Chapter 69: The Cautious Erlong
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Ye Wen's brow furrowed—the tea's flavor was incredibly strong.
With a slap to Ah Yin's behind, he scolded her, irritated:
"I gave you those miscellaneous books to pass the time, not to corrupt you!"
The sudden strike on a sensitive spot made Ah Yin's face flush red. She could only mumble as she rubbed her sore bottom and said:
"I understand. But Brother, just help her, please. She's a girl who came here to hunt for a soul ring—it's pitiful.
And don't you always teach me to cultivate good karma? For someone of our strength, helping her is just a small favor. If she feels grateful and repays us later, even better. It's not like it'll waste much of our time."
Ye Wen fell silent for a moment.
He had never considered himself a good person—every action he took had a purpose.
"Kindness... such an ancient word. When did I become so callous? Perhaps this is why I felt compelled to protect Ah Yin the first time I saw her—because she possesses something I lack.
The old Ah Yin wasn't human in the traditional sense; she was more like a fairy or spirit of plants and grass, indifferent to everything except herself. Now, however, she pleads with me to help others. Maybe this is the true meaning of a spirit beast transforming into a human."
With a casual wave of his hand, Ye Wen activated his fifth soul skill: Void Barrier.
The woman, locked in a perilous battle with a spirit beast, noticed the beast's movements suddenly freeze. A soul skill then struck the beast's head, killing it instantly.
"Hah—hah—"
The woman gasped in shock, staring at the now-dead spirit beast. Just moments ago, she had been losing the fight, on the verge of death. How had she suddenly won?
"Take a moment to rest and adjust your breathing before absorbing the soul ring. We'll guard you while you do so."
A voice suddenly rang out from above, startling her like a frightened bird. She quickly leapt forward and turned to look behind her.
There stood Ye Wen and Ah Yin, descending gracefully from the sky and stopping a short distance away.
Ye Wen exuded an elegant demeanor, while Ah Yin radiated a gentle and noble charm. Together, they looked like a match made in heaven. The woman, worn down by life's hardships, stared at them for a moment before asking:
"Who are you?"
Her tone revealed that she didn't trust them easily.
Ye Wen felt a flicker of irritation. This was precisely why he disliked meddling in the affairs of strangers who barged into his life uninvited.
The woman had striking crimson hair and a curvaceous figure that was pleasing to the eye.
At this point, Ah Yin stepped forward and spoke softly:
"Hello, my name is Ye Yin, but you can call me Ah Yin. My husband and I saw you in danger from afar and kindly decided to help. Please don't be alarmed."
Ah Yin's natural charisma helped ease the woman's tension slightly. After a brief silence, the woman introduced herself:
"Sister, my name is Liu Erlong. You can call me Erlong."
Ye Wen was momentarily surprised—he hadn't expected to encounter a character from the original story.
However, he harbored no fondness for women like her. This type of woman epitomized the overly indulgent mother archetype—though in this case, it would be better described as an overly indulgent girlfriend.
In the original story, when Yu Xiaogang went to the Pope's Hall to inquire about the cultivation method for Bibi Dong's twin martial souls, Bibi Dong refused to answer. Yet this woman kept criticizing Bibi Dong for being uncooperative.
But how could such a core secret of their sect be casually shared with outsiders? Especially since Bibi Dong already knew that Yu Xiaogang intended to teach the enemy of the Spirit Hall—Tang San.
Would Bibi Dong really divulge such information to aid the enemy? Yes, she may have been love-struck, but she wasn't stupid.
Thus, the most poorly written romantic subplot in Douluo undoubtedly belonged to Yu Xiaogang, the despicable liar.
What was most absurd was that after the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was wiped out, what was supposed to remain a purely spiritual romance between him and Erlong devolved into them having a child together.
This led to the illustrious Golden Holy Dragon lineage in Douluo 2.
While noble families occasionally practiced consanguineous marriages to preserve the purity of their martial soul bloodlines, such unions were typically limited to relatives three generations apart. Yet Yu Xiaogang and Erlong were cousins!
As a master, did he lack even basic biological knowledge? Or was it because of Tang San's divine intervention that their offspring weren't born deformed or intellectually disabled?
Upon further reflection, it made sense.
In Douluo 2, the Dragon God Douluo Mu En was a pillar of the Sea God Pavilion. It was likely that several generations of Golden Holy Dragons before him had also served as pillars of Shrek's Sea God Pavilion.
This revealed Tang San's sinister intentions. Such a top-tier martial soul was exceedingly rare in both Douluo 1 and Douluo 2. Under the guise of supporting his teacher and mistress, he ensured their descendants would serve him.
Truly impressive, Tang San—Buddha incarnate, the ultimate filial son, and master strategist.
Back to the matter at hand—
Getting involved with someone like her wouldn't necessarily bring misfortune, but it was bound to cause trouble.
Thus, Ye Wen directly introduced himself:
"Hello, my name is Ye Wen. If you've read the three popular martial soul treatises circulating across the continent recently, you should recognize this name.
You needn't worry that my wife and I have ulterior motives. The reason we helped you is simply because my wife is too kind-hearted, and I couldn't refuse her."
"What proof do you have? There are plenty of scammers pretending to be Master Ye Wen these days."
Hmm, fraud operations in the Douluo Continent were no joke.
But the fact that Liu Erlong was aware of this scheme suggested she'd either heard about it or fallen victim to it before.
Considering her upbringing, it wasn't surprising. Her mother had been a courtesan, and she had grown up struggling in the lower rungs of society. It was only through a stroke of luck that she awakened her innate soul power, leading to her current status. Understanding the darkness of the Douluo Continent wasn't far-fetched for someone like her.
As for identity verification, many things on the continent could now be forged.
Without further ado, Ye Wen summoned his hidden Soul Ancestor configuration, complete with two ten-thousand-year soul rings.
Yellow, purple, purple, purple.
Seeing this unique soul ring configuration—currently unparalleled on the continent—Liu Erlong finally believed Ye Wen's words. She bowed deeply to apologize.
Ye Wen waved it off dismissively, urging her to hurry and absorb the soul ring.
Obedience was the best policy. Liu Erlong adjusted her state and began absorbing the ten-thousand-year soul ring.
Thanks to Ye Wen's theoretical guidance, the number of soul masters dying from absorbing incompatible soul rings had drastically decreased across the continent.
Additionally, Ye Wen had proposed a hypothesis regarding the absorption of ten-thousand-year soul rings. Though there were no concrete metrics, he suggested that if the combined years of the first four soul rings exceeded 8,000 years and the practitioner's physical strength surpassed 10,000 jin (approximately 5 tons), the mental strain of absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul ring would be negligible.
After absorbing a 5,000-year soul ring as the fourth ring, combined with subsequent cultivation, both physical and mental capabilities would naturally exceed 10,000.
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