"Junting, I'd like to talk."
Right after the banquet ended—before Chen Junting could even speak—Dugu Xin called out to him, interrupting his quiet conversation with Ning Tian.
"Hmm? Sure," Chen Junting replied, glancing at Dugu Xin with mild surprise. He exchanged a knowing look with Ning Tian.
She gave a subtle nod. "Yun'er and I will take Feng back to the dorm first. You two talk."
With that, she and the still-sober Nanmen Yun'er hoisted the half-drunken Wu Feng and headed toward the dormitories.
Chen Junting walked over to Dugu Xin. Most of their friends had already scattered across the lakeside grass. He gestured lightly. "Want to walk and talk?"
"Alright," Dugu Xin said after a pause.
The two strolled along the moonlit path, their shadows stretching long under the starry sky. Though Chen Junting's cheeks were flushed from wine, his eyes remained clear and steady.
"You remember when Teacher Mujin suddenly came back on our first day and called you away alone?" Dugu Xin began.
Chen Junting nodded.
"It wasn't actually Mujin," Dugu Xin admitted quietly. "It was Teacher Wang Yan. He told me plainly—Shrek Academy had no solution for my condition… and advised me to withdraw."
A heavy silence followed.
"I came here as a last resort," Dugu Xin continued, his voice low and rough. "If it weren't for meeting you and the others, I probably would've left right after the freshman trials—without even competing."
He looked up at the stars. "Life… is sometimes so short."
Chen Junting listened, then asked gently, "So now that your problem's solved—what's next? Will you stay in school?"
Dugu Xin hesitated—then shook his head. "I've no reason to stay. This place… was never kind to me."
He turned to Chen Junting, eyes searching. "But you… why did you never absorb that outer soul bone you got from the Human-Faced Demon Spider?"
Chen Junting's brow lifted slightly. "Two reasons," he said. "First—the bone's core ability is Devour. It devours energy, flesh, even souls. That's too close to evil soul master methods for my taste. Second…" He paused. "Its nature—venomous, cunning—clashes with the Seven Kill Sword's path. I feared its influence would outweigh the benefits as it evolved."
Dugu Xin stared at him, disbelief giving way to awe.
Then Chen Junting smiled faintly. "But for you—it's perfect."
His hand brushed over his Starlight Sapphire ring. Blue light shimmered—and in his palm appeared a bone fragment shaped like a spider's leg, glowing with violet-white luminescence, metallic and deadly.
"This is the outer soul bone from the Human-Faced Demon Spider I killed for my second soul ring," Chen Junting explained, carefully wrapping it in soul power—daring not to touch it bare-handed, wary of its poison.
Dugu Xin's breath caught. His hands trembled as he accepted it.
"There's more," Chen Junting added. From his ring, he produced an ancient scroll sealed with wax stamped with the emblem of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Dugu Xin's eyes widened. "This is…?"
"A map passed down through my family," Chen Junting said. "It marks a hidden sanctuary—one that not only suppresses your family's Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor venom… but also holds peerless heavenly treasures. My ancestors found it… but lacked the means to enter."
He met Dugu Xin's gaze. "Now you have both the key… and the cure."
Tears welled in Dugu Xin's eyes—not of sadness, but of overwhelming gratitude. He bowed deeply. "Why… would you give me these?"
Chen Junting shrugged. "You were the first friend I truly trusted. And honestly…" He smiled. "Trading these for your life feels like a fair bargain to me."
Dugu Xin clutched the soul bone and scroll to his chest. "So… does the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect accept a poisoned soul master like me?"
Chen Junting laughed softly—relieved. "Welcome aboard."
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Author's Note:
Some readers might think giving away the outer soul bone was reckless—but this was planned from the start, to naturally introduce the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well location.
Also, rest assured: the protagonist will obtain another outer soul bone later—one that doesn't conflict with the Eight-Spider Lances' placement.
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