A Confidante

Beauties

When Yan Jingzhe emerged from the cultivation room, it was already the next morning.

Sunlight slanted in through the corridor windows, casting warm yellow patches across the floor. He stood by the window and stretched, his joints crackling in a rapid series of pops.

After fusing with the Life Gold, his body truly felt different.

His Soul Power Level had not changed much. He was still stuck at the bottleneck of Rank 98, only one step away from Rank 99. But his vitality had increased tremendously. He could clearly feel every cell in his body as if it had been reactivated, brimming with vigorous life.

At this rate, living another thousand years would not be a problem.

More importantly, the gray mist within his Sea of Spirit had completely settled down. Electrolux's remnant soul was no longer faintly present and elusive as before, but had firmly taken root in his Sea of Spirit.

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

Yan Jingzhe rolled his shoulders and turned to head downstairs.

As soon as he reached the stairway corner, he caught a fragrance.

It was not incense, but the aroma of food. The delicate sweetness of rice porridge, the toasted scent of fried eggs, and a faint medicinal fragrance mingled together and drifted up from the first floor.

He paused, the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifting.

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

There was a pot of plain rice porridge, two small dishes of pickles, a plate of golden fried eggs, and a steaming bowl of medicinal soup. Three sets of bowls and chopsticks had been neatly arranged.

Soft sounds came from the kitchen. Then, a figure emerged carrying a small clay pot.

She looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, tall and slender, dressed in a dark blue Soul Guidance Department instructor's uniform. A silver belt circled her waist, perfectly outlining her slim figure. Her features were striking and elegant, her brows slightly sharper than those of most women, lending her a heroic air. Her long golden hair was coiled behind her head, with a few loose strands hanging beside her ears. She possessed both a woman's softness and a martial artist's capable poise.

Her eyes were the most eye-catching feature. Her amber pupils gleamed faintly in the morning light, carrying a natural sense of pressure whenever she looked at someone. Yet at this moment, those eyes held nothing but amusement.

Xian Lin'er, Vice Dean of Shrek Academy's Soul Guidance Department, a Rank 95 Titled Douluo known as the Martial God.

"You're out?" She placed the clay pot on the table and lifted the lid—it contained a pot of red-braised pork made from Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast meat, glossy red and fragrant. "Perfect. Eat while it's hot."

Yan Jingzhe sat down at the table, looked over the feast, and smiled. "Since when did you learn how to cook?"

"I always knew how. I just never had the time." Xian Lin'er sat beside him and handed him a pair of chopsticks. "When I came back last night, I sensed activity in your cultivation room and knew you had returned, so I made a little something."

Yan Jingzhe took the chopsticks and picked up a piece of red-braised pork. The meat was tender and richly flavored, fatty without being greasy, far more delicious than he had expected.

"It tastes good," he praised sincerely.

Xian Lin'er's brows rose slightly, and the curve of her lips widened. "Of course. I specifically learned it from the Inner Court's Food-type Soul Douluo."

The two ate quietly for a while before Yan Jingzhe suddenly asked, "Where's Ling'er? Isn't she here?"

Xian Lin'er's hand paused as she picked up some food. She gave him a half-smiling look. "What, isn't having me with you enough?"

Yan Jingzhe's expression did not change. "Just asking."

Yan Jingzhe sighed inwardly. 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, lifted her bowl of porridge, and slowly took a sip, her eyes fixed on him all the while. "Ling'er was overseeing a project at the Soul Guidance Testing Grounds last night and couldn't leave. But judging by the time, she should be back soon."

She paused, then changed the subject.

"I heard you took on a disciple?"

Word traveled fast. Yan Jingzhe nodded. "Yes. A child named Huo Yuhao. His Martial Soul is the Spirit Eyes, Rank 11, a Body Martial Soul of the spiritual type."

"A Body Martial Soul? Spiritual type?" Xian Lin'er set down her porridge bowl, a flicker of interest passing through her amber eyes. "The Soul Guidance Department lacks spiritual-type Soul Masters the most, but he's only Rank 11. Isn't his talent a little weak?"

"This isn't a matter of talent." Yan Jingzhe considered his wording. After some thought, he still did not mention that Huo Yuhao was the child of destiny of the Douluo Continent. He merely gave a simple explanation of Huo Yuhao's soul skill. "His spiritual soul skill is very unusual—Spiritual Detection. It gives him a natural advantage when crafting Soul Tools."

Xian Lin'er nodded upon hearing that and reached out to lightly pat the back of Yan Jingzhe's hand.

"Oh? Then I would like to see 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 focus only on worrying about your disciple. When are you, the dean of the Soul Guidance Department, going to deal with some work? There are piles of matters waiting for you over there."

"And your younger brother's Martial Soul Department hasn't been very peaceful lately either. It seems they're working on some new system. Aren't you going to keep an eye on it?"

"Shao Zhe's affairs don't need my attention. He can handle them himself." Yan Jingzhe waved a hand. "I need to leave the academy later to take care of some matters. Help teach Yuhao the basics of Soul Tools first. After all, you're his master's wife."

"Teaching Yuhao won't be a problem, but aren't you being a little too good at being a hands-off boss? You just got back to the academy, and you're leaving again?" Xian Lin'er pouted.

"Isn't that why I have such a capable wife at home?" Yan Jingzhe laughed heartily.

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

Halfway through breakfast, a set of footsteps suddenly sounded from the entrance.

A figure with long black hair appeared in the doorway, speaking before she had even entered.

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

She appeared younger than Xian Lin'er, around twenty-five or twenty-six. Her beauty was exquisite and cool, her facial features sharply defined like an uncarved piece of cold jade. Her long black hair fell to her waist, making her the very image of a regal beauty with long straight black hair.

Feng Ling, Director of Shrek Academy's Soul Guidance Department, a Rank 93 Titled Douluo known as the Phoenix.

"Ling'er, you're back." Xian Lin'er stood and greeted her close friend. "I just made breakfast. Come have some."

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

Looking at Feng Ling before him, Yan Jingzhe could not help sighing 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. Instead, she had followed the same path as the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao.

"Brother Jingzhe," Feng Ling said, her voice cool and clear as spring water, "did everything go smoothly on your trip?"

"It went smoothly," Yan Jingzhe answered briefly.

"That's good." Feng Ling nodded, and the corners of her lips curved slightly. The movement was small, but she truly had smiled. Whenever she smiled, the coldness around her seemed like melting snow, revealing the softness beneath.

Watching this scene from the side, a satisfied expression flashed through Xian Lin'er's amber eyes. She stood and began clearing her dishes.

"I'm leaving first. There's a meeting in the Soul Guidance Department that I need to chair."

Carrying the bowls and plates toward the kitchen, she waved without looking back.

Feng Ling watched Xian Lin'er's back disappear through the kitchen doorway, then turned toward Yan Jingzhe, a trace of emotion in her dark eyes.

"Sister Lin'er is still as decisive and efficient as ever," Feng Ling said. Her tone was calm, making it impossible to tell whether it was simply a statement or a sigh.

"So are you." Yan Jingzhe put down his chopsticks.

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

"Not at all."

Though she said so, the tips of her ears had taken on a faint pink hue.

Yan Jingzhe suddenly smiled at the sight.

Xian Lin'er was blazing fire, passionate and direct. When she liked someone, she openly treated him well without hiding it. Feng Ling was cold ice, icy on the surface but more delicate than anyone within. The way she treated people well was as gentle and silent as rain nourishing the earth.

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

Since transmigrating into this world, he had seen too much treachery and too many entanglements of interest. Only with them could he feel a sincerity free of impurity.

"Ling'er," he suddenly called her name.

"Mm?"

"Thank you for liking me."

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

"No need to thank me. I did it willingly," she said softly.

The sound of Xian Lin'er washing dishes came from the kitchen, water splashing loudly and covering the brief silence in the living room.

Yan Jingzhe lifted his bowl and slowly drank the last mouthful of porridge. He looked at Feng Ling across from him, then toward Xian Lin'er in the kitchen.

It seemed he also needed to obtain the piece of Life Gold inside the belly of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Golden Tortoiseshell in the Star Dou Forest. He did not want to be alone in the future.