Twin Martial Souls? They Weren't Worth a Damn!

As Lin Ye pushed open his dorm room door, his fingers paused slightly.

A faint, elusive fragrance drifted from inside. It was not the rose perfume Ning Rongrong wore.

"What's wrong?" Ning Rongrong asked, looking at Lin Ye in puzzlement from beside him.

Lin Ye did not answer. Instead, he gently pushed the door open.

A figure sat upright on the wooden chair beside his bed, her fitted black clothes outlining her graceful curves.

At the sight of her, a flame of wariness instantly kindled in Ning Rongrong's eyes. "Zhu Zhuqing? Why are you here?"

"..."

The atmosphere froze for a moment. Zhu Zhuqing turned her gaze to Lin Ye, her eyes pleading for help.

Lin Ye closed the door behind him and quietly released his soul power, laying a Soundproof Barrier around the room—one of the arts of the Liyue Adepti.

Once the soundproofing was in place, Lin Ye walked to the table, took out a tea set, and said calmly, "Let's all sit down and talk."

Ning Rongrong sat on the edge of the bed, folding her arms and pouting.

"Lin Ye, don't you owe me an explanation?"

Rather than rush to answer Ning Rongrong's question, Lin Ye brewed two cups of tea and pushed them toward Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong.

"Zhu Zhuqing came to see me last night. We reached an agreement to work together."

"Work together? What sort of agreement needs to be discussed in a boy's dorm room in the dead of night?"

Zhu Zhuqing gripped her teacup tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white.

"I came to ask for help."

"Help?"

Ning Rongrong looked at Lin Ye suspiciously.

"Lin Ye, what exactly are you two planning?"

Lin Ye leisurely sipped his tea, then let his gaze move between the two girls for a moment.

"Remember how I said I wanted to poach Zhu Zhuqing the other day? She's agreed."

Ning Rongrong nearly lost her grip on her teacup, startled by his words.

"That quickly?"

She abruptly turned to Zhu Zhuqing. "You're giving up on Dai Mubai?"

A trace of pain flashed through Zhu Zhuqing's eyes, but resolve soon replaced it.

"In the Star Luo Empire, the women of the Zhu Family are born subordinate to the Dai Family. From birth, my sister and I were destined to marry princes of the imperial family."

"My sister awakened her martial soul before I did. She became the crown prince Dai Weisi's fiancée, while I became the second prince Dai Mubai's fiancée."

To show her sincerity, Zhu Zhuqing told Ning Rongrong about her past.

"...After that, I fled here while my family hunted me down, only to find that he had become even more disgraceful." At this point, a flash of resentment crossed Zhu Zhuqing's eyes.

She hated the hypocritical, unambitious man Dai Mubai had become.

Lin Ye had already given Ning Rongrong a rough account of Zhu Zhuqing's circumstances, but hearing it firsthand still stirred anger in her heart.

Ning Rongrong poked Lin Ye and said softly, "That Dai Mubai really is a rotten piece of work. Lin Ye, why don't you help her?"

Lin Ye was about to respond when Zhu Zhuqing suddenly dropped to one knee before Ning Rongrong, making her cry out in surprise.

"Z-Zhu Zhuqing, what are you doing?"

"Miss Ning, I swear that I feel only gratitude and respect toward Lin Ye. I would never come between you two."

She raised her head and looked Ning Rongrong straight in the eyes. "I need your help. Help me become stronger!"

Lin Ye stepped forward and reached out to help Zhu Zhuqing up.

"There's no need for this. Rongrong, what I'm about to say concerns our future plans."

Ning Rongrong took a deep breath and patted the spot beside her.

"Zhu Zhuqing, sit here. If we're working together, stop kneeling all the time."

Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a moment, then sat beside Ning Rongrong.

Watching the two girls with their distinctly different styles sitting side by side, Lin Ye smiled faintly before saying, "Next, we need to keep an eye on Tang San."

His words made both girls look up in surprise.

"Why Tang San? We don't have any conflict with him, do we?" Ning Rongrong asked in confusion.

A deep glimmer passed through Lin Ye's eyes. "Tang San is fairly close to Dai Mubai. And..."

"And what?" Ning Rongrong asked at once.

"I suspect he has twin martial souls."

"Twin martial souls!" Both girls were stunned.

As daughters of a major sect and a great family, they naturally knew what twin martial souls were.

Lin Ye smiled and explained his reasoning.

"You've both seen it. His Blue Silver Grass is clearly just a trash martial soul, yet he's managed to cultivate to rank twenty-nine. Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing, you've cultivated desperately, but you're only rank twenty-eight."

"The reason is that he has innate full soul power. And what gave him innate full soul power was his second martial soul."

The two girls fell into thought upon hearing this.

"So, Lin Ye, you think he'll pose a threat to us in the future?" Ning Rongrong asked.

"Not a threat, just a bit of trouble. I intend to weaken him a little before we leave," Lin Ye said with a nod.

Twin martial souls? Against the miHoYo skills I can manifest, they aren't worth a damn.

"Weaken him? Even if he has twin martial souls, he's still nowhere near as powerful as you, Lin Ye."

At this, Zhu Zhuqing spoke up. "I think Lin Ye is right. I fought Tang San yesterday, and I felt that he was meticulous and skilled at hiding his true nature. He's far from as simple as he appears."

"Hiding his true nature?"

Ning Rongrong was a little surprised. Her impression of Tang San was not particularly bad.

Compared with the slovenly Oscar, the playboy Dai Mubai, and the lust-starved fiend Ma Hongjun, Tang San seemed much more normal.

But Lin Ye and Zhu Zhuqing are saying that's all an act?

"Someone who always keeps weapons hidden on his body that can kill without a trace, who's that guarded—how could he be normal?" Lin Ye sneered.

"Lin Ye, how do you plan to weaken Tang San?" Zhu Zhuqing asked.

Lin Ye smiled faintly. "This trip to the Star Dou Great Forest will be the perfect opportunity. But..."

"Has Dai Mubai been up to anything?"

Disgust flashed through Zhu Zhuqing's eyes. "He went to the Rose Hotel with Ma Hongjun tonight. I overheard them mentioning something about 'twins.'"

Ning Rongrong looked revolted. "A dog really can't stop eating shit."

"The Rose Hotel? Interesting..."

Lin Ye narrowed his eyes. Dai Mubai really was "something." Having fun on his own was not enough; he even brought his buddy Ma Hongjun along. How open-minded.

"Can you track them? You don't need to get close. Just watch for any unusual behavior from Dai Mubai."

Zhu Zhuqing was startled. "You mean..."

"We should nip trouble in the bud. Dai Mubai probably won't let go of last night's humiliation so easily."

"All right." Zhu Zhuqing nodded, accepting what amounted to her first task.

"That's all for today. Rongrong, take Zhu Zhuqing out through the back. Don't let anyone see you."

Ning Rongrong took Zhu Zhuqing's hand. "Come on. I know a path nobody uses."

When she reached the door, she suddenly turned back, leaned close to Lin Ye's ear, and asked softly, "Lin Ye, you... won't fall for Zhu Zhuqing, will you?"

Lin Ye looked puzzled. "Fall for her how?"

At his reaction, Ning Rongrong merely giggled, then pulled Zhu Zhuqing away.

Once the two had left, the confusion in Lin Ye's eyes vanished at once. He shook his head with a helpless laugh. "Ah, that girl..."