First Meeting with Ye Lingling

Hearing Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's words, Shen Hanyu frowned slightly and secretly glanced several times at the girl slowly approaching from nearby. He felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Seeing that Shen Hanyu had remained silent for so long, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm turned around and discovered that Shen Hanyu had somehow already fallen into deep thought, stroking his chin.

"Hanyu? Hanyu? Hey, hey, hey, Hanyu, stop thinking. She's almost here..."

Shen Hanyu casually gave an "oh," then seemed to suddenly remember something.

"Tian Meng, are you saying that both that woman just now and the Soul Douluo in the Great Soul Arena carried traces of life energy?"

Tian Meng nodded and said:

"It was indeed the reaction of life energy, much like the life energy carried by the Jade Swan clan, only gentler. In my opinion, their Martial Soul should be one of your human plant-type Martial Souls, and of extremely high quality."

He paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts. Only after the girl in the black dress had walked far away did he finally continue:

"I don't know what's going on either. When my Mental Power scanned those two, I found a trace of strange energy within both of their origins, entwined around what they call their life and Martial Soul. It won't endanger their cultivation or anything, but..."

Shen Hanyu raised an eyebrow. With a sufficiently high level of Mental Power, one really could discover many things ordinary people could not. Tian Meng was an example of that.

As for him, it was purely intuition. Besides its Ice Attribute, the Cold Sky Spear carried a dense killing aura. That killing aura was not evil; like the killing aura of Sword Douluo's Seven Kill Sword, it was vast and righteous, carrying a sense of justice and possessing a unique sensitivity toward certain things.

"But what? Is there a problem?"

After racking his brains for a long while, Tian Meng finally said:

"It's that... it affects their normal reproductive ability. In other words... at most two people can possess this Martial Soul at any given time. Otherwise, that strange energy within them will be stirred up, and they'll meet a miserable death..."

"Rather than a restriction, it's more like... a curse..."

Listening to Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's words, Shen Hanyu narrowed his eyes and suddenly recalled a character from the original novel.

A top-tier plant-type Martial Soul, female, talented, only two could exist in each generation, burdened by a curse...

Isn't that Ye Lingling and her grandfather?

Ye Lingling's grandfather was named Ye Renxin. His Martial Soul was the Nine Heart Begonia, and his cultivation had reached the Soul Douluo level. He traveled the continent year-round, saving lives and healing the wounded. The number of people he had treated was astonishing, and he enjoyed an excellent reputation throughout the continent. Many hailed him as the number one divine physician among Douluo.

Naturally, he had earned that title through his own capabilities. The Nine Heart Begonia's terrifying healing ability had no equal in the world. As long as a Soul Master with the Nine Heart Begonia was present, even dying became a luxury.

Ning Fengzhi had once called the Nine Heart Begonia a "miracle" among Douluo Martial Souls.

That was equally laughable. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had almost never ceased its suppression of the Nine Heart Begonia Clan. If only two Nine Heart Begonia Soul Masters had not been able to exist in each generation, it was uncertain who would hold the title of the number one support-type Martial Soul in Douluo.

Even so, the Nine Heart Begonia Clan suffered considerable suppression. Ye Renxin's constant efforts to save lives likely had something to do with that. Much like Dugu Bo, he probably wanted to pave the way for his granddaughter so that she could live more comfortably in the future...

However, Ye Renxin traveled all over the place year-round, and grandfather and granddaughter could go years without seeing each other. Now that both had appeared in Hagen-Dazs City, they were likely reuniting after a long separation.

"Alright, Tian Meng, stop guessing. Their Martial Soul is the Nine Heart Begonia, a heaven-defying Martial Soul. They are indeed burdened by a strange curse, but it has nothing to do with us. Besides, her grandfather is a renowned great benefactor on the continent. Offending them would mean offending everyone he has ever treated."

Shen Hanyu explained briefly, then glanced at Ye Lingling, who wore a black veil, a trace of appreciation appearing in his eyes.

Ye Lingling was still young, and her face was veiled, but she was already a cold and breathtaking little beauty.

As they brushed past each other, Shen Hanyu even caught the faint scent of orchids on her, delicate and captivating...

Shen Hanyu believed he had kept himself well under control, yet Ye Lingling's steps still paused slightly. However, she quickly returned to normal and hurried toward the Great Soul Arena, not even sparing Shen Hanyu another glance.

"Did she notice? What sharp senses..."

Shen Hanyu muttered as he continued onward.

Watching Ye Lingling's retreating figure, Tian Meng said thoughtfully:

"Hanyu, that little girl has a pretty good head bone on her. It's at least thirty to fifty thousand years old. She just released a fluctuation of Mental Power, which was why she could vaguely sense us. But my Mental Power is tens of thousands of times stronger than hers, so you don't need to worry."

Shen Hanyu nodded in surprise. A thirty- to fifty-thousand-year head bone—even the Upper Three Sects probably could not produce many of those. Yet the Ye Clan, which counted only as a minor noble family, possessed one.

Tsk, tsk. A clan passed down for ten thousand years truly had none that were simple.

After casually musing over it for a moment, Shen Hanyu quickly found a large, comfortable carriage. After paying the coachman fifty Gold Soul Coins, he left Hagen-Dazs City at full speed, heading toward Element City.

Outside Hagen-Dazs City.

As the scenery beyond the window gradually shifted from dark green to pale green, Shen Hanyu idly chatted with Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

The carriage compartment was wrapped in Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Mental Power, so no movement within could be detected from outside. It was quiet and private.

The Hagen Dazs Kingdom was filled with mountains and plains, and the main road leading to Element City naturally ran through towering mountain ranges. Several bridges even spanned deep ravines; one wrong step would mean falling into an abyss ten thousand fathoms deep. Those afraid of heights probably would not even dare look down. It was genuinely frightening.

The areas around such roads were all mountain forests, with no shortage of Soul Beasts. However, they were mostly insignificant ten- or hundred-year creatures that rarely dared attack humans. There were no bandits like Wolf Bandits, either, making the route far safer than other places.

Feeling the temperature gradually drop, Shen Hanyu finally became a little more alert. No matter where he was, collapsing into idleness whenever he was tired was one of his favorite things.

Unfortunately, happiness was always fleeting. After resting for a while, he would have to get back up and meditate in cultivation. Breaking through to Soul Sage as soon as possible was the proper priority; it was not yet time to lie flat.

Shen Hanyu was somewhat impressed by Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who never tired of gazing at the scenery outside. Wasn't he supposed to have a lazy personality in the original novel? Shen Hanyu had not seen much laziness from him now, though his desire to lie flat was certainly strong.

In Tian Meng's own words:

"If you can live, then strive to keep living. If you really can't live anymore, then think about other things."

Those words made a great deal of sense. For a Soul Beast like him, whose only skills were eating, drinking, and sleeping, they were practically a golden saying—a rule for life that planned out his entire existence from birth to death...