Steam Engine Ye Lingling

"Martial Soul Fusion Skill? Of course I know. Why?"

Dugu Yan froze, not understanding why Ye Lingling had suddenly brought that up.

But soon, Dugu Yan's eyes widened. She looked in the direction Qing Mu had left, then at Ye Lingling, and said in shock, "Lingling, don't tell me you mean..."

Ye Lingling nodded. "Just as you think. I suspect that I may have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with that person from earlier."

The inexplicable attraction emanating from Qing Mu, coupled with the sense of closeness conveyed by her Nine Heart Begonia martial soul, left Ye Lingling unable to think of anything but a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

After all, aside from a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, what other ability could cause such a disturbance in one's martial soul?

Even those few treasures her mother had mentioned could not possibly possess such an attraction. Such a phenomenon could only occur if something was capable of remedying a martial soul's flaws.

Although those treasures could allow some relatively ordinary martial souls to evolve, her Nine Heart Begonia was already the most elite auxiliary martial soul. It was even limited by the fact that only two Nine Heart Begonia soul masters could exist in the world at the same time.

This restriction was even more outrageous than the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda's seven-ring limit, directly preventing the Nine Heart Begonia from ever growing stronger as a lineage.

By comparison, although the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda could not break through to Soul Douluo, that did not stop them from becoming a top-tier force, known as one of the Upper Three Sects. The contrast with the Nine Heart Begonia's decline was stark.

"Hiss... it's actually true."

After hearing Ye Lingling's answer, Dugu Yan could not help sucking in a breath.

A Martial Soul Fusion Skill—this was something no soul master could refuse. Its appeal to soul masters was even greater than that of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone.

After standing there in a daze for a moment, Dugu Yan snapped back to her senses. She hurriedly grabbed Ye Lingling's hand and said anxiously, "Then why aren't you going after him? If you let him get away, it'll be almost impossible to find someone else who can perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with you."

But Ye Lingling hesitated. "But I don't know him very well..."

"Stop!"

Before Ye Lingling could finish, Dugu Yan cut her off.

Dugu Yan smacked her forehead and looked at Ye Lingling speechlessly. "Lingling, has your brain been fried? That's a Martial Soul Fusion Skill!

"If I had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with someone, I'd tie him up and drag him back even if I had to!

"As for feelings and all that, you can cultivate those later. The urgent thing is not letting him get away. Otherwise, finding him afterward will be a huge hassle.

"And if anything unexpected happens during that time, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"This..."

After Dugu Yan's round of persuasion, Ye Lingling no longer hesitated. She nodded and said, "You're right, Yanyan. This really isn't the time to think about those things."

Martial Soul Fusion Skills were things one could only encounter by chance. Regardless of the other person's character or personality, she should at least spend some time with him before deciding anything.

If her current hesitation caused her to miss this chance, Ye Lingling felt that she would regret it for the rest of her life.

"That's more like it."

Seeing that Ye Lingling was no longer hesitating, Dugu Yan nodded in satisfaction.

Then Dugu Yan moved behind Ye Lingling, placed both hands on her shoulders, and whispered into her ear, "Don't worry. Even if Qing Mu isn't willing, I'll help you catch him and bring him back."

The moment those words came out, Ye Lingling's face immediately turned red, and white steam seemed to rise from her head.

Meanwhile, Qing Mu arrived at a stall and looked at a palm-sized black crystal lying on display.

The black crystal had been casually tossed into a corner by the stall owner. It was dull and uneven on the surface, looking shabby enough that no one would want it even if it were given away for free.

"Boss, how much are you selling this black crystal for?"

Qing Mu picked up the black crystal, which was even larger than his palm, weighed it in his hand, and asked the owner with feigned curiosity.

The stall owner was a middle-aged man around forty years old, and also a soul master. As for his rank, due to Douluo Continent's peculiar system, Qing Mu could not determine it without the man making a move.

But sometimes, being unable to tell was information in itself.

At Qing Mu's current level, ordinary soul masters could not hide from him. Moreover, because his Spiritual Power was stronger than most people's, even Soul Grand Masters were not beyond his perception.

Yet he could not see through the stall owner's rank at all. This was enough to show that the stall owner was at least a Soul Elder or stronger.

The stall owner glanced at Qing Mu and noticed that, while his clothing was not particularly luxurious, the Soul Power fluctuations around him had actually reached the Soul Grandmaster level. His heart immediately leaped with joy.

What family had this young genius run away from? Perfect for scamming... no, perfect for teaching him about the perils of the world.

The stall owner promptly said, "Customer, this isn't some cheap black crystal. It's extremely rare Ten Thousand Year Whale Jelly. Just taking an amount the size of a fingernail will keep you vigorous for an entire night."

As he said this, the stall owner winked knowingly at Qing Mu, wearing an expression that said, you know what I mean.

Children on Douluo Continent generally matured early, especially soul masters. It was not uncommon for those in their teens to have already experienced such matters. Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were ready examples.

"Ten Thousand Year Whale Jelly?"

Qing Mu found it hard to keep a straight face upon hearing that. He immediately retorted, "Do you think I'm easy to fool because I'm young? Whale jelly comes from the brains of whale-type Soul Beasts in the deep sea. Hunting Ten Thousand Year Whale Jelly would require at least a Soul Sage to lead the team. Even then, in the dangerous ocean, there would be no guarantee of returning safely.

"Besides, Thousand Year Whale Jelly is already more than enough. Unless someone happened to need the Soul Ring of a Ten Thousand Year whale-type Soul Beast, who would risk their life hunting one?

"If such a rare thing were real, why would you be selling it at a stall here, much less casually tossing it into a corner? You don't even bother preparing a script before lying!"

After pausing for a moment, Qing Mu continued, "And shouldn't whale jelly be golden-yellow? Yours is black as charcoal. Even if it really is whale jelly, it's probably expired defective goods. Who knows what side effects it might have if eaten?"

Having his lie exposed so directly by Qing Mu, the stall owner felt rather embarrassed.

However, he was an old hand at running a stall and had encountered this sort of thing before. After a brief moment of awkwardness, he immediately said, "It seems this little brother knows quite a bit about whale jelly. Then I won't hide it from you anymore. This is a piece of Thousand Year Whale Jelly. The reason it isn't golden-yellow but black is because it has weathered.

"Still, although it has weathered, it has no side effects. The only consequence is that its effects have weakened considerably, but it is still much more effective than ordinary Hundred Year Whale Jelly.

"If you're interested, little brother, name a price. If it's suitable, I'll sell it to you."