In the grove at Nuoding Academy.
Zhang Lexuan appeared there, several Soul Bones now resting in her palm.
"This domain truly is powerful beyond measure. It can actually strip someone out of their original world and forcibly drag them into a completely isolated space."
"That also means that even if I detonate the domain outright within this space, the outside world won't notice a thing. Even the slightest disturbance will be swallowed completely by this sealed space."
As her mind uncontrollably replayed the surging waves unleashed the instant the domain shattered, Zhang Lexuan felt her scalp prickle.
Although detonating the domain caused her no actual backlash or side effects, the sheer intimidation of that savage, explosive power pouring forth still left a trace of lingering fear deep in her heart.
Moreover, even a Peerless Douluo would probably have died inside the domain.
Domain Detonation was simply that terrifying.
Just then, Lin Chuan landed beside Zhang Lexuan.
"Sister Lexuan, Tang Hao should be completely dead, right?"
He turned to look at Zhang Lexuan beside him and asked softly.
Zhang Lexuan nodded slightly, turned her delicate hand, and offered him the crystalline Soul Bones. The corners of her lips lifted as she said softly:
"Within my domain, I am the sole sovereign. Besides, shattering the domain is far more overbearing than Ring Detonation. By now, he has long since been reduced to dust, leaving only these few bones behind. Take them."
Lin Chuan swept his gaze over the Soul Bones, then lightly flicked his sleeve, storing them all in System Space.
Watching the Soul Bones vanish from her palm, Zhang Lexuan remained perfectly composed, without the slightest surprise.
After all, Lin Chuan had dragged her back from the Yellow Springs when she should have died, not to mention raising her cultivation rank and the ages of her Soul Rings along with it.
A mere trick of making things disappear into thin air was hardly worth mentioning beside such heaven-reaching means that could revive the dead and regrow flesh upon bare bones.
"Sister Lexuan."
Lin Chuan pondered briefly, then looked toward Holy Soul Village and said:
"I'm planning to find Ah Yin and put it in the Heaven and Earth Great World. There, Ah Yin can obtain enough energy, and perhaps it won't take long for her to regain human form."
Tang Hao had already been executed, reduced to a handful of earth.
Ah Yin must not be left wandering in the wilderness any longer. Whether by sentiment or reason, he had to shelter her beneath his wings.
The Image-Recording Stones were not merely ironclad proof to announce to the world; Ah Yin had to see them first.
She had to see just how filthy Tang Hao truly was once his hypocrite's skin was stripped away.
Moreover, there was one thing he truly could not understand: why had Tang Hao placed Ah Yin in such a sunless cavern?
Plants grew toward the sun. That was one of the simplest principles in heaven and earth. How could he not know?
Was he truly stupid, or was he hiding some unspeakable scheme?
At these words, a measure of sorrow suddenly welled up in Zhang Lexuan's heart.
Ah Yin was such a gentle woman, yet she had encountered a monster in human skin like Tang Hao.
She pondered briefly before finally sighing.
"Then I'll return to the Heaven and Earth Great World first. If you encounter any danger outside, I'll come out and block it for you."
Hearing this, Lin Chuan slowly shook his head, a cold smile curling his lips.
With a slight turn of his wrist, a storage ring appeared out of thin air above his palm. Naturally, it contained Image-Recording Stones, too many to count.
"There's no hurry to return to the Heaven and Earth Great World, Sister Lexuan."
"I recorded every single thing Tang Hao revealed inside that domain. Sorry for the trouble, but please distribute the Image-Recording Stones in this ring across the entire continent. Let everyone under heaven open their eyes and see just what sort of beast lies beneath the skin of this illustrious Clear Sky Douluo!"
Zhang Lexuan took the storage ring in her delicate hand and extended her spiritual power inside. Sure enough, she saw numerous jade stones resting within, shimmering with light.
Presumably, these were the Image-Recording Stones Lin Chuan had just mentioned.
In an instant, undisguisable shock spread across her devastatingly beautiful face.
What a Lin Chuan. He truly had left nothing out of his calculations.
Once these things were made public, never mind the Clear Sky Sect-even Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao would probably end up utterly disgraced, cursed by the world for a thousand years.
After all, faithlessly betraying love and deceiving a beloved woman were vile deeds that could never bear the light of day.
Even if Ah Yin was a Soul Beast, under the rules of the Douluo Continent, there could be no resentment in death when one was openly hunted and killed through inferior skill.
But using love as bait to deceive and scheme was utterly despicable, something the righteous path could not tolerate and people's hearts could not accept.
"All right. I'll take care of it now."
Zhang Lexuan nodded slightly.
No sooner had she spoken than she seemed to remember something. She gazed blankly at the boy before her and slowly crouched down.
Without allowing any protest, she pulled Lin Chuan into her arms, lowered her head, and pressed her lips against his.
As warm softness touched his lips, Lin Chuan's pupils abruptly contracted.
Was I just... forcibly kissed?
How could I tolerate that?
Lin Chuan immediately reached up and held the back of her head, turning the tables as he stormed her defenses and seized territory.
Zhang Lexuan had never encountered such a battle in her life and was terribly inexperienced. Two rosy clouds instantly rose over her cheeks.
When she realized Lin Chuan was actually pressing his advantage, she instantly became flustered.
Only one thought remained in her heart.
How was this fellow so practiced at this?
After a long while, their lips parted.
Zhang Lexuan's exquisite cheeks were already covered in rosy clouds, her beauty beyond compare.
"All right... I'm leaving."
Not daring to look at Lin Chuan, she left those words in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum, then hastily turned and fled in disarray.
Lin Chuan stood where he was, watching Zhang Lexuan's fleeing figure, a smile appearing on his face.
Still, a trace of regret inevitably arose in his heart.
He only wished that the flowing waters of time could run a little faster.
He could hardly wait to make this lovely woman completely his.
He did not dwell on the matter any further.
Turning his palm over, Lin Chuan plucked a talisman out of thin air.
Neither gold nor jade, this talisman was the Spatial Teleportation Talisman he had obtained from the system's draw.
He immediately thought of Holy Soul Village's location.
In an instant, the talisman blazed with spiritual light, space rippled like water, and his figure vanished from the spot.
Dusk hung low over the entrance to Holy Soul Village.
The old village chief, Jack, carried a hoe over his shoulder. After a busy day, he was just about to head home for a good, long sleep.
Just then, something unexpected happened.
A brilliant radiance suddenly appeared out of thin air before Old Jack.
Old Jack stopped short and rubbed his cloudy old eyes, muttering inwardly.
Where had such a dazzling light come from on this dark, windy night?
Could it be that the years spared no one, and my old eyes really were failing?
He looked closely again. The radiance had not faded; it truly hovered before his eyes.
In a flash, the light vanished entirely, revealing a boy.
He wore white robes, his long ice-blue hair falling loosely about him. His ice-blue eyes resembled two icy pools that had remained frozen for ten thousand years, so cold they seemed not of this world.