Dragon City

"Xiao Xue, tell me, which one looks better: me now, or me when I'm grown up?"

This was a small grove with the scenery of the Northern Plains, located near Dragon City. Xiao Xiao stood barefoot in the cold stream, dancing about.

Beside her, Xue Yuheng was catching Northern Plains Cod; the two planned to have grilled fish for dinner.

Twelve days had passed since Xiao Xiao survived the Three-Colored Lightning Tribulation.

The matter of the lightning tribulation had exceeded Xue Yuheng's expectations. Afterward, he had originally intended to give the Xuanming Sect some heavenly treasures as compensation.

Xu Xuanbei did not accept them. He planned to let Xu Jinrou study at Shrek and asked for Xue Yuheng's opinion.

The Xuanming Sect had never cultivated a Demi-God Level Martial Soul, and they were afraid that such a massive investment would go to waste. It was more appropriate to place her in the continent's number one Soul Master Academy for cultivation.

After all, Shrek was neutral, regardless of how one looked at it, and would not interfere in the internal affairs of the various sects.

The fact that Xu Jinrou was the Young Sect Master was already set in stone, and Xue Yuheng was happy to see it happen; naturally, he had no objections to her going to Shrek.

Ten days ago, before Xue Yuheng left the Xuanming Sect with the awakened Xiao Xiao, he had met with Xu Jinrou privately, with the conversation primarily focused on winning her over.

It was just that every time he saw the gentle, water-like gaze in Xu Jinrou's eyes, Xue Yuheng would always get goosebumps.

That old fellow Xu Xuanbei, even after Xu Jinrou's gender swap, had let his other "mediocre" niece go and curry favor with this future Limit Douluo.

He just wondered how Xu Xuanbei would view Xue Yuheng once he learned the truth.

Hmm, the future Shrek would be very lively indeed.

Plop—

Xue Yuheng successfully caught a plump and tempting Northern Plains Cod. After cleaning the internal organs, he placed it on the grill beside the stream and laughed:

"How should I put it? As long as it's Xiao Xiao, it's all good."

"Hmph, you say that every time.

Xiao Xue, you still prefer the grown-up version of me, don't you?" Xiao Xiao kicked the surface of the water, pouting.

Now, her Martial Soul had evolved from the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron into a great cauldron engraved with the runes of the Golden Crow and the Xuanwu.

Regrettably, because Xiao Xiao had used the power of the Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron prematurely, it resulted in a congenital deficiency, leaving a tiny crack on the body of the cauldron.

This also placed many restrictions on Xiao Xiao's Martial Soul. Although it was still much stronger than a Demi-God Level Martial Soul in its normal state, if she were to unleash the Martial Soul awakening skill previously named "Goddess Transformation" by the Eccentric Genius Xiao Xiao, it would likely cause an even larger fissure.

Before the body of the Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron was completely repaired by Xue Yuheng's Power of Creation, it was best to avoid using that power as much as possible, keeping it only as a final trump card.

Xue Yuheng's eyes narrowed slightly, "You... are jealous."

And she was jealous of herself, no less.

In a single sentence, earth-shattering, a thunderclap on a clear day!

"I... didn't..."

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and was about to hiss, or a tiger whose backside had been touched and was about to eat someone, Xiao Xiao, having had her hidden thoughts seen through and being unwilling to admit them, opened her mouth to quibble. She would absolutely not admit it.

"Xiao Xiao, you should know that in my Douling Royal Family, I am the only prince. The heavy responsibility of continuing the Xue Clan's bloodline rests on me, and it's making it hard for me to even breathe." Xue Yuheng said dejectedly while sprinkling seasoning.

Xiao Xiao endured the heartache, rose from the boulder by the stream, and comforted him: "Xiao Xue, I'm sorry..."

Seeing that his hints over the past month had finally taken effect, Xue Yuheng desperately suppressed the joy in his heart and sighed: "It is I who am sorry to you, Xiao Xiao. If it weren't for my status..."

"It's okay..." Xiao Xiao forced a smile. She suddenly remembered that her own father had several wives; it had always been like that on the continent. Furthermore, Xue Yuheng was the only prince; he couldn't let the Xue Clan bloodline end with his generation, could he?

"Actually, I have another way..." Xue Yuheng whispered in her ear.

A single short sentence made Xiao Xiao's face flush red. She touched her rumbling stomach and said softly: "Xiao Xue, I'm hungry..."

Dragon City could be considered a large city, located in the northeastern part of the Heaven Dou Empire. The temperature was relatively low, and continuing north from Dragon City led to the Far North.

Amidst the ice and snow, two figures stood in a long queue. Xue Yuheng and Xiao Xiao had already changed into warm cotton robes.

Xiao Xiao's Two Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron possessed the attribute of Xuanwu water, making it frost-resistant.

Xue Yuheng, however, was not frost-resistant. This godforsaken freezing weather was not like the eternal spring of the Xuanming Sect; if he didn't dress warmly, he would need to use his Power of Creation to ward off the bitter cold.

Even if he had over 1,400 points of Power of Creation, he wouldn't be so extravagant.

Wherever there were people, there was gossip.

With half an hour still left before the city gates opened, the few people in front of Xue Yuheng and Xiao Xiao gathered in a group, chatting about everything under the sun.

"Did you hear about how the Heavenly Dragon Gate Sect Master recently proposed marriage to the Earth Dragon Gate Sect Master, only to be flatly rejected by Sect Master Nan? Talking about 'eternal union,' but I see it as just wanting to annex the Earth Dragon Gate."

"That's not quite how it is. The girl from Sect Master Nan's family is indeed a beauty, so it's understandable that Yu Tianlong took a fancy to her. It's just that the Heavenly Dragon Gate and Earth Dragon Gate have been split for thousands of years; without any major accidents, it's almost impossible for them to merge."

"Speaking of Sect Master Nan... tsk tsk..."

Xiao Xiao rolled her eyes and muttered "scoundrel," but she noticed Xue Yuheng was deep in thought.

Xiao Xue wouldn't also be...

Xue Yuheng noticed the little girl's strange gaze and said speechlessly, "What are you thinking about? Am I that kind of person?"

Xiao Xiao stuck out her tongue; in her opinion, he very well might be.

In the month or so since they left Lingdou City, Xiao Xue had learned some bad habits. She didn't know who he had learned them from—could it be that Xu Sanshi, who looked like such a scumbag?

Xue Yuheng felt it was necessary to salvage his image in Xiao Xiao's heart, so he explained, "I was wondering, should we go to the Heavenly Dragon Gate first this time, or the Earth Dragon Gate?"

The former, as survivors of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan from ten thousand years ago, surely possessed dragon-type treasures.

As for the latter, Xue Yuheng thought of the Myriad Year Mysterious Ice Cave from the original story. In his plans, this place was the high-quality "salary" he would use to trick the Two Emperors of Ice and Snow into working for him.

Xue Yuheng was determined to obtain both of these.

"Let's go to the Earth Dragon Gate first," Xiao Xiao said.

"Why?"

"To see if that Nan Qiuqiu is as good-looking as this young lady," Xiao Xiao said with a grin.

At seven in the morning, the four main gates of Dragon City opened right on time.

Xue Yuheng bought a tourist map at the city gate and led Xiao Xiao toward the Earth Dragon Gate.

Along the way, Xue Yuheng discovered that this great city of Dragon City actually had an incredible presence.

Homeless, ragged beggars.

Wasn't this something exclusive to the Heaven Spirit Empire?

Xiao Xiao's little saintly heart overflowed; she dragged Xue Yuheng to a relevant Dragon City institution to donate one thousand Gold Soul Coins, receiving a certificate of philanthropy in return.

After fussing about until noon, the two ate some noodles featuring local Dragon City specialties and finally arrived at the entrance of the Earth Dragon Gate.

Good grief, this place had also become a famous check-in spot in the Heaven Dou Empire's tourist city of Dragon City.

Xue Yuheng didn't want to take Xiao Xiao into the crushing crowds, so the two went to a relatively secluded corner.

"Rou, go and have a nice chat with Sect Master Nan," Xue Yuheng said indifferently.

Yue and Ying were the most trusted of Xue Yuheng's confidants. Yue had been sent to the White Tiger Duke Mansion and had yet to rendezvous with them; he had likely spent some time in seclusion to reach the Title Douluo realm. As for Ying, his Black Shadow Domain allowed team members to hide within Xue Yuheng's shadow, so he rarely took action unless necessary.

"Yes."

Not far away, a dashing man was also avoiding the massive crowds and had arrived in this quiet alley.

Xue Yuheng felt something and asked with a smile, "Handsome, who are you?"

The man was also a bit surprised. In Dragon City, there was actually someone who didn't recognize him. He immediately realized that the golden boy and jade girl before him were from out of town, and said modestly:

"Heavenly Dragon Gate, Yu Tianlong."