Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan

Dugu Yan seemed to completely ignore Xiao Wu's show of defiance.

She crushed a nut with a snap of her slender fingers, elegantly popped the kernel into her mouth, and raised her eyes to look at Chu Men:

"Teacher Chu's public lecture was truly brilliant. I wonder if you have any interest in coming to teach at our Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"

"No."

Chu Men's refusal was blunt. "Heaven Dou Royal Academy is full of noble students; I'm not cut out to cater to them."

"Haha~"

Dugu Yan let out a light laugh and looked at her best friend beside her.

"Lingling, you see? What did I tell you? Teacher Chu didn't agree."

Ye Lingling's shyness caused her face to flush all the way to her neck. She raised her delicate hands and pressed them firmly against her pretty face.

She couldn't face anyone!

It was all Sister Yan's fault—why did she have to say everything out loud!

Watching Ye Lingling's reddened earlobes, Dugu Yan couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips.

This matter had to be traced back to when Dugu Yan returned to their dormitory that afternoon.

The moment Dugu Yan pushed open the dormitory door, a pale blue figure pounced on her, a soft voice filled with urgency:

"Yanyan, you're finally back!"

Ye Lingling was clutching a crumpled flyer in her hand—it was the poster Liu Erlong had made for Chu Men's public lecture.

She tilted her small face up, her eyes bright as she asked, "Yanyan, tell me quickly, how was Teacher Chu's class?"

Dugu Yan sat on the bed in a leisurely manner, deliberately drawing out her tone: "Hmm... it was just alright, nothing special."

"How could it be! I heard from our classmates..."

Ye Lingling grew anxious, pulling on her arm and shaking it gently. "Sister Yan... good Yanyan, I beg you, just tell me!"

Ye Lingling was able to let her guard down in front of Dugu Yan, but her pleading voice was so soft it was ridiculous, a stark contrast to her usual persona.

"Haha, alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore."

Dugu Yan couldn't help but laugh at her expression and continued, "Teacher Chu's class was very interesting! He demonstrated a lightning-type Soul-Guided Device that can convert soul power into lightning attacks. It was very cool!"

Ye Lingling whispered, "Lightning?"

"Well, it's the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, so of course it's lightning."

A trace of disdain flickered across Dugu Yan's face before it turned into approval.

"The destructive power of lightning is indeed formidable. And... Teacher Chu is quite good-looking, too, with a dashing demeanor. It wouldn't be a waste of your pretty face."

Ye Lingling's face turned bright red instantly, and she chided, "What are you saying!"

"Tch! You won't even admit it? Then why did you pester me to go to the lecture? I have no interest in Soul-Guided Devices, you know."

Though Dugu Yan said this, she was subconsciously designing a poison-based Soul-Guided Device that would be uniquely hers!

Before going to Blue Tyrant Academy, her interest had indeed been low.

But ever since attending that public lecture, her appetite had only grown!

She didn't just want a Soul-Guided Device; she wanted the man himself!

Sorry, my dear friend. Since you're longing for this item, let your big sister test its quality first!

"Sister Yan~"

Ye Lingling drew out the end of her sentence, continuing to act spoiled.

"I had some family matters to attend to, and you know how strong the need for safety is for us support-type soul masters."

"I know, I know. Next time I see Aunt Ye, I'll tell her that our little Lingling is looking to get married and is feeling unsatisfied..."

"Don't you dare say it!"

Ye Lingling hurriedly tried to cover Dugu Yan's mouth, ending up tackling her onto the bed.

Dugu Yan tickled her waist while laughing.

"You're still young, and you have a top-tier martial soul like the Nine-Heart Begonia. What's the rush?"

"Who's rushing?"

Ye Lingling retorted with a flushed face, "I just wanted him to help me design a defensive Soul-Guided Device. I never said I wanted to date him... You're the worst!"

Dugu Yan didn't believe her: "Then just go find him yourself. Didn't we already find out he has some kind of Soul-Guided Device shop? Why not just go there and buy one?"

Ye Lingling glanced at Dugu Yan as if she were a fool.

"Those are offensive Soul-Guided Devices, big sister! Good items like that are long gone, snatched up by high-level support-type soul masters. You can't just buy them on the open market."

She wasn't referring to common goods, of course, but high-quality Soul-Guided Devices.

After all, the Ye family was considered nobility within the Heaven Dou Empire; though they kept a low profile, they possessed quite a deep foundation.

She herself was not lacking in defensive secret treasures, though she generally did not use them lightly.

Dugu Yan hugged her best friend with an air of composure. "Hmph! You mean to say you don't want to use your charms, yet you want to hook this man? That difficulty level is a bit high, you know!"

"What charms, what hooking? Sister Yan, you just love to talk nonsense!"

Ye Lingling looked unable to handle the teasing, twisting her waist in protest.

"I just want to know how much skill this Teacher Chu from Blue Tyrant Academy actually has. I hope he isn't just some fame-seeking fraud who doesn't live up to his reputation."

It was clearly the innocent youth of a young girl, so why did Sister Yan make it sound as if she were desperate to do something to him?

That hateful Sister Yan!

Dugu Yan replayed the scene from the morning's class in her mind and stated firmly, "Skill, he certainly has that!"

As soon as Ye Lingling heard the affirmative reply, she hurriedly asked:

"Then, Sister Yan, give me an idea. How should I go visit him? Should I go to Blue Tyrant Academy as a student, or disguise myself as a customer at his Soul-Guided Device shop? Or perhaps..."

Ye Lingling rattled off several plans in one breath; it was clear she had been "plotting this for a long time"!

"Such a simple problem, how did you manage to make it so messy?" Dugu Yan rubbed her temples. "Just bring a heavy gift and go buy something from him directly, wouldn't that work?"

"No, no, Sister Yan, you're a Battle Soul Master, you don't understand the tricks of the trade."

Ye Lingling sighed softly.

"For us Support-type Soul Masters, even if we go to Gengxin City to pick out a suitable weapon, we are often gouged mercilessly. That's not even counting the fact that the items we buy are often shoddily made with missing parts."

Dugu Yan did not refute this.

Battle Soul Masters had extremely limited needs for weapons.

In the vast majority of cases, their Martial Soul was their weapon, and combat itself was the tempering of their Martial Soul; there was simply no need for external objects to gild the lily.

Ye Lingling suggested, "I heard he is already a Soul Ancestor. How about we get him to become a teacher at our Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"

Dugu Yan clapped for her. "Getting the first pick because you're closest to the water—that little scheme of yours is clicking away quite loudly!"

Ye Lingling swatted away her wandering hands and pouted coquettishly.

"What do you mean? A teacher wouldn't scam his students, right? I am just... unwilling to see the empire let talent go to waste!"

She silently affirmed in her heart, "That's right, that's exactly it!"

"He won't agree," Dugu Yan said with great certainty.

Ye Lingling was somewhat skeptical. "How is that possible? Our Royal Academy is the strongest academy in the empire..."

Fragments of memory flashed by and vanished.

"I asked Teacher Chu to teach me Soul-Guided Device technology this morning, and now I've brought you a student who needs defensive Soul-Guided Devices the most. How about that? Am I a good friend or what?"

Dugu Yan's lips curled upward as she sat with her legs crossed, looking at Chu Men with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

[Warning, Shura Field escalating!]

[Yanmen Army, take heed! Reinforcements have arrived, launch a counterattack!]

[Damn, exciting! Could it be time for my great Ye Sect to make its debut?]

Just at this moment, a loud bang suddenly erupted from the stage—

The screen displaying the projection of the angel was torn apart by a dark shadow, and the audience below broke into an uproar.