Purple Rose

"This guy really loved putting on airs. He was beaten up like that, yet he still acted so tough. Even if we made it to Shrek Academy, we shouldn't have anything to do with him!" Xiao Wu said angrily.

Tang San smiled faintly. "Why? I think he seemed pretty decent. Even after being beaten like that, he accepted his loss gracefully and didn't bear us any hatred. And from what he meant before leaving, it seemed like he intended to look after us at the academy."

"Look after us? With Brother Chen and Sister Na'er here, would we need him to look after us?" Xiao Wu immediately retorted.

Tang San said nothing.

At that moment, Gu Chen walked toward the counter.

Manager Wang cautiously poked his head out from behind the counter. Seeing Gu Chen approach, he hurriedly put on a smile. "Your companions are truly impressive. Even Young Master Dai was willing to give up his room for you. Fortunately, that young lady wasn't hurt, or we wouldn't have been able to explain ourselves."

Tang San looked at the wrecked hall and gave a bitter smile. "Manager, how much will it cost to repair this place?"

Manager Wang hurriedly shook his head. "No, no, it has nothing to do with you. Young Master Dai said earlier that it would all be charged to his account. He is one of our distinguished guests, so he only needs to put it on his tab. I'm truly sorry for delaying the four of you earlier and nearly causing you harm. I've decided to waive three days of room fees for you. If you stay here for no more than three days, you won't have to pay anything."

As he spoke, he handed two golden keys to Gu Chen with a broad smile.

Gu Chen accepted the keys, somewhat surprised. Manager Wang certainly knew how to handle people.

Tang San was about to say something else when Gu Chen directly interrupted him. "All right, we'll accept."

With that, he led Tang San and the others farther inside.

"How about Xiao San and I take one room, while Na'er and Xiao Wu take the other?" Gu Chen said.

Tang San and Xiao Wu nodded in agreement, but Gu Yuena objected. "No, I want to share a room with you. Our martial souls complement each other. If we're too far apart, the effects of our cultivation will be reduced."

"Uh..." Seeing Gu Yuena take the initiative like this, Gu Chen rubbed his nose and said to Tang San, "All right. Then you and Xiao Wu will have to make do."

Tang San frowned. He knew that men and women should keep their distance, but out of consideration for Gu Chen, he did not object.

Xiao Wu naturally did not mind. After all, she had shared a bed with Tang San for so long at Nuoding Academy that she did not find it embarrassing at all.

Red Ocean was Tang San and the others' room. After handing the key to Tang San, Gu Chen took the remaining key and headed farther inside.

Not far away stood a deep-purple door decorated with Purple Rose flowers. A string of dark-purple crystal roses hung from it, and beside the amethyst roses was a small vertical line of purple lettering—Purple Rose.

Seeing those words, Gu Chen froze.

Gu Yuena blinked, took the key from Gu Chen's hand, and directly opened the door before walking inside.

Gu Chen came back to his senses and followed her.

The room was enormous. The living room alone covered more than fifty square meters. Every piece of furniture in the hall was silver, carved with exquisite patterns.

The deep-purple carpet was covered in freshly picked deep-purple roses. In the center of the hall, the Purple Rose flowers had even been piled into a large heart.

The heart covered nearly two square meters and must have required at least several thousand purple roses.

Gu Chen hesitantly said, "Na'er, if you don't like these roses, I can have the attendants remove them."

Hearing this, Gu Yuena looked at Gu Chen. Her eyes, like purple roses, were filled with curiosity. "Is there something wrong with these roses?"

"Blooming roses represent people's longing and reverence for love. Love isn't an illusory dream, but a rose that lets people feel happiness. Roses of every color carry different meanings and symbolize different kinds of love, while purple roses represent imprisoned love. This Rose Hotel is that kind of hotel..." Gu Chen explained.

Gu Yuena blinked her large eyes and let out a soft laugh, her gaze overflowing with tenderness. "Are there any girls who don't like flowers? It's beautiful here. I don't think there's any problem."

Although Gu Chen had seen Gu Yuena smile many times over the past five years, seeing her smile again now left him unable to stop himself from staring blankly.

Perhaps no one's smile could be more beautiful than hers. Gu Chen thought.

Gu Yuena entered the bedroom and sat on the bed to cultivate, while Gu Chen opened the system's Character Panel in the living room.

"Ding!"

System Character Panel:

Character: Gu Chen

Age: 12 (actual age: 209,000,006 years)

Strength: 500000 (a normal level 39 Soul Elder has 1000)

Spiritual Power: 5010 (a normal level 39 Soul Elder has 900)

Bloodline: Golden Dragon King bloodline 99%, Dragon God bloodline 1%

Level: Level 39 Soul Elder (3 layers of seals unlocked)

Soul Rings: Purple, Black, Black

Overall Evaluation: A big shot pretending to be weak, already beginning to reveal his edge.

System Backpack: 100860 Gold Soul Coins, Soul Power Boost Card ×2.

With three layers of seals unlocked, the boost to his strength alone had made him five hundred times stronger than Soul Masters of the same level.

Once he unlocked the fourth layer, his strength would likely double again.

Check Gu Yuena's attributes. Gu Chen thought silently.

"Ding!"

System Character Panel:

Character: Gu Yuena

Age: 12 (actual age: 209,000,006 years)

Strength: 20000 (a normal level 39 Soul Elder has 1000)

Spiritual Power: 30000 (a normal level 39 Soul Elder has 900)

Bloodline: Silver Dragon King bloodline 99%, Dragon God bloodline 1%

Level: Level 39 Soul Elder (3 layers of seals unlocked)

Soul Rings: Purple, Purple, Black

Overall Evaluation: Hidden beneath peerless beauty lies invincible strength.

Gu Chen smiled in satisfaction. At this rate, it would not be long before Gu Yuena and he could gain formidable strength through cultivation alone.

Combined with the innate bloodline power of the Golden Dragon King and Silver Dragon King, surpassing the Dragon God might only be a matter of time.

"Brother Chen?" Gu Yuena's voice came from inside the room.

"Hmm?" Gu Chen responded.

"Why don't you come in too? We can cultivate together," Gu Yuena said softly.

Gu Chen's face immediately broke into a smile as he walked into the room.

Inside, Gu Yuena sat upright on the purple bed. The bed was extremely wide, enough for three people to lie side by side.

Gu Chen carefully climbed onto the bed without making any inappropriate moves. A ball of golden light appeared in his palm.

A ball of seven-colored light also appeared in Gu Yuena's palm. The seven-colored light merged together and transformed into a silver ball of light.

Golden and silver Soul Power intertwined, complementing each other. Cultivating this way, Gu Chen's cultivation speed was twice as fast as usual.

This was also why Gu Chen and Gu Yuena had been able to reach level 39 Soul Elder within only five years without the aid of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

The night passed quietly...

Early the next morning, someone knocked on the door of Purple Rose. Gu Chen, who thought it was an attendant, was interrupted in the middle of cultivation. He opened the door irritably, only to find Xiao Wu and a helpless-looking Tang San standing outside.

"Brother Chen, come out and have some fun with us, okay? Aren't you and Sister Na'er bored staying in the room all the time?" Xiao Wu complained.

Bored? I'd be willing to cultivate with Gu Yuena even if we had to stay in seclusion for an entire year!

"Shopping?" As Gu Yuena's voice came from inside the room, Gu Chen knew that an unfortunate day was about to begin.

No girl could resist the temptation of shopping, not even Gu Yuena.