Sister?

Mu Xuanheng's hand stopped in midair. He'd noticed a few small problems and wanted to ask Gu Yuena about them.

But Gu Yuena's next words stopped him dead.

Mu Xuanheng was full of confusion. "You have a younger sister?" There was something else he didn't dare ask: what exactly had your sister seen?

Gu Yuena leaned close to his face, her eyes seeming to see right through his disguise. "Why do you think I don't have a younger sister?"

Was this an attack, or a targeted attack?

They'd spent all this time inseparable, and they'd clashed with each other several times, always managing to get through it with a bit of finesse.

His heart pounded. He desperately needed a reasonable explanation.

"Because you never mentioned her before. And there's no one else among the new students as beautiful as you." He meant it. Gu Yuena really was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen.

Snow Empress, in his mind, gave a cold snort, making her displeasure known.

"My younger sister isn't old enough to attend school yet. When we're done with everything this time, I'll take you home to meet her. How does that sound?"

An even stronger attack. Who could her family possibly be? Weren't they just those few Ferocious Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest?

Thinking of that, he realized who this so-called younger sister was.

It could only be the Emperor Rui Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

In the Star Dou Great Forest, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion sneezed and shook her head. "The master said I can take human form now. I'm going to the human world to have fun."

When Mu Xuanheng didn't answer, a hint of hurt crept into her voice. "You don't want to meet my family?"

Mu Xuanheng's mind went into overdrive. His Spiritual Sea turned white as snow, and Snow Empress began radiating cold for no apparent reason.

Snow Empress affected an air of indifference. "You're so young, yet you move quickly and decisively. You've got a young girl humbly begging you to meet her family, and you still haven't agreed? Hurry up and say yes!"

That only made Mu Xuanheng feel worse. Snow Empress genuinely didn't know Gu Yuena's identity, yet here she was getting angry.

And he didn't want to face several Ferocious Beasts alone. A wise man didn't court danger.

But Chaofeng was Chaofeng. Faced with such obvious peril, it was actually excited.

"Sure. But we might have to wait until we get back."

"Get back?"

"The Soul Fighting Tournament. We'll probably be reserves."

Mu Xuanheng thought it over. With him there, nothing too bad should happen.

One little Soul King couldn't make much of a difference.

It couldn't be worse than in the original story, could it?

"There's no rush. We still have plenty of time." She'd waited for so many years; she could wait a little longer.

"There isn't much time left."

"What did you say?" Gu Yuena looked at Mu Xuanheng in confusion. Clearly, they weren't talking about the same thing.

"Look, the Battle Armor you designed for me is fine, but why is the one you designed for yourself geared toward close combat? If you change it again, we'll just waste more time."

Mu Xuanheng thought he'd spotted a major problem and wanted to make some changes.

"Did I ever say that the Seven-Colored Dragon was my only Martial Soul?"

"Hm?" Mu Xuanheng was stunned by her second surprise. Why would the Silver Dragon King need a Second Martial Soul?

"It's very similar to my younger sister's Martial Soul. She has the Golden Dragon Spear, and I have the Silver Dragon Spear."

As she spoke, Gu Yuena summoned her Silver Dragon Spear.

"But my Silver Dragon Spear Martial Soul can't have Soul Rings. It shares Soul Rings with my Seven-Colored Dragon."

Mu Xuanheng blurted out, "A Companion Martial Soul?"

The mood turned strange again.

He gave a light cough. "I have one too, though it's not much use. It's just a sheet of paper."

He tried to casually move past the topic.

Gu Yuena openly showed him her Silver Dragon Spear.

Mu Xuanheng had no choice but to show Gu Yuena his Contract.

There was no special design on it, and Gu Yuena could see the word "Contract" on it too.

"I've never seen a Martial Soul like this."

"Martial Souls come in all shapes and forms, so naturally they're different. There's no need to dwell on it."

Even if she wanted to dwell on it, she couldn't get anything more out of him.

With a Second Martial Soul, Gu Yuena clearly wasn't a simple control-type Soul Master. She was a control-and-power-attack type.

So there was nothing wrong with the design. "My design is fine. Just follow the blueprint."

"I took a look. We're still short a few materials. I'm planning to go to the Treasure Appraisal Fair tonight to buy some things. Do you want to come?"

"Ask me another way."

"I want you to come with me."

"I'll come with you."

Together they strolled forward, as light as a breeze beneath the moon.

After looking around downstairs, Gu Yuena asked, "Didn't you say we were here to buy materials? Why are you looking over at the medicinal herbs?"

"We're not full-time Soul Engineers. Our real goal is to improve our combat strength. There's nothing wrong with looking at these medicinal herbs, too."

Mu Xuanheng pointed at a dark lump of Whale Rubber. "Look at this piece. It's a real bargain just waiting to be snapped up."

"There's no need to hunt for bargains. They have better ones upstairs." Her status was special, and she was quite wealthy.

Besides, they did have a credit limit they could use.

"Heh. Since I invited you, how could I let you pay?" Mu Xuanheng waved a card in his hand. It was his biggest source of confidence in coming to the Treasure Appraisal Fair.

At the distant Shrek Auction House, the person in charge found Xuan Zi. "Elder Xuan, here are the things you've bought recently."

Mithril, a carving knife, and premium seasoning.

Xuan Zi's eyes widened. "You've got the wrong person, haven't you? Why would I buy these things?"

"They were bought with your card."

Xuan Zi felt around his clothes, then looked at the items. He understood everything at once. "You little brat. You really used my money to pay for all this."

As a senior, Xuan Zi was quite wealthy.

Mu Xuanheng took people shopping, while Xuan Zi handled the payment from afar.

The two wandered around the Treasure Appraisal Fair, marveling at the wealth of Shrek's collection.

They ran into Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who were wandering around as well.

"Senior brother, senior sister? You're here at the Treasure Appraisal Fair too?"

"We're buying some materials to make Soul Tools. We're getting ready to advance to Level 4 Soul Engineer."

Wang Dong snorted. He instinctively resisted Soul Tools.

Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, really liked Soul Tools.

Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena both treated Soul Tools as mere tools.

"A thousand-year-old Pine Fir Lingzhi, a Sheng Sheng Fruit, and Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue. That should improve your physical constitution quite a bit."

Dietary therapy was still one of his ways of improving his strength.

Gu Yuena didn't object. "Once your body's in better shape, you'll be able to forge better too."

He'd still have to refine them after they got back.

On the way back, they casually killed a Soul Emperor.

"Where'd this stray dog come from? Did you pick the wrong person to ambush?"

The black-clad men Dai Huabin had sent to kill Huo Yuhao had gotten carried away and decided to take care of Mu Xuanheng on the side.

But the Ice Crystal Lotus pinned one of them down, and a single swipe of a claw killed him.

This proved that trying to go beyond the call of duty and do too much could get you killed.

Someone else was left to deal with the aftermath.

Huo Yuhao left the Treasure Appraisal Fair completely satisfied. This time, only a few Soul Kings had tried to ambush him.

Yet he still had to fight for his life to escape. This time, he didn't have the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.

Without powerful Soul Bones and Soul Rings, he had far fewer ways to fight.

Once again, he was rescued by Ma Xiaotao, and escaped without harm.

Mu Xuanheng saw the Fire Phoenix. "Tsk. At least not much has changed."

"Want to see if you can use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with that phoenix?"

"I'm closer to you. Maybe we're the ones who can use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill."