Even Children Are on Guard? Engagement Banquet

Evening.

Dugu Bo arrived at Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling's cultivation room with a bowl of whale glue that had melted into a gelatinous substance.

"Grandpa, you're here! Lingling and I have been waiting forever. Hurry and give Lingling the medicinal ingredients you prepared." Dugu Yan had long been impatient to share this little secret with her best friend.

Ye Lingling respectfully greeted him, "Grandpa Dugu."

"Mm." Dugu Bo nodded. The more he looked at his future granddaughter-in-law, the more satisfied he became. With a kindly expression, he said, "This is a medicinal ingredient that can improve your physical constitution. After taking it, simply refine it with your soul power. You'll need to take it six times in total. It can raise your body's strength to the level of over two thousand years."

To improve his future granddaughter-in-law's physical constitution, Dugu Bo had chosen only the finest ten-thousand-year whale glue. However, each piece had to be divided into several doses for Ye Lingling. Otherwise, its aphrodisiac effects were not something a child could endure.

Ye Lingling was delighted and quickly said, "Thank you, Grandpa Dugu."

Ye Lingling did not recognize the melted whale glue. After taking the bowl, she only caught a faint fishy stench.

Of course, even if a whole piece of whale glue had been placed before her, she would not have recognized it. She was a pure seven-year-old girl—how could she possibly know anything about aphrodisiacs?

When Ye Lingling was refining the whale glue and those male-female desires were magnified, Dugu Lin "just happened" to appear before her!

Ye Lingling spotted Dugu Lin at once, and he immediately left an unforgettable impression upon her heart!

The vague budding feelings in her girlish heart began to change subtly, and her little face flushed bright red.

Seeing this, Dugu Lin was delighted. If I show up in front of other girls when they absorb whale glue in the future... hehehe~ wouldn't that directly switch the difficulty of winning them over to easy mode? No! No! That's way too sleazy! I can't do that!

Even if I don't want to be a good person, I absolutely can't have less moral character than Shrek!

Dugu Lin put away his sleazy little thoughts, then said solemnly, "Sister, let's go prepare bathwater for Sister Lingling. Look, she's drenched in sweat."

"Mm, let's go together!"

After a while, once the bathwater had been prepared, Dugu Yan pouted and said, "Stinky little brother, Lingling is going to bathe. Why are you still here?"

"Fine, fine. You're even guarding against children... seriously~ Hmph~ I'm ignoring you two~" Dugu Lin muttered as he left.

Ye Lingling watched Dugu Lin's departing figure, her little face flushed crimson as her tiny heart pounded wildly. Unfortunately, at her age, she might not even understand what liking someone meant.

A few days later.

When Ye Lingling returned to the Ye Family, the date of Dugu Yan and Qian Renxue's engagement was also drawing near.

"Lingling, how was it?"

As soon as she returned home, Ye Renxin hurriedly asked.

"Grandpa, I feel like my physical strength has indeed become much stronger. Grandpa Dugu said there won't be any problem absorbing a two-thousand-year soul ring."

"Let Grandpa examine you first." As the foremost healing-type soul master on the continent, Ye Renxin only needed to feel her bones slightly to know that Ye Lingling's physical strength was even somewhat greater than that of a level-thirty soul master.

Ye Renxin exclaimed, "As expected... that old monster really is strange. He actually made a level-ten soul master capable of absorbing a two-thousand-year soul ring!"

Looking at Ye Lingling, Ye Renxin felt deeply conflicted. Regarding the secret of a thousand-year first soul ring, he might truly have to offer up a granddaughter to Dugu Lin!

After pondering for a long time, Ye Renxin finally crouched down until he was eye level with Ye Lingling and said softly, "Lingling, our Nine-Heart Begonia Clan has been restricted by our martial soul for generations. At any given time, only two Nine-Heart Begonia martial souls can exist in the world..."

"Grandpa..." Ye Lingling's mood sank greatly at the mention of this matter.

Her father had been unable to awaken his martial soul precisely because it was Nine-Heart Begonia, making him the only person on Douluo Continent without a martial soul.

Later, after Ye Lingling's great-grandfather passed away, her father originally had the chance to awaken the Nine-Heart Begonia martial soul. However, he chose not to awaken it, giving Ye Lingling the chance to awaken the Nine-Heart Begonia martial soul instead.

This was the curse that only allowed two Nine-Heart Begonia martial souls to exist at once.

Yet this series of experiences also made Ye Lingling increasingly quiet and withdrawn. This was how the future ice-cold beauty came to be.

"Lingling..."

Ye Renxin's eyes reddened slightly as he instructed her, "You broke the soul ring age limit from your very first ring. Among countless generations of our clan, you are the one most likely to break this curse! Lingling, you must never lower your guard... You must cultivate diligently!"

"Mm!" Ye Lingling clenched her little fists tightly and forced back her stubborn tears.

Ye Renxin's heart was heavy as he placed such a burden upon the shoulders of his seven-year-old granddaughter, but what else could he do?

Two days later.

After Ye Renxin found Ye Lingling a two-thousand-year Lone Bamboo soul ring and had just returned to Heaven Dou City, he heard the news that Dugu Yan was about to become engaged to Heaven Dou Empire's eldest prince, Xue Qinghe.

"Sister Yan is getting engaged?" Ye Lingling's face was filled with astonishment.

Ye Renxin, who had heard the news, considered far more. That old monster is forming a marriage alliance with the Heaven Dou Empire, and he wants to pull in our Ye Clan as well... The old monster, the Heaven Dou Empire, and our Ye Clan—if these three powerful forces join hands, we really could get involved in the business of thousand-year first soul rings!

However, Dugu Bo had no intention of revealing the secret of thousand-year first soul rings yet. He was still planning to conceal it for a few more years and stockpile goods properly.

A few more days passed, and Xue Qinghe and Dugu Yan's engagement banquet was held as scheduled.

Inside a palace hall.

At the engagement banquet, Xue Luochuan drank a cup of wine with a gloomy face. From the corner of his eye, he imperceptibly glanced at Emperor Xue Ye and the Empress seated at the head table.

Emperor Xue Ye wore a broad smile as he raised his cup toward Dugu Bo on his right. "It is the honor of the Heaven Dou Empire to have Your Excellency Dugu serve as our guest elder! Come, let this cup express my respect!"

Dugu Bo also raised his cup and said with a laugh, "Hahaha~ Your Majesty is too courteous. From now on, my granddaughter will need the eldest prince to take good care of her!"

After draining his cup, Dugu Bo cast a satisfied glance toward Qian Renxue.

Qian Renxue was currently ten years old, but she was impersonating the eleven-year-old Xue Qinghe. On Douluo Continent, where people came of age at an average of twelve, the eleven-year-old Xue Qinghe already looked like a handsome young man. At this moment, she smiled happily, her smile as refreshing as a spring breeze.

Dugu Yan, seated beside Dugu Bo, glanced at Qian Renxue. Upon meeting Qian Renxue's "burning" gaze, she immediately looked away like a startled deer, her cheeks flushing red with shyness.

Dugu Lin's mouth twitched. No way? No way? She isn't really being turned gay, is she?