Yu Qing could sense that after A Rou said "Please take care of me," the thick guard she'd kept around herself seemed to loosen a little—no longer wound so tight, as if she were ready to bolt at any second.
A gentle smile appeared on his face. "Sure. I'll be counting on you from now on, too."
A Rou's thoughts turned; she took the initiative. "Yu Qing, where to next? Do you still need to hunt other Spirit Beasts?"
Yu Qing rubbed his chin, pondered a moment, then shook his head. "That's it for now. Let's leave the Star Dou Great Forest first." After harvesting three hundred thousand year spirit rings and Spirit Bones, he had no further need for the forest's other beasts. His next target ring required a specific metal or annihilation attribute—something you couldn't just stumble across in Star Dou.
Besides, he genuinely wanted a long vacation and some idle, easy days. If it hadn't been to get Duan Xin her fifth spirit ring, he'd never have plunged right back into the forest so soon after leaving.
Seeing A Rou nod obediently, Yu Qing led the three girls away from the now-devastated valley.
Three days later the four of them walked safely out of the Star Dou Great Forest. The hunt had been a complete success—not only had Duan Xin absorbed the twenty-thousand-year Crimson-Eyed Burst Dragon spirit ring, Yu Qing himself had "gained" a stunningly powerful and drop-dead gorgeous big rabbit (A Rou). Truly, Qin Shi Huang touching a live wire—an electrifying win!
Once out of the forest they headed straight for the small town where they'd stayed before; they needed rest and to decide their next move.
They traveled quickly and were back in town before long.
A Rou, arriving in a human settlement, showed obvious curiosity. She looked left and right at the shops lining the street and the passers-by. While she did nothing out of line, Yu Qing couldn't help seeing in her the exact image of "a pretty village girl seeing the city for the first time"—innocent yet wary, adorably so.
Yu Qing and the other two patiently accompanied her while she explored the whole town. Gazing at the bustling streets—changed since her last visit—she softly exclaimed, "So much has changed…"
"You've been here before?" Yu Qing asked.
"Yes, three times, but each time it looks very different," A Rou answered.
"How did you live among humans before?" he continued.
She sighed, voice tinged with helplessness and grievance. "Apart from necessary contact, I mostly hid alone. Men always looked at me with ill intent; several times I was nearly dragged off. Women shunned me, calling me a reincarnated fox-spirit who seduces men—but I never tried to entice anyone!"
Looking at her breathtakingly beautiful, naturally alluring face, Yu Qing chuckled. "With a face like that, do you know how irresistible it is to men?"
A Rou frowned in puzzlement. "How irresistible?"
He lowered his voice dramatically. "To men, its pull is no weaker than a ten thousand year spirit bone!" A delicate face, slim waist, long legs, plus that gentle, all-accommodating wife-like aura—what man could resist?
"Am I… really that good-looking?" She tilted her head, uncertain. Years by the Lake of Life had left her with little concept of her own appearance.
"Of course!" he said matter-of-factly, then whispered, "Look around—people's eyes are glued to you."
Her cheeks flushed; panic rose. The greedy stares reminded her of past unpleasantness, and the urge to flee surged.
"Let's—let's go! This place feels dangerous!" She instinctively moved closer to Yu Qing, voice soft.
Yu Qing nearly laughed. "Did you forget? You're a Titled Douluo now—straighten up!"
A Rou slapped her forehead. "Right!" So long away from the human World, she'd actually forgotten her own cultivation. She wasn't the weak, helpless Little Rabbit who had to hide anymore!
Today she'd let these human men know: I, Soft Bones Rabbit A Rou, am not to be trifled with!
With that thought, her gaze sharpened. Titled Douluo-level power erupted unrestrained: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—nine spirit rings rose beneath her feet. Brilliant light and terrifying pressure instantly blanketed the street.
"Insolence! Who gave you permission to covet this seat?" she snapped, waving a jade hand. Vast spirit power pressure swept out like a physical force, slamming every leering man to the ground.
In an instant those lustful eyes turned crystal-clear, now filled only with terror and pleas for mercy.
"Spare us, Your Excellency!"
"We were blind—please forgive us!"
A Rou stared, stunned. So… in the human World, strength is the only truth? Collecting herself, she swept her cold gaze over the trembling crowd, then finally snorted and withdrew her rings and pressure.
News of a female Titled Douluo in the town spread like wildfire through the surrounding lands.
By then Yu Qing's group had already settled into the best inn.
They took two top rooms: Yu Qing with Duan Xin and Zi Ruyi, A Rou alone.
"Yu Qing?" A Rou took her key, puzzled.
"You'll sleep alone tonight," he smiled. "Rest well."
She blinked. "And them?"
"Of course they're staying with me."
She fluttered her lashes. "Three of you in one room… isn't that cramped? Want to move one of them over to mine?"
Before Yu Qing could answer, Duan Xin jumped in. "Sister Rou, don't worry! The three of us used to live together—there was plenty of space!" She even gave Zi Ruyi a conspiratorial wink.
Zi Ruyi seemed to guess what she meant; her cheeks flushed and she gave a small nod.
Tonight… was clearly going to be a sleepless one.
A Rou studied The Two Women's subtle expressions, rolling the words 'live together' over in her mind. Suddenly she understood. Her face burned crimson and she practically fled into her own room, slamming the door with a bang.
She remembered—Yu Qing and these two were husband and wife… sharing a bed was natural. But when she caught the blush on Zi Ruyi's face and the teasing glint in Duan Xin's eyes, her mind had leapt straight to things that couldn't be described.
P-procreation?!
Watching A Rou's flustered retreat, Yu Qing and The Two Women couldn't help laughing.
"Looks like we've got a really 'innocent' big bunny here," Yu Qing chuckled, rubbing his chin.
The three of them stepped into their room, closed the door, and, still holding hands, walked naturally into the bathroom.
What happened in the bathroom… was of course a pleasant bath followed by Dual Cultivation, start-to-finish service!
After an exhilarating session in the bathroom, they moved to the soft king-size bed and began a new round of 'cultivation'.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
As if to make up for half a month of abstinence, the three of them 'cultivated' from afternoon straight through to the small hours of the next morning, finally falling asleep in each other's arms.
Once both women were deep in slumber, Yu Qing's consciousness quietly sank into his sea of consciousness.
With a thought he opened the System space and took out the oddly shaped [All-Things synthesizer]. Then he produced four Head Spirit Bones, each glowing with a different light.
When The Two Women's affection had reached 90 he'd gained a hundred thousand yin yang points. Add the four Head Spirit Bones from A Rou—he'd given two away, but his own stock had made up the difference—and he'd been itching to test the synthesizer.
"Let's see what four ten-thousand-year Head Spirit Bones can turn into!" Yu Qing murmured, eyes shining.
He checked the four Spirit Bones:
[Soul-Eater Demon Python Head Spirit Bone: 70 000 years]
[Moon-White Fox King Head Spirit Bone: 70 000 years]
[Burst Ape Head Spirit Bone: 60 000 years]
[Earth Lizard King Head Spirit Bone: 50 000 years]
"A Rou's collection is ridiculously rich!" Yu Qing exclaimed. "I should've asked for a few more!" He couldn't help but think that Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape, as Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beasts, must have even more astounding hoards. Even if he couldn't seize them by force, he could still negotiate!
Shaking off the thought, he gave the synthesizer its order: "Combine these four ten-thousand-year Head Spirit Bones!"
[-37 000 yin yang points]
A gold deduction prompt flashed across the synthesizer's blue crystal screen. The four Head Spirit Bones were drawn into the machine's bottomless black maw.
White, yellow, purple and black lights flashed and merged at the forge's mouth. Soon the black light was replaced by a deeper, richer scarlet.
Numbers on the blue crystal screen rocketed upward:
120 000… 240 000… 300 000… finally stopping at—325 000!
Voom!
A Head Spirit Bone pulsing with blood-red radiance and terrifying energy was ejected.
Yu Qing caught it and quickly scanned its info:
[Spatial Psycho-Burst Head Spirit Bone (325 000 years)]
Attached Spirit Abilities:
Psycho-Burst Rush: Condenses vast mental force to launch a powerful spiritual shock, directly damaging the opponent's Soul.
Hyper-Space Solidify: Manipulates space over a wide area, creating a solidifying force field that can freeze time and greatly restrict the enemy's movements.
"Not bad—a space-type ability!" Yu Qing exclaimed in delight. Space-type Spirit Beasts were rare, let alone killing one. Although he'd created the short-range, risky teleport skill Star Flash by forcibly folding starlight into an unstable wormhole, it had plenty of limitations.
If he could study spatial power through this Spirit Bone, Star Flash might reach farther and form a far more stable channel!
"Should I fuse it now?" He hesitated, staring at the enticing red glow.
After long consideration he decided—fuse!
The Fusion took time; only when the sky outside began to pale was it complete.
The instant it finished, the clearest change was an explosive growth in mental force.
His mental strength had already reached the 'Spiritual Abyss' level back when he was a Spirit Saint—that was why he'd dared to absorb a hundred thousand year spirit ring. After becoming a Titled Douluo it had increased only to the Middle Stage of that realm.
Absorbing this 325 000-year Head Spirit Bone pushed him straight to the Peak of the Spiritual Abyss realm, a qualitative leap in range, precision, and control.
Feeling the change, he then checked his spirit power Rank and was mildly surprised: he had only just reached level ninety-six.
"Looks like most of the bone's energy went into mental power…" He wasn't dissatisfied; in fact, he didn't want his spirit power climbing too quickly.
He had a clear plan: condense the first Soul core at Rank 70—done; form Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Soul Cores at Rank 90—not yet; finish the third Soul core at Rank 99.
He wanted to follow a path similar to the God of Emotion's, but without teachers like Snow Emperor or Ice Emperor he'd had to grope toward the Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Soul Cores on his own. Advancing too fast might leave his Foundation unstable.