Noelle, About to Cosplay Dayun

Evening.

"Yunxiao, are you all right?"

Qingfeng was still a little worried about Yunxiao's condition. After all, he really was growing leaves.

Big Brother had entrusted him to her care; she couldn't let anything happen to him.

"Don't worry, Third Sister. I'm fine."

As the door opened, Qingfeng was so startled that her Soul Ring popped out.

"Wait... Yunxiao? You call this fine?"

Little Brother, you're growing leaves all over!

Yunxiao stood before her, half his body transformed into golden branches that were still shedding leaves nonstop.

"It's just a negligible side effect. They'll all fall off after a while, and that'll be the end of it."

Yunxiao brushed the leaves off his head. Bangs like these were getting in his eyes.

"..."

Qingfeng no longer knew what to say. If Big Brother hadn't said Yunxiao was fine, she would have taken him back to Tianshu already.

"You..."

"Monster! Let go of my sister!"

Qingyu had just finished buying new clothes for Shi'er and his sister. The first thing she saw was a humanoid creature covered in branches reaching an evil claw toward her beloved sister.

It sent her straight into a panic.

The dragon claw in her hand lashed out, and she even used her Soul Ring.

Qingfeng silently grumbled about her little sister.

What a brute.

Fortunately, her Soul Ring had popped out when she was startled just now. She immediately used a time reversal to send Qingyu back to where she had been.

"Sis?"

Qingyu was a little confused. Why did Sister attack me? Could it be... Sister's been corrupted? Then do I have to finish her off?

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Qingfeng's face darkened. What nonsense was this girl thinking about now?

"That's Yunxiao."

"Yunxiao?! How did you end up like this?"

Qingyu hurried over to Yunxiao and even reached out to tug at the branches growing from him.

"Fourth Sister, easy. These branches are extensions of my flesh and blood too. That hurts."

With that, he reached out and snapped off some of the branches that had grown too long, without the slightest change in his expression.

Qingfeng and Qingyu both froze. Good grief, he just snapped them right off?

He'd said they were his own flesh and blood, then snapped them off himself. What kind of ruthless person was he?

They had wondered why, as Big Brother's true and nominal "Third Brother," his Martial Soul was so utterly ordinary. So this was where he stood out.

"Like this... do you need to go back to Tianshu?"

Yunxiao casually tossed the broken branches into his mouth and chewed them a couple of times.

"No need. I'm used to it."

There wasn't even the slightest fluctuation in his voice.

"Yaoshi's blessings have always had two sides. This little girl couldn't have borne it."

"Thud, thud."

Shi'er and his sister knelt down once again.

The brief conversation had made everything clear: their lord had borne the price Noelle should have paid all by himself.

"Young Lord, we siblings can never repay your kindness. We can only follow you with our lives."

They knocked their heads heavily against the ground.

Yunxiao didn't move aside. After they finished making their pledge, he told them to get up.

"I know how you feel. There's no need for this from now on. I don't bother with formalities here. If I need you to do something, I'll naturally tell you. So focus on improving your strength. As for your Martial Soul, wait until next month, when my side effects have eased, and I'll improve it for you."

Shi'er opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing.

He understood that with his talent, he couldn't help Yunxiao at all. Yunxiao had given him a chance to improve, and he would remember it in his heart. Having received such kindness, he ought to repay it in full.

"Third Sister, Fourth Sister, let's go eat. I'm a little hungry."

Qingyu tilted her head slightly.

"Yunxiao, you're growing leaves already. Can't you just use photosynthesis?"

Qingfeng kicked Qingyu in the shin, only to nearly break her own foot.

"Sigh~ If only I could use photosynthesis. This stuff feeds entirely on my nutrients. Once it's eaten and drunk its fill, it'll fall off on its own.

"If it really could sustain itself, I'd have to call the Cloud Knights and turn myself in."

Watching Yunxiao walk along while arranging the branches growing out of him, they found it oddly funny for some reason.

They also understood that Yunxiao really did need to replenish his nutrients now.

"Speaking of which, Sis, don't you think Little Brother Yunxiao looks a little... pretty?"

Qingfeng fell silent. Could she say she hadn't noticed? Did this side effect change his sex too?

It was probably just her imagination.

The thought of her little brother being prettier than she was sent a chill through her.

Yunxiao didn't let Qingfeng and the others follow him. In his words, although his branches had some side effects, they had also temporarily given him a Xianzhou physique.

In the end, the two women could only let Yunxiao go by himself.

Not counting the two little tagalongs behind him, of course.

Just as Yunxiao approached the academy gates,

he saw a boy and a girl lying in the bushes.

"Tsk, tsk. Is Nuoding Academy really that open-minded?"

Weren't those Tang San and Xiao Wu? He hadn't seen Xiao Wu these past two days and had thought he'd changed something. As it turned out, they'd simply missed each other by chance.

Shi'er instinctively wanted to cover his little sister's face, but then he thought about it. It seemed... he couldn't beat her anymore.

He was a level-eighteen Soul Grandmaster, yet his little sister, who hadn't even obtained a Soul Ring, had beaten him up. Could you believe it?

"Well, well, isn't this the Grandmaster's disciple? Is picking up girls all your teacher taught you?"

Hearing the voice, little Tang San hurriedly got up. When he saw the sneer on Yunxiao's face, his own expression darkened at once.

Damn it, I was so focused that I didn't even notice him coming.

"Yunxiao, take a look at yourself. Do you even look human anymore?"

He glanced at the leaves on Yunxiao's head and became even more convinced of Yu Xiaogang's theory.

As he saw it, Yunxiao had ended up like this because he had used Twin Martial Souls.

Yunxiao merely gave Xiao Wu a teasing glance.

That alone made Xiao Wu shiver. For some reason, she kept feeling as though he could see right through her. Surely... that can't be. He's only a One-Ring Soul Master.

That single glance made Xiao Wu feel like shrinking back.

"In that case, let's see just how strong the Grandmaster's disciple is."

Yunxiao raised a hand slightly.

Noelle charged out from behind him. She had disliked this guy for a long time already, being out late at night with a girl...

Tang San hadn't expected her to be so decisive. He hurriedly used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to open the distance. Blue Silver Grass appeared in his hand, and he immediately launched Mother's Entanglement.

Noelle was still at a disadvantage from having only just awakened her Martial Soul, and she was caught at once.

Tang San was just about to mock her when he saw Noelle bite into his Blue Silver Grass and tear it apart with ease.

His eyelid twitched as he watched her completely disregard his Blue Silver Grass and force her way through.

Wait... is she even human?

Doesn't she still have no Soul Ring?

Indeed, Noelle didn't have a Soul Ring yet, and she knew she had no advantage against a Soul Master who had undergone systematic training.

But she was clever, and she knew her own strengths.

When her Martial Soul was still a pig, eating had been what she did best—or rather, her teeth had been her sharpest asset. Now that it had become a Taotie, her devouring ability and physical attributes had grown even stronger.

So she simply installed without regard for the risks, fixed her eyes on Tang San, and charged.

Blue Silver Grass Entanglement? What's that? I thought it was a speed bump.