The Frail Ye Lingling

"Bang!"

With Dugu Chen at the center, the surrounding ground cracked layer by layer.

As the dust settled, Dugu Chen stood where he was, surrounded by shattered turtle shells embedded in the ground.

Though his clothes were torn, exposing his toned body, and he looked somewhat disheveled, his complexion was rosy and his breathing steady. He did not look injured in the slightest.

"Monstrous!"

The Shi Brothers cursed inwardly. Their combined Third Soul Skills had failed to inflict even the slightest damage on Dugu Chen.

Dugu Chen was shaken as well. If he had not reacted quickly enough, he would have made a fool of himself. Who would have thought that Shi Mo and Shi Mo, with their honest-looking faces, could be so underhanded? Though he looked rather bedraggled now, it was still within acceptable limits.

"Haha, Shi Mo, Shi Mo, you two are quite strong. I nearly fell at your hands. Oscar, come over too. Let's talk about how we felt."

By then, the pale faces of Shi Mo and Shi Mo, caused by excessive Soul Power consumption, had improved somewhat.

The four of them casually found a place to sit.

Dugu Chen spoke first. "Shi Mo, Shi Mo, your first three Soul Skills include both offense and defense. Your skill setup is fairly good. If you plan to become pure defense-type Soul Masters in the future, then there's no need to add any more offensive Soul Skills."

Shi Mo and Shi Mo nodded. They were only Soul Elders and had not thought that far ahead. Besides, their family would decide their direction for them.

Shi Mo then said, "Then what advice does Brother Chen have?"

All three looked toward Dugu Chen. Although their clan had developed its own systematic setup over several generations, they still wanted to hear the opinion of the greatest prodigy they knew. Perhaps he had a different perspective?

That could provide another direction for the clan's development and benefit its growth.

Seeing this, Dugu Chen could only share his own thoughts. When he saw their Martial Souls and Second Soul Skills, he thought of Xu Sanshi from ten thousand years later.

His Martial Soul was the Mysterious Tortoise. Dugu Chen did not know what relation it had to the Black Tortoise.

Xu Sanshi's Martial Soul later evolved into the Black Tortoise, with water and earth attributes. The Shi Brothers' Black Tortoise Martial Souls, however, were earth-attributed. Still, there were certain similarities.

For example, Xu Sanshi's first few Soul Skills were excellent and would not become outdated even at higher levels.

Mysterious Shock: an area-of-effect knockback skill with a certain stunning effect.

Black Tortoise Shield Shock: multiple shields attacking and defending together. It was somewhat similar to Shi Mo and Shi Mo's Second Soul Skill.

Black Tortoise Power: the power awakened from the Black Tortoise bloodline, allowing one to control water elements and form a rudimentary domain.

Black Tortoise Swap: the ability to switch positions with allies or enemies. It was simply the dream Soul Skill of support-type Soul Masters! It provided an overwhelming sense of security.

After telling the Shi Brothers his recommendations for these Soul Skills, Dugu Chen said, "Your Martial Souls contain the Black Tortoise bloodline. In the future, you can absorb Soul Beasts with this kind of bloodline as your Soul Rings. Perhaps one day, your Martial Souls might evolve into Black Tortoises!"

Shi Mo and Shi Mo exchanged glances. They admired Dugu Chen's breadth of knowledge and were shocked by his generosity. It was practically another development path tailored specifically for their clan.

The two thanked Dugu Chen. "Brother Chen, your advice is very important to us. If it truly works, our clan will owe you a favor."

Dugu Chen said with a smile, "It's fine. These are only some of my own speculations. Whether they'll work remains unknown, so don't take them too seriously. Besides, I can't let you call me big brother for nothing, can I?"

Dugu Chen's words moved the brothers even more. They called Dugu Chen brother because they acknowledged his strength, yet he had given them so much advice. They could only remember this kindness in their hearts and repay him in the future.

Looking at Oscar beside them, Dugu Chen hoped watching their battle had been helpful to him. At the very least, it would familiarize him with their abilities and prepare him for what came next.

At this stage, apart from having him train his body, practice fighting, and gain more combat experience, Dugu Chen had no way to teach him much else.

Even if Oscar wanted to imitate Naruto and form a spinning sphere, he could not. It was not that Dugu Chen could not do it, but as a food-type Soul Master, Oscar's Soul Power was simply too lacking in offensive power. Even if he managed to form it, it would be useless. It would consume more than half his Soul Power while having little power to show for it.

The cost was not worth the return. It was rather useless. Otherwise, why would it take Douluo Continent until the Soul Tool era ten thousand years later—

—for support-type Soul Masters to gain the ability to fight head-on? Did Ning Fengzhi, who commanded the richest sect in the world and had two Titled Douluo above Level 95, really fail to grasp such a simple Soul Skill as releasing Soul Power outward?

There was simply no need for it. The Soul Power was better saved for buffs. Besides, pioneers always had a difficult road ahead, and few people possessed such courage or confidence.

Throughout Douluo Continent's tens of thousands of years of history, only Oscar among support-types had briefly gained combat power through the effects of his Soul Skills. A few Self-Created Soul Skills could not solve the problem.

After finishing the day's training, Dugu Chen saw Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling walking toward him arm in arm on his way back.

Dugu Chen was somewhat surprised. His senior sister actually had that kind of ability? She could get along so well even with someone as solitary as Ye Lingling.

When Dugu Yan saw her junior brother, her face lit up. She released Ye Lingling's arm, went to Dugu Chen, linked her arm through his right arm, and smiled.

"Junior Brother hasn't come looking for Senior Sister in days. Even though I've missed you so much."

Dugu Chen was speechless. Was it really that he had not gone to see her? Had she not forgotten all about him after meeting a new best friend?

Still, Dugu Chen showed her exactly what it meant for a man's mouth to be a deceiving ghost.

He wrapped an arm around Dugu Yan's slim, firm waist and said softly, "Of course Junior Brother thinks of Senior Sister every day. It's just that Oscar is at a critical point right now, so Senior Sister has had to endure a little hardship."

Dugu Yan nodded in satisfaction, leaned over to kiss Dugu Chen on the cheek, then looked at Ye Lingling.

"This is Senior Sister's good friend, Ye Lingling. Lingling, this is my junior brother, Dugu Chen."

Ye Lingling looked at Dugu Chen. Her cool eyes did not ripple in the slightest, as though she did not remember that day at all. She merely nodded at Dugu Chen.

Dugu Chen could only smile and nod back, considering their greeting exchanged.

Dugu Yan rubbed her Brow Center in frustration. She released Dugu Chen, stepped forward, and wrapped an arm around Ye Lingling's slender waist.

Leaning close to her ear, she said, "Lingling is being so cold. You're making Sister Yan Yan lose face! How do you think Sister should punish you?"

As she spoke, her other hand lightly stroked Ye Lingling's waist. Feeling the strange sensation there, Ye Lingling's cool eyes instantly turned watery, her pretty face flushing crimson as she looked weakly at Dugu Yan.

Dugu Chen looked at the strange scene before him and felt as though he were being cuckolded. He had never expected that, after just a few days apart, his senior sister had evolved to the point of liking both men and women.

"Sister Yan, your junior brother..." Ye Lingling said weakly in a low voice.

Only then did Dugu Yan realize that she had gotten a little carried away and forgotten that her junior brother was standing nearby.

She shot Dugu Chen a dangerous look, and he immediately turned his head away, pretending to count the leaves on the trees.

Dugu Yan was very satisfied with Dugu Chen's reaction. She turned to Ye Lingling and said, "Alright, I won't make things difficult for you today, little sister." With that, Dugu Yan released the limp Ye Lingling.

Ye Lingling regained a little strength. Seeing Dugu Chen nearby, she glared at Dugu Yan in embarrassment and irritation, though the look had no intimidation whatsoever.

Dugu Yan had become completely shameless by now and did not care in the slightest. She hooked her arm around Dugu Chen's and threatened, "Junior brother didn't see anything just now, did he?"

Dugu Chen nodded firmly. At a time like this, he had to go along with her without hesitation.

Dugu Yan nodded in satisfaction and said to Ye Lingling beside them, "Lingling, my junior brother and I will be leaving first. We won't keep you company today."

With that, she dragged Dugu Chen away. As they passed Ye Lingling, Dugu Chen politely nodded to her.

Watching the two figures depart, Ye Lingling's eyes held a trace of envy. Because of her martial soul, she had had no friends since childhood. Dugu Yan was her first friend, yet now she found herself envying her for having a junior brother who had grown up alongside her.

With a sigh, she turned and headed toward the library. Her graceful figure looked somewhat lonely.

On the way, Dugu Chen looked at Dugu Yan beside him and asked, "Senior Sister, how did you meet Ye Lingling?"

"What? Is Junior Brother interested in Lingling?"

Looking into Dugu Yan's smiling eyes, Dugu Chen felt a chill run down his spine.

"Based on my observations of Ye Lingling's personality, it's rather unbelievable that Senior Sister became so close to her in only a few days."

"Of course!"

Hearing Dugu Chen praise her, Dugu Yan grew a little excited. It was rare to see him compliment anyone.

But then she turned away and sighed helplessly.

"Junior Brother, do you know what Lingling's martial soul is? It's the Nine Heart Begonia. Have you heard of this martial soul?"

She actually dared question his knowledge. Still, the Nine Heart Begonia was indeed little known. After all, there were only ever two wielders in each generation. Unless one was an important figure at the top, they likely would not know of this martial soul.

"I know. It's the number one healing-type martial soul on the continent. It's said that as long as someone isn't dead, no matter how severe their injuries are, it can heal them."

"Yes, such a powerful martial soul... but there can only be two Nine Heart Begonias in each generation. It's as though it's been cursed. Junior Brother, do you have any solution?"

Dugu Chen fell into thought as well. He did not know how to resolve this situation. If it were a flaw in her martial soul, then one Immortal Herb would immediately make her among the continent's elite, practically guaranteeing her the potential to become a Titled Douluo.

Immortal Herbs were, bluntly speaking, medicinal plants tainted with Immortal Qi. There were many of them in the God Realm, and they were only precious in the lower realms. He did not know whether an Immortal Herb could resolve this sort of problem.

He did not know whether this was a flaw in the martial soul or some kind of curse, leaving him at a loss. If it was a martial soul flaw, an Immortal Herb might still have some effect. But if it was a curse...

The waters of Douluo Continent ran deep. If it ended up involving a whole host of hidden secrets, his little body probably would not even be enough to fill the gaps between their teeth.

"I don't have any solution either. If it were simply a matter of accelerating cultivation like Oscar's, one Immortal Herb could resolve it. But I can't guarantee that it will solve her situation."