Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Black Dragon, I am the Lord of the Gods

……

When Dugu Yan left, the expression on her face was completely different from when she went in.

It was a sense of relief after unloading a heavy burden, even carrying a hint of enlightened understanding.

She didn't say much, but gave Hu Liena a complicated look, a look that contained concern, encouragement, and a hint of knowing that "it's your turn."

Hu Liena took a deep breath, her charming face showing no hesitation, only a resolute determination akin to burning her boats.

When Gu Yuena opened the castle gates for the third time and nodded slightly to her, she almost immediately stepped inside, her steps firm and decisive.

Unlike the hesitation and silence of the two before, the moment Hu Liena stepped into the room, her gaze was fixed on the figure by the window.

Xuanming had just watched Dugu Yan leave when he turned around and saw Hu Liena rushing straight towards him like a burning flame.

There were no words, no probing.

Before Xuanming could even turn around completely and see the expression on her face, Hu Liena had already pounced on him.

She reached out and grabbed his shirt collar tightly. Standing on tiptoe, with a burning passion that had been suppressed for too long and was almost desperate, she kissed his lips fiercely.

"Well!"

This kiss was devoid of any skill; it was purely and ruthlessly possessive and demanding. Her lips, burning hot, pressed forcefully against his coldness, as if she wanted to convey all the repression, longing, resentment, and pain she had endured for the past five years to him through this kiss.

Xuanming's body stiffened for a moment, a hint of astonishment flashing in his icy blue eyes. He could clearly feel her body trembling slightly, and the torrent of emotions surging from her lips.

Since that night at the Heaven Dou City Hotel during the Soul Master Competition five years ago, when she gave him her clumsy yet bold first kiss, too many things have stood between them—the three years of life-and-death struggles and deliberate estrangement in the City of Slaughter, his almost self-destructive and insane trials on Seagod Island and her powerlessness as she could only watch from the sidelines…

She could only watch him teeter on the edge of life and death, watch his figure grow further and further away, and watch more and more people gather around him.

She cultivated like a madwoman, desperately squeezing out her potential, not to surpass anyone, but simply to get closer to him, even just a little bit closer, so that she could help him share even the slightest bit of his burden.

This love had long taken root in her heart, grown, intertwined, and penetrated to the bone.

For her, the so-called fourth test was something she never needed to hesitate about.

She had already made up her mind the night she absorbed the Nine-Tailed Fox Heart Lotus and glimpsed her teacher Bibi Dong's equally secret and intense emotions.

She loves him.

No response, no promise, not even his understanding is needed.

She simply loves him.

This love was her own choice, her motivation to live, and the meaning of her existence.

Even if she could only stay by his side like a shadow, she would never leave him for even a moment.

Wherever he is, she will be. Heaven or hell, she'll follow him!

The kiss was long and suffocating.

Hu Liena only released him abruptly when she felt as if all the air had been sucked out of her lungs. She staggered back a step, breathing heavily. Her cheeks were flushed, and her lips, made even fuller and redder by the force of their struggle, burned with an undisguised, almost obsessive, love and determination in her alluring fox-like eyes.

She looked directly into Xuanming's deep, calm, yet seemingly stirred icy blue eyes. Her voice was slightly hoarse from excitement and lack of oxygen, but each word was clear and resolute:

"Xuanming, listen to me carefully!"

"I love you!"

"It's not dependence, not gratitude, and not some bullshit companionship! It's just a woman's love for a man!"

"I don't need your response right now, nor do I need any promises from you! You can continue to play dumb, you can continue to bear your responsibilities and shackles!" "But you can forget about getting rid of me!"

Her chest heaved violently, but her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness, like the most stubborn star in the night sky.

"Wherever you are, I will be. In this life, the next life, and for all eternity, I will follow you! If you want to become a god, I will accompany you to the realm of gods! If you want to destroy the world, I will help you by handing you the sword! Whatever you want to protect, I will protect it for you even if it costs me my life!"

"That's my answer!"

After she finished speaking, she stopped looking at him and, as if she had used up all her strength, suddenly turned around and practically ran out of the room.

The door slammed shut behind her, isolating her from the outside world.

Huliena leaned against the cold outer wall of the castle, panting heavily. Tears finally welled up uncontrollably in her eyes, but a relieved, tearful, radiant smile appeared on her lips.

She said it.

She finally spoke out what she had kept in her heart for five years!

Inside the room, Xuanming remained standing in the same spot, the scalding, resolute touch still lingering on his lips. He raised his hand, his fingertips lightly touching his lower lip. In the depths of his icy blue eyes, the perpetually frozen lake seemed to have been plunged with a red-hot iron, stirring up ripples that were difficult to quell.

He stared at the tightly closed door, remaining motionless for a long time...

……

As the first rays of dawn pierced the horizon, bathing the ice crystal castle in a soft golden glow, this long night's conversation finally drew to a close.

After Hu Liena, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ye Lingling also entered the room in turn.

Ning Rongrong put away her usual spoiled attitude and told Xuan Ming in an unprecedentedly serious tone that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School could do without her, but she could not do without this "home" where he was.

Zhu Zhuqing's words remained concise, yet carried the unwavering determination of a ghostly cat locking onto its prey: "I'm sticking with you."

Ye Lingling silently expressed her determination to use the power of the Nine-Heart Begonia to forever heal his wounds with her gentle yet firm healing power.

They all gave their answers and received a silent but clear response from Xuanming—he did not reject anyone's approach.

In the end, only Shui Bing'er and Huo Wu remained on the beach.

The two women exchanged a glance, both seeing the complexity in each other's eyes. Unlike Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, their bond with Xuan Ming was not deep.

Back in the Heaven Dou Empire, their impression of him was more that of a brilliant yet ruthless opponent in the Soul Master Competition, a powerful figure they could only look up to and who seemed unattainable.

That feeling was more like a young girl's admiration for a hero and her longing for the pinnacle.

Until they arrived at Poseidon Island.

Over the years, they have witnessed firsthand how he struggled on the brink of life and death time and time again, how he carried unimaginable burdens, and how he became stronger almost self-destructively.

They saw beneath his cold exterior an almost obsessive commitment to his promises and a silent protection for those around him.

They gradually understood why Ning Rongrong said that Xuanming was like a succubus.

At first, one will be attracted by his powerful strength and outstanding talent, like a moth drawn to the hottest flame.

But once you get close to him and truly understand him, you will be infected by his deep-seated obsession and heavy sense of responsibility, and become deeply immersed in it, unable to extricate yourself.

He was like a bottle of strong liquor that was known to be poisonous but was still sweet to drink; once you tasted the burning sensation in your lungs, everything else in the world became bland water.

There was no debt of gratitude between them and him, no warmth of years of companionship, and not even many memories of being alone together. If one were to insist on talking about affection, it would be pitifully shallow.

But... (End of Chapter)