At first glance, he looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, but his eyes had weathered the vicissitudes of life, as if they could see through everything in the world. He was nothing like an ordinary young man of that age. His features bore a slight resemblance to Ye Lingling. Dressed in white, he had a calm, detached air. His sky-blue hair fell over his shoulders without making him seem at all disheveled. He seemed as though he had been blessed with all the world's finest qualities, embodying handsomeness, nobility, and elegance.
Yet he also gave people the feeling of a spring breeze, without any trace of arrogance. Moreover, though the refined middle-aged man's Soul Power fluctuations were clearly intense, he didn't make Lan Si feel threatened. Clearly, he was a Support-type Soul Master.
"Ye Lingling, and you too, Uncle—what brings you here?" After confirming that the other man was a Support-type Soul Master, Lan Si relaxed his guard and asked, puzzled.
The middle-aged man didn't answer directly. Instead, he nodded repeatedly and murmured, "You look so much alike. You really look like your mother."
"My mother?" Lan Si froze. A wave of sorrow surged through him. His parents had died when he was not yet two years old. He hadn't awakened the memories of his past life back then, and his memory was no better than anyone else's, so he couldn't recall much about his parents. But Lan Si knew for certain that they had truly loved him.
Although he could no longer remember what his parents looked like, the few warm scenes that remained were still etched deep in his mind.
And yet, ironically, he didn't even know his mother's name.
It wasn't that Otto, who had raised him, hadn't told him. Even Otto didn't know his mother's name. His parents seemed unwilling to mention it in front of anyone else.
"Won't you invite us in to sit down?" the refined middle-aged man asked again, turning his gaze toward the door.
"Please, come in." Lan Si gestured for them to enter, then took the key to the door from his Storage Soul Tool and unlocked it.
The three of them went inside, and Lan Si brewed some fragrant tea. It was a tea specially supplied to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, bestowed by the Heaven Dou Royal Family. Every member of the Imperial Fighting Team received some. It was called Cloud Mist Tea, worth a fortune, and came from a mist-shrouded gorge somewhere near the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest. It had originally been reserved for the royal family, but later Xue Ye ordered it supplied to the academy's finest Imperial Fighting Team members in order to win their loyalty.
Lan Si didn't usually drink tea, so he simply used it to entertain guests, though visitors to his home were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
"Fine tea. No wonder it's Cloud Mist Tea, specially supplied by the royal family. Even I have to ask Lingling to bring me some if I want a taste." The refined middle-aged man accepted the tea and took a small sip.
"Can you tell me why you've come now? I heard you mention my mother just now, Uncle. I want to know if you knew her." Lan Si asked impatiently.
The refined middle-aged man nodded and looked toward Ye Lingling. "Lingling, show your cousin."
Beneath her veil, Ye Lingling's beautiful, fair chin lifted slightly. She rolled up her right sleeve, revealing a sapphire bracelet identical to the one Lan Si wore.
"This is..." Lan Si looked surprised.
"This Soul Tool is called Heart of the Sea Blue. It was originally one of a pair. When Lingling was born, your mother gave one to her." The refined middle-aged man sighed softly, then explained, "I'm Ye Renxin, head of the Nine Heart Begonia family. Apart from Lingling, I'm the only person alive today with the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul. I'm also your uncle, and Lingling is your cousin."
"Your mother's name was Ye Xinlan. The Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul is passed down through a single line, with only one inheritor in each generation. There can only be two Nine Heart Begonia Soul Masters alive at a time. Only when one dies can another appear in the next generation. I'm a few years older than your mother, and awakened the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul first."
"So when your mother awakened her Martial Soul, she couldn't have awakened the Nine Heart Begonia. Her Martial Soul underwent a mutation, changing from a begonia flower into a Cyan Lotus. But by your generation, it seems to have mutated again, gaining a fire attribute and setting you on the path of a Battle Soul Master."
Hearing Ye Renxin's words, Lan Si didn't know what to say. He never expected such a melodramatic turn of events to happen to him.
Ye Renxin sighed and continued, "I suppose I'm to blame. If I hadn't opposed your mother being with your father back then, she wouldn't have run away from home. And they wouldn't have died..."
"Can you tell me why you opposed it? Was it because my father's talent was too poor? Or because he was just a commoner?" A mocking, disdainful smile tugged at Lan Si's lips.
Ye Renxin shook his head. A bitter smile crossed his handsome face. "Like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Nine Heart Begonia family requires the direct descendants' partners to be exceptionally talented Battle Soul Masters. But your mother was my only sister. Even if your father's talent was ordinary, I wouldn't have tried to tear them apart. There was another reason I opposed their being together."
"Go on. I'd like to hear what you have to say for yourself."
"Do you know who your grandfather was?" Ye Renxin asked in a low voice.
"Why are you bringing up my grandfather now?" Lan Si was even more confused.
"Very well. You were bound to find out eventually, so I may as well tell you now." Ye Renxin's expression darkened. "The Clear Sky Sect—you may never have heard of it, but your grandfather was a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect, once the greatest sect under heaven. Your grandmother was a famous singer in Heaven Dou City. Your grandfather had a brief affair with her, and so she became pregnant with your father."
"The Clear Sky Sect cares deeply about bloodline purity. Because your grandmother was a singer, your grandfather couldn't—and wouldn't—marry her. Instead, he abandoned her, settling her in a remote mountain village, the place where your father was born: Emperor Soul Village. It was originally called Hammer Village, but it was renamed Emperor Soul Village because your grandfather was a Soul Emperor at the time."
"When your father was six, his Martial Soul mutated, and he failed to awaken the Clear Sky Hammer. So, after leaving some money behind, your grandfather abandoned your grandmother and father completely, and even took back your father's surname, Tang."
"Although your father's Martial Soul Mutation left him with low Innate Soul Power, he still became a Soul Master. Later, by chance, he met your mother. Your maternal grandmother had seen that your father was honest and decent, so she hadn't opposed their marriage. But twelve years ago, everything changed."
"Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect killed Qian Xunji, the former Pope of Spirit Hall. Spirit Hall went to war with the Clear Sky Sect and hunted down its disciples across the continent. Any force that hid a Clear Sky Sect disciple would be considered an enemy of Spirit Hall. At the time, your father came clean to your mother and me about his origins. He said he didn't want to bring trouble down on the Nine Heart Begonia family, and asked only that I look after your mother and you, who had just been born."
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