Qin Ming

"I..."

Dugu Yan stared blankly at Lin Fan, frozen in place for a moment.

"I never expected this. I really never expected this..."

Watching the two lying on the ground, gazing deeply into each other's eyes, Yu Tianheng stood not far away, his eyes nearly splitting with rage. Fury filled his chest, threatening to explode!

"Tianheng... It's not what you think. Lin Fan... he was only helping me detoxify!"

Dugu Yan came back to her senses, pulled free of Lin Fan's embrace, and hurried over to Yu Tianheng, anxiously trying to explain.

"Heh, detoxify? Dugu Yan, at least come up with a halfway decent excuse! You have the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul, and yet you got poisoned? And you needed someone else to detoxify you?!"

"Fine, let's say it really was detoxification. Did that require the two of you to kiss? Even I haven't kissed you..."

Yu Tianheng's chest heaved violently, his voice dripping with scorn. But halfway through, he abruptly stopped himself!

"You... You actually don't believe me?!"

Looking at Yu Tianheng's cold expression, Dugu Yan's heart sank halfway.

"Believe you? I was the fool for believing you so much! If I hadn't noticed something was wrong when you looked so lost after the Soul Fighting match, I might never have discovered your affair!"

"Or maybe the aloof Dugu Yan has always been a shameless slut. How many times have you cheated on me over the years, Yu Tianheng?!"

Smack!

Yu Tianheng was cut off mid-sentence by a vicious slap from Dugu Yan. The woods fell into an eerie silence.

"Um... You two really shouldn't fight because of me! I really was helping Yanyan detoxify just now. I wasn't trying to take advantage of her at all, honestly!"

Lin Fan got to his feet, looking a little awkward as he spoke.

"Shut up!"

Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan shouted in unison. Lin Fan could only close his mouth sheepishly.

"Yu Tianheng, I never thought you saw me as that kind of person. Since that's what you think, there's no point explaining!"

"From today onward, whatever bond we had is over. I'm leaving the Heaven Dou Royal Team One!"

Dugu Yan's beautiful eyes brimmed with tears, but her words were utterly resolute.

"Fine! You said it yourself!"

Yu Tianheng clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Then he turned and strode away, not looking back as he left the woods.

Watching Yu Tianheng's departing figure, Dugu Yan crouched down and wrapped her arms around her knees. The tears she'd been holding back finally spilled over.

She suffered the torment of snake poison from time to time, yet her own lover had never noticed. Now he was misunderstanding her so badly, even insulting her with the cruelest words!

"Come on, Yanyan. He's not worth your tears!"

Lin Fan went over to Dugu Yan and gently drew her into his arms.

Dugu Yan stiffened slightly, but didn't resist. A moment later, she wrapped both arms tightly around Lin Fan and sobbed freely against his chest.

"Brother Tianheng, thank you!"

Lin Fan offered his heartfelt thanks.

Only after a long while did Dugu Yan finally stop crying.

"Look at you. Your eyes are swollen like peaches. If you keep crying, I'll be heartbroken."

Lin Fan gently wiped away Dugu Yan's tears, his voice full of concern.

"The poison in my body clearly got drawn into you just now. Are you all right?!"

Dugu Yan sniffled and looked at Lin Fan with a complicated expression.

"I'm fine. That poison can't hurt me. I'm worried about you. The Jade Scale Serpent Poison has already invaded your bone marrow. It has to be removed as soon as possible!"

Lin Fan said.

"Then... do we have to kiss like before...?"

Dugu Yan asked, her pretty face faintly red.

"Hehe, kissing can detoxify you, but it's pretty slow. It'd probably take at least a month, two hours every day..."

Lin Fan scratched his head.

Dugu Yan's face flushed even more. Kissing for two hours every day, and keeping it up for a whole month... That was just too much...

"There are faster methods, too, like nucleic acid testing treatment, or having some more... intimate exchanges."

Lin Fan added.

"What methods are those? What would I have to do?!"

Dugu Yan looked utterly confused. She had never heard of these treatments before.

"Uh... Let's talk about that some other time. But from what Yu Tianheng said just now, it sounds like he's never even kissed you... Is that really true?!"

It was a little embarrassing to ask, but Lin Fan couldn't hold back his curiosity.

"It... it's true. Because of my Martial Soul, he'd get poisoned if he kissed me. Anything more intimate was out of the question..."

Dugu Yan's voice had grown as faint as a mosquito's by the end, but Lin Fan was overjoyed inside!

Yu Tianheng really was pitiful. He had a great beauty right in front of him, but couldn't touch her. In the end, she'd fallen into Lin Fan's arms instead!

And this was the first time Lin Fan had truly experienced the power of the Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Art. It had made his body immune to all poisons. Otherwise, even if he won Dugu Yan over, he wouldn't have been able to get close to her. What would be the point of that!

"Come on, Yanyan. Now that you've ended things with Yu Tianheng and left the Heaven Dou Royal Academy First Team, why not join my team?"

Lin Fan said. Though he'd known Dugu Yan for only a day, he could tell that she was the kind of person who stood by her word. Once she made a decision, she wouldn't regret it!

At this point, even if Yu Tianheng got down on his knees and begged for her forgiveness, Dugu Yan probably wouldn't spare him another glance!

Chapter 56: Qin Ming

"Fine, but I have one condition. Will you agree to it?"

Dugu Yan nodded without much hesitation, then spoke in a slightly pleading tone.

"Not just one condition. I'd agree to a hundred!"

Lin Fan answered without hesitation.

"Could Lingling join your team with me? She's had such a hard life. She lost her parents when she was little, and I've always treated her like a younger sister..."

As she spoke of Lingling, a rare tenderness appeared in Dugu Yan's eyes.

"Of course!"

Lin Fan replied without hesitation. He never would have expected to get one for free with his purchase!

He'd been worrying about how to find an excuse to get close to Ye Lingling, and Dugu Yan had just given him an incredible surprise!

"Come on, let's go get Lingling."

Lin Fan followed Dugu Yan, and the two of them arrived at the residential area occupied by the Heaven Dou Royal Academy First Team!

"What are you two doing here?!"

Yu Tianheng had only just returned, and now he saw Lin Fan and Dugu Yan following him. The anger he'd been suppressing surged straight to his head!

Hearing the commotion, the other members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy First Team ran outside, too. They didn't know what had happened, but Lin Fan looked like he'd come to pick a fight!

"Lingling, come with me!"

Dugu Yan couldn't be bothered with the others. She went straight over, took Ye Lingling's hand, and started to lead her away!

Ye Lingling looked completely bewildered, but she didn't resist, letting Dugu Yan pull her along.

"Stop!"

Yu Tianheng moved in a flash, blocking Dugu Yan's path.

"Dugu Yan, leaving the team yourself is one thing, but now you want to take Lingling with you, too? Are you really trying to destroy the Heaven Dou Royal Academy First Team?!"

Yu Tianheng clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms!

Dugu Yan's departure had already caused him great pain, but it wasn't enough to undermine the whole team!

Ye Lingling was different. Her area-wide healing Soul Skill was a divine skill for any team. They might be able to replace Dugu Yan with a substitute, but Ye Lingling's role was irreplaceable!

"Lingling, do you want to come with me or stay here?!"

Dugu Yan ignored Yu Tianheng and asked Ye Lingling instead.

"Sister Yanyan, I... I want to go with you..."

Ye Lingling answered almost without hesitation. Her voice was soft, but her tone was firm!

"You can't leave!"

Yu Tianheng spoke again, and the other members formed a human wall, blocking their way!

"Get out of the way!"

But in the next instant, a roar like a clap of thunder burst from Lin Fan's mouth. A powerful surge of Soul Power, mixed with a crushing mental pressure, crashed over the members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy First Team like a tidal wave!

Under the terrifying force, everyone except Yu Tianheng fell to the ground, clutching their heads in agony. Yu Tianheng's face went pale as he stood there, stunned!

The power of Lin Fan's roar was terrifying!

"What's going on?!"

Just then, a figure appeared beside Yu Tianheng!

He was a tall, handsome, and stern-looking man in his thirties.

"Teacher Qin Ming, stop that guy! He's trying to take Yanyan and Lingling away and make them leave our team!"

Yu Tianheng had been too stunned to react, but he finally came to his senses. Seeing the man was like grabbing onto a lifeline, and he pointed at Lin Fan as he spoke!

"Lin Fan, what do you mean by this? We lost the Soul Fighting match today, and we have nothing to say about that. But why come here to cause trouble?!"

Qin Ming frowned and looked at Lin Fan.

Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling were the core of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy First Team. In some ways, they were even more important than captain Yu Tianheng. As their instructor, Qin Ming knew that better than anyone!

"Heh, leaving the Heaven Dou Royal Academy was Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling's decision. Are you planning to force them to stay?!"

Lin Fan sneered. He vaguely remembered Qin Ming—he was a graduate of Shrek Academy!

Lin Fan already had no good feelings toward the people from Shrek Academy, so he wasn't about to show Qin Ming any courtesy!

"Yanyan, what's going on?!"

Qin Ming's expression darkened as he asked Dugu Yan. He could tell that Ye Lingling had chosen to leave because of Dugu Yan.

"You should ask Yu Tianheng why I'm leaving."

Dugu Yan replied coldly.

Beside her, Yu Tianheng's face turned pale, then flushed, but he couldn't say a word. He couldn't exactly announce to everyone that he'd been cheated on!

"No matter the reason, the two of you are members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy First Team, and you need to take responsibility. Even if you want to leave, you should wait until after the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, not quit now!"

Qin Ming could see that Yu Tianheng was in a difficult position, so he picked up where he left off.

"Heh, you people from Shrek Academy really take shamelessness to a whole new level!"

Before Dugu Yan could answer, Lin Fan sneered.

"What did you say?!"

Qin Ming, whose expression had been fairly calm, immediately darkened at Lin Fan's words!

To Qin Ming, Shrek Academy was his alma mater. His teachers and dean were people he respected with all his heart, and he would never tolerate anyone insulting them!

"I said every last one of you from Shrek Academy is trash!"

Lin Fan refused to back down, meeting him head-on!

"Lin Fan, your cultivation talent is impressive, but you're far too arrogant. I'll teach you a proper lesson on behalf of your parents!"

Unable to contain his anger, Qin Ming unleashed his Soul Power and lunged straight at Lin Fan!

"Get lost!"