The Miraculous Nine Heart Begonia

The Miraculous Nine Heart Begonia

When someone suddenly called out her name, Dugu Yan could no longer keep playing ostrich. Blushing, she poked her head out from Chen Ming's embrace. When she saw that the person before her was Ye Lingling, her dormmate, she was still embarrassed, but she also felt somewhat relieved.

Although she had not known Ye Lingling for long, Dugu Yan had a favorable impression of her. Ye Lingling was introverted but gentle toward others, and she had her own views on medicine, poison techniques, and illness.

Though she was even younger than Dugu Yan, she possessed the compassionate heart of a healer that many healing Soul Masters in their seventies or eighties lacked. She was fully worthy of the Nine Heart Begonia's name, passed down for thousands of years.

There were not many people at Heaven Dou Royal Academy whom Dugu Yan acknowledged, but Ye Lingling was undoubtedly one of them. Though they had never said it aloud, Dugu Yan felt that Ye Lingling probably considered her a friend as well.

Sure enough, Dugu Yan's judgment of Ye Lingling had been correct. Though she was immensely curious as to why Dugu Yan, who usually showed no interest in other men, was lying in an unfamiliar man's arms like a delicate young woman, with her clothes seemingly somewhat disheveled, Ye Lingling cared more about her injuries than gossip.

She carefully guided Chen Ming into laying Dugu Yan flat on the ground, then grasped Dugu Yan's wrist and cautiously sent her Soul Power in to probe her injuries.

Although Ye Lingling's Soul Power and Spiritual Power were only relatively good among Soul Grand Masters, and she could not effortlessly scan Dugu Yan's body like a high-level Soul Master, she quickly detected the problem within Dugu Yan through the Nine Heart Begonia family's experience and the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul's acute perception of Life Force.

Once she discovered that Dugu Yan had merely suffered slight damage to her meridians and internal organs, with no threat to her life and no impact on her future cultivation or daily life, Ye Lingling slowly let out a breath. She summoned her Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul, and two yellow Soul Rings flashed around her.

The Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul was a special Martial Soul. No matter how high one's Soul Power Level was, how many Soul Rings one possessed, or what age those Soul Rings were, the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul would only ever have one healing Soul Skill. Soul Power Level only affected the healing strength and range.

Like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Nine Heart Begonia's Soul Rings only affected the Soul Skill's consumption. A Soul Ring from a nine-thousand-nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine-year-old soul beast had the same healing power as one from a ten-year soul beast; it was merely that the ten-year soul beast's Soul Ring consumed more than ten times as much.

As for what effect a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring would have on the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul... no one knew.

After all, there had never been an example on the continent of a Nine Heart Begonia Soul Master absorbing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Naturally, no one knew whether it would grant the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul an additional Soul Skill, or merely enhance its healing ability like ordinary Soul Rings.

Ye Lingling's Soul Power surged as she unleashed healing twice in quick succession. When the first healing fell upon Dugu Yan, her complexion immediately returned to normal, and the insignificant scrapes on her body completely healed.

Though the second healing brought no visible change to Dugu Yan, the moment its radiance faded, Dugu Yan, who had been lying on the ground, abruptly sat up and covered her face with one hand.

By all rights, Chen Ming should have paid attention to Dugu Yan's emotions at this moment. Instead, his attention was completely drawn to Ye Lingling—or rather, to the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul in her hand.

Chen Ming's cheat ability was excessively profound due to its all-encompassing nature involving the spirit and soul, so it was unreliable most of the time. Yet when Ye Lingling had just used her Soul Skill, Chen Ming could clearly sense something special within her Soul Power.

How should he put it?

It was not a matter of whether it was strong or weak. Rather, in Chen Ming's momentary perception, Ye Lingling's Soul Power seemed to possess a special authority. This authority was higher than every similar feeling he had ever sensed, even higher than the laws contained within the Soul Rings he had seen while absorbing them.

It was a difference in priority, like a +1 priority move in Pokémon. That +1 priority surpassed any Speed stat. It was a privileged mechanic, something that could not be achieved simply by stacking attributes.

Though he had never seen any gods or similar beings in Douluo World in this life, Chen Ming instinctively felt that Ye Lingling's Martial Soul should be connected to a deity or the Divine Realm.

Feeling Chen Ming's burning gaze, Ye Lingling's body stiffened slightly. Only when she turned and realized that his gaze had actually fallen on her Martial Soul rather than herself did she relax.

He was probably shocked by the Nine Heart Begonia's abilities, Ye Lingling thought to herself.

As the inheritor of the Nine Heart Begonia, Ye Lingling habitually assumed that Chen Ming, like other Soul Masters seeing its effects for the first time, had been stunned by its powerful effect. She had no idea that in that brief moment, Chen Ming had sensed a secret that even the Nine Heart Begonia lineage did not know—or did not dare confirm.

At this moment, Dugu Yan, who had been covering her face, grew a little unwilling.

Though she was deeply conflicted and had covered her face with her hand, Dugu Yan had actually been watching Chen Ming's movements the entire time. When she realized he had not come over to speak to her for so long, she quietly parted her fingers. Upon seeing Chen Ming's "affectionate" gaze resting on Ye Lingling, Dugu Yan suddenly felt aggrieved for some reason and began to sob behind her hand.

Only then did Chen Ming realize what mattered most upon hearing Dugu Yan's sobs. He crouched beside her and patted her shoulder.

"Miss Dugu? Miss Dugu Yan?"

"Call me Dugu Yan!" Dugu Yan lightly elbowed Chen Ming and answered from behind her hand.

"Yanyan... no, Dugu..." Chen Ming let the wrong name slip out. Just as he was about to correct himself, Dugu Yan lightly bumped him again, so he immediately chose to ignore the minor issue.

"How do you feel now? Does your body still hurt? A mishap in a Soul Master's cultivation is no small matter. Once the meridians are damaged, it becomes hard to deal with. Hold out your hand. Let me check your condition."

Without waiting for Dugu Yan's reply, Chen Ming directly pulled away the hand covering her face and used his Soul Power to probe her condition.

The damage to her internal meridians had been completely repaired. Her internal organs were so healthy that there was not the slightest sign of injury. Even the disorder in her Dantian caused by her agitated Soul Power had been fully resolved. The Nine Heart Begonia's effects far exceeded Chen Ming's expectations. It truly deserved its reputation as the Martial Soul said to bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh upon bones.