Late at night.
Hu Liena squirmed under the covers, secretly getting up to something big.
It wasn't until the sky began to lighten that she finally crawled out from under the covers, rubbing her slightly sore cheeks.
She assumed no one knew what she had done, but she had no idea Ye Xuan had been awake the whole time.
"Splash, splash..."
The soft sound of running water came from the bathroom. Hu Liena was washing the sweat from her body, because she had picked up too much of Ye Xuan's scent.
Before long, a soft, fragrant body was in his arms.
Almost instinctively, Ye Xuan hugged Hu Liena from behind after she had washed up.
Feeling him move, Hu Liena's cheeks burned with embarrassment.
I never thought my little junior brother would hug me on his own while he was asleep. Looks like I must be number one in his heart.
Hu Liena secretly rejoiced, feeling that her initiative and efforts had paid off.
But she didn't know that Ye Xuan was thinking, Senior Sister tries so hard. How could I possibly not like her...
Twelve years had passed since he transmigrated to Douluo Continent. Before he awakened his Martial Soul, he had been nothing but a little boy, displaced and fleeing famine all alone.
It wasn't until he was six, with the help of an awakening master at Spirit Hall, that he awakened his Pokeball Martial Soul and escaped the life of a displaced refugee.
He had discovered that although Pope Bibi Dong was extremely extreme in her way of doing things, she was also highly tolerant of those around her.
Of course, she showed no mercy at all to anyone who might be an enemy.
For instance, when he first met Bibi Dong, she had immediately tried to kill Xiao Wu and seize her Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
As for his senior sister, Hu Liena... the original story had never said that her Martial Soul had any flaws.
But perhaps that was precisely why, after passing through Slaughter City, she had fallen hopelessly in love with Tang San, who had saved her life several times.
But now that he was here, he had not only taken Xiao Wu away and cured Tang San of his Lolita complex, but had also helped him get rid of his wife-beating, child-abusing father.
Ye Xuan was sure that when Tang San learned the truth, he would prostrate himself on the ground and kneel to thank him for such an immense kindness.
The night passed without a word.
Most of the fire inside Ye Xuan had been drawn away. Holding Hu Liena, whose figure was like a devil's, he slept especially soundly.
By the time Ning Rongrong woke from her sleep, it was already broad daylight.
She rubbed her bleary eyes and sat up, almost instinctively looking beside her.
But the moment she looked, she saw Ye Xuan and Hu Liena sleeping peacefully in each other's arms.
"Ah!! Y-you two, what are you doing?!"
Ning Rongrong never imagined that in the time it took her to sleep, the man she had set her sights on would end up holding another woman.
No.
Absolutely not!
Hearing Ning Rongrong's voice, Ye Xuan and Hu Liena opened their eyes at the same time.
Their gazes happened to meet just then.
"Mmm... Junior Brother, you're so handsome and cute. What should I do? I want to gobble you right up!"
Perhaps because Hu Liena had done "that sort of thing" to Ye Xuan last night, the thin membrane between them had now been pierced in her eyes.
To her, she and Ye Xuan were no longer merely senior and junior disciples.
Hu Liena's cheeks were rosy, and she was full of energy. Nestled in an embrace as warm as a stove, she smiled confidently.
"Mmm... Senior Sister, you really are something. Rongrong's still here..."
In Ye Xuan's heart, after seeing what Hu Liena had been willing to do for him, he knew their senior-and-junior bond had completely changed.
He thought back to how, six years ago, his good senior sister had treated him like a little kid who knew nothing at all. And now, six years later, she had climbed into bed with her little junior brother.
Without hesitation, Ye Xuan kissed Hu Liena on the lips.
Hu Liena hadn't expected her wooden little junior brother to take the initiative and kiss her.
But after the kiss, he let go of Hu Liena and sat up, facing the sunlight as he stretched.
Seeing that Ye Xuan had not only held Hu Liena all night but had also kissed her when he woke, Ning Rongrong felt absolutely miserable.
"Y-Ye Xuan!"
Hearing Ning Rongrong call him, Ye Xuan instinctively lowered his eyes to look at her.
He saw her gripping her little waist, sticking out her newly developed chest, and putting on an arrogant expression.
"Rongrong, you called me?"
Ye Xuan yawned, looking a little drowsy.
"Yeah! You kissed her, so now I want you to hold me and kiss me too."
Hearing Ning Rongrong's brazen demand, Ye Xuan merely reached out and patted her little head. Then, under her bewildered gaze, he flicked her on the forehead.
"Thump!"
Just the right amount of force: enough to leave her stunned, but not enough to hurt her brain.
"Ah! My head... You big meanie! I'm going to fight you!"
After enjoying a round of Ning Rongrong's "Meow Meow Fist," the three of them finally got dressed and prepared to follow the team gathering outside to the Holy King Ruins.
When the three of them stepped outside, Ye Xuan truly got to enjoy being the center of attention.
A closer look would have revealed a small, reddish kiss mark on the left side of Ye Xuan's neck.
The young prodigies who noticed the detail looked at him with envy, jealousy, and resentment.
And with his radiant complexion, it was obvious he had done a lot of "eating" last night.
Seeing their sour faces, Ye Xuan shamelessly put an arm around each of the waists of Hu Liena and Ning Rongrong and strode away with them.
Only after he had left did they dare to complain about all the things they disliked about him.
"Fuck! That bastard's definitely showing off!"
"So what if he's a Holy Son of Spirit Hall? What's there to be so cocky about!"
Ye Xuan knew they would talk about him behind his back, but as long as they didn't say it to his face, he couldn't be bothered to deal with such irrelevant nobodies.
They had barely made it to the hall when they spotted Yue Guan and Gui Mei, who had been waiting there for some time.
The two of them were sitting in an inconspicuous corner, holding hands with unmistakable intimacy, and Gui Mei was looking at Yue Guan in a very unusual way.
Ye Xuan and Hu Liena had long since grown used to seeing this, but it was Ning Rongrong's first time witnessing something like it.
"Y-you two...?!"
Her sudden appearance interrupted the Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo, who had been lost in their sweet moment. Ye Xuan saw what was happening and promptly pulled her behind him.
"Elder Yue Guan, Elder Gui Mei, the team heading to the Holy King Ruins is already gathering."
About two hundred people were heading to the Holy King Ruins, and more than twenty of them were members of the imperial family with the Evil Eye White Tiger Martial Soul.
The one at their head was naturally the eldest prince of the Star Luo Empire, Dai Weisi.
"The Holy King Ruins haven't given us any information this time. Once we enter, our priority is to secure our own safety while obtaining resources from inside the ruins."
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