Solemn Vow of Absolute Fidelity

"They're doing quite well." Gu Yuena noted, her eyes watching the battle happening beneath them. It was the final battle of the tournament between class one and the former class five. It was obvious to anyone skilled that class one would win but class five was doing extremely well for their paltry talents.

"Mhm. They worked hard for it." Her other half responded simply however she could tell that he was ever so slightly proud of them. He hadn't trained them or even interacted with them but he had seen them work themselves to the bone every day.

The class had fallen from its original numbers all the way down to just over ten however they were all hard workers, to the point of foolishness even. It was foolish to the extreme but it was even more impressive.

However, while they didn't work quite as hard as the former class five, class one didn't slack off. They had both talent and a decent work ethic that let them coast through the tournament up till now.

The fighters for class one had a good mix of roles and the fighters' synergy was high, it was clear that they had plenty of experience fighting together. It was impressive they had gotten so much experience in just over three months.

"I doubt they'll use their martial soul fusion skill." Tang Wulin said blandly. He could tell that class one had a martial soul fusion to use by how their soul power and abilities would be strengthened drastically when they were close and then weakened when they were apart.

Martial soul fusion skills are extremely important as a finishing move however a large part of their utility is the passive boost it brings the individuals. Simply by being in each other's presence they will be strengthened, the boost increasing more if they were in contact with one another.

"Probably not." Gu Yuena said, instinctively looking down at their intertwined fingers, their hands tightly clasped together. Both needed to be as powerful as possible in the future so they used their blood connection to strengthen the other.

And while it was unlikely it was possible to gain traits of the other if they do it long enough. For example, her body was getting stronger as she did it but she may also be able to use some of his bloodline abilities in the future and vice versa.

There were also the selfish parts of their minds that just wanted to hold the other's hand but it didn't really matter what their more private reasons were. They were dragon kings, the rulers of spirit beasts, if they wanted to hold hands who could stop them? Nobody at Eastsea at least.

That wasn't even mentioning the massive following Wulin had created, each and every member following his words with religious fanaticism no matter what it may be. He could ask them to slaughter thousands and they'd do it without hesitation.

'He's pretty charismatic.' Gu Yuena thought to herself quietly, her eyes watching the battle in front of them. It was unusual considering his emotionless demeanor but he was strangely persuasive.

He had the ability to gather people by his side with ease. He wormed his way into her heart without a struggle, he made a group of fanatics that prayed to his every word, a group of comrades who despite being treated as gods themselves only lived for him, and he had even gotten Wu Zhangkong on his side.

"Is the punishment from the universal order gone now?" Gu Yuena questioned lightly, rising to her feet after their class had been declared the losers. As expected, class one didn't even use their martial soul fusion.

The universal order had been plaguing him for the last three months from when he temporarily elevated his being into that of a divine being once more. Luckily because it wasn't a disastrous use he was punished relatively lightly in return for an increased duration.

Their bloodline connection had been expediting the process so it would soon finish and the pain had mostly vanished but she was still worried. If he was required to fight seriously for whatever reason it would be an immense disadvantage.

An avoidable risk can be born from an instant of pain. If he were to feel the pain in an important battle he would naturally pause for a moment, a weakness that may get him killed. Obviously, she wanted it to leave her other half already.

"Mostly. It's like an itch now." Wulin responded simply but it wasn't as simple as he made it sound. An 'itch' was definitely not the correct term to be used. It may be at that level compared to what it was previously but the sensation of his blood burning and his organs shredding was not an 'itch'.

"That's good." Gu Yuena replied, gently leading her other half to their destination for the day. It was a room they rarely spent time in, their classroom. Wu Zhangkong apparently had something to tell them.

It was probably about the class that was being made around them so they were interested. At the moment, their training equipment was mostly self funded. Rather, it was funded almost completely by Wulin since she didn't have the funds to spare considering the Spirit Pagoda was too busy to fund her.

Stepping through the door the two were unsurprised to see it filled with the three students that just fought their class however there was an additional member that surprised them, his presence not surprising them but rather his change.

"You finally finished?" Gu Yuena questioned the boy lightly as they entered, completely ignoring the other three. She was much more interested in what came about from the gift they 'gave' him.

In front of them sat Xie Xie who looked much different than he did three months ago. His expression which was once full of nerves when around them had mellowed out, too much even. His face was now like an unreadable mask of calm.

Not only that but his presence and energies had changed deeply though there were traces of the original him. His presence and energies had become strangely ethereal, almost like they were not there or fading in and out of existence.

Not responding to her words Xie Xie stood up and bowed deeply toward them, the two dragon kings looking at him strangely.