Nine-Hearted Begonia Clan

Ye Lingling was naturally curious about this little genius who was younger than her yet more capable.

Qin Ming noticed this as well. As an experienced teacher, he knew very well that children close in age had more in common and found it easier to build trust and friendship.

So he went along with it and said to Ye Lingling with a smile, "Lingling, Zhao Ming has just arrived and isn't very familiar with our Royal Dou Team's training. You're an old member of the team, so take him around and familiarize him with our daily training schedule."

Ye Lingling nodded and walked over to Zhao Ming. Her tone remained as cool and detached as ever, though it was already much gentler than the way she spoke to others. "Come with me, Zhao Ming."

The two walked side by side out of the training grounds, following the academy's bluestone paths at an unhurried pace.

As they walked, Ye Lingling introduced Zhao Ming to the Royal Dou Team's daily training. Her voice was soft, but her explanation was clear and orderly. In just a few sentences, she laid out the key points of their training.

Put simply, the Royal Dou Team's training consisted of two aspects.

The first was foundational training in physical fitness and Soul Power. Through high-intensity, limit-pushing exercises, they squeezed out the members' physical potential and drove every bit of their stamina to the brink. Then, when their bodies were on the verge of collapse, they used specially prepared medicinal baths provided by the Nine-Hearted Begonia Ye Clan to quickly restore damaged muscles and meridians.

This method of training was exceptionally grueling. Every session left them exhausted to the point of collapse, but the results were immediate. Through the repeated cycle of "destruction and restoration," the members' physical condition and Soul Power steadily improved at a rate far beyond ordinary cultivation.

The second aspect was practical combat training.

Qin Ming regularly led the Royal Dou Team to the Great Soul Arena in Heaven Dou City, where they accumulated combat experience by participating in soul battles.

At present, the members mainly competed in one-on-one and two-on-two soul battles. Team soul battles had not yet begun, since teamwork required a longer period of coordination.

Qin Ming planned to formally form a team and enter team soul battles only after everyone except Ye Lingling had broken through to Soul Elder.

After listening to Ye Lingling's explanation, Zhao Ming gained a general understanding of the Royal Dou Team's training system.

Though this training method was simple and rough, it was undeniably effective. The medicinal bath recovery process in particular set his thoughts in motion.

Although in this life he primarily cultivated the Nine-Breath Qi Absorption, following a path toward godhood by tempering his five organs and perfecting the five elements, that did not mean he had no interest in other paths.

On the contrary, his mind still held the alchemy methods he had drawn from the system. He simply had not attempted them yet because he lacked understanding of this world's medicinal herbs.

If he could use the Nine-Hearted Begonia Clan's pharmaceutical knowledge and the Heaven Dou Empire's vast collection of books to combine alchemy with this world's herbal system, it would surely be of great help in refining pills.

With that thought, Zhao Ming put on a curious expression. He raised his head and looked at Ye Lingling with clear, wide eyes, his tone carrying a childlike innocence. "Senior Ye, are the medicinal baths your family provides really that amazing?"

At once, an incomparably confident smile appeared on Ye Lingling's face.

The Nine-Hearted Begonia Clan's accomplishments in medicine were her greatest pride, and the thing she was proudest of as an heir of the Ye Clan.

She raised her chin slightly, her voice filled with undisguised pride. "Of course. Our Nine-Hearted Begonia Clan is among the very best in medicinal research across the entire continent.

My grandfather once said that, across all of Douluo Continent, only two people were qualified to sit down and discuss pharmacology with him: one was Yang Wudi, the patriarch of the Breaking Clan, and the other was Yue Guan, Chrysanthemum Douluo of Spirit Hall.

No one else—not even those so-called royal physicians or Spirit Hall's Soul Saint-level healing soul masters—was worthy of carrying my grandfather's shoes."

Zhao Ming's heart stirred. Naturally, he knew the name Ye Renxin. Qian Renxue had long ago explained to him which figures in the Heaven Dou Empire required special attention.

Ye Lingling's grandfather, Ye Renxin, was an eighty-seventh-level healing-type Soul Douluo and the current patriarch of the Nine-Hearted Begonia Clan. He was said to be capable of saving anyone as long as they still had a breath left.

In the original story, only two members of the Nine-Hearted Begonia Clan could exist at a time, but their attainments in medicine truly stood unrivaled in the world.

The fact that Ye Renxin could be mentioned in the same breath as Yang Wudi of the Breaking Clan and Yue Guan, Chrysanthemum Douluo of Spirit Hall, was enough to prove his ability.

"Senior Ye Renxin is that incredible!" Zhao Ming put on an amazed expression, then changed the subject, his voice gaining a hint of cautious probing. "Senior Ye, I'm actually very interested in medical knowledge as well.

Could I... possibly have the honor of meeting Senior Ye? I'd like to ask him a few questions about pharmacology."

The moment those words left his mouth, the smile on Ye Lingling's face faded somewhat.

She stopped and turned around, staring directly at Zhao Ming with clear, water-like eyes filled with scrutiny.

On the tree-lined path outside the training grounds, a breeze stirred the loose strands of hair before her forehead. Yet she did not notice at all, merely watching Zhao Ming quietly as though trying to read something from his expression.

After a long while, Ye Lingling finally spoke. Her voice was several degrees colder than before. "Zhao Ming, are you trying to recruit the Ye Clan on behalf of His Highness the Crown Prince?"

The question was direct and sharp.

Though the Nine-Hearted Begonia Clan had few members, its influence within the Heaven Dou Empire could not be underestimated. A healing-type Soul Douluo capable of reviving the dead and restoring flesh to bone possessed strategic value greater even than an army of ten thousand.

Over the years, every faction within the Heaven Dou Empire had sought to win over the Ye Clan. Prince Xue Xing had done so, Prince Xue Beng had done so, and it was hardly surprising that someone from His Highness the Crown Prince's side had now come knocking.

Zhao Ming was initially stunned. Then he quickly waved his hands, a flustered look appearing on his face as though the sudden question had caught him completely off guard. "No, no! Senior Ye, you've misunderstood. I'm really just interested in medicine. It has nothing to do with His Highness the Crown Prince."

He paused, and the expression on his face gradually became serious. His voice lowered as well, carrying a depth that did not match his age. "My father was the doctor in our village while he was alive.

He was only an ordinary village doctor, and his medical skills weren't particularly exceptional, but he spent his entire life doing his best to treat the villagers.

Before he was killed by fallen soul masters, he always hoped that I could inherit his work and pass down this skill. But life is unpredictable..."