Nan Qiuqiu brought Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi to the outside of the Earth Dragon Gate.
Ye Guyi looked at Nan Qiuqiu with affectionate warmth in her eyes and said, "Little Sister Qiuqiu, you can send us off here. Tianhuang and I are staying at the Falling Snow Hotel in the center of Dragon City. If you have time, you can come find me to hang out."
Due to the special environment she grew up in since childhood, Ye Guyi had almost no female friends of the same age. Although Nana was around her age, she had always treated her as the main mistress, with an eternally respectful attitude.
Through their brief interaction just now, she had developed some fondness for this girl, Nan Qiuqiu, who usually acted willfully but was actually pure and kind-hearted.
Many things in the world are about fate. For example, Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu. Even though it was their first meeting, the two got along without any sense of unfamiliarity. It was as if they were destined to become friends.
"No, no."
Hearing Ye Guyi's words, Nan Qiuqiu stopped walking, glanced vigilantly at Xu Zihuang, and shook her head repeatedly. Then she looked sincerely at Ye Guyi.
"Sister Guyi, how about you come find me instead?"
"That works too. Then, Little Sister Qiuqiu, we'll head off first." Ye Guyi nodded with a smile, said goodbye to Nan Qiuqiu once more, and then supported Xu Zihuang as they walked toward the city center.
Seeing Nan Qiuqiu guarding against him as if he were a thief, the corners of Xu Zihuang's mouth twitched slightly.
"Sister Lingyi, what exactly did you say to her before?"
Although he didn't really care about Nan Qiuqiu's opinion of him and had no interest in her, being inexplicably labeled with unfounded accusations still made him somewhat resistant.
"I didn't say anything. I just told her I was pregnant with your child." Ye Guyi said with a giggling smile.
"Do you think I might have spoken it into existence and actually gotten pregnant?"
Xu Zihuang was instantly rendered speechless. His gaze shifted downward, landing on Ye Guyi's flat, toned abdomen without a trace of excess fat. After a moment of silence, his expression gradually became resolute.
"Then I'll make him the most noble person in this world."
Looking into Xu Zihuang's eyes, the teasing in Ye Guyi's gaze instantly vanished, replaced by sweet happiness. She gently leaned close to his ear and whispered emotionally in a soft voice.
"Zihuang, shall we try again?"
What she meant was not just the surface meaning; she wanted Xu Zihuang to try again without using soul power to eliminate the activity inside.
Xu Zihuang hesitated for a moment, but then Ye Guyi's gentle voice sounded in his ear once more.
"I'm just teasing you. I also know how much pressure we're facing right now. Being willful once is enough."
Perhaps influenced by Nan Qiuqiu, Ye Guyi had become much more cheerful than before.
Xu Zihuang was happy to see it. Over the years, both he and Ye Guyi had lived under too much pressure. The ten days they had spent in the hotel previously weren't solely due to emotional intimacy; they had also been releasing emotions suppressed for far too long.
Back in their hotel room, the two continued their stay in Dragon City.
This time, the negative effects Xu Zihuang endured from the golden-level second awakening of his main martial soul were not as severe as the first time. Relying on his powerful physical constitution, he fully recovered after just three days.
During that time, Ye Guyi took care of him personally. In the following period, Xu Zihuang began attempting to craft a soul tool using the large piece of Ice Extreme Divine Crystal he had removed.
Both he and Ye Guyi planned to gift the successfully crafted soul tool to Nan Qiuqiu as a small repayment for that favor.
While Xu Zihuang was busy making the soul tool, Ye Guyi didn't want to disturb him and took the initiative to visit Nan Qiuqiu at the Earth Dragon Gate. The two girls, who got along extremely well, quickly became close confidantes.
Not only did Ye Guyi lack female friends her age, but Nan Qiuqiu's situation was similar.
Yu Tianlong was the top male soul master of the younger generation in Dragon City, and Nan Qiuqiu was similarly the most outstanding female soul master among the younger generation. Despite her usual carefree appearance, the pride of being a soul master was always present within her.
This was normal among soul masters. After all, soul masters were the most noble profession on the continent, and they only associated with other soul masters. Class determined different social circles.
Ye Guyi's astonishing talent was the reason Nan Qiuqiu set aside her pride. Naturally, the two got along harmoniously.
During the day, Ye Guyi was taken around Dragon City by Nan Qiuqiu for strolls, and in the evenings, she returned to the hotel to rest. Occasionally, when Xu Zihuang had free time, she would cling to him to fulfill her "duties."
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
At a bustling street corner in the center of Dragon City.
Nan Qiuqiu was walking toward the nearby Falling Snow Grand Hotel with a conflicted expression.
If Nan Shuishui hadn't repeatedly and sternly insisted that she personally invite Yu Tianhuang and Ye Guyi to tonight's banquet, she absolutely would not have come here.
Ye Guyi's earlier words had caused a huge shock to her. The once-innocent Nan Qiuqiu was gone forever.
But thinking of Ye Guyi's increasingly radiant complexion and the faint smile that often graced her face, she couldn't help but feel intense curiosity.
Doing that kind of thing really…
Bah! Bah! Bah! Nan Qiuqiu, what on earth are you thinking?!
Nan Qiuqiu forcefully slapped her cheeks. Unknowingly, she had already arrived at the lobby of the first floor of the Falling Snow Grand Hotel.
The hotel's front desk staff was clearly familiar with this young lady from the Earth Dragon Gate.
Even without knowing what Nan Qiuqiu intended to do, they certainly wouldn't lack the tact to stop her.
Nan Qiuqiu took the soul guide elevator to the top floor of the hotel. The Falling Snow Grand Hotel was the most luxurious in Dragon City; not just anyone could stay in the top-floor rooms.
At this moment, the wide, ornate corridor was empty. After an intense internal struggle, Nan Qiuqiu gritted her teeth, walked to the door of the room where Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi were staying, and gently knocked with her right hand.
However, after quite a while, there was no response.
Frowning, she knocked again, but still no one answered.
"?????"
Just as Nan Qiuqiu was about to knock harder, she seemed to faintly hear some sounds.
Because the hotels in Dragon City were equipped with thermal soul guides, their sound insulation was relatively poorer. Of course, that was only relative; if one wasn't a powerful soul master with exceptionally sharp senses, it would be impossible to hear sounds from inside the room.
And unfortunately for her, Nan Qiuqiu happened to be one of those powerful soul masters with exceptionally sharp senses.
Curiously, Nan Qiuqiu tilted her body and pressed her ear against the door, muttering complaints under her breath.
"What's going on? Aren't they in the room?"
But in the next instant, her expression froze abruptly, and her pretty face flushed bright red.
"Ah—"
If she hadn't covered her mouth in time, that scream probably would have carried all the way to the street across from the hotel.
Nan Qiuqiu's mind went blank, as if she had been frightened by something. She hugged her head with both hands and squatted down.
"It's still daytime right now?"
It took her a long while to recover. Her face still flushed, she gritted her teeth.
"And how could Sister Guyi say those kinds of things? And in that tone?"
Nan Qiuqiu felt that the noble and aloof image she had of Ye Guyi instantly collapsed. She was really going crazy.
What tormented her even more was that she still had to personally deliver Nan Shuishui's invitation for Yu Tianhuang and Ye Guyi to attend tonight's banquet. Because of that, she foolishly waited at the door for over an hour. Even she didn't know how she managed to endure it.
"Click—"
The heavy purple sandalwood door, engraved with exquisite floral patterns, was opened. Xu Zihuang, dressed in fitted black clothing, appeared at the doorway.
The sudden change startled Nan Qiuqiu, who was squatting on the ground. She abruptly stood up, crossed her arms protectively over her chest, and put distance between herself and Xu Zihuang.
"What are you trying to do?!"
"This is the line I should be asking you." Xu Zihuang replied calmly. An hour ago, he had already sensed Nan Qiuqiu's presence and told Ye Guyi. But since the two of them were in the heat of the moment, they had ignored her.
At that moment, Ye Guyi, also dressed in silk fitted clothing, came up behind Xu Zihuang. Her hands brushed back her slightly disheveled golden hair, and in that instant, her charm left even Nan Qiuqiu momentarily stunned. She muttered doubts to herself inwardly.
"Sister Guyi's complexion looks so good… but why was she crying out like that earlier…"
Seeing Nan Qiuqiu, Ye Guyi's cheeks heated up, and a trace of apology arose in her heart. Nan Qiuqiu had waited bitterly outside for over an hour, and it was indeed their fault. Moreover, she had deliberately used Nan Qiuqiu's presence earlier for extra stimulation.
But on the surface, she could only pretend to know nothing.
"Qiuqiu? Why are you here?"
"Sister Guyi, actually, I arrived over an hour ago." Nan Qiuqiu said with a resentful expression, pouting. Full of grievances inside, she looked utterly pitiful.
Ye Guyi continued to play dumb.
"Let's not talk about that. Qiuqiu, come in first."
"No need! No need!" Nan Qiuqiu shrieked and shook her head repeatedly. Her reaction this time was even stronger than when Ye Guyi had tricked her about being pregnant.
"Sister Guyi, my mom asked me to invite you to the banquet. You can just come later. I'm leaving first!"
After saying that, Nan Qiuqiu fled in panic. Before leaving, she even glanced fearfully at Xu Zihuang. In her eyes, Xu Zihuang was probably no different from the most ferocious soul beast.
Watching Nan Qiuqiu's figure disappear, Ye Guyi let out a soft laugh and wrapped her arms around Xu Zihuang's neck from behind.
"Look how you scared Qiuqiu."
Xu Zihuang was speechless, too lazy to explain.
"Let's take a bath before going to the banquet."
He roughly guessed the purpose behind Nan Shuishui's invitation to them.
Ye Guyi pouted her red lips seductively, leaned in, and lightly pecked Xu Zihuang's cheek.
"Together?"
"…"
An hour later, Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi arrived together at the entrance of the Earth Dragon Gate.
Nan Shuishui was discussing matters with a group of sect elders. Originally, the task of welcoming guests should have fallen to Nan Qiuqiu, but since Nan Qiuqiu strongly objected, Nan Shuishui had no choice but to assign it to Xiao Ye.
Xu Zihuang also had some impression of this Xiao Ye. Xiao Ye's martial soul was the Night Dragon, a very powerful dark-attribute earth dragon-type martial soul.
Among the younger generation of the Earth Dragon Gate, Xiao Ye's overall strength was second only to Nan Qiuqiu. Moreover, his grandfather was the Great Elder of the Earth Dragon Gate, a powerhouse whose cultivation was close to the Soul Douluo level.
"The Sect Leader asked me to wait here to welcome the two of you. This way, please."
Xiao Ye had refined features and a steady demeanor. He respectfully stepped forward and led Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi toward the rear courtyard of the Earth Dragon Gate.
This was out of respect for the strong. Nan Qiuqiu was a girl who couldn't keep secrets and had long since leaked information about Xu Zihuang.
"Mm." Xu Zihuang nodded slightly and silently followed behind Xiao Ye with Ye Guyi.
While passing through a courtyard, Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi saw a large white pig locked in a cage. The pig was plump and tender, enormous in size, with small eyes almost squinted into slits. It was happily rooting through the small sweet potatoes in an iron basin, making "oink oink oink" grunting sounds.
Most peculiarly, this large white pig had wings on its back, and its body surface shimmered with white light, with faint fluctuations of soul power.
Noticing Xu Zihuang's gaze, Xiao Ye knowingly explained, "This is a special soul beast raised here in Dragon City, called the Flying Pig. Although its combat strength is not strong, its meat is extremely tender and delicate. Those small sweet potatoes are also a local specialty of Dragon City, very sweet, and the Flying Pig's favorite food. This Flying Pig was purchased on the Sect Leader's orders to be used as an ingredient for tonight's banquet."
As they spoke, the three had already arrived at the rear courtyard of the Earth Dragon Gate. The courtyard was adorned with various blooming, vibrant flowers, fragrant and pleasant.
Xiao Ye withdrew at this point.
Nan Shuishui was in the center of the garden, with several elders following behind her.
One of them, a thin white-haired elder, had an aura somewhat similar to Xiao Ye's; he was Xiao Ye's grandfather, the Great Elder of the Earth Dragon Gate. The other elders were also veterans of the Earth Dragon Gate, of the same generation as Nan Shuishui's father.
Nan Shuishui respected these people greatly, and the elders did not take advantage of their age to act arrogantly. Their interactions were exceptionally harmonious. In a long-established major soul master sect like this, cohesion and sense of belonging far exceeded imagination. There might be internal conflicts, but on major issues, they always put the sect's interests first.
During this period, Nan Shuishui had fully mined all the Ice Extreme Divine Crystals in the cavern that had not gestated Ice Spirits. The topic she was discussing with the sect elders was to give half of those Ice Extreme Divine Crystals to Yu Tianhuang.
Knowing Yu Tianhuang's astonishing talent, all the sect elders unanimously agreed.
Catching sight of Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi in the corner of her eye, Nan Shuishui quickly brought the elders over to them, her face beaming.
"You've arrived, Tianhuang, Guyi."
"Aunt Nan."
Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi smiled in return and greeted her.
The Great Elder smiled kindly at Xu Zihuang, then said to Nan Shuishui, "Sect Leader, we won't stay and disturb you. It wouldn't do for us old folks to linger here. The future belongs to the young, truly formidable."
"Elders, take care." Nan Shuishui politely saw the elders off.
Then she led Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi to sit at the stone table under the vine pergola. With a flash of light, a storage ring appeared in her palm.
"Tianhuang, because of you, our Earth Dragon Gate was able to make use of those Ice Extreme Divine Crystals. Here is half of the mined crystals—consider it a thank-you gift from our Earth Dragon Gate. Please accept it."
"Then thank you, Aunt Nan." Xu Zihuang did not politely refuse. He hadn't originally intended to take those Ice Extreme Divine Crystals, but it was different when Nan Shuishui proactively offered them.
In any case, he would remember this favor from the Earth Dragon Gate in his heart. And that was precisely Nan Shuishui's goal.
A favor from a heaven-defying genius like Yu Tianhuang was worth far more than mere Ice Extreme Divine Crystals.
After Xu Zihuang accepted the storage ring, the smile on Nan Shuishui's pretty face grew even brighter. She then looked at Ye Guyi.
"Guyi, that girl Qiuqiu has been spoiled by the sect elders. It must be exhausting being with her."
"Not at all, Aunt Nan. Qiuqiu is just lively because of her personality." Ye Guyi smiled faintly and continued.
"By the way, Aunt Nan. During this time, Tianhuang used the piece of Ice Extreme Divine Crystal he took to craft a defensive soul tool. This defensive soul tool was made according to Qiuqiu's body measurements. It's a gift from us to Qiuqiu."
Nan Shuishui's eyes lit up. Ye Guyi clearly treated Nan Qiuqiu as a true friend. Feeling deeply gratified, she accepted the gift on Nan Qiuqiu's behalf with a smiling face.
"You've gone to such trouble."
As she spoke, she transmitted her voice with soul power.
"Qiuqiu, come here."
Her tone toward Nan Qiuqiu was much stricter.
Due to Nan Shuishui's authority, even though Nan Qiuqiu was extremely unwilling, she didn't dare delay and came over to the vine pergola.
Xu Zihuang didn't say much and directly took out an exquisite ice-blue inner armor from his storage soul tool. The inner armor was composed of 108 identically shaped rhombic Ice Extreme Divine Crystals. Under the sunlight, the surrounding space was shrouded in a hazy blue glow.
"This should count as a level-six armor-type defensive soul tool, called the Ice Extreme God Armor. Its defensive power is comparable to ordinary level-seven defensive soul tools. Wearing this Ice Extreme God Armor will truly make one impervious to water and fire. When facing ice-attribute or fire-attribute soul skills, it can also greatly reduce their power."
Xu Zihuang's introduction was concise, but it left both Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu wide-eyed.
Even though the mother and daughter had no deep understanding of soul tools, just from Yu Tianhuang's description, they could tell how extraordinary this Ice Extreme God Armor was.
Nan Shuishui had never imagined that Yu Tianhuang possessed such high attainment in the field of soul engineering.
Ye Guyi handed the Ice Extreme God Armor to the still-dazed Nan Qiuqiu.
"Qiuqiu, this Ice Extreme God Armor is for you."
"Ah? For me?" Nan Qiuqiu exclaimed in surprise, instinctively accepting it. This Ice Extreme God Armor perfectly matched her aesthetic tastes. Girls are emotional by nature and have little resistance to beautiful things.
Ye Guyi smiled warmly and said, "Tianhuang made it based on your three measurements anyway, if not for you, then who?"
But Nan Qiuqiu's focus was elsewhere. Hugging the Ice Extreme God Armor protectively to her chest, she cried out in shock.
"How does he know my three measurements?!"
"I told Tianhuang." Ye Guyi explained with a helpless expression.
Nan Shuishui stroked her forehead and let out a heavy sigh.
Other girls, upon meeting such an outstanding genius soul master as Yu Tianhuang, would normally try every way to get close to him. Yet her silly daughter acted as if she had suffered a great loss.
"Alright, you can go now. I still need to discuss other matters with Tianhuang and Guyi." Her words were filled with exasperation.
"Oh." Nan Qiuqiu pouted. But looking at the Ice Extreme God Armor in her hands, she foolishly grinned again.
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