191: You also have the surname Lu?

As Lu Yuan's words fell...

The corridor, which had been somewhat noisy with the occasional sound of wind and snow, instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Even the air seemed to freeze completely at this moment.

"...Huh?!"

Shen Yueyao froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.

Her mind went blank, as if her CPU had overloaded.

One second she was thinking about "what purpose Gu Changsheng had in sending this girl to find her" and "if there was some important information to deliver."

The next second, she was completely stunned by this sudden, blunt, and explicit invitation to "Dual Cultivation."

Her eyes widened as she looked incredulously at the impossibly beautiful girl before her, who appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen years old.

Her mind was flooded with frantic thoughts:

"Dual... Dual Cultivation?! Gu Changsheng sent you here... just for this?!"

"Not to mention this is way too direct and forward! The most important thing is..."

Shen Yueyao looked down at herself, then back at Lu Yuan in front of her:

"We're... both girls!! Is... is that even okay?! Has the culture of the Upper Realm... already developed to this extent?!"

Several breaths of time passed.

Shen Yueyao finally recovered from her state of shock.

*Boom!*

Her jade-white cheeks instantly turned beet red, like a freshly cooked shrimp.

"You... you..."

She instinctively jerked her hand back and shielded her chest with both hands, stepping back as if guarding against a rogue.

In a mixture of shame and anger, she stammered a rebuke:

"What... what nonsense are you talking about!! Who... who wants to Dual Cultivate with you!! I'm a decent person! I already have a Dao Companion!"

Seeing Shen Yueyao's intense reaction, as if she had suffered a great humiliation...

It was Lu Yuan's turn to be stunned.

"Eh?"

She tilted her head, blinking her large, innocent, and clear eyes with a look of total confusion, muttering to herself:

"Strange... why is her face red? Why such a big reaction?"

"Isn't Dual Cultivation just two people sitting together, circulating a specific Cultivation Technique, using each other's Physique characteristics for Yin and Yang complementarity or elemental synergy to increase cultivation speed?"

"This should be very common in the cultivation world, right? There's nothing shameful about it."

In her simple world view, which lacked common sense, Dual Cultivation was truly just an efficient and fast way to level up.

"I didn't say I wanted to do anything else... why is this person's mind so complicated?"

Just as the scene became extremely awkward and tense...

"Hahaha!"

A burst of hearty and clearly teasing laughter came from behind the door behind Shen Yueyao.

Lu Yi was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, having clearly heard the entire "explosive" conversation.

As he walked out, he teased with a smile:

"Oh my, it seems your charm... is truly boundless."

Lu Yi walked over to Shen Yueyao's side and naturally put his arm around her shoulder to assert his territory:

"Not only have you captivated thousands of young men, but now... even such a beautiful young girl has traveled thousands of miles from the Upper Realm just to cry out for 'Dual Cultivation' with you. Tsk tsk tsk, I'm starting to feel the pressure; my love rivals are increasing."

Lu Yi's appearance broke the deadlock.

Hearing the voice, Lu Yuan instinctively turned her head.

Her gaze naturally fell upon the man she had ignored earlier.

At first, she only gave him a casual glance, even carrying a bit of disdain, as if thinking, "This is the Dao Companion?"

But after that one glance...

*Buzz!!*

Her gaze was like it had been caught by a giant magnet, fixed firmly on Lu Yi, unable to move away.

Her already bright, large eyes...

Now erupted with a brilliant light, like an explorer discovering a peerless treasure, or even a new continent!

This light was ten times more excited than when she had seen Shen Yueyao's Vast Moon Divine Body earlier!

"This... this aura?!"

An Unsettling Scrutiny

*Swish!*

Lu Yuan directly abandoned Shen Yueyao, as if she had seen a more delicious prey.

Her figure blurred.

With a "whoosh," she lunged directly in front of Lu Yi.

Ignoring any boundaries between men and women, she leaned in extremely close, her nose almost touching Lu Yi's chin.

She circled Lu Yi several times, her eyes like a precision scanner, sweeping up and down, inside and out, over Lu Yi's body.

"..."

Lu Yi felt his skin crawl under her aggressive, inquisitive gaze, which felt as if she wanted to dissect him for research.

He instinctively took half a step back, clutching his clothes, and couldn't help but complain:

"Uh... miss. Although I know I'm handsome and elegant, looking at me like that... even I'll get shy. Can we be a bit more reserved?"

However, Lu Yuan wasn't listening to a word of his nonsense.

At this moment, her heart was already in a state of upheaval.

Because when she got within three feet of Lu Yi...

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*

An unprecedentedly strong throbbing and resonance actually occurred within her body at this moment!

That call from the depths of her Bloodline, that feeling of having met another version of herself... "How is this possible?!"

Lu Yuan roared in her heart:

"This level of Bloodline resonance... it only appears when facing one's own parents! How could I encounter it in this godforsaken Lower Realm?!"

The more Lu Yuan looked, the more alarmed she became.

This person not only had a Physique from the same source as hers, but even the aura he faintly emitted and the expressions he occasionally showed... gave her a natural, undeniable sense of kinship.

This feeling could not be faked.

"Whew..."

She took a deep breath, putting away her previous playful and carefree demeanor.

Her small face became more serious than ever, even a bit strange and solemn.

Lu Yuan stopped circling him.

She stood before Lu Yi, looking up, her clear eyes staring straight into his.

She asked with some hesitation and a hint of testing:

"Hey! Uh... what's your name?"

Lu Yi raised an eyebrow.

Although he thought this girl was a bit bizarre—one moment asking for Dual Cultivation and the next checking his household registry...

He still shrugged and answered truthfully:

"I don't change my name for anyone; I am Lu Yi, 'Yi' as in elegant."

"Lu... Yi?"

Upon hearing those two words...

Lu Yuan's pupils dilated slightly, as if confirming some unbelievable hypothesis in her heart.

A look of "as expected" appeared on her face, yet it was filled with even more shock and disbelief.

She pointed at Lu Yi, her voice trembling slightly:

"Lu Yi... that means your surname is also Lu?"

Lu Yi responded somewhat speechlessly:

"Is that... not obvious?"