"Lingling, quickly take the Ten-Thousand-Year White Jade Ginseng King."
"I'll guard you while you absorb it."
Holding Ye Lingling in his arms, Ye Yu felt a tangle of emotions in his heart.
He sighed silently and then forced a small smile onto his handsome face.
"Mm!"
Ye Lingling, both shy and delighted, nodded.
Her earlier hug had been a spontaneous act of emotion.
But to her surprise, Ye Yu hadn't pushed her away.
That made her heart flutter with joy.
I knew it—we were the first to meet. We're kindred spirits.
How could Ye Yu possibly have no feelings for me at all?
Inside the pavilion—
After realizing that Ye Yu did have feelings for her, Ye Lingling's heart lightened, her mood completely lifted.
She obediently swallowed the Ten-Thousand-Year White Jade Ginseng King.
Then sat cross-legged within the pavilion, entering meditation to refine the herb's medicinal power.
In no time, a dazzling white light radiated from within her body.
Under the potent effects of the ginseng, her cultivation began rising rapidly.
From Spirit Grandmaster (Rank 24), she broke through smoothly to Rank 30.
As for her Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul—it showed no signs of change.
Clearly, a single Ten-Thousand-Year ginseng wasn't sufficient to evolve such a special martial soul.
"Ye Yu, I've reached Rank 30!"
Having finished refining the medicinal power—
Ye Lingling's icy yet beautiful face beamed with joy beneath her long, deep-blue hair.
She stood up and, unable to restrain herself, gave Ye Yu a peck on the cheek.
"Thank you, Ye Yu!"
"It's nothing."
"But... please don't do that in front of Yan Yan."
Ye Yu was stunned for a moment before responding with a slightly bitter smile.
"So... it's fine if Yan Yan isn't around?"
Ye Lingling mustered her courage and looked directly into Ye Yu's eyes, her deep-blue gaze filled with longing and hope.
"Uh... best not."
Ye Yu gave a wry smile, not quite knowing how to respond.
For his own safety, he knew full well he couldn't do anything with Dugu Yan either.
But as a man, perhaps lust clouded his judgment...
Combined with the fact that he did have feelings for Ye Lingling—
Seeing the pleading, hopeful look in her eyes, he couldn't help but soften.
After returning home—
Ye Lingling immediately told her parents, Ye Zilan and Ling Zhantian, the good news: that the ginseng Ye Yu had given her had helped her break through to Rank 30.
"That old poison freak is this generous?!"
Ling Zhantian was still in disbelief.
"It was Ye Yu who suggested it!"
Ye Lingling replied joyfully.
At that, Ye Zilan and Ling Zhantian exchanged a look, their expressions filled with complex emotions.
Once, they had absolutely opposed Ye Yu and their daughter being together.
But now, after witnessing Ye Yu's talent and strength—
They had begun to support the idea wholeheartedly.
Unfortunately, Ye Yu was already with Dugu Yan.
Given Ye Lingling's personality, trying to steal someone else's man didn't seem like something she could do.
And that old poisoner, Dugu Bo, would never allow it either.
As for becoming one of Ye Yu's women alongside Dugu Yan—
Given Ye Yu's current level of strength...
Neither the Nine Heart Begonia Clan nor the Bi Lin Clan would accept such a situation.
Sigh... best let fate take its course.
Because Ye Yu had been secretly participating in soul duels at the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena under the alias An Lan, and was nearly assassinated by Spirit Hall, he had kept the incident a secret from both Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo—let alone Ye Lingling.
But once Platinum Bishop Salas began making a public scene out of the matter—
Ye Yu knew he could no longer use the An Lan persona.
And so, he finally explained everything to Dugu Yan, Dugu Bo, and Ye Lingling.
With a sigh, he admitted that, now that he could no longer battle in the arena, it had become difficult to sharpen his spear techniques and close-combat skills—let alone rely on real fights to break through bottlenecks.
His grandfather Dugu Bo, being more of a technique-based Spirit Master, wasn't proficient in melee combat.
Even when suppressing his cultivation, sparring with him was of limited value.
Upon hearing this, and reflecting on how to repay Ye Yu for gifting the White Jade Ginseng King to Ye Lingling—
Ye Lingling directly told her parents about Ye Yu's identity as An Lan.
She explained that Ye Yu now lacked opponents for melee training.
So, she asked her father Ling Zhantian to help train Ye Yu in the future.
Ling Zhantian's Martial Soul was the Bloodthirsty Berserker Blade, and his cultivation rank was Spirit Douluo.
He was a top-tier Power Attack System Battle Soul Master, highly skilled in close combat.
When they learned that Ye Yu was the mysterious An Lan—
Ye Zilan and Ling Zhantian were both stunned.
Because if Ye Yu was An Lan, and he didn't have a second martial soul...
Then all the lightning attacks he'd displayed in the arena couldn't have come from soul skills.
They had to be self-created spirit abilities!
When Ye Lingling proudly confirmed this—
Ye Zilan and Ling Zhantian's evaluation of Ye Yu soared even higher.
In the blink of an eye, another half-year passed.
During this time—
Thanks to Ye Lingling's help, Ye Yu was able to regularly spar with Ling Zhantian, who suppressed his cultivation to match.
This greatly improved Ye Yu's spear technique and close-combat proficiency.
Ye Yu divided his schedule:
Mornings: Cultivating at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well
Afternoons: Sparring at the Nine Heart Begonia Clan, training with Ling Zhantian and their Battle Soul Masters
Evenings: Back to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for further cultivation
By repeatedly compressing his soul power through lightning tempering—
The quality of Ye Yu's spirit power had far surpassed others at his level.
He now had the reserves of a Spirit Emperor.
But the downside was—
His cultivation speed had slowed dramatically.
Even with the powerful cultivation environment of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well...
Combined with the Inner Core Method and the cultivation field enriched by aged Blue Silver Grass and Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin...
It still took a full year for Ye Yu to break through from Rank 47 to Rank 50.
At last, it was time to obtain his fifth spirit ring!
Given his current physical endurance—
Ye Yu set his target on a spirit ring with a minimum age of 50,000 years!
As for the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul—
Although it always produced healing-type abilities regardless of what spirit rings were absorbed...
The effectiveness of those abilities was still influenced by the type of beast used.
For best results, life-attribute plant-type Soul Beasts produced the most potent healing skills.
Because of this, the Nine Heart Begonia Clan had conducted in-depth research on such spirit beasts.
And since plant-type soul beasts couldn't move—
Over the generations, the clan had recorded the locations of many powerful, immobile plant-type soul beasts.
Among them was a legendary divine-grade plant-type Soul Beast:
The Undying Laurel Tree
Its estimated age: over 50,000 years!
When Ye Zilan learned that Ye Yu had reached Rank 50 and wanted to absorb a powerful plant-type beast's ring—
To repay him for the White Jade Ginseng King he had gifted Ye Lingling...
She revealed the existence of the Undying Laurel Tree.
She and Ling Zhantian planned to accompany Dugu Bo and Ye Yu to the Star Dou Great Forest—
To hunt the mythical Undying Laurel.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin