Yu Tianheng's Defeat, Ye Lingling Joins

He struggled to his feet, but as soon as he raised his head, he saw Lin Chen standing in front of him again.

"You—"

Lin Chen gave him no chance to speak and punched him in the face.

Bang!

Yu Tianheng was sent flying again. His body bounced twice on the ground before coming to a stop, and one side of his face quickly swelled up.

He lay on the ground and braced his hands against it, trying to stand, but his arms kept trembling.

Lin Chen walked slowly over to him and crouched down to meet his eyes. In an even tone, he said, "Go back and tell the people in your family they can come looking for trouble, but only if they can beat me."

He stood up, and the Ultimate Zero Sword formed in his hand once more. He pressed its tip against Yu Tianheng's neck, the silver light flowing along its blade reflecting on Yu Tianheng's face. Yu Tianheng didn't dare breathe too hard.

Yu Tianheng lay on the ground, half his face swollen and blood at the corner of his mouth. Trembling all over, he moved his lips for a long time before finally forcing the words through his teeth. "...I admit defeat."

Lin Chen withdrew the sword. The Ultimate Armor turned back into a bracelet around his wrist, and the three Soul Rings vanished into his body as well.

"He won, he won! Lin Chen won!" Xiao Wu jumped up excitedly and waved at Lin Chen.

A smile rose to Dugu Yan's lips, and Ye Lingling silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Chen walked over to the three of them and waved with a smile. "Come on, let's go back and eat."

Xiao Wu skipped after him, Dugu Yan followed at his side, and Ye Lingling walked at the back. The three followed Lin Chen out of the training ground.

In the days that followed, Lin Chen's life returned to normal. Besides his daily training, he continued to visit Ye Lingling's home every afternoon to check on her mother's condition.

When he reached the courtyard gate, he saw Ye Lingling standing beside it, rather than waiting for him in the pavilion with tea prepared as she usually did.

Lin Chen smiled and asked, "Why are you standing at the gate today? I was looking forward to drinking the tea you make."

Ye Lingling glanced at him and stepped aside. "I'll make you some tea in a bit. Let's go inside and talk first."

The two sat down in the pavilion. Ye Lingling was silent for a while, then filled Lin Chen's cup before slowly speaking.

"My mother's condition has stabilized. The Blue Silver Grass you gave me really worked well. She could even sit up and drink porridge by herself this morning."

"That's good." Lin Chen nodded and smiled. "In a little while, she should be able to get out of bed and walk, right?"

"Mm." Ye Lingling answered, then fell silent again for a moment.

Seeing her like this, Lin Chen knew she had more to say. He didn't press her, simply picking up the teacup on the stone table and draining it in one gulp.

After a long silence, Ye Lingling finally spoke. "I want to formally join the Crown Prince's Residence."

Lin Chen poured himself another cup of tea and blinked in confusion. "Didn't we already agree on that? Why bring it up again now?"

"Before, I only gave you my word." Ye Lingling raised her eyes to him. "This time, I mean it formally. Starting today, I, Ye Lingling, join the Crown Prince's Residence as the representative of the Nine Heart Begonia Family."

Lin Chen put down the teapot and casually asked, "What does your father say?"

"I didn't tell him," Ye Lingling said evenly. "The Nine Heart Begonia Family has been a family in name only for a long time. Apart from my mother and me, everyone else dispersed long ago."

"Joining the Crown Prince's Residence is my decision. I don't need anyone's consent."

Lin Chen thought for a moment, then nodded. "Then I'll tell Brother Xue when I get back. All that's left is to take care of the formalities."

"Thank you," Ye Lingling said. Then, as if remembering something, she added, "There's one more thing. I don't want to go back to the Nine Heart Begonia ancestral home. There's nothing worth going back there for."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to move somewhere near the Crown Prince's Residence with my mother."

Lin Chen smiled. "That's no problem. I'll just have Brother Xue arrange for you to live in the Crown Prince's Residence. There's no need to move somewhere nearby."

Ye Lingling looked at him, the corners of her lips curving upward. For the first time, a smile appeared on her face.

With their business settled, Lin Chen rose and went to the room to examine Ye Lingling's mother. After confirming that she was in no serious danger, he went over to check on the Blue Silver Emperor.

The Blue Silver Emperor was still in the flowerpot on the bedside table, its leaves spread a little wider than they had a few days ago.

When he came closer, he saw that it had grown two new leaves. They were a tender green, with extremely fine golden patterns along their veins, like freshly sprouted shoots.

Lin Chen crouched down to take a look and casually praised it. "Well done. I'll consider bringing you some spiritual herbs to increase your vitality later."

The Blue Silver Emperor's leaves swayed gently.

Lin Chen didn't pay much attention, assuming it was the wind. He reached out and prodded a leaf with his finger, wanting to test how firm the new leaves were.

The instant his fingertip touched the leaf, an extremely faint warmth came from it.

Lin Chen's hand froze. He drew back his finger and stared at the Blue Silver Emperor for two seconds, then tentatively reached out to it again.

This time, he first released a thread of spiritual power, extending it along his fingertip toward the Blue Silver Emperor's leaf.

The moment his spiritual power touched the Blue Silver Emperor, a vague sensation traveled back along the connection.

It was hard to describe. He couldn't say what specific emotion it was, but it felt like a state of reassurance, without hostility.

Lin Chen froze for a moment. He withdrew his spiritual power and looked at the Blue Silver Emperor before him, a thousand thoughts running through his mind. Has it become conscious, or is this an instinctive reaction? Can it already convey emotions?

He tried again, making his spiritual power gentler this time. Rather than rushing to touch the leaves, he simply circled the Blue Silver Emperor lightly with it.

The sensation appeared again.

It was a little clearer than before, as if something inside had stirred, but was too weak to muster more than the tiniest bit of strength to respond.

Lin Chen withdrew his hand and stopped probing.

He stood up and looked down at the Blue Silver Emperor in the flowerpot. After a few seconds of silence, he said softly, "Looks like you're pretty happy with your life now."

The Blue Silver Emperor's leaves swayed again.

Ye Lingling was standing at the door. When she saw Lin Chen come out of the room, she asked curiously, "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing," Lin Chen said, shaking his head. "This Blue Silver Grass is growing quite well. Just keep taking care of it. I'll bring some spiritual herbs later; you can feed them to it as fertilizer."

Ye Lingling nodded and asked no more.

Lin Chen walked out of the courtyard, paused at the gate, and looked back.

Through the gate, he could see toward the bedside table in the room. The Blue Silver Emperor's leaves were swaying ever so slightly, as if waving goodbye.

"Ah... there's more to deal with every day. I still have to continue the special training afterward. What a hassle." Lin Chen sighed and headed toward the Crown Prince's Residence.