The Grudges of the Support Spirit Masters

The three of them exchanged glances. Meng Shenji, one of the instructors, narrowed his eyes slightly, stroked his goatee, and spoke slowly.

"Nine Heart Begonia? Senior Ye?"

As a fellow Spirit Douluo, Ye Renxin, the strongest healing-type Spirit Master on the continent, was certainly worthy of the title of "Senior" from them.

As he spoke, Meng Shenji released a faint trace of spiritual power, which swept over Naruto like a gentle breeze.

Confirming his suspicions, Meng Shenji's hand froze in mid-air while stroking his beard. "Child, I faintly sensed that your aura was unstable earlier. Do you have internal injuries?"

Curious gazes from the others turned toward him.

As for Xue Qinghe, there was no surprise on her face; she had already learned the situation during their idle chatter in the carriage earlier.

She had even used the excuse of showing concern to take the opportunity to ruffle Naruto's hair vigorously—truly a sinister intention!

Naruto nodded heavily, then scratched his head and gave an awkward, sheepish laugh. "I was injured some time ago. I've sought out many healing-type Spirit Masters, but the results were poor. I heard that Senior Ye has some connections with Tiandou Royal Academy, so I hoped to use this to make an introduction."

Hearing this, the instructors couldn't help but chuckle.

"You are certainly honest..."

The instructor who spoke now was the rotund Bai Baoshan. After laughing heartily, he clasped his hands behind his back.

"That is true; we do indeed have some connections with Senior Ye."

"Senior Ye is a benevolent healer who wanders the world, saving lives and helping the wounded. He is not easy to find, and in fact, few people on the entire continent even know of the Nine Heart Begonia. Trying to find him is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

When he said this, Zhi Lin and Meng Shenji beside him frowned slightly, casting strange, sidelong glances at Bai Baoshan.

This seemed... like a reproach?

Naruto couldn't guess the meaning behind it and didn't dare to look too closely, so he quickly withdrew his gaze.

Instructor Bai continued, his words increasingly unable to hide his inner smugness as he shook his head. "However, you are lucky. A descendant of Senior Ye is enrolling in our Tiandou Academy, so they will be staying near the academy for the next few years."

Having said that, Bai Baoshan pointed to a teacher standing outside the hall.

"Just put the consultation fee on Tiandou Academy's tab. Qin Ming, take this child to find the student from the Ye family."

"Many thanks!"

Seeing the stranger approach, Naruto expressed his sincere gratitude, though he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

He remembered that in the original story, Tang San, who also possessed innate full spirit power, had been made difficult by the three instructors under the guise of a test. Yet, in his own experience, the attitude of Tiandou Royal Academy was suspiciously good. Could the face of the Tiandou Crown Prince really be that useful?

This was actually a misunderstanding caused by Naruto's poor memory and his long-term exposure to various geniuses.

One had to know that in the entire Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament, aside from the main protagonist group, Feng Xiaotian was the only one with innate full spirit power.

Even looking across the continent, not even the ninety-eighth-level Super Douluo Jin E possessed innate full spirit power.

The rarity and value of innate full spirit power were evident.

As for the difficulties Shrek Academy faced, it was purely because they were troublesome.

Not to mention how absurd it was for Dai Mubai and Zhu Qing, two members of the Star Luo royal family, to join Tiandou Royal Academy; they wanted to receive the Seven Devils while also taking in all the teachers and students of Shrek Academy, and the Seven Devils still had to be taught by Shrek Academy's teachers.

Such an unreasonable demand was clearly an attempt to use someone else's resources to hatch their own eggs. How could the instructors not see that?

Yet the instructors had agreed to everything, only intending to give these "monsters" a warning under the guise of a test.

Unexpectedly, the future Emperor Xue Beng had intervened and ruined the whole thing.

Naruto, who had long since forgotten the original plot, simply assumed it was because Xue Qinghe's influence was formidable.

The young teacher named Qin Ming beside him smiled at the two, gestured for them to follow, and led the way.

Naruto bowed to the three instructors to take his leave, turned, and followed. Seeing that Xue Qinghe had not followed and remained standing where she was, he couldn't help but look back.

The three instructors were equally puzzled.

"Does Your Highness the Crown Prince wish to go as well?"

"This junior will pass. My teacher is Sect Master Ning, and I fear my presence might cause annoyance." Xue Qinghe shook her head, pointing out the reason with a helpless expression.

The three instructors suddenly realized. Several years ago, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe had become a disciple of Ning Fengzhi. Although it was a master-disciple relationship mixed with political factors, a master was still a master.

None of them intended to explain further, waving their hands to dismiss the bewildered Naruto and the guiding Qin Ming.

A moment later, the entire hall fell into silence.

The three instructors gradually withdrew the smiles from their faces, and one spoke solemnly, "Your Highness, regarding Senior Ye, did you hear this information from Prince Xue Xing?"

The question was somewhat abrupt and lacked context.

But in reality, it involved the peculiar power structure of the current Tiandou royal family. Crown Prince Xue Qinghe was widely involved in government affairs and the appointment of officials, while military power strangely fell into the hands of Prince Xue Xing.

In the entire Tiandou Empire, the number of Spirit Douluos truly belonging to the royal family could be counted on two hands.

Among them, the three instructors guarding Tiandou City belonged to Prince Xue Xing, and the entire Tiandou Royal Academy was also under his jurisdiction.

"That is not the case..."

Xue Qinghe shook her head candidly.

Earlier, while chatting in the carriage, Naruto had subconsciously mentioned going to Tiandou Academy to find the Begonia Ye Clan. Xue Qinghe had been sipping her tea at the time and had casually agreed, only to suddenly realize something.

Where was the Begonia Ye Clan?

Xue Qinghe did not know this, but Qian Renxue did!

Lifting her eyes to see that Naruto remained completely oblivious, Qian Renxue immediately suppressed the urge to question him, the corners of her lips curling up in a way that was barely perceptible.

It's getting more and more interesting. This little Naruto actually knows things that even the Crown Prince of Tiandou doesn't!

Qian Renxue could not help but grow increasingly curious about what kind of answer Snake Spear, whom she had sent to investigate Naruto's background, would bring back to her.

Xue Qinghe suddenly shifted her feet.

Under the puzzled gazes of the several instructors, she walked to the edge of the hall, to a magnificent floor-to-ceiling window from which one could overlook the entire Tiandou Academy.

Naturally, this view included Naruto, who had already become a tiny figure at the foot of the building.

A flash of playful cunning crossed her eyes.

As she pondered, feeling the confused gazes of the people behind her, Xue Qinghe merely put on a show.

"As my reputation has grown, I have come to know more and more things, most of which are baseless rumors. I truly didn't expect that Senior Ye would actually come to Tiandou Academy."

Once these words were spoken, the three instructors exchanged long glances and sighed helplessly, assuming this was just another clash between the Crown Prince and Prince Xue Xing.

For the three of them, who served as honorary elders, it mattered little; no matter who emerged victorious in the end, they would not be targeted, so they shrugged and ceased to care.

Returning to the topic of the Ye family, The three instructors also stepped forward, gazing out the window, and requested, "Your Highness, the Ye family has it difficult. We hope you will not speak of this."

"I naturally understand that principle and will not spread it. It is just that the two families have harbored grievances for so long that it is truly difficult to resolve them."

Xue Qinghe wore a troubled expression, and the others expressed their understanding. "There is nothing to be done about it. The Nine Heart Begonia spirit has an inherent flaw; how could it compare to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

It was laughable, in a way.

The two strongest support-type spirits on the continent both had their own defects: the Nine Heart Begonia could only have two in existence at the same time, while the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could only reach the level of a Spirit Saint.

The misfortune lay in the fact that the Nine Heart Begonia had not produced a Title Douluo for the last five or six generations, and it had already been suppressed into obscurity by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

"How pitiful..."

"Indeed... Lingling is truly a pitiful child..."

Recalling that poor girl, Meng Shenji shook his head and sighed.

"Her name is Lingling?"

Xue Qinghe frowned and turned her head abruptly. "Isn't the Ye family a single-line inheritance?"

Meng Shenji spread his hands, his tone casual. "That is true. We also didn't expect that the Nine Heart Begonia of this generation would be a girl."

Failing to notice the complex shift of emotions in the depths of Xue Qinghe's eyes, the others continued to praise Ye Lingling one after another. Xue Qinghe, with her hands behind her back, remained silent for a long time before suddenly speaking.

"Since there is nothing else, I shall take my leave."

With that, Xue Qinghe turned and hurried away, leaving the several bewildered instructors behind.