After Li Chang'an restored his eyes to their original color, the world also returned to its normal appearance.Those countless threads that had once covered everything disappeared without a trace.
He waved his hand and dispersed the water mirror. Now wasn't the time to study his eyes—the girl on the shore was far more important!With just a thought, the surrounding spring water rippled and surged, propelling his body swiftly toward the shore.
"Brother Chang'an…" Dugu Yan watched as her beloved quickly approached. After the joy of their reunion subsided, she suddenly realized something—he wasn't wearing any clothes!Her face flushed slightly as she hurriedly took out a set of men's clothes from her storage soul guide and handed them to him.
Although there were no outsiders here, it still felt rather embarrassing to have someone standing naked in broad daylight.As for why Dugu Yan had men's clothing prepared—given how close their relationship already was, with nothing left hidden between them except that final step—it was perfectly natural that she would have clothes ready for him.
Once he reached the shore, Li Chang'an gathered strength and leaped out of the lake. The water clinging to his body automatically slid off, flowing back into the pool.Barefoot, he landed lightly, took the clothes from Dugu Yan, and quickly dressed himself.Then he looked at the now much paler, visibly exhausted girl before him—and silently opened his arms.
The girl threw herself into his embrace like a moth drawn to a flame, holding him tightly and breathing in his familiar scent as if she could never let go.
"Yanzi, I'm back," he said softly.
Though his heart was filled with countless emotions and words, in the end, all that came out was this simple sentence.
"…"
Dugu Yan said nothing—she only tightened her arms around him.
Nearby, Dugu Bo watched the joyful reunion and finally let out a long sigh of relief. He didn't disturb the couple; instead, he quietly stepped back, leaving the space for these two young people.
Holding Dugu Yan in his arms, Li Chang'an's heart was filled with conflicting feelings.He had already noticed the Lovesick Heartbreak Red flower in her hand earlier, and he fully understood what kind of pure, unwavering affection was required to pluck such a flower.
To be honest, beyond the deep gratitude and emotion he felt, a rare sense of shame welled up within his conscience.
He did genuinely like Dugu Yan. Even though his original intention for approaching her was because he coveted the immortal herb, over time, as they spent more time together, Li Chang'an—who wasn't heartless—had truly begun to fall for her.
But his feelings had not yet reached such a profound level.Not enough for him to disregard everything, to risk his life for her without hesitation.
That's why, upon realizing that Dugu Yan had plucked the Lovesick Heartbreak Red for him, Li Chang'an felt both moved and ashamed.He thought to himself that if he ever betrayed this girl, he'd deserve to be struck down by heavenly lightning!
In that moment, he silently made a firm decision in his heart:From now on, he would treat her twice as well—he would never allow her to meet the same tragic fate she suffered in the original story.In that story, after losing her only support—her grandfather—she had been cruelly abandoned by the man she trusted most, Yu Tianheng.Her martial spirit's poison flared up uncontrollably, and she died alone and miserable.
"Yanzi's martial spirit is still too weak," Li Chang'an thought to himself."Even after taking the immortal herb, her spirit is still just the Jade Phosphor Snake, not even reaching the level of the Bibilin Serpent Emperor. The only real improvement was that her cultivation talent reached the innate full soul power level."
"It seems I need to find a way to improve her aptitude—ideally, to completely evolve her martial spirit. Maybe even make it surpass the Bibilin Serpent Emperor. At the very least, it should reach the level of a first-class divine beast like Di Tian!"
Holding Dugu Yan tightly, Li Chang'an silently made up his mind—he would help her completely transform her martial spirit.
"In this world, if one wishes to improve a martial spirit, aside from immortal herbs, the only other way is through soul beasts.If Yanzi could absorb a suitable soul ring or soul bone, her martial spirit could evolve further!"
"But the Jade Phosphor Snake is already among the top-tier serpent species. There are no soul beasts with a higher snake bloodline than the Bibilin Serpent Emperor!"
"If we follow the snake-to-dragon path, her bloodline would be restrained by superior dragon races. It'd be better to specialize in the serpent path instead! Taken to the extreme, a serpent need not be weaker than a dragon."
"The problem is… where can I find a serpent-type soul beast strong enough to elevate her martial spirit?""Could I use my own bloodline? But how would I even transfer it to her? Besides, I'm not a soul beast—I don't have soul rings or soul bones…""Wait!"
"Wasn't there that creature in the City of Slaughter—the Ten-Headed Fierce Sun Serpent, a prehistoric species?"
"That thing's bloodline is extraordinary—it's not even native to the Douluo Continent! In the original story, when Dugu Bo faced its leftover inner core, he was completely suppressed! There's no doubt its bloodline surpasses that of the Bibilin Serpent Emperor, and it's probably no weaker than a true dragon's!"
"In the story, Ma Hongjun's flame bird even evolved after swallowing that serpent's inner core—and that's a completely different species. For Yanzi, who shares the same serpent lineage, the effect would be even greater!"
"Looks like I'll have to visit the City of Slaughter someday."
"Whether it's to study the formation of inner cores or to obtain that serpent's inner core itself—it'll be worth the journey!"
"However, the City of Slaughter forbids the use of soul skills, and there's the risk of being targeted by the Asura God… I'll need to plan carefully."
For a moment, Li Chang'an's mind spun with ideas and possibilities—he was already planning for the future.
After fully awakening the Nine Infants (Jiuying) bloodline, Li Chang'an's soul power didn't skyrocket instantly.He didn't leap to divine levels—he merely reached level forty.
Unlike in some worlds where awakening a bloodline immediately grants immense strength or cultivation techniques, the Nine Infants bloodline only improved his talent, physique, and granted him a few special abilities.
His human body still followed the path of a Soul Master.
Unlike his serpent clone, which no longer required soul rings to advance, his main body still needed to absorb them to break through to the next level.Otherwise, he couldn't progress.
This puzzled him.
"Why does my beast clone advance freely, but my human body still has to follow the Soul Master's rules of obtaining soul rings to break through?"
"They're both me! The only difference is that my main body possesses a martial spirit and absorbs soul rings… could that be the reason?""Maybe it's because my human self remains confined within the framework of a Soul Master—bound by the very system of soul rings!"
"Then how can I break that framework?"
"Would it be better to stop being a Soul Master altogether?"
He quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought.
Being a Soul Master isn't something you can just stop being.From the moment you awaken your martial spirit and absorb your first soul ring, you're bound by that system.To break free from it, you'd need another power system entirely—like Battle Qi, Cultivation, or Magic—something that could replace it.Otherwise, even if you shattered your soul rings and martial spirit, you'd still be a Soul Master, still trapped within the same framework.
So without a superior power system to turn to, continuing down the Soul Master path was still his best option.After all, he still had his beast clone as backup, and countless powerful bloodlines sleeping within him.
As long as he kept cultivating and pushing forward, he believed that one day, he wouldn't be like the people of this world—Bound forever to a single, narrow path.
His future was brilliant.
(End of Chapter)
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