Douluo Continent: The Real World

He moved a chair, sat opposite Liu Erlong and began to preach.

"The Extreme Electric Fire Phoenix is ​​the most loyal of soul beasts when it comes to love. It will only ever have one partner. If one dies, the other will not continue to live alone, but will sacrifice itself to follow its beloved in death."

Hearing this, Liu Erlong understood why that Fire Phoenix had endured such immense pain to self-destruct. Its partner was fated to die, and so it, too, gave up its life. Her resentment towards them lessened considerably.

"Ah, such devotion—it surpasses that of so many humans," Liu Erlong sighed. Hearing this story, she couldn't help but think of Yu Xiaogang. However, whenever she thought of him, Yu Tianyan's innocent face would always flash through her mind.

Yu Tianyan lowered his head, hiding a small smile, then straightened his expression and said, "Sister, now that you've absorbed one of their soul bones, who do you want to absorb the other?"

The question took her aback. Of course, she wanted Yu Tianyan to absorb it. Knowing Yu Tianyan, he would never pass up such a rare soul bone. After all, external soul bones are treasures that come once in a century. But she understood that wasn't his real question.

Though she knew Yu Tianyan would absorb the soul bone, he still asked. If she truly had to choose, the first name that came to mind would be Yu Xiaogang. For a moment, Liu Erlong found herself at a loss for words.

Her reaction was exactly what Yu Tianyan wanted. To open Liu Erlong's heart completely, he needed to address the matter of Yu Xiaogang, gradually erasing his place in her heart. But he knew patience was necessary, so he quickly said, "What's the matter, Sister? Were you planning to give it to someone else? Surely, it's for your dear brother."

His light-hearted words brought her back to the present, and she pretended to be angry, saying, "You little brat! How dare you tease your sister?"

Though her tone was playful, Liu Erlong's heart was far from calm. She kept reminding herself not to overthink it. Yu Tianyan was only a 7-year-old child, and this was just a soul bone—nothing more. But the notion that he was merely a child had already faded four years ago. Moreover, before their plan began, she had chosen Yu Tianyan over her own family, the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex Clan. Perhaps only she understood her true feelings.

"Sister, don't be angry. Come on, let's test out the soul bone," Yu Tianyan suggested with a smile.

Saying that, he took her hand, guiding her outside. This time, Liu Erlong didn't resist, letting him lead her out of the room.

In the middle of the courtyard, Yu Tianyan gently released her hand and stepped aside, waiting quietly.

Liu Erlong took a deep breath, pushed aside her distracting thoughts, and summoned her focus. With a single thought, a pair of huge wings burst forth from her back, stirring a powerful gust.

Her left wing sparked with blue-purple arcs, and thanks to the tempering of her inner fire, the arcs were far more powerful than those on the wings of the Extreme Electric Fire Phoenix. The right wing burned with golden-red flames, and she sensed that its temperature might even surpass her fourth soul skill.

Yu Tianyan looked on, full of envy. The wings were indeed beautiful. His gaze made her feel momentarily dazed, although he wasn't looking directly at her. Then, with a surge of energy, she shot into the air, reaching dozens of meters in an instant.

The sudden acceleration almost made her lose balance. The inner fire's tempering had greatly enhanced the wings' elemental properties and speed, surpassing even those of the Extreme Electric Fire Phoenix soul beast. After a brief pause, Liu Erlong steadied herself in mid-air, then shot higher into the sky. Slowly, she became just a black dot in Yu Tianyan's eyes. He even wondered if she had flown into outer space, although he wasn't sure if there was space in the Douluo Continent.

After ensuring that she was unrecognizable from below, Liu Erlong picked a direction and accelerated, soaring further.

It was a full twenty minutes later that Liu Erlong, having released her emotions in the sky, landed back in the courtyard, calm once more. "Xiao Yan, this speed is amazing! Truly worthy of the sky's ruler—the Lightning and Fire Phoenix. And these wings should have offensive capabilities in both lightning and fire. You should absorb a soul bone too."

After calming down, she began to think about more important matters.

Yu Tianyan shook his head. "It's not the right time yet, Sister. How much soul power do these wings consume?"

Liu Erlong touched the wings, then said thoughtfully, "It's strange, Xiao Yan. These wings seem to run on physical strength, without consuming any soul power at all."

Yu Tianyan thought carefully. In the books from his previous life, Tang San never seemed unable to use his Eight Spider Lances due to lack of soul power. Perhaps external spirit bones, unlike regular ones, become a true part of the spirit master's body, functioning just like any other body part as long as one has the strength.

"That's really fantastic! Once I reach level 18, I'll absorb it too," Yu Tianyan replied. Liu Erlong remembered that the boy had only reached level 13 over the past year, having sacrificed too much training time in pursuit of soul bones. She urged him to meditate and cultivate his soul power.

She, too, folded her wings and returned to her room. After hesitating, she ignited her heart fire for a new round of tempering, though this time she kept it at a lower intensity.

Yu Tianyan's plan for her was to become a Titled Douluo in six years. Now, the critical first year had passed. Relying on five extremely precious spirit bones and an 80,000-year-old spirit ring, she had reached level 87. Over the next five years, she would focus on cultivation. Liu Erlong had always been proud, determined to rely on her own strength rather than using spirit bones to raise her soul power—unless she truly reached a bottleneck.

Currently, she could absorb two spirit bones for her torso and right leg, but she wasn't optimistic about finding external bones for other body parts. Their inventory did have two spirit bones, but their attributes weren't compatible with hers or Yu Tianyan's; they had come from unique spirit beasts. With Yu Tianyan's incredible talent to spawn spirit bones, absorbing bones with incompatible attributes would be foolish. It would be better to absorb them at level 90 to immediately boost her level in the Titled Douluo realm, making it much more effective than in the Soul Douluo realm.

At this point, she was confident that she had no equal at the Soul Douluo level, and even against a Titled Douluo, she might not be outmatched.

Advancing three levels in five years—an impossible feat in the Soul Douluo stage. If Yu Tianyan knew her thoughts, he'd surely tell her seriously, "Sister, even in dreams, that's unrealistic. Without my constant control of the heart fire, it's just not feasible."

In one year, Yu Tianyan had advanced two levels purely by talent, marking his first training since obtaining his initial soul ring. With the support of the alien fire, the age limitations that other soul masters faced were no concern to him. Even after the age of twenty, his cultivation speed would remain steady.

(End of Chapter)