Awakening

Ye Guchen turned the Shark Tooth Sword in his hand. The fierce force of the vertical sword and the cunning of the horizontal sword converged in his heart.

Black-and-white mist churned as two streams of sword qi circled and intertwined along the blade, gradually forming a hazy Taiji diagram.

The vertical and horizontal strokes seemed to join into a sword net, capable of sealing off an area.

"So that's how it is..."

Understanding dawned on him.

The vertical and horizontal were originally one, hardness and softness complementing each other, the unexpected and the conventional giving rise to each other. This was the true Zongheng Sword Technique.

Now that the vertical and horizontal strokes had begun to merge, Ye Guchen was like a frog that had just leaped out of a well, seeing the vastness of the sword path for the first time.

At the same time, the Sea of Consciousness in his Dou I body had begun to unlock, and the spiritual body damaged by the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings was gradually being repaired by that strange bead.

Ye Guchen's consciousness slowly returned to his body, but he could still sense that world filled with black-and-white sword qi. It was as if, with another breakthrough in his swordsmanship, he would return there.

As soon as Ye Guchen's consciousness entered the Sea of Consciousness, he saw the two Dragon Souls floating there. Since they were so enormous, he was too shocked to notice that a new connection had formed between the two Dragon Souls and his Bead Martial Soul.

Ye Guchen immediately grew wary and demanded:

"Who are you!"

But the two Dragon Souls seemed not to have heard him. They remained motionless.

The Dragon Souls were simply too huge. Floating above the Sea of Consciousness, Ye Guchen looked like a fly beside them.

Though he wasn't afraid of dying, the oppressive feeling was still there.

Ye Guchen suppressed his faint fear of the colossal creatures and approached the Dragon Souls.

He gathered his spiritual power and amplified his voice.

"Hey! Speak!"

Only then did the Dragon Souls stiffly look down at the tiny human before them.

"Master?"

Faced with their sudden form of address, Ye Guchen was utterly baffled. "What's going on?"

"You're calling me Master?"

The two Dragon Souls nodded in unison, though they looked rather dazed and adorable.

Only when he remembered that strange bead did he begin to understand.

"These two Dragon Souls must have come to destroy my Sea of Consciousness, but somehow that strange bead subdued them."

"Judging by the way they're acting, their memories must have been erased."

On closer inspection, he discovered that a connection had formed between the two Dragon Souls and his Bead Martial Soul.

Somehow, he could feel that he had gained control over them.

Amazed by the strange bead's power, Ye Guchen looked at the two Dragon Souls before him, each as huge as a mountain, and couldn't help shaking his head.

"Back in my previous life, when I watched videos, people said the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was where the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings fell, and that remnants of their souls were still there. They were at least demigod-level!"

At the thought, Ye Guchen couldn't help feeling overjoyed.

"Does this count as a blessing in disguise?"

Ye Guchen looked at the two Dragon Souls and asked:

"Can you make yourselves smaller?"

The two Dragon Souls nodded together.

"We can, Master."

The two Dragon Souls promptly shrank at a visible speed until they were only palm-sized.

Ye Guchen watched the two Dragon Souls flap their wings before him, hovering with blank expressions.

Not knowing what use they'd be yet, he followed the principle of naming pets as soon as you got them and promptly gave the two dragons names.

"All right. From now on, you'll be called Xiao Lan and Xiao Huo!"

He had originally wanted to name them Xiao Bing and Xiao Huo, but Xiao Bing was already the name of the Ice Jade Scorpion.

"Thank you for naming us, Master!"

The two Dragon Souls were still dazed, but once they heard they had names, they happily spun around.

Ye Guchen hovered above the Sea of Consciousness as the two palm-sized Dragon Souls flapped their wings and circled him in a daze.

"Xiao Lan, Xiao Huo," he called.

The Ice Dragon King Soul stopped and tilted its head toward him. A wisp of cold air escaped its mouth, condensing into an ice flower that drifted slowly toward Ye Guchen.

The Fire Dragon King Soul refused to be outdone. It opened its mouth and spat out a thin stream of fire, tracing a crooked "Master" in the air. Then the flames burst apart into a shower of sparks, turning the Sea of Consciousness crimson.

Ye Guchen reached out and caught the ice flower. A faint chill touched his fingertips, but it wasn't biting.

He looked at the two Dragon Souls whose memories had been erased and began to consider their capabilities.

"How much of your former power can you still use?"

The two Dragon Souls nodded in unison. The Ice Dragon King Soul spoke, its voice like ice shards clinking together. "Only a fraction. We should have been able to wield demigod-level power, but for some reason, a powerful suppressive force still remains on our souls. Right now, our strength should be around that of a human at rank ninety-five."

The Fire Dragon King Soul vigorously bobbed its head beside it, spraying a string of sparks to show its agreement.

Ye Guchen smiled with satisfaction. Two Super Douluo-level fighters would be enough for now. He then put the two Dragon Souls into the Bead Space.

As he'd said before, keeping Soul Beasts in the Sea of Consciousness felt rather strange.

He waved at the two Dragon Souls.

"For now, you'll stay in there. When I need you, I'll call you out."

The two Dragon Souls nodded their tiny heads in unison, looking obedient.

Even after everything was done, Ye Guchen was still a little dazed. The sudden coma and the sudden appearance of two Super Douluo-level fighters—it had all happened so abruptly.

After sorting things out in his Sea of Consciousness, Ye Guchen returned to his body in the outside world.

"Phew... I was only unconscious for about half an hour. There shouldn't be any major problems, right?"

But the moment his consciousness returned to his body, he felt someone holding his hands tightly.

Puzzled, Ye Guchen slowly opened his eyes.

In his Dou I body, the first thing he saw was Zhu Zhuqing, fast asleep beside him, her hands clasped tightly around his.

He was in an unfamiliar room, too. Only then did Ye Guchen realize that he must have been unconscious for far more than half an hour.

Judging by Zhu Zhuqing's exhausted appearance, she must have watched over him for at least three or four days.

Ye Guchen looked at the young woman before him, his eyes full of tenderness. He didn't rush to wake her, instead quietly watching her and letting her get some proper rest.

In his Dou II body, Ma Xiaotao was clinging tightly to his left arm, while Ye Guyi held his right hand. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Ling Luochеn and Jiang Nannan sitting by the window, along with a pile of flowers and fruit platters on the table.

Here, perhaps because they had taken turns keeping watch, all four people in the room were awake.

The moment Ye Guchen opened his eyes, Ye Guyi noticed.

"Xiao Chen, you're finally awake..."

Her voice was already breaking with tears.

As soon as she spoke, Ling Luochеn and Jiang Nannan hurried over from the window.

Ma Xiaotao was even more excited. She pulled Ye Guchen straight into her arms.

Looking at the four of them, their faces full of worry, Ye Guchen felt warmth spread through his heart. He wrapped his arms around Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao and held them tightly.

When Ye Guyi felt Ye Guchen's strong, steady heartbeat, she could hold back no longer. Tears spilled down her face.

"You scared me to death... You're the only family I have..."

Ye Guchen helped his older sister Ye Guyi sit up, wiped away her tears, and smiled.

"Big Sis, when did you get back?"

Ye Guyi wiped her tears and managed to force a smile.

"I came back six days ago. The academy told me you'd fallen unconscious. You scared me to death..."

She paused, her voice trembling again. "I thought... I thought you..."

"You thought I wouldn't wake up?" Ye Guchen smoothly picked up her words, his tone light. "Big Sis, don't worry. I'm tough as nails."

Ma Xiaotao looked at Ye Guchen with a guilty, evasive gaze. Even now, she still thought she'd used too much force.

Just then, Xiao Bai, sensing that her master had woken up, wriggled free of Jiang Nannan's arms and rushed into Ye Guchen's embrace.

Xiao Bai wagged her tail nonstop. She was a tiger, but she acted just like a dog.

"All right, all right."

Ye Guchen rubbed her head and calmed her down.

Seeing that Ye Guchen had woken up, Ling Luochеn and Jiang Nannan knew he must have a lot to talk about with Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao.

During the days Ye Guchen had been unconscious, the two of them had also learned about his relationship with Ma Xiaotao.

Now that he was awake, they could finally relax. They were just about to slip quietly out of the room.

"Big Sis Luochеn, Nannan."

The two stopped at the same time and turned around.

"Thank you for staying by my side while I was unconscious."

His gratitude came straight from the heart. At times like this, he knew all the more clearly who was closest to him.

Ling Luochеn looked at Ye Guchen with a complicated expression. Though she had said she would wish him and Ma Xiaotao well,

now that the two were truly together, her heart felt strangely empty.

After a brief chat, Ling Luochеn made an excuse to leave.

"I'll let everyone know you're awake. The academy's elders, as well as Dai Yueheng and the others, have all been worried about you these past few days."

As she spoke, she was already at the door. She opened it and went out.

"That's right. The little boy you brought back has been coming here to see you every day, too."

Ma Xiaotao chimed in.

"Your friends have been coming to visit you a lot these past few days."

Ye Guyi was full of relief, happy that her younger brother had made so many friends.

As she spoke, she pointed to the flowers and fruit platters piled on the table.

"They brought those for you."