The Nine Nether Sparrow and the Nine Heart Begonia

"Was it you who said you wanted him dead just now?"

Liu Erlong's face was as cold as frost. Her icy gaze swept over the five men before resting on the scarred man, and she spoke in a chilling tone.

Under the pressure of Liu Erlong's soul power, the scarred man's already severely injured body suffered even more. Blood continuously seeped from the corner of his mouth, and his complexion turned as pale as paper.

Before he could reply, his battered body was sent flying backward more than ten meters, landing heavily on the ground where he promptly passed out.

Judging by the cracks in the ground, it looked like he wouldn't be getting out of bed for at least half a year.

The people on the scene hadn't even seen how Liu Erlong made her move. The remaining four team members trembled like chaff in the wind, each of them shrinking their heads down, terrified of offending this powerful woman before them.

Liu Erlong's lingering anger had not yet dissipated, and her stern, murderous gaze turned toward the remaining few. She had been waiting in place when she saw Mo Li walk away, but everything that happened here had not escaped her eyes.

Just as she could no longer suppress her urge to kill, a hand gently pulled on hers.

Liu Erlong looked back at Mo Li, who returned her gaze with a gentle smile, and the killing intent in her heart dissipated significantly.

She was a person who hated evil with a passion, and seeing such scum made her feel annoyed. If Mo Li hadn't been by her side, she would have slapped these scumbags to death in the past.

However, she had reined in much of that violent temper lately.

"Handle the rest as you see fit."

She handed the decision-making power over to Mo Li.

Mo Li turned his gaze toward Ye Lingling. After the commotion, she had long since stopped her attempt to remove her veil, though her eyes remained exceptionally cold.

Mo Li first gave Ye Lingling a gentle smile, then looked at the four men who were trembling in fear, saying, "Since you were the ones who harassed her first, you should properly apologize to this young lady."

The remaining four broke into a cold sweat. Although they kept their heads lowered, they could still sense the intense killing intent that had radiated from Liu Erlong earlier, and they bowed repeatedly to apologize.

"I don't think that's sincere enough," Mo Li said indifferently.

Hearing this, the four men froze for a moment before gritting their teeth and beginning to slap themselves, the "smack-smack" sounds echoing incessantly.

Ye Lingling turned her head slightly, unwilling to watch the scene.

Seeing that the lesson was sufficient, Mo Li waved his hand to stop them. After giving them a few warnings, he let them carry their unconscious captain away.

Seeing that Mo Li had finished dealing with the matter, Liu Erlong walked over. Her willow-leaf brows were slightly furrowed, and her voice was crisp as she asked, "What kind of fighting style was that just now?"

"Your strength is already quite different from your opponent's, yet you chose a head-on collision. Even if you won in the end, didn't you end up getting hurt yourself?"

Earlier, when Mo Li had severely injured the two-ring Great Soul Master with a single punch, he had used brute force to crush him, but he had also suffered some injuries to his palm from the recoil. Liu Erlong had naturally seen it all.

Although Ye Lingling had already healed him, she hadn't overlooked that fact and continued to frown while criticizing Mo Li's fighting style.

"If you only know how to use brute force, how are you any different from that brainless idiot over there?"

Mo Li looked at Sister Erlong, who was still lecturing him, and gave a prompt reply: "Because it's cool, of course."

"What?" Liu Erlong was stunned.

"Sister Erlong, think back carefully. Wasn't my posture when I crushed the enemy head-on cool?" Mo Li said, looking somewhat smug.

Liu Erlong looked at Mo Li as if he were an idiot, her black eyes filled with disbelief. She rested her forehead in her right hand, and after a long while, she sighed and said:

"In the future, don't tell anyone I taught you."

"Don't worry, Sister Erlong, I'll definitely only use your name," Mo Li said with a grin.

Liu Erlong: "...Get lost!"

While the two were talking, Mo Li suddenly remembered Ye Lingling, who was still standing nearby.

He turned to look at her, wondering how best to start a conversation, but to his surprise, Ye Lingling was the first to speak and offer her thanks.

"Thank you."

Her voice remained cold and ethereal, as if devoid of any emotion.

"Hello, my name is Mo Li, and this is Sister Erlong."

Mo Li smiled brightly. "It was just a small favor; I can't stand such dirty business either."

"I am Ye Lingling."

Since Mo Li had already revealed his identity, she was not someone who lacked manners. Her gaze swept over Mo Li and lingered on Liu Erlong, feeling a bit curious about the relationship between the two.

Facing Ye Lingling's gaze, Liu Erlong nodded slightly. She had originally been curious about Mo Li's actions, but now it seemed the young girl before them truly possessed an extraordinary temperament.

Mo Li didn't know what Liu Erlong was thinking; his mind was entirely occupied with how to lure Ye Lingling into their academy.

"Sister Lingling, were you waiting for someone? Why didn't you fight back earlier?"

Ye Lingling replied softly, "My martial soul has no combat capability."

"It's a healing-type martial soul, right?"

Ye Lingling lifted her gaze slightly to look at Mo Li. Seeing his curious expression, she hesitated for a moment before nodding and saying, "As you saw earlier, my martial soul is the Nine Heart Begonia."

Hearing this, Liu Erlong looked at Ye Lingling deeply. Although she had been standing far away earlier, she had basically seen everything that happened here, but she didn't say anything.

As for Mo Li, he pretended to be completely unaware.

"Sister Lingling, your martial soul has such a lovely name. Mine is the Nine Nether Sparrow."

Although she had never heard of this martial soul, Ye Lingling still gave a polite, slight nod.

"That... Sister Lingling, would you like to join our Blue Tyrant Academy? Our academy is really great."

As soon as these words left his mouth, Ye Lingling and Liu Erlong were both stunned. Liu Erlong couldn't help but roll her eyes at him and said, "Is that any way to make conversation?"

"I just thought since Sister Lingling is all by herself, wouldn't it be nice for her to come to our Blue Tyrant Academy?"

Mo Li looked helplessly at the smiling Liu Erlong.

Sister Erlong is still laughing, but I'm doing all this for the sake of the academy.

It wasn't clear yet whether Ye Lingling had already joined the Heaven Dou Royal Academy; if she hadn't, he certainly had to try and recruit her.

Beneath her veil, the corners of Ye Lingling's lips curled upward. The young boy before her was so straightforward that it was actually quite endearing. Far from feeling any aversion, she found her favor toward him growing.

She had heard of the Blue Tyrant Academy, though only by reputation. She shook her head gently. "That won't be possible. I am a student at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

Mo Li sighed. As expected, he was too late. Ye Lingling was only twelve or thirteen at most, and he hadn't expected her to have already been scouted by the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

"Alright, Sister Lingling, just pretend I never brought it up."

He quickly adjusted his mindset and continued:

"But if you have time, you're welcome to come to the Blue Tyrant Academy to visit me."

"Sister Erlong is the dean of our Blue Tyrant Academy."

Ye Lingling was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected the woman in the black dress before her to be the head of an academy. After a moment of hesitation, she bowed slightly to Liu Erlong and said, "Thank you, Dean Liu."

Liu Erlong waved her hand dismissively, showing no airs. Her personality had always been this straightforward, and she knew full well how precious and powerful the Nine Heart Begonia martial soul was, so she held no contempt for Ye Lingling.

It would have been a good thing if Mo Li could befriend her, but it was a pity that Ye Lingling had already joined the Heaven Dou Royal Academy; otherwise, she really would have wanted to enroll her.

"Little Li is right."

Liu Erlong nodded slightly and smiled. "You are welcome to visit the Blue Tyrant Academy anytime."

The three of them exchanged a few more brief words before Mo Li and Liu Erlong took their leave and headed into Heaven Dou City.

Not long after, a young girl with deep purple hair walked out of Heaven Dou City with a light, brisk step.

Seeing Ye Lingling waiting quietly by the roadside, she immediately bounded over and affectionately linked her arm with hers.

"Sorry, Lingling, I kept you waiting."

The girl had short, deep purple hair and a somewhat heroic appearance, her emerald eyes possessing a bewitching charm.

Faced with Dugu Yan's pouting, Ye Lingling could no longer maintain her cold expression; she clearly couldn't handle this kind of assault.

"Why didn't you come even later?"

Ye Lingling said with a touch of helplessness.

"Ah! Did something happen?"

Hearing the shift in her tone, Dugu Yan immediately pressed for answers. Ye Lingling's martial soul had no combat capability, so it would be disastrous if she had run into trouble.

Ye Lingling gave a brief account of what had just occurred.

"Where are those scumbags? Let me poison them to death!"

After hearing Ye Lingling out, Dugu Yan's pretty face turned cold instantly, the green in her eyes deepening.

Seeing this, Ye Lingling gently patted the back of Dugu Yan's hand, and her demeanor softened slightly.

Afterward, Ye Lingling recounted the events, though she didn't mention Mo Li's attempt to recruit her, nor did she say that the two of them were from the Blue Tyrant Academy.

Only when mentioning Mo Li did her typically cold tone carry a rare, imperceptible fluctuation.

"Is that kid really that impressive? He defeated a Great Soul Master while only being a Soul Master?" Dugu Yan asked, finding it hard to believe.

In Ye Lingling's description, the boy who had come to her rescue was much younger than them, yet his combat prowess was jaw-dropping.

"Do I have any reason to lie to you? If it weren't for him, I would have been in trouble this time." Ye Lingling shook her head gently, a faint smile appearing beneath her veil.

"Lingling, what's wrong with you?"

Dugu Yan keenly caught this subtle change and widened her eyes in disbelief.

According to Ye Lingling's description, Mo Li was only a six or seven-year-old child, while they were already twelve or thirteen.

"I'm fine."

Ye Lingling was startled by the question and shook her head lightly.

Her gaze subconsciously drifted toward the direction the two had left in, and the slight trembling of her black veil betrayed the ripple in her heart.