Chapter 1082.1: Sacrificial Love & Possessive Love(Part 1/2)
Bai Zemin had always been curious as to what was the last requirement Shangguan Bing Xue needed to complete to evolve to the Third Order. With her talent, she shouldn't have taken so long unless the Soul Record presented her with the task of killing a Fourth Order enemy; only then would it all make sense.
However, such a thing did not make sense if one thought about it carefully.
Shangguan Bing Xue was not Bai Zemin, and although each of her advancements gave her an overwhelming amount of power thanks to her classes being Special or even Unique it was unlikely that her advancement requirements would be as difficult as his were.
However, then why on earth was she taking so long to advance? One needed to remember that even before Bai Zemin returned from Eventide World after many months she was already at the peak of the Second Order, stuck without being able to take even one more step forward.
Only now Bai Zemin understood and, to some extent, confirmed his previous theory.
The requirements that a soul evolver needed to complete before their evolution were based not only on the path one had chosen but also on all their records; among those records, character or personality was of utmost importance.
It was true that Bai Zemin had not known Shangguan Bing Xue for as long as Chen He or Wu Yijun, but because he and she had shared the same battlefield since day one when it all began, Bai Zemin could say with confidence that he had seen Shangguan Bing Xue's evolution not only in terms of power but also her development in terms of character.
She was clearly beginning to lose her cold personality, at least with everyone around her and even extending slightly towards others. This did not mean that she was becoming someone else or suddenly becoming more gentle, her personality had changed to be much more charming to the point where without her realizing it, she would occasionally focus too much Charm on others to the point where her number of admirers at this point could not be counted.
The problem was with Bai Zemin... Rather, the problem with Shangguan Bing Xue and her character began when Bai Zemin was involved in the matter.
When it came to him or something related to him, that Shangguan Bing Xue who was always firm and decisive about her actions would become so hesitant that she seemed like a different person.
"Your last requirement was... To kiss me?"
Bai Zemin's voice was low as proof of how dazed he was as his black eyes were lost in the eyes of the beauty in front of him.
Based on Shangguan Bing Xue's character and personality, as well as taking into account that even after all this time she still hadn't evolved despite having accomplished amazing feats of her own, it wasn't too difficult to draw fairly accurate conclusions as to what her final requirement of evolution was.
Shangguan Bing Xue's eyes were closed, her lips moved a couple of times as if she was savoring the aftertaste left from the moment that had just ended. Finally, she opened her eyes and said with a small smile and a trace of blush on her cheeks, "It wasn't about kissing you... I needed to confirm my feelings and express them physically toward the person who conquered my heart."
If Bai Zemin was slowly beginning to come out of his daze, when he saw the current Shangguan Bing Xue added to her words he fell back to almost the same level he had fallen into when she kissed him without warning.
In fact, everyone present except for Angelo who could not see was dumbfounded as they looked at her.
It was known to all that a soul evolver became more physically perfect each time they absorbed Soul Power, and this improvement became more evident as one leveled up more and more. However, the physical improvement became much more evident when a soul evolver broke the limit of one Order and advanced to the next!
In the Transcendent faction, the number of beautiful women was particularly high. In fact, when it came to overall average it could be said that Bai Zemin's faction had a higher number of beauties than Angelo's faction by a wide margin; this was because the Soul Power and overall level was higher even among the survivors.
Even so, Angelo's faction had great beauties that were even capable of comparing to the likes of Nangong Lingxin, Sun Ling, Cai Jingyi, etc. In fact, Andrea and Eleanora were beautiful to the point that the two of them could be faintly compared to Wu Yijun and Shangguan Xinyue.
However, in the entire American faction, there was not a single woman capable of putting a face to Shangguan Bing Xue; this was so even before she evolved into the Third Order so one could only imagine how overwhelming the difference was now.
Shangguan Bing Xue's aura had become less creepy and deadly, but this did not mean that she had become less weak; quite the opposite, in fact. Her aura had grown in terms of Charm to the point where only the strongest could notice that beneath that overwhelming layer of invisible seduction lurked a tremendously sharp sword waiting to decapitate her enemies when they let their guard down.
Her skin had become smoother and shinier, her lips slightly thicker and with a slightly more pronounced reddish shade, the curves of her body had become pronounced enough that her Epic grade treasure armor with self-adjusting capabilities was configured to fit her attributes; even her hair had become softer and lustrous, as well as slightly longer than before.
However, what stunned Bai Zemin was something else...
It was Shangguan Bing Xue's eyes.
Her previously cold eyes now evoked a feeling of nobility and distance that was not there before. Bai Zemin noticed that when she looked elsewhere than at him or Bai Shilin, Shangguan Bing Xue exuded pure contempt and disdain from her body subconsciously not at the people themselves but at something else he couldn't understand.
The problem was that her beautifully blue eyes now had a slight tinge of another color that previously was definitely not there... Right at the edge of the iris, Bai Zemin and the others noticed that that black ring had now turned slightly reddish; it was so obvious in the midst of the blue that it was impossible not to notice.
As Bai Zemin stared into Shangguan Bing Xue's eyes and felt something strange stirring within him, the scene was soon flooded with the exquisite aroma of pure roses that he loved so much and he immediately snapped out of his daze as he realized that he might soon end up being dragged into a battlefield even more terrifying than the one he had just emerged from after facing the 9-Headed Immortal Dragon.
Lilith's appearance was not greeted with exclamations of surprise or cries of fear, everyone including the ladies were stunned by her beauty. The first to recover were people like Kang Lan and Shangguan Bing Xue who had seen her before, especially the latter.
"Good, good, good..." Lilith began by giving three good ones along with a slight nod as she looked at Shangguan Bing Xue with a not too pleasant smile, "Looks like you've finally evolved into Engaged Man-Stealing Cat, huh?"
Engaged Man-Stealing Cat? Jack and the other men of the elite American team exchanged glances, all noticing the shock in their teammates' eyes.
This woman with four raven wings was definitely related to one of the factions that left earlier, a faction that in the future would probably clash with Bai Zemin considering how things ended up. Putting aside her beauty clearly above the women they had seen before, her words were what really surprised everyone.
"... Looks like a good show is about to begin." Dylan waved his left hand as if he was shaking the water that had been left on it after washing while whispering with bright eyes.
Shangguan Bing Xue looked at Lilith, and for the first time since meeting her she was no longer overwhelmed by her beauty nor her Charm.
"Engaged Man-Stealing Cat? My Third Order class name isn't that, but I wouldn't mind that being my subclass."
Bai Zemin nearly choked and Lilith raised an eyebrow at Shangguan Bing Xue's words.
"... Looks like you finally made a decision." Lilith nodded. She crossed both her arms under her chest and in a seemingly unconscious movement raised them while lifting her chin and smiling not only with her mouth but also with her bright eyes. "So, what did you decide? Will you fight for love or give up here? If you have the courage to say it out loud, that is."
Shangguan Bing Xue closed her eyes and did not respond immediately. Seizing this opportunity presented by the heavens, Bai Zemin quickly intervened.
"Lilith, stop joking please."
Although he had never had a girlfriend before Lilith, Bai Zemin had been very observant. He knew that when two friends became a couple, if things went wrong, not only would the couple be destroyed but in 99% of cases that friendship of many years would also go down the drain.
Bai Zemin had an incredibly good friendly relationship with Shangguan Bing Xue, and he did not want to lose this for anything in the world.
"No. It's okay. She's not joking, and her question came at a good time." Shangguan Bing Xue opened her eyes and looked at Lilith.
The aura of nobility and distance coming from her body even took Lilith by surprise, as she realized that Shangguan Bing Xue was taking a considerably different Charm path than her.
"Lilith, I don't like you."
Lilith became slightly dumbfounded before letting out a giggle as her eyes curved into a crescent shape, "That's no secret to anyone who knows both of us, little baby."
Shangguan Bing Xue nodded and continued calmly, "I don't know what you intend to do. Do you want to keep Bai Zemin all to yourself? Do you want to share him with other women? You call me a coward but I think the only coward here is you... or could it be that you don't even know what you want? Because if that's the case then even your feelings are probably nothing more than a doubt in your heart."
Shangguan Bing Xue's voice was simply beautiful to listen to, the second most beautiful voice Bai Zemin had ever heard in his life. But unlike Lilith's playful and charming voice, Shangguan Bing Xue's voice was dignified and noble like that of a holy being that had nothing to do with the word succubus.
When Bai Zemin heard her words, he too paused for a moment and looked at Lilith, as he too was curious as to what her response would be.
He did not doubt the feelings Lilith had for him, but as Shangguan Bing Xue had just said, he did not understand what she wanted nor did he understand the reasons behind her actions when she pushed him towards other women.
Lilith looked at Shangguan Bing Xue in silence for a few seconds, and for every second that passed her eyes seemed to unfocus and become more and more lost in a non-physical distance that no one but her could see.
"There is no normal woman in this world who really wants to share the man she loves with another woman, don't you think?"
The words Lilith said caused Shangguan Bing Xue to narrow her eyes.
Meanwhile, Bai Zemin closed his eyes and sighed in his heart. As for whether he was relieved or not, this time even Bai Zemin himself was no longer that much sure.
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