An acting showdown

The moment Xiao Yao and Xiao Wu melded like milk and water, their intimacy underwent a qualitative change, reaching the maximum of one hundred points.

At this point, Xiao Wu was willing to give everything for Xiao Yao, not merely sacrifice herself.

Even if Xiao Yao directly asked Xiao Wu to let go of her hatred for Bibi Dong, it was not impossible.

But Xiao Yao was unwilling to do that. It would show Xiao Wu none of the respect she deserved.

Aside from that, there was the final reward granted by the Heavenly Book Martial Soul.

[Xiao Wu's intimacy has reached 100. Skill chapter "Soft Bone: Yoga Chapter" unlocked. Please transfer it to your contracted partner, Xiao Wu.]

[Xiao Wu's intimacy has reached 100. Three blank pages unlocked.]

Interestingly, after Xiao Wu's intimacy reached 100, what Xiao Yao received was not a direct reward like before, but three blank pages.

These blank pages had many uses. The first was as a Soul Tool: Xiao Yao could place objects and even plants directly into the blank pages.

And from the moment they were placed inside, time stopped for those items. For example, if Xiao Yao put a piece of pork inside, the Heavenly Book Martial Soul would preserve it better than any brand of refrigerator.

The second use was sealing, which was precisely what Xiao Yao was doing now.

He seized and sealed the soul of the dead male Holy Wing of Light, then sealed the living female Holy Wing of Light inside, letting them remain together within and fall into slumber.

After long years passed, the Heavenly Book would change their state of existence, reviving them as pages in the "Spiritual Objects Chapter."

Xiao Yao suspected that the Fallen Heart Flame in his possession might have been sealed inside by the Heavenly Book's previous owner.

Of course, this kind of sealing could only be used when the other party did not resist or when there was an enormous gap in strength.

Had the female Holy Wing of Light not had eyes only for her mate, Xiao Yao could not have succeeded so easily.

The third use was also sealing, but it was not this sort of preservative sealing. Rather, it was like hell.

It imprisoned an opponent inside, gradually draining his strength, life, and even intelligence.

In the eyes of those hidden in the shadows:

Xiao Yao activated his Heavenly Book Martial Soul. The first beam of light took away the dead Holy Wing of Light's soul, while the second made the living Holy Wing of Light vanish into thin air.

This was simply inconceivable. Even with their cultivation as Titled Douluo, they had never seen or heard of anything like it.

The aged voice turned somewhat shrill, clearly cracking from shock:

"Were my eyes playing tricks on me? There was a Holy Wing of Light there just now, wasn't there?"

The raspy voice was somewhat distorted as well:

"You weren't mistaken. He really did use his Martial Soul to absorb that Holy Wing of Light with ten thousand years of cultivation."

"Then isn't the young mistress in danger? Should we step in?"

"Let's wait a little longer. From the look of them, they mean the young mistress no harm. The young mistress is waking up!"

Her fifth Soul Ring finally stabilized, and the girl slowly awoke.

Genius though she was, dealing with the dying mental assault of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast for the first time had still left her somewhat flustered, to the point that she had not noticed Xiao Yao and Xiao Wu approaching or what had just happened.

The moment she opened her eyes, she saw a boy and a girl before her, standing very close.

If they harbored ill intentions toward her, she would be in danger.

The girl could not help cursing inwardly: What the hell were Snake Lance and Pufferfish doing, letting people get all the way here?

Indeed, the girl was Qian Renxue, daughter of Spirit Hall's previous Pope and its current Pope.

In recent years, she had been lurking in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace disguised as Xue Qinghe, crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. Some time ago, she had broken through to level fifty and deliberately found an opportunity to resume her true appearance and come out to obtain a Soul Ring.

Unexpectedly, she happened to run into Xiao Yao and Xiao Wu.

While the girl was still inwardly fuming, a transmitted voice reached her ears:

"Young mistress, this boy and girl have no intention of harming you. On the contrary, they were guarding you."

"Oh?"

Even the tone of the transmitted voice sounded strange, as though he did not know how to describe what had just happened:

"Another Holy Wing of Light came just now, but they..."

Qian Renxue did not listen to the rest. She had seen no traces of battle and took it for granted that Xiao Yao and Xiao Wu had lured the Holy Wing of Light away.

Xiao Yao and Xiao Wu currently both looked fifteen or sixteen, but on the Douluo Continent, Soul Power promoted growth, so people generally developed faster.

Thus, Qian Renxue thought they were eleven or twelve.

But even at eleven or twelve, having the courage and strength to use a lure-the-tiger-from-the-mountain stratagem on a Holy Wing of Light was already quite remarkable.

Qian Renxue could not help wanting to recruit them.

She softened her tone. "I heard sounds of fighting just now. You must have saved me. Thank you so much."

Xiao Yao inwardly grumbled: Sounds of fighting, my ass. At most, you heard the Holy Wing of Light crashing through a tree.

Besides, since when did you need me to save you? If I haven't guessed your identity wrong, there's at least one Titled Douluo hiding nearby, right?

Zhang Wuji's mother truly didn't lie to me. The prettier a woman is, the better she is at lying.

But since you want an acting contest, it's time to show you what a best actor looks like.

He put on an icy expression and said:

"I wouldn't call it saving you. The Holy Wing of Light just happened to be something I needed. If anything, you served as bait for me for free. Let's call it each getting what we needed. We're even."

With that, he took Xiao Wu's hand, turned, and left.

His actions and reactions just now had all stemmed from judgments Xiao Yao made in an instant and then acted upon.

With his intelligence, he had naturally guessed Qian Renxue's identity.

Qian Renxue's personality also surfaced in his mind.

Qian Renxue was a proud woman with an extremely strong desire for control, placing interests above all else.

To achieve her goals, she could abandon even Titled Douluo elders who had loyally served her family, and could temporarily set aside even the enmity of her father's murder.

Given her personality, even if he had helped her, he would not earn her regard.

Rather than eagerly trying to curry favor with her, he might as well exploit her personality to make her interested in him.

That was why Xiao Yao had dismissed Qian Renxue and turned to leave.

As he expected, a puzzled expression appeared on Qian Renxue's face as she watched his retreating figure.

She had always been extremely confident in her appearance. Apart from that woman, she had never seen any woman who could compare to her.

Judging by the boy's appearance, he should have been at the age when romantic feelings first began to bloom.

She believed that as long as she showed him a little goodwill, he would naturally enter her service.

Yet his reaction seemed to suggest he held her in utter disregard?

This left Qian Renxue feeling somewhat defeated, but even more than that, it sparked her curiosity and competitive spirit.

What gave this boy the nerve to ignore me? I must bring him under my control.

At this moment, Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo, who had remained hidden in the shadows, slowly emerged.

Snake Lance Douluo was tall and thin. Standing there, he resembled a long lance thrusting toward the heavens, incomparably sharp.

Porcupinefish Douluo was the opposite: short and fat, with an exceedingly ugly appearance.

Their expressions were strange. They looked as though they wanted to speak but held back, their faces resembling those of someone suffering from constipation.