Suppressing the excitement surging in her heart, Ling Yuan's face now held nothing but solemnity.
She turned toward the lazy figure behind the counter and bowed deeply, with utmost reverence.
"Thank you, senior, for bestowing this supreme divine flame."
Her voice held none of its earlier urgency or disarray. All that remained was reverence and submission from the depths of her soul.
Lin Feng, lounging in his rocking chair, couldn't even be bothered to lift his eyelids. He merely gave an almost inaudible "Mm" through his nose.
It was as if the Ultimate Fire, powerful enough to make the entire continent tremble, was no more to him than a speck of ash he'd casually flicked away.
He waved a hand, signaling that she needn't mind it.
Yet that nonchalant attitude sent the reverence in Ling Yuan's heart soaring to its peak.
However, amid the solemn atmosphere, an ill-timed voice rang out, brimming with the purest envy.
"The Ultimate Fire... That's way too cool!"
It was Yan.
His eyes glimmered with longing for that pure power, and he was practically drooling.
As a fire-element Soul Master himself, Yan knew better than anyone what the Ultimate Fire meant.
He didn't notice at all that the moment he spoke, the atmosphere in the room turned strange.
Hu Liena immediately covered her face.
Xie Yue instinctively took half a step back, as if trying to distance himself from this reckless companion.
It was over.
What an idiot!
Sure enough.
Ling Yuan's movements abruptly stopped.
Slowly, inch by inch, she turned around.
Her phoenix eyes, aflame with golden divine fire, fixed precisely on the source of the voice—Yan.
In that instant, all the dignity and sanctity vanished from her face like receding waves.
In their place came an expression that was half-smiling and full of endless amusement.
She looked like a lioness who'd just eaten her fill, now eyeing with great interest a lively little antelope that had practically delivered itself to her.
"Hiss—"
Yan finally sensed that something was wrong.
There was no killing intent in that gaze, yet it made his scalp prickle worse than any killing intent could. His knees began to tremble uncontrollably.
He saw Ling Yuan approaching him with elegant steps, one after another.
Seeing this, Tuoba Xi's expression shifted. Though he knew he was no match for Ling Yuan now, his sense of responsibility as an elder still made him step forward, steeling himself.
"Elder Ling Yuan, Yan... didn't mean any harm. Please—"
"Elder Tuoba, you misunderstand."
A warm, spring-breeze smile bloomed on Ling Yuan's face.
The sight of that smile made Yan's soul scream.
She spoke in an incomparably gentle voice:
"I see Yan's Martial Soul is fire-affiliated as well. That must mean we're fated."
"He's such a fine talent. I've taken a liking to him and would like to take him as my disciple and teach him personally. What do you think, Elder Tuoba?"
Tuoba Xi was completely stunned.
After all, Ling Yuan was a Titled Douluo like him. If she wanted to take someone as her disciple, he had no reason—and no authority—to interfere.
So he merely nodded and stepped aside.
Yan's brain, usually capable of little beyond eating, fighting, and chasing after Hu Liena, suddenly blazed with unprecedented intelligence!
Take him as a disciple?
Teach him personally?
This was obviously an excuse to use the name of "master and disciple" to torment him openly, legitimately, and in every possible way, as revenge for the "noodles hanging from the nostrils" incident!
He could practically picture what the future held.
"Yan, your fundamentals are weak. Go practice while hanging upside down for ten days and ten nights."
"Yan, I've just invented a new technique. Come test its power. Don't worry, I'll control my strength."
"Yan..."
Yan's face turned deathly pale.
He instinctively wanted to refuse!
What kind of joke was this?!
Now that he had a wondrous place like Maple Dye Pavilion, all he had to do was save his money, eat, and draw prizes. Becoming a Titled Douluo would be effortless. Why would he need to take a beating as someone's disciple?
But when his gaze met Ling Yuan's smiling eyes,
his animal instincts began shrieking warnings at him.
If he dared say "no" today, what awaited him would be a hundred times worse than becoming her disciple!
In an instant, Yan's expression grew more bitter than if he'd eaten gall.
He stiffly turned his head and looked to Hu Liena and Xie Yue for help.
All he saw was the strange light in Hu Liena's eyes, barely containing her sympathy, and Xie Yue's violently twitching mouth as he fought to hold back laughter.
Then the heartless siblings both took a synchronized step backward. There was no saving him.
He was as good as dead.
At last, under Ling Yuan's increasingly "kind" gaze, Yan squeezed out a few words in a voice on the verge of tears.
"D-Disciple Yan... pays his respects... to Master..."
The smile on Ling Yuan's face only grew brighter, like a blooming man-eating flower coated in deadly poison.
She reached out her slender hand and patted Yan's stiff shoulder affectionately.
"Good disciple, there's no need for formalities."
"From now on, your master will certainly... 'cherish' you well."
She bit down hard on the word "cherish." To Yan, it sounded no different from a devil whispering from the depths of hell.
Compared to the sorrowful scene of "a loving master and filial disciple" between Ling Yuan and Yan, Tuoba Xi's side was far more cheerful.
Tuoba Xi first picked up the bowl of Golden Dragon Whisker Noodles. He lifted a strand of golden noodles and slowly brought it to his mouth.
In that moment, Tuoba Xi felt a supremely mellow, savory fragrance flow from his tongue through his limbs and bones, finally reaching the depths of his soul.
He'd lived for over a century and, as the Holy Dragon Douluo, prided himself on having tasted every delicacy under heaven.
But only today did he understand that everything he'd eaten before had been nothing but fodder to fill his stomach.
This was what "food" truly was!
He even forgot his status as an elder and the reason he'd come. Like a devout believer, he ate one bite after another until the bowl was spotless, unwilling to leave behind even a drop of broth.
After setting down the bowl, he turned his gaze to the Holy Light Qilin Arm.
Its skin was crisp and fragrant, shimmering with a gentle holy light, while the meat inside was so tender it seemed to melt at the slightest touch.
Every bite was the ultimate baptism for the taste buds, made even better by the pot of Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Brew.
It was enough to make anyone lose themselves completely!
Before he knew it, Tuoba Xi had devoured all the food in front of him. Only then did he come back to his senses.
But he knew this was only the appetizer.
The moment that would truly decide his fate had only just begun.
He slowly stood up, his movements carrying a solemnity he'd never felt before.
The Holy Dragon Douluo straightened his robes as if he were about to stand before a god.
From his Storage Soul Tool, he took out a money pouch that felt just as heavy.
Then he approached the counter and presented the prepared thirty-six thousand Gold Soul Coins, saying reverently:
"Please bestow Divine Grace upon me, senior!"