Nine Heart Begonia Breaks Its Limits

"An immortal-grade herb!"

"Aromatic silk beauty!"

Ye Lingling, her mother, and the young man beside them froze for an instant, then their eyes blazed with eagerness.

The Library at the Ye Residence contained knowledge about immortal herbs, so they naturally knew what an immortal-grade herb was and how precious it was.

Several generations of their Ye Family had searched in secret without finding one.

Yet now, someone had brought them the aromatic silk beauty that generations had failed to find.

"Mr. Gu, whether this succeeds or not, you will forever be a friend of our Ye Family.

From now on, your standing in the Ye Family will equal that of its head, and all our resources will be open to you."

Ye Lingling's mother took two steps forward and bowed deeply to Gu Ping'an.

Then she gave a gentle smile.

"I haven't formally introduced myself yet. My name is Ye Qingtang, the current head of the Ye Family. You can simply call me Aunt Ye."

Ye Qingtang reached out and drew the young man beside her forward.

"This is my husband, Shen Qingchuan, a rank seventy-nine combat-type Soul Master."

"Hello, young friend Gu! I'm a few years older than you, so you can call me Uncle Shen or Brother Shen." Shen Qingchuan extended a hand in greeting.

"Hello, Uncle Shen!" Gu Ping'an responded with a slight nod.

A rank seventy-nine combat-type Soul Master!

Not bad. He looked to be in his thirties. Reaching rank seventy-nine as a combat-type Soul Master made him quite a talented man.

He turned his gaze back to Ye Qingtang.

Her earlier words had practically staked the entire Ye Family on tying themselves to him.

That held both advantages and disadvantages for the Ye Family. They would gain an outsider capable of influencing the family, and their resources would have to be divided one way further.

The benefits were an aromatic silk beauty and Gu Ping'an's protection once he grew stronger.

For Gu Ping'an, aside from giving them an aromatic silk beauty, none of it amounted to much.

Once he grew stronger, sheltering a single Ye Family would take no more than a casual effort.

"Aunt Ye, you said my standing would equal the head of the Ye Family? Then could the Ye Family help me with a few things?"

Gu Ping'an handed the aromatic silk beauty to Ye Lingling beside him, then looked at Ye Qingtang and spoke softly.

Even if the Nine Heart Begonia Ye Family could not compare with the Upper Three Sects, Spirit Hall, or the two great empires, it was still a Soul Master family and could handle plenty of miscellaneous tasks for him.

"Of course. Your standing equals that of the family head, so naturally, you may give the Ye Family orders.

What would you like the Ye Family to do?"

Ye Qingtang's eyes flickered as she watched Gu Ping'an curiously.

"I need the Ye Family to collect things containing the five attributes of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Medicinal herbs, Soul Beasts, and ores are all fine."

"Certainly. I'll pass down the instructions shortly."

Though Ye Qingtang did not understand why Gu Ping'an wanted this, she nodded in agreement.

"She should be this generation's Nine Heart Begonia bearer, right?"

Gu Ping'an looked at Ye Lingling. "I want to watch while you absorb the aromatic silk beauty. I'm very curious whether it can actually break the limits of Nine Heart Begonia."

Aromatic silk beauty could evolve the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda from seven tiers to nine, so it should at least have some effect on Nine Heart Begonia.

"Lingling, go prepare first and get yourself into the right condition."

Ye Qingtang took the aromatic silk beauty from Ye Lingling and sent her off to prepare.

Once Ye Lingling left, only Gu Ping'an, Xiao Wu, Ye Qingtang, and Shen Qingchuan remained.

They studied one another.

Ye Qingtang and Shen Qingchuan occasionally glanced at Xiao Wu.

In their eyes, Gu Ping'an was a monster through and through.

Someone who could keep company with a monster had to be a genius at the very least, right?

Most of Gu Ping'an's attention remained on Shen Qingchuan.

Only rank seventy-nine, not even a Soul Douluo. Too weak.

Once the Ye Family collected enough resources with the five elemental attributes for him, he could use nine-grade purple ganoderma to give Shen Qingchuan a boost.

Meanwhile, Xiao Wu stared unblinkingly at the Ye Family's dining table, her little stomach rumbling like thunder.

From her Soul Beast Transformation to her time at the Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy, she had never eaten anything particularly good.

Moreover, she had not eaten a thing since being taken away that afternoon.

"Someone, prepare a fresh table of food."

Ye Qingtang smiled with pursed lips and gave the servants outside the dining hall their instructions.

"Please eat first, you two. We'll go see how Lingling's preparations are coming along."

With that, she gave Shen Qingchuan a meaningful look.

Shen Qingchuan understood. He cupped his hands toward Gu Ping'an and Xiao Wu, then followed Ye Qingtang out.

"Qingtang, wasn't promising him standing equal to the family head a little too much?" After leaving the dining hall, Shen Qingchuan moved closer to Ye Qingtang and asked quietly.

Standing equal to the family head!

And he was an outsider!

No ordinary person would make such a decision.

One careless moment, and the cuckoo could take over the magpie's nest.

"Did you notice him when he came in?" Ye Qingtang stopped and turned around.

"No!" Shen Qingchuan shook his head.

Ye Qingtang nodded, having expected that answer.

"If he hadn't revealed himself, none of us would have noticed him.

Of course, that isn't the most important thing.

What matters most is that he brought us aromatic silk beauty.

All we did was open our collection of books to him, and he brought us aromatic silk beauty in return.

Tell me, if we do everything we can to help a genius who repays kindness, won't he do his best to help us once he grows stronger?"

After hearing Ye Qingtang's explanation, Shen Qingchuan nodded in understanding.

Indeed, a genius who repaid kindness was precisely what families and sects like theirs most hoped to encounter, especially since the Ye Family was a support-type family.

Likewise, what they feared most was a genius who repaid kindness with enmity—someone who received vast resources and support, only to turn around and bite them in the end.

"Could you mind your manners a little?"

Inside the dining hall, Gu Ping'an looked at Xiao Wu, who had completely abandoned all restraint.

Her cheeks were stuffed full, and she clutched a pastry in each hand.

"I... never... ate anything this good before."

Xiao Wu's words came out muffled.

Back in the Star Dou Great Forest, she had mostly eaten wild fruit, mushrooms, and the like.

As for Nuoding City, it was a small city, and she had been a work-study student. She had never eaten anything particularly good there either.

The Ye Family, however, was a top-tier family of healing-type Soul Masters renowned throughout the Douluo Continent. Even their everyday meals were beyond anything the Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy could offer.

Half an hour later.

A maid approached Gu Ping'an and Xiao Wu, who had finished eating and drinking their fill.

"Honored guests, the family head requests your presence."

Ye Lingling should be ready to absorb the aromatic silk beauty, Gu Ping'an thought.

"Let's go! Lead the way."

The maid led them to the main hall, where Ye Qingtang and Shen Qingchuan took them to a secluded chamber.

Ye Lingling sat cross-legged in the center, holding the aromatic silk beauty and gently drawing in its floral essence.

As she slowly absorbed it, the Soul Power inside her began to circulate, carrying the aromatic silk beauty's medicinal potency throughout her body.

The Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul quietly appeared behind her.

Its nine pink-and-white begonia petals began to shine with a milky glow.

The aromatic silk beauty's medicinal potency was driving changes in the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul.

Ye Qingtang and Shen Qingchuan clasped hands tightly, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on Ye Lingling.

The Nine Heart Begonia Ye Family's enduring hope was much like Ning Fengzhi's obsession with evolving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

Breaking their Martial Soul's limits was the Ye Family's obsession as well.

Their plight was even worse than the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's: at most, only two Nine Heart Begonia Martial Souls could coexist in the world.

Until a predecessor died, a successor could not awaken Nine Heart Begonia.

Suddenly, an unexpected change erupted.

The Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul's nine petals burst into dazzling light, forcing Gu Ping'an and the others to shield their eyes with their hands. They could not look directly at the changes taking place in the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul at its center.

Immediately afterward, an immense aura of life surged from the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul.

Ye Lingling's body trembled. Her slender figure gradually grew fuller and rounder, while her already luminous, fair skin became so delicate it seemed a breath could break it.

Her hair, which had fallen to her shoulders, began growing wildly.

It reached from her shoulders to her waist, then trailed down to the floor.

Her martial soul origin grew, and vitality spilled out in every direction.

Ye Lingling felt as though an invisible chain was tightly binding her martial soul origin.

Meanwhile, the aromatic silk beauty's medicinal potency washed over it again and again.

Gradually.

Crack—!

An intangible, crisp sound of shattering rang out in her mind.

The shackles binding her martial soul origin seemed to develop cracks and begin breaking apart.

Crack! Crack!

The shackles shattered completely.

The dazzling light radiating from the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul gradually withdrew and condensed, forming a tenth Nine Heart Begonia petal.

Nine was the limit; ten was transcendence.

Ye Lingling raised a hand and brought her newly reborn Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul before her eyes.

The next moment, two streams of clear tears slipped from the corners of her eyes without warning.

Drip!

Drip!

Her tears fell to the floor.

Ye Lingling raised her left hand to wipe them away, but the more she wiped, the more they flowed.

Ye Qingtang and Shen Qingchuan neither spoke nor stepped forward. They quietly waited as Ye Lingling cried and let her feelings out.

Ever since awakening her Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul, she had become quiet and withdrawn.

They had seen it all, yet there was nothing they could do.

Nine Heart Begonia's tragic fate had doomed the previous generation to make way for the next.

"Grandma!"

Gu Ping'an watched Ye Lingling cry aloud, then took Xiao Wu by the hand and led her out of the secluded chamber.

It would not be appropriate for them to stay for what came next.