"By the way, don't let that woman know about this!" Qian Renxue said, looking at Snake Lance as she emphasized her warning.
Snake Lance nodded, inwardly groaning.
If they really crossed paths, wouldn't he have to spill the beans? On one side was the Pope, and on the other, the Pope's daughter.
Neither of them was someone he could afford to offend.
After making sure Qian Renxue had no other requests, Snake Lance accepted her order and left.
Regardless of the relationship between mother and daughter, the fact that someone could perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Qian Renxue was a major matter.
Martial Soul Fusion Skills were both special and powerful on Douluo Continent.
The most famous pairing was the White Tiger Martial Soul and the Nether Civet Martial Soul.
The White Tiger Martial Soul was the ancestral Martial Soul of the Star Luo Imperial Family, while the Nether Civet Martial Soul was the ancestral Martial Soul of the Zhu Family of the Star Luo Empire.
The Imperial Family and the Zhu Family had intermarried for generations, all for the sake of the Martial Soul Fusion Skill produced by their two Martial Souls.
It was also the most stable Martial Soul Fusion Skill on Douluo Continent, appearing in nearly every generation.
For everyone else, finding a companion with whom they could perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill was like fishing for a needle in the ocean. In fact, there might not even be a needle to fish for.
The odds were infuriatingly low.
The reason so many people pursued Martial Soul Fusion Skills was simple: they brought an enormous boost to combat strength.
A Soul Elder and a Soul Grandmaster could use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill to crush a Soul Ancestor and even stand toe-to-toe with a Soul King for a short time.
The better the compatibility between their Martial Souls, the more outrageous the boost.
Furthermore, the more people involved in a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the greater its power.
When the compatibility between their Martial Souls was roughly equal, a three-person Martial Soul Fusion Skill was far more powerful than a two-person one.
Still, the most common Martial Soul Fusion Skills were performed by two people.
The two people performing a Martial Soul Fusion Skill had to be of one mind. Even if their Martial Souls were highly compatible, if either of their owners was firmly unwilling to perform the skill, the other could only stare helplessly.
On Douluo Continent, it was quite rare for someone to refuse to perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
If the people performing a Martial Soul Fusion Skill were of the same sex, they would basically become partners who shared life and death. If they were of opposite sexes, they would basically become husband and wife.
This was because the Martial Souls complemented each other, and that complementarity subtly influenced their owners.
Over time, their coordination grew ever more seamless, and the power of their Martial Soul Fusion Skill increased as well. That, in turn, deepened the influence between them.
Without anyone realizing it, their Martial Souls became matchmakers of the highest order, binding their owners tightly together.
Qian Renxue didn't think she would end up marrying Ling Yun, and she wasn't particularly interested in Martial Soul Fusion Skills.
For now, she was more interested in Ling Yun himself—or, to be precise, in his Martial Soul.
What kind of Martial Soul could make the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul react?
She was a genius with Innate Soul Power at rank 20.
"Ling Yun, is it you who's special, or your Martial Soul? And what will you choose...?"
Qian Renxue stood and walked to the window. Looking toward Dugu Manor, she was lost in a whirl of thoughts.
Dugu Manor.
Dugu Yan quickly grew close to Ling Yun and pulled him out onto the streets of Heaven Dou City.
She was especially excited.
She dragged Ling Yun into a full-blown shopping spree.
"Xiao Yun, this outfit really suits you. Go try it on."
"This one's nice too!"
"And this one..."
Ling Yun enjoyed the feeling. Dugu Yan really treated him like family, caring for him as if he were her younger brother.
Surely no one would dislike that.
Ling Yun tried on one outfit after another. Whenever Dugu Yan liked how one looked, she told the shop assistant to pack it up.
"Yanyan, that's enough, that's enough! There's no room left in the Soul Tool!"
"All right! We'll stop here for now!"
Dugu Yan still seemed reluctant to stop. Every time Ling Yun changed clothes, she felt as if she were playing dress-up with a doll.
When it was time to pay, Dugu Yan handed over her Gold Soul Card. In a flash, eight hundred Gold Soul Coins were gone.
Ling Yun's mouth twitched as he watched. He really wasn't used to money flowing away like water.
He'd spent too many years poor!
And he was used to saving!
But Dugu Yan spent money like it was a handful of Copper Soul Coins, flaunting her wealth without a care.
After paying, Dugu Yan said, "You're hungry, right? Come on, I'll take you to get something delicious."
She didn't give Ling Yun a chance to refuse, pulling him straight toward the food street.
Candied hawthorn, beef balls, layered cake... Dugu Yan kept walking and buying.
Her hands were full of meat skewers, and her mouth was stuffed with pastries.
Ling Yun wanted to talk some sense into her, but seeing how happy she was, he kept quiet and silently chewed the food in his hands.
Three quarters of an hour later, the two of them appeared inside the Great Soul Arena in Heaven Dou City.
The Great Soul Arena stood over a hundred meters tall and was enormous, with an oval shape and four entrances.
Outside each entrance stood a huge stone stele, covered in densely packed names.
They were all Soul Masters who had died in the Great Soul Arena.
The Great Soul Arena was a place where Soul Masters fought with their Martial Souls, and the best place for them to hone their combat skills.
Every day, huge crowds of people passed through its doors.
It was also a place where ordinary people could get a close-up look at Soul Masters. As long as they paid the admission fee, they could watch Soul Masters fight from the stands.
For ordinary people, it was a popular way to pass the time.
Buildings like the Great Soul Arena could only be found in cities on the scale of major cities, and the size of an arena often reflected the prosperity of the area.
After all, only people with spare money in their pockets would come to watch Soul Masters compete.
The more people who came, the better the local standard of living was likely to be.
A small city like Nuoding City didn't have a Great Soul Arena at all.
There were few Soul Masters, and ordinary people were too busy making a living to have much spare money to spend on entertainment.
Dugu Yan led Ling Yun through a series of winding corridors, and soon they arrived in a private room. Clearly, she hadn't come here on a whim.
"Yanzi, you're here!"
"Who's he?"
The speaker was a black-haired man dressed in a blue fitted outfit. He was fairly good-looking, though not handsome, and the way he looked at Dugu Yan showed clear affection.
When he saw Dugu Yan holding Ling Yun's hand, a distinct pang of jealousy rose in him. He looked at Ling Yun with obvious displeasure.
"No way! You're jealous of a little kid?"
"I'm warning you, treat Xiao Yun nicely, or you'll be sorry."
At her words, the black-haired man raised his hands in surrender, but he sneaked a glance at Ling Yun, his eyes full of discontent.
He was also curious about Ling Yun's identity. What could make the girl he loved defend him so fiercely?
There were three other people in the private room, two men and a woman.
The two men were twins, with short black hair and well-developed muscles. They looked like tough guys.
The woman stood quietly, her blue hair falling down her back like a waterfall. She wore black from head to toe, with a black veil over her face, and had a slender figure.
Just standing there, she gave off an air of loneliness.
She gave Ling Yun a curious look, then returned to her usual placid expression.
The twins, meanwhile, wore plainly curious expressions.
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