The Two With Their Own Thoughts

"Sir, what do you think of this Heart-Heaven Orchid Fragrance?"

Ye Lingling did not leave for long; she soon returned with a sealed box, opened it, and pushed it toward Chen An.

The appearance of the Heart-Heaven Orchid Fragrance was not particularly strange, but its faint, intoxicating aroma made one want to lose themselves in it. If that were its only effect, Chen An would not find it particularly special—it would simply be rich in energy.

"This Heart-Heaven Orchid Fragrance has a special effect on soul beasts; it allows raised soul beasts to improve more rapidly. It belongs to the category of catalytic herbs."

Ye Lingling explained the extent of its efficacy in a detached yet detailed manner. This piqued Chen An's interest; the item was rich in energy and, aside from being somewhat volatile, was excellent. As long as one handled the issue of the energy surge upon ingestion, or neutralized the medicinal effects, it was a fine treasure.

"Then I'll take this. How many Heart-Heaven Orchid Fragrances do you have here?"

"Five available for sale."

That Ye Lingling had high authority did not mean she was well-versed in business; under normal circumstances, she would not have spoken like that, nor would she have revealed her bottom line so directly. Chen An smiled slightly, saying nothing more.

"Very well, I will buy them all."

Chen An handed over two Seven Treasures Glazed black cards, which held a significant balance. This matter could not be handled by Ye Lingling herself, so she had her aunt downstairs take care of the transaction. As for her, she began to chat with Chen An.

"It seems you are a person who enjoys flowers and plants, Sir, and you have a deep understanding of medicinal herbs."

Ye Lingling said this with a rare smile.

She thought highly of the Heart-Heaven Orchid Fragrance, but unless one was an insider with deep understanding, one would not be able to discern its true value. She even felt she had underestimated the herb; otherwise, why would this person have paid so readily?

"I know a thing or two." Chen An was modest, but he did not deny it.

Indeed, its effects were significant. Once cultivated, it could allow his students to see a considerable improvement in their cultivation speed. For him, it would also aid in the development of the beast realm and could even be used in spirit-gathering arrays.

"Then, Sir, do you know of any immortal herbs that can repair defects in a martial soul?"

Ye Lingling's interest in herbs was also aimed at breaking the limitations of the Nine-Heart Begonia. "Passed down through a single line" sounded nice, but to her, it felt more like a curse.

She spoke euphemistically to avoid exposing the Nine-Heart Begonia, habitually hiding herself. After all, possessing the Nine-Heart Begonia meant one should avoid being arrogant or high-profile whenever possible.

Keeping a low profile was one of the important reasons the Nine-Heart Begonia lineage had survived until now.

"I do." Chen An naturally knew. Not to mention that the Nine-Grade Purple Mushroom could allow that "trash" Yu to break through and improve the Golden Dragon that had been ruined by radishes for years, or that the Aromatic Silk Beauty could turn the Seven Treasures Glazed into the Nine Treasures Glazed.

He even knew of immortal herbs and spiritual medicines that did not belong to this world, but what was the use? What Ye Lingling needed was not these.

"Oh?"

Ye Lingling's expression shifted. It was the first time someone had said "I do" with such certainty, and she did not feel as though he were deceiving her. Her interest was immediately piqued, and she continued, "I wonder if you could tell me about them, Sir?"

Chen An shook his head upon hearing this and sighed, making Ye Lingling doubt her own judgment, but he quickly spoke: "Aromatic Silk Beauty, Sky Dream Jade Orchid, Dragon Scale Phoenix Tail Flower..."

He reeled off several names, basically things that existed in this world, but could they be found? Even if one took a step back and assumed they were found, they would most likely be in their seedling stage, of little use.

He was merely reporting a few names; Chen An did not care. Even if she found them, he could only say the other party was lucky.

"Thank you for your guidance, Sir." Ye Lingling returned a salute and said.

She did not believe they were fake because she recognized one of them.

Chen An waved his hand, dismissing it as nothing. He kept his eyes on Ye Lingling, then said with a hint of pity, "Do you truly believe these herbs can resolve your situation?"

Ye Lingling smiled helplessly and bitterly, rubbing her teacup unconsciously. "One must have some hope."

Their generations had been researching this matter; they had some clues and a direction, so how could they give up easily?

Seeing that the other party did not understand his meaning, Chen An decided not to explain. The Nine-Heart Begonia was a fundamental limitation of the martial soul; such an ability could only stem from the Tree of Life in the God Realm.

If the limitation was likely manipulated by the God Realm, was it really only the God Realm's restriction? He didn't quite believe it; he didn't believe it could happen without the interference of the world's will.

So, could these problems really be solved by a single immortal herb?

"Sir, here is your black card."

Large transactions required a black card, and the balance on the card provided by the Seven Treasures Glazed was naturally more than enough to buy these items, so a trip to the bank was necessary to complete the trade.

After taking back the black card and the herbs, he thought about returning; there was no point in staying here. Ye Lingling rose to respectfully see Chen An off.

Before he left, she gave Chen An a token and said, "Sir, this is the Ye family's token. I hope to see you again."

Chen An did not refuse; he tucked the token away and said with certainty, "I will."

In his heart, he thought, It won't be long; we will meet again in a few days.

Now was not the right time to take on a disciple; he would see in a few days. The threads of fate had not been severed.

After Chen An left, Ye Lingling returned to her cold and lonely expression.

"Aunt, I'm going back up to continue training."

She was here today because it was her team's day off.

There was nowhere to go in Suotuo City, so she stayed at the herb shop. As for cultivation, it was because Qin Ming put great pressure on them, saying they were only allowed to win and never to lose.

She didn't know why her teacher was like this, but she could only obey.

While cultivating, her mind wandered. She thought of the friendliness during her conversation with Chen An, and that pile of immortal herbs whose whereabouts were unknown. As she thought, she forgot about her training, imagining what it would be like once the flaws in her martial soul were broken.

Slowly, she drifted off into a daydream.

On the other side, Chen An returned to the hotel to find all the children had returned and were currently cultivating. He couldn't help but wear a smile.

Later that evening, after the daily gathering of his direct disciples to discuss their progress, Chen An took several boxes of clothing from his storage ring and distributed them among the four disciples.

"Zhuqing, this is clothing I bought for you. Stop wearing that purple outfit all day; it's good to change things up once in a while."

Zhu Zhuqing accepted the clothes with joy; though the garments were small, the sentiment behind them was immense. "Little Stone, this is for you."

Luo Xiaoshi was in a similar situation to Zhu Zhuqing, coming from a difficult family background.

"Rongrong, Yiran, these are gifts for you two."

He hadn't prepared clothing for them, as their elders would handle such things the moment they asked.

Instead, he gave them gifts of equal value—some handicrafts—which still counted as a thoughtful gesture.

Without exception, they all thanked their master.

Seeing the smiles on every child's face now, how wonderful it was.

With nothing left to fuss over, Chen An simply stayed in the hotel, waiting for the match against the Imperial Fighting Team in a few days.

Compared to the calm on his side, the Imperial Fighting Team was in turmoil, especially Qin Ming.

He had received news that Shrek would be coming to watch the match, and he had also obtained the opponent information sheet from the supervisor. He only needed to glance at it for a moment before he was struck with astonishment.

"How is this possible!!"