Who Had Won Over Whom?

The rock cannonballs carried this Thousand-Year Soul Beast's Soul Power. They were absolutely not attacks Xiao Yao and Xiao Wu could withstand.

He had already quietly turned the Heavenly Book to a blank page...

Just then.

A thunderous boom rang out in the sky, and an angel made her dazzling entrance.

Accompanied by Angel Holy Light, Qian Renxue stood before Xiao Yao, the Angel Holy Sword in hand.

She turned and slashed, shattering countless rocks into fragments, looking every inch the badass. (Action choreography: Agul)

Xiao Yao could not help grumbling inwardly: This woman really knew how to show off.

By the time Qian Renxue turned back, Xiao Yao swayed and simply "fainted."

[Soul Power absorption stage one complete. Skill section unlocked: "Incomplete Chapter of the Seventy-Two Transformations"]

Only when his Martial Soul transmitted the information did Xiao Yao learn that his slow cultivation over the past days was not just because of the high quality of his Soul Power. A large amount of it had also been absorbed by the Heavenly Book to unlock its pages.

The page unlocked now contained a combat technique-the Incomplete Chapter of the Seventy-Two Transformations.

The complete Seventy-Two Transformations was actually the exclusive combat method of the "Eight-Nine Mystic Art," a guardian cultivation art of the Mystic Gate in the primordial era. Mastering it granted extremely powerful combat strength.

For example, after an immortal who cultivated the Seventy-Two Transformations took the form of the Ferocious Beast Taotie, they could wield Taotie's innate divine ability-Devour Heaven and Earth.

If he took the form of the divine beast Vermilion Bird, he could wield its natal flame-Southern Brightness Li Fire.

When Great Sage Sun and Erlang, the Illustrious Sage and True Lord, had dueled with their arts, they had actually been competing in their mastery of the Seventy-Two Transformations and the divine abilities of the divine beasts whose forms they took.

The "Incomplete Chapter of the Seventy-Two Transformations" recorded in the Wordless Heavenly Book naturally lacked that original might, but it still had quite a few ingenious uses.

The first was transformation: turning into whatever person or object he wished. If his own abilities were compatible, he could imitate some of theirs.

Although he could no longer recreate the magnificent spectacle of transforming into all those divine beasts, it was still enough to roam unchallenged across the Douluo Continent.

The second was disguising his bearing, presence, and Soul Rings. Compared with the first ability, this seemed hardly worth mentioning, yet it would be even more helpful in Xiao Yao's current circumstances.

The sudden unlocking of this skill was unexpected, but that did not stop him from revising his plans around it.

After sleeping for a long time, Xiao Yao "slowly came around."

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Xiao Wu's pretty face, filled with worry.

She still did not know that Xiao Yao had faked everything and thought something had really happened to him.

With guilt and tenderness, Xiao Yao stroked her pretty face. "I made you worry."

"You're awake."

Xiao Yao and Xiao Wu were inside a carriage compartment many times larger than the one they had bought themselves.

The compartment was extravagantly luxurious. Its carpet was made from the hide of a white tiger, the guardian Soul Beast of the Star Luo Empire. A glazed glass lamp hung from the ceiling, illuminating the interior brightly and clearly.

The carriage door opened, and an ethereal, cool voice with a mature woman's allure drifted inside, followed by an exceptionally beautiful woman.

It was none other than Qian Renxue.

Xiao Yao "weakly" propped himself up. "I owe you my life."

A trace of amusement appeared in Qian Renxue's eyes. Just as she had imagined, winning over someone this proud and untamed required making him submit of his own accord.

In his view, although Xiao Yao had not yet submitted completely, he was already showing some signs of yielding.

Her voice softened as she began her grand plan to "win him over":

"I didn't expect us to meet again so soon, giving me a chance to repay you for saving my life. You left too quickly last time. You hadn't even properly introduced yourself."

"And that flaming whip you used earlier seemed a little different from the spatial teleportation Soul Skill you mentioned."

Qian Renxue was clever. She knew she could not use a favor to demand repayment from "someone like" Xiao Yao, so she deliberately described her intervention as repaying a debt.

But the common failing of "proud, untamed people" was that others could owe them, but they could not owe others; others could betray them, but they could not betray others.

If things went as she expected, he would repay this favor as quickly as possible. Then her opportunity would come.

Just as she expected, Xiao Yao first fell silent for a long moment, then revealed his purple First Soul Ring.

Surprise flashed through Qian Renxue's eyes. Although she had already heard about it from the two Titled Douluo, Snake Lance and Pufferfish, seeing it with her own eyes still left her a little shaken.

Then Xiao Yao withdrew the purple Soul Ring, and an invisible ripple spread across the surface of his body.

What appeared around him next were three Soul Rings in the optimal configuration: yellow, yellow, and purple.

At the same time, the Soul Power fluctuations coming from him also changed to those of a rank thirty-two Soul Elder.

He said, "I have Twin Martial Souls. For now, I'm mainly cultivating my flame Martial Soul. I've only added one Thousand-Year Soul Ring to my second, spatial Martial Soul."

The shock in Qian Renxue's eyes diminished slightly. Compared with the shock of a Thousand-Year First Soul Ring, Twin Martial Souls were easier for her to accept.

But only slightly. After all, only two people with Twin Martial Souls had appeared in nearly a hundred years.

One had died from self-detonation caused by the flaws of Twin Martial Souls before they could mature. The other had successfully overcome those flaws and become the Pope of Spirit Hall, one of the most powerful people on the continent.

This only strengthened her determination to win Xiao Yao over.

"What a pity. You should have waited until you were at least a Soul King before starting to absorb Soul Rings."

"Perhaps you have your own considerations."

"Also, why were you here? This Wild Vajra Ape was extremely powerful. Ordinary Soul Ancestors and even weaker Soul Kings wouldn't dare provoke it."

Xiao Yao gave a cold snort and turned his head away, refusing to answer.

Xiao Wu had already slipped into her role. Covering her mouth, she laughed:

"Our master was a powerful Soul Douluo who passed away not long ago. Before he died, he told us to go to Heaven Dou City and find an old friend of his from many years ago."

"But Brother Xiao Yao took the wrong road, and that's how we ended up here."

Qian Renxue was taken aback.

This child had both a terrible sense of direction and a tsundere streak. Wasn't he just too adorable?

Her attitude toward Xiao Yao shifted further from her initial admiration and desire to conquer him.

Now, her admiration remained unchanged-in fact, it had grown stronger. Her desire to conquer him had been replaced by a desire to win him over, with a little tenderness added as well.

Stroking Xiao Wu's head, she said softly, "I have some influence in Heaven Dou City. Tell me who your master's friend is, and I'll help you find them."

Xiao Wu's expression dimmed. "We recently learned that Master's friend had passed away too. We don't know who to turn to anymore. We're just following Master's last wishes and completing our unfinished studies."

"In that case, stay with me for now. I'll help you get into the best academy in Heaven Dou City."

Xiao Wu glanced at Xiao Yao. He still stubbornly kept his head turned away, as though he did not care what they were saying at all.

She pursed her lips in a smile. "Then thank you, Sister Xue Ke. Don't be fooled by how Brother Xiao Yao looks. He must be willing deep down too."

Qian Renxue said lightly, "I understand. How could a little brat like him hide what he's thinking from me?"

"Also, since you've told me your secrets, I'll tell you one of mine. I'm actually a princess of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, and my name isn't Xue Ke. It's Xue'er. You can call me Sister Xue'er."

"But I'm only Father's illegitimate daughter, so I don't have a residence of my own. Instead, I'm staying at the estate of my brother, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe. Once you're settled, you can come find me there anytime."

Qian Renxue chatted with Xiao Wu a while longer before leaving the compartment, presumably to give the two Titled Douluo some instructions.

Xiao Yao stopped pretending to be a "withdrawn youth" as well, and he and Xiao Wu exchanged smiles.

She probably believed she had already won them over.

But who, exactly, had won over whom?