Ye Cixin let the matter of Ning Fengzhi drop. Turning to Meng Chen, her gaze softened as she gently asked how he had been these past few years.
"Six years apart, and you've grown so much! What's your cultivation level now? Where are you studying? And why did you only just think to visit Aunt Ye?"
Meng Chen answered her barrage of questions one by one.
"Don't blame me, Aunt Ye. It's not that I didn't want to visit. I just never had the time. Notting City is so far from Heaven Dou City that a round trip takes over ten days."
"I only reported to Heaven Dou Royal Academy yesterday. After a night's rest, I came over as soon as I woke up this morning..."
Ye Cixin did not scold him.
The fact that he had come to visit meant he had not forgotten her. That was enough.
"All right, all right. Aunt Ye doesn't blame you. But I remember you aren't a noble. How did you get into Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"
Ye Cixin was puzzled. Heaven Dou Royal Academy only admitted children of the nobility.
Even she held the title of marquis in the Heaven Dou Empire and served as the imperial family's chief physician. Otherwise, Ye Lingling would have had a hard time getting in.
Meng Chen smiled. "I was admitted to Heaven Dou Royal Academy through special recruitment."
"Special recruitment..." Ye Cixin repeated.
As far as she knew, the academy reserved special recruitment for descendants of nobles who had earned merit. They could get in even if their talent fell short.
Meng Chen was not a noble, yet the academy had made an exception for him. He must have made great progress over the years.
"By the way, little Chen, you had Innate Full Soul Power. You must have become a Soul Grandmaster by now, haven't you?"
Ye Cixin asked about his cultivation.
Meng Chen did not hide it.
Two purple Soul Rings and one black Soul Ring appeared, all three beyond what an ordinary Soul Elder should possess. Ye Cixin's beautiful eyes widened in shock, and her voluptuous body trembled, setting her generous curves quivering.
"Two thousand-year Soul Rings and a ten-thousand-year one! Little Chen, what have you been through all these years?"
"I got lucky, that's all."
Meng Chen smiled at the beautiful mother whose pink lips hung open in astonishment. For some reason, he felt an urge to plug her mouth with his Thunder Hell Vine...
Meanwhile, inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's carriage...
Smack!
A resounding slap rang through the carriage. Ning Fengzhi's palm struck Ning Yunxiao's cheek so hard it knocked his head to the side.
A bright red handprint marked his face. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth and dripped onto the snow leopard rug, staining it red.
"Did you forget everything I told you before we came? Who gave you permission to speak? And in that tone? Do you have any respect for me as your father?"
Ning Fengzhi berated him coldly. If this thirteenth son had not been one of his more promising children, he would have done far worse than slap him.
"What's wrong with marrying into the Ye Family? There are only two women in that family. Even if you married into it, you'd be the one in charge. Instead, you ruined my entire plan."
The more Ning Fengzhi thought about it, the angrier he became. He could not even maintain his usual gracious manner.
He had been so close. He was ready to agree to Ning Yunxiao marrying into the Ye Family, only for this wretched son to jump in and spoil everything.
Ning Yunxiao lowered his head in fear, though resentment flashed in his eyes.
I have so many brothers. Why should I be the one to marry into their family?
After a while, Ning Fengzhi gradually suppressed his anger. He fixed Ning Yunxiao with a dark stare and delivered an ultimatum.
"If you refuse to marry into their family, fine. Then pursue Ye Lingling and make her marry you."
"Use whatever means you have to, even if you have to make it a done deal. You must win Ye Lingling over. If you fail, hmph..."
At noon, Ye Cixin invited Meng Chen to stay for lunch.
After seeing his extraordinary Soul Rings and level thirty-nine Soul Power, she treated him with even greater warmth.
"Little Chen, you're studying at Heaven Dou Royal Academy? What a coincidence. Your big sister Ling Ling attends Heaven Dou Academy too."
"You've only just enrolled. If there's anything at the academy you're unfamiliar with, go to your big sister Ling Ling. She'll help you."
Sitting close beside Meng Chen, Ye Cixin served him food as she spoke about Ye Lingling.
As the beautiful mother leaned her voluptuous body toward him, a faint, enticing mature fragrance reached his nose. Meng Chen's thoughts wandered, and heat surged through his lower body.
Fortunately, he promptly activated the Marrow-Ice Jade Soul Tool against his chest. A chill spread through him, and with practiced ease, he suppressed the heat before disaster struck.
Whale Rubber had its benefits, but it had its drawbacks too.
Whale Rubber was an extremely potent tonic with strong yang properties. It could have a certain aphrodisiac effect on ordinary adult men.
Meng Chen had taken it for years. Though it had strengthened his body, it had also accelerated his development, leaving him far beyond his peers in that regard and with a severe excess of yang energy.
When he was younger, he had felt little effect. But as he grew older, it had become harder to bear.
Fortunately, Ye Xishui had found a piece of Marrow-Ice Jade for him in the Extreme Northern Icefield and turned it into a Soul Tool he could wear against his skin to suppress that yang energy.
But as the surges grew more frequent, the Soul Tool Ye Xishui had given him was becoming less effective.
Meng Chen glanced at the lush, mature figure almost pressing against him. Without drawing attention, he shifted away and put some distance between them.
He was scared.
If he lost control for even a moment, there would be an accident that would cost him at least ten billion.
"Aunt Ye, I actually came today to ask you a favor."
Meng Chen could barely endure it any longer, so he hurried to explain why he had come.
Ye Cixin set down her chopsticks. "What is it? If Auntie can help, just say the word."
"It's nothing major. I heard you know a great deal about herbs. I'm sure you've compiled plenty of notes on them, and I'd like to borrow them..."
Meng Chen wanted the notes because he knew little about the Icefire Yin Yang Well. He could recognize only the few Immortal Herbs mentioned in the original story; everything else was a mystery to him.
The Ye Family had studied medicine for generations and undoubtedly possessed a wealth of information on herbs.
When Ye Cixin heard that he only wanted to read her notes on herbs, she paused, then smiled.
"And here I thought it was something serious. Wait here. I'll bring them over."
With that, Ye Cixin rose and walked away.
Meng Chen watched her curvy figure from behind. The sway of her generous hips made him think she could crush a man beneath them.
If that came down on me, I might have to sacrifice a limb to survive.
The strange thought sprang into Meng Chen's mind. He shook his head and banished it.
A dozen or so minutes later, Ye Cixin returned with a stack of books. She set them before Meng Chen and pointed to them as she explained:
"Little Chen, these books contain records of herbs found across the Douluo Continent, compiled by generations of Ye Family heads. Almost every herb discovered on the continent is documented here. I don't know which herb you're looking for, but these should help."
Meng Chen looked at the books, some old and some new, and his heart leaped. He thanked Ye Cixin at once.
"Thank you, Aunt Ye!"
Ye Cixin smiled gently. "No need to thank Auntie. If there's anything you don't understand, ask me. I'll help you find it..."
Before you continue