As waves of weakness washed through Ye Han's body, Bibi Dong finished examining him and smiled in satisfaction.
"All right, my good disciple, you may go."
With a wicked chuckle, she lifted Ye Han off her lap.
"Go...?"
Ye Han was still dazed and had yet to recover.
His small body refused to obey him, and he fell headfirst into Bibi Dong's embrace.
Bibi Dong's delicate body suddenly trembled, going weak and numb, and her fair arms involuntarily wrapped around Ye Han's head.
"Gasp-!"
Everyone present was instantly stunned, their mouths hanging open.
Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo in particular nearly dropped his jaw to the floor.
"Ah!!!"
Ye Han instantly came to his senses, hastily broke free of her embrace, and fled.
He left behind a gathering of astonished elders and consecrators, along with a bewildered Bibi Dong.
"You little rascal, you really are bold! You even dared take liberties with the Supreme Pontiff!"
Ye Han had barely escaped outside when Ling Yuan followed him out, scolding him with a laugh.
"Sister Ling Yuan, I... I didn't do it on purpose..."
Ye Han's little face flushed crimson, and he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
That damned crazy woman brought it on herself. Who told her to leave me so dazed?
I just wonder whether that crazy woman will target me even more over this afterward.
But it's strange. Why did she suddenly examine my body? What mischief is she plotting?
While Ye Han pondered, the Dragon God within his Sea of Consciousness had already begun to suspect something.
But Ye Han could not figure it out for now, so he simply stopped dwelling on it.
"Sister Ling Yuan, let's hurry home!"
Ye Han took Ling Yuan's fair hand, wanting to leave this embarrassing place as quickly as possible.
Ling Yuan answered with a smile and quickly brought Ye Han back to their courtyard residence.
"You damned rabbit, get out of the way! Don't force us to act!"
"No, no, I won't! I won't let you barge into Master's room!"
"What business is it of yours? You're even calling him Master now? What a slutty, cheap rabbit!"
Ye Han and Ling Yuan had only just reached the courtyard entrance when they heard the insults flying inside.
From that exchange, they knew what had happened without needing to think and immediately pushed the door open.
"Creak!"
Inside the courtyard, Xiao Wu stood facing off against Hu Liena and Dugu Yan.
Ye Han and Ling Yuan's arrival instantly broke the atmosphere of drawn swords and bent bows.
"Master!"
Seeing her master return, Xiao Wu immediately threw herself into his arms.
Her soft, delicate body trembled slightly, and her eyes reddened as she said pitifully:
"Boohoo, Master, they wanted to barge into your room!"
"When I wouldn't let them in, they called me a slutty, cheap rabbit and even wanted to hit me!"
Listening to Xiao Wu's tearful complaints, Ye Han felt speechless and disgusted.
So what if they went into my room? What a busybody. She deserved to be cursed at!
However, Ye Han showed none of that on his face. He still had to soothe her properly.
He would still need her if he wanted to take down Da Ming and Er Ming effortlessly in the future, so he had to keep her heart dangling on his hook.
With that thought, Ye Han gently stroked Xiao Wu's head and comforted her tenderly:
"Be good. Don't be afraid. I'm here. No one can bully you."
His strokes left Xiao Wu weak all over, and her delicate body squirmed slightly in Ye Han's arms.
At the sight, Hu Liena and Dugu Yan felt a surge of anger and jealousy.
But more than anything, they felt flustered, their faces filled with the embarrassment of being caught red-handed.
Ling Yuan had no desire to fuss over such trivial matters, so she changed the subject:
"Xiao Han, the weather is lovely today. What would you like to do? Cultivate, or go out for a stroll?"
Thinking of breaking free of Bibi Dong's control and completing the trials to avenge his parents, Ye Han immediately nodded firmly.
"Sister Ling Yuan, I want to cultivate!"
Ling Yuan smiled sweetly, then began guiding Ye Han in his cultivation, with Xiao Wu and the other two girls joining them.
Time passed like a white steed flashing past a crack.
In the blink of an eye, two years had passed.
During those two years, the situation on the continent remained stable.
Qian Renxue's position as crown prince in the Heaven Dou Empire grew increasingly secure. She had gained enough say to influence some of the empire's actions.
Thus, Spirit Hall also began preparations for the Holy Son investiture ceremony.
In another half month, the day would come for Ye Han to be invested as the Holy Son.
Ye Han had not been idle over these years either. Aside from his daily cultivation with Ling Yuan,
he devoted almost all his time to harmonizing with the Dragon God's Three Supreme Treasures.
His compatibility had already reached forty-nine percent, leaving him just one step from his goal.
Precisely because most of his efforts went into improving his compatibility, his cultivation progressed somewhat slowly.
In two years, he had actually advanced a mere seven ranks, only just reaching rank forty today.
While this was certainly terrifying in the Soul Master World, compared with Ye Han's talent, it clearly fell somewhat short of expectations.
However, Ye Han did not mind. He knew full well that completing the Dragon God's trials was the true key to growing stronger.
Having reached rank forty today, Ye Han naturally needed to hunt for his fourth Soul Ring.
Early that morning, Ling Yuan took Ye Han to Sunset Forest to hunt for the Soul Ring he needed.
Over those two years, Ling Yuan had advanced from her original rank ninety-four to rank ninety-five.
She had improved tremendously in every respect and easily hunted down a suitable Soul Beast for Ye Han.
A fifty-three-thousand-year Soul Beast-a Ghost Dragon!
After absorbing it, Ye Han's Soul Power soared by two ranks, and he gained a Soul Skill:
"Fourth Soul Skill: Dragon Soul seizes the mind, Ghost controls the thoughts!"
Soul Skill effects:
Using his own Soul Power, he could condense a small, unconscious ghost dragon.
It could invade a target's Sea of Consciousness and intimidate their mind and soul at any time.
Through this, he could control them, and the Soul Skill's strength would increase as his Soul Power rose!
Ye Han was all the more satisfied with this.
Possessing this Soul Skill meant he could use it to manipulate others.
Once someone refused to obey him, he could directly intimidate their mind and soul.
This seems much more useful than the Dragon God's Soul Seal I used on Xiao Wu, doesn't it?
However, there was also a distinction between the two: the former required him to issue the command to intimidate them himself.
The latter, the Dragon God's Soul Seal, made those branded with it feel subconscious fear at every moment.
By the time they finished hunting for the Soul Ring, it was late.
The two headed straight to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to rest.
For the past two years, Ye Han had remained in secluded cultivation in Spirit City without venturing out.
But Dugu Bo, whose kill order had been lifted, frequently came to Spirit City to see him.
With those repeated visits, coupled with Ye Han's increasingly close relationship with Dugu Yan, the two sides grew more and more familiar.
After resting for a night, they returned to Spirit City. Before leaving, he invited Dugu Bo to attend the Holy Son investiture ceremony half a month later.
Ye Han was confident that by then, his compatibility with the three supreme treasures would reach fifty percent, allowing him to explore the mysteries beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
At that point, once the Holy Son investiture ceremony ended, he could have Dugu Bo lead him straight to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to undertake the Dragon God's Fourth Trial.
At sunset.
Ye Han and Ling Yuan returned to Spirit City.
They had only just entered the city when Ghost Douluo suddenly appeared.
He said that Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong had invited Ye Han to her bedchamber.
Ye Han thought little of it and went to Bibi Dong's bedchamber alone.
Ever since Bibi Dong had examined his body in public two years earlier,
she had frequently invited him to her bedchamber to sense the Soul Power within him.
Ye Han guessed that, like the Rogue Rabbit Xiao Wu, she was drawn to the presence of the Dragon God's Soul within him.
Ye Han had long since grown accustomed to this. He soon arrived outside Bibi Dong's bedchamber and prepared to push the door open.
"Boy!"
At that moment, however, the Dragon God's deep voice abruptly sounded in his mind:
"I sense an unprecedented killing intent. Leave this place at once!!!"
"Boom-"
The moment the Dragon God finished speaking, the door was blasted open from within.
From inside the room came Bibi Dong's wicked laughter, tinged with madness:
"Hehe, my good disciple, you've finally arrived!"
"Your master has been waiting for you for an entire night!!"
(End of chapter)