Dugu Yan's Jealousy

The girls from the Skywater Academy also walked over from the other end of the training ground.

Shui Yue'er walked at the front, and when she saw Dugu Yan holding Jiang Lan tightly, she slowed her pace.

"Sister Yan," Shui Yue'er greeted with a smile, "Long time no see."

Dugu Yan looked up at her, her expression unchanged, but she tightened her grip on Jiang Lan's arms.

"Shui Yue'er." Dugu Yan nodded, her tone quite polite, but Jiang Lan could feel her fingers gently pinching her waist.

Shui Bing'er walked over and nodded slightly to Dugu Yan: "Miss Dugu, how have you been?"

"Miss Shui." Dugu Yan returned the greeting, her gaze moving from Shui Bing'er's face to Xue Wu's face, then to Yu Hairou's face, scanning them one by one, before finally settling back on Jiang Lan's face.

"Little Guga." Dugu Yan's voice sounded very calm.

"Um?"

"Have you been spending all these days with them?"

"Yes, Skywater Academy is training with our Body Sect. They've been here for almost half a month," Jiang Lan honestly confessed.

Dugu Yan pinched his waist again with her fingers.

"About half a month." Dugu Yan slowly repeated these four words.

Jiang Lan suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

"Sister Yanyan, please don't pinch me like that--"

"What's wrong with me?" Dugu Yan looked down at him, smiling gently. "I just haven't seen you in so long, and I wanted to hug you more."

Jiang Lan swallowed hard.

Dugu Bo slowly spoke up from the side, "Yanyan, put that boy down. You've almost choked him to death."

Dugu Yan looked down at Jiang Lan's slightly flushed face, snorted, and put him back on the ground.

Jiang Lan had barely touched the ground and hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath when Shui Yue'er leaned over and poked his reddened cheek.

"Little Guga, your Sister Yanyan has a really strong grip, she pinched you until you're all red." Shui Yue'er said, taking a handkerchief out of her pocket and gently wiping his face twice.

Dugu Yan's gaze fell on Shui Yue'er's hands, then moved to her face.

"No need for you to trouble yourself, Miss Shui." Dugu Yan reached out and pulled Jiang Lan half a step closer to her, taking out her handkerchief to wipe his other cheek. "I can take care of my brother myself."

Shui Yue'er's finger stopped in mid-air, her smile unchanged, but her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Sister Yan, what you're saying is true. Little Guga is also an outside helper for our Skywater Academy, so it's only right that we take care of him."

"Foreign aid is foreign aid," Dugu Yan pulled Jiang Lan behind her again, "He's my grandfather's apprentice, and I'm his older sister. In terms of closeness, I'm closer to him than you."

"Closeness isn't something you can just decide," Shui Yue'er said with a smile. "We've been eating and sleeping together these past few days, and we're very close."

Jiang Lan stood between the two people. On his left, Dugu Yan's hand was gripping his arm, and on his right, Shui Yue'er's gaze was fixed on his face, and cold sweat broke out on his back.

"Um..." Jiang Lan said softly, "Why don't we go inside and sit down for a bit?"

"Don't speak yet," Dugu Yan and Shui Yue'er said at the same time.

Jiang Lan immediately shut up.

Ye Lingling stood to the side, her eyes crinkling slightly beneath her veil, but she made no move to help.

Xue Wu leaned closer and whispered to Yu Hairou, "How long do you think she can hold out?"

"I think she's been enduring a lot of hardship lately," Yu Hairou replied softly.

Dugu Bo took a step back, found a stone bench to sit on, put his hands behind his back, and looked on with amusement.

Jiang Lan gave him a pleading look.

Dugu Bo received the message, then slowly turned his face away, pretending to look at the clouds in the sky.

Jiang Lan thought for a moment, then suddenly came up with an idea and said, "Would you like to see my Martial Soul Avatar?"

Dugu Yan and Shui Yue'er stopped at the same time.

"Martial Soul Avatar?" Dugu Yan turned to look at Jiang Lan, her eyes slightly narrowed.

Shui Yue'er also became interested, withdrew her hand from Jiang Lan's face, and tilted her head to look at him. "You have new tricks up your sleeve?"

Jiang Lan took two steps back from Dugu Yan and stood in the open space in the middle of the training ground, patting the dust off his Penguin Suit.

"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar." Jiang Lan put her hands on her hips, her face full of smugness. "Watch closely, don't blink."

He took a deep breath and activated his Soul Power.

A dark golden light exploded from his body, more dazzling than any of his usual Soul Skill releases, illuminating the entire training ground.

In the light, his figure began to elongate, his bones made a slight cracking sound, his limbs stretched out, his shoulders broadened, and his back straightened.

The light faded.

The training ground was silent for a full three breaths.

Dugu Yan's mouth was slightly open, and the handkerchief in her hand fell to the ground.

Shui Yue'er's eyes were fixed on the center of the training ground, as if she were nailed to it by something.

Xue Wu took half a step back and bumped into Yu Hairou. Yu Hairou lost her balance and bumped into Shen Liuyu. The three of them ended up tangled together, with no one bothering to help the other up.

Ye Lingling stood at the very edge, her emerald eyes slowly widening beneath the veil. The veil concealed most of her expression, but the exposed part of her earlobe turned red visibly.

Jiang Lan stood in the middle of the training ground and stretched her arms.

He looked down at his hands; his fingers were long and slender, with distinct knuckles. He clenched his fist, then relaxed it.

"How are you feeling?" Jiang Lan looked up and smiled at the group of people on the sidelines of the training ground.

That smile was exactly the same as before, but on this face, it had a completely different feel.

Shui Yue'er was the first to come to her senses. She rushed to Jiang Lan in a few quick steps, looked him up and examined him carefully, then reached out and pinched his arm.

"It really has gotten bigger." Shui Yue'er's voice was a little unsteady.

Xue Wu moved closer, standing on the other side. She gestured to his shoulder, then to the top of her own head, her expression complicated. "You used to only reach my waist, now you're half a head taller than me."

"How long does this Soul Skill last?" Shui Bing'er asked as she walked over.

"About half an hour," Jiang Lan said. "My Soul Power is being depleted quite quickly; I can't hold out for much longer."

"About half an hour," Shui Bing'er repeated.

Jiang Lan didn't notice that Dugu Yan was still standing in the same spot.

She stood at the edge of the training ground, watching Jiang Lan surrounded by several girls from the Skywater Academy. Her expression changed from astonishment to complexity, and then from complexity to an indescribable bitterness.

She was just arguing with Shui Yue'er about who was closer to Jiang Lan.

Now, things have gotten really Shui Yue'er has moved right next to Jiang Lan, Xue Wu is on the other side, Yu Hairou has joined them at some point. The three of them are surrounding Jiang Lan, asking him all sorts of questions.

Dugu Yan picked up the handkerchief that had fallen to the ground, dusted it off, and clenched it in her hand until her knuckles turned white.

"Little Guga." Dugu Yan spoke.

Jiang Lan peeked out from among the three girls. "Sister Yanyan, look at me..."