Vacation

Three months had passed since Ning Lanlan left. To Class One, it merely meant losing a classmate they could cultivate alongside.

It was nowhere near as hard to part with as she had imagined. But for Zhou Yurou, she had lost someone to bicker with.

Still, what made everyone happy was that vacation had arrived.

Ye Lian told Lin Li that she could stay at the academy. Because of Ye Lian herself, the academy would not close even during vacation.

Lin Li agreed, but she still wanted to return and sort herself out. Zhou Yurou reluctantly bid her farewell, nearly wanting to pack her up and take her away.

After Zhou Yurou left, Lin Li released her martial soul while the sky was still bright and departed Saint Er City, heading for Soul Town Village.

Yet the state of Soul Town Village was beyond her expectations. The overgrown scene she had expected did not appear; it still stood there neat and orderly.

There was barely any sign of life, and the houses remained dilapidated. Every time she looked at them, they constantly reminded her of what had happened before.

Compared to her previous anger and frustration, Lin Li now seemed exceptionally calm and composed. But she was like the Great Sea—

calm on the surface, while countless Raging Waves had long since surged beneath!

Lin Li walked toward the cluster of gravestones. A little moss had already grown over the two leading tombstones.

She wiped them clean with a handkerchief, then knelt and slowly said, "Your unfilial daughter has been unfilial. I haven't come to see you in half a year. But your unfilial daughter has been fortunate enough to meet some very good friends and teachers!"

After kowtowing several times, she said in a hoarse, sorrowful voice, "I wonder whether you're doing well over there. Has anyone bullied you..."

She rambled on to the gravestones, adding a touch more sorrow and desolation to the already cold, gloomy surroundings.

Inside the office of Saint Er Junior Soul Master Academy.

A woman dressed in a white Qipao stared coldly at the refined and handsome man before her.

She said coolly, "Patriarch Ling, it's been years since we last met. Three years, perhaps? What brings you here again?"

Hearing the mockery in her voice, the man said, "That little girl named Lin Li is quite good. Nurture her well—she's suitable for Xuan'er."

Ye Lian's breathing caught. She fiercely hurled an ornament from the desk at him and roared, "Ling Che, you made me give up my love. Do you want Xuan'er to give up his love too?

Leaving aside the fact that he's only six, what could he possibly understand? That girl carries hatred in her heart. They aren't the same kind of people."

The man chuckled. With a wave of his hand, a tree identical to Ling Xuan's appeared behind him. Yet it was far larger than Ling Xuan's delicate little tree, firmly returning the cup thrown at him to its original place.

Ling Che said calmly, "Ling Lian, since you know they aren't suitable, why do you still care about him? He's been dead for five years now! The one who killed him was that ruler of the sea—the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King! Could you spend your whole life and still kill it?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Lian roared furiously, "What does that have to do with you? No matter how old that beast is, I refuse to believe three Titled Douluo couldn't kill it! Yet you people made me lose the one I loved!"

Looking at his sister, who seemed on the verge of madness, Ling Che's cool eyes reddened as well. He said hoarsely, "Sister, that Soul Beast and the Sea God..."

But he ultimately let out a quiet sigh. With a turn of his hand, a crimson bone resembling a human arm bone slowly appeared.

He said calmly, "This is the Right Arm Bone of a forty-thousand-year Flame Dragon. Today is your birthday, and this is my gift as your elder brother."

Ye Lian tightly gripped her Qipao, trying her hardest not to let her tears fall. She was no longer the girl who had once been so well protected by her family.

She had visited coastal cities and naturally learned about that beast's background. It was connected to the legendary Sea God Island.

Even if her family had four Titled Douluo, they would not be a match for the Sea God Douluo, who was said to be invincible at sea.

She accepted the soul bone and said coolly, "I understand. Ling Xuan will stay with me, and I'll supervise his cultivation. But take him back in six years."

Ling Che hummed in acknowledgment, drained the tea in the cup on the table in one gulp, and said, "Keep an eye on Xuan'er and that girl. One hopeless romantic from the Ling Family is enough."

Ye Lian curled her lips and said coolly, "When Xuan'er obtains his Second Spirit Ring next time, take him back to the clan grounds and kill a Demon Eye Demonic Tree for him."

Ling Che frowned upon hearing that. "What's wrong with you? Even if your martial soul isn't a Demon Eye Demonic Tree, you should know that the best First Spirit Ring for a Demon Eye Demonic Tree is another Demon Eye Demonic Tree."

Ye Lian cut off his rambling with a cold voice. "Stop dawdling. His First Spirit Ability is Black Nether Dragon Vine. Do you not know how precious Black Nether Dragon Vine is?"

Ling Che froze, but delight flashed through his eyes. After sending Ling Xuan here, he had not paid much attention to him. In any case, Ye Lian was his biological aunt—could an aunt possibly harm her own nephew?

But he had never expected his son's First Spirit Ring to be Black Nether Dragon Vine. Demon Eye Demonic Trees were indeed precious, but if not for the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in the Star Dou Great Forest backing them, they might not have lived so comfortably.

Black Nether Dragon Vines were different. There were probably not even ten of them on the entire continent, both because their numbers were scarce and because of the harsh conditions required for them to form.

In every aspect, they surpassed Demon Eye Demonic Trees by a notch!

Ling Che nodded calmly. "All right. The boy is fortunate as well. Several Demon Eye Demonic Trees in the clan grounds have awakened the Demon Eye Strangulation spirit skill."

Ye Lian gave a hum. "Now that you've delivered your gift, take your son and stop being an eyesore in front of me."

Hearing Ye Lian's words, Ling Che sighed quietly. "Sister, come back and visit when you have time. Father misses you very much."

At his words, the cup in Ye Lian's hand instantly turned to powder. She laughed coldly. "Without that beast's Whale Pearl, he's still alive?"

Before Ling Che could react, an immensely powerful surge of Soul Power blasted him out.

By the time Ling Che came to his senses, he was already outside the door. He let out a helpless sigh.

He could not help feeling somewhat resentful toward their father as well. Just as he was about to leave, a wooden box was thrown out to him from inside.

Her voice was calm, carrying a faint hint of dismissal.

"This is a pearl produced by a fifty-thousand-year Clam King I killed while traveling years ago. Sister-in-law has always liked jewelry made from pearls.

Use this to apologize to her for me as well. Ask her to forgive me for leaving without farewell these past years. Tell her that once I've thought things through, I'll return to the clan to see her."

Hearing that, tears welled up in Ling Che's eyes. "All right, all right! Once your sister-in-law knows, she'll definitely be very happy."

After saying that, he went to the boys' dormitory to pick up Ling Xuan. Ye Lian leaned against her chair as tears pattered down, murmuring inwardly.

I may not be able to kill that beast, but among my students, someone will eventually kill it and turn it into a spirit ring!