Divine Tree Blooms at Level 70

"We didn't end up getting engaged, did we? Back then, I hadn't met Xiao Wu yet. Teacher had shown me immense kindness, so naturally I had to give serious consideration to his arrangements. But now, I already have someone I like."

Mu Yuan explained why he had agreed to Ning Fengzhi's proposal back then.

Ning Rongrong shed tears of regret. "Would it... would it have been different if I hadn't been so willful back then? Brother Mu Yuan, would you not have left me?"

Mu Yuan said seriously, "Rongrong, what's the point of asking about what-ifs? Besides, I haven't left you now. I'm still your brother. You can come to me whenever you run into any trouble."

After a pause, Mu Yuan added, "Except for liking me."

Mu Yuan left.

Ning Rongrong sat in the pavilion, utterly despondent.

A gentle breeze swept by, lifting her silky hair and drying the tears at the corners of her eyes.

Over the following days, Mu Yuan continued to immerse himself in cultivation.

During that time, Sword Douluo broke through to Level 97.

Sword Douluo had already remained at Level 96 for many years. On the day he fought Tang Hao, Mu Yuan had given Sword Douluo an Ink Jade Divine Bamboo. After consuming it, Sword Douluo's realm had immediately begun to loosen. After returning to the sect and cultivating for some time, he broke through.

This was good news for Mu Yuan.

The spirit ring he had absorbed at Level 60 had been a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Ring. Once he broke through to Level 70, he would certainly need to seek out and absorb a Fierce Beast spirit ring that was at least Two Hundred Thousand Years old.

There were very few Fierce Beasts on Douluo Continent, and the few that did exist all traveled in groups. If Mu Yuan wanted to hunt one, he would definitely need powerful helpers.

Having grown up in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, there were no better helpers for him than the two Sword and Bone Douluos.

The reason Mu Yuan had given the Aromatic Silk Beauty to his teacher, Ning Fengzhi, aside from repaying his kindness, was partly because he wanted Ning Fengzhi's Martial Soul to evolve. That would grant him even stronger support abilities and help Mu Yuan hunt Fierce Beasts.

He just did not know why there had been no news of Ning Fengzhi's Martial Soul Evolution yet.

Had Ning Fengzhi not taken the Immortal Herb yet?

Mu Yuan planned to personally pay a visit when he had the time.

Aside from that, the royal family had suddenly canceled some of its cooperation with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in the military. Some of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Support Soul Masters who held positions in the army had been driven out.

Marshal Ge Long issued a public statement declaring that the salaries received by these Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect Soul Masters in the army far exceeded those of other Soul Masters, which was highly unreasonable. The agreement with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect needed to be reconsidered.

Mu Yuan could tell that Marshal Ge Long was using this to express his dissatisfaction with him and pressure him.

After all, Mu Yuan had beaten up his father. There was no way he could do nothing; he was bound to make a move.

But in Mu Yuan's eyes, this fellow truly did not understand his own place.

Had he spent too long in the military and lost touch with what was happening outside? Otherwise, Mu Yuan could not understand why a Spirit Douluo dared to pressure both him and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

More importantly, Ge Long was the one in the wrong.

Mu Yuan did not pay much attention to Ge Long's provocation.

Ge Long was not worth sacrificing precious cultivation time to deal with personally. Once Mu Yuan reached Level 70, he could simply take care of him on the way back from hunting his spirit ring.

Mu Yuan entered a period of intensive cultivation.

In truth, it was not all that grueling.

Although Mu Yuan spent most of his time cultivating and rarely went out, Xiao Wu was by his side, so it was far from dull.

Ever since he had taken Xiao Wu, the little rabbit seemed to have completely shed her disguise.

Pink-and-white pantyhose, white ankle socks, fishnet stockings—when she was alone with Mu Yuan, she sometimes even wore only that thin outer garment.

Though she still looked as pure and adorable as ever on the surface, whenever Mu Yuan finished cultivating, Xiao Wu would immediately pounce on him impatiently, clinging to him as she greedily demanded more, as though she wished she could stay wrapped around him forever.

Whenever Xiao Wu was utterly exhausted, she would lie on his chest with a satisfied expression and fall into a deep sleep. Yet by the next day, she would be fully recovered again. Her recovery ability was truly formidable.

Xue Qinghe visited several times during this period.

The Crown Prince's arrival caused quite a stir among the students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

However, Xue Qinghe had come specifically to see Mu Yuan.

The brother and sister Mu Yuan had rescued earlier had already been settled by Xue Qinghe.

Xue Qinghe had sent the younger sister to Moonlight Pavilion to study for a time. Her peaceful life had driven away the miserable memories of her former enslavement. As for the older brother, a powerful Healing Soul Master had healed his throat and restored his appearance, allowing him to regain the abilities of an ordinary person. However, his crippled Soul Power could not be restored.

In the end, both siblings were arranged to work in businesses under Xue Qinghe's control, where they gained stable lives.

Xue Qinghe told Mu Yuan about the siblings' situation, which could be considered an account of what had happened.

In addition, Xue Qinghe had another reason for coming: to visit Mu Yuan.

After all, he and Mu Yuan were very good friends.

However, when he saw Xiao Wu interacting so intimately with Mu Yuan, Xue Qinghe's gaze changed slightly.

Mu Yuan did not notice this.

Xiao Wu did not pay much attention to this Crown Prince either.

In Xiao Wu's eyes, she did not care about any Crown Prince. Mu Yuan was the only one she cared about.

And so, time passed.

Five months later, Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

That night, the students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy finished another day of classes as usual and returned to their dormitories to rest.

Some of the more diligent students continued cultivating in their dormitories.

Ning Rongrong was one of them.

After Mu Yuan rejected her, she had cried alone for a long time.

She tried to forget Mu Yuan, but every memory she had was filled with his presence.

From childhood to adulthood, Brother Mu Yuan had played with her, told her stories, cultivated with her, bought her tasty food, indulged her, and protected her. Even her father occupied less of her memories than Brother Mu Yuan did.

In the end, Ning Rongrong simply could not forget Mu Yuan, so she decided to cultivate diligently.

She possessed the finest support Martial Soul on the entire continent. As long as she grew strong enough, even if Brother Mu Yuan did not like her, he would certainly need her support.

Ning Rongrong had worked hard at cultivation in the past as well, but beside Mu Yuan's incomprehensible cultivation speed, the light of her efforts had been completely eclipsed. No one saw how hard she worked, and so she gradually stopped cultivating diligently.

But now, in order to remain by Brother Mu Yuan's side in the future, Ning Rongrong began cultivating hard once more.

Besides Ning Rongrong, many people at Heaven Dou Royal Academy were also cultivating diligently at this time: Zhu Zhuqing, Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, and others.

Suddenly, at a certain moment, the air seemed to grow sluggish.

The free energy between heaven and earth vanished in an instant, and many people who were cultivating opened their eyes in shock.

What was going on? They could no longer cultivate?

At that moment, inside Mu Yuan's cabin.

A visible vortex of energy appeared behind Mu Yuan, swallowing all the Soul Power within a hundred li and drawing it all in.

On the Divine Tree Martial Soul behind Mu Yuan, a tiny flower bud sprouted from the very top of the divine tree.