Li Chang'an Feels Ashamed

After his eyes returned to their original color, the world before him also reverted to its original appearance. The threads that had covered the world vanished.

Li Chang'an waved his hand and dispersed the Water Mirror. Now was not the time to study these eyes—the girl on the shore was what mattered! With a thought, the spring water around him immediately rippled, then propelled his body swiftly toward the shore.

"Chang'an Gege..." Dugu Yan watched her lover rapidly approach. Only after the joy of their reunion had passed did she realize that he was not wearing any clothes. She hurriedly took out a set of men's clothing from her Storage Soul Guidance Device and handed it to him.

After all, there were no outsiders here, but exposing one's body in broad daylight still felt rather embarrassing. As for why Dugu Yan had men's clothing, given that the two of them had long since been completely open with each other and were only one final step away, it was perfectly reasonable for her to prepare some clothes for him.

After reaching the shore.

Li Chang'an exerted himself and leaped from the water. The spring water clinging to his body automatically fell away and flowed back into the lake. Barefoot on the ground, he accepted the clothes and quickly put them on. Only then did he look at Dugu Yan, whose face had grown far more haggard, and silently open his arms.

The girl immediately threw herself into his embrace like a moth into flame, clutching his body tightly and greedily breathing in his familiar scent.

"Yanzi, I'm back."

Though he had countless words in his heart, in the end, Li Chang'an only said this one sentence.

"..."

Dugu Yan said nothing. She merely held him even tighter.

Watching this joyous scene from the side, Dugu Bo finally let out a deep breath of relief. He did not disturb the young couple, instead quietly moving away and leaving the space to them.

As he held Dugu Yan, Li Chang'an's feelings were exceptionally complicated. He had noticed the Lovesick Heartbreak Red in Dugu Yan's hand long ago and understood what kind of sincere feelings were required to pluck that flower.

To be honest, alongside his gratitude, what little conscience he had left also felt a tiny bit ashamed.

He naturally liked Dugu Yan. Although he had initially pursued her for the sake of the Immortal Herbs, as they gradually spent time together, Li Chang'an was not made of stone. He had naturally come to like the girl more and more.

But his feelings for her had absolutely not reached the level required to pluck the Lovesick Heartbreak Red. He was far from being willing to disregard everything and sacrifice his life for her.

Thus, upon seeing Dugu Yan pluck this Immortal Herb of love, Li Chang'an felt both ashamed and moved. He only felt that if he ever wronged this girl in the future, he truly deserved to be struck down by heaven!

At the same time, he secretly made up his mind to treat her twice as well from now on. He would absolutely not let her end up as she had in the Original Work—after her only support, her grandfather, died, she was ruthlessly abandoned by Yu Tianheng, whom she had deeply trusted. In the end, her Martial Soul poison erupted, and she died alone in misery.

"Yanzi's Martial Soul is still ultimately too weak."

"Even after consuming the Immortal Herb, her Martial Soul is still only an Azure Serpent. It has not even reached the level of an Azure Serpent Emperor. At most, her aptitude for cultivation has reached the level of Innate Full Soul Power."

"Looks like I'll have to find a way to improve her aptitude. Ideally, I should completely elevate her Martial Soul, even beyond the Azure Serpent Emperor. At the very least, it needs a bloodline with the potential of a Level One God, like Di Tian..." Holding Dugu Yan, Li Chang'an resolved to thoroughly improve her Martial Soul aptitude.

"In this world, aside from Immortal Herbs, the only way to improve a Martial Soul is to start with soul beasts... If she can absorb suitable Soul Rings and Soul Bones, Yanzi's Martial Soul will definitely evolve!"

"But the Azure Serpent is already among the highest-ranked snakes. There are no snake soul beasts with a bloodline more advanced than the Azure Serpent Emperor!"

"If she takes the path of a snake becoming a dragon, her bloodline will be suppressed by the higher-ranking dragon clan. She might as well go all the way down one path! If taken to the extreme, a snake would not necessarily be inferior to a dragon."

"But the question is, where am I supposed to find a snake soul beast capable of elevating her Martial Soul? Should I use my own? But how could I give her my bloodline? Besides, I'm not even a soul beast—I don't have things like Soul Rings or Soul Bones... Wait!"

"In the Original Work, wasn't there a Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent in the City of Slaughter, one said to be an ancient exotic species?"

"That creature's bloodline is anything but ordinary. It isn't even native to Douluo Continent! In the Original Work, Dugu Bo was utterly suppressed by the Inner Core it left behind! There's no doubt that its bloodline rank is above that of the Azure Serpent Emperor. It would not be inferior to a True Dragon bloodline!"

"In the Original Work, even that fire chicken Ma Hongjun could evolve his Martial Soul after swallowing its Inner Core, despite being a different species. Yanzi is a snake of the same kind."

"Yanzi's Martial Soul might even gain greater benefits!"

"It seems I'll have to make a trip to the City of Slaughter someday."

"Whether to study the formation of Inner Cores or for the value of that creature's Inner Core itself, the trip will be worthwhile!"

"It's just that Soul Skills cannot be used inside the City of Slaughter, and there's also the risk of the Asura God setting his sights on me and playing dirty... I'll need to plan this carefully."

For a time, Li Chang'an thought of many things. He even planned out his future.

After completely awakening the "Nine Infants" bloodline.

Li Chang'an's Soul Power Level did not soar to the heavens because of his bloodline. It had merely reached level forty.

It was not like the bloodlines in certain worlds, where awakening them directly caused one's strength to skyrocket. Nor did he have any inherited cultivation technique to practice. For now, the Nine Infants Bloodline seemed only to have altered his aptitude and physique, while granting him certain special abilities.

On the side of Li Chang'an's main body, he was still following the path of a Soul Master.

And unlike his snake clone, his main body still needed to obtain a Soul Ring in order to break through to the next level. Otherwise, he could not advance.

He found it rather puzzling.

Why was there no longer any restriction on breakthroughs for his Soul Beast Clone, while his human main body still had to obediently follow the rules of Soul Masters and absorb Soul Rings to advance?

The two were clearly the same. If there was any difference, it was probably that his main body possessed a Martial Soul and had absorbed Soul Rings... Could it be related to that?

Could it be that his main body was still within the framework of a Soul Master, and was therefore bound by Soul Rings?

Then how could he break free from this framework?

Would it be better if he stopped being a Soul Master?

Thinking of this, Li Chang'an shook his head and dismissed the idea.

Was being a Soul Master something one could simply choose not to be?

From the moment he possessed a Martial Soul and absorbed Soul Rings, he had already been bound within the framework of a Soul Master. To break that framework, he would need the power of another system—such as battle qi, immortal cultivation, magic, and so on—to switch to. Otherwise, even if he shattered his Soul Rings and Martial Soul, he would still be a Soul Master! He still would not be able to escape that framework.

Therefore, without another, better power system, continuing to be a Soul Master seemed more promising to him. In any case, he still had his beast clone as a backup. So many powerful bloodlines also lay dormant within him.

As long as he continued working hard and cultivating, he definitely would not be like the people of this world in the future, forced to walk the narrow path of a Soul Master to the bitter end.

His future was bright!