After the palace banquet ended, Qin Yao returned to the Sunset Forest with Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling.
After putting away the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, he began cultivating.
Qin Yao's life fell back into its old rhythm.
He trained on his own in the mornings, spent the afternoons sparring with Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, and trained some more at night.
Once a month, he went to Heaven Dou City and spent half a day in the Crown Prince's Residence's back garden.
Dugu Yan had long since gotten used to this arrangement. Every time Qin Yao was due to head into the city, she would hang his black-and-gold robe outside the stone cave early that morning, along with a neatly folded, clean hair tie.
The first few times Ye Lingling saw this, she thought it was some special arrangement. It took her a while to figure it out.
"He goes to see that Young Master every month?"
Dugu Yan tidied the clothes hanging on the rock wall without looking back.
"Without fail. No matter what he was doing the day before, he still goes the next day."
Ye Lingling was silent for a while. "And that Young Master..."
"She waits for him without fail, too."
Dugu Yan replied calmly.
When Qin Yao instructed them in their training, his style was just like his personality: cold, blunt, and straight to the point.
Dugu Yan was already used to it. Ye Lingling had a rough time at first.
"The range of your Nine Heart Begonia isn't small, but in a real fight, your teammates won't all be standing within three meters of you."
"But my Soul Power and mental strength aren't enough to sustain such a wide range."
"Then train until they are. You've taken an Immortal Herb, too. You understand that, right?"
Ye Lingling bit her lip and said nothing more. She obediently stepped back and started practicing again.
Dugu Yan sat cross-legged nearby, pretending to meditate while keeping her ears perked. She was secretly delighted.
Well, well. At last, someone else had gotten chewed out by His Highness, just like her.
Though Qin Yao was merciless with his words, his advice was always useful.
Ye Lingling's problem was obvious. She relied too much on the Nine Heart Begonia's healing properties and neglected the efficiency of her Soul Power output.
In short, she had a solid foundation but little training, and her combat experience was practically nonexistent.
Qin Yao spent three days having Dugu Yan chase Ye Lingling around every day. Ye Lingling had to keep her healing skill active while on the move.
More importantly, this would help the two of them build teamwork.
Qin Yao couldn't always keep the two of them with him. If a mission came up in the future, they would be a team.
On the first day, Ye Lingling collapsed on the ground and couldn't get up, crying for half an hour.
On the second day, she only cried for ten minutes.
On the third day, she stopped crying, but had become a little jumpy around Dugu Yan.
"Yanzi, don't come near me!"
"His Highness told me to chase you, so I have to chase you! Why don't you just stop running so slowly?"
"Could you put away the poison on your hand first?"
"If I put it away, how are we supposed to simulate real combat? Don't worry, Lingling. I controlled the dose. At most, your arm will go numb for a bit."
"You said that last time, too! My whole arm went numb for an hour!"
Qin Yao sat on a rock in the distance, watching the two of them run around the valley floor and occasionally correcting Ye Lingling's technique.
Ye Lingling was reserved, but at heart, she was gentle. Even when pushed to her limit, she only complained a little, then obediently went back to training the next moment.
That kind of obedient temperament made her perfect for a healing support role.
Dugu Yan, meanwhile, was starting to seem more and more like a drill instructor. She chased after Ye Lingling with practiced ease, using poison when it was called for and Serpent Shadow Entanglement when it was needed, never holding back.
Sometimes, Qin Yao would offer a few more pointers after training was over.
"Dugu Yan, your Jade Phosphorous Purple Poison could spread faster after you release it. Next time, try mixing a Soul Power pulse into the poison mist to increase the rate at which the toxins penetrate."
"Yes!"
"Ye Lingling, keep working hard."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Qin Yao stood up to leave, then paused and tossed out one last remark.
"You're stronger today than you were yesterday."
Ye Lingling froze for a moment, then blushed.
Dugu Yan made a face behind her.
"See? His Highness praised you."
"Shut up," Ye Lingling replied under her breath.
Dugu Yan grinned and leaned close to Ye Lingling's ear.
"Did you learn that 'shut up' from His Highness?"
Ye Lingling blushed even more.
The days passed at an easy, unhurried pace.
Qin Yao's Soul Power continued to rise from level fifty-three.
Dugu Yan's Soul Power was growing, too. Cultivating within the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well really was astonishingly effective.
Ye Lingling made the greatest strides. With the lingering effects of the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid and the boost from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, her Soul Power climbed to level forty-two within a month.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye.
Spirit City, the Pope Palace.
Bibi Dong sat on the Pope Throne, holding the latest intelligence report that had just arrived.
Yue Guan was the one giving the report.
He knelt on one knee in the middle of the hall, his tone respectful and composed.
"Salas said that over the past two months, Holy Son Qin Yao has spent most of his time away from the city. According to my investigation, he has been cultivating in seclusion deep in the Sunset Forest for an extended period."
Bibi Dong turned a page of the report.
It listed Qin Yao's latest Soul Power Level: level fifty-three, Five-Ring Soul King.
Bibi Dong closed the report and set it on the armrest.
A while ago, Qian Daoliu had sent word that Qin Yao had broken through eight levels in three months, rising from level forty-three to level fifty-one. At the time, she'd thought it absurd.
Now, several more months had passed, and that number had risen to fifty-three.
Just what kind of monster was the Worship Hall raising?
"Yue Guan."
"This subordinate is here."
"That Immortal Herb you mentioned before, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum."
Bibi Dong lightly tapped the report cover twice with her finger.
"What level are you now?"
Yue Guan lowered his head. "To answer Your Holiness, after taking the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, my Soul Power broke through to level ninety-six."
The hall fell silent.
Bibi Dong said nothing.
The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum Yue Guan had received from Qin Yao had helped him break through the bottleneck. He had been stuck at level ninety-five for years without making any progress, but the Immortal Herb had allowed him to break through directly.
The value of Immortal Herbs had been proven once more.
Bibi Dong's fingers came to a stop.
"How many Immortal Herbs does Qin Yao still have?"
Yue Guan carefully considered his words. "As far as this subordinate knows, he has at least several left."
Bibi Dong was silent for a while.
"How is Nana progressing with her cultivation?"
"Nana is currently a level forty-eight Soul Ancestor. Xie Yue and Yan are both level forty-nine, and they're both close to breaking through to level fifty."
Bibi Dong picked up the report again, still deeply tempted by the Immortal Herbs.
"Yue Guan, what do you think could persuade the Holy Son to trade an Immortal Herb?"
Yue Guan raised his head and answered bluntly. "A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, or an External Soul Bone. I can't think of anything else."
Bibi Dong tapped the armrest a few times with her fingers.
The Spirit Hall didn't have many Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones in its stores, and every one had already been earmarked for a specific purpose. They couldn't be handed out lightly.
But Bibi Dong did have something that wasn't quite as top-tier, yet was still more than valuable enough to offer.
A fifty-thousand-year Mental Aggregation Wisdom Skull.
This Head Soul Bone came from a fifty-thousand-year-old mental-type Soul Beast. Among fifty-thousand-year Soul Bones, it was considered a fine piece.
It had originally been intended as the champion's prize at the Soul Master Tournament. If the Spirit Hall team won, Hu Liena would have received the Head Soul Bone. But now, the Immortal Herb was more important.
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