As for anything else, Su Yun hadn't discovered it yet.
But this was already enough.
Just his freakish reflexes and dynamic vision alone had made his strength surge by a huge amount.
His Kenbunshoku Haki, which he hadn't been able to get the hang of before, had now reached the beginner level and was even progressing toward something greater.
It was no exaggeration to say that the current Su Yun could take on ten versions of his former self.
Finally, setting aside his physical improvements, after deducting the Friendship Points spent on the Spirit Ring and pills, he still had 15,199 left.
He could call that a huge profit.
Thinking of how Tang San had just gone wild, pouring out Friendship Points, Su Yun wished they could do it two more times.
But he knew that wouldn't work. It would affect the daily threshold.
Even so, Su Yun couldn't help thinking: if Yun's persona died before Tang San someday, how many Friendship Points would he give?
That really was...
Something to look forward to!
And so, lost in his wild thoughts, Su Yun ended up keeping watch beside Tang San for the entire night.
The next morning.
Tang San woke from a deep sleep, feeling lighter than ever.
He instinctively tried to stretch, but as his brain booted up, a flood of information poured into his mind.
The Terror Aggregate, the battle, his injuries, Yun taking the Crystal Strike head-on to save him.
The last image in his memories was Su Yun smiling brightly at him.
"Yun!!!!!"
Tang San cried out urgently as he opened his eyes.
But the person before him was Su Yun. She was right beside him, her robe slashed in several places, her usually lush, waterfall-like hair now a tangled mess. A few strands streaked with dark-red blood clung to her paper-pale cheek.
Dust and dried blood stained her face. He couldn't tell whether the blood belonged to the Terror Aggregate or to her...
Su Yun's eyes were bloodshot. Even her exhausted expression couldn't hide the worry in her gaze.
"Little San Gege, are you all right?"
Seeing Su Yun's worried expression, Tang San's heart ached so much he could hardly breathe.
[Friendship Points from Tang San +564]
[Friendship Points from Tang San +745]
[Friendship Points from Tang San +846]
"I'm fine."
Tang San answered instinctively, then belatedly realized that his body really was fine.
How was this possible?
Before he lost consciousness, he clearly remembered how badly he'd been injured. He'd been at the end of his rope; unless a god had descended from the heavens, there was no way he could have survived.
But now, not only had he healed, he'd returned to his peak condition.
Before he could ask anything else, Su Yun spoke, brimming with joy.
"That's wonderful!
The pills really worked."
Pills?
At the word, Tang San's expression turned grave.
He instinctively looked around. The ground was riddled with craters, a clear testament to the ferocity of Su Yun's battle with the Terror Aggregate.
The Terror Aggregate was gone. Either it had been driven off, or it was dead.
Just then, he spotted the delicate porcelain bottle Su Yun had tossed onto the ground.
An image naturally formed in his mind.
After pushing him out of the way, Su Yun had taken the Crystal Strike head-on and been left gravely injured. In the end, she'd gone all out, paying a terrible price to defeat the Terror Aggregate.
But she hadn't had time to treat her injuries. Dragging her barely living body, she'd made her way to him.
Seeing him on the verge of death, Su Yun had resolutely given him the last pill her parents had left behind, then dragged her exhausted body through the night, standing guard over him until dawn.
Tang San believed that was the truth.
The evidence was Su Yun's exhausted expression and battered appearance.
The pill bottle carelessly tossed on the ground, and his own body, now recovering from its injuries.
Such precious pills—no matter how mysterious Su Yun's origins were, she couldn't possibly have many.
Yet she'd still resolutely chosen to give him one.
Tang San remembered clearly just how bad his condition had been.
His nose stung, and little pearls spilled from his eyes once more.
"Yun, thank you."
[Friendship Points from Tang San +555]
[Friendship Points from Tang San +565]
[Friendship Points from Tang San +585]
Though Su Yun was practically bursting with delight inside, his face wore an expression of remorse.
"You don't need to thank me.
If I hadn't acted on impulse and insisted on getting that Spirit Ring, Little San Gege, you wouldn't have been hurt."
Tang San shook his head, his expression earnest.
"Yun, it's not your fault. It's mine.
I wasn't strong enough! I couldn't help you."
Looking at Su Yun in her battered state, Tang San's expression grew unbearably pained.
He had sworn he would never let Yun get hurt, but he'd broken that promise again and again.
Yun had only wanted a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. It wasn't like she'd asked for the stars.
For the first time, Tang San felt an urgent hunger for strength.
He didn't want to keep facing powerful enemies helplessly, only to have Su Yun rescue him in the end.
[Friendship Points from Tang San +268]
[Friendship Points from Tang San +315]
[Friendship Points from Tang San +394]
Seeing the Friendship Points rise by another wave, a little Su Yun inside his mind howled with laughter.
"Wahaha!
They're going up again! My Friendship Points have passed 20,000!
Just as I thought!
Every bit of effort pays off!"
He hadn't even cleaned himself up. He'd just sat there, staring blankly as he kept watch over Tang San all night. Wasn't this exactly the situation he'd been waiting for?
After being miserable for a little while, Tang San finally asked what had happened afterward.
But what Su Yun told him was more or less the same as the version Tang San had embellished in his imagination.
Of course, Su Yun was vague about some of the details, leaving Tang San to fill them in himself. In a situation like this, what he imagined on his own would be the most perfect version.
So, after finishing the story, Su Yun reaped another wave of Friendship Points.
[Friendship Points from Tang San +111.]
[Friendship Points from Tang San +121.]
[Friendship Points from Tang San +123.]
Perhaps because he was getting carried away, Su Yun barely reacted when he saw this wave of Friendship Points.
No! He couldn't be like that!
Even after getting rich overnight, he couldn't look down on his daily wages. He had to keep a level head.
Then, with Su Yun successfully obtaining his First Soul Ring, their trip to the Soul Beast Forest came to a successful end.
They had been near the forest's outskirts to begin with, so they left without much trouble.
After returning to town, they didn't hurry to the Frozen Forest to obtain a Spirit Ring. They rented two rooms, and Su Yun washed up and rested for a day before setting out for the Frozen Forest.
Inside the carriage, Su Yun looked at Tang San, who was still reading, and couldn't help asking,
"Well? Have you decided what Spirit Beast you want to hunt?"
Tang San closed the Douluo Continent Soul Beast Collection and nodded slightly.
"Mm, I have a target."
Tang San closed the book, his eyes shining.
"First, the choice for my Beast Martial Soul.
My first target is the Ice Python.
First, it has an ice attribute and contains ice poison.
Second, the Ice Python has a trace of dragon bloodline. Once it reaches a certain age, it can even evolve into an Ice Flood Dragon.
Ice attribute, poison, and an innate evolutionary bloodline—it fits my plans for my Martial Soul perfectly."
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