Deep courtyards and a tranquil night.
The knock on the door was exceptionally abrupt.
Ye Lingling felt just like a thief, her cheeks burning fiercely hot all the way to the roots of her ears.
Until she heard that single word: "Enter."
Ye Lingling's mind went blank, instinctively obeying the command of the voice as she pushed the door open and walked in.
Dugu Yan witnessed all of this.
It drove her to spin around in anxious circles.
"No, Big Sis, what are you doing?"
While Dugu Yan was filled with confusion, Ye Lingling's actions also gave her a feeling akin to swallowing a thousand lemons.
Unbearably sour.
She rushed off to wake Meng Yiran up. Meng Yiran, completely bewildered: ? (Not concerned.)
This only drove Dugu Yan deeper into despair.
She ran back in low spirits to her stakeout spot, her eyes locked dead on the tightly shut door.
Her heart was a tangled mess of hemp, completely dead and gray.
An innocent, carefree little girl had thus been gently shattered.
Screeech-
Not long after, the door opened and Ye Lingling walked out.
"So fast?"
Dugu Yan jumped in fright, hastily hiding her body within the shadows.
At that moment, Ye Lingling's heart was entirely occupied by what Chen Zhuo had said, her attention not on her surroundings at all.
"Are you certain you want to follow me? Following me might not necessarily be a good thing."
"The path I must walk could very well be a road of absolute death with zero chance of survival."
"Even I myself am not certain whether I can reach the end."
Ye Lingling had originally thought she would have to pay a heavy price tonight.
She had also prepared herself mentally.
Dealing with clever people, too many twists and turns would only make one appear hypocritical.
Therefore, she chose to lay her cards directly on the table.
She recounted the Ye Family's predicament and Marshal Ge Long's coercion to Chen Zhuo.
Ye Lingling sorted through the bargaining chips she had available.
Including herself.
As a result, the other party told her instead that she was a friend of Dugu Yan's, and she did not need to pay any price.
Such a small trouble, he could resolve it for her.
To Chen Zhuo.
No matter how strong Marshal Ge Long was, he was still nothing more than a mere Soul Dourol.
Even if he could fight above his rank, it would be at most at the level of an ordinary Titled Douluo.
Whereas in Chen Zhuo's hands, the people he could mobilize were a full two Super Douluos.
A mere Ge Long was truly someone he had never deigned to look at.
The predicament that had stumped the entire Ye Family was not even an issue at all to him.
So long as he wished, he could settle it with a casual wave of his hand.
Many years later, Ye Lingling would always look back upon this day.
What forged the bond between the two of them from then on was her frankness and Chen Zhuo's sincerity.
Rather than transactions where everything could be tagged with a price.
Early the next morning, Ye Lingling returned to the Ye Estate.
Clearly everyone looked no different from one another, but Dugu Yan simply had a gut feeling.
The relationship between Chen Zhuo and Ye Lingling had changed.
It had a feeling like-what? It felt as though her two best friends had unexpectedly gotten together.
As for her own heart, it felt as though it had been carved out by a knife, aching so terribly.
She did not know how to handle such emotions.
So she simply dragged Meng Yiran off to the underground Soul Fighting Arena to fight matches.
Calculating the time.
Roughly two years from now would be the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.
On the original timeline, this was a major temporal node.
Therefore, Chen Zhuo also intended to lay out his plans early, giving Tang San and his son a surprise when the time came.
Of course, that was on the premise that without the enhancement of Immortal Herbs, the so-called Shrek Seven Devils could even make it to Spirit City to participate in the finals.
Chen Zhuo summoned the Dragon Duke and Snake Granny, putting them in full charge of everything regarding the new round of millennium-grade Whale Glue acquisitions.
On the manpower front, the Meng Family itself was an established clan, and there were plenty of capable young disciples within the lineage they could use.
On the connections front, Dugu Bo would cooperate with them to clear the strategic passes within the borders of the Heaven Dou Empire.
On the financial front, not to mention the savings of both families, there was still a surplus from the one hundred million Gold Soul Coins obtained from selling the Soul Bone earlier.
Now they even had the wholehearted support of the Nine Heart Begonia Ye Family.
Ninety-nine percent of the Whale Glue share on the national market-he could swallow it all down!
Chen Zhuo's ambition did not stop there.
He also wanted to clear the trade routes from the empire's borders out to the overseas markets.
After all, things like Whale Glue, much like ambergris, were produced in the ocean.
At the very least, he needed to control a place of origin, like a seaside city such as Vast Sea City.
Only then would there be a continuous stream of century-old, millennium-old, and ten-thousand-year-old Whale Glue coming in.
Because of this, the matter required sending at least one Titled Douluo over so that they could firmly establish a foothold.
When the time came, once the price of Whale Glue was hyped up.
In an instant, his net worth would transform to become as wealthy as a nation, rivaling the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect of the Upper Three Sects.
This was also the reason why he had yet to make contact with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect up to now.
Since his own current forces could clear all channels, why bother letting the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect take a cut of the profits?
If he truly wanted to cooperate later on, it would have to wait until he had first seized the vast majority of the interests.
Having resolved the matter of money, the most important thing remaining was the elevation of his own cultivation.
Right now his Soul Power was at rank 46.
Two years later, before the start of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament, breaking through to rank 50 would be as simple as eating and drinking for him.
Without the slightest difficulty.
Regarding the acquisition of his fifth Soul Ring, Chen Zhuo turned it over in his mind.
He discovered that on this continent, he could no longer find any powerful serpentine soul masters.
Therefore, his fifth soul ring could not follow the old path of duplicating soul skills.
He would have to hunt down a soul beast just like ordinary soul masters.
After just a brief moment, he thought of a suitable target soul beast.
There was no rush for this matter just yet.
If Dugu Yan spurred herself on further, she would likely be able to become a Soul King by then.
Meng Yiran wouldn't quite make it, but she would definitely be able to participate in the tournament with the status of a Soul Ancestor.
As for the newly recruited Ye Lingling, Chen Zhuo also had a way to make her boost her Soul Power by a massive amount in a short time.
After all, who made the two Immortal Herbs of the highest grade in the entire world rest in his hands.
One was the divine supreme treasure, Lovesick Heartbreak Red.
The other was the king of Immortal Herbs, Aromatic Silk Beauty.
Even Chen Zhuo himself couldn't bring himself to eat them.
Well, actually it was because the plucking conditions were rather harsh.
On the original timeline, Ning Rongrong of the Shrek Seven Devils had cured the flaws in her Martial Soul only after consuming the Aromatic Silk Beauty.
It was only after the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's little princess evolved her Martial Soul from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda that she possessed the qualifications to later attain godhood.
Before attaining hundred-level godhood, having an auxiliary soul master by one's side remained very important.
As for whether to invest in Ning Rongrong or Ye Lingling.
To let the other party become the true, undisputed number one auxiliary soul master of the world.
The choice rested in his hands.
Today, his choice was-Ye Lingling.
As for Ning Rongrong, Chen Zhuo could only offer a word of apology.
Hopefully that son of destiny, Tang San, could find other methods to help Ning Rongrong evolve her Martial Soul.
Just as Chen Zhuo was scheming how to formulate the best training regimen for the three women.
Xue Qinghe, meaning Qian Renxue, sent someone to deliver a message to him, wishing to see him.
The corners of Chen Zhuo's mouth curved slightly upward.
Calculating the time, this woman ought to have already refined the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, experiencing the charm of the Immortal Herb firsthand.
He had only been back for two days.
As soon as Qian Renxue received the news, she grew impatient to see him.
Before you continue