Ye Lingling

He wore a fitted blue-purple outfit, his arms crossed over his chest as he stood at the very front of the group with a gloomy expression. Powerful Soul Power fluctuations radiated from his body. He had improved considerably since their last clash and had at least broken through to Rank 40.

Several young people crowded behind him, each rubbing their hands together and eager to give it a try, their noses practically turned up at the sky.

Ning Rongrong instinctively moved a step closer to Lin Ming and lowered her voice. "Why is he here too? Is this a coincidence, or was it deliberate? Don't tell me he came for you?"

Dugu Yan's gaze turned slightly cold as she said blandly, "He's the young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. How could he possibly miss out on something as good as the academy's practical training team? Besides, he lost so disgracefully last time. He must be holding back a grudge and looking for a chance to win it back."

Lin Ming smiled, unconcerned. "Let him come. It's not like he's here to pick a fight. We're about to enter the arena—if he still wants to make trouble, the only one embarrassing himself will be him. Besides, the Soul Arena is full of experts. Is he going to leap up and bite me during training or something?"

As he spoke, he led the two girls over to the side of the group.

Yu Tianheng spotted Lin Ming at once, and his expression instantly became even uglier, as though he had swallowed a fly. The others behind him followed his gaze, their expressions rapidly shifting from curiosity to hostility.

A short, fat, dark-skinned youth spoke first, his voice dripping with sarcasm and sourness:

"Yo, isn't this our academy's 'Little Spear God'? Quite the big shot, aren't you? The sun's already up, and only now do you show up, making all of us wait for you alone. Do you really think you're that important? Or did having beauties by your side make you lose track of time?"

Another tall, thin young man with a hooked nose chimed in coldly:

"Exactly. I heard Lin Ming has been getting close to His Highness the Crown Prince lately. His standards are higher now, and he doesn't even consider ordinary students like us worth noticing. What's being late? It's already polite enough that he didn't make us kneel outside his door to welcome him."

The third youth, with a defiant face and a head of messy hair, said sharply:

"Tsk. He's the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's son-in-law and Sword Douluo's disciple, with two beauties at his side. Why would he have time to bother with rough men like us?"

Lin Ming swept his gaze over the speakers and recognized them from his memories. The short, fat one was Shi Mo, while the similarly built one beside him was his twin older brother, Shi Mo. Their Martial Souls were Black Tortoises, and their defensive power was astonishing—they were as hard to deal with as two sheets of iron.

The tall, thin one was Osler. His Martial Soul was the Ghost Wolf, and he specialized in ruthless, nimble tactics. He was full of dirty tricks.

The defiant one was called Yu Feng. His Martial Soul was the Wind Chime Bird, and he excelled at speed and aerial harassment. These people had always been Yu Tianheng's lackeys, following him around all day like a pack of hyenas surrounding a lion.

Lin Ming could not be bothered to argue with these underlings. He merely smiled faintly. "You all arrived quite early. Must've been hard work. But if I remember correctly, Director Meng said we were to gather during the morning hour. I don't seem to be late, do I?"

Shi Mo was choked by that remark. He opened his mouth but could not find anything to say in rebuttal. Indeed, Lin Ming had not arrived late—they had simply come too early.

Yu Tianheng lowered his crossed arms and stepped forward. His golden eyes fixed on Lin Ming's, and his voice carried undisguised chill, like ice being ground together.

"Lin Ming, I was careless last time. That was the only reason you got the better of me. During this practical training, don't think you can still act so arrogantly. I'll show you that people from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan are not so easy to trample on."

Lin Ming shrugged and led the two girls to stand on the other side of the group. Ning Rongrong and Dugu Yan stood at his left and right, one delicate and charming, the other cool and stunning. The sight made those three lackeys stare wide-eyed, sour and jealous as they muttered who knew what under their breath.

At that moment, Lin Ming's gaze casually swept toward the edge of the group, where a girl standing apart from everyone else caught his attention.

She wore a pale blue gown, her slender figure and cool features making her seem like a fairy from the moon palace. An aloofness that kept others at a thousand paces surrounded her.

Her dark green hair fell all the way to her waist, gleaming faintly in the morning light.

She stood quietly in the corner, neither speaking with Yu Tianheng and the others nor coming over to greet Lin Ming, as though everything around her had nothing to do with her.

Ye Lingling.

Lin Ming's heart stirred. She was the inheritor of the Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul from the original story, reputed to possess the rarest healing-type Martial Soul on the entire Douluo Continent, capable of giving an entire team extraordinary endurance.

Her Nine-Heart Begonia could rapidly heal her teammates' injuries. As long as she was present, anyone with even a single breath left could be pulled back from King Yama's grasp.

She had always kept to herself at the academy and never associated with others. Her participation in the practical training team this time truly came as a surprise to Lin Ming.

He looked at Ye Lingling a few more times before withdrawing his gaze and quietly making calculations. If I get the chance, I should get closer to this cold-faced healing fairy.

After all, the value of a healing-type Soul Master within a team was immeasurable.