly, this was where the new generation of Tian Dou's nobility was cultivated. Therefore, though Moon Pavilion itself was nothing remarkable, no faction dared to lay a hand on it — not even the imperial family.
It was rumored that Emperor Xue Ye and Lady Yue, the head of Moon Pavilion, shared a particularly close relationship. Of course, these were merely rumors.
Tonight was the annual graduation ceremony. Another batch of students was about to graduate. Those invited were the students' parents and elders — all of them undoubtedly influential figures in the capital of the Tian Dou Empire.
One should know, Moon Pavilion only admitted one hundred students per year. For these one hundred spots, nobles from across the entire Tian Dou Empire practically broke down the doors. Everyone knew that graduating from Moon Pavilion was equivalent to being gilded — its graduates were hailed as true nobles. Put other things aside, when noble families arranged marriages between each other, the stronger party would often ask whether the other's children had received Moon Pavilion's education. This alone showed just how much influence Moon Pavilion held over the upper echelons of the Tian Dou Empire.
Of course, no one knew that Moon Pavilion's seemingly helpless head, Lady Yue, actually came from the number one Soul Master sect under heaven.
The graduation ceremony was held on the third floor of Moon Pavilion. Many dignitaries and nobles had already taken their seats in the decorated venue, all hoping to see how their children had improved through Moon Pavilion's training.
As Moon Pavilion's master, Tang Yuehua stood at one side of the hall in her silver court gown, a smile on her face. When her subordinates informed her that everyone had arrived, she nodded to signal. The graduation ceremony officially began.
A group of young men and women dressed in silver began entering through the doors on both sides. Despite numbering a full hundred, they brought no noise to the hall. Every face wore the same elegant smile, their steps perfectly harmonious with one another. In every gesture and movement, a subtle nobility neither gave the impression of arrogance nor failed to draw admiring glances.
Just then, a door on one side of the hall opened, and a young man in white slowly walked out, cradling an exquisite, elegant golden harp. His clear blue eyes were bright enough to see straight through to the bottom. Dark blue long hair draped over his shoulders without giving the slightest impression of impropriety. His entire being seemed to gather the finest qualities of the world, combining handsomeness, nobility, and elegance into one.