Winning over Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo

Companions, brothers.

Those two words deeply touched Chrysanthemum Guan and Gui Mei.

They had worked for Spirit Hall and Bibi Dong for so many years, yet in the end, they had never been anything more than tools to her.

Ling Han, standing before them, was willing to treat them as friends and brothers.

Seeing that Chrysanthemum Guan and Gui Mei were already moved, Ling Han decided to raise the stakes further.

With a stirring dragon's roar, the Ice Dragon King martial soul appeared behind Ling Han.

Nine soul rings followed: one yellow, two purple, three black, and three red.

The aura of a Limit Douluo erupted, instantly changing the expressions of Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo.

The pressure was several times more terrifying than anything Bibi Dong had ever exerted on them.

"And you needn't worry about my strength. Even if your Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined came here, he would be no match for me."

Under the pressure of Ling Han's aura, Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo could barely breathe, and they found themselves believing his words a little more.

If even Qian Daoliu was no match for Ling Han, joining him did not seem like such a bad idea.

"Your Majesty Ice Emperor, is everything you've said true?"

Ling Han nodded. "Of course it is."

Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance, each seeing the temptation in his longtime partner's eyes.

After a moment, Yue Guan sighed. "If we refuse today, I imagine Your Majesty won't let us leave anyway. So I, Yue Guan, accept your offer."

Gui Mei nodded beside him.

Ling Han smiled faintly. "Excellent. Welcome to my team. But there's no hurry to switch sides just yet. You'll need to keep working at Spirit Hall for a while. Once I've finished establishing my sect, you can join me then."

Then Ling Han waved his hand, and the three petals of the singular velvet sky chrysanthemum landed in Yue Guan's hands.

Another medicinal herb appeared in Ling Han's hand.

"This nine-grade purple ganoderma is for Ghost Douluo."

At the sight of the nine-grade purple ganoderma, surprise once again crossed Yue Guan's face.

His Majesty Ice Emperor truly had remarkable abilities.

Although the nine-grade purple ganoderma was not as valuable as an immortal herb, it was still an extremely precious medicinal herb. With even a welcome gift this valuable, Yue Guan was already looking forward to the rewards he would receive for serving Ling Han.

"You may go. No one beyond those of us here will know what happened today. I won't place any restrictions on you, because I trust you know where you truly belong."

Hearing this, Yue Guan and Gui Mei felt a little more respect for him.

Generous, powerful, and good to his subordinates—this was the kind of leader they longed for.

"Very well. Then we'll await word from Your Majesty Ice Emperor!"

With that, Gui Mei supported the injured Yue Guan and left Sunset Forest.

Having witnessed the entire exchange, Dugu Bo could not help admiring Ling Han's methods.

"Little Monster, are you really going to make this old man work in the same sect as that Chrysanthemum Guan?"

Dugu Bo had never had any fondness for Chrysanthemum Guan.

Ling Han smiled faintly, slung an arm around Dugu Bo's shoulders, and said with a laugh, "Don't worry, old monster. Your position will definitely be higher than theirs!"

"Hahaha! That's more like it. Now I can rest easy!"

The two left Sunset Forest, chatting and laughing.

With that worry settled, Dugu Bo was in excellent spirits and looked much younger.

Back at the academy, Ling Han resumed putting the Imperial Fighting Team through their drills.

One day, Ling Han called Xiao Wu into his office.

"Xiao Wu, I've seen the bond between you and Xiao San. But the gap between you is simply too wide now."

One was at rank twenty-eight, the other at rank forty-five. Calling the difference a gulf between heaven and earth would not have been an exaggeration.

Hearing this, Xiao Wu thought Ling Han intended to separate her from Tang San, and her eyes immediately reddened.

"Teacher, I'll work hard at cultivating! Please don't separate me from Brother San, all right?"

Ling Han did not know whether to laugh or cry. She's lived for a hundred thousand years. How is she still so innocent? She also seemed to have misunderstood him.

"I don't mean to separate you. I want to help you close the gap between you and Xiao San."

Then a flower appeared in Ling Han's hand.

The instant it appeared, a strange light filled the entire room.

Its petals were snow-white, and a pitch-black stone sat at its roots.

"This is the king of immortal herbs, Lovesick Heartbreak Red. Let a drop of your heart's blood fall onto its petals, then recall the moments you've shared with Xiao San. If it accepts you, the stone at its roots will fall away, and you'll be able to absorb it."

Xiao Wu nodded, forced out a drop of her heart's blood, and let it fall onto the petals of Lovesick Heartbreak Red.

Then she closed her eyes and began recalling every moment she had shared with Tang San.

"My name is Xiao Wu—the Wu that means dance!"

"Tang San, fight me again!"

"Brother San, you're so good to me!"

Scenes from the past rose before Xiao Wu's eyes.

In the years since she had become human, the boy named Tang San had found his way into her heart and claimed a place that nothing could shake.

She could not live without him, nor could he live without her.

Just then, Lovesick Heartbreak Red reacted.

Its snow-white petals began to turn blood-red.

The pitch-black stone at its roots fell away on its own and crumbled to ash.

The immortal herb had acknowledged its owner. Xiao Wu had successfully moved Lovesick Heartbreak Red.

"Congratulations, Xiao Wu. Now consume this Lovesick Heartbreak Red."

Just as in the original story, Xiao Wu felt reluctant to do so, because she saw it as a symbol of the love between her and Tang San.

But this time, Ling Han had given her Lovesick Heartbreak Red, so her reluctance was not as strong as it had been in the original story.

After some persuasion from Ling Han, Xiao Wu finally decided to consume Lovesick Heartbreak Red.

She consumed it right there in Ling Han's office, circulating her soul power to refine it while Ling Han guarded her throughout the process.

Since the first few soul rings after soul beast transformation could be condensed independently, Xiao Wu's soul power broke straight through the bottleneck.

Once her soul power reached rank thirty, her third soul ring formed beneath her on its own.

And her soul power continued to rise.

It shot all the way up to rank thirty-seven, stopping only when it was almost at rank thirty-eight.

The king of immortal herbs certainly lived up to its name, increasing her soul power by nearly ten ranks in one go.

Xiao Wu opened her eyes, brimming with joy.

At last, the gap between her and Brother San would no longer be so wide.

She was at the peak of rank thirty-seven. With her talent, it would not be long before she broke through to Soul Ancestor.

"All right, you can go back now. As for your soul ring, just say I found some time to take you out to obtain it."

"Yes! Thank you, Teacher!"

After saying goodbye, Xiao Wu skipped out of Ling Han's office.

When Tang San learned that Ling Han had helped Xiao Wu, he was deeply grateful as well.

"Xiao Wu, once we're stronger, we must repay Teacher properly!"