"You lost."
Ye Yu walked over slowly and looked down at Yu Tianheng as he spoke.
"I… lost."
Completely bound by layers upon layers of Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vines, unable to move a muscle and even struggling to breathe, Yu Tianheng's face flushed red with shame and frustration. He admitted defeat.
He had thought this duel was a sure win.
That victory was within his grasp.
But he never expected such a crushing loss.
From the very start of the fight, he hadn't even lasted a full minute—utter defeat.
In fact, he was instantly overwhelmed.
The gap in strength was like a bottomless chasm between heaven and earth.
Yu Tianheng's pride and confidence were shattered like rain pounding on banana leaves—falling to pieces before Ye Yu.
His heart sank into bitter despair.
How could someone this monstrous be beaten?
How?!
After Yu Tianheng admitted defeat, Ye Yu canceled the vine summon.
The Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vines that had wrapped around Yu Tianheng burst apart in a flurry of silver-blue light particles and vanished.
Yu Tianheng collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Fortunately, he was still in spirit possession state, so he didn't really feel the impact.
"Why was my Thunderclap Burst completely ineffective against your spirit?"
Yu Tianheng asked, rising to his feet and dismissing his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon spirit.
Ye Yu only smirked.
"Take a guess."
He offered no explanation—just a teasing, amused smile.
We're not close—why would I explain something like that to you?
In your dreams!
"You lost. Hand over the Thunder Body Tempering Technique."
Ye Yu extended his hand.
Though Yu Tianheng was reluctant—his scalp tingling just thinking about how his father and grandfather would react when he got home—he was a man of honor.
He was Yu Tianheng, son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Before so many witnesses, and after putting up the Thunder Body Tempering Technique as a wager…
Now that he'd lost, he had to follow through.
To go back on his word?
That would bring disgrace not only to him but to his entire clan.
"Take it."
With bitter reluctance, Yu Tianheng took a handwritten copy of the Thunder Body Tempering Technique from his storage-type soul tool and handed it to Ye Yu.
"And the one million gold spirit coins. And the storage soul tool."
Ye Yu accepted the soul skill manual and promptly reminded him of the rest.
We're both men—let's not drag things out.
Grimacing with grief and pain, Yu Tianheng emptied out his storage-type soul tool: Jade Dragon Bracelet, his hand trembling as he handed it to Ye Yu.
Along with it, he passed over a Soul Crystal Card loaded with one million gold spirit coins.
This soul crystal card was unregistered and could be withdrawn from any bank run by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
Yu Tianheng's heart bled.
After receiving the Jade Dragon Bracelet and the crystal card, Ye Yu slipped the bracelet onto his wrist.
He confirmed that the Thunder Body Tempering Technique was authentic,
Then tucked both the card and the manual into his new storage soul tool.
(Concept Art: Jade Dragon Bracelet)
"Yan Yan, Lingling, let's go."
Feeling quite satisfied, Ye Yu called out to Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling as he turned to leave.
Although his grandfather Dugu Bo had already gifted him the Ruyi Hundred-Treasure Pouch—the same one from the original novel that could store living creatures—
Ye Yu planned to use that pouch exclusively for herbs and medicinal ingredients.
The Jade Dragon Bracelet would now serve as a useful supplement.
Back in class, the morning passed quickly.
At noon, after having lunch in the cafeteria of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, Ye Yu didn't go to the library as he usually did.
Instead, he left the academy with Dugu Yan and returned to the Dugu Estate.
"Here you go, Ah Yu."
In a room dedicated to cultivating rare and precious flowers, Dugu Yan handed Ye Yu a flower pot.
The pot was covered with a special iron-mesh enclosure.
Inside it grew a plant that shimmered with crystal-blue brilliance—like a blue crystal sculpture. Its body was slender, and its leaves and stem were veined with fine golden lines.
It was none other than—Ah Yin, the Blue Silver Emperor!
After arriving in Heaven Dou City, Ye Yu had been living in a small courtyard gifted by Qian Renxue.
Initially, he treated Ah Yin like a potted plant—planted in soil, covered securely with mesh, and placed inside the house.
Each day, he watered and fertilized it, and even grew ordinary Blue Silver Grass in the surrounding yard.
But when he later went to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for body tempering, he grew worried—
What if, during his absence, Ah Yin found a chance to escape?
So he gave Dugu Yan a key and asked her to take the Blue Silver Emperor back to the Dugu Estate for safekeeping.
However, after several years of observation,
Ye Yu was now confident:
Ah Yin currently lacked the ability to move.
Now, he was ready to take the Blue Silver Emperor and plant it in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Even though his spirit had already evolved into the Blue Silver Spirit Jade Vine,
Ye Yu believed there was still room for it to evolve further.
And the key material he needed—was Ah Yin.
But right now, Ah Yin had only cultivated for a couple of decades at best.
Far too weak.
Ye Yu's goal was to raise her cultivation to at least the ten-thousand-year level before harvesting a soul ring from her.
Only then would absorbing it truly help his spirit evolve to the Blue Silver Emperor level.
To achieve that...
He needed to plant Ah Yin in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—there was no better place!
He also needed to plant a large amount of Blue Silver Grass around her.
Each day, he'd return to the Well to cultivate using the Inner Core Method—drawing on the fusion of his inner energy and the natural spiritual environment to resonate with Ah Yin and the surrounding Blue Silver Grass, accelerating her growth.
When Ye Yu and Dugu Bo were about to depart for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the old man caught sight of the plant in Ye Yu's hands.
His face—mischievous and sinister—suddenly lit up with surprise.
"Xiao Yu, this Blue Silver Grass looks... quite unusual."
"I don't know exactly," Ye Yu replied with a smile, "but it definitely feels special."
"That's why I dug it up and planted it in a pot."
"My spirit is Blue Silver Grass. I've found that training in places where a lot of it grows really boosts my progress."
"So I'm planning to plant this one in your Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and grow more Blue Silver Grass around it."
(Author's note: Ye Yu used the excuse of finding the name in a fragmented ancient tome to explain the "Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well" to Dugu Bo.)
"That'll be my cultivation site!"
Since Dugu Yan also insisted on coming along to help, the three of them once again set off for the Sunset Forest.
Arriving at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well,
They found a patch of open ground.
Ye Yu pulled out a small trowel, dug a hole, and gently planted Ah Yin into the earth.
Feeling the abundant heavenly spiritual energy from the Well,
And the unique environment that accelerates the growth and cultivation of plant-type spirit beasts—
Ah Yin's slender stem and leaves began to tremble and sway softly, as if in joy.
After planting her, Ye Yu scattered a large amount of Blue Silver Grass seeds around her.
In the environment of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well,
It would only take a few days for the seeds to sprout and grow strong.