The Thirty-Eighth Ability?

The Thirty-Eighth Ability?

While Chen Ming was astonished by the healing capabilities of the Nine Heart Begonia, Ye Lingling was equally astonished by Chen Ming.

She could examine Dugu Yan's internal injuries thanks to her family's inherited experience, as well as the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul's ability to sense a person's Life Force. It was the accumulation of generations along with natural talent—something others could not replicate.

But why could Chen Ming examine her?

A Spirit System Martial Soul? Doesn't seem like it. He looks about my age, and his Soul Power Level can't possibly be above forty, can it? Ye Lingling shook her head inwardly.

Ye Lingling walked over to Dugu Yan. While secretly studying Chen Ming, she casually asked Dugu Yan a question.

"Who guided the Soul Power inside your body? Was it one of the teachers guarding the training ground?"

"Yes, it was Chen Ming," Dugu Yan answered Ye Lingling instinctively.

"?"

At Dugu Yan's answer, it seemed as though a question mark rose above Ye Lingling's head.

She knew that Dugu Yan had recently been on the verge of breaking through to Level Thirty. If a prospective Soul Elder suffered internal injuries due to disordered Soul Power, then someone capable of suppressing her Soul Power with their own would need cultivation above Level Thirty-Five at the very least. And that was without considering that person's control over Soul Power.

Not every Soul Master had excellent control over their Soul Power. Most people gradually developed it through long years of practice.

So long as their Soul Power was not on the verge of losing control, most people preferred raising their Soul Power Level directly rather than painstakingly studying Soul Power control, an area where improvements in strength were difficult to display.

Under normal circumstances, only a Soul Master in their forties or fifties would be qualified to interfere in such a situation, guiding Dugu Yan to reorganize the chaotic Soul Power within her body into an orderly state. Even then, success could not be guaranteed.

Dugu Yan's original injuries had not been too severe. It was clear that her Soul Power had been brought under control very quickly, without triggering a stronger reaction or causing further damage to her meridians.

Was that something someone their age could do?

At least, Ye Lingling did not believe that she could accomplish anything so outrageous, even if she had specifically trained her Soul Power control.

Ye Lingling studied Chen Ming, then suddenly spoke.

"How old are you? What's your Soul Power Level? And what is your Martial Soul?"

"Huh? My name is Chen Ming. I'm eleven this year. My Martial Soul is the Jade Scorpion King, and my Soul Power Level is twenty-three—no, twenty-four. I just enrolled this year. Why?"

"My name is Ye Lingling. My Martial Soul is the Nine Heart Begonia. I'm a Healing System Soul Grandmaster." Ye Lingling gave a brief introduction, then pointed at Dugu Yan.

"You were really the one who controlled the Soul Power in Dugu Yan's body?"

"I barely managed to control it. If she had acquired another Soul Ring and raised her cultivation a few more levels, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to so easily control the Soul Power in her body."

It was not some unspeakable secret like a Soul Bone, so Chen Ming simply admitted it outright.

"You..." Ye Lingling stared at Chen Ming in silence for a long while before she finally managed to speak.

"Your talent is truly rare."

"Thank you for the compliment. I was born with a bit of talent in this area," Chen Ming replied casually.

"That can't be described as merely having a bit of talent." Hearing Chen Ming's humblebragging answer, Ye Lingling could not help feeling a little sour. Seeing that Dugu Yan was already fine, she did not stay there as a third wheel. Instead, she sat on a rock and quietly gazed out at the flowers.

Unlike before, when she had sat straddling the rock in a relaxed posture while idly plucking petals, Ye Lingling now sat quite demurely. She looked rather like an icy girl who kept everyone at arm's length. It was impossible to tell which was her true personality.

After confirming that Dugu Yan's internal injuries were no longer a problem, Chen Ming released her hand. He and Dugu Yan, who was sitting on the ground, stared at each other wide-eyed, neither knowing what to say. After they remained frozen for a while, Dugu Yan, whose neck had already turned red, was the first to break the silence.

"I'm going back to the dormitory first. I just... need to go back and recuperate."

"Oh." Chen Ming nodded and stepped aside to clear the way for Dugu Yan.

"Aren't you going to say anything else?" Dugu Yan looked up and asked Chen Ming.

"I'm mainly afraid you won't be happy if I say too much."

That was the truth. Chen Ming had been single his entire life in both worlds and truly did not understand girls' thoughts.

Dating had been forbidden during school, and after he started working, he had simply had no interest in romance. Sometimes, in the quiet of the night, he would think about finding a girlfriend. But when he thought of the increasingly common "little fairies" nowadays, as well as all the unnecessary expenses that came with dating, Chen Ming—who considered both his wallet and his life rather fragile—ultimately did not dare pursue a relationship.

He also could not figure out what Dugu Yan's attitude toward him was right now. He was afraid that if he said one wrong thing, Dugu Yan might accidentally say something to Dugu Bo, and then he would be dead.

On Earth, fathers could only grit their teeth in hatred at the sight of a blond punk who parked his motorcycle downstairs. But on Douluo Continent, things like this could truly get people killed.

Though Chen Ming did not think he was the blond punk waving his hands around and parking his motorcycle downstairs, his relationship with Dugu Yan was not even as close as that between a punk and his girlfriend.

No matter how weak Dugu Bo was, he was still a Titled Douluo. Even if Chen Ming had high poison resistance, one glob of Dugu Bo's old phlegm could still turn him into a puddle of thick fluid.

Looking at Chen Ming's earnest face, Dugu Yan felt her teeth ache. She had originally wanted to say something, but now all her words were swallowed back down.

Supporting herself, she slowly stood up. Once she was certain she had regained her ability to move and that there was nothing wrong with her body, she gave Chen Ming a deep look. Then she went over to Ye Lingling, who was sitting on a rock in a daze, and whispered a few words into her ear. The two of them then left the Mimicry Training Ground prepared for Healing System Soul Masters and headed toward their dormitory.

Seeing this, Chen Ming shrugged and headed back to his own courtyard, preparing for Dugu Bo's eventual arrival.

Based on Dugu Bo's personality as portrayed in the original work, he, as the person who had saved Dugu Yan, should not be slapped to death in Dugu Bo's rage. Still, it never hurt to leave oneself a backup plan.

Where Chen Ming could not see, shortly after Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling left, Dugu Yan—who had been holding her head high and chest out—immediately wilted. She looked pitifully at Ye Lingling, whose lips seemed to carry a faint curve.

"Lingling, Lingling, you have to keep what happened today a secret."

"I can keep it secret for you, but it's impossible that no one else saw you two on the way." Ye Lingling sighed and held her head.

Others might fear Dugu Bo, but the Nine Heart Begonia lineage truly did not fear him. According to what her grandfather had revealed, Dugu Bo even owed her family a favor. Thus, she did not act as restrained around Dugu Yan as others did. She genuinely regarded Dugu Yan as one of her few friends.

"Rather than thinking about keeping it secret, you should hurry and find your grandfather. Don't let the old man misunderstand."

"I want to, but Grandpa said he was going into seclusion to cultivate some time ago, and I have no idea where he has gone lately. Otherwise, how would those people at the academy dare pester me?"

At the thought of this, Dugu Yan could not help feeling aggrieved.

When she had been by her grandfather's side, she had desperately wanted to leave him and prove herself. But once she had truly left him, the things she encountered left Dugu Yan completely unable to make decisions on her own.