Zhang Yang kept his thoughts to himself, betraying nothing.
He let the Three-Eyed Golden Lion rest her head in his palm.
Her relaxed manner, coupled with the fluffy sensation, nearly made him give in to the urge to stroke her.
Fortunately, he chose to hold back in the end. Haste made waste, and her favorability was still too low.
He continued playing dumb. Before long, it was deep into the night, and two hours had passed since the Three-Eyed Golden Lion approached him.
Seeing the sleeping Zhang Lexuan show faint signs of waking, the little one gave her a wary glance, looking visibly annoyed.
How annoying... I was enjoying the smell!
Zhang Yang kept his Martial Soul activated, maximizing its charm effect.
Every part of him delighted the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and she was deeply reluctant to leave that comfort behind.
But she dared not reveal herself, worried that she would frighten the human in front of her and never get another chance to be close to him.
So, while she grumbled inwardly, she reacted at once, lifting her head from Zhang Yang's palm.
Reluctant to part, she timed her retreat and quietly withdrew.
The weakened Zhang Lexuan caught her breath and opened her eyes.
Her mind was full of memories of her intimacy with Zhang Yang, and the intense sensations left her in a daze.
She had no idea that a "third party" had intruded beside her and leaned against the tree to recover.
After a while, she finally managed to calm down. Only then did she notice that her hand had moved to one side at some point.
She distinctly remembered their fingers interlocked before she fell asleep, still holding the position from the final thrust. When had they let go?
"Hmph, you won't get away!"
Zhang Lexuan misunderstood, thinking Zhang Yang had shaken her hand off after they finished.
She shot him a playful glare and reached out, taking his hand again.
She thought that although she had gotten carried away tonight and done something she shouldn't have, things had come to this, and there was no other way.
From now on, he was her fiancé. No matter how many women he attracted in the future, she had to have her share.
As a very traditional woman, Zhang Lexuan was relatively accepting of it, especially after battling Zhang Yang. She felt it was all the more necessary.
This younger man was handsome, but he was no pretty boy.
No matter how much it had mutated, his Martial Soul was still a branch of the Body Martial Soul.
Cultivating and sparring with him took far too much out of her. One person simply couldn't handle it.
Zhang Lexuan didn't yet know that Zhang Yang possessed the [Law of Devouring]. That thing was incredibly overbearing.
Last time, he had drained Tang Ya's Soul Power dry and stored it all in his Martial Soul. It had fed back into him when he advanced, sending him soaring from level 10 to level 20 in a single leap.
Today, faced with an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo like her, how could he hold back? He had devoured as much as he could throughout the entire process, absorbing it all.
"It's still early. I'll rest a little longer."
Zhang Lexuan checked her condition and gave up struggling.
Tilting her head, she leaned against Zhang Yang's shoulder and went back to sleep.
She had completely failed to notice that the man she loved had actually been feigning sleep all along.
They stayed like that until the sun rose the next day, then tidied up the campfire as usual and prepared to set off.
"Huh? No Soul Beasts came to us last night?"
"Did that senior in the shadows think you didn't need one anymore?"
Zhang Lexuan looked first toward the edge of the safe zone but saw no new Soul Beasts.
She wasn't surprised, though. Instead, she came up with a reasonable explanation and turned her gaze to Zhang Yang as she spoke.
But she saw him standing beneath the tree, apparently deep in thought. Zhang Lexuan's face instantly flushed crimson, assuming he was savoring the memory of their battle.
"Come on, let's go! We can talk about it tonight!"
Her tone was coquettishly reproachful, but she wasn't the least bit angry.
Zhang Yang came back to his senses at her words and realized that Eldest Senior Sister had misunderstood, though he couldn't be bothered to explain.
Talk about it tonight? Of course! If I guessed right, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion watched the whole thing.
Hmm... Maybe it'll help raise her favorability?
Even taking ten thousand steps back, he could still keep devouring Soul Power.
Zhang Lexuan was an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo, and she tasted far better than Tang Ya. He could enjoy himself and grow stronger at the same time!
With that thought, he stopped looking for traces of the Auspicious Beast. In a few strides, he moved to the beauty's side and slipped an arm around her waist with practiced ease.
"Eldest Senior Sister, you said it."
"Don't go back on your word when night comes."
After all, they had already done everything they should and shouldn't have.
The raw rice had been cooked, and all reserve had vanished like smoke.
Their relationship didn't even need a transition; they naturally slipped into a lovey-dovey mode.
Even with Zhang Yang holding her possessively, his lips drawing close to hers, Zhang Lexuan didn't feel awkward.
If he wanted to hug her, he could hug her; if he wanted to kiss her, he could kiss her. Playing hard to get was for the flirting stage. After all that, what barrier was left between them?
"Mmm, wait..."
"Let's lay down three rules. Not during the day!"
"The most urgent thing now is finding you a Soul Ring. We can't delay that."
Taking advantage of a pause to breathe, Zhang Lexuan restored some authority to her voice, displaying the bearing of an Eldest Senior Sister.
Well, if one ignored the moisture lingering at the corner of her lips and the blush on her cheeks, she might have been a little convincing.
Zhang Yang nodded emphatically and readily agreed, but the smile on his lips made him look "like he was asking for a beating" no matter how she looked at him.
Zhang Lexuan rolled her eyes hard.
She was secretly annoyed, thinking she wouldn't be able to keep him in line now!
Still, she put on a serious face and maintained her forceful bearing as Eldest Senior Sister, pulling Zhang Yang along as they set out again.
They headed for the vicinity of the Mixed Zone once more and continued searching for a suitable Soul Beast, but the result was no surprise.
One could even say the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had done it deliberately. If they actually found a target, wouldn't they leave?
Relying on her invincible status, she brought her demonic nature into full play and drove the surrounding Soul Beasts away before daybreak.
"Why do I feel like this is getting stranger and stranger?"
Completely baffled, Zhang Lexuan frowned as she analyzed the situation.
Little did she know, Zhang Yang understood perfectly well and had basically guessed what was happening.
It looked like the Emperor Auspicious Beast couldn't bear to see him leave and was deliberately hindering them.
That was fine too. Not only could he spend a few more days with Zhang Lexuan and devour a huge amount of Soul Power, but he could also...
Continue carrying out his sign-in plan with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Her current favorability of 70 couldn't trigger a second reward.
Both things could only be pursued here.
Once he returned to Shrek Academy, it wouldn't be so convenient.
So Zhang Yang remained perfectly calm and let things take their natural course.
Since they had come back empty-handed during the day, they might as well rest early. He sat down with Zhang Lexuan again.
He took out his long flute and used every means of enhancing his charm to the fullest. Playing it wasn't a waste of time, but a necessary part of the process.
It could put Zhang Lexuan at ease, helping her get into the mood and let her emotions loose, while also letting the Auspicious Beast in the shadows listen, giving him another way to make progress.
[Three-Eyed Golden Lion favorability +10, current: 80 (cannot sign in a second time)]
Just as Zhang Yang had expected, although her tracks were hard to find, she was hiding nearby.
He acted deliberately and with a specific target in mind, increasing her favorability further, and repeated the process.
After raising it, he would have an exhilarating sparring battle with Zhang Lexuan, managing both without neglecting either throughout the night.
Just like that, several days passed.
Even Eldest Senior Sister, powerful as she was with her Eight-Ring Soul Douluo cultivation...
Was nearly unable to hold out against Zhang Yang's devouring attribute when things finally took a turn.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's favorability finally reached 100, allowing a second sign-in, and she made her move that night...