Fill Her Up!

"Do you remember what I just said?"

"Which part?"

"The Silver Moon Martial Soul is the inherited martial soul of our Sun-Moon Imperial Family."

"I remember, but what does that have to do with that power... Wait, are you saying...?"

Seeing Zhang Lexuan's mouth fall open in shock as she spoke, Xu Tianming stopped keeping her in suspense and simply revealed his Frost Moon Martial Soul.

In an instant, a rather sacred aura filled every corner of the room. As the bearer of the Silver Moon Martial Soul, Zhang Lexuan endured an impact many times greater than that of an ordinary person.

"You... you actually have twin martial souls!"

"No wonder those evil soul masters went to such lengths to gather information about you..."

"But what kind of martial soul is this? Why does this aura make me want to get close to you? Why does it make my Silver Moon Martial Soul feel as though it can resonate with it?"

Faced with Zhang Lexuan's string of questions, Xu Tianming motioned for her to calm down. Only after she had quieted did he speak.

"Didn't I say that only our Sun-Moon Imperial Family possesses the inherited Silver Moon Martial Soul? As a direct descendant of the imperial bloodline, what I awakened was naturally the orthodox Silver Moon Martial Soul. Though you, a collateral descendant stranded in another country, were fortunate enough to awaken the Silver Moon Martial Soul, your bloodline is not pure enough. That is why your martial soul is drawn to—and suppressed by—my pure-blooded Silver Moon Martial Soul!"

Half-truths were often the hardest to distinguish.

Across the entire continent, the Silver Moon Martial Soul had indeed only been passed down through the generations of the Sun-Moon Imperial Family. Zhang Lexuan simply could not find anyone else who possessed it.

For that very reason, even if Xu Tianming attributed the abnormality she had experienced to bloodline suppression, she could only grit her teeth and choose to believe him.

After all, her martial soul really had been suppressed by Xu Tianming's martial soul.

Could she truly have Sun-Moon Imperial Family blood flowing through her veins?

Zhang Lexuan briefly fell into self-doubt, but she quickly cast the thought aside and instead stated the purpose behind bringing up the subject.

"Can... can you let me experience that feeling again?"

Xu Tianming froze on the spot.

Late at night, a lone man and woman sharing a room, with the woman saying something so easily misconstrued in a slightly bashful tone...

"Hm? What feeling? Can you be more specific when you speak? Stop saying things that are so easy to misunderstand, will you?"

"Ah! I mean... the feeling from when you put your hand on me and injected Moon-Matrix Power into my body!"

Seeing Zhang Lexuan's coy, half-refusing expression, Xu Tianming had every reason to suspect that this woman was deliberately teasing him.

"Columbina!"

"Mm, I'm here. What is it?"

"Use your power to help me calm down."

"Alright."

As soon as he spoke, the little dove yawned, then controlled Moon-Matrix Power to circulate through Xu Tianming's entire body. His mind became invigorated, and his clarity returned.

"Fine, you want to experience it again, right? Then I'll grant your wish!"

As he spoke, Xu Tianming pressed his hands directly onto Zhang Lexuan's shoulders and communicated with Columbina through his spiritual sea.

"This time, there's no need to worry about whether it'll harm her body. Pour all your Moon-Matrix Power directly into her body. Stop only when I tell you to!"

"Mm, I'm ready."

"Then release it. As she requested, inject all the Moon-Matrix Power into her body!"

Upon receiving Xu Tianming's order, Columbina immediately poured all the Moon-Matrix Power within her into Zhang Lexuan's body. Zhang Lexuan's depleted soul power rapidly recovered, and in the blink of an eye, she discovered that twenty percent of her soul power had already returned.

"Ah! Yes! This is the feeling! It's so effective! Keep going! Keep injecting that power!"

Moon-Matrix Power was a unique power that only Columbina could wield.

Back on Teyvat, Columbina had leaped into the Moon Gate and traveled back through time. After gathering the authority of the Three Moon Goddesses, she dispersed her divine body and became moonlight scattered across Nod-Krai, turning into the Moon-Matrix Power that later spread throughout Nod-Krai and lingered without fading.

Thus, Moon-Matrix Power could be considered a form evolved from the divine power of the Three Moon Goddesses.

For those close to the power of the moon, such as Zhang Lexuan,

a small amount of Moon-Matrix Power entering the body could bring tremendous benefits, just as it had in the Evil Demon Forest.

But now, with a massive amount of Moon-Matrix Power entering her body, Zhang Lexuan might have been overwhelmed with pleasure at first, but soon, after her soul power had fully recovered, she discovered in horror that the flow of power showed no signs of weakening. Her body simply could not withstand or convert this power, whose level was unknown how many times higher than her own soul power.

"No! Don't keep going! I'm swelling up! So swollen! I feel like I'm about to reach my limit!"

"Stop, mm~ please stop quickly! My body is about to give out!"

Xu Tianming simply pretended not to hear her.

"Quit screaming for now. Mobilize your martial soul and properly feel the power inside your body. Try to see whether you can make your martial soul resonate with this power, or even merge with it!"

Though the pain in her body had become almost unbearable, Zhang Lexuan still clenched her teeth and obediently did as he said.

"Do you feel anything?"

"A... a little. But perhaps because this power is on too high a level, my martial soul actually can't help but feel inferior when facing it..."

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Xu Tianming had Columbina withdraw the excess Moon-Matrix Power from Zhang Lexuan's body, then removed his hands from her shoulders.

The bloated pain within her body vanished, replaced by a wave of weakness. Temporarily drained of strength, Zhang Lexuan lost her footing and fell flat on the ground, knocking the unprepared Xu Tianming down with her.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry! It's my fault... Wait! Hiss, don't bite me!"

That night, neither of them had any desire to sleep. They discussed cultivation and martial souls together, only to discover as they talked that their views on certain issues were remarkably aligned.

Within Prince Yan's Palace, Ye Guyi was also awake. At some point, she had appeared outside the door and listened to the sounds within the room, occasionally gripping the hilt of her sword tightly. There were several moments when she nearly wanted to break the door down and charge inside.

Early the next morning.

Though he had not slept all night, Xu Tianming was in excellent spirits as he pushed open the door and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air.

Then he saw Ye Guyi standing some distance away, dark circles beneath her eyes as she silently watched him.

"Guyi? What are you doing here so early in the morning? Is something wrong?"

Just as Xu Tianming was feeling puzzled, the butler of Prince Yan's Palace happened to come over and report.

"Your Highness, Miss Meng has arrived. She is waiting for you in the reception hall."

Meng Hongchen had come, so Xu Tianming had no choice but to put everything else aside for the moment and hurry to the reception hall.

Upon seeing Meng Hongchen, Xu Tianming instinctively opened his arms.

"Little Meng'er, why did you come so early today?"

After all, by custom, his little Meng'er would first give him a hug.

But Meng Hongchen did not do so today. Her face was instead full of disbelief.

"Brother Tianming, something terrible has happened! Last night, the First Prince sent people to assassinate the Second Prince!"