Five Years

"Hahaha, Sister Long, I'm done teasing you. Come on, let's eat."

With that, Jiang Lin stopped looking at Little Dragon Girl and moved his stool back.

Only then did Little Dragon Girl let out a quiet breath of relief. The blush on her face had yet to fade, though. Clearly, Jiang Lin's words and actions had shaken her.

Jiang Lin had expected as much. But if he wanted their relationship to grow closer, he had to take steps like this.

After all, he and Little Dragon Girl would be alone together for a long time. With no one else around to disturb them, their relationship was bound to progress by leaps and bounds.

What he had done today was only meant to give her a chance to get used to it. There would be plenty of more intimate gestures to come.

After dinner, the day's exhaustion caught up with Jiang Lin. He lay down on his bed and soon fell fast asleep.

This time, he and Little Dragon Girl did not share a bed as they had in Holy Soul Village. The four of them had built this wooden house together, and although they all slept in the same room for convenience, arranging separate beds had been easy enough.

Jiang Lin's bed was by the window, while Little Dragon Girl's stood in the middle of the room.

With a creak, the door opened, and Little Dragon Girl walked in wearing white pajamas.

"Oh, Jiang Lin went to sleep this early?"

Surprise flickered across her face, but she soon realized why.

During the day, Jiang Lin had absorbed a Soul Ring. After coming back, he had run into trouble with his cultivation and still had to teach her how to cook. He must have been exhausted.

Lying in bed, Little Dragon Girl gazed at Jiang Lin across the room. His words at dinner came back to her, and she blinked, a faint smile spreading across her face.

At some point, she too fell asleep.

In the days that followed, Jiang Lin kept a remarkably steady routine.

In the mornings, he used the Northern Dark Spiritual Meridian to absorb vast amounts of energy from heaven and earth. In the afternoons, he increased his Soul Power with the Soul Skill Purification. At dusk, he practiced using the King's Power Sword's Soul Skills and the Pure Yang Flame. At night, he meditated and slept.

Of course, amid all that cultivation, Jiang Lin still found time to teach Little Dragon Girl things like cooking.

He also set aside one day every week to take her out, whether to have fun or simply enjoy the scenery...

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, five years had passed.

Winter came again, draping the entire Star Dou Forest in white.

Deep within a dense sea of bamboo, the little wooden house had changed beyond recognition. It was now more than three times its original size.

Deep Blue Starflowers that gleamed like starlight and ice-blue irises grew all around it.

Even in the depths of winter, Little Dragon Girl's careful tending kept them blooming at night with a dreamlike blue glow.

"Jiang Lin, is there anything you'd like to eat today? I'll make it for you."

A soft, lilting voice came from outside the door. Jiang Lin, who had been sitting cross-legged on his bed cultivating, opened his eyes at once.

Gone was the little boy of five years ago. Though Jiang Lin was only eleven, he had already shot up to 1.7 meters. His frame looked somewhat lean, but beneath his clothes were muscles brimming with explosive strength.

The childishness had vanished from his face as well. In its place was the keen, sharp-edged look of a young man.

"Whatever you feel like making, Sister Long. If you cook it, I'll love it."

"Haha, Jiang Lin, so you're not saying my cooking tastes awful anymore?"

"Hey, Sister Long, why bring that up again? I already apologized."

"Hmph. So what if you did? I'll remember what you said for the rest of my life, Jiang Lin."

"All right, get back to cultivating. I'll call you when it's ready."

Her footsteps receded.

I can't believe Little Dragon Girl still remembers what I said after all this time. Who knew she could hold a grudge?

Jiang Lin shook his head helplessly, though his eyes were full of amusement.

Over the past five years, Little Dragon Girl's affection for him had risen several times.

With a thought, he brought up her status panel.

[Little Dragon Girl]

[Age: 18]

[Cultivation: Level 53 Soul King]

[Martial Soul: Frost Dragon Soul]

[Techniques: "Jade Maiden Heart Sutra," "Jade Maiden Swordplay"...]

[Affection: 75 (Close Friend)]

"An affection score of 75 means close friend. What will 80 be?"

Jiang Lin murmured to himself. At this level, Little Dragon Girl's affection would allow him to do many things.

But he did not intend to claim her just like that. Little Dragon Girl meant something different to him.

He had been in the Douluo Continent for only eleven years, and she had spent five of them by his side. He had grown used to calling her Sister Long, to having her near him, and to the way they were together now.

So if he was going to make Little Dragon Girl his completely, Jiang Lin would give her a magnificent wedding. Only then could he do justice to all the years she had spent beside him.

Then, with another thought, Jiang Lin brought up Tian Yan's panel for the first time in five years.

[Tian Yan]

[Age: 24]

[Soul Master: Level 59 Soul King (Initial)]

[Martial Arts: Half-Step Heavenly Human Realm]

[Martial Souls: Autumn-Water Clear Eyes, Heaven-Swallowing Salamander]

[Techniques: "Net of Heaven Killing Sword," "Thousand Illusions Mind-Bewitching Formula," "Life-Severing Finger"...]

[Threefold Seal: First Stage (Unlocks at 50 Affection)]

[Current Affection: 45 (Stranger)]

"Huh? Half-Step Heavenly Human Realm? What the hell is that?"

Jiang Lin's pupils contracted sharply, and he hurriedly called out to the system.

[Ding!]

[This character has a martial arts cultivation level because she found another path and cleverly bypassed the system's first seal.]

[But there is no need to worry, Host. Under Hidden System Clause 17863, a summoned character has only one chance to bypass a seal. The remaining two seals are still in place.]

"Wait, she can bypass a seal?"

"Doesn't that count as a system bug?"

Disbelief filled Jiang Lin's eyes. The system wielded such immense power. How could Tian Yan have found a way around its seal?

[Ding!]

[Under Hidden System Clause 12970, when a summoned character's desire for strength reaches an extreme, the system will proactively grant one chance to bypass a seal.]

"I knew it. So you were the one who opened that loophole."

"But what happened to put Tian Yan in such an extreme situation? Was she in danger?"

"With her strength already approaching that of a Soul Saint, whoever pushed her that far must have been at least a peak Soul Saint, or even a Soul Douluo."

"Right, system. Roughly what level in the Soul Master system does the Half-Step Heavenly Human Realm correspond to?"

[Ding!]

[At the same equivalent level, this system's combat power far exceeds that of the Soul Master system. The Half-Step Heavenly Human Realm corresponds to a Level 71 Soul Saint, while its actual combat power corresponds to a Level 81 Soul Douluo.]

"Damn, is Tian Yan cheating?"

Shock filled Jiang Lin's eyes. Five years ago, Tian Yan had been only a Level 59 Soul King. Now she could fight someone as powerful as a Soul Douluo. He had never expected that.

Even with the Northern Dark Spiritual Meridian, those same five years had only taken him from a Level 28 Soul Grandmaster to a Level 49 Soul Ancestor.

As for his actual combat power, he still could not match Little Dragon Girl, though he could hold his own against a weaker Level 61 Soul Emperor.