Moonlight spilled across the clearing behind the mountain, stretching their shadows long, long across the ground.
Xiao Wu was still lost in the lingering warmth of that kiss. Her cheeks were burning, her heart pounding like a drum, and her fingers were laced with Yi Chen's. She couldn't bear to let go.
Yi Chen looked down at her. Beneath the moonlight, her eyelashes trembled faintly, and an irrepressible smile lingered at the corners of her lips. He fell silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke. "Xiao Wu, I want to show you something."
Xiao Wu looked up, curiosity in her eyes. "What is it?"
Yi Chen didn't answer. Instead, he released her hand and took half a step back. Then he closed his eyes, and the aura around him abruptly shifted.
The ninth Soul Ring lit up behind him, glowing a deep, almost golden crimson. It floated beside the other eight blood-red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, radiating an indescribable fluctuation that seemed to reach the very level of laws.
All nine Soul Rings revolved at once, their dark golden light surging like a tide toward his palm.
The force of that aura drove Xiao Wu half a step backward, but she didn't look away. She saw a golden glow slowly gathering and taking shape in Yi Chen's palm.
It wasn't a Soul Power attack, a formation, or a weapon. It was a dress.
Golden light crisscrossed through his palm like threads on a loom, gradually outlining the shape of a long gown.
The gown was pure white, adorned with pale golden patterns. They weren't embroidered onto the fabric; they were woven from the light itself, flowing slowly across the hem as if they were alive.
A teardrop-shaped gemstone was set into the neckline, radiating a warm, iridescent glow.
The skirt fell in layers, light as clouds. Tiny points of light dotted its edges, as if an entire galaxy had been cut out and sewn onto the hem.
Beneath the gown, a pair of crystal-clear glass slippers slowly took shape.
The shoes shimmered with the same pale golden light, and a tiny gemstone was embedded in each heel, echoing the jewel at the neckline.
The whole process lasted about the time it took to drink a cup of tea. When the final glimmer of light settled, a complete outfit floated above Yi Chen's palm, radiating a soft, dreamlike glow beneath the moonlight.
Xiao Wu was completely stunned.
She had seen countless beautiful outfits—in Nuoding City, at Shrek Academy, and while shopping in Heaven Dou City. She had seen all kinds of gorgeous clothes.
But she had never seen a dress like this, beautiful as a dream, like the ceremonial robes of a goddess straight out of myth.
"This is..." Her voice trembled a little.
Yi Chen opened his eyes, and the light of his ninth Soul Ring slowly faded. He looked at the outfit in his palm, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes, then turned to Xiao Wu. His voice was gentler than usual. "It's for you."
Xiao Wu's breath caught for an instant.
"I just used my ninth Soul Skill, Omniscience and Omnipotence." Yi Chen explained in an even tone, as if he were stating something trivial. "For a short time, it lets me know everything in the universe and create anything I want, as long as it's below the God-King level."
He paused, his gaze settling on the gown. "I made this for you based on an image from my memories."
He didn't say what that "image" was. It was Xiao Wu from his previous life's memories, in another space-time, wearing a dress almost identical to this one and standing in the radiance of Sea God Island, breathtakingly beautiful. (P.S. This is Xiao Wu's look in the later part of the anime. I think it's really pretty.)
"It's not just beautiful," Yi Chen added. "I've imbued this outfit with a law of protection. Once you put it on, no attack below the God-King level can hurt you. Even a Limit Douluo's full-power strike would only leave a speck of dust on your hem."
Xiao Wu stared blankly at the gown floating beneath the moonlight, her eyes gradually turning red.
She reached out and lightly touched the edge of the hem with her fingertips. It felt soft and warm, like touching the surface of a cloud.
"You made this for me?" Her voice caught in her throat.
"Mm."
"With your ninth Soul Skill?"
"Mm."
"It can withstand any attack below the God-King level?"
"Mm."
Xiao Wu took a deep breath, then suddenly threw herself into his arms, wrapping both arms tightly around his waist and burying her face against his chest.
Yi Chen felt a warm dampness seep through the fabric over his chest.
"...Why are you so good to me?" Her voice was muffled, tinged with a nasal quaver. "I just confessed to you, and you've already given me something this precious... How am I ever going to repay you?"
Yi Chen looked down at the fluffy crown of her head and gently put an arm around her back. A hint of amusement entered his voice. "Who said you had to repay me? You're mine. Isn't giving you things only natural?"
Xiao Wu stayed buried in his arms for a long while before lifting her head. Her eyes were red, and so was the tip of her nose, but her lips curved into a radiant smile.
She looked at Yi Chen, her gaze softer and more resolute than ever before. "Then I'll put it on for you."
She took the outfit and ran into the little wooden cabin behind the mountain, where she usually changed into her training clothes. A little while later, the cabin door opened, and Xiao Wu stepped outside.
Beneath the moonlight, she stood in the doorway, her skirt fluttering gently in the mountain breeze. The pale golden patterns glowed softly in the moonlight.
Her crystal shoes touched the grass with every step, as if she were walking on starlight. Her long hair, usually tied into a scorpion braid, fell loose over her shoulders and back, its ends lifted gently by the night breeze.
She looked at Yi Chen nervously, her hands unconsciously clutching the edges of her skirt. Her voice was softer than usual. "...Does it look good?"
Yi Chen looked at her and stayed silent for a long time.
Then he spoke, his voice lower and deeper than usual. "It's almost criminal how good you look."
Xiao Wu's face instantly turned red to the tips of her ears, but she didn't lower her head. Holding up her skirt, she walked step by step toward him, stopped in front of him, and looked up. Moonlight scattered into tiny points of light in her eyes.
"Then you have to take responsibility." Her voice was soft, but carried a serious weight. "From now on, I'll only wear it for you."
Yi Chen reached out and gently took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers.
"Okay."
Beneath the moonlight, they stood side by side beneath the ancient tree. The gown woven by his ninth Soul Skill glimmered faintly on Xiao Wu, as though it had laid a dreamlike filter over the night.
In the distance, a window in Ning Rongrong's room in the Shrek Academy dormitory was lit.
She stood at the window and saw the two figures standing side by side beneath the ancient tree behind the mountain. She saw the gown on Xiao Wu, shining beneath the moonlight. She stood in silence for a long time, then drew the curtains.