With so many people watching, a blush appeared on Hu Liena's fair cheeks.
She shot Lin Chuan an embarrassed, annoyed glare, then turned her eyes to Lovesick Heartbreak Red.
Following the steps, she decisively took a dagger from her Storage Soul Tool, cut her middle finger, and dripped a drop of heart's blood onto the flower.
The vivid red blood landed precisely on a leaf of Lovesick Heartbreak Red. Like a drop falling into a still lake, the leaf rippled gently.
In an instant, the entire flower became more jade-like, like a fine piece of porcelain fresh from the kiln, radiating a soft glow in the sunlight.
The energy it released kept everything around it at bay, enveloping Hu Liena alone. It was as though countless flowers bloomed into view, a sea of azure and crimson.
From the very beginning, Lin Chuan had occupied her heart, so she could hardly be of two minds.
Their identities, their time together, and their experiences had brought them little separation or hurt. One beautiful memory after another had been etched into her heart.
Hu Liena suffered no backlash at all. On the contrary, the process went exceptionally smoothly.
The riot of vivid colors released by Lovesick Heartbreak Red soon faded away.
Perhaps this was one of the perks of being love-struck.
Before long, a crisp crack rang out, and Lovesick Heartbreak Red snapped in two all by itself.
Its body then dissolved into medicinal liquid and flowed into Hu Liena, strengthening her foundation, nourishing her meridians, and cleansing her channels.
As the king of Immortal Herbs, Lovesick Heartbreak Red had many medicinal effects.
Strengthening one's foundation, invigorating the bones and tendons, and nourishing the meridians were only the basics. Refining its medicinal properties could raise the Soul Power of anyone below Soul King by at least ten levels.
Its most remarkable effect was bringing the dead back to life and restoring flesh to bone.
Seeing the protective radiance of Lovesick Heartbreak Red swirling around Hu Liena, Lin Chuan refrained from disturbing her as she refined its medicinal properties.
In the courtyard, Xie Yue and Yan had also begun refining their herbs.
Immortal Herbs that strengthened one's foundation had mild medicinal properties, so the two of them were able to refine them with ease.
Ling Yuan looked forward to the improvement she would gain from refining an Immortal Herb, but she still had duties to fulfill and an identity to maintain, so she held back.
Lin Chuan looked toward Zhu Zhuqing, who likewise hadn't moved, and said to the two of them, "You should find somewhere to refine and absorb your Immortal Herbs too. I have something to take care of. I'll be right back."
With that, he slowly headed for the courtyard gate.
He could tell Zhu Zhuqing felt ill at ease.
He hadn't expected Ling Yuan to take Zhu Zhuqing as her disciple, but when he thought about it, it made sense. Zhu Zhuqing's temperament meant she was never destined to be mediocre.
So Lin Chuan had given her a quasi-Immortal Herb. It wasn't because he fell in love with every woman he met, of course, but because he was preparing for his future plans to recruit personal guards.
Everything needed to be laid out in advance.
Besides, recruiting personal guards wasn't his main goal at the moment.
He was going to check whether it was time for Shrek to take Oscar out to hunt for a Spirit Ring, so he could seize the opportunity for himself.
He hadn't asked because he figured it was better to go and see for himself. Asking Ling Yuan on the spot about her surveillance of others would have been awkward.
But judging by the situation, it was almost certainly the right time. He was only going to confirm it.
Only after Lin Chuan had vanished completely and the courtyard gate had shut again did Zhu Zhuqing finally breathe a sigh of relief.
She had felt a great deal of Pressure when facing Lin Chuan just now. Perhaps the gap in their strength and status had made her timid, leaving her afraid to speak.
Once he was gone, she no longer felt so constrained.
After finding a secluded spot, she gazed at the Immortal Herb in her hands, eyes shining. She swallowed it at once, then sat cross-legged and began refining it.
Ling Yuan also ate her Immortal Herb. Its gentle medicinal power flowed through her meridians, and the warmth felt wonderfully soothing.
Meanwhile, Suotuo City wasn't far from Shrek Academy.
Using the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone's Soul Skill, Lin Chuan reached Shrek Academy in less than half an incense stick's time.
Shrek Academy seemed to be carrying on as usual. His abduction of Xiao Wu and poaching of Zhu Zhuqing had been little more than a brief interlude.
Since then, Shrek Academy had recruited two more students with decent talent, a boy and a girl.
During this time, Tang San had nearly recovered from his injuries, but he still worried about Xiao Wu constantly.
With the others at Shrek comforting him, he had worked even harder and had recently reached rank twenty-nine. In any case, Lin Chuan could now pin down the timing fairly well.
He had come to check on Oscar, but when he arrived at Shrek, he found that none of the students were there.
The entire academy was deserted; Tang San, Oscar, and the others were nowhere to be seen.
His immense spiritual power swept across the village. If he hadn't sensed two teachers here with Soul Emperor-level strength or above, Lin Chuan might have thought the Shrek Academy director had led everyone in a hasty retreat.
But after searching the area, he still couldn't find Flender. Nor could he detect a Spirit Saint within dozens of meters.
He hadn't been keeping a close watch on Shrek lately, so he didn't know the details of what was happening there.
"But it doesn't matter."
Lin Chuan withdrew his spiritual sense and let out a quiet breath. Then, with the wind beneath his feet, he raced back toward his courtyard.
He had laid plenty of plans around the opportunity to obtain the Eight Spider Lances.
He had people watching Meng Yiran. Which Spirit Ring she hunted and what she encountered would be easy to find out when he questioned them later.
And even if Tang San got to the Eight Spider Lances first, what of it?
An External Soul Bone didn't immediately fit perfectly to its host's body, and even after it did, it wasn't fully refined.
Even if Tang San absorbed the External Soul Bone, Lin Chuan could simply kill him and take it. After all, he had only intended to let Tang San live until this opportunity had passed.
He had spared him mostly because he wanted to keep him as a fallback option for obtaining the Eight Spider Lances.
Now, the chances looked slim.
It wasn't until the next morning, when dawn was breaking and purple light rose in the east, that everyone woke one after another.
Feeling the abundant Soul Power in their bodies and the lightness of their limbs, they could hardly contain their joy.
Yan could clearly feel his fire attribute growing more ferocious. Even his blood had become scorching hot.
Wisps of heat and white Mist drifted from his skin. His heart seemed ready to leap from his chest, pounding violently without pause.
His Flame Lord Martial Soul had become more imposing and pure.
Long ribbons formed from molten rock extended from his shoulders, fluttering behind him despite the still air. It was a wondrous sight.
Ling Yuan's Martial Soul had also successfully transformed, and the aura she gave off was far more turbulent than before.
Her Blazing Spirit Kite Martial Soul appeared, flapping its wings as it soared into the sky.
"Cree!"
A piercing cry rang out, sharp enough to cut through the air.
Seeing that it was about to wake the entire city, Lin Chuan acted on the thought that came to him. A spatial ability faster than sound instantly sealed off the space around them.
Nurtured by Giratina, his Inversion Domain was steadily growing stronger.
Its range had already expanded from ten meters to a radius of thirty meters, covering a full sixty meters across.
Combined with his strange ability to devour other people's souls and the effects of his domain, he could casually seize the souls of anyone whose strength and spiritual power were below his own, all with a single thought.
At this moment,
If he were on a battlefield, he would be nearly invincible against anyone below Super Douluo.
Ling Yuan hadn't woken up that early within the domain, either.
The eight Spirit Rings had already begun to mutate her Martial Soul.
Now, with the help of an Immortal Herb, the wings of her Blazing Spirit Kite had grown even broader, each feather taking on a sharply defined shape. Its long, scarlet tail feathers and thick, pillar-like legs ended in four crescent-shaped talons that glinted coldly.
Its beak had grown sharper still, curving into a hook, while its keen eagle eyes gleamed orange-red like magma.
It was clearly larger and more imposing than before. The change went beyond an improvement in talent; even its bearing had changed.
It was as though an ordinary bird had risen to become the king of birds.
Ling Yuan was also doing her best to absorb the Immortal Herb's medicinal properties. Her aura grew more turbulent, and waves of Soul Power rippled outward again and again.