Several days later.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Lin Yan and Dugu Yan had been brought out of the medicinal garden by Dugu Bo and returned to their normal lives.
On campus, the two walked side by side toward the girls' dormitory, intending to explain to Ye Lingling what had happened a few days ago.
The girl was anxious, clutching Lin Yan's hand tightly all the way there.
As for Lin Yan, he was privately weighing everything he had experienced and how much he had improved over the past few days.
After taking the Immortal Herbs, he was now at level 20. He only needed a Soul Ring to become a Soul Grandmaster.
But... his Martial Soul hadn't evolved.
That was because, when choosing his Immortal Herbs, Lin Yan hadn't chosen the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower to purify his Evil Fire.
Instead, he had chosen the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew.
The reason was that he wanted to use the boost to his physical strength from the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, along with the boost to his mental strength from the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, to absorb a ten-thousand-year third Soul Ring at level 30!
That's right, a thousand-year first Soul Ring and a ten-thousand-year third Soul Ring...
That was Lin Yan's plan for his Martial Soul!
He was only six years old. Even if the Immortal Herbs had a ten-year cooldown, he would only be sixteen when those ten years were up.
He could purify his Evil Fire with the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower then. After all, he was in no danger of his Evil Fire consuming him before that.
But absorbing Soul Rings was different.
Once chosen, a Soul Ring couldn't be replaced. Not everyone was like Tang San, blessed by the gods and able to strip away Soul Rings—and even come back to life after dying.
Lin Yan had no system or overwhelming luck on his side, just a fairly exceptional Martial Soul.
So every choice he made as he grew had to be made with the resolve to never regret a move once the stone was placed!
And among all the Immortal Herbs, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum improved physical strength the most. It was the only one that could help Lin Yan absorb a ten-thousand-year third Soul Ring!
All he could say was, his ideas were still far ahead of their time!
He was very satisfied with his decision.
Before long, they arrived at the girls' dormitory.
Lin Yan and Dugu Yan stopped outside the door and exchanged a glance. In the end, Lin Yan knocked.
The door quickly opened from within, and Ye Lingling came into view.
"Yan... Dugu Yan?"
Ye Lingling was surprised to see the two of them, but quickly put on a cold expression.
Dugu Yan said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Lingling. My grandpa..."
"Heh. He got rejected by our junior, didn't he?"
Before Dugu Yan could finish, Ye Lingling's lips curled into a mocking smile as she cut her off.
The atmosphere grew tense in an instant.
Actually, Lin Yan and Dugu Yan had anticipated this on their way back. But when Dugu Yan actually saw her former best friend treating her this way, she couldn't help feeling hurt and sad.
For a moment, silence fell. Both girls fell quiet.
Then Lin Yan spoke up.
"Sister Lingling, Sister Yanzi came to apologize."
A flicker of emotion passed through Ye Lingling's eyes, but she quickly turned her head away and stubbornly said, "I don't need her apology!"
"I won't forgive her!"
"Lingling..."
Dugu Yan wanted to say something, but guilt and remorse made her swallow the words that had reached her lips.
She had already become involved with Lin Yan. Even if she could keep it from Ye Lingling for now, she didn't know how to face her former best friend.
Dugu Yan fell silent once again, and a trace of desolation flashed through Ye Lingling's eyes...
In the end, Lin Yan was the one who spoke up to smooth things over.
"Sister Lingling, this is the Aromatic Silk Beauty, one of the Immortal Herbs. You should recognize it, right?"
As he spoke, Lin Yan took a jade box from his storage ring. When he opened it, a large pink flower was revealed to the air, glowing with a soft light.
"What?"
Ye Lingling turned back in shock, her gaze fixed on the Aromatic Silk Beauty in Lin Yan's hands.
As Ye Rou'er's successor, of course she recognized Immortal Herbs!
The Aromatic Silk Beauty had no detoxifying properties of its own, but the pink barrier it emitted could neutralize every poison in its surroundings. It was something every alchemist dreamed of obtaining.
But that wasn't the point. The point was this:
The Ye Family's records stated that if a Nine Heart Begonia Soul Master refined the Aromatic Silk Beauty, it could make her Martial Soul evolve into the Nine Heart Sacred Begonia!
And the Nine Heart Sacred Begonia was the only way to escape the bloodline curse of the Nine Heart Begonia!
Ye Lingling's pupils trembled violently. Her hands instinctively reached for the jade box, but reason stopped them in midair.
Lin Yan took it all in and smiled faintly before continuing.
"Sister Yanzi knows she was wrong, and Senior Dugu Bo also feels deeply sorry about what happened before..."
"So Sister Yanzi wants to offer you this Immortal Herb as an apology."
"She hopes you'll forgive her."
Ye Lingling didn't respond. Her gaze remained fixed on the Immortal Herb.
It wasn't that she was greedy. This Immortal Herb truly meant far too much to the Ye Family.
The Nine Heart Begonia could only have two Soul Masters alive in the world at the same time. When Ye Lingling awakened her Martial Soul at six years old, her grandfather had turned into flower petals right before her eyes...
So she was tempted! More tempted than ever before...
Just then, Dugu Yan spoke up.
"Lingling, the Immortal Herb is yours, and Lin Yan is yours too."
"I'm sorry. I didn't dare admit my feelings for Lin Yan before, which led to the misunderstanding between us and made Grandpa do something so rude."
"But actually... I..."
"I have a terminal illness. I don't have long to live. That's why Grandpa was so anxious."
Ye Lingling suddenly raised her eyes.
"A terminal illness?"
"What do you mean? How are you feeling now?"
Seeing that Ye Lingling's attitude toward her had finally softened a little, Dugu Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She exchanged a glance with Lin Yan, then said, "Junior recognized the Immortal Herbs in my grandfather's medicinal garden. After taking one, I'm no longer in danger."
Lin Yan seized the opening.
"Sister Lingling, please forgive Sister Yanzi."
The older girl and the younger boy stood at the entrance to the girls' dormitory, patiently trying to soften Ye Lingling's heart.
As for whether Dugu Yan would really hand Lin Yan over to someone else...
Of course not!
The two of them had rehearsed what to say beforehand. Dugu Yan had genuinely wanted to give Lin Yan back to Ye Lingling at first, but the two had already become involved. Even if she wanted to do that, Lin Yan wouldn't agree.
So, back in the medicinal garden, the two of them had come up with this plan to win Ye Lingling's sympathy and earn her forgiveness.
And as for the fact that they had become involved...
It was too shameful to talk about. Dugu Yan begged Lin Yan not to tell Ye Lingling the truth for now. She was even willing to take second place behind Ye Lingling...
After all, it was only a matter of status. As long as Dugu Yan knew where she stood, that was enough.