Confidante

Confidante

It was early the next morning when Yan Jingzhe emerged from the cultivation room.

Sunlight slanted through the corridor windows, casting warm yellow patches across the floor. He stood before a window and stretched, his bones popping in a rhythmic chain.

After fusing with the Life Gold, his physical sensations were indeed different.

His soul power rank remained unchanged, still stuck at the ninety-eighth-level bottleneck, just one step away from the ninety-ninth level. However, his vitality had increased significantly; he could clearly feel every cell in his body as if it had been rebooted, brimming with vigorous life.

At this rate, living another thousand years would be no problem.

More importantly, the gray mist within his Sea of Spirit had completely settled. The remnant soul of Electrolux no longer flickered in and out like before, but was firmly rooted in his Sea of Spirit.

After all, this was the key to whether he could become a god.

Yan Jingzhe rolled his shoulders and turned to head downstairs.

He had just reached the corner of the stairs when he caught a scent.

It was not incense, but the aroma of food. The sweet, clear scent of rice porridge, the savory fragrance of fried eggs, and a faint hint of medicinal herbs drifted up from the first floor.

His footsteps faltered, and the corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily.

Breakfast was already laid out on the table in the first-floor living room.

A pot of white rice porridge, two small side dishes, a plate of golden fried eggs, and a steaming bowl of medicinal soup. Three sets of bowls and chopsticks were arranged neatly.

A slight sound came from the kitchen, followed by a figure emerging with a small clay pot.

She was a woman who looked to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight, tall and slender, wearing the dark blue uniform of a Soul Guidance Department teacher. A silver belt cinched her waist, perfectly outlining her slender figure. Her features were bright and bold, her eyebrows slightly higher than the average woman's, exuding a sense of heroism. Her long golden hair was pinned up at the back, with a few stray strands hanging by her ears, making her look both feminine and capable.

Most striking were her eyes; her amber pupils shimmered with a faint luster in the morning light, carrying a natural sense of pressure when she looked at someone. But at this moment, those eyes held only smiles.

Xian Lin'er, Vice Dean of the Soul Guidance Department at Shrek Academy, a ninety-fifth-level Titled Douluo, titled the Martial God.

"Out of seclusion?" She placed the clay pot on the table and lifted the lid—it was braised pork stewed with ten-thousand-year soul beast meat, bright red in color and overflowing with fragrance. "Perfect, eat while it's hot."

Yan Jingzhe sat down at the table, looked at the spread, and said with a smile, "When did you learn to cook?"

"I've always known how, I just never had the time." Xian Lin'er sat down beside him and handed him a pair of chopsticks. "I sensed movement in your cultivation room when I returned last night, and knowing you were back, I made a little something."

Yan Jingzhe took the chopsticks and popped a piece of braised pork into his mouth. The meat was tender and flavorful, fatty but not greasy, and far more delicious than he had imagined.

"The taste is excellent," he praised sincerely.

Xian Lin'er raised an eyebrow, the curve of her mouth deepening. "Of course, I specifically learned it from the Food-type Soul Douluo in the Inner Court."

The two ate in silence for a while before Yan Jingzhe suddenly asked, "Where is Ling'er? Is she not here?"

Xian Lin'er paused in her movements, glancing at him with a look that was half-smile, half-glare. "What, is having me accompany you not enough?"

Yan Jingzhe remained calm. "Just asking."

Sigh, Yan Jingzhe thought to himself. Although Lin'er had accepted it, she still had little moods from time to time.

"Is that so?" Xian Lin'er set down her chopsticks, picked up her porridge bowl, and took a slow sip, her eyes fixed on him. "Ling'er was monitoring a project at the Soul Guidance testing grounds last night and couldn't get away. But calculating the time, she should be back soon."

She paused, then changed the subject.

"I heard you took on a disciple?"

News traveled fast. Yan Jingzhe nodded. "Yes, a child named Huo Yuhao. Martial Soul: Spirit Eyes, rank eleven, Body Martial Soul, spiritual type."

"Body Martial Soul? Spiritual type?" Xian Lin'er set down her bowl, a flash of interest crossing her amber eyes. "The Soul Guidance Department lacks spiritual-type Soul Masters the most, but at only rank eleven, isn't his talent a bit weak?"

"This isn't a matter of talent." Yan Jingzhe weighed his words, thinking it over, but decided against revealing that Huo Yuhao was the child of destiny for the Douluo Continent. He simply explained Huo Yuhao's soul skill. "His spiritual soul skill is very special—Spiritual Detection. It has a natural advantage when crafting Soul Guidance Devices."

Xian Lin'er nodded at his words and reached out, tapping lightly on the back of Yan Jingzhe's hand.

"Oh? Then I'll have to see for myself just how special his soul skill is." She withdrew her hand, her tone as casual as if she were commenting on the weather. "But don't just focus on your disciple. As the Dean of the Soul Guidance Department, when are you going to handle your work? There's a pile of things waiting for you there."

"Besides, your brother's side in the Martial Soul Department hasn't been very quiet lately either. They seem to be working on some new system; you should keep an eye on it."

"Shao Zhe's affairs don't need to be managed; he can handle them himself." Yan Jingzhe waved a hand. "I need to leave the academy for a while later to take care of some things. Please help me teach Yuhao the basics of Soul Guidance Devices; after all, you are his master's wife."

"Teaching Yuhao is fine, but aren't you being a bit too much of a hands-off manager? You just got back to the academy and you're leaving again?" Xian Lin'er pouted.

"Don't I have a capable helper like you?" Yan Jingzhe laughed.

Xian Lin'er sighed, shook her head in resignation, and said nothing more.

Halfway through breakfast, a sound of footsteps suddenly came from the entrance.

A figure with long black hair appeared at the door, speaking before she even entered.

"Brother Jingzhe, Sister Lin'er, I'm back."

She looked younger than Xian Lin'er, about twenty-five or twenty-six, with exquisite, cold features and well-defined contours, like a piece of uncarved cold jade. Her long black hair hung to her waist—a quintessential cool-headed beauty.

Feng Ling, Director of the Soul Guidance Department at Shrek Academy, a ninety-third-level Titled Douluo, titled the Phoenix.

"Ling'er, you're back." Xian Lin'er stood up to greet her close friend. "I just made breakfast, come eat with us."

"Okay, Sister Lin'er." Feng Ling sat down obediently at the dining table.

Yan Jingzhe looked at Feng Ling before him and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

In this life, because of him, Feng Ling had not fallen into becoming an Evil Soul Master as she had in the original story, but instead followed the same path as the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao.

"Jing Zhe," Feng Ling began, her voice as cool as spring water, "was your trip out successful?"

"It was." Yan Jingzhe answered briefly.

"That's good." Feng Ling nodded, the corners of her mouth curving slightly. The arc was small, but she was indeed smiling. When she smiled, the chill that usually clung to her melted away like thawing ice, revealing a soft side beneath.

Xian Lin'er watched this scene from the side, a flash of satisfaction crossing her amber eyes. She stood up and began to clear her bowl and chopsticks.

"I'll be going now. There's a meeting at the Soul Guidance Department that I need to chair."

She carried the dishes toward the kitchen, waving a hand without looking back.

Feng Ling watched Xian Lin'er's back disappear into the kitchen doorway, then turned to look at Yan Jingzhe, her black eyes filled with a trace of sentiment.

"Lin'er is still as swift and decisive as ever." Feng Ling said, her tone flat, making it impossible to tell if it was a statement or a reflection.

"You're the same." Yan Jingzhe set down his chopsticks.

Feng Ling turned her face away, her long black hair falling to cover half of it.

"Not at all."

Though she said this, her earlobes were stained with a faint shade of pink.

Yan Jingzhe looked at her and suddenly smiled.

Xian Lin'er was like a raging fire—passionate and direct. When she liked someone, she treated them well openly and generously, without hiding or pretense. Feng Ling was like cold ice—frigid on the surface, yet more delicate at heart than anyone else, showing her affection in a way that was as silent and nourishing as spring rain.

The two women had vastly different personalities, yet both brought Yan Jingzhe a sense of warmth he had not felt in a long time.

He had been in this world for so long and had seen too much treachery and conflict of interest; only here, with them, could he feel a sincerity devoid of impurities.

"Ling'er." He suddenly called her name.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for your affection."

Feng Ling froze for a moment, then lowered her head, the curve of her mouth deepening.

"You don't need to thank me. It's my own choice." She said softly.

The sound of Xian Lin'er washing dishes drifted from the kitchen, the splashing water drowning out the brief silence in the living room.

Yan Jingzhe picked up his bowl, slowly finished the last of his porridge, and glanced at Feng Ling across from him and Xian Lin'er in the kitchen.

It seemed he would need to get his hands on that piece of Life Gold inside the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Golden Tortoiseshell in the Great Star Dou Forest; he certainly didn't want to end up alone in the future.