First Meeting with Ye Lingling at the Herb Shop

No one could have expected the invitation from the Imperial Fighting Team. Chen An had originally intended to spar with them, but now he felt somewhat reluctant; looking at the state of his students, there was no need to force another match.

Everyone had already improved, and since the invitation came from an elite team, while they could win, it wouldn't be as effortless as the match against Shrek.

Compared to the events in the original story, the current Shrek had been dismantled—their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Hell White Tiger, was gone, and they lacked the buffs Ning Rongrong provided to their attackers. Their strength was severely diminished, and they were perfectly countered.

Thinking of it this way, it could be considered a good trial, so he decided to follow his original plan and accept. However, he would wait until evening to tell them; he would treat this battle as a farewell match.

With this thought, Chen An wrote a reply to Di Ao, instructing him to ensure the publicity was thorough and to raise the ticket prices, billing it as the final battle for this generation of elite teams.

He now held a stake in the arena, so he might as well claim the profits; who knew, perhaps the Suotuo City arena would eventually be converted into a training ground for Phantom Star.

"I wonder what they're up to."

After writing the reply and releasing the carrier pigeon, he saw no need to go to the arena in person for such a trivial matter. He looked at the empty room and the vacant floor; Zhu Zhuqing and the others were not by his side, nor were any students.

A desire to go out and wander stirred within him; ever since he began recruiting students, he had never experienced such a state.

As for worrying about his students? That was entirely unnecessary. The Dragon Duke had rushed over to take over just a moment ago, and he had already given his instructions.

"Let's go out for a walk; it's been a long time."

At his level, he could follow his heart's desires without overstepping the bounds of propriety. For now, he just wanted to travel through Suotuo City like an ordinary person.

He had been in Suotuo City for so many years, yet he had never tried this. Thinking it over, he acted; Chen An suppressed all his aura, tidied his appearance, and used one of the Southeast Asian sorcery techniques to alter his features. It wasn't seamless, but as long as it wasn't someone who knew him intimately, they wouldn't recognize him.

Walking on the street, he felt completely unremarkable, yet his mindset was entirely different. In the past, he had always walked the streets in a hurry, never having the leisure to admire the scenery.

"This style is quite unique."

The styles adopted by cities across the continent were usually similar to those of their respective empires, but in a border town like Suotuo City, the distinct artistic styles of the three major powers collided.

"A clothing store?"

As he walked, he arrived in front of a custom apparel shop and couldn't help but stop. He remembered that he hadn't yet ordered uniform school attire for his students.

Shops selling finished garments were rarer in Suotuo City than custom shops because the textile technology for fabric in this world hadn't fully permeated the market.

"Welcome."

Although Chen An had disguised himself, his attire remained standard.

Seeing that the clerk's attitude was decent, and observing the design style of the clothing here, he felt it was acceptable. He stated his requirements in detail, and once he confirmed they could fulfill them, he decisively placed the order and paid the deposit.

He was no different from the average man when it came to shopping; if he felt it was suitable, he placed the order immediately without any beating around the bush.

"Another thing done." He felt much more refreshed after stepping out of the clothing store.

Suotuo City was large with well-developed infrastructure, but entertainment activities were scarce. Walking through it like this, aside from the residential areas, there were only basic service zones.

He looked around, but nothing felt fresh; it was the same few things over and over, lacking any real interest.

Aside from buying two sticks of maltose when he passed by the market, there was basically nothing fun to do.

"Suotuo Great Herb Shop?"

Finally, he saw something a bit different. As the name implied, an herb shop was a place that sold medicinal herbs and pills.

It was the largest in the city; other places only sold finished emergency pills, as healing-type soul masters were rare, and high-level ones were even rarer.

Most soul master teams found it difficult to recruit a healer when heading out, which was why pills were still quite popular.

"They really do sell herbs, though the quality is a bit lacking."

Chen An didn't hesitate; he just walked in to take a look. His storage ring contained many seeds, but the variety was still too small to be widely applied to all his teachers and students.

The clerk kept showing him herbs, some unprocessed and some processed, but he gave them all the same evaluation.

"Sir, you are..." Because he remained unsatisfied, the clerk kept bringing out new items and began to grow annoyed.

Thinking Chen An was intentionally there to cause trouble, she wanted to issue a warning.

"Uh, I will continue to show you."

Chen An moved slightly, and the clerk's expression changed instantly.

Because just as she was questioning him, Chen An had pulled out a bag of Gold Soul Coins and the proof of identity Ning Fengzhi had given him.

At the time, he had thought Ning Fengzhi was being overly cautious, but looking at it now, this thing was damn useful.

"Sir, these are all our stocks. If none of these catch your eye, then..."

The clerk was somewhat choked for words. If it were according to the shop's rules, she would have wanted to show him the door. But she couldn't; just the proof from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect meant she couldn't touch him.

"Aunt, why were you in such a rush to call me down?"

A young girl in green, looking quite youthful, walked down from the second floor. Seeing the clerk's respectful demeanor, it was clear this girl held a very high position here.

"Young Miss, it's like this. This distinguished guest from the Seven Treasure Sect is dissatisfied with the outer herbs; he wants herbs that are still active and unprocessed."

They addressed each other by their own terms, showing how high the girl's status was—high enough to ignore blood-relation titles.

The girl looked Chen An over after hearing this, and finally, she parted her lips and said in a crisp voice, "Fine, leave this to me. Sir, please follow me."

Her words were light and her voice was pleasant, but Chen An detected a sense of loneliness and desolation within it.

"Fine."

Arriving on the second floor, the herbs here were even rarer, but the girl led him into a guest room, first pouring tea for Chen An before speaking.

"This Humble One is Ye Lingling. I wonder what kind of medicinal herbs you are looking for, sir?" the young girl said with a smile. The shop assistant had already reported the information to her earlier.

Hearing this, Chen An was momentarily stunned. He had not expected to run into Ye Lingling here, but it would be best not to pretend he didn't know her for now.

"I am looking for special medicinal herbs—herbs with unconventional medicinal effects. I wonder if you have any here."

The request was vague, but his expression was earnest, and this was indeed his purpose for coming here. Meeting Ye Lingling was unexpected, and he hadn't realized this place was property of the Ye family.

"If you put it that way, we do have some. Please wait a moment." Ye Lingling thought carefully for a moment before rising to head out.

During the short wait, Chen An pondered matters regarding Ye Lingling. There was no doubt she relied on her family; given the immense power of the Nine-Heart Begonia and the fact that it was passed down through a single lineage, they would certainly have no shortage of vassal families, not to mention the natural growth of the clan itself.

They might not be able to compare to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but by relying on the Nine-Heart Begonia, supporting the development of a family was inevitable. They might be constrained by the imperial family, but human effort could achieve anything.

"Does it only have the effect of healing, regardless of the number of spirit rings? Is it truly passed down through a single lineage? That child's loneliness and desolation must be related to the characteristics of this martial soul," Chen An muttered to himself.