"Demon dragons, manifest!"
Facing the ferocious onslaught, all three soul rings on Gu Yunxiao lit up at once, and three demon dragons stepped out from behind him.
A water dragon, a flame dragon, and a wind dragon.
Under Gu Yunxiao's control, the three great demon dragons lunged forward, intercepting the boulder, the Titan Giant Ape, and the dark gold terrorclaw bear respectively.
Then Gu Yunxiao took the offensive. He closed in on the dark gold terrorclaw bear, clenched his dragon claw into a fist, and unleashed a punch that cracked the air with a sonic boom.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Boom!
Though the dark gold terrorclaw bear freed one of its terrorclaws in time to block, Gu Yunxiao's punch still sent it flying.
As it flew backward, the flame dragon's assault never stopped. It tore into the bear with savage bites.
"Roar..."
Fury surged through the dark gold terrorclaw bear. Its two terrorclaws raked madly at the flame dragon, trying to tear its body apart.
Gu Yunxiao paid no attention to that battle. Instead, he pushed off the boulder the wind dragon had stopped, launched himself forward, and swiped a claw at the Titan Giant Ape.
The Titan Giant Ape was no coward either. It slammed its enormous fist toward Gu Yunxiao.
Boom!
Another thunderous crash rang out. Like the dark gold terrorclaw bear before it, the Titan Giant Ape withstood the initial surge of force, but could not hold out against what followed.
In the end, Gu Yunxiao's claw sent him flying as well, leaving a hideous, terrifying claw mark across his fist.
Just as the Titan Giant Ape was about to hit the ground, the water dragon pounced and sank its teeth into him.
Gu Yunxiao arrived with the wind dragon, pressing the attack without pause.
For a time, the two mighty soul beasts were driven back again and again by Gu Yunxiao, fresh wounds constantly appearing on their bodies.
"Judging by the strength the Young Master has displayed, he's comparable to a Soul Emperor among human soul masters, though stronger than most."
Based on Gu Yunxiao's performance, Bi Ji made a rough assessment of his strength.
"I don't think soul master ranks are an accurate measure of the Young Master's strength. After all, human bodies can't compare to his."
Zi JI shook her head. After a moment's thought, she said, "The Young Master's current strength should fall somewhere between that of a twenty-thousand-year and a thirty-thousand-year soul beast."
Bi Ji considered it carefully, then nodded with a soft, "Mm."
"Every additional head on the Young Master's Heavenly Tribulation Demon Dragon brings a tremendous leap in strength. I wonder how powerful he'll be next time."
Zi JI sighed in wonder, curiosity appearing on her face.
When Gu Yunxiao first awakened his Heavenly Tribulation Demon Dragon martial soul, it had only one dragon head, yet he already possessed the strength of a hundred-year soul beast.
With two dragon heads, he had the strength of a thousand-year soul beast.
With three dragon heads, he had the strength of a ten-thousand-year soul beast around thirty thousand years old.
Once he had four dragon heads, he would possess at least the strength of a fifty-thousand-year soul beast.
"Once the Young Master reaches Soul King and gains four dragon heads, he should have the strength of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast," Bi Ji speculated.
Zi JI nodded, sharing that opinion.
"Gu Yunxiao is about to win."
Just then, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion spoke.
Not far away, under Gu Yunxiao's relentless assault, the Titan Giant Ape and the dark gold terrorclaw bear could no longer hold out and kept retreating.
In the end, the three dragons swept them into the air and slammed them hard into the ground, leaving them unable to fight.
Watching this, both Bi Ji and Zi JI smiled, genuinely happy for Gu Yunxiao.
"Phew..."
Gu Yunxiao withdrew his martial soul and let out a long breath. "It's certainly powerful, but it burns through a lot of soul power."
The Heavenly Tribulation Demon Dragon martial soul was indeed powerful.
But the amount of soul power it required was just as staggering.
That brief battle had almost drained all the soul power in Gu Yunxiao's body.
And he had several times as much soul power as an ordinary soul master!
"Young Master, that's only natural."
Zi JI walked up and explained with a smile, "Great combat strength requires a vast amount of energy to sustain it. You're only a Soul Elder, so your soul power reserves are limited."
"As your cultivation improves, the situation will gradually get better."
"I hope so."
Gu Yunxiao also hoped his situation would turn out as Zi JI had said.
There was no denying that his soul power reserves would increase as his cultivation rose.
But his Heavenly Tribulation Demon Dragon martial soul would also grow stronger, consuming more soul power along with it. That was a fact as well.
"Young Master, it's getting late. Let's end today's practical combat lesson here."
After treating the Titan Giant Ape and the dark gold terrorclaw bear, Bi Ji looked at Gu Yunxiao. "You still need to set aside time to cultivate your soul power."
"All right. Let's go."
Gu Yunxiao nodded and headed toward the Lake of Life.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion followed beside him, chatting with Gu Yunxiao, now happy, now annoyed, now baring her teeth.
One human and one beast walked side by side in the lingering glow of the sunset.
Behind them, Bi Ji and Zi JI watched, faint smiles unconsciously curling their lips and a little envy hidden in their eyes.
They exchanged a glance, then tacitly looked away, as though they knew nothing at all.
Night fell.
After finishing his meal, Gu Yunxiao began cultivating.
Rather than cultivating beside the Lake of Life, he went to the underground chamber and cultivated on that familiar crystal bed.
Gu Yuena also knew that Gu Yunxiao had arrived.
Whoosh-
Silver light flickered, and a graceful figure emerged.
Gu Yuena walked to the crystal bed and quietly watched Gu Yunxiao.
Though Gu Yunxiao was cultivating with his eyes closed, he could smell that familiar, delicate fragrance. It wafted toward him, seeping into his heart.
A long time passed.
Gu Yunxiao opened his eyes, and his gaze met Gu Yuena's.
"Why are you staring at me instead of tending to your injuries?"
Gu Yunxiao asked, feigning ignorance.
Gu Yuena paused in thought before slowly saying, "This is my bed."
"Are you going to warm it for me?"
"Gu Yunxiao, are you asking for another beating?"
"Don't go hitting people at the drop of a hat. If you break me, no one will give you blood to heal your injuries."
Gu Yunxiao rolled his eyes at Gu Yuena and lightly cut his index finger, letting blood well out.
Then he took out a small bottle, filled it with roughly a hundred milliliters of blood, and handed it to Gu Yuena. "Here. For you."
Gu Yuena immediately accepted it, an almost imperceptible glimmer of joy flashing in her eyes.
"Na'er, if you want my blood, just say so. What's there to be embarrassed about?" Bracing both hands on the bed, Gu Yunxiao looked at Gu Yuena with a broad smile.
"Hmm?"
Gu Yuena's pupils contracted slightly, and something strange entered her voice. "What... what did you call me?"
"Na'er."
"Who gave you permission to call me that?!"
"Hey, I've shed blood for you, haven't I? What's wrong with calling you Na'er?"
Gu Yunxiao stood up and folded his arms, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. "Not only am I calling you Na'er today, I'll keep calling you Na'er from now on."
"Gu Yunxiao!"
Gu Yuena raised her delicate hand, about to hit him, but lowered it again with a huff. "Hmph. It's only a name. Do as you please."
"Then don't call me Gu Yunxiao either. It feels a little too distant. Just call me Yunxiao."
"No."
"You won't call me Yunxiao? Then call me husband." Gu Yunxiao grinned teasingly.
Crack! Crack!
Gu Yuena clenched her fists until her knuckles cracked. His words angered her so much that she laughed. "Gu Yunxiao, I've never met anyone as shameless as you!"
"Well, now you have."
The smile on Gu Yunxiao's face remained unchanged.
Seeing him like this only made Gu Yuena's anger flare.
She could no longer stand it. A palm strike knocked Gu Yunxiao onto the bed, and she immediately leaned over him, clenched her fists, and began pummeling him.
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