Destruction and Redemption! The Dragon Roar of the Great Soul Arena, the First Bloom of the Nine Heart Begonia [1]

Ever since that "friendly sparring match" that shook the entire school, half a month had passed in the blink of an eye.

Heaven Dou Junior Spirit Master Academy had returned to its usual tranquility, but everyone knew that the corner of Elite Class in the first year had become a "forbidden zone" for the whole school.

Sitting there was Yu Tianyu, known as the Demon King, along with the two school beauties he had claimed like personal bodyguards—Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling.

"Hah... mmm..."

From the corner of the back row of the classroom came a suppressed, light moan.

Dugu Yan's face was flushed, a fine layer of fragrant sweat seeping from her forehead as she lay limply on the desk. A warm, large hand was pressed against her back, possessing a strange magic that continuously drew the toxins causing her pain out of her body.

"Alright, today's 'breakfast' is finished."

Yu Tianyu withdrew his hand and clenched his palm; a wisp of purple-black poison, visible to the naked eye, was absorbed into his body, transforming into pure magic power to nourish his limbs and bones.

He casually handed her a handkerchief, his tone teasing: "I say, Yan, it's only been half a month, why are you getting more sensitive? You used to be able to talk back to me while I was absorbing your poison, but now you're like a limp shrimp."

Dugu Yan took the handkerchief to wipe her sweat and shot him an annoyed glare, but there was no killing intent in her eyes—instead, they were filled with a hint of charm.

"It's your fault! You've been absorbing it so aggressively lately... that feeling is just strange."

She muttered under her breath, feeling an unprecedented lightness in her body. Ever since Yu Tianyu began helping her "detoxify" regularly, her cultivation speed had improved by leaps and bounds. Not only was her spirit power more solid, but her skin had also become supple and translucent, and she radiated an astonishing, alluring beauty.

"That's for your own good. If the toxins accumulate for too long and aren't cleaned out thoroughly, how will you be able to handle my..."

Yu Tianyu stopped halfway through his sentence, pausing deliberately and looking at Ye Lingling beside him with a wicked grin, "...my special training?"

Ye Lingling, who had been quietly reading, paused the fingers she was using to turn the page.

Over the past half month, although she hadn't had the same "intimate physical contact" with Yu Tianyu as Dugu Yan, a strange tacit understanding had formed within the trio. She had grown accustomed to Yu Tianyu's glib tongue and his care, which seemed overbearing but was actually quite delicate.

"Yu Tianyu, your spirit power fluctuations have been very strong lately."

Ye Lingling closed her book, her cold, clear eyes reflecting the boy's figure. "Are you about to break through to level fifteen?"

"Just about." Yu Tianyu stretched his back. "Eating well and living well (referring to the poison and fire), it's hard not to level up. What about you, Beauty Ye? You seem to have something on your mind lately?"

Ye Lingling was silent for a moment.

She did indeed have something on her mind. Her family had been urging her to cultivate, and the curse of the Nine Heart Begonia was like a Sword of Damocles hanging over her head; as she grew older, the pressure only intensified.

"It's nothing." She shook her head and reopened her book. "I just feel that the academy's courses are a bit boring."

"Boring?"

Yu Tianyu's eyes lit up. "Perfect, I also think the theories these teachers spout are all nonsense. Since it's boring, how about I take you somewhere exciting tonight?"

Dugu Yan immediately pricked up her ears in alert: "Where? I want to go too!"

"Not this time." Yu Tianyu shook his head. "Tonight is the special training time your grandfather arranged for you. Old Poison sent a message yesterday specifically warning me not to delay your important business, or he'd come to fight me to the death."

Dugu Yan instantly deflated, lying on the table in grievance: "Stinky grandpa... ruining my fun."

Yu Tianyu turned to look at Ye Lingling and issued the invitation: "How about it? Do you dare to come with me? We aren't going to the woods; we're going to a place where blood is shed."

Ye Lingling looked into his eyes, which were burning with flames, and nodded as if possessed.

"Okay."

After school, Yu Tianyu didn't leave with Ye Lingling immediately because he realized that his most clingy little follower—Pang Hu—hadn't shown his face all day.

"Where did that fat guy run off to?"

Yu Tianyu frowned. Although Pang Hu was a weakling, he was the first lackey he had taken in at the academy, and one must consider the master before beating the dog.

Just as he was thinking this, the dormitory door was kicked open.

"Brother Yu..."

A figure covered in bruises and mud walked in with a mournful face.

It was Pang Hu.

His already chubby face was swollen like a pig's head, his left eye socket was bruised black, blood hung from the corner of his mouth, and his school uniform was torn in several places.

"What happened?"

The smile on Yu Tianyu's face vanished instantly, replaced by a suffocating low pressure.

He walked over, supported Pang Hu, and a faint green light lit up at his fingertips (a weak healing ability converted from absorbing Dugu Yan's toxins).

"Who hit you?"

When Pang Hu heard this, he wailed even more aggrievedly: "Wuwuwu... Brother Yu, I've disgraced you! I thought I'd go to the Great Soul Arena to earn some money and buy you a decent gift... but... but I ran into a group of thugs!"

"The Great Soul Arena?" Yu Tianyu raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah... I went to participate in a Gambling Match and ran into people from the Wild Wolf Team. The leader was clearly a level twenty Soul Grand Master, but he suppressed his spirit power to pretend to be a level ten-something to bully newcomers. I refused to accept it and argued with them, and they ended up ganging up on me off the stage..."

Pang Hu sobbed, "They also said... said that everyone in our first-year Elite Class is trash, and said that you... that you're just a gigolo who relies on women to get ahead."

"Crack."

The wooden back of the chair in Yu Tianyu's hand was snapped into pieces.

The temperature in the air rose sharply, then instantly plummeted to freezing.

Ye Lingling, standing to the side, felt a chill run through her entire body.

"A kept man?"

Yu Tianyu laughed in sheer anger, helping Pang Hu wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Good, very good. It seems I've been too low-key at the academy; any stray cat or dog now thinks they can climb onto my head and defecate."

He turned to look at Ye Lingling.

"I originally only intended to take you out to see the sights. But it seems the program for today needs to be upgraded."

"Lingling, do you dare to form a team with me and turn that so-called Great Spirit Fighting Arena upside down?"

Watching his back, which was filled with a fierce, baleful aura, Ye Lingling felt not fear, but an unprecedented sense of security.

Is this what it feels like to be protected by the strong?

"Nine Heart Begonia, ready to bloom for you at any time," she said softly, her tone firm.

As night fell, Heaven Dou City did not slumber; instead, it welcomed its most prosperous hour.

Heaven Dou Great Spirit Fighting Arena.

This massive structure resembled a giant beast crouching in the darkness, brightly lit and roaring with the noise of the crowd. This was a proving ground for Spirit Masters, a paradise for gamblers, and the most naked display of the law of the jungle.

Yu Tianyu, accompanied by the veiled Ye Lingling and a nervous-looking Pang Hu, walked into the registration hall.

"Brother Yu, that bunch is in the two-on-two spirit fighting zone; they specialize in bullying newcomers there," Pang Hu whispered a reminder.

"Got it."

Yu Tianyu walked straight to the registration desk.

The staff member behind the counter lazily looked up. "Registration? Names, Martial Souls, and levels."

"Yu Tianyu, Martial Soul Dragon Slayer Magic, level 15 Power Attack Spirit Master."

"Ye Lingling, Martial Soul Nine Heart Begonia, level 14 Support Spirit Master."

The staff member paused, his eyes changing noticeably when he heard the words "Nine Heart Begonia," but upon seeing their youthful faces, he shook his head again.

"Two-on-two? Come up with a team name."