Shuraba!

A few days later.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Lin Yan and Dugu Yan had been brought out of the herb garden by Dugu Bo, returning to their normal lives.

On campus, the two walked side by side, heading toward the girls' dormitory to explain the situation from the past few days to Ye Lingling.

The young girl felt uneasy in her heart, clutching Lin Yan's palm tightly the entire way.

As for Lin Yan, he was inwardly calculating his experiences and improvements over the past few days.

Having consumed the immortal herbs, he had reached level 20; he only needed one spirit ring to become a Great Spirit Master.

However... his martial soul had not evolved.

This was because, when choosing his immortal herbs, Lin Yan had not chosen to consume the "Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower" to purify his Evil Fire.

Instead, he had chosen the "Strange Velvet Sky-Reaching Chrysanthemum" and the "Looking Through Autumn Water Dew."

The reason for this was that he wanted to rely on the physical enhancement provided by the "Strange Velvet Sky-Reaching Chrysanthemum" and the mental power boost from the "Looking Through Autumn Water Dew" to absorb a ten-thousand-year third ring when he reached level 30!

That's right, a thousand-year first ring, a ten-thousand-year third ring...

This was Lin Yan's plan for his martial soul!

He was only six years old this year. Even if the cooldown period for consuming immortal herbs was ten years, he would only be sixteen by then.

It wouldn't be too late to consume the "Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower" to purify his Evil Fire at that time; besides, he faced no risk of the Evil Fire exploding within his body before then.

But absorbing spirit rings was different.

Once a spirit ring was chosen, it could not be replaced. Not everyone was like Tang San, favored by the gods, capable of stripping away spirit rings or even coming back to life after death.

Lin Yan had no system, no great destiny bestowed upon him, only a martial soul that could be considered superior.

Therefore, every choice made during his growth had to be carried out with the resolve of "no regrets once the move is made!"

The "Strange Velvet Sky-Reaching Chrysanthemum" provided the most significant boost to physical strength among all the immortal herbs; only it could help Lin Yan absorb a ten-thousand-year third ring!

Regarding this, Lin Yan could only say that his thinking was still too far ahead of his time!

He was very satisfied with his decision.

Before long, they arrived at the girls' dormitory.

Lin Yan and Dugu Yan paused before the door, exchanged a glance, and finally, Lin Yan knocked.

Soon, the door was opened from the inside, and the figure of Ye Lingling appeared before them.

"Yan... Dugu Yan?"

Ye Lingling was caught off guard the moment she saw them, but she quickly put on a cold expression.

In response, Dugu Yan said apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Lingling, my grandfather, he..."

"Heh~ so you were rejected by the little junior, were you?"

Before Dugu Yan could finish, Ye Lingling interrupted her with a mocking curl of her lips.

The atmosphere suddenly turned tense.

In truth, Lin Yan and Dugu Yan had anticipated this situation on the way back, but when Dugu Yan truly saw her former best friend treat her with such an attitude, she still couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

The air fell silent for a moment, and both girls were lost in their thoughts.

At this moment, Lin Yan suddenly spoke up.

"Sister Lingling, Sister Yanzi is here to apologize."

Upon hearing this, a flicker of hidden emotion flashed through Ye Lingling's eyes, but she quickly turned her head away and said stubbornly.

"I don't need her apology!"

"I won't forgive her!"

"Lingling..."

Dugu Yan wanted to say something, but guilt and self-reproach made her swallow the words that had reached her lips.

She had already become intimate with Lin Yan; even if she could keep it from Ye Lingling for now, she didn't know how to face this former best friend.

Dugu Yan fell into silence once more, and a trace of desolation flashed through Ye Lingling's eyes...

Finally, Lin Yan stepped in to mediate.

"Sister Lingling, this is the Fragrant Silk Immortal Herb, one of the immortal herbs. You should recognize it, right?"

As he spoke, Lin Yan took a jade box from his storage ring. When the box opened, a large pink flower was exposed to the air, emitting a soft halo of light.

"What?"

Ye Lingling turned back in astonishment, her gaze fixed firmly on the Fragrant Silk Immortal Herb in Lin Yan's hand.

As the successor to Ye Rou'er, she naturally recognized an immortal herb!

The Fragrant Silk Immortal Herb itself possessed no detoxifying properties, but the pink light it emitted could neutralize all toxins in its vicinity, making it the object of every alchemist's dreams.

That was not the main point; the point was this:

The Fragrant Silk Immortal Herb was recorded in the Ye Family archives as an immortal herb that, if refined by a Nine Heart Begonia spirit master, could catalyze the evolution of their martial soul into the "Nine Heart Sacred Begonia"!

And the Nine Heart Sacred Begonia was the only way to break the bloodline curse of the Nine Heart Begonia!

Ye Lingling's pupils trembled violently. Her jade-like hands instinctively reached out to touch the jade box, only for her reason to freeze them in mid-air.

Lin Yan, taking all of this in, smiled slightly and continued.

"Sister Yanzi knows she was wrong, and Senior Dugu Bo also feels very sorry about what happened before..."

"So, Sister Yanzi wants to use this immortal herb as an apology."

"She wants you to forgive her."

Ye Lingling did not respond, her gaze remaining locked onto the immortal herb.

It couldn't be helped; it wasn't that she was overly greedy, but rather that this immortal herb held too much significance for the Ye Family.

One had to know that only two Nine Heart Begonia spirit masters could exist on the continent at any given time. When Ye Lingling awakened her martial soul at the age of six, she had watched her own grandfather turn into flower petals right before her eyes...

Therefore, she was moved! Moved like never before...

At this moment, Dugu Yan suddenly spoke up.

"Lingling, the immortal herb is yours, and Lin Yan is yours too."

"I'm sorry. It was because I didn't dare to admit my feelings for Lin Yan before that you had misunderstandings, and it also caused my grandfather to act so rudely."

"But actually... I..."

"It was because I had contracted a terminal illness and didn't have long to live, which is why my grandfather was so anxious."

Upon hearing this, Ye Lingling suddenly looked up.

"A terminal illness?"

"What do you mean? How is your health now?"

Seeing that Ye Lingling's attitude toward her had finally softened, Dugu Yan breathed a secret sigh of relief.

She exchanged a glance with Lin Yan and then said, "The junior knows the immortal herbs in my grandfather's garden, and I am no longer in any danger of losing my life after consuming one."

Lin Yan seized the opportunity to interject.

"Sister Lingling, just forgive Sister Yanzi."

The two of them, one older and one younger, stood at the entrance of the girls' dormitory, continuously whispering soft words of persuasion to Ye Lingling.

As for whether Dugu Yan would truly hand Lin Yan over...

Of course not!

The narrative they were presenting had been rehearsed beforehand. Dugu Yan had indeed wanted to return Lin Yan to Ye Lingling earlier, but since the two of them had already been intimate, Lin Yan would not have agreed to it even if she wanted to.

Therefore, in the herb garden, the two of them had devised this scheme to win Ye Lingling's sympathy and thereby earn her forgiveness.

And regarding the fact that they had been intimate...

That matter was too dishonorable. Dugu Yan had begged Lin Yan not to confess it to Ye Lingling for the time being; she was even willing to take the secondary position behind Ye Lingling...

After all, it was just a title, and Dugu Yan knew exactly where she stood.