Heaven Dou City – Ye Residence
Inside Ye Lingling's room, a small heater burned high-quality smokeless coal, filling the space with cozy warmth and a subtle floral fragrance.
Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan were huddled together, gossiping behind Lin Xiao's back.
"Yan-jie, I bet Lin Xiao totally forgot about us. What a traitor—turns out he's the type to ditch his friends the moment a pretty girl shows up."
"Lingling, that's the seventy-seventh time you've trashed Lin Xiao today. You talk about him all day long—do you even know whether you love him or hate him?"
"Hmph! That's obvious! A friend of mine would never ditch me for some girl!"
"So what if Lin Xiao doesn't come back? You better not cry later."
"Cry? Please. My mom already said that if he doesn't come back soon, she's going to Tianshui City to drag him back herself."
Dugu Yan: "…"
Classic Auntie Ye. Always direct and decisive.
Anyone else might be joking with that kind of threat, but Dugu Yan knew Ye Qingxian meant what she said—and Lin Xiao surely knew it too.
So…
Was he finally coming back?
Both Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling had recently obtained their third spirit rings.
Dugu Yan had reached Level 37. Her third ability was called "Emerald Phosphor Heart," gained from a 2,000-year-old Silver-Ring Purple-Scaled Serpent. It increased the potency of all her toxins by 50%.
That might not sound like much—but poisons stack.
Unlike typical attack-type spirit skills, which are used one at a time, Dugu Yan's poisons all benefited from the boost. Her first and second soul skills were now 50% stronger. And in the future, as she gained more skills, the enhancement would apply to those as well.
Even if she became a Title Douluo one day, this spirit skill would still be considered divine-level. Far superior to simply gaining a new poison.
Ye Lingling had reached Level 34, her third skill drawn from an 1,800-year-old Radiant Saint Beetle.
As expected, her spirit skill was still healing-based.
But due to the nature of the Nine-Hearted Begonia, the strength of the effect had increased dramatically.
Normally, these spirit ring breakthroughs would have been a time for celebration.
But Lin Xiao's absence dulled the joy.
Even though he was the youngest of the three…
He had clearly become their pillar.
Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan still called themselves the "older sisters," but when something truly difficult came up, Lin Xiao's advice was always the first they turned to.
"Hmph, Lin Xiao may just be a Grandmaster Soul Master, but he dared to act all high and mighty before. When he comes back, I'm gonna flash all three of my rings in his face!"
Ye Lingling huffed, visibly eager.
Dugu Yan glanced sideways.
"But his second spirit ring was already a millennium ring. Auntie Ye said it's 2,000 years old."
Ye Lingling's expression fell flat.
But then she remembered how much Lin Xiao had suffered.
Body tempering with evil fire…
Even if you offered her a ten-thousand-year ring, she wouldn't agree to that hell.
After seeing what Lin Xiao endured, she was sure that if it were her, she'd either be burned alive or die from the pain.
Better to just live quietly.
At that moment, a sharp voice came from outside—
"So you finally decided to come back!?"
"Why don't you just stay at the Shui household and become their live-in son-in-law!?"
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling froze.
Then lit up with joy.
He's back!
Main hall.
Ye Qingxian's elegant face was drawn tight with anger, her brows sharply furrowed.
"You said you were just going for a visit."
"And then vanished for a whole month! Not even one letter to update me on your situation! If Uncle Li hadn't kept me informed, I wouldn't have known a thing!"
"What if your evil fire had flared up while you were gone?!"
Lin Xiao scratched his head awkwardly.
"I just got caught up in things and… kinda forgot?"
He wasn't lying.
Aside from the last two or three days of sightseeing before returning, he had been completely absorbed in studying Explosive Flame Technique and developing his Spirit Fusion Skill.
Once he was in the zone, it was hard to remember trivial stuff like sending letters.
"It's fine, Auntie Ye," he offered. "Since the last time my spirit evolved, the evil fire takes a long time to build up before it erupts again."
Truth be told, Lin Xiao was hoping it would flare up sooner.
Every time it did, and he survived body tempering, he experienced huge leaps in strength.
But the stronger he got, the longer it took to trigger.
Still, that didn't mean it was less dangerous.
The longer the evil fire stored up, the more violent the next explosion would be—like a tsunami after a long silence.
It would be catastrophic if he wasn't careful.
Ye Qingxian gave Lin Xiao a sideways glance.
She noticed something different.
Ever since his return from Tianshui, he seemed brighter. More focused.
She wasn't sure exactly what he had gained during that trip…
But something had clearly changed.
"Lin Xiao," she said slowly, "aren't you forgetting something?"
"Hmm? What?"
"You."
"Need to go to school."
"In Heaven Dou City, a boy your age just loafing around every day? Do you know what people would call that?"
"…What?"
"A street punk!"
Ye Qingxian scolded him with a tone full of disapproval.
"I know you're proud. After all, you're not even seven and already a Grandmaster Soul Master. I should be grateful your head hasn't inflated to the size of the moon."
"But remember this—until the dragon has flown into the heavens, being the biggest fish in a small pond still makes you just a fish."
"So yes. School. Is. Mandatory. And don't even think about skipping."
She had noticed that Lin Xiao loved studying spirit techniques and training alone.
But in this world, not attending a good academy meant people would laugh at you behind your back.
Even if a child was a genius, if they never went to school, adults would start worrying about their mental health.
To Ye Qingxian, Lin Xiao was just… weird.
What kind of six-year-old behaves like an older brother when surrounded by twelve- or thirteen-year-old girls?
Always acting like a mini adult.
To adults, that didn't make him seem "mature"—it made him seem like a child who had died inside too early.
She guessed it was because of everything he had gone through with the evil fire.
He had experienced pain and choices too heavy for someone his age.
So he wore adulthood like armor.
But it was a sickness.
And it needed to be cured.
He needed school.
He needed structure, peers, fresh air.
He needed to be surrounded by kids his own age.
To laugh, to fight, to cry.
To grow normally.
And Ye Qingxian had already made up her mind.
Her girls weren't enough. Instead of giving Lin Xiao vitality, they were letting him turn soft and delicate. That wouldn't do.
Time to throw him in with the boys—let him rough it up a bit.
She chuckled to herself at the idea.
She didn't even consider whether the other boys would survive the encounter.
If they got hurt, she could just heal them.
What could their parents say? She'd have receipts.
Just then, Lin Xiao's voice rose with calm sarcasm.
"Auntie Ye. Important question."
"Should I attend… a primary spirit master academy?"
"Or a higher spirit master academy?"
Ye Qingxian's smile froze.