Dai Yun'er quickly nodded, resembling a small kitten.
Xu Yuan's lips curved into a faint smile.
"If you want it, then answer my question honestly."
Dai Yun'er was irritated.
"Didn't you already accidentally reveal everything to Long Ge?"
"I asked how you became my teammate, not how you knew who I am," Xu Yuan corrected.
This woman—didn't she even understand the question?
"Oh, you mean that?" Dai Yun'er tilted her head thoughtfully, deciding it wasn't anything embarrassing. "Of course, it was arranged by my Martial Uncle Ancestor."
Martial Uncle Ancestor?
Xu Yuan frowned.
Did Dai Yun'er have a teacher?
This was something Xu Yuan didn't know.
"My situation is only known by Old Hu. Is she related to him?" Xu Yuan wondered.
In reality, it wasn't Hu Jie's doing but rather the work of Elder Wu, the elder outside who had opened the Dragon Valley passageway.
Elder Wu and En Ci were fellow disciples from the same sect. En Ci was also Dai Tianling's teacher, and Dai Tianling was Dai Yun'er's father. By seniority, Elder Wu was Dai Yun'er's Martial Uncle Ancestor.
(T/N: Weird relation and hard to translate. Basically her father's teacher's fellow apprentice)
Xu Yuan hadn't considered this connection and had mistakenly assumed otherwise.
Moreover, his assumption wasn't entirely baseless. After all, Dai Yun'er possessed the Spiritual Eye martial soul, which was a body-type martial soul. Who knew if she had any ties to Hu Jie?
The only thing Xu Yuan couldn't figure out was, even if her Spiritual Eye martial soul connected her to Hu Jie, why would their relationship be one of Shishuzhu?
"Your Martial Uncle Ancestor?"
Unable to figure it out, Xu Yuan decided to ask directly.
Dai Yun'er stared at the dragon cloud swirling above Xu Yuan's right palm, her mouth watering uncontrollably as she swallowed another large gulp.
"It's Elder Wu outside." She stopped being coy and openly revealed the truth.
Elder Wu?
Xu Yuan was taken aback.
Not Old Hu?
But even if Elder Wu could arrange these things, how did he know my number?
Oh well, Xu Yuan decided not to dwell on it further.
It was already clear.
Long Yue had informed Dai Yun'er about Xu Yuan's participation in this Dragon Valley mission. Dai Yun'er sought help from Elder Wu, and although Xu Yuan's identity might have been personally arranged by Hu Jie, the Tang Sect's higher-ups were still aware of it. Thus, Elder Wu learned of it and paired Dai Yun'er with Xu Yuan.
As for the original plot, it was likely that Tang Wulin's presence itself caught the attention of the Tang Sect's higher-ups. When arranging teams, Elder Wu intervened, placing Dai Yun'er directly with Tang Wulin as his teammate.
Xu Yuan nodded and flicked his right hand, sending the dragon cloud through Dai Yun'er's body.
Dai Yun'er felt a warm current flow into her body, leaving her feeling utterly relaxed. Instinctively, she let out a soft moan.
"Ahh~~~"
She quickly covered her mouth, her face flushed red beneath her mask.
Even so, she was astonished by the effects of the dragon cloud.
After just one pass through her body, she could already feel a noticeable improvement in her physical condition. The nurturing effect of that energy was incredibly evident.
Xu Yuan observed this as well.
He waved his hand again, summoning another dragon cloud, which drifted down and passed through his own body.
A warm current flowed within him, rich primal energy dissolving almost instantly into his soul power and blood essence, though primarily into the latter.
The abundant primal energy naturally fused with his blood essence, circulating through his limbs and bones, enhancing his overall physical condition.
"It works on me too, but the effects aren't as obvious. However, over time, staying here long enough and continuously using the dragon clouds to temper my body will yield significant progress."
Xu Yuan mentally assessed the situation.
"That… how are you able to summon dragon clouds so easily?" Dai Yun'er asked in a small voice.
She was genuinely curious.
From what she knew, every Tang Sect disciple who entered the Dragon Valley had to go through immense hardship to slay soul beasts formed from dragon souls. Only after killing them could they absorb the energy from the dragon souls to refine their bodies. As for the purer dragon clouds floating in the sky, she had only heard that they required luck, compatibility with the dragon cloud's attributes, and coincidence to bring down one or two clouds for body refinement.
She had never heard of anyone being able to summon dragon clouds at will, calling them down whenever they pleased.
This was far too effortless.
"Because I'm attractive enough to them," Xu Yuan explained calmly.
That was the key point. His blood essence was exceptionally potent, naturally drawing in the energy of the dragon clouds. With this connection established, he could easily resonate with the dragon clouds and pull them down.
Additionally, there was another factor: the Mountain Dragon King's residual soul lingering around Xu Yuan's body.
With the aura of the Mountain Dragon King's dragon soul enveloping him, it wasn't just the dragon clouds that were drawn to him. Other dragon souls they encountered would instinctively transform into purest energy to aid in refining his body.
The Mountain Dragon King was, after all, a Dragon King.
And the dragon clouds and dragon souls in the outer regions of the Dragon Valley were essentially remnants of lower-ranking dragon clan members who had died. They retained only instincts, no memories or bloodline awareness from their previous lives.
Thus, they were unable to resist the attraction of a higher-grade bloodline.
Dai Yun'er felt like her question had gone unanswered, failing to get the explanation she wanted.
All she could do was watch enviously as Xu Yuan continued walking, continuously summoning streams of dragon clouds to filter through his body.
"Um… can I have some more? Can you give me a little?" Dai Yun'er asked timidly.
She was truly envious.
Xu Yuan glanced at her and reluctantly summoned a dragon cloud, allowing it to enter her body and give her a taste of its effects.
"Ahh~~~"
Experiencing this process a second time, Dai Yun'er was still overwhelmed with pleasure.
Her face flushed red as she asked again.
"I want more."
"No more."
"Good brother~" Dai Yun'er blurted out impulsively.
Being the little devil she was, she held nothing back and immediately resorted to her ultimate weapon: the art of acting cute.
Xu Yuan made a surprised sound and patted his arm, taking half a step away from Dai Yun'er.
Even her mask couldn't hide the mournful look in her eyes as she stared at him.
Are you serious about stepping back like that?
"Fine, but it'll cost you," Xu Yuan relented under her gaze, giving her an option.
Clear pricing.
You want it?
You want to feel good?
Pay up.
Pay per use.
"How much for one session?" Dai Yun'er immediately perked up.
If it's about money, I'm wide awake now.
As the little princess, she certainly wasn't short on funds.
"Exchange it for rare metals unique to your Star Luo Continent. One hundred units of rare metal per session."
One hundred units was equivalent to the price of a block of sunken silver, roughly ten tons.
Without hesitation, Dai Yun'er agreed.
"Deal!"
Xu Yuan internally muttered, "Oops."
He had underpriced it.
In reality, the price he quoted wasn't low at all.
For other White-ranked fighters, it was an exorbitant amount. Experiencing it four or five times might drain their entire fortune.
Perhaps some fighters would grit their teeth and accept it, but none would agree as readily as the little princess.
For the little princess, this price was probably too low.
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