Though She's Your Wife, You Can't Touch Her!

Ye Lin pushed open the door to Dorm Seven.

He crept to his bed and had just bent to take off his shoes when an arm shot out from under the covers and yanked him over.

"You're back!"

Xiao Wu wrapped both arms around Ye Lin's waist and buried her face against his shoulder. "Well? Did you get your first Spirit Ring?"

She squeezed so hard Ye Lin nearly lost his breath. He grabbed the bedframe to steady himself. "I did. I'm a proper Soul Master now."

Xiao Wu lifted her head, her eyes sparkling. "Really? What's your spirit skill? Is it powerful?"

Trapped in her embrace, Ye Lin could only pull off his coat as he answered vaguely, "It boosts my strength. Suits me pretty well..."

Tang San lay on the bare bed across from them, facing the wall, his ears pricked.

He heard the warmth and eagerness in Xiao Wu's voice. He could almost picture her hugging Ye Lin.

My wife... Why are you hugging someone else?

Why are you hugging him?!

At the sound of Tang San's thoughts, Xiao Wu's arms tightened sharply around Ye Lin's waist.

That damn Tang San is so annoying!

I'll hug whoever I want. What's it to you?

I'm your wife? Dream on!

I'd rather be Ye Lin's wife than yours.

Xiao Wu didn't let go. She snuggled closer,

rubbing her cheek against his shoulder like a puppy.

"This is great. Now I have a Soul Master for a roommate. You'd better look out for me."

Tang San finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Could you two not do that?"

"It doesn't look good. There are other people in the dorm."

Xiao Wu didn't even turn around. She gave a soft snort.

She could hear Tang San's petty thoughts loud and clear. The more he fussed, the closer she wanted to sit to Ye Lin.

She tugged back the covers and pulled Ye Lin into bed. "Ignore him. Let's sleep."

Ye Lin swallowed and lay down beside Xiao Wu.

It took him a long while to relax. Once her breathing grew steady,

he sat up and took out the cultivation booklet Yu Xiaogang had given him.

By the moonlight filtering through the window, he read it word by word.

He crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and began guiding his Soul Power according to the instructions.

On his first attempt, Ye Lin noticed something strange.

The technique was unusually compatible with his Body Martial Soul. Each time his Soul Power passed through a meridian,

he felt warmth spreading through his muscles and bones, as though something were nourishing and strengthening them.

It felt incredible.

The technique might as well have been made for him.

Then Ye Lin sensed an astonishingly familiar presence

coming from the bed a short distance to his left.

The way it pulsed, its rhythm, even the faint path its Soul Power followed—why did it feel exactly like the technique he was practicing?

He quietly opened one eye and glanced over.

Tang San was lying there.

Ye Lin's heart skipped a beat.

Why did the technique Grandmaster had given him have the exact same aura as Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill?

Tang San had brought the Mysterious Heaven Skill from his previous life. It was his secret technique.

Where had Yu Xiaogang gotten it?

Was this even the Douluo Continent anymore?

Had this world gone completely off the rails?

At this rate, Yu Xiaogang will hand me Mysterious Jade Hands, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and Purple Demon Eyes in a few days.

Tang San was puzzled too.

While cultivating, he had clearly sensed something intensely familiar from Ye Lin's direction.

The way that aura circulated, the feel of its Soul Power fluctuations—it was almost identical to his own Mysterious Heaven Skill.

Of course he didn't think Ye Lin knew the Mysterious Heaven Skill, but the resemblance lodged in his mind like a thorn.

Was he overthinking it?

Neither of them spoke.

But the same thought churned through both their minds: What the hell is going on?

A few evenings later, Ye Lin returned to Yu Xiaogang.

This time, Yu Xiaogang took a second booklet from his drawer.

"This is a method for training your eyes." Yu Xiaogang slid the booklet over.

"Practice facing east at sunrise each morning. Over time, it will sharpen your vision."

Ye Lin froze as he listened.

Wasn't that exactly how Purple Demon Eyes was cultivated?

It matched Tang San's secret art as he remembered it, word for word.

"What is it?" Yu Xiaogang asked, raising his eyes.

"N-nothing..." Ye Lin tucked the booklet into his clothes. "Thank you, Teacher."

A few days later, a third booklet landed in his hands.

Yu Xiaogang said it taught a way to train the hands. Once mastered, his palms would be hard as iron and stone, difficult for blades to injure.

Three days after that came a fourth booklet, detailing a refined method of applying force and grappling.

A few days later came a fifth, teaching a remarkably nimble footwork technique.

Ye Lin walked out of Yu Xiaogang's little courtyard clutching the booklets, feeling as though his feet barely touched the ground.

Aside from Hidden Weapons 100 Solutions, he now had practically everything recorded in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.

Mysterious Heaven Skill, Purple Demon Eyes, Mysterious Jade Hands, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track—nothing was missing. He had the complete set.

Ye Lin crouched by the roadside, plucked a blade of grass, and held it between his teeth. He stared up at the sky for a long while.

Where had Grandmaster gotten all this?

These were Tang San's secret techniques from his previous life. Even a master of theory like Yu Xiaogang couldn't have invented the whole set out of thin air.

And he kept giving Ye Lin the booklets one at a time, every few days, as if he'd only just obtained the contents himself.

The more Ye Lin thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

He might have dismissed the Mysterious Heaven Skill as a coincidence. But Purple Demon Eyes, Mysterious Jade Hands, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track had followed one after another. They couldn't all be coincidences.

Still, he carefully put the manuals away

and jogged back toward the dorm.

Who cares? They're good techniques. I'd be a fool not to take them.

Tang San's cultivation had grown more frustrating by the day.

The reason was simple: something about Ye Lin's aura was increasingly wrong.

At first, Tang San had convinced himself he was imagining it. But over the past few days,

every time Ye Lin passed him, the familiar feel of those Soul Power fluctuations grew stronger.

What he really couldn't stand, though, was Xiao Wu.

She and Ye Lin had grown closer lately. They attended classes together by day and often whispered to each other at night.

Now and then, they even went out in the evening to spar,

returning flushed and exhausted every time.

Whenever Tang San tried to join them, Xiao Wu would ask what a support-type Soul Master wanted to butt in for.

That night, Tang San once again tossed and turned on his bare bed, unable to sleep.

He turned his head. By the moonlight, he saw the two of them under the same covers,

Xiao Wu's arm draped over Ye Lin,

their legs tangled together.

What the hell is wrong with this world?

What kind of world have I been reborn into?

Six years passed in the blink of an eye.

On graduation day, Yu Xiaogang called them into his room.

"You've all graduated now."

Sitting behind his desk with a cup of tea in hand, Yu Xiaogang continued, "I recommend an academy in Suotuo City called Shrek Academy."

Ye Lin immediately thought of the story he knew.

Flender, Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, Ning Rongrong, and the others would be there. He just didn't know how far events there might have strayed.

Tang San's eyes shifted at the mention of Suotuo City.

Shrek Academy—the place where he had made his name in his previous life.

Dai Mubai, Oscar, and his other old friends should all be waiting there.

Things had changed this time, but he still needed to see them. Those who ought to be brought over had to be brought over, and those who ought to be won over had to be won over. He couldn't afford to lose the allies he would need against Spirit Hall.

What he said aloud was another matter.

Tang San smiled.

"I'll go too. I don't want to be separated from Ye Lin and Xiao Wu. Let's travel together so we can look out for each other."

Ye Lin glanced at him, murmured his agreement, and said nothing more.

Xiao Wu was less polite. She clicked her tongue and linked arms with Ye Lin.

"Come if you want. Who needs you looking out for us?"

Tang San's mouth twitched. His smile didn't reach his eyes. "Xiao Wu, you still love joking around."

Xiao Wu rolled her eyes, not bothering to answer.

A few days later, the three of them arrived in Suotuo City.

Xiao Wu stopped outside the Rose Hotel.

"Wow, it's beautiful!"

She tugged Ye Lin's sleeve. "Can we stay here? Let's stay here!"

"Sure. Whatever you want."

The three entered the hotel, and Tang San went to the counter. "Two rooms, please."

The clerk behind the counter checked the register, then looked up.

"Sorry, we only have one room left."

Xiao Wu bounded over.

"One room's fine. There are only three of us. We can squeeze in."

Tang San nodded repeatedly. "Right, we can squeeze in."

He had wanted to sleep beside Xiao Wu for ages but had never had the chance. This was the perfect opportunity.

Ye Lin spoke before he could stop himself.

"Squeeze in? It was one thing when we were little and didn't know better."

"Don't you know by now that men and women shouldn't sleep together?"

"Let's find somewhere else."

Tang San was supposed to be the one Xiao Wu ended up with,

but the thought of him touching her made Ye Lin deeply uncomfortable.

Even if you're the one she's supposed to end up with, you can't touch her!

Just then, a voice came from outside.

"He's right."

"That room is mine. You can find another. I'll pay for it."

A blond young man entered with an arm around each of two scantily dressed women. It was Dai Mubai.

Familiar memories surfaced in Tang San's mind.

In his previous life, he and Dai Mubai had fought right here before becoming friends.

But this time, Tang San couldn't fight him.

He was a support-type Soul Master now. If they fought, Dai Mubai would probably beat the shit out of him.

In the next instant,

Tang San's thoughts rang out in Dai Mubai's mind.

Long time no see, you worthless quitter.

Still spending all day surrounded by women. Deep down, you're just as spineless as you were in my last life.

The thought of having to call you Boss Dai for years again makes my skin crawl.

It took three years last time. I wonder how long it'll take before I can call you Dai Mubai to your face this time.