Douluo Continent: The Real World

After returning to Lanba Academy, Yu Tianyan spent a full 20 days recuperating under Liu Erlong's strong insistence.

Confined to bed each day, Yu Tianyan relied on reading to relieve his boredom. It was also a good opportunity to research information about external soul bones. Unfortunately, the information he found was very limited. The only record he discovered mentioned that external soul bones were unique as they could evolve. There was no mention, however, of whether they could produce soul skills like other soul bones. It seemed that external soul bones were too rare on the Douluo Continent for anyone to have studied and recorded their properties in detail.

During his recuperation, Liu Erlong visited him almost daily. She felt responsible for his injury. Yu Tianyan had risked himself for her, and once this boy set his mind on something, he was unstoppable. Fearing he might face danger again, Liu Erlong resolved to train his combat skills rigorously after he recovered.

In conversation, Yu Tianyan learned that Liu Erlong's 80,000-year-old eighth soul skill was called Red Dragon Clone, allowing her to split into two clones with 80% and 60% of her original soul power, respectively. The clones could use all spirit ring skills except those from her eighth spirit ring and spirit bone, controlled by Liu Erlong's mental power. Luckily, her head soul bone had greatly enhanced her mental power, preventing this soul skill from becoming a hindrance in battle.

Once Yu Tianyan's injury was fully healed, Liu Erlong had him help manage the academy's affairs. During his recovery, she had neglected all responsibilities, ignoring even the teachers' persistent urgings as she focused solely on his recuperation.

After a year of hard work, the academy had accumulated numerous tasks. Teacher Yinshu, however, was highly capable, managing everything in an orderly fashion. At Yu Tianyan's suggestion, Liu Erlong promoted Yinshu to Chief Instructor of Lanba Academy, giving him full responsibility when she was absent.

Yinshu, who came from a commoner background, had earned Liu Erlong's support during his journey to obtain his fifth soul ring, and besides her, he was the teacher who treated Yu Tianyan best. In gratitude for Yinshu's efforts, Yu Tianyan suggested Liu Erlong reward him with a 30,000-year-old soul bone, which Yinshu gratefully accepted.

After addressing these necessary matters, Liu Erlong returned to her residence, exhausted. But Yu Tianyan, seeing her collapse onto her bed, pulled her up, insisting,

"Sister, get up and absorb the soul bone."

Yu Tianyan was helpless; his lazy sister always tried to sleep after handling academy matters.

"Xiaoyan, stop making trouble. Let your sister rest for a bit. I'm so tired," Liu Erlong pouted, admitting how much she disliked the academy's administrative work. Teaching decisions could be delegated to Yinshu, but other matters had to be reported directly to her, which she found overwhelming. She was relieved by Yu Tianyan's idea of entrusting Yinshu with these tasks. The soul bone she offered in exchange was well worth the freedom she would gain.

Despite her appealingly delicate appearance, which could have fooled others into thinking she was a gentlewoman, Yu Tianyan wasn't swayed. He chuckled,

"Sister, don't blame me if I have to activate my heart fire to get you up."

Seeing his mischievous smile, Liu Erlong immediately tensed. The phrase heart fire held a certain dread for her. While it could enhance her cultivation speed, soul power, and temper her soul bones, it could also unleash her hidden desires. She shuddered, not wanting a repeat of what happened the last time her heart fire fully awakened in front of Yu Tianyan.

She blushed and waved him away.

Smack.

"Ouch!" Yu Tianyan yelped as Liu Erlong swatted his forehead, then firmly pinched his ear with an embarrassed look in her eyes.

"Brat! What nonsense are you spouting? Want to say that again?" she teased.

The pain brought Yu Tianyan quickly to his senses. He whimpered,

"I won't say it again, Sister! I was wrong."

But Liu Erlong's grip tightened. With a slight smile, she pressed,

"I didn't quite catch that, Xiaoyan. What was it about heart fire?"

Her sinister tone reminded Yu Tianyan of his own scheming nature. Grimacing, he quickly revised,

"Sister, you misheard me! I said child fire, not heart fire!"

Pleased, Liu Erlong let go, although her face still burned with embarrassment, memories stirring of how she'd felt after absorbing the three-headed fire dragon soul ring and soul bone. She lightly rubbed her ear, casting a sidelong glance at Yu Tianyan, who had already started focusing on the matter at hand.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he pulled out a red and blue wing-shaped soul bone from his bracelet—the external soul bone of the Extreme Electric Fire Luan.

"Sister, here. Take it."

Yu Tianyan's voice brought her back to the present. Without hesitation, she accepted the soul bone, sat cross-legged on the bed, and enveloped the soul bone with her soul power, carefully attaching it to her back. Having absorbed four soul bones previously, Liu Erlong found this process seamless. Within ten minutes, the wings had merged with her spine and shoulder blades. As she absorbed it, Yu Tianyan's heart fire tempered the soul bone, helping her fully integrate with it.

She blushed as she felt the warmth of the heart fire but remained quiet, grateful for Yu Tianyan's precise control, which ensured she wouldn't lose herself to its effects. Even at her Soul Douluo level, she couldn't control the heart fire alone; it responded only to Yu Tianyan, achieving optimal tempering results under his guidance.

Finally, as a barrier within her broke, Liu Erlong, who had been at the peak of level 86, successfully reached level 87 soul power after the tempering.

Yu Tianyan was pleasantly surprised. He hadn't anticipated that a thousand-year soul bone could have such a significant impact. After meditating to stabilize his soul power, he opened his eyes and asked,

"Sister, how much do you know about the Extreme Electric Fire Luan?"

Liu Erlong, who had been about to test her new soul bone, paused in surprise.

"I only know it's highly sought after by flying soul masters. I don't know much else."

Hearing this, Yu Tianyan began to explain,

"The Extreme Lightning Fire Luan is the absolute overlord of the sky. Not only is it incredibly fast, but its unique couple bond system is well-known."

"Couple bond? What's that about?" Liu Erlong was puzzled. She had only ever heard of this creature from Flanders and had no knowledge beyond that.

Yu Tianyan wasn't surprised by her confusion. After all, this was exactly the kind of mystery that intrigued her.

(End of Chapter)