Douluo: Unparalleled General, Starting by Deceptive Thousand-Snow-Peak 136

Chapter 136: Qian Renxue’s Genuine Affection

“The person you’re reluctant to leave, is it Xue Ke?”

A clear, cold voice echoed in the room.

Nan Feihuang was startled. Lost in his own thoughts, he hadn’t noticed someone else was in his room.

“Who’s there!” Nan Feihuang quickly turned towards the window, following the direction of the voice.

At that sight, he was stunned.

A girl with flowing golden hair sat on the windowsill. Her golden palace gown shimmered under the moonlight, exuding a sacred aura. Yet, one leg was casually propped up on the window frame, her gown slightly falling to reveal a stretch of snow-white leg. In her hand, she held a bottle of fine wine, drinking freely, adding a touch of dashing coolness to her otherwise divine appearance.

Undeniably, this was a very captivating woman, hitting two of Nan Feihuang’s biggest preferences at once.

Even Nan Feihuang, a man of strong will, was momentarily mesmerized.

“Sister Xue, how did you get here?” Nan Feihuang was surprised, confused, and slightly joyful.

He couldn’t understand why, having just parted ways with her in her Xue Qinghe guise, she had suddenly returned to her true form to see him.

“What, you don’t welcome Sister Xue? I heard you were going home, so I rushed over from the Martial Soul Temple to see you.” Qian Renxue lied without batting an eyelid. If one didn’t know she was Xue Qinghe, they might actually believe her.

“Of course I welcome you,” Nan Feihuang quickly said. “By the way, Sister Xue, please don’t misunderstand. The person I was reluctant to leave wasn’t Xue Ke, but rather my Brother Xue.”

He went to great lengths to explain, both to continue his deception and seemingly out of an instinctive reaction.

Seeing Nan Feihuang’s hurried explanation, Qian Renxue smiled slightly. “Hehe, you don’t need to explain so much to me. Don’t I know you? Were you touched by Xue Qinghe’s reluctance to part with you today, and thus felt sad about separating from him?”

At the hotel, it wasn’t just Nan Feihuang who was paying attention to Qian Renxue; she was observing him too.

Nan Feihuang had focused his gaze on her the entire time, so when he mentioned reluctance, Qian Renxue knew he was referring to Xue Qinghe, not Xue Ke.

For three years, she had interacted with Nan Feihuang in two different identities, overtly and covertly. She could tell that Nan Feihuang might have some affection for Xue Ke, but not much. It was more a sense of responsibility.

He might be good to Xue Ke in the future, but he wouldn’t love her the way he loved her.

Thinking about her dual identities – one being the object of Nan Feihuang’s greatest love and the other the object of his greatest respect – even though this girl kept saying she was only using him, a surge of joy welled up in her heart.

“Hehe, as expected of Sister Xue, your insight is truly sharp.” Nan Feihuang scratched his head sheepishly. “Since Sister Xue is here and brought wine, let’s have a drink together.”

Nan Feihuang took out two wine cups, and Qian Renxue stepped forward, pouring the wine.

They clinked their cups lightly and drank it down in one gulp.

“Sister Xue, your special trip here must be more than just seeing me off, right?” Nan Feihuang asked with a smile after they finished their drinks.

He saw Qian Renxue every day. He didn’t believe she had returned to her true form just to say goodbye again.

There must be something she needed to tell him in her Qian Renxue identity.

“Of course. Your Brother Xue and your friends all gave you gifts. Since I’m here to see you off, how could I come empty-handed? This is something I found specifically for you. See if it’s helpful.” Qian Renxue took out a piece of paper from her bosom and gave it to Nan Feihuang.

Holding the paper imbued with Qian Renxue’s scent, Nan Feihuang curiously opened it. Inside was information about a Soul Beast.

The drawing and text were undoubtedly hand-drawn and copied by Qian Renxue herself. The handwriting was elegant yet sharp.

“Shadow Beast, a ninety-thousand-year-old Shadow Beast. Yes, this is it! With this, I don’t need to go to the Haotian Sect anymore. Sister Xue, how did you know I was looking for information on this Soul Beast?” Nan Feihuang was both excited and curious.

“Haotian Sect?” Qian Renxue paused slightly, then smiled gently. “So that’s it. According to the Martial Soul Temple’s records on Haotian Sect experts, the seventh elder’s Soul Skill does indeed possess what you’re looking for. You were planning to ask him which Soul Beast he hunted to obtain that Soul Skill, right? It seems my search was indeed on the right track.”

“Feihuang, give me your hand!”

Qian Renxue extended her right hand. Nan Feihuang hesitated for only a second before taking it.

Then, Nan Feihuang’s pair of Fangtian Halberds appeared, and Qian Renxue’s angel wings unfurled behind her. The two god-level Martial Souls shone brightly together.

Their minds connected, and they simultaneously practiced their halberd techniques in their minds. Although both were using the Eighteen Strikes with One Hand technique, Qian Renxue’s style was grand and domineering, while Nan Feihuang’s was ever-changing and subtle.

“So that’s how it is,” Nan Feihuang laughed. “No wonder Sister Xue knew what I was thinking.”

When their minds were connected before, Qian Renxue felt Nan Feihuang’s intentions and used his halberd techniques.

She had noticed then that although Nan Feihuang only practiced the Eighteen Strikes with One Hand, he used it in two distinct styles: one overwhelmingly powerful, and the other anticipating his opponent’s moves with unpredictable changes.

Combined with his habit of using the halberd with one hand, Qian Renxue understood that he likely wanted to obtain a special Soul Skill similar to the Haotian Sect seventh elder’s ability to split his Martial Soul in two without diminishing its power.

This was almost the ultimate skill for a Weapon Martial Soul, allowing the wielder to unleash another identical weapon to attack. This could be combined with other skills. The Soul Master’s attack power would temporarily double.

Then, wielding a different halberd technique with each hand, if the two completely opposite styles could complement each other, the power would double again.

Qian Renxue’s guess was correct. Nan Feihuang wanted to use the technique of wielding weapons in both hands to use Lü Bu’s Ghost God Halberd and Xiang Yu’s Overlord Halberd simultaneously.

Combining peak skill and peak strength, even if he wasn’t a Title Douluo yet, even if Tang Hao and Tang Xiao attacked him together, they might not be his match.

The Ghost God Halberd and the Overlord Halberd both had ultimate moves, like the Musou attacks in True Three Kingdoms无双 (referring to the Dynasty Warriors video game series), far surpassing the Great Sumeru Hammer in power.

If he could unleash both ultimate moves at once, Nan Feihuang couldn’t imagine the power.

Unfortunately, such Soul Beasts were extremely rare. The Ancient Thunder King Country records only listed a similar one: the Mirror Shadow Beast, the one Oscar later hunted for his sixth spirit ring.

However, that type of Soul Beast copied the opponent’s Martial Soul or Soul Skill, not creating an exact duplicate.

Other Soul Beasts that could create Martial Soul clones produced weaker clones. Currently, only one person could create a Martial Soul clone with almost the same power as the original: the Haotian Sect’s seventh elder, Lieyang Douluo.

That’s why he had wanted to go to the Haotian Sect to get information on the Soul Beast from Lieyang Douluo, and then to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School to get help with the mind control aspect.

Unexpectedly, Qian Renxue had taken care of both needs.

She truly understood him.

Fortunately, the quality of the Dunjia Heavenly Book seemed slightly higher than the Fangtian Halberd, so Qian Renxue couldn’t sense it, otherwise Nan Feihuang’s dual Martial Souls secret would be exposed.

“Feihuang, this Shadow Beast is an extremely rare Soul Beast, and it’s attributeless. You don’t have to worry about it interfering with the ice and fire attributes in your Martial Soul and reducing its power,” Qian Renxue said, worried that Nan Feihuang would follow his mother’s footsteps and ruin the powerful ice and fire power within his Ice and Fire Twin Halberds.

Therefore, when she was looking for the Soul Beast, only three types were in her consideration: ice, fire, and attributeless.

Qian Renxue continued, “Currently, the Martial Soul Temple has only recorded the location of two or three Shadow Beasts. One was hunted by the Haotian Sect’s seventh elder, and the strongest one, over ninety thousand years old, was pursued by the Martial Soul Temple. But it was extremely difficult to kill, not only because of its cultivation but also because it could create an identical clone and merge with shadows. Even when the Martial Soul Temple sent two or three Title Douluos, it managed to escape. After that, its whereabouts were unknown.”

“For years, the Martial Soul Temple has been tracking this Soul Beast, and we have a lead. It’s likely at the very center of the Sunset Forest, Feihuang. If you want to hunt it in the future, you can come to the Martial Soul Temple to find me. My Angel power is this creature’s nemesis and will surely help you achieve a perfect hunt.”

“Thank you, Sister Xue. You’ve helped me so much, I don’t know how to repay you,” Nan Feihuang felt embarrassed. He had always intended to use her.

It would have been easier if Qian Renxue only wanted to use him; he wouldn’t have any burden.

Initially, it seemed that way, but over the past three years, he’d spent day and night with Xue Qinghe overtly, and corresponded with Qian Renxue covertly.

At some point, this woman had genuinely started to care about him.

This made Nan Feihuang unsure of what to do.

He wished Qian Renxue would maintain her manipulative mindset; when he became useless, she could just kill him. Then he could retaliate without mercy. But now…

For Nan Feihuang, there was nothing more expensive than the word “free,” and that was true heartfelt affection.

(End of Chapter)

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