Status and Standing

"Good! The brothers are all well, and I'm doing well too!"

"You're out of touch, kid. A lot of people got married a while ago, and now everyone's got a wife!"

Xiang Guyun walked forward laughing and gave Ling Yi, who had just dismounted, a bear hug.

Ling Yi didn't hesitate, and patted Xiang Guyun's back hard with a smile, saying happily, "That's good, then I can rest assured—"

"I was worried you wouldn't be used to it here—"

Seeing the two grown men hugging and laughing at the entrance of the bustling Blacksmith Association, Yang Shelly was somewhat surprised.

She seemed to have never seen Brother Yi so emotionally expressive before.

That hearty laughter, and that genuine, unpretentious joy, was something Yang Shelly had never seen in all the time she had known Ling Yi.

In her presence, Ling Yi always maintained a gentle and composed demeanor, even his smiles were always warm and gentle, unlike the one he wore now.

However, to be fair, this version of Ling Yi made Yang Shelly feel that Ling Yi was more real, which relieved her.

There was no way around it; Ling Yi's performance in their previous interactions had been too perfect, so perfect that Yang Shelly felt it was somewhat unreal, or even hesitant to approach him.

But now, Ling Yi, who is laughing heartily, has suddenly fallen from the clouds to the mortal world, making Yang Shelly feel that she and her Brother Yi are still in the same world, rather than one being in reality and the other in a dream.

Just then, Xiang Guyun, who had recovered from the joy of their long-awaited reunion, shifted her gaze from Ling Yi to Yang Shelly standing beside the two horses, then looked back at Ling Yi, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "And this is...?"

Judging from his expression, it was practically as if he was about to say, "You've finally figured things out, kid! You brought a female companion. How far have things progressed?"

Yang Shelly, who had just come to her senses, hadn't reacted yet, but Ling Yi received the message from the older man's eyes and expression. He shook his head slightly, gave him a wink, and said, "Come on, Brother Yun, let me introduce you—"

"This is Yang Shelly, Three-Ring Battle Soul Elder. She is a friend I met in ' Dragon Rising City,' a capable assistant from the [Clear Sky Sect], and Yang Clan of the Yang family of the [Breaking Clan]."

"Clear Sky Sect?! The Breaking Clan?! Soul Elder?!" Xiang Guyun was shocked upon hearing this, and his teasing expression immediately disappeared. He had also grasped Ling Yi's subtext.

This is someone with considerable influence; you can't joke around with them.

And he's such a young Three-Ring Soul Elder!

Although Xiang Guyun had just seen the affectionate look in Yang Shelly Xueli's eyes as she looked at Ling Yi, he winked at Ling Yi, trying to give him a push.

However, having experienced some things, Xiang Guyun knew that Ling Yi, who came from the Water Wood Duchy and Martial Soul was "Blue Silver Grass," was best off not having any dealings with the number one sect in the world, such as the Clear Sky Sect.

Even though Yang Shelly was merely a member of the Breaking Clan Clear Sky Sect.

At this time, Xiang Guyun was unaware that Yang Shelly was merely a collateral member of the [Breaking Clan], and even her Martial Soul, the "Soul Breaking Spear," was not from the direct lineage.

Even if he knew, he didn't think highly of Ling Yi and Yang Shelly being together.

In the world of the Douluo Continent, where Martial Soul bloodline determines strength, and strength determines social status and the amount of social resources one possesses, the concepts of intermarriage between clans and matching social status are extremely firmly established.

Members of a clan rarely have the right to make their own marriage decisions.

If Ling Yi's Martial Soul wasn't "Blue Silver Grass" and his Innate Soul Power was above level three, then if Yang Shelly insisted on marrying him, there would be a possibility of the two getting together, and the Yang Clan behind him wouldn't pose much of an obstacle.

Unfortunately, Ling Yi's Martial Soul, "Blue Silver Grass," is widely considered a useless Martial Soul on the Douluo Continent, not to mention his half-level Innate Soul Power aptitude, even though Ling Yi is now Grand Soul Master. Hmm, Xiang Guyun is still unaware that Ling Yi has broken through to the Soul Elder.

In the original novel, Ning Fengzhi was finally able to accept Oscar and Ning Rongrong being together. Apart from his love for his daughter and Oscar's relationship with Tang San, a very important reason was that Oscar was Innate Full Soul Power!

Even though Oscar's Martial Soul is "Sausage," which is completely unrelated to the Ning Family's "Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda" in terms of attributes and Martial Soul type, his Innate Full Soul Power alone is enough to guarantee that Ning Rongrong and Oscar's children will have innate talents far surpassing those of the Ning Family's descendants throughout the ages!

It should be noted that Ning Rongrong's Martial Soul had already evolved from the "Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda" to the "Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda" under the baptism of the "Beautiful Silk Tulip". Naturally, her aptitude was also improved from the original Innate Soul Power level nine to the level of Innate Full Soul Power!

Later, on Sea God Island, Ning Rongrong's God Trial level was directly comparable to that of High Priest Bo Saixi.

The combination of two Innate Full Soul Power can be seen in Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong.

Although Qian Renxue's Innate Level 20 Soul Power aptitude had the power of the ' Angel God ' playing a role, Ning Fengzhi probably never considered letting the Ning Family's descendants reach level 100 and become gods, producing a 'support- Wudi ' Ning XX who could rival ' Wudi on Land ' Tang Chen and ' Wudi in the Sky ' Qian Daoliu. He could probably say that he had done right by his ancestors.

But I digress. Let's get back to the main point.

Xiang Guyun bowed to Yang Shelly with clasped hands and said, "Hello, Miss Yang."

Ling Yi continued the introductions, saying to Yang Shelly, "Shelly, this is Brother Xiang Guyun. Brother Yun is from my hometown in the [Water Wood Duchy]. I introduced him to [Gengxin City] before, and he joined the [Blacksmith Association] to learn forging..."

As for Xiang Guyun being a comrade-in-arms in the army and faking his death to escape on the battlefield between the two great empires, Ling Yi made no mention of it.

Even the enemy forces on the side of the North Yue Kingdom at that time, as well as the behind-the-scenes manipulators who set up the gambling game, had some guesses about the deaths of Xiang Guyun and others, but neither Ling Yi, nor the three thousand soldiers who "died" at that time, nor Jiang Yuan was far away in the Water Wood Duchy, would reveal a single word to the outside world.

You can guess all you want, but we won't admit it.

No one would care about the life, death, or whereabouts of a few thousand peasants; what the officials cared about was the outcome at the time, and Ling Yi had given them that, so that was enough.

"Hello, Brother Yun." Yang Shelly nodded to Xiang Guyun and replied with a light laugh.

"Oh, I wouldn't dare—" Xiang Guyun waved his hands repeatedly, hurriedly saying, "Miss Yang, just call me Old Xiang or Old Yun, I wouldn't dare accept such a formal address as 'brother' from you—"

"What's the big deal?" Yang Shelly said nonchalantly, "My name is Brother Yi ~ Brother Yi, Brother Yi also calls you Brother Yun..."

"It's different." Xiang Guyun shook his head and said, "Old Xiang Brother Yi thinks highly of me, and we've been friends for many years, so I, Old Xiang, just shamelessly agreed."

"You are Three-Ring Soul Elder, Brother Yi is Grand Soul Master. It's alright for you to call me 'brother,' but I, Old Xiang, am just a lowly ninth-level Soul Scholar. I can't accept that, I really can't—!"

"Can..."

Yang Shelly opened her mouth, about to say something, when Ling Yi spoke up at the right moment, "Alright, Shelly..."

Next chapter, tonight