"Sigh…"
Dugu Bo let out a long sigh.He truly didn't know what to say to comfort her.The facts were clear before him— even with his power as a Titled Douluo, it was impossible to remain submerged underwater for an entire month. After such a long time with no movement, that kid… most likely had already become one with the spring beneath the lake.
"Yanyan, no matter what, you should leave this place first," Dugu Bo said helplessly, using Li Chang'an as an excuse. "Your health is important. You wouldn't want to destroy your body before that boy ever comes out, would you?"
But facing his persuasion, Dugu Yan only shook her head softly."Grandpa, I'm fine. With it protecting me, I can stay here for as long as I want."
As she spoke, Dugu Bo finally noticed the flower in her hands.
It was an ordinary-looking white flower, about the size of a palm, shaped like a peony. However, streaks of dazzling red ran across its petals—blood-like and stunning to the eye.
"Lovesick Heartbreak Red?!"
"You actually picked it?!"
Dugu Bo stared in disbelief at the flower in his granddaughter's hands. Of course he knew what it was—this was the King of Immortal Herbs.He also knew that in order to pluck it, one had to think wholeheartedly of their beloved, offering sincere feelings and spitting a mouthful of blood onto the petals.If even the slightest hesitation appeared in one's heart, even spitting blood would only bring death, and the flower would remain unplucked.
Once taken, the flower would never wither so long as it remained near its chosen master, and in moments of danger, it would automatically protect that master.
Never in his wildest dreams had Dugu Bo imagined that his granddaughter would love that boy so deeply—that she would risk everything to pick the King of Immortal Herbs for him.
Faced with this, he was speechless.
Now, the only thing he could do was pray—pray that the boy was safe and sound, that he would suddenly leap out of the lake again.
Otherwise, with feelings strong enough to pick the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, his granddaughter might live out the rest of her life alone.
Just as Dugu Bo sighed and turned to leave—
"Hmm?!"
Suddenly, his body froze. In the next instant, he spun around sharply, his gaze locking onto the long-still Ice and Fire Lake that had shown no ripples for nearly a month.
At the center of the lake—
A single bubble rose.
Pop!
Then another.And another.More and more bubbles surfaced one after another.
Dugu Yan could no longer hold herself back. She leaned forward, her eyes fixed on the water's surface. Her heart, which had been silent for so long, began to beat wildly again.
Finally—
Under the hopeful gaze of the grandfather and granddaughter—
A dark shadow quickly approached the surface.
Boom!
The water exploded upward!
Jets of crimson firewater and pale frostwater splashed high into the air. A few droplets even flew toward Dugu Yan on the shore, threatening to burn small holes into her body—but before they could, a faint red light shimmered around her, forming a protective barrier.
The Lovesick Heartbreak Red had activated, shielding its master with gentle radiance.
But Dugu Yan paid no attention to that. Her eyes were locked on the figure breaking through the water's surface, her vision blurring with tears.
After nearly a month—
The man she thought had perished appeared before her once more.
The emotion surging through Dugu Yan's heart was indescribable.
At that moment, Li Chang'an—who had just emerged from the lake, his upper body dripping wet—barely had time to take a breath before he felt a strong gaze upon him.He instinctively turned his head and saw the teary-eyed girl watching him from the shore.
He was about to smile and greet her—But then, suddenly, the world before him changed!
In an instant, everything shifted.
Countless threads appeared.
The entire world seemed to be woven together from an endless web of colorful strings.
Everything—living or non-living—As long as it existed, was surrounded by these threads. They twisted, entangled, and influenced each other… weaving the entire structure of reality itself!
Li Chang'an was stunned by the sudden transformation.
Instinctively, he turned his gaze toward Dugu Yan. He saw that her body too was surrounded by countless threads—but one in particular stood out.
A vivid red thread connected her directly to him.
That single thread was the thickest and most prominent among all those surrounding her—rough as a rope.In comparison, the orange thread linking her to Dugu Bo was barely a tenth as thick.All the other threads were as thin as hairs, faint in color and hardly noticeable.
"What… what are these colorful threads?"
"Why can I suddenly see them?"
Li Chang'an felt dizzy, overwhelmed by the sight of the world tangled in a rainbow of strings.
"It's like all beings—everything alive—are puppets hanging on invisible strings, controlled by them… it's terrifying!"
"What in the world is happening to me?!"
He stood there, dazed, utterly confused.
Meanwhile, Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo noticed that his once dark eyes had changed color.
"Brother Chang'an, your eyes… are they okay?" Dugu Yan asked anxiously, fearing that his month-long submersion had somehow harmed him.
"My eyes?"
Li Chang'an instinctively touched his eyelids, half-expecting to feel scales or snake-like changes around them.
"Your eyes have changed color," Dugu Bo said solemnly.
"Changed color?"
Li Chang'an blinked thoughtfully. With a wave of his hand, the moisture in the air gathered together—
Forming a mirror of water before him.
After awakening the bloodline of the Nine Infants (Jiuying), manipulating water and fire had become as natural as breathing.
Dugu Bo, watching him effortlessly control the flow of water, couldn't help but be shocked.He remembered clearly that before taking the immortal herbs, this boy had no power over water.Could it be that the two immortal herbs had given him this ability?Or perhaps that month-long immersion had mutated his martial soul?
In the water mirror—
Li Chang'an quietly examined his reflection.
His left eye was a vivid, fiery red.His right eye a deep, watery blue that carried an ominous gleam.
His eyes had become a pair of heterochromatic pupils—red on the left, blue on the right.
"Could the strange vision I just saw be because of these eyes?Does the Nine Infants bloodline still hide abilities I don't know about?" he wondered.
"Also, these eyes may look cool, but they're far too conspicuous.Can I turn them off and go back to normal?"
As that thought passed through his mind—
The colors in his eyes faded.The red and blue slowly drained away, leaving behind their original, deep black.
Sure enough, that felt more natural.Black eyes suited his black hair better anyway.
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Explanation for some readers' questions:
The mythical bloodlines hidden within the protagonist's body are his true "cheat power."Relying on the Bibilin Serpent Emperor alone would never allow him to challenge the gods. Of course, the author has to give him some "boosts," otherwise, the story would be far too cruel.
As for why the Serpent Emperor doesn't take the path of turning into a dragon—it's because that's too common, too cliché, and lacks creativity.Besides, in Douluo Dalu, the highest-level dragon is the Dragon God, who was killed by the gods of the Divine Realm. What prestige does such a dragon really have?
(This story adopts the settings of Douluo Dalu Parts 1–3 and The Divine Realm Side Story only.)
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(End of Chapter)
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