Douluo Continent: Simulating Douluo Dalu III: The Legend of the Dragon King, Solely to Screw Over Tang San

The girls all nodded in agreement. Gong Lan said, "If something like this ended up in Xiao Xue's hands, there's no telling what kind of trouble she'd stir up. It's best if you keep it, young master. You don't need to give it to us."

But Gong Xue took offense. "What's that supposed to mean, every one of you?" she said indignantly. "Am I really that bad?"

"You're not bad. You just don't have enough brains," Gong Miaomiao shot back.

"You... Hmph, you chrysanthemum, you Body Martial Soul!" Unable to think of a comeback, Gong Xue resorted to taking a jab at Gong Miaomiao's chrysanthemum Martial Soul again.

"Tch... You can't win an argument, so you bring that up again. And you still say you don't have too few brains." With that, Gong Miaomiao gave a faint smile.

After fooling around for a while, the group returned to their respective rooms. The room was a mess, so Gong Lan stayed behind to tidy up with Gong Yu. Na'er was tired and had long since climbed into bed and fallen fast asleep.

The room suddenly fell quiet, and Gong Yu found himself a little unaccustomed to it.

As the two of them picked things up from the floor, their hands suddenly reached toward each other and grasped the same object.

When their hands touched, Gong Lan's body trembled involuntarily.

A faint blush rose on her face, and she drew her slender hand back a little.

Gong Yu picked up the object from the floor and pretended nothing had happened, but Gong Lan suddenly asked, "Young master, do you want to?"

"Want to do what?" Gong Yu asked, though he knew perfectly well.

"You know, the two of us doing that." Gong Lan's face grew even redder after she said it. Then she continued, "If you want to, young master, Lan'er can do it. Lan'er is already fourteen."

Gong Yu put down what he was holding, pulled Gong Lan into his arms, and kissed her on the forehead. "Lan'er," he said softly, "after all these years, I understand how everyone feels. I'm sure you all know how I feel too, so don't rush. This continent will soon fall into chaos. Let's plan for the future first, so we can have and raise children without worries, don't you think?"

"You mean you'll give my sisters an answer too?" Gong Lan felt a surge of joy at Gong Yu's earlier words.

Gong Yu pretended to sigh. "Alas, it's all the fault of this charm of mine that has nowhere to go. I've bewitched you all so thoroughly that I doubt any other man could catch your eye now. So in the future, you'll all have to reluctantly marry me."

"You really can't shake that narcissism of yours, young master," Gong Lan said with a grin. "But those words are enough for Lan'er. I'll go back to my room now."

Gong Lan then left, and once Gong Yu had finished tidying up, he sat cross-legged on the sofa.

At dusk, a wave of Soul Power rippled through the room. Gong Yu slowly opened his eyes and smiled faintly. Just now, his Soul Power had broken through to level 40.

Chapter 46: Fire Kite vs. Grass Chicken Phoenix

In the evening, a cool breeze blew gently.

Gong Yu took everyone straight out. The girls had slept for several hours that afternoon, so they were full of spirit.

Since they were so energetic, Gong Yu took them to burn some of it off, heading straight to the Suotuo City Soul Fighting Arena.

Everyone registered a new false identity at the Suotuo City Soul Fighting Arena. Otherwise, their old badges would have been too eye-catching, and no one might have dared fight them.

"Everyone, sign up for separate matches, so we don't get assigned against each other. There's no point in fighting our own people," Gong Yu said calmly. He and Na'er didn't sign up, though. The two of them were a little too strong, and fighting wouldn't give them much practice, so there wasn't much point.

After signing up, everyone went to a private room.

Ten minutes later, Gong Xue was the first to take the stage. To Gong Yu's surprise, however, she ended up facing the grass chicken phoenix, Ma Hongjun.

That guy came to fight a match almost every night to earn money for the brothel. He won more often than not, but he had also lost quite a few times, so money came and went without him earning much. He could basically just scrape together enough for the brothel; he couldn't afford the high-class places Dai Mubai frequented.

Soon, Gong Xue and Ma Hongjun entered the arena from opposite directions. Gong Xue wore a mask, so her face couldn't be seen, but her hot figure still drew the attention of quite a few old lechers, and whistles and cheers rang out constantly.

After taking one look at Gong Xue's figure, Ma Hongjun couldn't help swallowing and deliberately tried to strike up a conversation.

Gong Xue naturally ignored the little fatty. She had never liked fat people. Earlier, after learning her opponent's name, Gong Yu had specifically told her to beat the fatty within an inch of his life, as long as she didn't kill him, and preferably cripple his third leg.

After an introduction from the referee, the Soul Fight finally began.

Ma Hongjun released a grass chicken Martial Soul, but when it appeared, a clear phoenix cry rang out from his body.

The grass chicken quickly possessed Ma Hongjun. His short hair suddenly grew longer and gathered toward the center of his head, forming a mohawk.

Then two Yellow Soul Rings pulsed out from beneath his feet. Long feathers grew from his thick, exposed arms, and his hands turned into claws.

Ma Hongjun then tried chatting Gong Xue up again. "Beauty, have you thought about it? How about being my girlfriend? As you can see, my Martial Soul is a phoenix. I can sense a strong fire-attribute presence coming from you. You're a fire-attribute Soul Master too, right? You'd be a perfect match for my phoenix."

Gong Xue ignored Ma Hongjun and released her Martial Soul instead. A Fire Kite burning with intense flames flew out of her body, circled the stage, then returned to possess her. A pair of wings instantly grew from her back.

Then two Soul Rings, one yellow and one purple, pulsed out from beneath her feet. Only then did she say through gritted teeth, "Big brother was right. You really are disgusting, little fatty, so you're dead!"

After five years of cultivation, Gong Xue's Soul Power had reached level 30. If Gong Yu hadn't told her to hold off for a while and wait until he and Gong Yue had leveled up before hunting for Soul Rings, she would probably have obtained her Third Soul Ring by now.

Gong Yu and Gong Yue had previously reached level 39 and level 29 respectively and were close to advancing, so he had told Gong Xue to hold off and wait.

Now Gong Yu had advanced, leaving only Gong Yue. Her Martial Soul was a cabbage, and her aptitude was relatively the worst among them, yet she had still reached level 29. She had once taken a Mystic Water Pill, which had improved her aptitude a little, so reaching level 30 shouldn't be a problem.

As for what came after level 30, they would simply go to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to get medicinal herbs to improve her aptitude.

Since Gong Xue hadn't obtained her Third Soul Ring yet, she still counted as a Soul Grandmaster. That was why she had been assigned to a Soul Grandmaster match and happened to run into Ma Hongjun.

"A... a Thousand-Year Soul Ring." Shock appeared on Ma Hongjun's face when he saw Gong Xue's Soul Ring, and he was belatedly frightened by his earlier behavior. He swallowed hard and asked in a trembling voice, "How is that possible? How can a Second Soul Ring be a thousand years old?"

It wasn't just Ma Hongjun. The surrounding spectators were all staring in shock and began whispering among themselves.

Those people simply hadn't seen much of the world. If any of them had visited the Gengxin City Great Soul Arena in recent years, they would surely have noticed that a few girls appeared there from time to time, always displaying Soul Rings beyond the usual age limit whenever they fought.

A few years ago, Gong Yu had taken the whole family to settle in Gengxin City and learn blacksmithing, so he often brought the girls to the Soul Fighting Arena to compete. That way, they could earn money while the girls gained practical combat experience.

"Hmph... You grass chicken who hasn't seen the world! How dare you harass me? Go die!" Gong Xue cursed. Her First Soul Ring began to flash, and she called out, "First Soul Skill, Flame Wing Slash!"

She flew into the air and, looking down from above, sent two red blades of fire slashing straight at Ma Hongjun on the platform.

That damned fatty Ma Hongjun was fairly nimble, though. He quickly dodged the two fire blades, avoiding them with two somersaults. Gong Xue's blades struck the platform and exploded, sending flames flying across it.

Ma Hongjun then began to counterattack, shouting, "First Soul Skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"

He raised both hands, and his First Soul Ring suddenly lit up. Then he threw his mouth open, spewing a thin stream of purplish-red flame toward Gong Xue in midair.

Ma Hongjun's grass chicken had yet to evolve into a phoenix, so it didn't count as a true flying-type Beast Martial Soul. He also hadn't obtained his Third Soul Ring, so he couldn't fly for the time being and could only attack from the ground.

His Phoenix Fire Line could attack at a distance, so attacking Gong Xue from the ground didn't put him at much of a disadvantage. He simply wasn't as agile as Gong Xue when attacking.

Gong Xue easily avoided Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire Line, which attacked in a single direction.

Then Gong Xue's Second Soul Ring flashed. "Second Soul Skill, Heavenly Fire Dances in Sorrow Across the Sky!"

As she spoke, Gong Xue clenched her fists, then opened her hands. Her presence burst forth, and a fiery red haze enveloped the area within five meters of her body. The air instantly became scorching hot.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen large fireballs materialized in the scorching air. Gong Xue pushed her open hands toward the platform from a distance, sending the fireballs crashing down across the entire platform.

Ma Hongjun was a fire-attribute Soul Master himself. Although his Phoenix Flame was still impure, it was Phoenix Flame all the same, and its heat was beyond that of ordinary fire. Thus, he had no fear of being burned by flames.

Gong Xue's flames were actually ordinary flames, and they were impure as well. Normally, they couldn't have done anything to Ma Hongjun.

However, she had spent the past few years cultivating at Gong Niuniu's side and had been influenced by Gong Niuniu's flames, acquiring a trace of Hellfire's destructive attribute. As a result, her flames were extremely explosive; whenever she produced fire, it was bound to explode.

Ma Hongjun might not fear fire, but he couldn't withstand the energy shockwaves produced by explosions.

Chapter 47: Action in the Night

"Hmph... How dare you harass me? I'll blast you to death, you bastard!"

As Gong Xue sent the dozen or so large fireballs hurtling straight down onto the platform, it was as though the entire platform had been carpeted with artillery fire. Bursts of light from the explosions covered it from end to end, dazzling as fireworks.

Apart from his First Soul Skill, Phoenix Fire Line, which could attack, Ma Hongjun's Second Soul Skill merely amplified his Phoenix Flame, so it was of no use in this situation.

But as he watched the mass of fireballs come at him, he wanted to surrender but couldn't. In the blink of an eye, the dozen or so fireballs exploded one after another on the platform.

It took about three or four minutes for the smoke on the platform to finally clear.

By then, Ma Hongjun had long since been knocked sprawling on the platform. All his clothes had been blasted away except for a pair of briefs, and he was black from head to toe. It was impossible to tell whether he had been blackened by smoke or charred by the explosions.

The referee appeared on the platform and went over to check Ma Hongjun's injuries. Finding him still alive, he immediately prepared to announce the result.

But Ma Hongjun, barely clinging to life, spoke first. "That crazy woman was trying to kill me! I only harassed her a little. Did she have to be so ruthless?"

After saying that, Ma Hongjun passed out.

The referee checked Ma Hongjun's breathing and found that he had only fainted. He picked up the microphone and announced the result of the Soul Fight.

Gong Xue then slowly walked off the platform to the cheers of the spectators.

"That felt great!" Gong Xue exclaimed excitedly upon returning to the private room.

"A waste of Soul Power."

Gong Xue was still waiting for everyone to praise her, but unexpectedly, Gong Niuniu was the first to knock her down a peg. "You could have won easily, but you insisted on wasting all that Soul Power on a big skill like that. What if someone could release a shield and defend against it? Once you've drained your Soul Power with one big skill, what are you going to do next?"

"I..." Gong Xue was immediately at a loss for words. She had always been proud that her Second Soul Skill could deal damage over a wide area, but she had never considered what weakness it brought her. Gong Miaomiao's words had now opened her eyes.

But the two had obviously grown used to bickering. Even knowing the other had a point, neither would yield, so Gong Xue pursed her lips and said, "But I still have you all, don't I? I'm only responsible for attacking. I'll leave defense to you."

"But what if one day we're not by your side?" Gong Miaomiao said. "Or what if the person beside you isn't good at defense? Like Third Sister. If Third Sister were with you, what would you do? Would you expect her to defend you or kill the enemy?"

"I..." Gong Xue was once again speechless. She gave Gong Miaomiao a look and went straight to sit down to the side, making it clear she didn't want to talk to her.

She hadn't won an argument against Gong Miaomiao in a long time, but after sitting down, she also began to think about what Gong Miaomiao had just said.

Not long after their bickering ended, it was the fifth sister, Gong Xi'er's turn to take the stage.

Gong Xi'er dispatched her opponent in the arena in less than three minutes, then returned to the private room.

After that, someone from the private room took the stage every few minutes. Once they had fought their matches, the girls also formed teams among themselves to compete in two-on-two Soul Fights.

About two hours later, only one match remained: the seven-on-seven.

Apparently, Suotuo City had no particularly formidable seven-person teams of the same rank either, so the seven-on-seven match didn't last long before the girls won.

Before the match, the girls had all placed bets. With a win assured, they couldn't possibly waste the chance to bet. Besides, it was money from the Soul Fighting Arena; they might as well take it.

After collecting their winnings, the group left the Soul Fighting Arena.

It was late at night, but they didn't return directly to the Rose Hotel. They walked to the entrance of a secluded alley.

Suddenly, a fair arm reached out of the darkness and handed Gong Yu a piece of paper.

Gong Yu unfolded the paper and looked at it, then smiled. "You can make your move. Number 6, Thirteenth Alley in the west of the city. There'll be a deal there tonight. Decide for yourselves what to do."

"Yes, young master. I'll take my sisters there first, then," Gong Lan said calmly after receiving Gong Yu's tip.

As for what they were going to do, they were naturally going to kill human traffickers.

Over the years, officials and human traffickers had been assassinated from time to time within the Heaven Dou Empire. It was the sisters who had done it.

Having experienced it firsthand, they hated human trafficking. Before, they hadn't had the ability to do anything about it, but after they all advanced to Soul Grandmaster, they had gradually begun making plans.

Gong Yu didn't take part in their plans, but Zi JI had received orders from Na'er and often protected them in secret, so they had never failed.

Although Gong Yu didn't participate in their plans, he always helped clean up afterward. After all, all they ever thought about was killing traffickers; they had never considered what to do with the abducted children. They would kill the traffickers and walk away, and it would be terrible for the children if no one looked after them.

Gong Yu made arrangements for all the rescued children. Over the years, he had earned quite a bit of money, whether from betting at Soul Fighting Arenas or selling Soul Tools, so he used the money to secretly hire people to train the children and establish information networks in one city after another.

The Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Skill was passed on to the children for cultivation. As for how far they could take it?

In fact, almost all of them could cultivate it. Their progress simply differed because of their differing aptitudes.

But as long as they could cultivate Soul Power, it gave those children hope.

It was also thanks to the establishment of the information network that Gong Yu could quickly get hold of information from every city. Just now, for example, the hand that had reached out of the darkness belonged to a member of the network providing information.

After telling Gong Lan and the others the news and watching them leave, Gong Yu took Na'er back to the Rose Hotel. With Zi JI protecting them in secret, he had nothing to worry about.

After returning to the Rose Hotel, he felt that simply waiting for Gong Lan and the others to return was no way to pass the time, so he took out the Soul Tools he had bought from Flender's shady shop during the day and studied them with Na'er.

Before long, the two had dismantled the Soul Tools into a jumble of parts. Gong Yu then began studying the array patterns engraved on them.

After figuring out the function of each pattern, he imprinted the information onto a Soul Tool specifically used for recording.

He went back and forth like this for nearly three hours before finally recording everything useful.

Not long afterward, Gong Lan returned with the others.

Unfortunately, two of them had been injured that night. Several Soul Douluo had appeared and held Zi JI up for a while, so everyone had relied on the Nine-Colored Amethyst Lamp's automatic master-protection function to hold out until Zi JI arrived.

Fortunately, neither of the two was badly hurt. After they returned, Bi Ji treated them, and they soon recovered.

Chapter 48: Heading to the Star Dou Great Forest

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The two who had been injured on the night three days ago had already recovered.

One of the injured was Gong Yue, who possessed the cabbage Martial Soul. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise: after recovering from her injuries, her Soul Power broke straight through to level 30.

Gong Yue was the last of the nine sisters to break through to level 30, but at least she had made it.