The most pressing need at Spirit Hall was for top-tier strategic support Soul Masters like this.
Qin Yao looked at Ye Lingling and spoke slowly.
"You're the heir to the Nine Heart Begonia Family? I assume you know who I am."
Ye Lingling took a deep breath and stepped forward twice out of the shadows.
She wore black from head to toe, a black veil covering her face. Her whole bearing was so cool and distant that she seemed to warn everyone away.
"Hello. I'm Ye Lingling."
Her voice was flat, revealing no hint of emotion.
Even after witnessing Qin Yao kill Yu Tianheng with a single move on the street, she remained completely composed.
Qin Yao studied her for a few seconds.
"Since Yanzi brought you here, I won't beat around the bush."
Qin Yao got straight to the point. "Spirit Hall is currently short a top-tier healing Soul Master. Would you be interested in joining us?"
The air in the front hall fell silent for a moment.
Dugu Yan turned to look at her best friend, anticipation in her eyes.
Now that she had pledged herself to Qin Yao, she naturally hoped Ye Lingling would come along too. With Spirit Hall's resources and His Highness the Holy Son's methods, joining them would be a hundred times better than staying in Heaven Dou City.
Even the curse on the Nine Heart Begonia Family might not be impossible to break.
Ye Lingling stood where she was, hands clasped in front of her, fingers twisting together.
She lowered her head slightly, her gaze fixed on the patterns in the floor tiles, as if struggling with a fierce inner conflict.
"Your Highness the Holy Son, thank you for thinking so highly of me." Ye Lingling sighed, her voice still calm. "But I can't make the decision to join a faction on my mother's behalf."
The Nine Heart Begonia Family passed its Martial Soul down through a single line.
Across the entire Douluo Continent, there could only ever be two living Nine Heart Begonia Soul Masters at once. Only after one died could a descendant have a chance of awakening this Martial Soul.
That was an ironclad rule, and the curse her family had borne for generations.
She didn't dare hand over her family's fate lightly.
Qin Yao leaned back in his chair and tapped the armrest with his fingers, the steady beats sounding softly in the room.
"That curse on your Nine Heart Begonia Family is certainly a troublesome one."
Ye Lingling jerked her head up. Her eyes contracted sharply behind the black veil.
Qin Yao looked at her, his tone casual.
"Go back and tell your mother that if you join Spirit Hall, I'll use all of Spirit Hall's resources to help your family break the curse."
Even if an Immortal Herb couldn't do the trick, once he became a god in the future, rewriting the rules of a Martial Soul would be child's play.
A Titled Douluo with a Nine Heart Begonia who could bring the dead back to life was worth offering that much.
Ye Lingling's breathing quickened.
Break the curse?
Those four words held a fatal allure for the Nine Heart Begonia Family.
Generation after generation had spent their whole lives searching for a way to break the rule, only to close their eyes in regret.
"Thank you, Your Highness the Holy Son!"
Ye Lingling bent forward in a deep bow. Her voice trembled with excitement.
"I'll relay your words to my mother, every single one!"
"Good. I'll await your news."
Qin Yao rose to his feet.
"I'm planning to spend a few days cultivating at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well in Sunset Forest. What about you two?"
"Yanzi will follow Your Highness!" Dugu Yan stepped forward without hesitation, her voice clear and bright.
Ye Lingling respectfully took half a step back. "I need to go home at once and report this to my mother."
"Go ahead."
Ye Lingling turned and hurried away, even her retreating figure radiating urgency.
Just then, Dugu Bo came in from outside, rubbing his hands as he approached Qin Yao.
"Your Highness is going to Sunset Forest? This old man will clear the way for you!"
Qin Yao glanced at him. "You're staying in Heaven Dou City."
Dugu Bo froze.
"Look into what needs to be done about Yanzi leaving school, and figure out what it'll take to repay the favor you owe."
Qin Yao headed outside.
"Also, keep an eye on the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. I badly injured Yu Tianheng, so they definitely won't let it go."
"This old man understands!" Dugu Bo straightened at once. "Rest assured, Your Highness. If anyone dares cause trouble now, I'll poison their gates flat!"
Qin Yao ignored him and walked straight into the courtyard.
Dugu Yan followed close behind, her steps light.
As they left Dugu Manor, a dark purple glow surged behind Qin Yao.
With a low lion's roar, a pair of massive Dark Purple Bone Wings sprang open. Ghostly Purple Fire flowed over their crystalline surfaces, radiating a terrifying heat.
Qin Yao slipped one arm around Dugu Yan's waist. With a beat of his wings, he soared into the sky.
The sudden sensation of weightlessness made Dugu Yan cry out in alarm.
Instinctively, she reached out with both arms and clung tightly to Qin Yao's neck, pressing her whole body against him.
At nineteen, she had a stunning figure, and today she wore a fitted purple-black outfit edged with silver. The fabric hugged her curves. As she clung to him, not even a sliver of space remained between them.
Qin Yao supported her waist with one hand and wrapped the other around her back to keep her from falling.
His palm felt the astonishing softness of her body.
The wind howled around them high above the ground. A faint veil of Purple Fire flared automatically around Qin Yao, blocking out the gale and chill.
Dugu Yan buried her face against Qin Yao's chest, listening to his steady, powerful heartbeat. Her breath grew hot.
She could feel the fiercely invasive aura of Heavenly Flames seeping from Qin Yao through every point where they touched. The virile presence of an apex predator left her limbs weak.
"Hold on any tighter and you'll strangle me."
Qin Yao's low voice came from above, tinged with amusement.
Dugu Yan stiffened. Her cheeks turned crimson in an instant, but she didn't let go. Instead, she boldly rubbed herself against him.
"The wind's strong up here. Yanzi's afraid of falling."
She lifted her head. Her usually aloof, beautiful face was now full of feminine charm, her clear, pale-purple eyes reflecting Qin Yao's image.
Qin Yao glanced down at her and lightly brushed his long fingers over her waist twice.
Dugu Yan shuddered uncontrollably. Her breathing fell completely out of rhythm, and she quickly buried her face against him again, her ears so red they seemed ready to bleed.
The girl certainly had some nerve.
Qin Yao chuckled softly. His wings beat faster, and he shot toward Sunset Forest like a streak of purple light.
At the heart of Sunset Forest lay the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
The freezing and scalding waters met at the bottom of the valley, sending up red and white mists. The air here brimmed with incredibly dense energy from heaven and earth.
Qin Yao landed safely with Dugu Yan.
He folded his wings and released his arm from around Dugu Yan's waist.
Dugu Yan's legs went weak, and she nearly stumbled. She hurriedly braced herself against a nearby boulder and took several deep breaths before she could calm her racing heart.
Qin Yao walked to a flat boulder beside the spring and sat down cross-legged.
With a turn of his wrist, he took an old wooden case from his storage ring.
Complex patterns were carved into its surface, and faint ripples of energy emanated from within.
Dugu Yan curiously edged closer.
Qin Yao casually flipped the latch and lifted the lid.
In an instant, an immense yet gentle breath of life swept across the entire valley like a tsunami.
Blue-gold light shot into the sky, tinting the red and white mists in dreamlike colors.
The energy's impact sent Dugu Yan staggering back three steps. She stared wide-eyed at the object inside the case.
It was a crystalline right leg bone.
Blue-gold light rippled across its surface like water, and every line seemed to hold boundless vitality. Even just standing beside it and breathing made Dugu Yan feel her Soul Power circulating three times faster.
A Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone couldn't possibly possess energy this powerful!
"Your Highness, this... what is it?" Dugu Yan's voice went dry. Her finger trembled as she pointed at the case.
"A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone."
Qin Yao answered calmly, casually drawing the case closer to himself.
Dugu Yan felt like her mind had stopped working.
A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone?
The legendary treasure that could plunge the entire continent into a bloodbath was something His Highness the Holy Son carried around with him, and he spoke of it so nonchalantly?
Her grandfather, Dugu Bo, was a dignified Titled Douluo who had spent his whole life scraping by, and he didn't even have many Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones.
Was this the kind of wealth the Holy Son of Spirit Hall had at his disposal?
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