Snow Star Gets the Cold Shoulder, Ye Lingling Rises Six Levels

Qian Renxue's pen moved with lightning speed, detailing the events of the palace banquet in just a few lines.

She folded the letter, tucked it into an envelope, and sealed it with wax before pressing her private seal as Crown Prince onto the surface.

"Elder Snake Lance."

Snake Lance Douluo, who had been waiting outside the door, pushed it open and knelt on one knee.

"Deliver this letter to the Sunset Forest tomorrow and hand it personally to His Highness the Holy Son."

Snake Lance Douluo accepted the letter with both hands, replied, "This subordinate obeys," and vanished into the night in a flash.

Qian Renxue stood up and walked to the window.

The palace walls outside the Crown Prince's Residence loomed high, and the night wind, carrying the chill of early autumn, poured in.

She habitually reached up to pull her collar tight, suddenly remembering that the last time Qin Yao visited, it had been a night just like this one.

That little rascal had even stolen a kiss from her before he left.

Qian Renxue's ears burned, and she hurriedly shook those chaotic images from her mind before turning to change her clothes.

The next morning.

Heaven Dou City Martial Soul Branch Hall.

Prince Xue Xing's carriage stopped outside the main entrance of the branch hall, and two attendants from the prince's estate went ahead to announce his arrival.

Prince Xue Xing sat inside the carriage, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the armrest.

A fire was burning in his heart.

He had come to the Martial Soul Branch Hall under the orders of Great Emperor Xueye to make contact with Qin Yao before the palace banquet, sound him out, and incidentally touch upon the matter of the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud to avoid any unpleasantness during the feast.

To put it bluntly, he was here to bow his head.

The more Prince Xue Xing thought about it, the more stifled he felt.

A dignified prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, forced to apologize to a mere brat. If word got out, where would he hide his face?

After waiting for about the time it takes to brew a pot of tea, the attendant returned with a subtle expression on his face.

"Prince Xue Xing, Martial Soul Hall says that His Highness the Holy Son Qin Yao is not in Heaven Dou City."

Prince Xue Xing's brows knit together.

"What do you mean he's not here?"

"Platinum Bishop Salas received this subordinate and said that His Highness the Holy Son left Heaven Dou City several days ago; he might be outside the city."

Prince Xue Xing's face turned from green to white. He sat in the carriage for a long while before finally gritting his teeth and spitting out two words:

"Return to the estate."

This could not be blamed on Salas.

Qin Yao did not often stay in Heaven Dou City, spending most of his time cultivating at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well deep within the Sunset Forest.

The Martial Soul Branch Hall in Heaven Dou City was merely a formality; if Qin Yao wanted to come, he came, and if he didn't, there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Salas, for his part, was more than happy to see Prince Xue Xing get the cold shoulder.

Sunset Forest, by the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Ye Lingling's cultivation had been ongoing for nearly three hours.

Dugu Yan sat on a rock not far away, hugging her knees and watching Ye Lingling's back.

Qin Yao leaned against the rock wall on the other side, eyes closed in meditation, his soul power perception covering the entire valley floor to guard Ye Lingling.

The medicinal efficacy of the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid was indeed gentle, unlike those overbearing immortal herbs that required one to suppress rampaging medicinal power.

The pale pink light radiating from Ye Lingling's body was soft and steady, and the phantom of her Nine Heart Begonia martial soul flickered above her head, its petals unfurling one by one.

Another half-stick of incense passed.

The pink light surrounding Ye Lingling suddenly intensified, and a clear ripple of soul power expanded from within her body.

Dugu Yan stood up with a start.

Qin Yao also opened his eyes.

The soul power fluctuations on Ye Lingling continued to climb, rising from level thirty-five all the way up, finally settling steadily at the threshold of level forty.

Ye Lingling opened her eyes abruptly, a lingering, ethereal glow still present in her blue pupils.

She looked down at her hands, her fingers trembling slightly.

"For... forty?"

Her voice carried an irrepressible tremor.

From just past level thirty-five to level forty—a leap of nearly five levels. A single immortal herb had pushed her directly across the threshold of a Soul Ancestor.

The phantom of the Nine Heart Begonia surged in her palms, its pink petals blooming one by one, more vivid and full than they had ever been before.

"Lingling!"

Dugu Yan ran over in two or three steps and grabbed her arm.

"Level forty! You've broken through to level forty!"

Ye Lingling was still in a daze.

Since awakening her Martial Soul at age six, it had taken her over a decade of cultivation to barely reach just past level thirty-five.

Although the healing ability of the Nine Heart Begonia was peerless on the continent, the cultivation speed of support-type soul masters had always been relatively slow.

Yet, after consuming one stalk of immortal herb, she had jumped five levels directly.

Dugu Yan was so happy she nearly jumped for joy.

"I told you His Highness's immortal herb was amazing! You didn't believe me!"

Ye Lingling came back to her senses and instinctively looked toward Qin Yao.

Qin Yao straightened up from the rock wall and walked over.

"The medicinal properties of the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid are a perfect match for the Nine Heart Begonia.

Your Martial Soul belongs to the pure healing support type, and there are almost no impurities in your body, so the medicinal power of the immortal herb didn't need to be diverted to cleanse your meridians; it was all converted into soul power.

Five levels is no surprise."

He said it nonchalantly, as if he had expected it all along.

Ye Lingling stood up from the ground and bowed deeply to Qin Yao.

"His Highness's great kindness..."

"That's enough." Qin Yao raised a hand to interrupt her.

"If you really want to thank me, then raise your strength as soon as possible.

The healing ability of the Nine Heart Begonia is what I need most; the stronger you are, the safer the people around me will be.

Don't waste time on pleasantries."

Ye Lingling straightened up and nodded vigorously.

Dugu Yan stood beside her, draping an arm over Ye Lingling's shoulder, and nudged her with an elbow while grinning.

"See that? His Highness just has this kind of temper—fierce on the outside, but actually the softest heart."

Qin Yao glanced at her.

Dugu Yan retracted her hand in a flash, hiding it behind her back with a look of feigned innocence.

Ignoring her, Qin Yao continued to speak to Ye Lingling: "You're level forty now, so you need to hunt for a soul ring."

Ye Lingling was stunned.

She had just broken through and hadn't even had time to think about that.

Qin Yao turned his head to look at Dugu Yan.

"Yanzi."

Dugu Yan stood at attention immediately, her chin slightly raised.

"The task of obtaining a soul ring for Lingling is entrusted to you."

Dugu Yan didn't say a word, but Qin Yao noticed her clench her fist, her knuckles turning slightly red.

"You've been cultivating at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well for over half a year, your soul power is at level forty-five, and the four soul skills of your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor should be well-honed by now.

Go to the middle zone of the Sunset Forest and bring back a four-thousand to five-thousand-year-old healing or support-type soul beast for Lingling."

"Go and prove to me that you haven't wasted your time training."

Dugu Yan's spine went rigid.

"Rest assured, Your Highness!"

Her tone carried a drive that had been suppressed for a long time.

Ever since she started following Qin Yao, she had been cultivating, cultivating, and cultivating some more.

Curing her snake venom, Martial Soul Evolution, and the increase in soul power—these were all things His Highness had given her.

She had always been on the receiving end, never having the chance to show any results.

Now, she finally had the opportunity.

Dugu Yan reached out a hand toward Ye Lingling.

"Lingling, let's go. Big sister will take you to hunt for your soul ring."

Ye Lingling hesitated for a moment and looked at Qin Yao.

Qin Yao nodded at her.

"Let Yanzi go; she can do it. I will wait for you both here."

Ye Lingling placed her hand in Dugu Yan's palm and was pulled up in one swift motion.

The two girls walked back up the mountain along the path they had come. As they walked, Dugu Yan told Ye Lingling about the progress of her cultivation during this period, her voice loud enough to echo off the cliff walls down to the valley floor.

"Let me tell you, after the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor evolved, that fourth soul skill, Serpent Shadow Entanglement, is incredibly powerful!

When the time comes, I'll initiate control, then follow up with Serpent Shadow Entanglement to bind it, and the poison mist will end the battle in minutes. You just stand to the side and wait to absorb the soul ring..."

The voices gradually faded into the distance.

Qin Yao leaned back against the rock wall and sat cross-legged.

He closed his eyes, but his mind was not on cultivation.

Dugu Yan was a girl with a straightforward personality, decisive in her actions, and utterly devoted.

As the granddaughter of Dugu Bo and the successor to the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor, her strength at level forty-five, while still lacking a bit, was already considered top-tier among her peers.

More importantly, her loyalty to him was completely genuine.

Such a person was worth cultivating.

Two hours later.

In the middle layer of the Sunset Forest, deep within a dense thicket of bushes.

Dugu Yan retracted her martial soul and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Lying at her feet was an Emerald Feather Spirit Phoenix about two meters long. There were three deep purple snake fang marks on its neck, and the surrounding grass had been corroded into a ring of charred black by the emerald green poison mist.

The Emerald Feather Spirit Phoenix was an auxiliary-type soul beast, skilled in healing and amplification, with an age of approximately four thousand eight hundred years and an extremely abundant reserve of soul power.

Dugu Yan had dealt with it alone.

The entire process took less than a quarter of an hour.

She first used her third soul skill, Jade Phosphorous Purple Poison, to release a poison mist that blocked the Emerald Feather Spirit Phoenix's retreat, then used her fourth soul skill, Serpent Shadow Entanglement, to lock its limbs and wings.

The Emerald Feather Spirit Phoenix struggled several times, but the Serpent Shadow Entanglement tightened further, causing its physical strength to drain rapidly.

Dugu Yan seized the opportunity, struck the top of the Emerald Feather Spirit Phoenix's head with her palm, and unleashed both Jade Phosphorous Red Poison and Jade Phosphorous Blue Poison simultaneously, leaving it on the verge of death with clean efficiency.

Ye Lingling stood ten paces away, having watched the entire process, and couldn't help but clench the hem of her clothes.

"Lingling, what are you standing there for?" Dugu Yan waved her hand. "Come over and claim your soul ring!"

Ye Lingling hurried over, finished off the Emerald Feather Spirit Phoenix with a blade, and immediately sat cross-legged to begin absorbing the purple soul ring.

Dugu Yan stepped back a few paces and released the aura of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor to drive away any soul beasts that might approach.

This was already second nature to her.

The soul ring absorption process went much more smoothly than imagined.

The attributes of the four-thousand-eight-hundred-year-old Emerald Feather Spirit Phoenix soul ring were highly compatible with the Nine Heart Begonia. Ye Lingling encountered almost no resistance and completed the absorption in about forty minutes.

The fourth soul ring took root steadily within her body.

Her soul power had also reached over level forty-one.

Before Ye Lingling could recover from the shock of "leveling up six times in a single day," Dugu Yan had already leaned in and tugged at her sleeve.

"Come on, let's go back and report to His Highness!"