Leng Yaozhu's Embrace, Gu Yue's Sneaky Feast, Ye Xinglan's Confidence

Inside the bathroom, swirling steam rolled through the air, and the warm yellow light shattered into the hazy mist as hot water droplets slid slowly down the tiles.

Shen Nanxun had indeed taken off his clothes, sitting in the bathtub completely naked save for his last pair of briefs.

Years of sword practice had begun to define his physique, giving him a lean and capable appearance.

Leng Yaozhu stood by the tub, her wine-red hair slightly damp from the steam. She had changed out of her floor-length gown into a simple, deep purple silk shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing her fair, slender forearms.

Being exposed like this in front of a stunningly beautiful woman—who was also his aunt in name—made the sensation quite indescribable.

Leng Yaozhu looked him up and down, then nodded with satisfaction, as if admiring a piece of work.

Shen Nanxun felt goosebumps rising all over his skin, so he bit the bullet and said, "Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix..."

"What should you call me?"

Leng Yaozhu leaned in close, reached out a hand, and gripped his chin, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Aunt... Aunt Leng."

Shen Nanxun barely managed the reply, feeling as though the water, which hadn't been particularly hot, was suddenly becoming scalding.

"That's better."

Leng Yaozhu let go and stood up. A flash of light crossed her hand, and a stack of green leaves appeared in her palm.

"These are Dragon Heart Fruit Companion Leaves." She placed the leaves into the bathtub one by one. The moment they touched the water, they dissolved instantly. The emerald juice bloomed in the water like ink dropped into a clear pool, yet it was more vibrant than ink, diffusing in delicate wisps.

The entire tub of water was dyed an emerald green in an instant, and a faint, fine green-gold light rippled across the surface. The air filled with a light, crisp scent of vegetation, like crushed fresh tea leaves mixed with the smell of morning dew.

"The Dragon Heart Fruit blooms every hundred years, bears fruit every hundred years, and ripens every hundred years, but its companion leaves shed once a year. These leaves have one unique function: to suppress your aura. You should know that you possess a special aura; the stronger the expert, the more easily they can detect it."

Shen Nanxun didn't speak; of course he knew. Four years ago, those two Evil Soul Masters had tracked him down using that very aura, not to mention Na'er. He was like a beacon walking through a dark forest, never knowing what kind of predator he might attract next.

"The Dragon Heart Fruit Companion Leaves can suppress the divine aura within you to its lowest point for a certain period. Those who covet your bloodline won't be able to smell you from half a city away, at the very least."

Leng Yaozhu took a towel from the shelf and wiped the remaining leaf juice from her fingers. "But the price is that when the medicinal power enters your body, you'll be in so much pain you'll want to curse your dear aunt a thousand times over."

She paused, the corners of her mouth curling into a faint arc. "Though, cursing won't help. I'm a very hard-hearted person."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the emerald medicinal water suddenly began to boil. The temperature remained warm and comfortable, but the essence of the green leaves dissolved in the water seemed to be activated by some force, transforming into countless emerald light threads as fine as ox hair that burrowed into his body through every pore.

The pain swept over him almost instantly. It was a deviously sharp agony; it wasn't the clean, crisp pain of a blade cutting through flesh, but rather like thousands of fine needles piercing every inch of his meridians, then traveling upward along them, crossing his back, climbing his spine, and finally converging in the deepest part of his Sea of Consciousness.

Shen Nanxun's hands gripped the edge of the bathtub so hard his knuckles turned white and the veins on the back of his hands bulged. Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, dripping into the emerald water and creating tiny ripples. He bit his lips until they turned pale, his muscles tensed throughout his body, yet he never made a sound.

"Hold on. The Dragon Heart Leaves are extremely sensitive. If I use my soul power to help you, even a little too much will render the medicinal effect useless, and you'll have suffered for nothing."

Leng Yaozhu watched quietly as the boy gritted his teeth, not making a single sound.

After a long while, she sighed softly.

This Heavenly Phoenix Douluo was soft-hearted after all. She took off her coat, stepped into the bathtub with bare feet, and sat behind Shen Nanxun, her legs on either side of his body. The water level rose with her entry, and the emerald medicinal water spilled over the edge of the tub. Then, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.

"Relax," her voice sounded in his ear, stripped of its usual laziness and indifference, leaving only a soft, husky tone. "Aunt Leng is here."

She suppressed the soul power within her to the absolute minimum, just enough to avoid triggering a rejection from the Dragon Heart Leaves, yet enough to form a thin, gentle protective film within his meridians. This faint soul power conducted through the points where their skin touched, helping him dissipate some of the pain brought on by the medicine.

Just as Leng Yaozhu had said at the beginning, simply channeling soul power would destroy the effect of the Dragon Heart Leaves. However, this method of conducting a faint layer of soul power across the surface of his body was still effective.

Leng Yaozhu tightened her arms around him. Steam swirled, and the warm yellow light fell upon them, casting their silhouettes into a blurred, indistinct shape.

The sun set behind the western mountains, and by the time Shen Nanxun emerged from the room, it was already evening.

The silver-haired, silver-eyed girl had fallen asleep on the sofa in the reception area outside at some point, looking perfectly content, likely dreaming of something delicious again.

Shen Nanxun smiled helplessly, hoisted the small figure onto his back, and headed out of the Spirit Pagoda.

"Na'er, you really need to eat less from now on."

"Hehe... big chicken leg!"

The girl's sleepy mumble in her dream was like a response to Shen Nanxun's grumbling.

Standing in a dark corner, a black-haired, black-eyed girl stared at their retreating backs, only looking away once they passed the corner and vanished from sight.

Three days later.

"The Soul Guidance Train to Tianhai City is about to arrive. Passengers, please prepare..."

Shen Nanxun sat in the middle seat, Na'er sat by the window on the right, and Gu Yue sat on his left.

The seat on Na'er's side was clearly spacious, but she refused to sit properly, leaning over diagonally with her two small feet resting unceremoniously on Shen Nanxun's lap. She lounged comfortably in her seat, holding her Soul Guidance Communicator and lazily scrolling through Douhun short videos.

"Hehe..." She watched a dancing soul beast cat on the screen and giggled, her small feet on Shen Nanxun's lap swaying, her toes wiggling restlessly inside her white socks.

On the screen, the soul beast cat was being chased around the room by its owner after stealing a small dried fish. The more she watched, the more excited she became, and the wider her feet swayed, her clean white socks rubbing against his leg.

"This is fun, Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo pole vaulting!"

"Wow, is this blogger stupid? They're actually explaining the works of the ancient Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang!"

"'I Handed Over a God'—this trash book sells for a thousand Federation coins, what a rip-off!"

She complained as she watched. Shen Nanxun, unable to ignore it, simply turned his head to look at the girl beside him who had remained quiet the entire time.

It had to be said that the gap between Gu Yue and Na'er was truly vast, and it wasn't just reflected in their personalities.

Shen Nanxun asked casually, "If you're joining this competition with me, does that mean your East Sea Academy isn't participating?"

"The academy is participating, but we are not."

Gu Yue did not look away, answering only with a faint tone.

Shen Nanxun was somewhat surprised; he knew that in the other, original timeline, they had indeed participated in this event.

But thinking about it, it must have been caused by Tang Wulin suddenly losing his Golden Dragon King bloodline.

The journey passed in silence as the Soul Guidance Train moved steadily. The scenery outside the window transitioned from the brightness of the afternoon to the warm orange of dusk, then sank from the evening glow into the deep blue of night.

The lights in the carriage dimmed automatically, leaving only the soft reading lamps above the seats, casting pools of warm yellow light in the dim cabin.

Na'er had long since fallen into a deep sleep, leaning against Shen Nanxun's shoulder. Her short, silver-white hair brushed against his neck, and her ahoge bobbed with the slight jolts of the train. A satisfied curve remained on the girl's lips. Shen Nanxun had also grown sleepy; leaning back against the seat, his breathing gradually became steady and long.

Gu Yue did not sleep. She turned her head, watching the sleeping boy beside her in silence. The dim light of the carriage outlined the contours of his profile with striking clarity.

The black, messy bangs on his forehead fell down, half-covering his slightly closed eyelashes. His eyebrows were not thick, but their shape was distinct, the tails slightly upturned with a touch of the sharp spirit unique to a young man. His nose bridge was straight, the line from the root to the tip as smooth as if drawn in a single stroke. His lips were slightly pursed and on the thinner side. His jawline had tightened; the baby fat from when he was six had long since faded, replaced by the lean, angular features of a ten-year-old boy.

Years of sword practice had made his shoulders and back straighter than those of his peers, but his posture in sleep was completely unguarded. His neck was exposed by his open collar, his skin glowing with a healthy ivory luster from years of being buffeted by the sea winds of North Sea City. The vein on the side of his neck was faintly visible in the dim light, pulsing ever so slightly with his steady heartbeat.

Almost subconsciously, she leaned in, inch by inch. She moved close enough to feel his steady breath brushing against her cheek and to smell that scent that haunted her dreams.

She did not know what method Shen Nanxun had used, but the pleasant scent on him had been clearly suppressed. Yet, at such close proximity, that feeling still struck her heart directly.

To the half-body of the Silver Dragon King, this scent was like the most mellow wine, impossible to forget. Her lips brushed lightly against his neck. It was not a kiss, but an action more instinctive than a kiss; she opened her mouth slightly, her teeth grazing his skin. She applied no force, touching him ever so lightly, as if using her lips and teeth to sense the pulse of the bloodline within his jugular vein.

This was the power. This bloodline suppression, which had made her feel a sense of pleasure even when her throat was being crushed in the Spirit Ascension Platform, was now quietly sleeping within this boy, completely unguarded between her lips and teeth. If she just bit down hard, she could absorb the bloodline. What was the Golden Dragon King? What was Na'er? She could reclaim the complete power of the Silver Dragon King, she could...

"Hmph..."

Shen Nanxun stirred slightly in his sleep, letting out a faint nasal sound.

Gu Yue recoiled as if burned, pulling back and snapping back into her own seat. Her back pressed hard against the seat cushion, and she lowered her head, her long black hair sliding from her shoulders to hide her face.

One hand pressed tightly against her chest; her heart was beating too fast, so fast that even she found it absurd.

At the same time, in the Sea of Consciousness, Qian Renxue, holding half a watermelon, opened her mouth in shock, her pale purple eyes filled with excitement.

"Wow, wow, wow! Thrilling!!"

Eating melon, sob...

Tianhai City.

This city was one of the strongest core cities among the coastal cities of the East Sea region, and most of the shipping ports were established here. It was also a premier metropolis within the coastal economic belt.

The Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition was the highest-level comprehensive large-scale event in the East Sea region.

The competition was divided by age into the Youth Group, Young Adult Group, Adult Group, and Over-age Group. It covered individual soul master matches, team matches, mecha matches, battle armor matches, as well as professional events like forging and mecha manufacturing. It adopted a format of round-robin followed by elimination. It was not only used to select top talent within the region, but winners could also represent the Tianhai Alliance in the All-Federation Grand Competition. At the same time, it influenced the resource allocation of the cities within the alliance for the next three years, making it an important stage for young soul masters and professionals to make a name for themselves.

Although the Tianhai Alliance was economically developed, it had always been weak in terms of soul masters. The higher-ups naturally attached great importance to this issue, which was why the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition was held every three years.

To stimulate the enthusiasm of various soul masters to participate in this grand competition, this time, the Tianhai Alliance had spared no effort in using their connections and reputation to invite a seven-person team from Shrek Academy to hold an exhibition match.

The opening would feature the Shrek Academy team, which was enough to bring the entire Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition to a climax.

Tianhai Hotel.

The seven members of Shrek Academy had arrived a day early to rest and prepare.

"Rest well, the competition is tomorrow."

After giving a few brief instructions, the team leader, Shen Yi, left without any pre-battle deployment or anything else. In the eyes of the Shrek Academy members, this did not count as a competition with any pressure at all.

"Want to go out and play later? I heard the beach in Tianhai City is quite nice."

The captain of the seven-person team was Yu Chen, who possessed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul. He clearly didn't care about the next day's competition and was inviting everyone to go out and see the beautiful scenery of Tianhai City.

"Sure." Ning Yu was the first to agree. In the team, she had always had a good impression of Yu Chen. Both belonged to ancient hidden sects, and her sect was best suited to finding a combat-type soul master; Yu Chen was clearly a perfect fit.

The others agreed one after another, only the little fatty asked the blonde girl sitting cross-legged on the sofa nearby.

"Sister Xinglan, are you going?"

Yu Chen also invited her enthusiastically: "Xinglan, want to come along?"

"Forget it, I need to cultivate. There's a competition tomorrow." Ye Xinglan shook her head and did not agree.

"So what if there's a competition?" Yu Chen said indifferently. "What are you worried about? With our Shrek level, tomorrow's competition will be a piece of cake."

Even though he said that, Ye Xinglan simply began to meditate.

Yu Chen stopped trying to persuade her and led the others out.

"Let's go, Xu Lizhi, I'll take you to eat seafood."

Even the girl's follower, the little fatty, couldn't resist the temptation of food and followed them out.

After everyone had left, the room returned to silence. Ye Xinglan suddenly opened her eyes and scanned the room.

The reason she worked so hard to cultivate was that she had always held a grudge in her heart. After losing to that guy on the Star Dou Battle Net back then, she had entered Shrek Academy to cultivate, and now it had been nearly half a year.

The current Ye Xinglan believed she had made rapid progress and had been reborn.

If there was a day in the future when she could run into him again, she would definitely win it back!

She had that confidence!