Chapter 74: Ling Yuan's Shock of a Lifetime
"I don't know either. She probably woke up a while ago," Qin Xuan said indifferently.
He was buttoning his shirt, his expression as calm as if he were discussing the weather, not the fact that a child had just witnessed their intimate moment. He didn't take the matter to heart. What could a little kid, less than 4 months old, understand?
"We… she…" Ling Yuan Douluo, in stark contrast, was a mess of flustered emotions. She pulled the fur blankets up to her chin, her face burning crimson. Her usual Titled Douluo composure was completely shattered.
She seemed to recall the scene when A Yan woke up, cooing from her basket, and immediately felt both shy and intensely annoyed. How could he be so casual?
After a long moment of fuming in embarrassment, she finally forced out a single word, her voice tight: "Beast."
"Thanks for the compliment." Qin Xuan felt no shame, but rather a sliver of pride. He did indeed have tendencies in that regard. When he was with Jingni, they often did things in front of A Yan.
However, as A Yan gradually grew older and more aware, Jingni had started requesting that the lights be turned off at night. She no longer allowed it in front of A Yan during the day.
Ling Yuan glared at his back, infuriated by his shamelessness. The night had been a whirlwind. He had been surprisingly gentle at first, but overwhelmingly dominant. She, a Titled Douluo, had been completely conquered. The lingering soreness in her body was a testament to his "beast-like" nature.
"Alright, you rest well here. I'll go prepare breakfast." Qin Xuan got up and walked out of the tent, completely unfazed by her glare.
As he stepped out, he used a private sound transmission with his Spirit Power to contact the other tent, "Nong Yu, help me look after A Yan."
In the adjacent tent, Nong Yu stiffened for a moment, her eyes shut tight. She had, of course, heard everything. The muffled sounds and the powerful, chaotic fluctuations of Spirit Power had kept her awake most of the night. A moment later, when Qin Xuan's footsteps receded, she slowly opened her eyes, pretending to have just woken up.
For the next 3 days straight, Qin Xuan and his group delved deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.
During the day, he searched for Spirit Beasts with what Ling Yuan considered an infuriatingly 'indifferent' attitude. It wasn't that he was lazy; he was impossibly picky.
They encountered several powerful beasts—a 50,000-year Stormwind Panther, a 60,000-year Eight-Legged Demon Spider—either of which would have been a prized hunt for any other Spirit Saint. Yet, Qin Xuan merely glanced at them before shaking his head and moving on, searching for his specific, legendary targets.
At night, he dedicated his efforts to coaxing Ling Yuan Douluo back into the tent.
Unfortunately, ever since that first night, Ling Yuan Douluo had become smarter. She had learned her lesson.
She insisted on standing guard. Even if it was a rotating shift, it had to be Qin Xuan and her rotating. She refused to be in the tent at the same time as him.
On the other hand, she got along surprisingly well with Jingni.
The talent Jingni displayed—her sharp, controlled aura and profound understanding of power—made it almost certain that she would become a Titled Douluo in the future. Her achievements might even surpass Ling Yuan Douluo's.
Because of this potential, Ling Yuan Douluo didn't put on any airs of a Titled Douluo in front of Jingni. The two often sat by the fire, secretly whispering women's secrets.
"How do you deal with him?" Ling Yuan had asked one night, her voice low. "He's... he's impossible. Arrogant, shameless, and he doesn't take 'no' for an answer."
Jingni had simply smiled, a calm, knowing look in her eyes. "He is my husband. He is ambitious, and he is protective. He gets what he wants. And... he will be yours, too, whether you accept it or not. It is easier to accept it."
This calm acceptance only frustrated Ling Yuan more.
Their nightly routine became a frustrating stalemate. If Qin Xuan stood guard, she would stay in the tent with Jingni. If Qin Xuan stayed in the tent, she would bolt outside to stand guard. She just wouldn't let Qin Xuan succeed again.
She found a petty, childish pleasure in it. She simply enjoyed seeing Qin Xuan, that scoundrel, want her but not be able to have her, itching with impatience.
Unfortunately, Qin Xuan didn't care at all. He wasn't a simp who would humble himself to please a girl.
If he couldn't have Fire Spirit Iris, couldn't he still have a salamander?
His completely indifferent attitude made Ling Yuan Douluo both angry and anxious. She thought, 'This scoundrel isn't going to just use me and then deny it, is he? Did he only want a taste of a Titled Douluo?'
The thought was mortifying.
Unwilling to give up her pride but also unwilling to be discarded, she came up with the idea of having Jingni stand guard with her, leaving Qin Xuan alone.
But Jingni's words made her despair.
"If we both stay out here," Jingni had said calmly, stirring the fire, "He will not be lonely. He will simply call Nong Yu into his tent. And then, we will have another sister."
Ling Yuan's expression froze. She realized with dawning horror that she was completely trapped.
Finally, on the evening of the 4th day, Ling Yuan Douluo decided to give in. Her pride was no match for her fear of being replaced by a maid. However, before that, she still needed to take the initiative and clear the air.
She found Qin Xuan by the fire, staring into the flames, seemingly plotting his next move.
"You little scoundrel," she said, her voice sharp. "You keep picking and choosing, one Spirit Beast after another. There are so many Spirit Beasts over 50,000 years old in the Star Dou Great Forest. Isn't there one you like?"
Qin Xuan looked up, a faint smile on his lips. "They aren't good enough."
"Not good enough?" Ling Yuan scoffed. "A 60,000-year beast isn't good enough for your seventh ring? You—"
"I've already obtained my 7th spirit ring, don't you know?"
Before she could finish her tirade, Qin Xuan stood up.
Yellow, purple, purple, black, black, red.
A 7th spirit ring, a deep, soul-shaking crimson, rose slowly from beneath his feet.
He no longer concealed his aura, releasing it without reservation. The air cracked with pressure. The flames of the campfire flattened, and the surrounding trees groaned. A terrifying, ancient aura, tinged with the sacred fire of the Suzaku, washed over the clearing.
His Spirit Power was clearly, unmistakably, at level 75.
"A 100,000-year spirit ring…" Ling Yuan Douluo's beautiful eyes widened, shimmering with an incredulous light. She took an involuntary step back, her own Spirit Power flaring to defend her.
"And... and your previous spirit rings... they weren't like this! Your first two were yellow! How... how is this possible…"
She remembered his file from the Elder Palace clearly. His configuration had been remarkable for its age, but this was monstrous.
Qin Xuan didn't answer directly, but looked at Jingni, who was standing by the tent. "Jingni, show her your spirit rings."
Jingni nodded.
As soon as he spoke, an even more terrifying scene appeared.
6 spirit rings emerged from around Jingni.
Red.
Red.
Red.
Red.
Red.
Red.
All 6 rings, without exception, were a blinding crimson color, representing 100,000-year Spirit Beasts. Her aura, sharp and cold as a blade, spiked, and her Spirit Power was astonishingly at level 80.
A level 80 Spirit Douluo with only 6 rings. And all 6 were red.
This display of power was so absurd, so world-breaking, that it directly shocked Ling Yuan Douluo for a hundred years.
[Inorin's Note: "Shocked for a hundred years" (震惊一百年) is a Chinese internet slang expression meaning to be utterly and completely shocked beyond belief.]
She couldn't speak. Her mind was blank. She, Ling Yuan Douluo, one of the youngest Titled Douluo on the continent, felt like a child seeing the ocean for the first time.
"100,000-year spirit rings… all of them… How did you two manage this?" she finally whispered, her voice trembling.
"And Qin Xuan, wasn't your first 6 spirit ring configuration yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black?"
Ling Yuan Douluo had too many questions. Now she finally understood why she, as a Titled Douluo, felt a latent, mortal threat from both Qin Xuan and Jingni.
At first, she thought it was an illusion. That she was overthinking things, or perhaps her instincts were dulled by her attraction to him.
But wow, are they really this formidable?
When did 100,000-year spirit rings become so common?
Compared to Qin Xuan and Jingni, Bibi Dong, that so-called Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall, was simply not worth mentioning.
"Want to know?" Qin Xuan's face revealed a mysterious smile as he retracted his aura, the oppressive pressure vanishing instantly.
"Nonsense! I've already given you my body, do you still want to hide it from me?" Ling Yuan Douluo said irritably, her shock quickly turning back to anger.
"I can tell you," Qin Xuan stepped closer, his voice dropping to a low murmur. "Unless you promise me one thing."
He leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words.
Ling Yuan Douluo's charming face flushed a shade of red that rivaled his spirit ring. Her eyes darted to Jingni, who was watching them with a calm, almost amused expression.
"You... you're shameless!" she hissed, but her voice lacked any real venom.
"You say it," she finally relented, biting her lip. "As long as you tell me, I'll promise you."
She was taking the easy way out. Anyway, her whole being belonged to this scoundrel now. She didn't care about being with Jingni... In short, she was completely giving in.
"You said it." Qin Xuan smiled, satisfied.
He began to fabricate a divine trial that didn't exist at all, using Qian Daoliu's 8 black and 1 red spirit ring configuration as an example.
"The truth is, I am undergoing a divine trial," he explained. "My Spirit is the Vermilion Bird. I am the chosen successor of the Fire God."
"The increase in the age of my spirit rings was a reward from the trial. After passing the first stage, all my existing rings were upgraded, and my 7th ring was a god-bestowed spirit ring."
As for why Jingni, at Spirit Power level 80, only had 6 spirit rings, and all of them were 100,000-year ones.
Qin Xuan's reason was equally dramatic. "Jingni's teacher was a peerless expert, a level 99 Limit Douluo. Before passing away, she expended her lifelong cultivation and used a forbidden secret method to remove the original spirit rings from Jingni's body, giving her the opportunity to replace them."
"Afterward," he continued, "Jingni absorbed a top-tier Immortal Herb and a complete set of 6 Spirit Bones left by her teacher. That is how she gained the physique and Mental Force to withstand 100,000-year spirit rings."
"And those 6 100,000-year spirit rings? They were also god-bestowed spirit rings, a gift from her teacher's own divine trial, passed on to her successor."
As for Jingni coming from another World, Qin Xuan didn't say. He would keep this matter hidden as much as possible, unless he became truly invincible. Otherwise, he wouldn't expose his ability to travel to different Worlds to anyone.
Jingni, Nong Yu, Mo Ya, Bai Feng, and the others also wouldn't say. Even if they wanted to, they couldn't, as the recruitment cards would define it as an act of betrayal.
"I'm going crazy… Why did I break through to Titled Douluo so early?"
After listening, Ling Yuan Douluo was filled with a bitter, profound regret. "If only it had been a year later... oh no, even half a year would have been good!"
Never in her life had she regretted her own genius. She had obtained her 9th spirit ring at a record-breaking age, but now, she wished she had waited. Otherwise, she too could be a Titled Douluo with 100,000-year spirit rings.
Qin Xuan comforted her from the side, "Don't say that. If you hadn't joined the Elder Palace, maybe we would still be strangers even now."
"I don't care! I want 100,000-year spirit rings too!" Ling Yuan Douluo's regret vanished, replaced by a fiery determination. "Don't you have a method? A divine trial? You can improve spirit rings! I want you to help me improve my 9th spirit ring!"
She tugged at Qin Xuan's arm like a little fairy from Blue Star asking her boyfriend for a handbag.
"As long as you help me raise it to 100,000 years, I'll…"
After saying that, she didn't forget to lean close to Qin Xuan's ear and whisper a few words—a detailed, explicit promise that referenced his earlier request.
The promise made Qin Xuan's heart burn and his blood boil.
"What's the age of your 9th spirit ring?" Qin Xuan was a typical softy, unable to resist her, and asked somewhat helplessly.
"It's 70,000 years old," Ling Yuan Douluo said with a smile to Qin Xuan.
"So, 30,000 years short of the 100,000-year mark?" Qin Xuan rolled his eyes. "That's a massive gap. It's not that easy."
"I don't care how hard it is!" she declared.
"Let me be clear," Qin Xuan's expression turned serious, and he grasped her shoulder. "You are my woman, that's why I'm telling you this. This secret about divine trials and god-bestowed rings is a taboo. If you leak it out, then everything will be off the table."
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