Chapter 23: The Title Maiden is Upset

“Yan Yan, Grandpa’s back!” Dugu Bo laughed heartily as he entered the house.

Sitting idly on the swing, Dugu Yan’s face lit up with a radiant smile at the sound of his voice.

“Grandpa!” Dugu Yan leaped off the swing and flew into Dugu Bo’s arms like a little bird returning to its nest.

“Where’s Brother Jiang Jie?”

Dugu Bo was initially pleased with her reaction, but his face fell at her next words. Although he did have the idea of marrying Dugu Yan to Jiang Jie, nothing was set in stone yet. He had just returned and hadn’t even exchanged a few words before his granddaughter started worrying about someone else.

“Girls grow up and can’t be kept around,” Dugu Bo sighed.

Dugu Yan’s cheeks flushed. She immediately pushed Dugu Bo away, scolding, “Grandpa, what nonsense are you talking about? I’m just worried about Brother Jiang Jie’s injuries. He got hurt because of me!”

“Alright, alright, Grandpa understands.” Dugu Bo affectionately ruffled her hair and stepped aside to reveal Jiang Jie standing behind him.

“Look, your Brother Jiang Jie is here. Rest assured, don’t you trust Grandpa? He’s fully recovered.”

Dugu Yan quickly approached Jiang Jie. Despite his helpless expression, she began checking him all over for injuries with her delicate hands.

“Sister Yan, I’m really fine. The teacher is still here. If you keep touching me like this, he’ll probably scold me!”

Jiang Jie glanced aside at Dugu Bo, whose face had turned as dark as coal. Dugu Bo’s sharp gaze was making him feel immense pressure.

In the presence of this doting grandfather, Jiang Jie didn’t dare move.

“Don’t be so reckless next time. Do you know how worried I was?” Dugu Yan ignored Dugu Bo and, with teary eyes, embraced Jiang Jie.

Jiang Jie, his body stiff, endured Dugu Yan’s tearful embrace, feeling as though he was receiving a facial treatment from her tears.

Seeing this, Dugu Bo’s nose twitched with irritation. He snorted and vanished on the spot.

Out of sight, out of mind!

As he looked back at the embracing couple in the courtyard, his anger melted away, replaced by a sense of affection and relief.

“Disciple, take good care of Yan Yan,” he whispered in Jiang Jie’s ear.

Jiang Jie smiled softly.

…

Eight months later.

In Dugu Bo’s residence.

Crack, crack…

A young man panted heavily as the twin blades in his hands slowly dissipated. In front of him lay a pond completely frozen over.

“As expected, creating my own spirit skill isn’t easy. Flame Dragon Roar is manageable, but Ice Breaker is just too difficult!” Jiang Jie sat down on the ground, wiping sweat from his forehead.

It had been over half a year since he acquired his first spirit ring, and his spirit power had increased from level sixteen to twenty.

Gaining one level every two months amazed both Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan. For a typical spirit master at Jiang Jie’s stage, leveling up three or four times a year would be considered excellent, but Jiang Jie had managed to level up six times in a year.

However, this was understandable given his innate full spirit power, a powerful spirit, and a body nourished by the Ice-Fire Immortal Herb. His meridians were so clear that his cultivation speed was exceptional.

If Dugu Bo hadn’t been away for a few days, and Jiang Jie happened to break through to level twenty during this time, he would have already obtained his second spirit ring.

He was currently refining a self-created spirit skill derived from the Ice-Fire Dual Slash.

By separating the explosive fire and freezing ice attributes, he created two skills: Flame Dragon Roar and Ice Breaker.

Flame Dragon Roar had been perfected, using pure fire attributes to enhance Ice-Fire Dual Slash, maximizing its explosive and destructive power. Its final strength was on par with the original Ice-Fire Dual Slash.

Moreover, Jiang Jie could now release Flame Dragon Roar without relying on his spirit ring, using only his spirit—a perfect fit for Slaughter City.

Ice Breaker, however, was much more challenging. Fortunately, the pond in Dugu Bo’s courtyard had no fish; otherwise, they would have all perished under Jiang Jie’s attempts.

The principle behind Ice Breaker was to use pure ice attribute to release Ice-Fire Dual Slash, abandoning the explosive feature to maximize freezing and cutting abilities.

Flame Dragon Roar was for group attacks, while Ice Breaker was for single targets—the former for clearing enemies, the latter for breaking defenses.

Jiang Jie was never fully satisfied with Ice Breaker because his ice blade light couldn’t concentrate enough to achieve the desired cutting effect; it only had freezing capability.

“Brother Jiang Jie, don’t push yourself too hard. Have some tea.” Dugu Yan, wearing high heels, approached Jiang Jie, bending down to offer him a cup of floral tea, her eyes smiling.

Jiang Jie took the cup, looked up at Dugu Yan, and froze.

He had to admit, although Douluo Continent’s combat power was unimpressive, its beauties were stunning. Dugu Yan, even as a supporting character in the original story, always amazed Jiang Jie with her looks.

No matter how many times he saw her, Dugu Yan always left him in awe of Douluo’s beauties.

She had the figure of a young woman—curvy in the right places, slim elsewhere, with a slender waist and long, fair legs.

Her tight-fitting dark green qipao only accentuated her beauty.

“Do you like what you see, Brother Jiang Jie?” Dugu Yan noticed his entranced look and batted her eyelashes playfully.

Jiang Jie took a sharp breath, contributing a bit to global warming, “Sister Yan, you’re being unfair!”

“Ask me again in five years!”

“Five years? I’ll be waiting for you then,” Dugu Yan replied, smiling seductively.

Jiang Jie quickly took a sip of the tea to calm himself, struggling to look away from her legs. He didn’t know when it started, but Dugu Yan seemed to have discovered his fondness for legs.

Since then, Jiang Jie had been in a bittersweet torment.

She often wore high-slit qipaos, making her long legs tantalizingly visible, increasing her allure to the maximum. Paired with gold-tassel green high heels, her outfit was deadlier than any weapon.

“Cough, cough. Sister Yan, what’s your spirit power level now?” Jiang Jie drank the tea in one gulp, trying to change the subject.

Dugu Yan watched his embarrassed expression with amusement, lightly stroking her red lips with a finger, “I’m at level thirty-six now. I owe it all to you, Brother Jiang Jie.”

(End of Chapter)