At the door, Zhu Zhuyun lifted her hand to push it open, but couldn't bring herself to open it.
Suddenly, she smiled sweetly and turned back.
"Why so cold? Are all you people from the Dugu Clan like this? It's really quite boring."
She took a deep breath, acting as if she were perfectly at ease.
Her gaze swept left and right. Then she picked up the teapot from the nearby table and poured two cups of tea.
Step by step, she walked toward Dugu Feng.
The closer she drew, the paler and rosier her face became at the same time. Her body trembled slightly, clearly her heart was anything but calm.
She wore a tight leather outfit cinched at the waist, highlighting her slim, graceful figure.
It was hard to imagine how such a slender waist supported the weight above it.
Standing there, Zhu Zhuyun was much taller than Dugu Feng, who sat on the sofa.
She handed him the teacup.
"Now's not the time for tea."
Dugu Feng smiled, and with a bang slapped the cup to the floor, then seized Zhu Zhuyun's hand.
He preferred things simple and direct.
Zhu Zhuyun hadn't expected him to pull so forcefully.
Her balance slipped; with a soft cry she fell straight into his arms.
She stared at his cold, handsome face and felt a dull bitterness. Her charm had absolutely no effect on him.
"Since you've already decided, why pretend?"
Dugu Feng mocked.
Zhu Zhuyun's whole body relaxed; she let out a self-deprecating laugh, and her smile regained its usual confidence.
"It was I who was being pretentious. Tonight, I'll serve you."
With a twist of her waist, she stood up.
In a few smooth, casual motions, the leather outfit was gone—leaving only thin pink undergarments.
At the same time, a glint flashed in her eyes, and as if possessed by a martial spirit, she became as supple as a cat!
She pressed herself fully against Dugu Feng, every curve fitting perfectly. If she had to sell herself, she would sell well. She would make sure this night stayed in Dugu Feng's memory for a long time.
The lamps in the room stayed lit.
Ambiguous, sultry air slowly spread.
The next morning.
Zhu Zhuyun's face was pale, her body limp and drained as she lay naked on the bed.
Only after a long time did strength gradually return.
"I want that bead!"
She tried to make her voice gentle, but in truth she was already impatient.
Dugu Feng had already dressed and was standing nearby, calmly enjoying the "scenery."
"The bead is already yours."
"…Given to me?" Zhu Zhuyun was stunned.
Yesterday, the bead had flown out of her mouth and been taken by Dugu Feng.
The chaos of last night blurred together, and she didn't remember swallowing it again.
"Dugu Feng, are you playing with me!?"
Her eyes instantly reddened—panic rising.
She had given him everything—untouched until now so she could hold her advantage over Davis.
She had guarded her body like jade all these years, only to give it to Dugu Feng last night.
The price she'd paid… now felt like a dream.
Regret hit hard. She should never have come to his room!
Last night had been like falling under a spell, tricked by a devil's whisper.
"Feel it for yourself."
Dugu Feng's tone was flat as he guided the remaining bead in her body to release a surge of warmth.
Zhu Zhuyun's eyes lit up.
The warmth spread through her limbs and bones and just like the feeling of breaking through a bottleneck.
Her cheeks flushed a healthy rose.
Her fair skin bloomed with a faint red sheen.
She moved like a spirit cat, her figure flashing to Dugu Feng's side.
"Hehe, I wronged you. I'll serve you wholeheartedly from now on!"
With the bead regained, her agitation finally eased.
But in her heart, her fear of Dugu Feng deepened.
Just how had he done it, without her noticing anything?
His methods were far too mysterious.
"The taste wasn't bad. Train well."
Dugu Feng gave a light word of encouragement.
Seeing that he was clearly dismissing her, Zhu Zhuyun could only sigh inwardly.
She dressed and left the suite.
Back in her own room, she gradually calmed.
From now on, with that bead in her body, she was essentially under Dugu Feng's control.
"Hmph, I can't sense the bead at all as a mere Soul Ancestor. But when I reach Soul Sage—or Soul Douluo—I refuse to believe he can still control me so easily. By then, I'll take that bead for myself. A treasure like that should belong to me."
But the moment she thought of Dugu Feng's terrifying cultivation speed, she lost confidence again.
His talent surpassed Davis by a hundredfold. One day he would definitely stand at the very peak of the continent.
In the future…
Zhu Zhuyun's thoughts churned, her eyes flickering with shifting light.
In his own room, Dugu Feng was tallying the state of the eight poison beads.
At present: one in his own body; one each in Dugu Yan, Zhu Zhuyun, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Yan, and Shi Nian; and one split between the two Emerald Dragons Serpents.
The total energy had reached thirty-five points.
This rate of progress was extremely fast.
Mainly thanks to the inner core of the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Serpent and the seeds of the Blue Silver Emperor.
After the poison bead split into eight, its ability to digest the serpent's core increased drastically.
The inner core that had fueled him for years was finally exhausted.
At the same time, only a near-invisible speck of the Blue Silver Emperor's seed remained. It was so small it was almost undetectable by the naked eye. The last of its energy had also been absorbed.
It showed just how much energy the enhanced beads now consumed.
Dugu Feng was very satisfied with the progress.
The increased bead energy helped tremendously with strengthening his body.
It was a constant, subtle improvement—every moment, every day.
Judging by physique alone, Dugu Feng believed he already ranked among the very top of the entire Douluo Continent.
He was determined to obtain the Overlord Poison formed after absorbing his fifth soul ring.
By now, five consecutive days of spirit battles had ended and results were out, all with no major changes.
Dugu Feng cultivated quietly as he waited to return to Heaven Dou City.
Over the next three days, the Six Great Clans met again to finalize the distribution of arena shares for the next six years.
But with Yu Luomian attending in person, it was inevitable that he wasn't going to let things stay quiet.
Yu Luomian proposed a gamble.
For nobles, wagers were common.
And the Great Spirit Arena itself was built for gambling.
However, the subject of this particular bet left Dugu Feng rather speechless.
Recently, two peerless genius teams had appeared in the arena.
Their spirit ranks weren't high, but within their level range, both teams had nearly thirty consecutive wins.
Their streaks had drawn in countless nobles and gamblers, all eager to place their bets.
Their total win streaks, the time they would take to reach Gold Spirit Team rank, the outcome when the two teams finally faced off—
All of it had been turned into betting odds.
Yu Luomian proposed to use the result of that eventual clash as the basis of their wager.
Each faction would secretly stake one-tenth of their share of the arena's profits over the next six years.
Once the match concluded, they would reveal their hidden bets and the winners would take the losers' profits.
This was no small gamble.
The arena's total profit was counted as ten shares; each faction's slice was not even two-tenths.
To throw out a full tenth in one go—if they lost, it meant their income for the next six years would be cut by more than half.
Did Yu Luomian really have that much confidence in winning?