Douluo Continent: The Eternal Dawn

Chapter 136 was just a joke! There's a twist!
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Ye Xixuan silently walked up to Elder Xuan.

He won the match with an almost overwhelming advantage, but the atmosphere in the Soul Arena was rather strange.

Because no matter what exactly happened between the two, Tang Wutong's sudden crying and running away instantly made her the victim.

Not to mention Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei, even a girl like Ma Xiaotao couldn't help but wonder if Ye Xixuan had really done something to wrong her.

Beibei, with her high emotional intelligence, was the first to break the awkward silence.

"Master Xuan, this junior student Tang has voluntarily withdrawn from the reserve team. What should we do?"

"Are we going to force someone to participate if they don't want to?" Elder Xuan took a bite of the chicken leg in his hand, his messy hair revealing a pair of crimson eyes that gleamed with a strange light. He first stared intently at Ye Xixuan, then shook his head meaningfully and said indistinctly.

"I, an old man, am too lazy to meddle in the affairs of you young people."

"You little rascal, why don't you just go and get her back?" Ma Xiaotao said with a playful smile, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Maybe as soon as you go to see her, she'll happily come back with you?"

"it is good."

To everyone's surprise, Ye Xixuan nodded solemnly. After speaking, he turned and chased after Tang Wutong in the direction she had left, his gaze lowered, his dark eyes unfathomable.

All that could be clearly heard was Ma Xiaotao's furious voice coming from behind.

"No way, I told you to go and you actually went?!"

Ling Luochen glanced at Ma Xiaotao with the look of someone looking at an idiot, her disdain mixed with a hint of relief. What could she possibly expect from a woman like Ma Xiaotao, who was all looks and no brains?

Ma Xiaotao, who was already seething with anger, instantly exploded and glared coldly at Ling Luochen.

"Ling Luochen, what do you mean?!"

"Whatever you think I mean, that's what I mean." Ling Luochen replied indifferently, then ignored Ma Xiaotao and maintained her aloof and icy demeanor.

Seeing that these two incompatible people were about to start arguing again, Elder Xuan was at his wit's end. He waved his hand helplessly and disappeared from the spot.

"That's all for today, you may all leave. Starting tomorrow, you will each set aside half a day each day to train with me in the inner courtyard's training grounds, until we depart for Star Luo City to participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament."

After Elder Xuan finished announcing these things, Ling Luochen turned around and walked away on his own, leaving Ma Xiaotao with nowhere to vent her anger.

Those inner court disciples who were familiar with Ma Xiaotao naturally wouldn't provoke her at this time, and they all left the Soul Battle Zone in groups.

In the end, only Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei were left to face Ma Xiaotao, this active volcano about to erupt. The psychological pressure on the two of them was immense.

Seeing Ma Xiaotao's fiery pink eyes, Beibei immediately and without hesitation chose to leave Xu Sanshi behind. "Brotherhood is in my heart; if something happens, I have to get out of there."

Now Xu Sanshi was in a terrible predicament. Because of his injury, he was unable to move easily and his movements were slowed down. Coincidentally, Ma Xiaotao noticed this.

Ma Xiaotao's face immediately turned frosty, and she raised her long, fair, and toned leg. Still angry, she didn't hold back and kicked Xu Sanshi in the buttocks.

"Get out of here! You're just annoying me."

"Ah—" Xu Sanshi rolled more than ten times on the ground, perfectly matching his appearance when using his martial soul. His grief-stricken howl echoed endlessly in the battle arena.

"What did I ever do to deserve this?! Why am I always the one who gets hurt?!"

On the other side, Tang Wutong walked alone to the edge of the clear blue Sea God Lake, looking completely lost and dejected. She didn't know why she had subconsciously walked there; perhaps it was because it was here that she had her first indirect intimate contact with Ye Xixuan.

Just like on the last day of last semester, she took off her white knee-high socks, curled up on the long wooden bench by the lake, lowered her head and hugged her knees tightly with her arms.

For Ye Xixuan, Tang Wutong abandoned her reserve as a girl and her pride as the daughter of a god-king. All she wanted was the slightest response from Ye Xixuan.

As long as Ye Xixuan responds, it will surely inspire more courage and motivation in her, and she will be able to convince herself more deeply.

But why did things turn out this way?
Because of Ye Xixuan, Tang Wutong has become unlike herself lately. But what truly caused her emotions to erupt was Ye Xixuan's tough attitude in the Soul Arena earlier.

Don't you really care about me at all? Why can't you give in to me even a little bit, so I can be sure of your feelings?

Girls can indeed get carried away in relationships, but they can also be very sensitive at times.

Having been pampered since childhood and adored by her elders, Princess Tang was actually more fragile inside than girls her age.

Feeling increasingly aggrieved, Tang Wutong couldn't help but sob softly again.

No matter how arrogant she usually is, her current appearance only evokes pity.

Just then, Ye Xixuan silently walked up behind Tang Wutong. The reason he followed Tang Wutong was not because of Ma Xiaotao's earlier teasing, but because he genuinely sensed the change in Tang Wutong.

If Tang Wutong was simply following her father, the God King Tang's, instructions, her subsequent behavior would not have been like that at all.

Ye Xixuan never rejected Tang Wutong; on the contrary, Tang Wutong was used as a tool by her biological father, and she herself was a pitiful person.

Silently sitting beside Tang Wutong, Ye Xixuan couldn't help but take a deep breath. He wanted to say something to Tang Wutong, but for a moment he didn't know how to start, so he simply used the classic, universal opening line.

"Are you there?"

"Not here!" Tang Wutong snorted without looking up, her sweet voice thick with nasal tone, and her sobbing was noticeably less intense.

Ye Xixuan gazed gently ahead. The Sea God Lake was exceptionally clear on a spring afternoon. Under the sunlight, the shimmering lake surface resembled flawless silk, displaying a gradient from light blue to dark blue.

Actually, I don't reject you.

"Really?!" Hearing this, Tang Wutong finally couldn't keep up the act anymore. She looked up at Ye Xixuan with a surprised expression. Her long, curled eyelashes were adorned with glistening tears, and her long, pinkish-blue hair fell down in a messy manner, adding to her broken and melancholic beauty.

When she realized that Ye Xixuan had caught up with her, most of the grievances in her heart had already dissipated.

Facing Tang Wutong at such close range, Ye Xixuan's eyes softened unusually, and he looked ahead with a deep gaze.

"If you were in my shoes, you'd realize that deliberately keeping my distance was the right thing to do. When the new students started school, we hadn't even met yet, but you stubbornly insisted on knowing me. If you were in my shoes, wouldn't you have become wary?"

"But I really just want to be with you!" Tang Wutong hurriedly declared.

Ye Xixuan turned his head, meeting Tang Wutong's gaze, his deep eyes holding a hint of something unreadable. "Simple? Don't you have any other motives? Then why are you fixated on me?"

"I..." Faced with Ye Xixuan's barrage of questions, Tang Wutong bit her red lips tightly with a guilty conscience. Although she could now be 100% certain of the purity of her feelings for Ye Xixuan, she had indeed initially been guided by her father.

There are some things I really can't tell you, but can't you feel my feelings for you?

"So, only when you are completely open and honest with me can we truly be honest with each other." Ye Xixuan said these words calmly, but Tang Wutong stood up anxiously with her bare white feet, her red lips parted as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Just as she was about to say something, a strange golden trident rune suddenly flashed between her brows, forcibly interrupting her.

Noticing the golden rune between Tang Wutong's eyebrows, Ye Xixuan stood up with a serious expression, then suddenly smiled.

"Then you can talk about it when you want to later. Anyway, everything has been explained today. I'm leaving now."

"Wait!" Tang Wutong flashed forward, blocking Ye Xixuan's path, her hands frantically grabbing his wrists. For the first time, she felt an overwhelming resentment towards her father. Since he had already decided on Ye Xixuan, why did he stop her from saying those things?
The innocent Princess Tang was naturally unaware of her father's dark thoughts, and had long been tricked into being a manipulative woman by Ye Xixuan's clever and opportunistic manipulation.

"I can!"

"What?" Ye Xixuan was stunned for a moment. Before he could react, Tang Wutong's beauty was already within reach.

Unlike her slightly shy attempt to kiss him on the way to the Soul Arena, Princess Tang was much bolder this time. She deliberately widened her eyes and locked them in close proximity, her long eyelashes even touching Ye Xixuan's cheek, bringing a tingling, ticklish sensation.

Tang Wutong took the initiative, launching a naive yet passionate offensive. Caught off guard, she broke through Ye Xixuan's lips. She then passionately grasped Ye Xixuan's hands and placed them on her waist and hips, her eyes filled with a hazy, moist gaze.

From Ye Xixuan's perspective, the golden trident rune between Tang Wutong's eyebrows shone brightly once more, and the frequency of its shimmering increased continuously.

Ye Xixuan's current feelings can be described as a mixture of ice and fire. The dual stimulation, both physical and psychological, has caused his thoughts to freeze for a brief period of time.

However, even when the golden trident rune flickered almost to the point of smoking, it failed to have any substantial effect on Ye Xixuan. As if in a state of impotent rage, the once-flickering golden trident rune gradually faded into silence as time passed.

Afterwards, Ye Xixuan had no idea what he was feeling as he returned to the Sea God Pavilion with Tang Wutong.

The weather was lovely today, and Old Master Mu lay basking in the sun on the open ground in front of the Sea God Pavilion. In this early spring season of renewal, the gloomy, lifeless air about him seemed to have been washed away.

The tall golden tree cast a large shadow on the ground. Old Mu, his hunched figure huddled in the dark corner, slowly opened his eyes as if sensing something. A young couple, bathed in golden sunlight, came into view.

The vibrant youth and the lifeless old age are like two poles of the world, intersecting under this golden tree, yet seemingly separated by an invisible barrier.

"Xi Xuan and Wu Tong have arrived."

"Old Master Mu." Tang Wutong smiled sweetly and skipped over to Old Master Mu's side, grabbing his thin arm and saying in a coquettish tone.

"Could you please let me rejoin the reserve team?"

"Didn't you want to quit yourself, little girl?" Old Mu chuckled and shook his head, his gaze falling on Ye Xixuan who had followed closely behind.

Tang Wutong also secretly glanced at Ye Xixuan before blushing slightly and saying, "I was just saying that in anger, okay?"

"Alright, I promise you. If you keep shaking me like this, you're going to shake my old bones to pieces," Old Mu said with a smile.

Tang Wutong immediately stood up with a charming smile, "Hehe, I knew Elder Mu would agree to my request."

Old Mu chuckled and pretended not to know, asking, "I heard Xuanzi mention it back in the Soul Battle Zone. Did Xi Xuan bully you, which is why you're so angry?"

"No, there's just a misunderstanding between us." Tang Wutong pursed her red lips, her expression a little unnatural, and her gaze inadvertently met Ye Xixuan's.

To be honest, Ye Xixuan did indeed bully her. But she actually wished Ye Xixuan could continue to bully her like that; the feeling she had never experienced before still left her wanting more.

"Xi Xuan, has the misunderstanding between you been cleared up now?"

"Uh, I guess so." Ye Xixuan's expression faltered slightly, then he replied subconsciously.

Old Master Mu, in his unrespecting manner, continued to tease, "As a man, you can't give such an ambiguous answer. You have to mean it. Here's what we'll do, Wu Tong. As an elder, I'll give you a gift on behalf of Xi Xuan as his apology."

As he spoke, he flipped his wrist, and a bright golden right arm soul bone appeared in his palm. A dense aura of soul power emanated from it, and the bright golden light carried an intense, sharp aura.

"This right arm soul bone is called the Light of Demon Slayer, which I obtained when I was young. Unfortunately, at that time I already had all six soul bones in my body, otherwise you would have missed out on it. This Light of Demon Slayer comes from a very rare elemental soul beast, the same type of soul beast as Xi Xuan's first soul ring. However, the dark elemental soul beast that Xi Xuan absorbed for his first soul ring only had a cultivation level of a thousand years, while the light elemental soul beast that produced this Light of Demon Slayer right arm bone had a cultivation level of seventy thousand years. Although I cannot be completely certain what the soul skill attached to this Light of Demon Slayer right arm bone is, it must be a powerful offensive soul skill, and it is perfectly compatible with your Light Goddess Butterfly martial soul."

"Elder Mu, are you going to give me this soul bone on behalf of Ye Xixuan?" Tang Wutong's eyes widened in surprise, and then she solemnly took it from Elder Mu's hands with both hands, saying with great joy.

"Then I would be disrespectful."

Tang Wutong was overjoyed not only because of the quality of the soul bone and its compatibility with her own martial soul, but more importantly because of the symbolic meaning behind it. She gently stroked the smooth surface of the Light-Breaking Demon Right Arm Bone, and the rich light element aura seemed to make her delicate body become translucent.

"There's no time to lose, so take this opportunity to absorb it quickly. Xi Xuan and I will protect you from now on."

"Mmm!" Tang Wutong nodded vigorously, then released her Light Goddess Butterfly Martial Soul and sat down cross-legged. After exchanging a glance with Ye Xixuan for a moment, she controlled the wings on her back to sweep forward and envelop her body. Rings of brilliant golden light immediately spread out from her body.

Ye Xixuan stood beside Elder Mu, knowingly refraining from asking Elder Mu why he did this, as he himself was somewhat guilty.

"Elder Mu, you knew all along?"

"You've learned what I taught you quite well. You've mastered the principles of not taking initiative and not refusing. Judging from your current performance, you've achieved both." Old Master Mu was very satisfied, his brows furrowed with a smile as he earnestly gave his advice.

"But you must remember, the most important point is the third one. Didn't you notice that Wu Tong was unusually obedient to you today? It's all the same principle. You'll gradually understand it in the future."

"Elder Mu, you..." Faced with Elder Mu's blunt words, Ye Xixuan still felt rather embarrassed.

Elder Mu continued nonchalantly, "There's nothing wrong with that, it's all human nature. I don't know how many women were pursuing me back then, but I always satisfied them. Xi Xuan, your dark attribute martial soul and the constitution of a child of light are two completely opposite attributes, and you need the balance of yin and yang to maintain the relationship between them."

Even if Elder Mu hadn't said anything, Ye Xixuan had already sensed it. His impulses were far stronger than those of other teenagers his age, and he even found it difficult to refuse some girls' intimate advances.

That kind of impulse cannot be overcome by willpower alone, which is similar to how a spirit influences a spirit master's personality.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Mu's last sentence did not deliberately avoid mentioning Tang Wutong.

Although Tang Wutong was focused on absorbing the soul bone, she clearly heard four keywords.

"Harmony of Yin and Yang?"

(End of this chapter)