First Meeting with Yu Tianheng

"Right, do not let that woman know about this!" Qian Renxue looked at Snake Lance and emphasized.

Snake Lance nodded, though he was inwardly wailing.

If he truly ran into her, he would have to confess obediently anyway; on one side was the Pope, and on the other was the Pope's daughter.

Neither of them was someone he could afford to offend.

After confirming that Qian Renxue had no other requests, Snake Lance accepted the order and departed.

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 event.

Martial Soul Fusion Skills are unique and powerful on the Douluo Continent.

The most famous examples are the White Tiger Martial Soul and the Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul.

The White Tiger is the hereditary Martial Soul of the Star Luo Empire's royal family, while the Hell Spirit Cat is the hereditary Martial Soul of the Star Luo Empire's Zhu Family.

The royal family and the Zhu Family have intermarried for generations specifically for the Martial Soul Fusion Skill produced by their two souls.

This is also the most stable Martial Soul Fusion Skill on the Douluo Continent, appearing in almost every generation.

For others, trying to find a partner with whom they can perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill is like looking for a needle in a haystack—or worse, there is no needle to find at all.

The probability is outrageously low.

The reason so many people pursue Martial Soul Fusion Skills is simple: the boost they provide to combat power is immense.

A Soul Elder and a Soul Grand Master performing a Martial Soul Fusion Skill can easily crush a Soul Ancestor and, for a short time, go head-to-head with a Soul King.

The more compatible the Martial Souls, the more exaggerated the boost.

Furthermore, the more people involved in the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the greater the power.

Assuming the Martial Soul compatibility is similar, the power of a three-person Martial Soul Fusion Skill is far greater than that of a two-person one.

The most common, however, remains the Martial Soul Fusion Skill performed by two people.

Both parties performing a Martial Soul Fusion Skill must be in perfect harmony; even if the compatibility between their Martial Souls is high, if one party is firmly unwilling to perform the skill, the other can only stare helplessly.

On the Douluo Continent, such unwillingness is quite rare.

If those who perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill are of the same gender, they basically become partners who live and die together; if they are of opposite genders, they basically become husband and wife.

This is because of the complementarity between the Martial Souls, a complementarity that subtly influences the owners of the souls.

As time passes, their coordination becomes increasingly tacit, the power of the Martial Soul Fusion Skill increases, and the influence deepens further.

Unknowingly, the Martial Soul acts like the highest-ranking matchmaker, firmly binding its master.

Qian Renxue did not think she would become husband and wife with Ling Yun, and she was not particularly keen on the Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

Currently, she was more interested in Ling Yun as a person—or, to be precise, interested in Ling Yun's Martial Soul.

What kind of Martial Soul could trigger a reaction from the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul?

She was, after all, a genius with Innate Soul Power of level 20.

"Ling Yun, are you special as a person? Or is your Martial Soul special? And what choice will you make..."

Qian Renxue stood up, walked to the window, and looked toward the direction of Dugu Manor, her mind filled with countless thoughts.

Dugu Manor.

Dugu Yan quickly became familiar with Ling Yun, and she dragged him out onto the streets of Heaven Dou City.

She appeared exceptionally excited.

She pulled Ling Yun along and started a shopping spree.

"Xiao Yun, this outfit suits you very well, go try it on quickly."

"This one is also not bad!"

"And this one..."

Ling Yun enjoyed this feeling; Dugu Yan truly treated him like family, caring for him like a younger brother.

He believed no one would reject such a feeling.

Ling Yun tried on outfit after outfit, and as long as Dugu Yan thought it looked good, she would tell the clerk to pack it up.

"Sister Yan Yan, that's enough! My Soul Tool can't fit any more!"

"Fine! Let's leave it at that for now!"

Dugu Yan still felt unsatisfied; every time Ling Yun changed clothes, she felt like she was playing a dress-up game with a doll.

When checking out, Dugu Yan handed over her Gold Soul Card, and with a swoosh, eight hundred Gold Soul Coins were gone.

Watching this made the corner of Ling Yun's mouth twitch; he really wasn't used to this feeling of money flowing like water.

He had been poor for too long!

He was used to being frugal!

Yet Dugu Yan spent it as if it were just a few copper soul coins, fully displaying her wealth and arrogance.

After paying the bill, Dugu Yan said, "You must be hungry! Come on, Sister will take you to eat something delicious."

She didn't give Ling Yun any chance to refuse, pulling him along as she rushed toward the food street.

Candied haws, beef balls, layered cakes... Dugu Yan kept walking and kept buying.

With a pile of meat skewers in her hands and her mouth stuffed with pastries.

Ling Yun intended to offer a few words of advice, but seeing how happy she was, he chose to keep his mouth shut and silently chewed on the food in his hand.

Three quarters of an hour later, the two appeared inside the Great Soul Arena of Heaven Dou City.

The Great Soul Arena was over a hundred meters tall, massive, oval-shaped, and featured four entrances.

Outside each entrance stood a giant stone tablet covered in a dense list of names.

These were all the soul masters who had died within the Great Soul Arena.

The Great Soul Arena was a place for soul masters to clash with their martial souls and was the premier choice for honing practical combat skills.

Every day, a massive flow of people passed through here.

It was also a place where ordinary people could get up close to soul masters; here, as long as they paid the entrance fee, commoners could watch battles between soul masters from the spectator stands.

For ordinary people, this was a major form of entertainment.

Buildings like the Great Soul Arena only existed in cities at the level of a main capital, and the scale of the arena often reflected the local level of prosperity.

After all, only those with spare money in their pockets would come to watch soul fighting matches.

The more people who came, the better the local standard of living proved to be.

In a small city like Nuoding City, there was absolutely no trace of a Great Soul Arena.

The number of soul masters there was low, and the commoners were too busy struggling for a livelihood to have any spare money for leisure.

Dugu Yan pulled Ling Yun through several twists and turns, soon appearing in a private box; it was clear that her coming here was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

"Yanzi, you're here!"

"Who is he?"

The speaker was a black-haired man dressed in blue athletic gear. His appearance was above average—not exactly handsome—but his gaze toward Dugu Yan held obvious affection.

Seeing Ling Yun's hand being held by Dugu Yan, a clear sense of jealousy rose within him, and he looked at Ling Yun with evident displeasure.

"No way! You're actually jealous of a kid!"

"I'm warning you, treat Xiao Yun better, or you'll have me to answer to."

Upon hearing this, the black-haired man raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, though he snuck a glance at Ling Yun, his eyes filled with dissatisfaction.

He was also curious about Ling Yun's identity, wondering what could make his beloved defend him so fiercely.

There were three other people in the private box: two men and one woman.

The two men were twins with black crew cuts and muscular builds, looking every bit like tough guys.

There was also a woman standing quietly, her blue hair cascading down her back like a waterfall. She wore black clothing and a black veil over her face, her figure slender.

Just by standing there, she gave off a sense of solitude.

After curiously sizing up Ling Yun, she returned to her calm, unruffled state.

The twins, however, displayed clear curiosity.