A Kiss

The rear courtyard of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Watching Ye Han emerge from the house, Dugu Bo's gaze flickered. "What's going on? I feel like your cultivation has made another huge leap, kid. Am I imagining things?"

Ye Han smiled lightly and answered, "The Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew I took earlier greatly benefited my cultivation. It not only advanced my body Martial Soul further, but also helped me break through a bottleneck in my spiritual power. That should be the change you sensed, Senior Poison Douluo."

Dugu Bo nodded thoughtfully. "So it was your spiritual power. No wonder."

Spiritual power had always been one of his few weaknesses, and back then, it had also been one of the reasons his combat strength ranked at the bottom among Titled Douluos.

A Titled Douluo whose spiritual power remained at the Soul Douluo level... it had always been a sore spot others used to mock him.

Dugu Yan spent far longer in seclusion refining the medicinal power of the Earth Dragon Golden Melons than Ye Han and the others had expected.

Seven whole days.

Dugu Bo did not mind. The longer her seclusion lasted, the more benefits Dugu Yan was likely gaining from the Earth Dragon Golden Melons.

He looked at the granddaughter he had not seen for seven days, concern in his voice. "Yanyan, how do you feel now?"

At his words, Dugu Yan seemed to come out of her meditative state and nodded gently. "Grandpa, I'm fine."

She paused, raised a hand to twirl a loose strand of hair resting on her shoulder, and continued with a hint of resignation:

"All the toxins in my body have been drawn into my Martial Soul, without a trace left behind. But my hair and eye color will probably have to stay like this forever."

"As long as you're all right."

Dugu Bo breathed a sigh of relief. "Your hair and eyes don't matter. You look lovely this way, too."

He immediately pressed on, excitement and curiosity lurking in his voice. "What about your Martial Soul? Has it improved?"

"Yes." Dugu Yan nodded.

"After I completely refined and absorbed the medicinal power of both Earth Dragon Golden Melons, my Soul Power rose a full five levels.

"And that was with most of the medicinal power going toward nourishing my Martial Soul. Otherwise, the increase in Soul Power would have been even more astonishing.

"My Soul Power has now reached level thirty-six, and my Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul really did undergo the Martial Soul Evolution Ye Han mentioned—or rather, a beneficial mutation.

"It transformed into an entirely new true dragon-type Martial Soul, a true dragon Martial Soul with a poison attribute."

After speaking, Dugu Yan paused briefly, then closed her eyes and quietly activated Martial Soul Possession.

Three Soul Rings, two yellow and one purple, slowly rose from beneath her feet.

This time, after Martial Soul Possession, her legs no longer fused into a serpent's tail as they had before.

Dugu Yan instinctively raised her arm. A layer of vivid emerald scales covered her slender, fair forearm.

Even her hands had transformed into dragon claws under the power of her Martial Soul.

"This is my new Martial Soul."

Under everyone's expectant gazes, Dugu Yan slowly explained, "Since it mutated from the Jade Phosphorous Serpent after I ate the Earth Dragon Golden Melons, I named it the Jade Phosphorous Dragon.

"None of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent's original abilities disappeared. Instead, thanks to the Martial Soul Evolution, all of them were strengthened to varying degrees.

"And after my Martial Soul transformed, my close-combat abilities became much stronger, too..."

With that, Dugu Yan threw a punch forward. She could clearly feel the tremendous power within it, power she had never possessed before.

After hearing Dugu Yan's account, Ye Han grew thoughtful.

It seemed that even with the same Martial Soul and the same Immortal Herb, the opportunities different people gained were ultimately as far apart as heaven and earth.

Back then, Dugu Bo had used the Earth Dragon Golden Melon to greatly strengthen the Martial Soul Origin of his Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor, even adding an earth attribute to his Martial Soul.

Yet in Dugu Yan's case, the Earth Dragon Golden Melons had directly pushed her Jade Phosphorous Serpent through a qualitative transformation, turning it into a true dragon-type Martial Soul in a single leap.

Compared to her former Jade Phosphorous Serpent, it was practically ascending to heaven in one step.

Just then, Dugu Yan, who had been quiet for some time, suddenly stepped forward.

Her emerald eyes, their sparkle somewhat restored, looked straight at Ye Han, instantly drawing everyone's attention to the two of them.

Her voice held a trace of nervousness even she had not noticed. "Ye Han, there's something I want to ask you."

Ye Han looked at her in mild surprise. "What is it?"

Dugu Yan pressed her lips together firmly. "Back at the academy, when the poison backlash struck me, why did you save me?"

Her gaze remained fixed on his eyes. "I've been watching you all this time. You... don't seem like the warmhearted sort who would casually lend a stranger a hand. I really want to know what you were thinking back then."

Ye Han froze for a moment, clearly not expecting her to suddenly bring up that old incident.

He met Dugu Yan's gaze openly, without the slightest evasion.

The image of Dugu Yan curled up in agony in the rain back then surfaced in his mind, along with the helplessness and despair he had felt in his first life, tormented day and night by illness.

"Perhaps... it was an appreciation for beauty."

Ye Han spoke calmly, a touch of complexity entering his voice. "Seeing you in such pain, I couldn't help feeling compassion... so I stepped in."

His expression was sincere and his eyes clear, without the slightest hint of pretense.

Dugu Bo raised his brows and shook his head lightly, but did not interrupt.

Dugu Yan, complimented to her face, first went still. Then a bright, radiant smile blossomed across her face, like the warm spring sun after ice and snow had melted, its beauty enough to steal one's breath.

Her emerald eyes sparkled as she gazed steadily at Ye Han, clearly delighted with his answer.

Smiling, she abruptly stepped forward while Ye Han was still dazed by those blunt words.

She moved so quickly that only a faint afterimage remained, and lightly touched one of Ye Han's cheeks.

The warm, soft, moist sensation vanished in an instant.

Ye Han stood rooted to the spot, his eyes widening slightly and his face filled with astonishment. He had never expected Dugu Yan to do something so bold.

Dugu Yan had already stepped back, still wearing a brilliant, slightly mischievous smile. Light danced in her emerald eyes as she quietly watched him.

Two years later, at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.

Inside the central main Soul Fighting stage, the roaring excitement threatened to lift the roof.

Ye Han wore a simple silver mask that concealed the upper half of his face and stood quietly at one side of the arena.

Opposite him, the Violent Gold Bear Soul Elder, known for his defense and strength, panted heavily. The light of his third Soul Ring had already dimmed, and his Soul Power was severely depleted.

"Let's stop here. End the fight now." Ye Han's voice came through his mask.

Not far away, the Fire Qilin confronting the Violent Gold Bear Soul Elder let out a low growl. A metallic, silvery-white sheen instantly coated his right claw.

He moved, becoming a crimson afterimage, and rushed to the Violent Gold Bear Soul Elder's side in an instant.

The Violent Gold Bear Soul Master's pupils contracted sharply. In his haste, he could only cross his arms, coated in brownish-yellow Soul Power, in front of himself.

Bang!

A dull crash thundered out.

The Qilin Claw slammed into his arms.

An irresistible force struck him. His arms went numb, and he was sent flying straight off the Soul Fighting stage, landing heavily in the safety zone below.

He looked a mess, but rolled once after landing and quickly stood up.

After a brief self-check, he found no serious injuries beyond a slight numbness in his arms and the churning of blood within his body—his opponent had clearly held back on that last strike.

"Thank you for showing mercy." The Violent Gold Bear Soul Elder cupped his fist toward Ye Han in thanks.

"The winner of this match—Heavenly Flames!"

The referee's booming voice echoed throughout the Soul Fighting Arena through the Amplifying Soul Tool.

The next instant, earth-shaking cheers erupted from the stands.

"Heavenly Flames! Heavenly Flames! Heavenly Flames!"

Many spectators waved their arms excitedly, their faces flushed.

The reason was simple: this three-ring Soul Elder, whose appearance and age were unknown, and whose Martial Soul was known only to be an unusual dragon beast, had won again.

And he had easily claimed victory in this solo Soul Fighting match with overwhelming force.

That meant the mysterious Soul Elder codenamed "Heavenly Flames" had successfully earned the Silver Soul Badge, a symbol of strength and honor, through his terrifying solo winning streak!

Yet compared to Ye Han's astonishing record, more spectators were currently thinking about the Gold Soul Coins they had won by betting on him.