"Only one inheritor of the Nine-Heart Begonia can exist in each generation, and only two Nine-Heart Begonia Soul Masters can be alive at the same time. If the previous generation does not die, the next generation cannot awaken."
She paused. "At first, Lingling's grandfather had already decided not to pass down the Nine-Heart Begonia anymore."
"Lingling's mother did not want her father to die just to pass on his martial soul, and Lingling's grandfather agreed to his daughter's request."
She paused again, her fingers unconsciously tracing the wooden planks of the bench.
"Later, Lingling's mother met someone, fell in love, and became pregnant with her." Dugu Yan's voice was soft, as though she was afraid of disturbing something.
"But no one expected that not long after Lingling was born, her mother passed away because of something."
Wang Xian's expression changed slightly as he sat on the bench.
"Lingling later learned about this, and she also learned about the restrictions of the Nine-Heart Begonia." Dugu Yan's voice grew slightly hoarse.
"She came to believe that her birth had caused her mother's death. If her mother had not been pregnant with her, she would not have died."
Wang Xian said nothing and listened quietly.
"Ever since then, she became the way she is now." Dugu Yan turned to glance at Wang Xian. Her eyes were slightly red, but she did not let the tears fall.
"Withdrawn, timid, unwilling to talk. Even when others bully her, she does not dare fight back. She always feels that she does not deserve to be liked."
The evening breeze swept past, rustling the leaves of the old locust tree beside the bench.
Wang Xian fell silent for a moment, his gaze resting on the pale blue figure ahead.
Ye Lingling was crouching in front of the stall, holding a plastic ring as she narrowed her eyes and took aim.
The sunlight shone from behind her, dyeing her hair with a faint golden glow.
"It's okay." Wang Xian spoke calmly, yet with a certainty that reassured people. "She has us now. We'll always stay by her side."
Dugu Yan turned to look at him. Her lips moved slightly as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she merely gave a soft "Mm" and turned her head back.
At the stall ahead, Ye Lingling's hand paused slightly.
The plastic ring in her hand hung in midair without being thrown.
Her body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment, then she continued holding her aim as if she had heard nothing.
Yet the fingers gripping the plastic ring tightened slightly.
She lowered her head, her eyelashes trembling a few times. Her eyes quietly reddened, but the corners of her lips curved upward.
That smile was light and faint, gentler than any of her previous smiles, yet more genuine than all of them.
She threw the plastic ring in her hand and neatly looped it around the second doll.
The stall owner smiled and handed her a small brown puppy, which Ye Lingling accepted.
She hugged the puppy and the little white rabbit together in her arms, then turned and walked toward the bench.
Her eyes were still slightly red, but she wore a smile. When she reached Wang Xian and Dugu Yan, she softly said, "I won."
Dugu Yan stood up and reached out to rub her hair, smiling as she said, "I know you're amazing."
Ye Lingling did not dodge. She lowered her head and hugged the two dolls even tighter.
"Did you have fun?" Wang Xian stood up and asked with a faint smile.
Ye Lingling nodded heavily.
"That's good. We can come out and have fun more often when we have time. But it's getting late now, so let's have dinner and head back afterward," Wang Xian said with a smile.
"This time, I'll treat you."
After dinner, Wang Xian escorted Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling back separately. By the time he returned to his dormitory, it was already completely dark.
Wang Xian washed up briefly, lay down on his bed, closed his eyes, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Over those three days, Wang Xian's life returned to its usual rhythm: classes, cultivation, and matches at the Soul Fighting Arena. Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling also returned to their own routines. Whenever the three met at the academy, the atmosphere between them was noticeably more intimate than before.
On the morning of the third day, Wang Xian woke from cultivation with excitement flashing in his eyes. While he had been cultivating, the system's voice had sounded in his mind once more.
All C-Rank Martial Souls had completed their training.
With a thought, a translucent light screen unfolded before him.
"Martial Soul Cultivation System."
"Host: Wang Xian."
"Age: Seven."
"Soul Power: Level 17."
"Martial Soul Quality: C-Rank (High-Tier Martial Soul)"
"Martial Soul Cultivation Points: 41060."
"Martial Soul Cultivation Chamber: Place a martial soul inside. Cultivation Points may be spent to cultivate the martial soul. (Cultivation attempts: 0. Spend 100000 Cultivation Points to perform the next cultivation.)"
"Martial Soul Training Camp: Train martial souls (none). Acquired traits: Poison Ingestion, Ghost Shadow, Bone Spike, Sound Wave, High-Temperature Mucus..."
"Soul Skill Cultivation: First Soul Skill (Unity Myriad Phenomena) requires 10000 Cultivation Points."
"Form Cultivation: Weapon Form—Life Scepter (F-Rank). Skills: Life Severing, Tiger Sickle. Next cultivation requires 10000 Cultivation Points."
"Armor Form—Life Armor (E-Rank). Skills: Thorn Counter-Spike, Life Force. Cultivation in progress, progress..."
In the Training Camp section, the progress bars for all five C-Rank Martial Souls had been completed, and five new traits had appeared.
Wang Xian's gaze swept across the lines of prompts as the descriptions of the five traits appeared on the panel one by one.
Ghost Shadow: After fusion, the martial soul would leave faint black afterimages while moving and attacking, confusing the opponent's vision and perception.
The afterimages would dissipate after half a second, but before fading, they looked no different from the original body.
At the same time, the martial soul made very little sound when moving at high speed, making it difficult to lock onto by hearing.
Wang Xian nodded slightly. This was a typical Agility Attack System trait, suitable for ambushes and assassinations.
Although his Blue Silver Grass did not excel in speed, if it fused with this trait, its vines would also leave afterimages while extending and attacking, making it harder for opponents to judge the direction and number of attacks.
However, his fusion slots were limited. Though this trait was good, it was not among his highest priorities.
He continued reading. Bone Spike could instantly grow sharp, bony spikes from any part of the Blue Silver Grass. The spikes were extremely hard and could pierce ordinary metal.
The Bone Spikes could be actively shed as long-range throwing weapons, then regrow within a few seconds. They were hollow inside, light, and sharp.
Wang Xian considered it. This trait was only moderately compatible with his Blue Silver Grass.
Because the Evergreen Blue Silver Grass already possessed the ability to transform into all sorts of forms, adding this trait would not bring much change.
Besides, Bone Spikes simply did not fit Blue Silver Grass at all.
The third trait had been extracted from a bat-type martial soul.
After fusion, the martial soul could release Sound Waves at specific frequencies, disrupting the target's hearing and brain, making them hear sounds that did not exist or fail to hear real sounds.
The Sound Waves could travel in a directed manner and affect only designated targets. Continuously releasing Sound Waves consumed Soul Power, but the consumption was very low.
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