Steam billowed through the bathroom, and warm yellow light blurred in the hazy mist. Warm droplets slid slowly down the tiles.
Shen Nanxun still took off his clothes. Aside from his underwear, he sat naked in the bathtub.
Years of sword practice had begun to define his physique, giving him a lean, fit look.
Leng Yaozhu stood beside the tub, her wine-red hair dampening slightly in the steam. She had changed out of her floor-length gown and now wore a simple dark purple silk blouse, its sleeves rolled up to her elbows and revealing her long, fair forearms.
Being so exposed in front of a stunning beauty—and one who was technically his aunt, no less—was enough to make anyone imagine how that felt.
Leng Yaozhu looked him up and down, then nodded in satisfaction, as if admiring something.
Shen Nanxun felt goose bumps rising all over. Bracing himself, he said, "Heavenly Phoenix Douluo..."
"What should you call me?"
Leng Yaozhu leaned closer and pinched his chin, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"L-Leng Auntie."
Shen Nanxun managed to answer, feeling the water—which hadn't been all that hot to begin with—grow stiflingly warm.
"That's more like it."
Leng Yaozhu released him and straightened up. A flash of light passed over one hand, and a stack of green leaves appeared in it.
"These are Dragon Heart Fruit Companion Leaves." She dropped them into the bathtub one by one. The instant each leaf touched the water, it dissolved. Emerald-green juice unfurled through the water like ink in clear liquid, only more vivid, spreading in wispy trails.
In the blink of an eye, the entire tub had turned a jade-green color. A ring of faint, fine, green-gold ripples spread across the surface, while a delicate, fresh, woody fragrance filled the air, like crushed tea leaves mixed with morning dew.
"Dragon Hearts bloom once every hundred years, bear fruit once every hundred years, and ripen once every hundred years. But their companion leaves fall once each year. These leaves have one and only one use: suppressing your aura. You should know there's a special aura about you. The stronger someone is, the more easily they can sense it."
Shen Nanxun said nothing. Of course he knew. Four years ago, those two Evil Soul Masters had tracked him down by following that aura, and Na'er had too, needless to say. He was like a beacon wandering through a dark forest, never knowing what kind of predator he might attract next.
"Dragon Heart Fruit Companion Leaves can suppress the divine aura inside you to its lowest level for a time. Those who covet your bloodline won't be able to smell you from half a city away, at least."
Leng Yaozhu took a bath towel from the rack and wiped the remaining leaf juice from her fingers. "But there's a price. When the medicine enters your body, you'll hurt so badly you'll want to curse your dear aunt a thousand times over."
She paused, the corner of her mouth lifting in the faintest smile. "Though cursing won't help. I have a heart of stone."
As soon as the words left her mouth, the emerald bathwater boiled violently. The water remained comfortably warm, but the essence of the dissolved leaves seemed to awaken under some force, transforming into countless fine, green threads of light. They entered Shen Nanxun's body through every pore.
Pain swept over him almost instantly. It was a cruel, cunning agony—not the clean, sharp pain of a blade cutting flesh, but as if thousands upon thousands of needles were stabbing every inch of his meridians at once, then traveling upward along them, through his back and over his spine, before finally converging in the deepest reaches of his Sea of Consciousness.
Shen Nanxun gripped the edge of the tub so tightly his knuckles blanched and the veins on the backs of his hands bulged. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, splashing onto the green water and sending out tiny ripples. His lips were pressed white, his muscles taut all over. Yet he didn't make a sound.
"Bear with it. Dragon Heart leaves are extremely sensitive. If I use Soul Power to help you, even the slightest excess will completely ruin the medicinal effect. You'll have suffered for nothing."
Leng Yaozhu watched quietly. The boy merely clenched his teeth and endured, not making the slightest sound.
After a long while, she let out a soft sigh.
The Heavenly Phoenix Douluo had softened after all. She took off her outer garment and stepped barefoot into the tub, sitting behind Shen Nanxun with her legs on either side of him. The water rose as she entered, and green medicinal liquid spilled over the tub's edge. Then she reached around him from behind and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Relax." Her voice sounded beside his ear, stripped of its usual languor and indifference, leaving only a soft, husky tenderness. "Auntie Leng is here."
She suppressed her Soul Power as much as possible, just enough to avoid provoking the Dragon Heart leaves into rejecting it, yet enough to form a thin, gentle protective layer in his meridians. The faint Soul Power passed through the places where their skin touched, easing some of the pain caused by the medicine.
Just as Leng Yaozhu had said at the start, directly channeling Soul Power would ruin the effect of the Dragon Heart leaves. But this weak transfer of Soul Power through the surface of their bodies still helped.
Leng Yaozhu tightened her arms around him a little. Steam swirled through the bathroom, and warm yellow light fell over them, gilding their silhouettes until their outlines blurred together.
The sun sank below the mountains. By the time Shen Nanxun emerged from the room, evening had already fallen.
The silver-haired, silver-eyed girl had been asleep on a sofa in the guest lounge outside for who knew how long. She looked perfectly content, probably dreaming about something delicious again.
Shen Nanxun smiled helplessly, hoisted her small body onto his back, and headed out of the Spirit Pagoda.
"Na'er, you really need to eat less from now on."
"Hehe... giant chicken leg!"
The girl's sleepy mumble sounded like a reply to Shen Nanxun's teasing.
From a shadowy corner, a black-haired, black-eyed girl watched their retreating figures until they passed the corner and disappeared from sight. Only then did she look away.
Three days later.
"The Soul Guidance Train bound for Skysea City is arriving. Please get ready to disembark..."
Shen Nanxun sat in the middle seat, with Na'er by the window on his right and Gu Yue on his left.
There was plenty of room in the seat beside Na'er, but she refused to use it. Instead, she leaned over, casually propped her little feet on Shen Nanxun's lap, and settled comfortably into her seat. She held up her Soul Guidance Communicator and leisurely scrolled through short Douhun videos.
"Hehe..." She chuckled at a dancing Soul Beast cat on the screen. Her feet, resting on Shen Nanxun's lap, swayed, and her toes wriggled restlessly inside her white socks.
The Soul Beast cat on-screen had its dried fish stolen by its owner and was chasing him around the house. The more she watched, the more engrossed she became, and the more her feet swung. Her clean, white-socked feet brushed against his legs again and again.
"This is fun! Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo pole vault!"
"Wow, is this blogger an idiot? They're explaining the works of the ancient Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang!"
"I Gave Birth to a God. This lousy book costs a thousand Federation coins. What a rip-off!"
She watched and made snide comments. Shen Nanxun couldn't see it, but he could still hear her, so he turned around and looked at the girl beside him, who had remained quiet all along.
There was no denying that Gu Yue and Na'er were very different, and it wasn't just their personalities.
Shen Nanxun asked casually, "You're competing with me this time. Isn't Eastsea Academy competing?"
"The academy is competing, but we aren't."
Gu Yue answered blandly without taking her eyes off the view.
Shen Nanxun was a little surprised. In the other, original timeline, they had taken part in this competition.
But he figured it was probably because Tang Wulin had suddenly lost his Golden Dragon King Bloodline.
The Soul Guidance Train traveled steadily, and no one spoke. Outside the window, the bright afternoon slowly gave way to the warm orange of dusk, then the sunset sank from the horizon into a deep blue night sky.
The lights in the carriage dimmed automatically, leaving only the soft reading lamps above the seats, each glowing like a patch of warm yellow light in the dusky carriage.
Na'er had long since fallen asleep against Shen Nanxun's shoulder. Her short, silver-white hair brushed his neck, and the cowlick atop her head quivered with each slight jolt of the train. A satisfied smile lingered on her lips. Shen Nanxun had been sleepy too. Leaning against the seat, he breathed more and more evenly, until his breaths grew long and steady.
Gu Yue hadn't fallen asleep. She turned her head and quietly watched the sleeping boy beside her. The dim light in the carriage sharply outlined his profile.
Black bangs fell over his forehead, half-concealing his closed eyelashes. His brows weren't especially thick, but their shape was clear, the outer ends tilting slightly upward with a hint of a young boy's natural sharpness. His nose was straight, its smooth line running from the bridge to the tip as if drawn in a single stroke. His lips were slightly pressed together and on the thin side. His jawline had sharpened; the baby fat of his six-year-old self was long gone, replaced by the lean, angular look of a ten-year-old boy.
Years of sword practice had made his shoulders and back straighter than those of other children his age, but in sleep he looked completely defenseless. His neck showed through his open collar. After years of exposure to the sea breeze in North Sea City, his skin had taken on a healthy ivory sheen. The blood vessel on the side of his neck was faintly visible in the dim light, pulsing ever so slightly with his steady heartbeat.
Almost without realizing it, she inched closer to him. Close enough to feel his steady breath brush her cheek, close enough to smell the scent that haunted her dreams.
She didn't know what method Shen Nanxun had used, but the pleasant scent on him had clearly been suppressed. Even so, at such close range, the feeling still struck straight to her heart.
To half of the Silver Dragon King, that scent was like the finest, purest wine—impossible to forget. Her lips gently touched his neck. It wasn't a kiss; it was something more instinctive. She parted her lips slightly, her teeth resting lightly against his skin. She didn't bite down, only touched him ever so gently, as if sensing through her lips and the tips of her teeth the pulse of his bloodline in the vessel at his neck.
This was the power. This bloodline pressure—the very force that had made her feel pleasure even as it choked her in the Spirit Ascension Platform—now slept quietly inside the boy, defenseless between her lips and teeth. With one bite, she could absorb his bloodline. What did the Golden Dragon King Bloodline matter? What did Na'er matter? She could reclaim the complete power of the Silver Dragon King. She could...
"Mm..."
Shen Nanxun shifted slightly in his sleep and let out the faintest breath through his nose.
Gu Yue jerked her mouth away as if burned and sprang back to her seat. Her back pressed against the seat, and she lowered her head. Her long black hair slid over her shoulders, hiding her face completely.
One hand clamped over her chest. Her heart was beating too fast—so fast that even she found it absurd.
Meanwhile, in the Sea of Consciousness, Qian Renxue held half a watermelon and gaped in shock, excitement filling her light purple eyes.
"Wow, wow, wow! That's intense!!"
"Nom nom..."
Skysea City.
It was one of the strongest core cities along the East Sea coast, with most of the ports for overseas shipping located there. It was also one of the leading cities in the coastal economic belt.
The Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition was the highest-level, large-scale multi-event tournament in the East Sea region.
The competition was divided by age into the youth, young adult, adult, and overage divisions. It covered Soul Master individual and team events, mecha and Battle Armor competitions, as well as professional events such as forging and mecha manufacturing. The tournament began with a round-robin stage followed by elimination rounds. It not only selected the region's top talents, but also allowed the winners to represent the Tianhai Alliance in the All-Federation Grand Competition. Its results would also affect how the Alliance distributed resources among its cities over the next three years, making it an important stage for young Soul Masters and professionals to make their mark.
Although the Tianhai Alliance was economically prosperous, it had always been weak in the field of Soul Masters. The higher-ups naturally took the issue seriously, which was why the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition was held every three years.
To drum up enthusiasm for this year's competition among the various Soul Masters, the Tianhai Alliance had pulled a lot of strings and called in favors to invite a seven-member team from Shrek Academy for an exhibition match.
Opening with the Shrek Academy team was enough to bring the entire Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition to a fever pitch.
Tianhai Hotel.
The seven members of Shrek Academy had arrived a day early to rest and recover.
"Get a good night's rest. The competition is tomorrow."
After giving them a few brief instructions, their instructor, Shen Yi, left. She made no pre-competition arrangements or anything else. As far as the Shrek Academy students were concerned, this barely even counted as a high-pressure competition.
"Want to go out later? I heard the beaches in Skysea City are great."
The seven-person team's captain was Yu Chen, who possessed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul. He clearly wasn't thinking about the next day's competition and was inviting everyone to go see the sights around Skysea City.
"Sure." Ning Yu was the first to agree. She had always thought highly of Yu Chen. They both belonged to ancient reclusive sects, and her sect was best suited to finding a combat-type Soul Master. Yu Chen was clearly an excellent choice.
The others agreed as well. Only the chubby boy turned to the golden-haired girl sitting cross-legged on the sofa.
"Sister Xinglan, are you coming?"
Yu Chen also invited her warmly. "Xinglan, want to come with us?"
"Forget it. I'm going to cultivate. We have a competition tomorrow." Ye Xinglan shook her head and declined.
"Even if there's a competition, so what?" Yu Chen said, unconcerned. "What's there to worry about? With Shrek's skill, tomorrow's competition will be a piece of cake."
Despite his words, Ye Xinglan began meditating.
Yu Chen didn't try to persuade her again. He led everyone toward the exit.
"Let's go, Xu Lizhi. I'll take you to eat seafood."
Even the girl's chubby sidekick couldn't resist the temptation of food and followed the others out.
After everyone had left, silence settled over the room again. Ye Xinglan suddenly opened her eyes and glanced around.
The reason she was cultivating so hard was that she had always had something to prove. After losing to that guy in the Star Dou Battle Net, she had gone to cultivate at Shrek Academy. Now, nearly half a year had passed.
Ye Xinglan believed she had made rapid progress and had completely transformed.
If she ever ran into him again, she would win back the victory!
She was confident she could!
Before you continue