Punishing Dugu Yan

At dusk, as the sun sank in the west, Dugu Yan arrived at Yu Tianjiao's room dressed in emerald green.

The girl never stood on ceremony with Yu Tianjiao.

As soon as she entered, she plopped down on his bed without a care in the world.

If Yu Tianjiao hadn't always refused to give her a proper answer—and if he hadn't been too young to do certain things three years ago—

she would have claimed the achievement of taking his first kill long ago.

But it wasn't too late now.

Yu Tianjiao had no idea that this little tyrant was always plotting how to topple him and pin him down. He simply smiled and moved closer, sitting beside her.

"Won't you tell me about it? I heard you knocked Teacher Qin back with one punch this afternoon. You're even fiercer in a fight than before."

When Yu Tianjiao sat down beside her, Dugu Yan suddenly felt a little flustered and hurried to ask.

After all, she was still an unmarried young woman. As dusk deepened, being alone in a room with a man was bound to make her nervous.

Yu Tianjiao wasn't nervous.

After all, his curvaceous cousin Liu Erlong had often dragged him off to bathe and soak in hot springs since he was little. He'd seen even more stimulating sights than this. Being alone with a girl was nothing.

Besides, Yu Tianjiao had always been pretty thick-skinned.

"It's nothing much. You know that even though my Soul Power Level kept falling back then, my physical strength didn't decline along with it. In fact, after training continuously for these past three years, it's improved a little.

"On top of that, I got a five-thousand-year First Soul Ring. My body's even stronger than it was back then. At the very least, I can still go a few rounds with you head-on."

Yu Tianjiao said with a beaming smile.

"Oh? Really?"

A flicker of excitement crossed Dugu Yan's eyes.

She wasn't some obedient little girl, nor had she ever wanted to be one.

But she wasn't a Demon Pill like Ning Rongrong, either. She was a rebellious Little Demoness!

Otherwise, she wouldn't have kept losing to Yu Tianjiao back then, only to get back up and challenge him again.

Now Yu Tianjiao's strength was beginning to recover, but he was still no longer as valiant as he'd once been. This was the perfect chance to beat him!

And since he'd deliberately said that he could still hold his own against her, he'd only stoked the girl's competitive spirit.

The spark of excitement in her eyes instantly became a flame of anticipation.

"Hmph, quit bragging! If you're so confident, then let's see what you've got!"

Without another word, she sprang up from the bed. Her Martial Soul possessed her in an instant, her legs turning into a long serpent's tail. Her emerald sleeves traced an arc through the dim light as she reached for Yu Tianjiao's shoulder.

Yu Tianjiao had seen it coming. Grinning, he shifted aside with ease, dodged her grab, and reached back to seize her wrist.

The two began trading blows in the cramped room, fists and feet crossing as gusts of wind swept through the air.

Dugu Yan's attacks were swift and fierce, like a venomous snake darting from its hole, each strike aimed at a vital point.

But Yu Tianjiao's Martial Soul was the Ancient Void Dragon. Facing the beautiful snake before him, he relied on the diligent training he'd never neglected, even through three years of declining cultivation, and blocked and dodged her attacks with ease.

At the same time, his astonishing physical strength burst forth. Every counter was steady and powerful, forcing Dugu Yan to dodge carefully.

They fought from the head of the bed to its foot, from the bedside to the table, then from the table to the doorway.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Muffled impacts rang through the room as their breathing grew heavier.

Yu Tianjiao's punches tore Dugu Yan's hem, while her fingertips grazed his neck, leaving a faint red mark.

The longer they fought, the more alarmed Dugu Yan became.

She realized that without using a Soul Skill, she couldn't gain the slightest advantage!

But right behind that realization came excitement.

Wonderful!

Absolutely wonderful!

Recently, she, Ye Lingling, Yu Tianheng, and some other students had formed the Imperial Fighting Team. Over the past year, they'd had no opponents left in the Soul Fighting Arenas of the Heaven Dou Empire, so Teacher Qin planned to take them elsewhere to continue Soul Fighting.

Now that Yu Tianjiao was still as strong as ever, he could come with them and compete in Soul Fighting!

She'd been feeling a little down about leaving Heaven Dou Royal Academy just after Yu Tianjiao had returned. But now that she knew he was strong enough, didn't that mean the two of them might fight side by side in the days ahead?

Dugu Yan was overjoyed at the thought. But her mind wandered, and she failed to notice the table behind her.

"Bang!"

The girl's pert backside slammed into the table with a muffled thump.

The teaware flew off under the force and crashed to the floor, shattering with a crisp clatter that snapped Dugu Yan back to her senses.

What came into view was a fist rapidly growing larger.

"Ah!"

With nowhere to dodge, Dugu Yan could only let out a short cry before closing her eyes.

But the pain she expected never came. The wind from the punch blew her hair backward, revealing her smooth forehead.

"Flick!"

A crisp knuckle-rap sounded.

"Ow! What was that for?"

Dugu Yan winced, cried out in pain, and covered her forehead as she looked at Yu Tianjiao.

"Hmph. It was a spar, but you just gave up resisting like that. I'm disappointed!"

Yu Tianjiao snorted, though his words were more teasing than stern.

"Damn you! Do you want me to poison you to death?"

At that, Dugu Yan bristled with anger and moved right up to Yu Tianjiao, her presence intimidating.

"You also broke my new teaware. My sister gave it to me."

Yu Tianjiao said it with a straight face.

In truth, it was just a set of teaware commonly used by nobles. It wasn't hard to buy, just a little expensive.

And Liu Erlong hadn't given it to him, either. Given her temperament, she'd never give someone something so refined.

Besides, he'd bought the set just to trick Dugu Yan today. Even if she hadn't broken it herself, Yu Tianjiao would have helped her along and made sure she did.

"So what? I'll pay you back with a new set!"

Dugu Yan knew that Yu Tianjiao and his sister really were close. The teaware wasn't expensive, but it meant a lot to him, so it looked like she'd have to pay through the nose.

But Yu Tianjiao shook his head.

"That's not enough. I'm going to punish you too!"

Dugu Yan furrowed her brows.

"What are you planning?"

"Hm?" Yu Tianjiao paused. "You're okay with it?"

Dugu Yan understood at once, and her face flushed scarlet.

"Get lost!"

She turned to leave, but Yu Tianjiao pulled her into his arms and held her tight.

"If you dare run away, I'll tonight—"

Yu Tianjiao whispered the threat in her ear.

"Bastard! You just want me to pay you back, don't you?"

Dugu Yan was annoyed now, too. She was the granddaughter of Poison Douluo—how could she put up with this?

The next moment, she grabbed Yu Tianjiao by the neck. With a light flick of her serpent tail, she sprang up, wrapped it around his waist, and pressed her red lips straight to his.