Fool

Skysea City's largest soul-guided arena was like an enormous blue gemstone embedded in the heart of the city. Its streamlined dome shimmered beneath the sunlight with the luster of metal and energy. Even in broad daylight, countless fine soul-guided runes could be seen flowing across its surface, displaying an unparalleled sense of technology and power.

Today, this super arena, capable of holding a hundred thousand people, was packed to capacity. Banners, holographic projections, the restless roar of the crowd... everything converged into a frenzied sea. What was being held here was not a life-or-death battle, but a highly anticipated friendly exhibition match—the "Eastsea Alliance Soul Master and Transformed Soul Beast Elite Exchange Tournament."

Such events were no longer rare on the Douluo Continent. Since the great upheaval ten thousand years ago, the relationship between humans and soul beasts had gradually moved toward reconciliation and coexistence. Hunting soul beasts for soul rings and soul bones had long become a strictly restricted, even forbidden relic of the past. In its place came more equal and diverse ways of living together. Powerful soul beasts could choose to continue cultivating in their native lands, pursuing the faint hope of becoming divine beasts. Or, upon reaching a certain level of cultivation, they could choose to transform into human form, integrate into human society, experience an entirely different civilization and way of life, even form teams with human soul masters and explore the limits of the soul master path together.

Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena were seated amid this sea of fervor. They sat in a VIP box with an excellent view. Before them was one-way transparent soul-guided glass, allowing them to overlook the entire arena clearly without being observed from outside. The two had already suppressed their auras, enough to make heaven and earth change color, to the utmost degree. At this moment, not a trace of soul power fluctuation could be sensed from them. They looked like nothing more than an ordinary wealthy couple attending the match, or two low-key soul masters.

The atmosphere in the arena had already reached a fever pitch.

On one side were seven top human soul master prodigies selected from major academies across the Eastsea Alliance. On the other were seven powerful soul beasts who had chosen to take human form and join various factions. They were not fighting in their true forms, but likewise in human form, wielding "soul skills" that resembled those of human soul masters while sharing the same origin—more accurately, a fusion of their innate abilities and the cultivation systems they had developed after transforming.

The battle was exceptionally fierce. The brilliance of colliding soul skills was dazzling, while the thunderous booms and shockwaves of energy clashes drew continuous cries from the stands even through the powerful protective barrier. The human soul masters displayed exquisite tactics and seamless coordination, unleashing one self-created soul skill and martial soul combination technique after another. Meanwhile, the transformed soul beasts relied on combat experience accumulated over their long lives, overwhelmingly powerful physiques, and a deep understanding of energy's essence. They fought steadily and showed no sign of falling behind.

"The times have changed," Gu Yuena said softly, her violet eyes calmly fixed on the arena. Watching those transformed soul beasts compete alongside human soul masters on such a grand stage, no longer needing to fear being hunted or coveted for their soul rings, another corner of her worries over racial conflict quietly melted away. This was a scene she could never have imagined ten thousand years ago.

Tang Wulin nodded slightly, though his gaze lingered more on the two core members of the human soul master team. They were a pair of sisters who looked somewhat alike. Both possessed rare elemental-control martial souls, and their coordination was flawless.

Just then, the battle suddenly changed!

The human soul masters seemed to have decided not to delay any longer. The sisters exchanged a glance, a flash of resolve passing through their eyes. Their figures rapidly drew close, their soul power surging violently as though resonating with one another. Dazzling light erupted from their bodies, instantly swallowing them both!

"Martial Soul Fusion Skill!" Deafening cries erupted from the stands.

When the light faded, the sisters were gone. In their place stood a ten-meter-tall phantom of an elemental goddess, formed entirely from red and blue energy! In her left hand, the phantom gripped a destructive ice spear. In her right, she held aloft azure flames, radiating a terrifying pressure that made it hard to breathe!

Polar Blaze

The elemental goddess phantom released a merged double voice. With a swing of her left hand, countless wind blades swept across the arena like a storm of death. Her right hand pressed down, and the massive ice spear, trailing azure flames, crashed toward the transformed soul beasts' formation like divine punishment!

The power of this fusion skill had already reached the level of a full-force strike from a top-tier ten-thousand-year soul beast! The transformed soul beast standing at the very front forcibly endured this devastating blow, while the soul beasts behind him were temporarily stripped of their ability to fight by the aftermath.

He was a tall young man with a resolute face and short dark-red hair. At his temples, two small layers of keratin resembling dragon horns could faintly be seen. He was a transformed soul beast with dragon bloodline! At that moment, he crossed his arms before himself, a dense dark-red glow spreading around his body. The glow formed a solid barrier before him. The ice blades screeched as they cut against it, while the flames' impact made the glow ripple violently, yet he did not retreat a single step!

The tremendous impact still injured his internal organs. Dark-red blood seeped from the tears in his arms and the corner of his mouth, yet his scarlet vertical pupils, burning with unyielding fire, remained locked on the elemental goddess phantom ahead. With his broad back, he shielded the companions behind him who had temporarily lost the ability to move, blocking the vast majority of the damage for them!

"Roar—!" He let out a low but powerful roar, not one of pain, but a declaration—so long as he remained standing, he would never allow his companions to be exposed to fatal attacks!

Inside the box, Gu Yuena, who had been calmly watching the battle, suddenly trembled violently when she saw the dragon-blooded youth fearlessly use himself as a shield to protect his companions!

It was as if a bolt of lightning tearing through time and space had split open the seal buried deep within her memories!

Scenes surfaced one frame at a time—

The same noisy arena, the same critical moment that would decide victory or defeat.

A terrifying martial soul fusion skill controlled by two young women on the other side, a colossal ice-and-snow tree radiating an icy aura, shot toward her and Tang Wulin with the will to pierce through everything!

Back then, his cultivation was far inferior to what it was now. Faced with an attack he had absolutely no way to resist, he did not hesitate in the slightest. He abruptly pulled her completely behind him!

She could clearly "see" branch after branch of the ice tree piercing through his body, bringing forth great sprays of golden-red blood and instantly turning him into a blood-soaked figure... His face went deathly pale in an instant, and the sound of his bones breaking was so piercing...

But he did not fall! His feet seemed nailed to the ground, his arms still spread wide as he firmly shielded her within that swaying yet incomparably steadfast safe zone formed by his flesh and blood. He had even smiled at her.

In that moment, there was no fear in his eyes, only the obsession of keeping her completely unharmed.

The image from ten thousand years ago eerily overlapped with the scene in the arena before her.

That utter resolve to protect someone with one's life regardless of everything, that unquestionable will originating from the depths of the soul, crossed ten thousand years of time and appeared before her once more in another form.

It felt as though an invisible hand had viciously clenched her heart. Bitterness, pain, and a terror and relief so intense they nearly drowned her surged forth like an erupting volcano! Tears suddenly filled her eyes without warning, and her vision instantly blurred.

She abruptly turned her head to look at Tang Wulin beside her.

He was focused on the arena, his side profile appearing steady and peaceful under the soft lights of the box. But in her eyes at that moment, she saw the blood-soaked youth from ten thousand years ago, still offering her a comforting smile.

All her thoughts, ten thousand years of loneliness, the confusion of amnesia, the unease and anticipation she had felt while recovering her memories... at this moment, all of it gathered and collapsed into a love so pure it reached the extreme, so scorching it burned!

"Wulin..."

She called softly, her voice carrying a tremor and sob she had not even noticed herself.

Tang Wulin turned at the sound. Before he could clearly see her expression or ask what was wrong—

Gu Yuena had already reached out with both hands and, with an irresistible, almost domineering force, cupped his cheeks. Her fingertips were cool, yet they seemed to carry a warmth capable of igniting the soul.

The next second, beneath Tang Wulin's utterly unprepared and slightly stunned gaze, she closed her eyes and fiercely pressed her lips against his!

There was no technique to this kiss. It was even somewhat clumsy from being too forceful, their lips bumping awkwardly together. Yet the emotions it contained erupted like a volcano dormant for ten thousand years—burning, surging, filled with the wild joy of regaining what had been lost and the resolve to confirm everything! It was as if, through this kiss, she wanted to convey to him the love she had not had time to speak of ten thousand years ago, the endless longing sealed within ten thousand years of ice, and all the dependence and trust she had felt since awakening!

Tang Wulin's mind went blank.

The softness and warmth on his lips, along with that blazing emotion that nearly set his soul alight, crashed over him like a flood and swept away all ability to think. The blankness of ten thousand years seemed to be filled by something that carved itself deep into his bones with this kiss.

Instinct came before awareness.

He responded almost immediately. Stormy waves rose in those usually calm black eyes. He reached out, no longer taking her hand gently as before, but suddenly pulled her tightly into his arms with enough strength to almost embed her into his body!

He took the lead, kissing her deeply in return, carrying the same desire and profound love that had been suppressed for ten thousand years. This kiss was no longer a one-sided demand for confirmation. It became two souls that had crossed life and death and forgotten the passage of time, madly colliding, merging, and confirming each other's existence!

Outside the box, deafening cheers and the commentator's impassioned voice rang out. The victor in the arena seemed to have already been decided.

Inside the box, time seemed to have stopped. There were only two tightly embracing figures, kissing as if no one else existed, silently telling a tale of undying love that transcended race, time and space, even memory itself.

Who knew how long passed before Gu Yuena began to feel as though she were suffocating. Her face flushed a captivating red as she shyly, gently pushed against Tang Wulin's solid chest.

Only then did Tang Wulin seem to wake from a dream. Slowly and with extreme reluctance, he released her lips, but his arms around her did not loosen. His forehead rested against hers, their noses touching and breaths intertwining as both of them panted softly.

He looked at her so close before him. Her restored violet eyes shimmered with moisture, shyness intertwined with an overwhelming love too deep to dissolve, beautiful enough to take one's breath away.

"Fool..."

Tang Wulin laughed softly, his voice slightly hoarse and filled with incomparable satisfaction. He reached out and gently brushed away the tear at the corner of her eye that had yet to fall.

He paused, gazed into her eyes, and declared each word with absolute clarity:

"I have always been by your side."

Yes, memories could be lost, identities could be forgotten, even power could be sealed away. But some things were etched into the deepest part of the soul. No matter how time flowed or all things changed, they would never fade.

Like his instinct to protect her.

Like the surging love in her heart at this very moment.

Gu Yuena buried her burning face against the warmth of his neck, tightly clutching the clothes on his back with both hands as she nodded hard.

The clamor in the arena gradually subsided. The match seemed to have ended. Yet for them, another, even more important journey—one of love and memory—had only just entered a brand-new chapter.