Hearing Yu Tianheng's voice, Gu Xuan looked up and noticed that Yu Tianheng had already retracted his Martial Soul. The sleeve of his right arm was gone. Gu Xuan had noticed when Yu Tianheng used the Dragon Transformation skill earlier, though he hadn't truly witnessed the full power of the ability.
Gu Xuan also retracted his Martial Soul and walked slowly toward Yu Tianheng. He cupped his hands and smiled. "Senior, thank you for the match."
Yu Tianheng stared at Gu Xuan with a look of disbelief for a long time before finally asking. "Can you tell me how you became so strong?"
He didn't fly into a rage or harbor resentment because he lost to someone with lower Soul Power than himself. All he had was an endless desire for knowledge.
They were both grandsons of Titled Douluos and both possessed top-tier Martial Souls; why was the gap between them so large?
Although he was reluctant to admit defeat, he was indeed inferior to Gu Xuan. Asking for guidance with an open mind was never a derogatory term, but rather the learning method of a true scholar.
Regarding Yu Tianheng's question, Gu Xuan simply replied. "Nothing special, I have just weathered many hardships!"
Hearing this, Yu Tianheng was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a bitter smile. Was all his hard work over the years fake? Had his cultivation gone to the dogs?
Yu Tianheng was about to say more, but Qin Ming had already approached, accompanied by the other six members of the Emperor Team.
At this moment, none of them dared to look down on Gu Xuan. Even though Gu Xuan's Soul Power rank was only 33, he had beaten Yu Tianheng, instantly making him the strongest among them!
Osler, who had been laughing and joking just a moment ago, didn't even show his face. He hid behind Yu Feng, not daring to look at Gu Xuan.
He had just been teasing Gu Xuan, and now Gu Xuan had directly handled Yu Tianheng. If the kid held a grudge, Osler would be at a loss, so he simply stayed quiet and pretended to know nothing while hiding behind Yu Feng.
However, only Osler acted this way; the others were looking at Gu Xuan with expressions of utter disbelief. To take on a Rank 37 at Rank 33 and win—what kind of monster was this?
"Gu Xuan, you are truly amazing!"
A beautiful voice, as crisp and melodious as an oriole's song, rang out. Gu Xuan turned his head to look—who else could it be but Dugu Yan?
Gu Xuan was somewhat surprised. From the original work, he knew that while this girl was ruthless toward outsiders, she was a deeply devoted woman. In the original story, after she got together with Yu Tianheng, she never gave another man a second look.
She hadn't even given a kind look to Tang San, that supposedly "pure and noble" Mr. Tang.
'But now? Praising me for being amazing? While Yu Tianheng was still present? Right after I just defeated Yu Tianheng?'
Gu Xuan turned to look and found Dugu Yan was sizing him up rather than focusing her gaze on Yu Tianheng.
Logically, if Dugu Yan and Yu Tianheng were already together, she should be showing concern and comforting Yu Tianheng right now. Instead, she was being quite generous with her praise for him. Why was that?
Gu Xuan already had a guess, and it was the only logical conclusion. At this stage, Dugu Yan and Yu Tianheng were not yet together.
With this guess, combined with Dugu Yan's proactive praise, a warm and handsome smile appeared on Gu Xuan's face. He nodded to Dugu Yan and replied. "Senior, you overpraise me. Senior Yu is also very strong."
Gu Xuan didn't say that Yu Tianheng had held back, because any keen eye could see that Yu Tianheng had basically used his full strength. Saying that would be pretentious; it was better to simply compliment Yu Tianheng.
Dugu Yan immediately replied. "He is strong, but he still lost to you!"
Hearing this, Yu Tianheng's expression changed, his face turning somewhat flushed.
He liked Dugu Yan. Both he and Dugu Yan had entered the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy at age fifteen. At that time, Dugu Yan was already as beautiful as a flower, vibrant and youthful, but her personality back then wasn't as optimistic and cheerful as it was now; she had more of a cold "big sister" image.
Because of the Jade Phosphor Serpent poison within her, she had almost no friends growing up and had never enjoyed the happiness of getting along peacefully with peers.
It was Yu Tianheng who, over the past two years, had counseled her while teaching her how to interact with others. Another point was that Yu Tianheng was not afraid of her Jade Phosphor Serpent poison, which brought a sense of warmth to Dugu Yan's heart.
The reason Yu Tianheng hadn't made a move on Dugu Yan before was that he feared his actions would make her think he was taking advantage of her vulnerability. Thus, he had always remained in the position of a "good friend."
Because of this, Dugu Yan was closer to him than to anyone else. Now that he felt the time was ripe, he planned to deepen their feelings a bit more before confessing and winning her over in one go.
But just now, Yu Tianheng felt his position might be under threat.
No girl dislikes an outstanding peer, not to mention that Gu Xuan was indeed more handsome than him, and his strength and talent surpassed his own.
At this moment, Yu Tianheng felt a twinge of regret that he hadn't revealed his feelings to Dugu Yan sooner instead of insisting on being "good friends."
As for Dugu Yan, she did indeed have a good impression of Yu Tianheng. After all, this man had helped her walk out of the gloom. However, just as Yu Tianheng had behaved, Dugu Yan only viewed him as a close, trusted friend. They were in a state of "more than friends, less than lovers."
Yu Tianheng had never said those confession-like words to her, though he had expressed his admiration.
But back then, when Yu Tianheng explained it, he only said it wasn't a romantic kind of liking, but an instinctive reaction to an outstanding woman.
Yes, that was it. Yu Tianheng was also experiencing love for the first time; how could he know how to grasp that perfect balance? There were always words that caused their emotions to stagnate... and now, Gu Xuan had arrived.
Gu Xuan was quite happy once he realized this. Even though he could see Yu Tianheng liked Dugu Yan, since they weren't together, it was fair competition.
Gu Xuan's looks were top-notch, and with his extraordinary talent and silver tongue, he was confident in winning Dugu Yan over.
To be honest, Dugu Yan was seventeen now, and her figure was fully developed. In the precocious world of Douluo Dalu, she looked like a mature twenty-year-old big sister. It would be a lie for Gu Xuan to say he didn't like her.
Of course, Gu Xuan wouldn't let his impulses rule him. Liking Dugu Yan was one aspect, but the more important factor was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. That was the primary goal behind pursuing her.
Gu Xuan's plan was to take Dugu Yan and the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well together, then use that relationship to pull her and Dugu Bo into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Taking the whole family in one go—wouldn't that be wonderful?
Thus, Gu Xuan showed his favorable impression of Dugu Yan without reservation. This was much more enjoyable for a girl than Yu Tianheng's behavior, which was practically equivalent to a secret crush.
Girls are like that; as long as you make her feel she is special in your heart, she will definitely receive the signal. If she also has a good impression of you and your subsequent actions don't repel her, you can walk into her heart and naturally be together.
In fact, if Gu Xuan hadn't appeared, Yu Tianheng would have been able to chase and win Dugu Yan over within half a year to a year.
But now things were different. Gu Xuan was not going to let such a good opportunity slip away.
Between a "good sister" and a "romantic sister," Gu Xuan chose the latter!
(End of Chapter)
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