After hearing this, Xue Ye fell silent despite himself. Of course he understood the benefits of the imperial family having a Titled Douluo. If good things could come in pairs, that would be perfect.
So he nodded and immediately ordered his men to investigate the two people who had entered the city that afternoon and might be Titled Douluo.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ling, who had already arrived in Heaven Dou Imperial City, was sitting in a restaurant with Ah Yin and Bo Saixi, eagerly waiting for their food.
As Titled Douluo, Zhao Ling and Bo Saixi did not need much food.
But Ah Yin was different. She had not eaten anything from last night through noon today, and now she was so hungry her belly was practically stuck to her backbone.
Zhao Ling's storage space held plenty of low-level soul beasts he had hunted in Sunset Forest last night, but the three had not chosen to roast meat on the forest's outskirts.
Since they were heading into the city anyway, why not find a restaurant with more upscale decor and food that looked to their taste?
So the three had found this rather luxurious restaurant, whose dishes looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful, to have a meal.
After a long wait, a server finally wheeled over a plate of sauce-braised pork hock, a whole roast lamb, and a roast duck. Smelling that enticing fragrance, Ah Yin was practically staring her eyes out in anticipation.
Zhao Ling used his chopsticks to place half the pork hock in Ah Yin's bowl. Looking at her dotingly, he gently said,
"Be good and try this sauce-braised pork hock. I bet you've never had sauce-braised pig's trotters before..."
Of course, Zhao Ling had never tried this restaurant's sauce-braised pork hock either. After all, not long after arriving in Douluo in his own body, he had hidden away to develop his strength quietly.
But in his previous life, he had eaten pork hock prepared at least a dozen different ways, if not dozens.
So it was perfectly normal that he had eaten similar sauce-braised pork hock before, and he showed little interest in it.
Ah Yin did not stand on ceremony. She picked up the sauce-braised pork hock and began feasting.
Having never eaten sauce-braised pork hock before, her eyes instantly lit up when she tasted that smooth, springy meat that was not at all greasy.
She looked like an adorable little hamster as she kept gnawing on the pork hock, her two jade-white feet swinging playfully beneath her chair. She was clearly in a wonderful mood.
Zhao Ling carved off a roast lamb shank for her, placed it on the plate beside her, and softly reminded her, "Eat slowly. There's no rush."
Seeing this, Bo Saixi looked curiously at the other half of the pork hock and reached for it with her chopsticks.
But Zhao Ling's chopsticks were faster, catching the other half of the pork hock, and her heart immediately turned half cold.
It seemed she was only an outsider. He had given the first half to that woman named Ah Yin. He would probably eat the remaining half himself.
Forget it. I'll eat something else. Although Bo Saixi felt deeply disappointed, she did her best to keep her expression as still as an ancient well.
But the next instant, Zhao Ling placed the other half of the sauce-braised pork hock into her bowl, and his gentle voice reached her ears.
"Bo Saixi, try this sauce-braised pork hock too. I think you said you came from an island called Sea God Island.
"They say those who live by mountains eat from the mountains, and those who live by the sea eat from the sea. You probably eat nothing but seafood, right? You surely wouldn't get pork hock like this. Try this lamb shank too. It's definitely much tastier than seafood."
Bo Saixi stared, a little stunned, at the pork hock in her bowl and the lamb shank on her plate, momentarily at a loss for words.
Her affection for Zhao Ling surged uncontrollably like a gushing well again, and she found it increasingly difficult to look away. By contrast, Tang Chen's importance in her heart diminished once more.
Seeing this, Ah Yin, who was eating her half of the sauce-braised pork hock like a hamster, wanted to laugh. It seemed this older sister Bo Saixi would sooner or later fall into her husband's tender embrace.
Seeing Bo Saixi staring at him without blinking, Zhao Ling curled a finger and lightly flicked her forehead.
"Pretty girl, concentrate on your food. Don't just stare foolishly. There isn't any writing on my face. Am I that good-looking?"
After flicking Bo Saixi's forehead, Zhao Ling froze.
Huh? Am I being too intimate? I actually did something only couples would do to a woman I only just met. Will she fly into a rage and fight me?
At the same time, Bo Saixi stared blankly at Zhao Ling. She had never expected him to do something so intimate, something only couples did, to her.
More importantly, she felt no aversion to it. Instead, a touch of shyness and sweetness rose within her.
I've gone mad. Completely mad. Bo Saixi buried her face in the sauce-braised pork hock, her lovely, jade-white face flushing red despite herself.
It was bad enough that she kept staring at the same man in a daze, but she even found it sweet when he lightly flicked her forehead.
She had never been like this before. Even with Tang Chen, she had never been so intimate.
That scoundrel Zhao Ling is downright uncanny. Why can't I look away when I see him? Why can't I feel the slightest resistance to his intimate gestures?
Most importantly, she felt that her affection for Tang Chen had now fallen below her affection for Zhao Ling. It was so strange.
Tang Chen was clearly the one she had liked for so long, even if he had never personally served her food or spoken to her so gently as Zhao Ling did.
But she had liked Tang Chen for such a long time, after all. If that fellow had not been so hopelessly dense about romance, they probably would have tied the knot long ago.
Yet now, less than a week after meeting Zhao Ling, she felt she no longer recognized herself.
She was even beginning to wonder whether she was the sort of fickle, faithless woman who chased every new attraction...
Chapter 115: His bones went soft
Meanwhile, Zhao Ling was still worrying that Bo Saixi might become angry enough to fight him because he had acted too intimately.
When he saw her shy appearance, he was completely dumbfounded.
An intense urge to vent made him hastily summon the Diary Panel.
[Holy shit? I couldn't help flicking Bo Saixi's forehead, and she isn't angry at all? What the hell?]
[Not being angry is one thing, but why is she blushing so shyly too?]
[Come on, Bo Saixi. You're a Limit Douluo, for goodness' sake. I flicked your forehead, and you aren't reacting at all?]
[More importantly, what's with you blushing and staring at me? Those silky, alluring eyes are making my bones go soft.]
[This isn't normal. Not normal at all. Huh, with such an obvious reaction, could Female Killer Lv. 1 be taking effect?]
[If Female Killer Lv. 1 really is taking effect, that's absurd beyond all bounds.]
[If Female Killer Lv. 1 is already this terrifying, how terrifying would Lv. 2, Lv. 3, or even higher levels be?]
[Who would've thought the system, which once swore so firmly that it was respectable, would cook up such a frightening passive talent for me? Even Bo Saixi can't withstand the Lv. 1 passive.]
[Doesn't this send me even farther down the road of giving all Douluo's beauties one shared, warm family? System, you're truly sowing sin.]
After venting, Zhao Ling clicked to upload the diary entry, and a message appeared on the panel before him.
[Congratulations, diary uploaded successfully. Grade: B. Reward: one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring for the fourth soul ring of your second martial soul.]
Holy shit??? Zhao Ling instantly opened his titanium-alloy dog eyes wide.
He had never expected it, truly never expected it. The system had actually given him a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring outright. Before, it had flatly refused to give him hundred-thousand-year soul rings or soul bones directly.
Yet now it had actually done so. This was absurd beyond all bounds. As the system granted him the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, Zhao Ling felt his soul power advance.
His soul power shot straight from rank 93 to rank 94. Not even a week had passed since his last breakthrough, and he had broken through again.
This result made Zhao Ling's eyes widen with delighted surprise. The system had suddenly become decent, and spectacularly generous at that.
If the system appeared before him now as a beautiful woman, Zhao Ling guaranteed he would not kiss it to death.
Filled with excitement, Zhao Ling was so thrilled he wanted to start dancing the seaweed dance on the spot.
But after looking at the restaurant's servers and its many diners, he forced himself to hold back.
At the same time, Bo Saixi and Ah Yin both saw their personal copies of "Zhao Ling's Diary Copy" appear.
Since no one else could see their personal diary copies, they both opened them and began reading without regard for anyone around them.
Bo Saixi read the latest update. Zhao Ling actually said her eyes had been silky and alluring, making his bones go soft.
She really wanted to say, Can you stop talking nonsense? When did I look at you with silky, alluring eyes? I clearly wasn't that bold, all right?
When she reached the words "Female Killer Lv. 1," that content seemed to be automatically blocked from her, turning into ******. She found this rather baffling.
But combined with the diary's contents and the unusual changes she was experiencing, it indirectly confirmed that Zhao Ling did possess some ability that influenced her affection for him.
Moreover, this ability was beyond Zhao Ling's control. He could not shut it off through his own will.
As for what that thing called the system was, Bo Saixi could not understand it, though she somewhat suspected that this system might be Lord Sea God.
In her view, only the all-knowing Lord Sea God could grant Zhao Ling an ability that could attract even her.
In her mind, Bo Saixi placed an equals sign between the system and the omnipotent Sea God.
If the system knew what Bo Saixi was thinking, and if it had emotions of its own, it would definitely take her straight to the Divine Realm, beat the Sea God to a pulp, then point at him and demand of her,
"This piece of trash dares try to put himself on my level? I'm the one who's omnipotent. I could take on a hundred, a thousand of your Lord Sea Gods..."
As Ah Yin read the latest update, she likewise found that some words had turned into "******." She could not understand it. Why had the diary suddenly started withholding content from them?
It seemed to concern some special ability. Thinking of how she, Sister Dong'er, and Bo Saixi had reacted to Zhao Ling recently, Ah Yin vaguely guessed what sort of content it was.
But Ah Yin felt no resistance to it whatsoever. After all, her and Sister Dong'er's love for their husband had already been profound before he acquired that ability.
For her and Sister Dong'er, that ability merely added flowers to an already beautiful brocade. She simply did not know whether Sister Bo Saixi would be upset. She quietly glanced at Bo Saixi, only to find no anger on her face, merely rosy cheeks. Ah Yin secretly sighed in relief.
At the same time, Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong both saw the diary update.
Bibi Dong had no other thoughts about it. She was sitting cross-legged in cultivation. To become a god as soon as possible, and to be together with Zhao Ling forever sooner, she had to cultivate diligently.
Reading the latest update, Liu Erlong pursed her little lips in displeasure. That fellow Zhao Ling had hooked up with another woman yet again and again and again.
Damn it. Damn it all! I haven't even developed a romantic relationship with that scoundrel yet. That woman called Bo Saixi isn't going to beat me to it, is she?
At this thought, she raised her hand and slammed it hard against the stone table where she was sitting reading the diary, saying through gritted teeth,
"Zhao Ling, you clearly said you'd come find me in Heaven Dou Imperial City after returning from Spirit Hall. You haven't forgotten, have you? If you dare forget, I definitely won't let you off."
Just then, the door suddenly creaked open. She saw Yu Luomian storm in from outside and walk straight over to sit beside the stone table.
Liu Erlong could not quite understand what was wrong with her father. He looked very angry. Had he overheard what she had just said?
Liu Erlong instinctively swallowed and tentatively asked Yu Luomian,
"Father, what's wrong? Why do you look so unhappy?"
With a gloomy face, Yu Luomian replied indignantly, "It's all because of that Zhao Ling, who trampled our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's dignity into the dirt back in Suotuo City.
"According to intelligence brought back by a spy returning from Spirit Hall, that fellow Zhao is now engaged to Spirit Hall's Saintess. He counts as half a member of Spirit Hall now.
"That fellow Zhao is far too cunning. Presumably, he trampled our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan back then to curry favor with Spirit Hall and lay the groundwork for this engagement."
Chapter 116: Avenge you and wash away your humiliation
Hearing this, Liu Erlong said little. In front of her father, she naturally could not act as though she understood Zhao Ling very well.
She could only behave as though she had learned all of this from her father, so she rose unhurriedly, picked up a watering can, and watered the flowers filling the courtyard.
Seeing his daughter's indifferent expression, Yu Luomian continued pouring out his troubles.
"Alas, almost half a month has passed. Your eldest cousin's external injuries have fully healed, but his brain was damaged. All he does is grin foolishly all day.
"I'm afraid he'll be like that for the rest of his life. I truly never imagined the most outstanding disciple of our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would become a complete and utter idiot."
The next instant, Yu Luomian's tone abruptly changed.
"That second cousin of yours is a useless good-for-nothing, hopeless at everything except stirring up trouble. If he hadn't gone looking for trouble, if he hadn't gone to Suotuo City, your eldest cousin wouldn't have gone there to find him and offended that fellow Zhao.
"Your eldest cousin's current misfortune is entirely your useless second cousin's fault. If I could, I'd really have your eldest uncle expel that useless second cousin from the clan. He doesn't deserve to belong to our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
Liu Erlong continued turning a deaf ear to Yu Luomian's complaints. Whatever he liked saying, he could just say it.
Yu Luomian pondered for a moment, then let out another heavy sigh.
"Alas, who would've thought that fellow Zhao was actually a Titled Douluo? Spirit Hall even bestowed the title Demon-Suppressing Douluo on him. Supposedly, he's so powerful that even the Supreme Pontiff regards him highly.
"Our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is so large, yet we only have one Titled Douluo. Luckily, the three elders arrived a step late when they rushed to Suotuo City. If they'd run into that fellow Zhao, all three might have lost their lives there."
An incongruously odd smile appeared on Yu Luomian's face. "Those three elders went all the way to Suotuo City for nothing. After returning to the clan, they even lamented not leaving for Suotuo City a night earlier.
"They even said that if they'd set out a night earlier, that fellow Zhao might not have escaped. Heh. If they hadn't delayed by one night, whether they'd still be alive now would be a question. Three Soul Douluo trying to defeat a Titled Douluo? A fool's dream!"
As Liu Erlong listened, the corners of her mouth curled slightly. With no sense of belonging to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, she could not help taking some pleasure in its setback.
But her back was to Yu Luomian, so he did not see the smile of schadenfreude at her lips...
Meanwhile, the three elders, still digesting the intelligence a spy had sent back from Spirit City, sat beside a stone table in a courtyard, their aged faces all gloomy.
They could have racked their brains to pieces and still never imagined that Yu Xiaogang had actually offended a Titled Douluo in Suotuo City.
They simply could not understand where Yu Xiaogang had found the nerve to offend a Titled Douluo. Never mind that the man was now engaged to Spirit Hall's Saintess and already counted as half a member of Spirit Hall.
Zhao Ling himself was a Titled Douluo, while their Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had only one Titled Douluo.
If they enraged him and he came to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to slaughter everyone in his path, whether their clan leader could stop him would be a question.
If even their clan leader could not stop him, the entire Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan might be utterly destroyed because of it.
Before you continue