On the third day of their stay in Haagen-Dazs City, the group sat down to dinner that evening. Hu Liena openly said she wanted to cultivate with Xiao Chen again through Triple Martial Soul Fusion.
Hu Liena didn't know Xiao Chen was developing Soul Skills, so she thought he was meditating.
"Nana, are you going to be alone in a room with Xiao Chen to cultivate again?" Yan asked, practically dripping with jealousy.
"What, do you have a problem with that?" Hu Liena raised an eyebrow.
"No, no! I just wanted to ask if I could come along this time!" Yan grinned.
Seeing Hu Liena's progress in cultivation had filled him with envy.
"No!" Hu Liena refused at once. "You can't use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Xiao Chen, so what are you coming for?"
"Nana, I only want to quietly reflect from the sidelines. I definitely won't disturb the two of you," Yan hurriedly said. Then he nudged Xie Yue beside him.
Xie Yue immediately backed him up. "That's right, Nana. We'll just observe and reflect from the side. We won't get in the way."
"Brother... why are you joining in too?" Hu Liena shot Xie Yue a look.
Xie Yue scratched his head, looking a little awkward. He silently insisted to himself that he wasn't bothered by Xiao Chen being alone with Hu Liena; he only wanted to make the most of this opportunity to focus on his cultivation.
Just as Hu Liena was about to refuse them again, Xiao Chen spoke up. "Sure. Cultivating together will help improve our teamwork."
Though Yan and Xie Yue couldn't grasp the intricacies of Spirit Skill Development, reflecting on it at close range would still benefit their own cultivation.
Yan and Xie Yue's faces lit up. They exchanged a glance, their eyes gleaming with the sly smiles of men whose scheme had succeeded.
Hu Liena was helpless. Since Xiao Chen had agreed, she couldn't very well keep refusing. She could only warn them, "Meditating in that state takes an enormous toll on your mental strength. You two mustn't make a sound and disturb me and my junior brother while we cultivate!"
"Don't worry, we'll be quiet as mice!" Yan and Xie Yue promised, patting their chests.
After dinner, the four returned to their room and began meditating.
Developing Soul Skills through Triple Martial Soul Fusion really did make twice the progress with half the effort.
But it had its drawbacks, too.
The evolved Soul Skills placed great demands on Soul Power control and mental strength. In his normal state, Xiao Chen couldn't control them.
Of course, the benefits of evolving his Soul Skills far outweighed the drawbacks.
Although he couldn't fully use an evolved Soul Skill in the Force Condensation Realm, he could still slightly increase the power of the Brute Force Soul Skill without much trouble.
What's more, developing Soul Skills through Triple Martial Soul Fusion greatly improved his mental strength.
Xiao Chen and Hu Liena sat cross-legged facing each other. They released their Martial Souls and gently pressed their palms together. Before long, they entered the wondrous state of Triple Martial Soul Fusion.
This time, Xiao Chen was developing the first Soul Skill of his Arrow Martial Soul: Shadow Step Dash!
As soon as Xiao Chen entered the state, Hu Liena immediately focused her mind and once again found herself pursuing that incredibly wondrous feeling of insight.
Yan and Xie Yue began reflecting in earnest, too. Even Chrysanthemum Douluo, outside the room, couldn't help quietly releasing his mental strength to sense the wondrous aura emanating from Xiao Chen.
It wasn't until well past midnight that Xiao Chen finished developing Shadow Step Dash.
The first realm for speed-type Soul Skills was the Wind Chasing Realm. He couldn't test it inside the room, but he could feel that his body was much lighter while in that state.
Once the Soul Skill was developed, Hu Liena and the others returned to their rooms.
Xiao Chen fell asleep as soon as he lay down, and Hu Liena was nearly as exhausted. Using Triple Martial Soul Fusion without activating the Blurry Domain didn't take much out of them, but even so, the strain had added up over such a long stretch of time.
Yan and Xie Yue had experienced this state for the first time and hadn't gained much from it. Chrysanthemum Douluo, however, had benefited greatly.
He sensed that his Soul Power, stagnant for a long time, had finally begun to stir.
"I'll have to find time to build up some teamwork with Xiao Chen. If I could sense the flow of energy around him while using Martial Soul Fusion with him, I'd definitely enter that wondrous state, too!" Chrysanthemum Douluo thought to himself.
He couldn't help feeling that Xiao Chen was a lucky star. Whenever he was around Xiao Chen, he seemed to get an unexpected surprise sooner or later.
Xiao Chen slept until sunrise. After the group ate breakfast, they set off for the Silves Kingdom.
This time, as they crossed the border between the Silves Kingdom and the Hagen Dazs Kingdom, they ran into a gang of bandits.
Most of the bandits were Soul Ancestors, and only their leader was a Soul King.
Though there were dozens of them, to Xiao Chen and the others, they were nothing more than easy prey.
The four of them killed the bandits and took the opportunity to raid their hideout.
When they arrived in the main city of the Silves Kingdom to take part in Soul Fighting, many Soul Masters recognized their masks as soon as they entered the Soul Fighting Arena.
After displaying their formidable strength in Xilu City and Haagen-Dazs City, the four of them had already made quite a name for themselves.
Actually, it would be more accurate to say there were five of them, since Xiao Chen had two identities.
As before, "Mystic Spear" fought three matches a day, with one match each in the individual, doubles, and team events.
They stayed in the Silves Kingdom's main city for three days, and the four of them remained undefeated.
Mystic Spear, Xiao Chen's identity, had especially impressive results in individual Soul Fighting, with a winning streak that had reached thirty-eight.
The Silves Kingdom was not far from Sunset Forest. That evening, Chrysanthemum Douluo specially asked Xiao Chen why he wanted to visit the forest, since Spirit Hall had long known that Poison Douluo Dugu Bo was hiding there.
Back then, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo had joined forces to hunt down Dugu Bo and had nearly killed him. As a result, Dugu Bo was deeply hostile toward Spirit Hall.
With Ghost Douluo accompanying them this time, the two of them weren't afraid of Dugu Bo. But they were extremely wary of his poison.
After all, they were escorting Spirit Hall's future. Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo absolutely didn't want any of the four to come to harm.
Originally, Chrysanthemum Douluo had deliberately planned a route to Heaven Dou City that avoided Sunset Forest. But since Xiao Chen wanted to go, he couldn't very well object.
Now that the group was nearing Sunset Forest, Chrysanthemum Douluo finally asked Xiao Chen why he wanted to go there.
"Just passing by and thought I'd take a look," Xiao Chen replied. He couldn't exactly say he was going there to search for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
If Chrysanthemum Douluo learned that countless rare Immortal Herbs were hidden there, Xiao Chen had no doubt he would immediately summon the other Titled Douluos from Spirit Hall and raid Dugu Bo's home.
"In that case, I suggest we go around Sunset Forest. Poison Douluo Dugu Bo is hiding inside," Chrysanthemum Douluo explained. He then told Xiao Chen and the others about Spirit Hall's grudge against Dugu Bo.
Xiao Chen considered it. He really hadn't thought of that.
Dugu Bo already had no goodwill toward Spirit Hall. If he ran into Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, there was a ninety-nine percent chance they would fight.
Dugu Bo was reclusive and suspicious, and he had a stubborn streak, but he was kindhearted beneath it all and took promises seriously. Xiao Chen didn't want to make an enemy of him.
Even if they couldn't become friends, they should at least avoid becoming enemies.
Dugu Bo's greatest weakness was his granddaughter, Dugu Yan. His family had all suffered the backlash of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's poison. That was his deepest pain.
That was why, after Tang San helped him solve the problem, Dugu Bo became Tang San's friend despite their age difference.
Tang San hadn't held back, either. He'd stripped Dugu Bo's home bare, leaving not a single Immortal Grade Item behind.
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