Marry Lin Fan?

Heaven Dou Empire Royal Academy, office.

Three figures looked at one another, their gazes drifting from time to time toward the retreating backs of Lin Fan and Dugu Yan.

"This little fellow... what exactly is his background?"

"He has brought me too many shocks!"

"In this world, there is actually someone capable of controlling Soul Beasts to fight? And with such weak soul power, he can command several thousand-year Soul Beasts!"

"If he were to cultivate to the Title Douluo realm, I fear even Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts would have to bow their heads and obey his orders!"

"Setting that aside, the truly absurd part is..."

"Martial Souls can be altered? Soul Rings can be stored? And they can be sold to others at will?"

"Hiss... if Dugu Yan weren't so polite to him, and if he weren't connected to Dugu Bo, I would truly want to capture him and study him properly."

The three members of the Education Committee gathered together, all for the sake of a mere six-year-old child; if this were to spread, it would surely cause a massive uproar.

What was even more shocking was that the three Soul Douluos could not comprehend the miraculous nature of Lin Fan.

"Hoo, this child's identity is special, and he is related to Dugu Bo; it is not easy to probe into his peculiarities."

"How about we invite him to join the Royal Academy?"

"Absolutely not!"

Zhi Lin spoke up: "If we invite him with the intention of studying him, then that would be a deception to him."

"A child with such talent and such a strange Martial Soul might just be able to change the entire landscape of the soul master world."

"Either we let him grow freely on his own, or we guide him, but we must never use him."

Hearing these words, Meng Shenji's face darkened, and he said coldly: "Do you think I would really take action against a small child?"

"Ahem."

Seeing that Meng Shenji and Zhi Lin were about to argue, Bai Baoshan hurriedly acted as a peacemaker, laughing: "The child might not even be willing to join us, yet you two are already arguing?"

"In my opinion, we must make contact with this child; at the very least, we must protect him."

"His Martial Soul is too special, and his talent is extremely high. If discovered by those with ulterior motives, there is no telling if they might move against him."

"Although he has that old poisoner Dugu Bo behind him, that fellow... aside from caring about his granddaughter and Prince Xue Xing, he isn't exactly reliable when it comes to others."

Hearing this, Zhi Lin nodded: "Then you go and extend the invitation."

"Fine."

Bai Baoshan was cheerful, showing no signs of anger or joy. He slowly stood up, looked toward the backs of Lin Fan and Dugu Yan, and suddenly said: "When they arrived, that little girl also had good talent, but it is a pity her body has issues."

"I heard from Dugu Yan that they are relatives. If we can heal that little girl, perhaps our academy could gain two geniuses at once!"

"Give them a few years to grow, and the championship of the Academy Tournament will surely be ours!"

"Indeed, both of these little ones are worth cultivating; in the future, they will only be more outstanding than Dugu Yan and Yu Tianheng."

Meng Shenji suddenly laughed: "I am actually curious about the family behind them. How did they cultivate such excellent children?"

It must be said that this group of old fellows was indeed clever.

They had known about Lin Fan and the others the moment they entered the academy, but they had not stepped forward, choosing only to observe silently.

In this way, they would not come into conflict with Lin Fan, thus leaving themselves a way out.

Of course, Lin Fan was unaware of this. At this moment, he was walking with Dugu Yan, heading toward Ye Lingling's dormitory.

As members of the Royal Academy team, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling were treated differently from ordinary students; their dormitory was not only large but also lacked other occupants, appearing quite quiet.

At this time, Ye Lingling and Gu Chen were sitting amidst a cluster of flowers. The Nine Heart Begonia appeared, and Ye Lingling exerted her full strength, working to restore Gu Chen's vitality.

Qian Ying, standing to the side, was full of nervousness. If anyone saw this, they would never believe that this woman was a Soul Douluo-level soul master!

Time passed slowly. Ye Lingling was only at the Soul Elder level, and she could not maintain such an all-out effort for long. Soon, the Nine Heart Begonia dissipated.

Ye Lingling stood up slowly, her expression cold and calm.

"This... could it be that the result is not good?"

Qian Ying's face changed slightly, her heart filled with fear.

"It is not that."

Dugu Yan hurriedly explained: "Lingling just has this kind of personality. I can see that Chen's complexion is much better."

Following her gaze, it was true; Gu Chen's cheeks had regained a hint of color. However, Lin Fan could sense that her life force was still slowly ebbing away.

Just as Lin Fan had guessed earlier, the Nine Heart Begonia could only maintain and restore Gu Chen's vitality; it could not completely resolve the defect in her Martial Soul.

"I... may be powerless."

Ye Lingling said softly: "Unless I stay with her constantly, I can only keep her like an ordinary person, but I cannot cure her completely."

Once this "unless" was spoken, Qian Ying understood the meaning.

Admittedly, Ye Lingling was only willing to help this time because of Dugu Yan. Knowing that continuing would only be a waste of soul power, she was certainly not happy about it.

After all, she still had her own cultivation to attend to!

Gu Chen understood the implication behind her words and smiled, saying, "I have already troubled you enough, sister."

"Sigh."

Qian Ying let out a sigh, unable to stop a sense of despair from taking root in her heart.

If even the Nine Heart Begonia mentioned by a Titled Douluo could not save Gu Chen, what else could she possibly do?

"Forget it, I was being too greedy."

"Chen, Mother will definitely find some heavenly treasure to let you live on as an ordinary person."

"..."

Gu Chen's smile remained radiant, yet deep within, she felt a profound sense of sorrow.

Possessing the talent to become a Spirit Master, or even a powerhouse, how could she ever be willing to live as an ordinary person?

She was merely trying not to let Qian Ying down.

"Perhaps, I have a way."

Seeing that Qian Ying and Gu Chen were about to get emotional, Lin Fan spoke up to interrupt them.

Hearing this, Ye Lingling could not help but be startled. She considered her own martial soul to be the absolute pinnacle of the entire continent when it came to healing; if even she was helpless, how could anyone else dare to claim they had a solution?

In particular, when Ye Lingling saw that Lin Fan was merely a child, her curiosity grew even more intense.

"Fan, you..."

Qian Ying was also stunned, staring blankly at Lin Fan.

Gu Chen simply smiled; ever since awakening her martial soul, she had experienced too many cycles of hope and disappointment, and she had long since stopped daring to hope again.

"I remember you once said, Aunt, that my cousin's problem is a martial soul defect, and I... just happen to have the ability to help martial souls evolve!"

"Hm?!"

Her pupils constricted sharply. Qian Ying finally recalled this, her heart filled with a mixture of shock, frustration, and joy.

Of course, the frustration was not directed at Lin Fan, but at herself for failing to think of this sooner!

She had seen with her own eyes that after Lin Fan helped Dugu Yan evolve her martial soul, all the toxins in her body had vanished without a trace, and she had even gained the ability to control poison!

"But... for you to evolve someone's martial soul... does it require..."

However, the moment she remembered Lin Fan asking Dugu Yan to go to his room alone, and even requesting a tub of hot water, Qian Ying hesitated.

After all, Lin Fan and Gu Chen were cousins.

If something like that were to happen, it would be difficult to explain to their parents. Surely, they couldn't have Lin Fan marry Gu Chen?

Fortunately, they were cousins on the maternal side, not as closely related as paternal cousins, so if they really were to marry, it wouldn't be impossible...

Thinking of this, the way Qian Ying looked at Lin Fan became rather strange.