I'm a Law-Abiding Citizen, I Never Do Anything Illegal or Disciplinary

Staring at the five soul rings rising behind Fang Xuan, Dugu Yan was dumbstruck.

"No wonder Tianheng reacted that way just now."

Only now did Dugu Yan realize the reason for Yu Tianheng's earlier abnormal behavior.

Under normal circumstances, Yu Tianheng would have stood by her side the moment a conflict arose.

Yet this time, he hadn't; instead, he had stepped in to stop her.

She had felt something was off at the time, but now, it all made sense.

"How old are you?"

Dugu Yan forced herself to calm down, looking at Fang Xuan to ask the question that concerned her most.

"Eighteen."

"How much?!"

Upon hearing this, Dugu Yan stood up abruptly, though she quickly realized she had lost her composure again.

Her face flushed, and she gave a light cough, trying to use the gesture to mask her embarrassment.

"Ahem, well... that is indeed quite impressive. Your talent is worthy of Lingling, so, what do you plan to offer as a betrothal gift..."

"Is five million gold soul coins enough?"

This time it was Ye Lingling's turn to be shocked. She turned to look at Fang Xuan, especially at the plain clothes he wore; he didn't look like someone who could produce five million.

Don't tell her this shop was that profitable.

One had to know that, given the purchasing power of commoners on the Douluo Continent, a single gold soul coin could sustain a family for several months of comfortable living.

Five million gold soul coins—even her own family couldn't produce that much in one go.

For Fang Xuan to casually throw out five million as a betrothal gift to marry her was beyond extravagant.

"Uh... is it not enough? Then I'll add a bit more. How about six million?"

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Fang Xuan assumed he had offered too little.

After all, both women seemed to have high status, living in Heaven Dou City, the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire.

One was the only young lady of the Ye Family, and the other had a grandfather who was a Titled Douluo; perhaps this amount of money meant nothing to them.

"Stop! Let me ask you, is this money from a legitimate source?"

She feared he might be involved in some shady business; six million gold soul coins?

Did he rob the Great Soul Arena in Soto City?

"Hey, hey, don't slander me. I'm an honest man who never does anything illegal or undisciplined. This money is hard-earned, gained through my own efforts."

But as soon as Fang Xuan finished speaking, he was met with Dugu Yan's disdainful gaze.

She looked at Ye Lingling, then back at him.

Although she didn't say a word, her look said everything.

Seeing this, Fang Xuan's face turned red, while Ye Lingling lowered her head, blushing and unable to meet Dugu Yan's eyes.

"Ahem, this is an exception... an accident, just an accident."

"Tch, you've got the advantage and you're still acting smug."

"There isn't a single decent man in this world."

Dugu Yan expressed her utter contempt.

Ye Lingling was a famous beauty in Heaven Dou City; the people pursuing her could circle the city walls.

She hadn't expected her to be snatched up by Fang Xuan like this, even if his talent and attitude were quite good.

Still, Dugu Yan couldn't help but complain; after all, she was her best friend.

To be ruined by someone else in the span of a single day.

How was this any different from a pig rooting up the cabbage grown in one's own garden?

"Yanyan."

Ye Lingling called out softly, but was ruthlessly rebuffed by Dugu Yan.

"Don't you 'Yanyan' me. You aren't even married off yet and you're already siding with an outsider."

Dugu Yan went full force, berating Ye Lingling for her behavior of prioritizing a man over her friend.

"Come on, tell me where you got this money. As Lingling's family, I have to vet you."

"Don't think you can fool me. I'm not as soft-spoken as Lingling, who doesn't know how to fight back even when she's being bullied."

Facing Dugu Yan's interrogation, Fang Xuan felt particularly helpless.

He didn't say a word, turning to walk toward the counter behind him.

Then, right in front of Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, he began rummaging through it.

Soon, he pulled out a dust-covered wooden box from behind the counter.

He wiped away the dust on the surface, then walked over slowly under the gaze of the two women.

He placed the wooden box on the table and pushed it toward Dugu Yan.

"This is the proof you wanted. Open it yourself; don't say I played any tricks in front of you."

"So mysterious. I really want to see what you have in here that could earn you six million gold soul coins."

Dugu Yan muttered, though in her heart, she was genuinely curious about what method he had used to earn so much money.

When she opened the wooden box, it was filled with nothing but gold badges.

Among them were even a few purple-gold badges.

If her eyes didn't deceive her, these were all badges from the Soto City Soul Fighting Arena.

But why were there so many?

"Did you kill them all?"

That was the first thought that popped into Dugu Yan's mind.

It nearly made Fang Xuan spit a mouthful of blood right onto her face.

"I told you I'm a law-abiding citizen. Can you stop spouting nonsense? I earned these one by one through my own hard work."

"You asked me where the money came from, and now I've given you the proof."

Dugu Yan heard this, looked at the badges in the box, then back at Fang Xuan, still looking unconvinced.

"Are you trying to fool a child? You got all these badges by yourself?"

"Yes, the Soul Fighting Arena allows one person to hold multiple identities, but you have dozens here—isn't that a bit too many?"

"And with this many badges, have you been living inside the arena? Even if you won every single match, that would still be thousands of fights. Don't tell me you started soul fighting from the womb?"

Dugu Yan analyzed the situation with great confidence; clearly, she didn't believe a word Fang Xuan said, or rather, she suspected he was hiding something.

But just as she was about to continue, she saw the soul rings emerge behind Fang Xuan.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? Did I expose your true colors, and now you want to silence me?"

"Let me tell you, my grandfather is..."

Before she could finish, a purple soul ring behind Fang Xuan lit up, and immediately, a person who looked exactly like Fang Xuan appeared before Dugu Yan.

"Stop yapping. I'm just showing you the proof."

Fang Xuan looked at Dugu Yan with a helpless expression and pointed a finger at the double who looked identical to him.

"This is my third soul skill: Perfect Doppelganger (Transformation Eggplant). It can perfectly mimic a copy of me."

"The copy has no intelligence, is completely under my control, and can use soul skills just like I can."

Fang Xuan felt utterly exhausted. If he weren't afraid of Dugu Bo retaliating, he would have wanted to beat Dugu Yan up right now. She was too much of a pain, acting just like a gossip.

"But..."

"I beg you, no more 'buts.' I know what you want to ask."

"My martial soul is very special. Every seven days, it..."

To prevent Dugu Yan from speaking again, Fang Xuan revealed the unique nature of his martial soul.

It left both Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling completely stunned.

After a long while, the two finally recovered from their shock.

"So, you mean your soul skills can be changed at will?"

"Not exactly. It mostly depends on luck. Sometimes, if the refreshed plant effect isn't very good, I won't change it, just like that pink mushroom from before."

"That thing is called a Hypno-shroom, and its effect is..."

Before Fang Xuan could finish, Ye Lingling immediately covered his mouth.

"Don't say it!"

Seeing this, Dugu Yan immediately realized something, and the look she gave Ye Lingling became strange.

"Could it be... oh~"

Seeming to have understood something incredible, Dugu Yan's expression became exceptionally vivid.

"I was wondering why you were so willing. So you actually gave it to him."

"Not bad, Lingling. I didn't expect you to be so bold. How come I never noticed this side of you before?"

Gossiping was the most interesting thing, especially when it involved one's best friend, and such a scandalous piece of gossip at that—it was even more thrilling.

Seeing this, Ye Lingling's face turned bright red once again.

Right now, she just wanted to find a hole to crawl into; it was simply too embarrassing.

"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Since it's already like this, what's the point of hiding?"

Dugu Yan looked up at Fang Xuan, pushed the wooden box back toward him, and said solemnly.

"I've passed you on my end, but it might not be the same with Aunt Ye. You'd better be prepared."