Half a Month Later, Yu Tianheng's Challenge

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

During that half month, Lin Chen's life followed a regular routine. He attended classes at Heaven Dou Royal Academy in the morning, then either cultivated or visited Ye Lingling's home to check on her mother in the afternoon.

Under the Blue Silver Emperor's influence, Ye Lingling's mother had recovered noticeably.

At first, she could only lie in bed. Later, she could sit up and talk, and by the end of the half month, she could get out of bed and take a few steps with Ye Lingling's support.

Though still weak, she was far better off than before, when she had only half a life left.

The Blue Silver Emperor, now rooted in a flowerpot and tended carefully by Ye Lingling every day, was growing who knew how much better than it had in the cave.

Its leaves spread wide, their golden veins growing ever clearer. Whenever a breeze blew past, they would sway gently, as though stretching.

Ye Lingling's attitude toward Lin Chen had also changed over that half month.

At first, she had been cold as frost, going ages without saying a word. Later, whenever Lin Chen came, she would brew tea in advance and set it out in the pavilion. Now, she would occasionally start a little idle conversation with him.

Today, for instance, Lin Chen had just finished examining Ye Lingling's mother and come out of the room when he saw Ye Lingling standing in the courtyard. She held out a cup of tea to him.

"How is she today?" Ye Lingling asked evenly.

"A little better than last week." Lin Chen accepted the tea and took a sip. "Your mother's vitality is draining away much more slowly now. The Blue Silver Emperor is replenishing it at about the same rate she's losing it. As long as nothing unexpected happens, her condition should stabilize."

Ye Lingling nodded, a rare hint of relief appearing on her usually expressionless face. "Thank you for your efforts."

"It's no trouble." Lin Chen waved a hand and said casually, "Checking on her isn't the only reason I come every day. Just think of it as me dropping by for a visit."

The next day, at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

By the time Lin Chen walked through the academy gates, he was already used to the strange looks directed his way—or, more precisely, at the three people beside him.

Dugu Yan was on his left. Since her Martial Soul Evolution, her bearing had become much more tranquil. The power of earth brought by the Jade Mountain Poison Dragon gave her a natural composure even as she walked.

Xiao Wu was on his right. She was a little shorter than Dugu Yan, wore her hair in a scorpion braid, and bounced along with a smile on her face every day.

Half a step behind him followed Ye Lingling. She didn't say much or look around like Xiao Wu, just followed quietly with a placid expression, as though nothing around her had anything to do with her.

Three people, three completely different dispositions. Lin Chen walked in the middle, surrounded by three great beauties.

The looks the male students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's junior division gave him had gone from "envy" to "numbness." If looks could kill, he would probably have died hundreds of times already.

"Lin Chen, Lin Chen, look, that guy's glaring at you again." Xiao Wu pointed at a male student by the roadside whose face was full of resentment, grinning as she spoke.

"Don't point." Lin Chen pushed Xiao Wu's hand down and said helplessly, "The more you point, the harder he glares."

"What are you afraid of? It's not like he can beat you," Xiao Wu said, unconcerned.

Dugu Yan chuckled beside them. "In the entire junior division, anyone who can beat Lin Chen probably hasn't been born yet."

Ye Lingling walked behind them without joining the conversation, but nodded slightly when she heard that.

Just as the four were heading toward the classroom building, a group of people suddenly approached from ahead.

Leading them was a tall, slender youth who looked thirteen or fourteen. He had short, ink-black hair and sharp features, and wore Heaven Dou Royal Academy's black uniform.

Dugu Yan's steps faltered.

"Yu Tianheng," she said quietly, without a trace of emotion in her voice.

Lin Chen looked up at the newcomer's face, then silently rolled his eyes in his heart.

Four or five students in senior division uniforms followed Yu Tianheng, aggressively blocking the middle of the road.

Passing junior division students saw what was happening and hurried to go around them, but they didn't go far. Instead, they stood a dozen or so paces away and watched from a distance.

Yu Tianheng stopped in front of Lin Chen and looked down at him, sizing him up.

"You're Lin Chen?" Yu Tianheng asked coldly.

"That's me." Lin Chen stood his ground and met his gaze evenly. "What is it?"

"You should still remember what happened with my uncle, Yu Xiaogang, shouldn't you?" Yu Tianheng's gaze held undisguised hostility. "Not just anyone gets to insult a member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."

Lin Chen sighed when he heard that.

Sure enough, here it came.

Half a month ago, Qian Renxue had said relations with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had grown very strained. Now it seemed a junior member of the clan couldn't hold back any longer.

"As for your uncle, you'd better go back and ask him what he did himself," Lin Chen said in a tone that was neither hot nor cold. "I was only defending myself."

"Defending yourself?" Yu Tianheng sneered. "You crippled my uncle, and now you're telling me it was self-defense?"

"No matter how much of a good-for-nothing my uncle is, he's still a member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. It's not your place as an outsider to teach him a lesson!"

The surrounding students immediately began to murmur among themselves.

"Yu Tianheng's uncle? Who's that?"

"You don't know? It's that Yu Xiaogang, the Grandmaster who claimed to be unbeatable in theory. But I heard Lin Chen beat him up and crippled him."

"Hiss... Lin Chen's that fierce?"

Hearing the discussion around him, Lin Chen shook his head helplessly. "Yu Tianheng, the matter between your uncle and me has already been settled. If you insist on making trouble here, I'll oblige, but—"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Yu Tianheng.

"Are you sure you want to make your clan lose face again in front of so many people?"

Yu Tianheng's expression abruptly darkened. "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said," Lin Chen replied calmly. "Your uncle came looking for trouble with me and got beaten up. Now you've come looking for trouble with me. Are you trying to follow in his footsteps?"

Yu Tianheng clenched his fists, and the senior division students behind him also took a step forward. The atmosphere immediately grew tense.

Dugu Yan moved over to Lin Chen's left, Xiao Wu edged closer on his right, and Ye Lingling stepped back half a pace, looking Yu Tianheng over.

"I advise you to watch your mouth," Yu Tianheng said through gritted teeth. "I'm not my uncle. Your lousy armor is no match for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul."

Lin Chen stared at him for two seconds, then sighed softly.

"All right." Lin Chen raised his chin and said helplessly, "Since you won't listen to advice, let's fight."

A sneer appeared at the corner of Yu Tianheng's mouth. "At least you know what's good for you. One day from now, at the academy's cultivation grounds, I'll prove in front of everyone that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon isn't something you can insult."