After completely curing Dugu Yan, Qin Yuan said with a deathly pale face,
"Senior Dugu, once I've recovered, I hope you'll honor your promise."
Dugu Bo nodded solemnly, then left the Imperial Palace with Dugu Yan, who was reluctant to part, his face beaming with joy.
Dugu Yan's condition had always been a thorn in his side. Now that she was fully cured, it was easy to imagine how delighted he felt. He couldn't help but feel deeply grateful to Qin Yuan.
Once Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan were far away, Qin Yuan's weak, deathly pale face quickly turned rosy and lively.
"How was my acting?" He looked at Qian Renxue smugly.
"My Xiao Yuan is the best." Qian Renxue didn't spoil his fun at all and praised him with complete sincerity.
After Qian Renxue left, Qin Yuan relaxed on a reclining chair, enjoying the attentions of two beautiful maids.
Now that Dugu Bo had promised to help him, in a few days he'd enter the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and use the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot to temper his body!
With [Life Miracle], he knew the effects and uses of every plant like the back of his hand. He knew a special way to use these two peerless Immortal Herbs.
Although Tang San had also used these two Immortal Herbs to temper his body in the original story, he hadn't fully refined their medicinal effects until he reached level seventy.
But the special method Qin Yuan knew could completely refine their medicinal effects in an extremely short time, using every bit to improve his physical constitution without wasting a single drop!
How much his body would improve depended on how old those two peerless Immortal Herbs were. The older they were, the more astonishing the improvement.
All he wanted was to strengthen his body. That way, he could absorb higher-year Soul Rings and increase his Soul Power even faster!
His Martial Soul was the Golden Dragon, which possessed Extreme Power. After level thirty, those with an Ultimate Attribute cultivated much more slowly.
In exchange, their Soul Power was compressed to the extreme, making its quality and depth far superior to those of Soul Masters at the same level. Their combat strength was likewise far greater.
Therefore, to advance from level fifty-one to level sixty, the combined age of his fourth and fifth Soul Rings probably couldn't be less than a hundred thousand years—and that was with the help of an Immortal Herb that could increase his Soul Power!
That was how difficult it was for Soul Masters with an Ultimate Attribute to improve their Soul Power!
But the rewards were more than worth it. Qin Yuan couldn't have been happier.
If he was going to play the invalid, he had to look the part. So Qin Yuan decided not to visit Dugu Bo for at least half a month, lest he arouse suspicion.
Ning Rongrong had been at Shrek Academy for half a year, and she got along very well with Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, and the others.
But that guy named Oscar was downright annoying, sticking to her like a plaster and refusing to leave no matter how many times she chased him off.
"Oscar! If you keep following me, I won't be nice to you!"
Ning Rongrong stood with one hand on her hip and pointed angrily at Oscar, who had followed her all the way to the girls' dormitory.
"Rongrong, I..." Oscar stood awkwardly in place, his hands fidgeting nervously.
Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu could only rub their foreheads in exasperation. This wasn't how you pursued a girl.
"Hmph!" Seeing Oscar finally behave, Ning Rongrong snorted and turned back toward the dormitory.
Oscar immediately looked pitifully at Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu.
"Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, you can't just stand by and watch me suffer!"
"What can we do?" Xiao Wu asked with a giggle, folding her arms.
"You're both Rongrong's best friends. Put in a good word for me, and I'm sure she'll change her opinion of me!" Oscar rubbed his hands together with a sleazy grin.
"I'll pay you a hundred Gold Soul Coins!"
Xiao Wu rolled her eyes and said hesitantly, "But Rongrong's my best friend..."
"Two hundred!" Oscar gritted his teeth.
"Deal!" Xiao Wu beamed and held out her soft, pale hand.
Oscar's mouth twitched as he painfully counted out two hundred Gold Soul Coins from his pouch, one by one.
After becoming a Soul Elder, he got a monthly allowance of a hundred Gold Soul Coins from Spirit Hall. Now he'd lost two months' worth at once, and it hurt.
Rogue Rabbit snatched the two hundred Gold Soul Coins and dragged Zhu Zhuqing toward the dormitory. Oscar's urgent voice came from behind them.
"Xiao Wu, Zhuqing, don't forget you promised to help me!"
"Got it." Rogue Rabbit entered the dormitory without looking back.
Once inside, Xiao Wu grinned and gave Zhu Zhuqing half the Gold Soul Coins.
"Xiao Wu, is this really okay?" Zhu Zhuqing hesitated to reach out.
"What's wrong with it? A wonderful girl like Rongrong ought to end up with one of our brothers. Do you really want to see her marry some strange man?" Xiao Wu forced the Gold Soul Coins into Zhu Zhuqing's arms.
At Xiao Wu's words, Zhu Zhuqing pressed her lips together, but still didn't accept the coins. She said, "We should ask Rongrong first if she likes anyone. Then we can try to bring her and Oscar together. If Rongrong isn't interested, we'll leave it at that."
"Sure, no problem." Xiao Wu happily pocketed the two hundred Gold Soul Coins she'd gotten for free.
They pushed open the door and waited a while before Ning Rongrong appeared, fresh from her bath, beautiful and alluring as a water-borne hibiscus. Her long, wet black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall.
A silk nightgown hugged her delicate figure, and a refreshing fragrance wafted from her.
Rogue Rabbit wore an impish grin and pounced on her, groping her chest and bottom with both hands until Ning Rongrong protested in embarrassment.
"Hehe, Rongrong's certainly developed nicely. Curves in all the right places. I wonder which lucky bastard will get you someday!"
Ning Rongrong's face reddened, and she lowered her head slightly without saying a word.
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing froze. They exchanged a glance, surprise and curiosity written across their lovely faces, then hurried over and began to "interrogate" her.
"Rongrong, come clean. What's his name? How long have you known him? How far have things gone?..."
The barrage of questions left Ning Rongrong's pretty face burning with embarrassment. Even her earlobes turned translucent red.
When Ning Rongrong refused to answer, both girls pounced on her and tickled her. She couldn't take it anymore and had no choice but to give in.
"Okay, okay, I give up. His name's Qin Yuan. He's a few months older than me, and we've known each other since we were little..."
"Wow! Childhood sweethearts!" Xiao Wu cried excitedly. She couldn't help thinking of herself and Tang San. They were childhood sweethearts too, in a way.
Zhu Zhuqing looked on with envy. She thought of Ling Tian, whom she'd met in the Star Dou Great Forest a year ago. She still didn't know how he felt about her, and she was waiting to go to Heaven Dou City and hear that man's answer.
In a dormitory of three girls, two already had someone they liked. Naturally, the third became the target of the other two girls' "attack."
"Zhuqing, I have Third Brother, and Rongrong has Qin Yuan. What about you and Boss Dai...?" Xiao Wu asked with a giggle, looking straight at Zhu Zhuqing, unable to hold back her curiosity.
Both she and Ning Rongrong knew that Zhu Zhuqing was Dai Mubai's fiancée.
Ignoring Xiao Wu's teasing, Zhu Zhuqing shook her head slightly.
"I'll find a way to break off my engagement with Dai Mubai. I like someone else..."
Before you continue