"Xiao Tian, stop!"
Hearing his master's command, Xiao Tian pulled out of his dive and flew back up, returning to Long Qianming's side.
Only then did Dugu Xin and Su Qing'er recover from their fear. Their eyes shone as they looked at Long Qianming riding atop the head of the twelve-meter-long Dark Sacred Dragon, utterly astonished.
"Brother Ming, what exactly happened here while we were meditating? How did this legendary true dragon-the Dark Sacred Dragon-appear inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well? Didn't you say the Jade Phosphorus Seven-Absolute Flower's poison was extremely powerful?"
"Qianming, why does this Dark Sacred Dragon Soul Beast only listen to you? Did you tame it using some special method?"
A string of questions spilled from Dugu Xin and Su Qing'er's mouths. Long Qianming jumped down from the dragon's head, walked up to them, and introduced it.
"Xiao Tian, this young Dark Sacred Dragon, is my Martial Soul."
"Your Martial Soul? Isn't your Martial Soul the Dragon Pattern Spear? Since when did you have another Beast Martial Soul that can leave your body?"
Duyan Xin stared at Long Qianming in disbelief, then looked at the Dark Sacred Dragon beside him, whose beastly eyes gazed down at them.
It all felt unfamiliar to him, so unreal. But soon, Dugu Xin's eyes lit up, and he asked in surprise,
"Brother Ming, are you a Soul Master with Twin Martial Souls?"
Hearing this, Long Qianming waved his hands repeatedly and explained to the two astonished people before him,
"I only have one Martial Soul, and that's the External Martial Soul, the Dark Sacred Dragon. As for the Dragon Pattern Spear, it was nothing more than a false image I fabricated to pull the wool over people's eyes and prevent anyone with ulterior motives from targeting me."
"Qianming, doesn't that mean you've been deceiving Little Sister Dong'er all along?"
Su Qing'er's train of thought was rather unusual; she immediately connected this to Bibi Dong.
Aside from the two of them, Bibi Dong could be said to have spent the most time with Long Qianming. Who would have thought that even when she left back then, she still hadn't known what Long Qianming's Martial Soul actually was?
Wasn't this outright toying with someone else's feelings?
At this, Long Qianming remained silent and merely gave a somewhat awkward smile.
As the two finally began to calm down, Xiao Tian beside them had already noticed Su Qing'er.
He actually began wildly wagging his dragon tail and ran toward her, his dragon eyes fixed on Su Qing'er's body as though he had suddenly come across some beloved treasure.
"Qianming, this Dark Sacred Dragon isn't going to kill me, is he?"
"Brother Xin, what should we do?"
Su Qing'er endured the gentle strokes of the black dragon tail while constantly keeping an eye on the strange look in that ferocious dragon head's eyes, which seemed like a cat or dog seeking cuddles. She was both nervous and afraid.
Dugu Xin, however, looked troubled. He knew all too well what the Dark Sacred Dragon's behavior meant. Dragon Soul Beasts were lustful-this was a truth unchanged through the ages.
Otherwise, why would Soul Beasts with lesser-dragon bloodlines even exist throughout the Soul Master World?
For the sake of his happiness in the latter half of his life, and to show Su Qing'er his prowess as a boyfriend, Dugu Xin gave a light cough.
"Ahem-"
Then he looked at Long Qianming and said,
"Brother Ming, your Martial Soul is a little handsy. Don't tell me you're just like your Martial Soul on the inside!"
"How could that be?"
Long Qianming looked at Dugu Xin with some embarrassment, then waved his hand, and Xiao Tian turned into a cloud of black Qi and vanished before them.
After this incident, Dugu Xin held Su Qing'er's hand even more tightly. He would never let anyone else touch her in the slightest again, not even an External Martial Soul.
Long Qianming looked at them happily and asked with curiosity, "Brother Ming, did your Martial Souls change after you ate the immortal herbs?"
"Of course! They may not be as imposing as your External Martial Soul, but we're not weak in the slightest!"
As they spoke, the two exchanged a glance, and then two green lesser-dragon phantoms appeared behind them.
"Not bad, not bad at all. Brother Dugu, have you named your lesser-dragon Martial Souls yet? Their former snake Martial Soul names wouldn't really suit them anymore."
"Uh... I'll leave it to Qing'er. She can name them," Dugu Xin said with a doting expression.
Su Qing'er pondered for a moment before saying,
"Brother Xin's Martial Soul is so green it's almost black, with a few earthen-brown markings. Why not call it the Jade Phosphorus Dragon, and mine the Emerald Dragon? How does that sound?"
"Great, they sound nice and are easy to remember!"
Dugu Xin and Long Qianming repeatedly voiced their agreement, both praising the names of the two Martial Souls.
"Brother Ming, how much has your Soul Power increased?"
"I'm a rank twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster now. The herbs I ate raised my Soul Power by five ranks."
Hearing this, Dugu Xin was delighted. That meant the gap between their Soul Power was less than eleven ranks, and if they sparred, he would no longer need to refrain from using one of his Soul Skills.
After all, the sheer physical strength of Long Qianming's Dark Sacred Dragon was already formidable. And just now, when faced with the Dark Sacred Dragon's provocation, the Jade Phosphorus Dragon within him had felt fear, but also defiance.
However, just as Dugu Xin was about to suggest a spar, Long Qianming pointed at the octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot closest to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and made a request.
"Those two poisonous herbs are closest to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring. With my current Soul Power Level, it's difficult for me to approach them. Sorry for the trouble, Brother Dugu and Sister Qing'er, but please help me pick them."
"Just those two immortal herbs? That's no trouble at all."
Dugu Xin put the spar out of his mind. He also wanted to see just how strong his enhanced poison immunity was now that his Martial Soul had evolved, and he could take the opportunity to experience Su Qing'er's healing effects as well.
"Qing'er, let's go. We must do a proper job of what Brother Ming has asked."
"All right!"
Su Qing'er nodded slightly and entered the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well alongside Dugu Xin.
However, they had only taken a few steps when Long Qianming, standing in the outer ring, tossed them a blade made of jade and cautioned them,
"The closer you get to the spring's center, the stronger the heat and cold poisons become. When harvesting those two poisonous herbs that gather the essences of cold and heat, make sure to cut through their stems with the jade knife. As long as you leave their roots, these poisonous herbs will grow back."
"All right, we understand."
Dugu Xin immediately activated Martial Soul Possession. With his physical abilities enhanced, he steadily walked toward the center of the spring at a slow pace.
With every step, that extreme heat passed through his exposed skin, producing an invisible burning effect.
It was scorching hot and painful! Sweat poured off him.
Su Qing'er, who had stopped within the middle ring, looked at the extremely uncomfortable Dugu Xin and immediately used her Third Soul Skill.
"Jade Healing!"
An Emerald Dragon charged straight toward Dugu Xin, then turned into an emerald-green light that swirled around him.
In an instant, the pain brought on by the heat disappeared, and the burns on his skin began to heal rapidly.
Dugu Xin was delighted, because the healing effect of Qing'er's third, single-target healing Soul Skill had risen directly from its original 30% to 60%, doubling outright.
PS: Due to personal reasons, the update schedule has changed recently. Two chapters will be posted at noon, and updates will return to the early morning later. Please take note.