Long Jinyu kept playing cute, pouting. "Senior~ You hit me without even asking what happened, and you hit me so hard... Hmph~!"
That look, that tone—he was the spitting image of a younger brother wheedling and throwing a tantrum.
Ma Xiaotao: "..."
She felt goosebumps rising all over. How could this brat change faces faster than flipping a book?! Playing cute again—who was he trying to charm to death?
Du Weilun: "..."
As he watched the scene before him, the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
When Ma Xiaotao had come to apologize earlier, she had been downright "well-behaved" in front of Long Jinyu. Now the roles had reversed, and Long Jinyu had instantly turned into a good little boy in front of Ma Xiaotao.
These two... even had a bit of "married couple resemblance"?
Du Weilun hurriedly smoothed things over, smiling at Ma Xiaotao. "Xiaotao, you've misunderstood Jinyu. This time, Jinyu was acting bravely to help others and promptly pointed out a lapse in our teaching management. He's not at fault—in fact, he deserves credit!"
How could Ma Xiaotao not know the truth? She was only using the incident as an excuse to put on a show. After all, Long Jinyu was under her "protection." He had caused such a commotion right after arriving, and if she, as his "guardian," didn't ask about it, wouldn't that make it seem as if her "household discipline" was lax?
Seeing that even Du Weilun had put it that way, she took the opportunity to back down. Unable to keep up her fierce expression, she burst out laughing and reached out to rub the spot she had just knocked on Long Jinyu's head. Her voice softened. "All right, all right. Stop pretending. I barely used any force. Be more careful next time, and don't be so impulsive."
"Hmph~"
Long Jinyu pushed his luck. Like a cat being stroked the right way, he voluntarily rubbed his head against her palm and let out a satisfied little hum.
At that moment, Yan Shaozhe, who had been hiding outside the door and watching the show for quite a while, finally walked in, barely holding back his laughter.
"Dean Yan!" Long Jinyu and Du Weilun hurriedly greeted him.
Yan Shaozhe waved a hand and looked at Long Jinyu, asking the most crucial question. "Jinyu, what was going on with those four Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings you had earlier?"
Long Jinyu had been prepared for this. A hint of smugness and mystery crossed his face as he casually made up an answer. "Dean Yan, those were fake. They're a special simulation ability of my Martial Soul."
He didn't dare tell the truth. He was afraid they'd drag him away for "dissection and research."
As he spoke, he willed the four blood-red Soul Rings to appear again. But they lasted only an instant before their colors began rapidly changing—first to deep black, then to pure white, and finally settling into the perfect ratio of purple, purple, black, and black.
The three of them stared, dumbfounded, at this miraculous transformation of Soul Ring colors.
"Simulated Soul Rings? And you can even imitate the aura and pressure of Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings?!" Yan Shaozhe exclaimed in wonder. The shock in his heart hadn't completely faded, but at least now he had a reasonable explanation.
Ma Xiaotao was even more astonished. She reached out with both hands, pinched Long Jinyu's cheeks, and gently pulled them apart. "Well, well! You little brat have been hiding your abilities deep! You've got such an amazing trick, and you never let a word slip!"
With his cheeks pinched, Long Jinyu spoke indistinctly, grinning foolishly. "Hehehe~ Senior, you never asked~"
Yan Shaozhe and Du Weilun exchanged a glance. They both saw relief and the delighted look of people who'd just witnessed a great pairing in each other's eyes.
Yan Shaozhe coughed lightly, suppressing his curiosity, and suggested, "Jinyu, Soul Rings alone aren't enough. Real combat is what matters. Come on, I'll take you to the Inner Court Soul Fighting Arena and find you a few opponents so we can properly test your true strength!"
Although Mu En had said there was no need to test him deliberately, Yan Shaozhe was simply too eager to see his precious junior brother's abilities with his own eyes. His curiosity was practically itching.
Du Weilun, meanwhile, tactfully went to handle the follow-up matters concerning Zhou Yi. Following Long Jinyu's suggestion, he arranged for the gentle and responsible Wang Yan to take over Class One temporarily.
Yan Shaozhe led Long Jinyu and Ma Xiaotao toward a Soul Fighting Arena reserved for the Inner Court.
As they flew, Long Jinyu was also calculating his own strength.
'Lan Xuanyu could fight Titled Douluo and even Limit Douluo when he was only level sixty-something. I'm in my forties. Surely taking on a Soul Douluo wouldn't be unreasonable?'
But reason quickly made him reject the idea.
'No, that's not how I should compare myself to him. Lan Xuanyu may be a cheat, but he's a "local." He grew up immersed in the Martial Soul environment, so he understands and uses Soul Power and Soul Skills far better than I do.'
He carefully analyzed his shortcomings. 'Lan Xuanyu has Xiao Bao, Battle Armor, Divine Dragon Armor, the Divine Dragon Spear, divine artifacts, and a bug-level skill like Nirvana Divine Thunder, which Tang Wulin personally taught him. What do I have? I can only throw basic attacks right now. I don't even know any Soul Skills! That stupid system won't teach me either—it says it's paid content!'
Thinking of the system made him speechless.
'Damn it, anyone who didn't know you were the Nine Luminaries Dragon God Codex System would think you were some rip-off beggar system! You're useless at everything but racking up points! You still haven't even told me what the Nine Dragon God Guards are!'
'Sigh... Douluo IV's plane is such a high level. Even Lan Xuanyu had a hard time leveling up. If it wasn't windy, it was raining; he nearly drained Sea God Lake dry, and later spent who knows how many days stationed on Dragon Star, devouring all kinds of heavenly treasures.'
'With this lousy plane of Douluo II, what am I supposed to rely on to level up? Even if I ate the whole Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, it'd probably barely fill a tooth. The Life Lake wouldn't be enough either... Sigh, looks like I'll really have to count on this unreliable system to level up in the future. I hope it'll be more useful later.'
While he was lost in thought, the three of them had already reached their destination.
Before they even entered, they heard a familiar, sharp cry and the violent clash of energy from inside.
"Golden Crow True Fire Ring!"
"Golden Crow True Fire Explosion!"
Long Jinyu froze, a black line appearing over his forehead. "..."
'Those Soul Skill names sound just like that formidable lady... What's she doing here? Shouldn't she be hanging out with Sister Ruoruo and the senior sisters?'
Immediately after, a deep, powerful male voice rang out:
"White Tiger Demon God Transformation!"
"White Tiger Destruction Kill!"
The Evil Eye White Tiger? Long Jinyu grew interested. When he was little, he'd loved Dai Mubai in the Douluo I manga. He'd thought the Evil Eye White Tiger was ridiculously cool.
In the manga's setting, it was even nominally the greatest Beast Martial Soul under heaven, surpassing the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon! Especially the original character, the "Evil Eye Holy King"! He'd been completely enthralled by it back then.
The only White Tiger Soul Master currently in the Inner Court should be Dai Yueheng.
Thinking of Dai Yueheng, Long Jinyu couldn't help feeling a little sorry for him.
He was clearly the eldest son, yet because he couldn't perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, he'd lost the chance to marry into the Zhu Family. He fought desperately to prove himself, but never received the White Tiger Duke's genuine regard.
In the end, the Dai Family regained control of the Star Luo Empire, but the throne instead fell to his younger brother, Dai Luoli.
The three of them landed and entered the Soul Fighting Arena. In the middle of the arena, Wu Ming was surrounded by blazing golden flames, while Dai Yueheng had transformed into the "White Tiger War God," his presence imposing. Clearly, they were engaged in a fierce sparring match.
Yan Shaozhe glanced at Long Jinyu and Ma Xiaotao beside him, his eyes shifting as he schemed to create an opportunity for them. He smiled and said, "Jinyu, warm up a little. How about having Xiaotao be your opponent?"
Long Jinyu was more than happy to agree. He looked at Ma Xiaotao. "Sure, sure! I'd love to! Last time doesn't count. I haven't had a proper spar with you yet, Senior Xiaotao!"
"Bring it on! Who's afraid of who?" Ma Xiaotao was all bluster, puffing out her chest. "This is the perfect chance to show you my true strength!" But she knew full well that this little monster, Long Jinyu, could easily handle her sixth Soul Skill. Add in those four Ultimate Attributes, and her chances of winning were slim. But she might lose the match, not her nerve—she absolutely couldn't let her fighting spirit crumble!
Watching her put on a brave front, Long Jinyu couldn't help grinning as he kept staring at her. His gaze made Ma Xiaotao feel uneasy, so to bolster her courage, she raised a hand and punched him again. "What are you looking at? I'll show you what I can do in a moment!"
At that moment, Wu Ming and Dai Yueheng noticed Yan Shaozhe and the others. They immediately stopped sparring and came over to greet them.
"Dean Yan!"
"Xiaotao! Little junior! What brings you here? Weren't you supposed to be teaching in the Outer Court?" Wu Ming spotted Long Jinyu, her eyes lighting up as she greeted him happily.
"Hello, Senior Wu Ming! Classes are over in the Outer Court. Right, classes are over!" Long Jinyu panicked as soon as he saw Wu Ming. 'Please, formidable lady, I'm begging you! Don't pull anything... I'm scared...'
"Hello, everyone! Looking good—you're full of energy!" Yan Shaozhe patted Dai Yueheng on the shoulder and answered warmly.
Ma Xiaotao looked suspiciously at Wu Ming and Dai Yueheng. "How did you two end up together? Is something going on?"
Dai Yueheng explained somewhat guiltily, "Ahem, we ran into each other on the way and decided to spar, that's all." Wu Ming quickly nodded in agreement.
Ma Xiaotao gave an unconvinced "Oh."
Her suspicion was right. In truth, Dai Yueheng wanted to figure out how to defeat Ma Xiaotao and compete for the position of team captain.
Wu Ming was similar to Ma Xiaotao in her Martial Soul, fighting style, level, and even personality, so he had "bribed" Wu Ming to be his sparring partner.
Wu Ming was the sort who loved watching a commotion and didn't mind making trouble. She even liked to "mess with" Ma Xiaotao a little. With a reward on offer, she'd naturally agreed without hesitation.
If Ma Xiaotao found out the truth, she'd be furious.
Long Jinyu saw right through the situation, but kept his discovery to himself.
In his eyes, Dai Yueheng wasn't really trying to defeat Ma Xiaotao. He was clearly using this clumsy method to get her attention.
In the original story, Dai Yueheng had at least some feelings for Ma Xiaotao. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent a fortune buying her the Tyrant Tiger Soul Refining Blade to win her favor, practically losing the money he'd saved for his wedding.
Quite a few readers even thought they had a bit of chemistry... Hadn't Sister Mu Yao written a fanfic about them?
'Honestly, when it comes to status and strength, the two of them... really are a little bit suited to each other...'
[Host, why do you think that? Aren't you jealous?] the system suddenly piped up.
Long Jinyu was taken aback. His gaze instinctively followed the blazing figure in the arena.
'Jealous?'
The faint, complicated pang in his heart had been exposed, but what he felt even more strongly was a sense of unreality.
'Dai Yueheng is a "local" here. His power, status, and even his affection for Ma Xiaotao are all rooted in this world. They're real...'
'And what about me...'
The unexpected kiss mark on Ma Xiaotao's neck flashed through his mind, along with her puffed-up, angry face on the sofa and how she'd eventually softened. His heart beat faster for a few moments, but then a deeper emotion pressed down on him.
'...It's like a beggar who suddenly inherited a fortune,' he thought wryly. 'Holding a priceless treasure, but always afraid it's just a dream he'll wake from at any moment. How much of this power I possess, and this so-called "fate," truly belongs to me?'
The more real his feelings seemed, the clearer the unease deep in his soul, a soul from another world, became.
He didn't think he was unworthy of her. He was afraid that everything before him, including any affection she might come to feel for him, rested on an illusion as flimsy as sand.
'It's too early to think about all this,' he told himself, shaking his head and pushing aside his tangled thoughts. 'I have to take it one step at a time.'
"Hey, brat! What are you spacing out for?" Ma Xiaotao's shout interrupted his thoughts. "Hurry up and get in the ring!"
"Coming, coming!"
Long Jinyu called back, his sunny smile returning as he temporarily sealed away his tangled thoughts, then strode toward the center of the arena.
"Senior! Don't cry when you lose!"
Before you continue