Chapter 19 – Parallel Hearts and Silent Changes
Under the soft glow of moonlight, the three of them walked home together.
Ryuga walked in the middle, while Lingling and Yan Yan each held one of his hands, their steps slow and peaceful.
"Ryuga, how did you do it?" Yan Yan asked excitedly, swinging his hand lightly.
"How did you become two people at the same time?"
Lingling nodded as well, curiosity shining in her calm eyes.
"And you can fly too," she added softly.
Ryuga chuckled at their reactions.
"It's a secret. As for the shadow clones, it's just a small trick I created."
"Aaaah, you're no fun!" Yan Yan pouted playfully.
"Tell us the truth."
He smiled and decided to give them a safer explanation.
"It's one of the perks of having a top-tier martial soul and innate full soul power."
They knew he was hiding something, but neither of them pressed further.
Instead, they only asked him to take them flying again sometime, and he agreed without hesitation.
The rest of the walk passed in light chatter about the day's adventure.
Soon, they reached the front of the girls' house.
After saying goodbye, Ryuga turned and walked home alone under the quiet stars.
Dinner was already waiting when he arrived, and he ate with his mother in comfortable silence.
"So, did you enjoy today?" Eliza asked warmly.
Ryuga nodded with a faint smile.
After saying good night, he returned to his room and quickly fell into deep sleep.
The next morning, after completing his physical training, Ryuga began cultivating using the Formless Method.
This time, as his soul power circulated, a new sensation rose from deep within his mind.
His brain external soul bone had finally fully adapted.
The moment the adaptation completed, its ability revealed itself clearly.
The skill was called Parallel Thinking.
It was a passive ability that allowed Ryuga to operate multiple independent streams of thought at once without mental conflict or strain.
At his current soul power level of 23, he could sustain two simultaneous thought processes.
When his soul power reached level 30, it would increase to three.
With every ten levels after that, one additional parallel thought would be unlocked.
After practicing with it for a short while, Ryuga made a bold decision.
He assigned one thought process solely to maintain continuous background cultivation.
While one part of his mind circulated soul power through the Formless Method, the other controlled his body normally.
At first, his movements felt slightly stiff and disoriented.
Using Transparent World, he carefully adjusted the soul power flow again and again.
Within an hour, his walking returned to normal.
After three hours, he could run, jump, stop abruptly, and change direction freely.
By evening, he was even able to use soul skills while cultivating in the background.
That night, he did something even more daring.
He left the cultivation running while he slept.
Only one thought process entered full rest.
The other continued circulating soul power smoothly.
When he awoke the next morning, he felt completely refreshed.
There was no fatigue, no strain on his mind or body.
Instead, his soul core felt full, active, and stable.
His cultivation speed had effectively doubled without any drawbacks.
Ryuga smiled quietly to himself.
The slow growth caused by his soul core was no longer a concern.
After finishing his morning routine, he headed to the academy.
Yan Yan and Lingling were already seated when he arrived.
Yan Yan stood up swiftly so he could take the middle seat.
Then she sat down again beside him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Days passed like this.
On weekends, the three of them went out together.
Their bond grew steadily warmer and closer.
Ryuga gradually began giving Yan Yan the same level of attention he gave Lingling.
At first, he only held Lingling's hand in private moments.
But when Yan Yan noticed, she did not retreat.
Instead, she began doing the same whenever she had the chance.
Seeing this, Lingling became flustered and decided not to fall behind.
She started preparing homemade lunches for Ryuga every day.
Not wanting to lose either, Yan Yan tried to cook as well.
The result was disastrous.
After eating her food once, Ryuga ended up with stomach pain and fever for two full days.
Yan Yan immediately gave up… but only temporarily.
Determined, she asked Eliza to teach her how to cook.
Seeing her sincerity and concern for her son, Eliza gladly agreed.
From then on, Yan Yan spent every weekend learning cooking from her.
Over time, Yan Yan bonded with Eliza even more closely than Lingling did.
The warmth of a mother's care filled a void she never realized was so deep.
Ryuga was genuinely happy seeing this.
For the first time, Yan Yan was experiencing something she had never known before.
As their relationship deepened, Ryuga quietly helped Yan Yan with something far more important.
Using the Formless Method, he began extracting the poison lurking within her body.
Whenever they held hands or trained together, he subtly guided soul power through her meridians.
Bit by bit, he forced the poison out through her pores in the form of sweat.
This process continued silently for nearly a year.
Gradually, Yan Yan's once-green tinted hair began turning black again.
The same natural black as her mother's.
Even she did not understand why it was happening.
When she asked her grandfather, he examined her carefully and found something astonishing.
The poison in her body was steadily disappearing.
Dugu Bo searched her meridians again and again with his soul power.
He found no damage to her martial soul, no abnormalities in her body.
Everything was improving.
Confused, he asked Yan Yan what she had been doing differently.
"I don't know… but when I'm with Ryuga, I always feel very relaxed," she answered softly, blushing.
"And when we train together, I sweat a lot, but after that my body feels lighter."
"I've also stopped getting sick on rainy days," she added quietly.
Dugu Bo fell into deep contemplation.
He wanted to meet this boy named Ryuga.
But when Yan Yan heard this, panic filled her eyes.
She knew her grandfather's temper better than anyone.
"If you meet Ryuga, I won't talk to you ever again!" she cried.
"I'll hate you forever!"
Her words struck straight into Dugu Bo's heart.
Seeing his granddaughter in tears, he could only sigh helplessly.
The idea of meeting Ryuga was postponed indefinitely.
Somewhere far away, Ryuga continued his quiet cultivation, unaware that he had already caught the attention of a terrifying Title Douluo.
And even less aware that, in curing poison, he had quietly stolen a very precious cabbage from an old man's carefully guarded garden.
Written by:- Ashborn_
Edited by:- Chat GPT