Am I Beautiful?

Wen Ruan ran toward Lin Yan.

With the butterfly wings on her back, she looked just like a beautiful butterfly.

"You... you've lost so much blood."

Looking at the boy before her, her beautiful eyes couldn't help but mist over.

Clearly, this little boy had only just awakened his Martial Soul, and clearly, she was so much older than him, yet... in the end, the one who had been protected was her.

Was all of this really just because of that one night? Was he not afraid of dying in the jaws of the Spirit Beast?

Lin Yan read the girl's thoughts. His young face, covered in blood and grime, had been enduring pain a second ago, but now he grinned.

"It's nothing. Didn't I promise you I would?"

As soon as those words left his lips, Wen Ruan's heart tightened.

She bit her lower lip hard, and the tears in her eyes could no longer be held back, breaking through like a dam.

"Thank you, Lin Yan."

Wen Ruan hugged the boy, who barely reached her waist, and wept bitterly.

Little did she know, having absorbed the Spirit Ring, Lin Yan had grown a head taller, and now he reached her chest...

Half an hour later.

When all the ice-attribute energy in the surroundings returned to calm, Wen Ruan finally finished absorbing her Spirit Ring.

[Second Spirit Skill: Ice Flying Blade!]

The girl let out a low cry, and then, around the butterfly wings of her Martial Soul avatar, several slender, long ice thorns instantly appeared, shimmering brilliantly under the refraction of the sunlight.

Clearly, this was a continuous damage skill that leaned toward group attacks, capable of striking different targets simultaneously.

As a hundred-year Spirit Skill, this was already a very high-level mechanism.

Wen Ruan was overjoyed, her face blooming with a radiant smile as she said to Lin Yan.

"Lin Yan, this skill deals additional damage to enemies marked by [Ice Ring]."

"Oh? That means your first spirit skill can be considered an amplification skill in a sense!"

"Yes! I never expected the Spirit Ring of a dragon-type Spirit Beast to be so strong. I was just adding Spirit Rings randomly before."

The two stood beside the corpse of the Ice Armor Dragon and smiled at each other, both seeing the same joy in the other's eyes.

Ice Armor Dragon: ...

"Thank you, Lin Yan!"

"I never thought that one day I could become a Battle Spirit Master."

Wen Ruan lowered her head to thank him again. At this moment, Zhao Wuji and Ma Hongjun also walked over.

Zhao Wuji gave Lin Yan a hearty pat on the shoulder with his large hand. "You brat, I didn't expect you to actually succeed."

To defeat a seven-hundred-year Spirit Beast with the strength of a level 15 Spirit Master—few people in history had ever achieved such a feat. Shrek Academy had truly struck gold this time.

Ma Hongjun walked to Lin Yan's side, looking a bit sheepish.

"I'm sorry, Lin Yan. I didn't mean to do that earlier."

"It's fine. Just practice your spirit skills more in the future; stop missing your shots."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the group froze. Although that wasn't what Lin Yan meant, everyone immediately associated it with that other meaning.

The air fell into a moment of silence, followed by a burst of laughter from everyone.

Sunlight spilled down. Wen Ruan stood beside Lin Yan with her butterfly wings spread. Lin Yan simply leaned his exhausted body against the girl, Zhao Wuji laughed heartily, and Ma Hongjun scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

Everything was beautiful and warm.

Several days later.

The group returned to Shrek Academy by carriage.

During the journey, Lin Yan's injuries were treated by a healing Spirit Master found by Zhao Wuji, and his body had fully recovered.

At six years old and level 15, he became the center of attention for Flender and all the teachers. Flender even paid out of his own pocket to treat everyone to a celebratory feast.

Life proceeded in a tight, orderly fashion.

Lin Yan exercised his body during the day, sought out Zhao Wuji and Flender to train his combat techniques, and used meditation instead of sleep at night to cultivate in silence.

He grew bit by bit.

Until this night.

The bright moon hung high, illuminating the earth as brightly as day.

Lin Yan stopped in front of the girls' dormitory. After hesitating for a long time, he knocked on Wen Ruan's door.

"Senior Sister, are you there?"

Before long, the sound of rustling clothes came from inside, and then a reply followed.

"Mm, come in."

With permission granted, Lin Yan pushed open the door and stepped inside.

He saw the young girl wearing a cute white bear pajama set, her hair slightly disheveled; clearly, she had not expected Lin Yan to come over at this hour.

"Why are you looking for me so late?"

"I..."

Lin Yan frowned slightly, his expression hesitant.

In truth, he had come today to bid Wen Ruan farewell. He no longer wished to remain at Shrek Academy. Flender and Zhao Wuji's combat techniques were mediocre, relying mostly on soul skills and soul power levels to simply crush their enemies.

To put it simply, if they encountered someone of a higher level, they would inevitably lose, and if they encountered someone of a lower level, they would inevitably win.

Lin Yan did not want to waste any more time walking a path where the future could be seen at a single glance. He wanted to become stronger and achieve what others could not.

Therefore, he had come to say goodbye.

But the moment he saw Wen Ruan reveal a sleepy smile toward him, he didn't know how to bring it up.

Across from him, seeing his hesitation as if he found it difficult to speak, Wen Ruan took the initiative.

"I told my family about what happened before, and they want to meet you."

"Huh?"

Lin Yan, who had been looking down, suddenly raised his eyes, staring at the girl in disbelief.

Wen Ruan smiled slightly, her expression full of sweetness.

"Well? You're happy, aren't you?"

"My parents are ordinary people, and their thinking is quite conservative."

"But I told them that your talent is excellent, even though your age..."

When it came to the topic of age, the girl lowered her head, showing a hint of shyness, but after a brief pause, she gathered her courage and continued.

"We can set an engagement for now, just pretend you're my child-husband."

As she finished speaking, she shyly turned her head to the side.

Just moments ago, before Lin Yan knocked on the door, Wen Ruan had already been calculating this in her mind.

During the day, she had taken leave to go home and confessed their relationship to her parents. Upon hearing that Lin Yan had great talent and had helped their daughter hunt for a soul ring in the Star Dou Forest, the two elders had no objections.

After all, they were ordinary people; despite having some desire to control their child, the status of a soul master still made them feel an involuntary sense of awe.

Seeing Lin Yan's hesitant and tongue-tied appearance just now, Wen Ruan had assumed he was coming to confess his feelings. Unable to hide her thoughts and being slightly older, she simply decided to lay everything out first.

Under the moonlight, the two stared at each other.

Wen Ruan's eyes were filled with longing and anticipation for the future. She had fallen for Lin Yan; she liked that he was willing to get hurt for her, and she liked that he made better choices for her sake.

In this feudal era where men were valued over women, she felt the first spark of kindness from Lin Yan.

Therefore, she was willing to wait for Lin Yan to grow up, and she was willing to give herself to him.

Lin Yan's pupils trembled. Looking at the girl before him, who was immersed in beautiful fantasies about the future, his heart was a complex mix of emotions.

"Little Senior Sister..."

"Shh! Am I beautiful?"

Lin Yan wanted to explain something, but Wen Ruan pressed a slender finger against his thin lips.

Then, her pajamas slowly slid down, revealing a patch of sacred, pure white under the moonlight.

"Beautiful!"

PS: New book testing the waters, two chapters daily at 19:00.

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