The joyous, unrestrained laughter slowly subsided, replaced by a comfortable, intimate silence. They remained on the sofa, a tangled, happy heap of limbs, the warmth of their reunion a palpable thing in the opulent room.
Ning Rongrong, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder, tilted her head up, her eyes shining with a bright, insatiable curiosity.
"Alright, you," she said, playfully poking his chest. "You've heard all about our boring hunts. Now it's your turn. You disappeared for over a month into some 'special region'. Don't think we're just going to let that slide. Spill. Did you get your fourth Spirit Ring?"
Zhu Zhuqing, who was nestled against his other side, her usual cool composure completely melted away, added her own quiet question. "We were worried about you. Was it dangerous?"
Zhang Tian looked from one beautiful, expectant face to the other, and a slow, genuine smile spread across his lips. He settled back against the cushions, pulling them both closer.
"It was… an adventure," he began, his voice taking on the low, captivating tone of a storyteller. He knew he couldn't tell them the full truth, not yet. The existence of Ah Yin, of the true nature of his spirit's evolution, was a secret too profound, too dangerous to share, even with them. But he had prepared a story, a narrative woven from threads of truth and carefully crafted deception.
"The special region I sought," he said, "was a place I had read about in an ancient, obscure text. A hidden forest, deep in the mountains, where the Blue Silver Grass grew with an unnatural potency. The text called it the Blue Silver Forest."
He described his journey, painting a picture of a long, arduous trek through uncharted wilderness.
"When I finally found it," he continued, his voice dropping slightly, "it was like stepping into another world. The entire forest was a sea of blue, and the life force was so thick it was like breathing in pure energy. And in the center of it all, I found him."
"Him?" Ning Rongrong asked, her eyes wide.
"The Blue Silver King," Zhang Tian said, his tone filled with a feigned reverence. "A ten-thousand-year-old spirit beast. It wasn't an animal, or a monster. It was… the forest itself. A colossal, ancient Blue Silver Grass that had gained sentience, an evolution that the texts had only ever speculated about."
He then recounted a dramatic, fictionalized battle. He told them of the King's immense power, its ability to control every blade of grass in the forest, turning the entire environment into a living weapon. He described how he had been forced to use all his cunning, all his skill, to survive.
"It was a difficult fight," he said, a grim look on his face. "Its control was absolute. I couldn't use my vines effectively. I had to rely on my firearms, my grenades. I used the terrain, creating explosions to disrupt its control, forcing it into a direct confrontation."
He didn't need to embellish much. The image of him, a solitary figure battling a sentient forest, was a powerful one.
"In the end," he concluded, "I was victorious." He summoned his spirit, and a fourth, new spirit ring materialized around him. It was a deep, mesmerizing black, the color of a starless midnight, pulsing with a power that was far beyond that of a normal ten-thousand-year ring.
"Like yours, Zhuqing," he said, "it is a ten-thousand-year-old ring. And it is a growth-type. Its power will increase as my own cultivation grows."
"Wow," Ning Rongrong breathed, her eyes wide as she stared at the black ring. "What's the ability?"
"I call it the Blood Silver Overlord Spear," he explained. "It allows me to draw upon the power of all the Blood Silver Grass within my domain and consolidate it into a single, incredibly powerful spear. It is… a decisive weapon."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes were shining with a mixture of awe and pride. "To defeat such a creature alone… you are incredible, Zhang Tian."
"But that's not all," he said, his expression turning more serious. "Absorbing the ring from such a unique, evolved form of Blue Silver Grass… it triggered a change in my own spirit."
He held out his hand, and a single, crimson vine of his Blood Silver Grass appeared. It was different. Faint, yet distinct, golden veins, like threads of solidified sunlight, were now woven into its crimson structure.
"The golden veins… they grant my spirit a new kind of authority. A suppressive aura over other Blue Silver Grass, and even over some other, weaker plant-type spirits. It's as if… it has become royalty." He smiled, a slow, confident expression. "From now on, I will call it the Blood Silver Emperor."
The two girls stared, speechless. A spirit evolution. It was the dream of every Spirit Master, a miracle that could change one's destiny.
"So that's why…" Ning Rongrong said, her eyes tracing the new, vibrant red streaks that now highlighted his silky blue hair. "Your appearance… and your eyes…" She leaned closer, peering into his blue eyes, which now held that faint, captivating reddish tint. "It makes you look… even more handsome."
He just chuckled, a low, warm sound.
The news of his evolution and his new, ten-thousand-year-old spirit ring sent another shockwave through the Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Sect. Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo were once again left speechless by the boy's seemingly endless string of miraculous, heaven-defying encounters. They could only attribute it to a profound, almost terrifying level of fortune.
The next two weeks passed in a blur of intense, focused activity. The day of their engagement was drawing closer, and the atmosphere in the sect was one of joyous, bustling preparation. But for the trio, it was a time to consolidate their immense gains.
In a secluded, private training ground, shielded from all prying eyes, Zhang Tian began the delicate, dangerous process of helping Zhu Zhuqing master her new, venomous weapon.
"The Eight Spider Lances are a part of your body now," he explained as she stood before him, the eight sinister, purple-black appendages extended from her back, glistening in the sunlight. "Controlling their movement is a matter of instinct. But controlling the poison they carry… that is a matter of will."
Over the past month and a half, at his request, Ning Fengzhi had procured a vast and terrifying collection of rare and potent poisons. Zhu Zhuqing had spent weeks allowing the lances to absorb them, their inherent devouring ability turning them into reservoirs of a dozen different deadly venoms.
"You have become a walking arsenal of toxins, Zhuqing," he said, his tone serious. "But a weapon you cannot control is more dangerous to you than to your enemy. You must learn the properties of each poison. Their speed of action, their effects, their potency. And you must learn to release them with precision."
"But how?" she asked, a flicker of uncertainty in her dark eyes. "I can feel the poisons within the lances, but I don't know what they do without… a test subject."
He smiled, a calm, reassuring expression. "That's why I'm here." He rolled up the sleeve of his robe, exposing the pale, flawless skin of his forearm. "I am immune to all poisons. Use me as your test subject."
"No!" she immediately refused, her face paling. "I can't! What if… what if you're wrong? What if one of these poisons can actually harm you? I would never forgive myself."
"You must trust me, Zhuqing," he said, his voice gentle but firm. "This is the only way for you to learn safely. I will be fine. Now, focus. Choose one of the poisons, the one that feels the coldest. Manifest a single lance, and just barely prick my skin with the tip. Release only the smallest possible amount."
She hesitated for a long, agonizing moment, her heart at war with her trust in him. Finally, with a deep, steadying breath, she nodded.
She focused her will. A single, sharp spider lance moved forward, its tip glowing with a faint, icy blue light. With a surgeon's precision, she gently touched the tip to his arm.
He felt a sharp, cold sting, and then… a spreading numbness. "Interesting," he murmured, his eyes closed as he analyzed the sensation. "This one feels like a cold numbness spreading through the veins. It's a paralytic neurotoxin. Slow-acting, but deep. It targets the nervous system directly. It would be very effective against a power-type Spirit Master, slowing their reactions, deadening their strength."
They continued like this for hours, day after day. She would test each poison on him, and he would provide a real-time, detailed analysis of its effects. The corrosive venom that felt like fire under the skin. The hallucinogen that made the world shimmer and distort at the edges. The fast-acting heart-stopper that sent a jolt of cold, sharp pain directly to his chest.
Through this strange, intimate process, she began to master her deadly arsenal. She learned to distinguish between the different venoms by feel, to control the dosage with microscopic precision, to mix them for even more devastating effects.
During one of their sessions, as she was practicing manifesting and retracting the lances with greater speed, Zhang Tian let out a soft, theatrical sigh.
"It's a real shame, you know," he said, a teasing, disappointed look on his face. "You've gotten so proficient with these things. I almost miss the early days of your training."
She paused, turning to him with a questioning look. "What do you mean?"
"Well," he said, a wicked grin spreading across his face, "I seem to recall that when you first started using the lances, you had a certain… wardrobe malfunction. Your control would slip, and your top would just… tear right off. It was a very distracting, but very… scenic, part of the training."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes widened, and a brilliant, crimson blush flooded her cheeks. She knew exactly what he was talking about. She had become so proficient that she could now manifest the lances without putting any strain on her clothes.
She looked at him, at the playful, lustful fire in his blue eyes. And a slow, seductive, and incredibly daring idea began to form in her mind.
"Oh, really?" she said, her voice a low, sultry purr. "You miss that, do you?" She turned her back to him, pretending to focus on her practice again. "Well, I suppose I am still getting used to this new level of power. Sometimes… my control can be a bit… unstable."
She focused her will. "Eight Spider Lances!"
The lances erupted from her back, but this time, there was a subtle, deliberate surge of power.
RIIIIIP!
The sound of tearing leather was sharp and loud in the quiet training ground. The entire back of her tight, black top was shredded, exposing the flawless, pale skin of her back.
"Oh, dear," she said, her voice a perfect imitation of surprised innocence. She turned to him, a worried look on her face. "It seems you were right. I'm still not used to it. I should probably try and retract them before…"
She made a show of struggling, her brow furrowed in concentration. As she "struggled," the front straps of her now-ruined top seemed to groan under the strain.
SNAP!
With a final, dramatic sound, the straps gave way. The entire front of her top fell away, pooling at her waist.
Her magnificent, large breasts were freed into the warm afternoon air. They were perfect, heavy globes of pale, soft flesh, their rosy areolas crowned with hard, erect pink nipples that seemed to jut out in defiance.
She stood there, completely topless, her hands covering her mouth in a gesture of feigned shock. "Oh, no! How clumsy of me! I am so sorry, Zhang Tian. You'll have to forgive my… lack of control."
Zhang Tian just stared, his mouth suddenly dry. He had been teasing, joking. He had not expected her to actually… He had to fight a powerful, primal urge to just lunge forward and bury his face in her magnificent chest.
"It's… it's alright, Zhuqing," he managed to say, his voice a rough, strangled sound. "Accidents… happen."
She just smiled, a slow, triumphant, and incredibly seductive expression. She knew exactly what she had done. And she knew, with an absolute certainty, that he had loved every second of it.
While Zhu Zhuqing was mastering the art of poison and seduction, Ning Rongrong was facing her own, more frustrating, battle.
She stood in a different training ground, her face a mask of intense concentration. Before her, a swirling, unstable sphere of pure, nine-colored spirit power hovered in the air.
"It's still too slow!" she grumbled, her brow furrowed in frustration. She had been practicing the Swirling Sphere of Pure Spirit Power for two weeks, and while she could now consistently create it, the process was agonizingly slow. It took her nearly a full minute of intense focus to gather and shape the energy.
"And the backlash is still too strong," she added, glaring at a nearby training dummy that was covered in scorch marks. She had practiced striking it a few times, and each time, the recoil had sent a jarring, painful shockwave up her arm.
"It's useless in a real fight, Zhang Tian!" she complained, turning to him with a pout. "By the time I finish making the stupid thing, my opponent would have already killed me ten times over!"
He walked over to her, a patient, understanding smile on his face. "The problem is not your control, Rongrong. It's your method. You're trying to build the entire sphere all at once. That's inefficient and unstable."
He stood behind her, his hands gently guiding hers. "Think of it like building a house. You don't try to put up all the walls at once. You build a foundation first. A stable core."
He guided her spirit power, teaching her to first condense a small, incredibly dense sphere of energy in her palm. "This is your core," he explained. "Once it's stable, you then add power to it in layers, expanding it outwards. It's a much faster, more controlled process."
She tried again, following his guidance. The difference was immediate. The small, stable core formed in seconds, and adding the subsequent layers was an intuitive, almost effortless process. In less than twenty seconds, a perfect, stable sphere of swirling, nine-colored light was hovering in her palm.
"Wow!" she gasped, her eyes wide with amazement.
"Now, for the backlash," he said. He stood beside her as she approached the training dummy. "Just before you strike, I want you to release a small, controlled burst of spirit power downwards, from the soles of your feet. Use it to anchor yourself, to counteract the recoil."
She took a deep breath, focused, and then lunged forward, slamming the sphere into the dummy's chest. At the exact moment of impact, she released the burst of energy from her feet.
BOOM!
The dummy was thrown backwards, a large, smoking crater in its chest. Ning Rongrong stumbled back a single step, her arm tingling but not in pain. The backlash had been almost completely negated.
She stared at her hand, then at the destroyed dummy, and then back at him. A brilliant, triumphant grin spread across her face.
The two weeks passed in a blur of intense, productive training. The day of their engagement, a day that had once seemed like a distant, hazy dream, had finally arrived.
The Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Sect was a whirlwind of joyous, festive activity. Every hall was adorned with shimmering silks and rare, glowing flowers. The air was filled with the sound of music and the happy, excited chatter of hundreds of guests.
In her opulent suite, Ning Rongrong stood before a full-length mirror, a vision of pure, breathtaking beauty. Her dress was a masterpiece of white and silver silk, adorned with thousands of tiny, shimmering diamonds that caught the light like captured stars. Her hair was styled in an elegant, intricate updo, held in place by a single, beautiful hairpin carved from a nine-colored jade.
In the adjacent room, Zhu Zhuqing was a vision of elegant seduction. Her gown was a masterful creation of deep crimson silk that hugged every curve of her magnificent body while fully covering her, emphasizing her large, perfectly rounded breasts and enticingly curvaceous hips. The high collar framed her neck with sophistication, and long, fitted sleeves extended gracefully to her wrists, while the gown's flowing skirt clung subtly to her shapely legs and generous buttocks, hinting at every enticing curve beneath. Her long, dark hair was left to cascade freely down her back, a striking contrast to the fiery red of her dress, adding an air of irresistible, refined allure as she prepared for her engagement.
And in his own suite, Zhang Tian was ready. He wore a set of formal, dark azure robes, the fine silk embroidered with subtle, swirling patterns of silver and crimson thread. His new, two-toned hair was tied back in a simple, elegant style, and his eyes, with their new, captivating reddish tint, seemed to hold all the secrets of the world.
He stood before his own mirror, and for a moment, he was just a young man, his heart filled with a nervous, happy excitement.
He walked out into the corridor that connected their suites. The two doors opened at the same time.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing stepped out, and the world seemed to hold its breath.
They looked at each other, then at him. A shared, silent look of love, of promise, of a future that was about to begin, passed between them.
He walked to them and took each of their hands in his.
"Ready?" he asked, his voice a low, happy murmur.
They both nodded, their eyes shining.
Together, the three of them began to walk towards the grand hall, towards the rest of their lives.
The hall was a sea of power and influence as other than Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, Bone Douluo, there were many reputed figures among the guests.
Emperor Xue Ye sat on a specially prepared dais, his expression one of warm, paternal approval. Beside him, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe watched with a polite, unreadable smile. Dugu Bo and his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, stood near the front, their presence a silent, powerful statement of their alliance. The faculty of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, and a host of nobles and aristocrats, filled the rest of the hall.
The stage was set. The audience was in place. The ceremony was about to begin.
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels like "Harem Master: Seduction System" and the "Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist" and I hope you like this story and those stories as well.
Check out more chapters on my P.atreon. The P.atreon will have 20+ Chapters ahead for this story. I hope you like it.
The link of p.atreon is: bit.ly/evildragon