On the way back to the villa, Gu Xuan thought about the matters he had discussed with Dugu Bo.
The dragon egg of the Sword-Winged Demon Dragon would take roughly three months to hatch. Currently, two-thirds of the dragon blood in the pool had been absorbed, and the egg's life force was steadily increasing. Furthermore, the corpse of the Spatial Demon Dragon—his fourth soul ring's source—hadn't been added yet. Gu Xuan had handed it over to Dugu Bo, instructing him to head to the Sunset Forest once Dugu Yan's transfer paperwork was finalized.
Nurtured by the blood of two 90,000-year dragons and one 30,000-year dragon, Gu Xuan estimated that this Sword-Winged Demon Dragon would possess extraordinary strength upon birth. After all, when the dragon was raising the egg naturally, it only used decent treasures and crystals; it was nowhere near as powerful as this specialized blood-soaking method.
While lost in thought, Gu Xuan arrived at the villa. It was noon, so Yu Tianheng and the others would likely be returning for a rest after lunch.
Sure enough, as he stepped inside, he heard Osler's voice. "Vice-Captain, the Captain has been gone for so long. What has he even been doing? Now that you've broken through to Soul Ancestor, you should challenge him to a fight when he returns. If you win, wouldn't the captaincy be yours again?"
Yu Tianheng shook his head helplessly. "If you want to challenge the Captain, go right ahead, but leave me out of it. Yan Yan brought back those Mixed Yuan Pills and said he refined them himself. Do you really think the Captain wouldn't refine some for himself? Or do you think you're the only one who improved?"
Yu Feng patted Osler's head with a look of exasperation. "Don't worry. When the Captain gets back, I'll be sure to tell him you said that."
Shi Mo and Shi Mo laughed unkindly from the side.
Ye Lingling listened to their banter, her mind wandering. As the successor of the Ye Family, she was deeply well-versed in medicine. She had been stunned when she took the Mixed Yuan Pill; it contained at least three types of ten-thousand-year-grade top-tier medicinal herbs, not to mention the other high-end auxiliary ingredients.
Though the Ye Family lived in seclusion, they still had deep foundations, yet in their long history, they only possessed five ten-thousand-year herbs—all of which were treated as sacred treasures. Who would be willing to use them directly for pill refinement?
What shocked her even more was that the skill and refinement technique used for the pill seemed to come from a legendary master. Yet, Dugu Yan claimed Gu Xuan had made them. Now, Ye Lingling was filled with intense curiosity regarding Gu Xuan. She couldn't fathom how a teenager could possess such alchemy skills, and she was desperate to know where he sourced such rare materials.
Gu Xuan didn't know it, but after Ye Lingling shared these thoughts with the team, their gratitude toward him had skyrocketed. Although they were close friends and brothers, they realized they had been constantly receiving benefits from him, which left them feeling a lingering sense of guilt.
"Ahem." A cough sounded from the doorway at that moment.
"I heard someone is eyeing my captaincy?" a voice followed. "Come on then, let me see which blind brat is acting so bouncy."
The group's eyes lit up. Yu Tianheng looked toward the door in surprise. "Xiao Xuan?"
Gu Xuan walked into the hall. Everyone stared at him with looks of total confusion.
'Is this actually Gu Xuan?'
'I admit he was handsome before, but what is this? He's practically reached "reader-level" handsomeness! Did he go away for plastic surgery?'
Ye Lingling, in particular, didn't even blink. She wasn't just attracted by his current looks, but by his heterochromatic eyes and hair color. Recalling the herbs in the Mixed Yuan Pill, she had a faint suspicion. From his refinement style, it was clear he had a proper inheritance, and someone with an inheritance would know exactly how precious those herbs were.
The members of the Heaven Dou Battle Team were close, but in Ye Lingling's heart, it shouldn't have been enough to warrant giving away such treasures—unless Gu Xuan simply didn't lack them. In other words, his family had a "mine." How that mine came to be was what she was curious about.
"You're Xiao Xuan?" Yu Tianheng asked, still finding it hard to believe.
Shi Mo, Shi Mo, Osler, and Yu Feng were all equally stunned. Only Ye Lingling managed to maintain a somewhat normal expression.
Gu Xuan nodded, his soul power surging as he summoned his Martial Soul. A person's appearance can change, but a Martial Soul cannot. A silver-white soul power barrier appeared over his body as his hands transformed into pure white bone claws. He didn't release his rings, not wanting to overwhelm these "sheltered" kids just yet.
"It really is the Captain!" Osler was finally convinced. "Captain, how did you change so much? You were handsome enough before, but now you're not giving the rest of us a chance to live!"
He was clearly trying to change the subject to make Gu Xuan forget about the "coup" he had been encouraging.
Gu Xuan smiled faintly. "It's a long story. Two months ago, I had Yan Yan bring back the Mixed Yuan Pills to help your cultivation. Now is a good time to test your strength. We'll skip the small talk for now—Osler, you're up first."
He didn't even bother catching up. He went straight for a display of authority. People like Osler, who loved to get cocky the moment they felt a bit of power, needed to be hammered down, or they would never achieve greatness.
"Ah?!" Osler's face turned miserable instantly.
'He heard me. He definitely heard me!' he thought, feeling helpless.
Gu Xuan turned and walked out of the hall toward the training ground in the villa's courtyard. The others watched Osler with suppressed laughter. 'Wanted to get cocky? Now you're reaping what you sowed.'
Though he was dejected, Osler didn't dare refuse. Truthfully, he also wanted to see what kind of strength Gu Xuan currently possessed.
Three minutes later, the two stood opposite each other on the training field. Osler stared at Gu Xuan with a serious expression as two yellow and two purple rings rose around him. He had reached Rank 41.
When Gu Xuan left, Osler was at Rank 36. In the eight months following, he had reached the peak of Rank 37 naturally. After taking the Mixed Yuan Pill, he broke through several levels to reach Rank 40, and a month and a half ago, he returned to his family to obtain his fourth ring.
The others were in a similar boat, each having improved significantly. The pill was designed to boost soul power and solidify the foundation; while it couldn't change their innate talent drastically, it was enough to elevate them from "average geniuses" to "elite geniuses." Their current ranks were already close to where they would have been two years later during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament in the original story. Thanks to Gu Xuan, their futures had shifted entirely.
(End of Chapter)
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