Ye Lingling

Dugu Yan seemed to understand what Li Chen meant.

Beside them, Ning Fengzhi tilted his head to glance at Li Chen, a hint of amusement in his eyes. Then he shook his head slightly and withdrew his hand, clearly intending to stop bidding.

"330,000 Gold Soul Coins! This red VIP has bid 330,000 Gold Soul Coins! Are there any higher bids?"

Li Chen immediately pressed the button to raise the bid again, and the auctioneer cried excitedly, "The white VIP has raised the bid to 340,000! Are there any higher bids?"

The red VIP ahead raised his bid once more, but every time he bid, Li Chen followed with a higher one.

"I'd like to see who dares compete with me." The red VIP stood and turned to look toward the white section where Li Chen sat.

None of Li Chen's group had chosen to wear masks. The moment the red VIP saw Dugu Yan, he fell silent and sat back down.

The auction continued, but Li Chen had little interest in any of it. Even the final thirty-thousand-year soul bone failed to catch his eye.

Li Chen stood and said to Dugu Yan, "Let's go. Time to pay and collect them."

The iron cage still sat in a dim stretch of the corridor. The two girls huddled in a corner of it, both shrinking back at the sound of footsteps.

The silver-haired girl hugged her knees tightly, while the brown-haired one buried her face in the crook of her arm, her two animal ears pressed against her scalp and trembling faintly.

Li Chen found two black robes in his storage ring and tossed them to the girls. "Put these on."

The brown-haired older sister took the robes and quickly wrapped herself up, then fumbled to drape the other over her younger sister. Only then did she dare cautiously rise.

"Come with me." Li Chen said nothing more and turned to head outside.

Dugu Yan followed him a few steps before she could not resist asking, "Where are you planning to put them? If you don't have anywhere, I can take them back to Dugu Manor."

"Origin Village. The village I built at the very beginning."

Dugu Yan froze for a moment, then caught up with him, her tone growing more curious. "An academy, a restaurant, and now you even have a village. You aren't planning to build a country next, are you?"

"There's no need for that." Li Chen shook his head.

In truth, his original plan had only been for the merchant association to control the economy and gather intelligence across the continent, the academy to recruit and train talent, and the Technology Institute to advance the tech tree.

Before they knew it, they had returned to the small courtyard residence Li Chen kept in Heaven Dou City.

Walking into the courtyard, Li Chen looked back and asked, "What are your names?"

The brown-haired girl lowered her head and remained silent for a long time before saying, "We... don't have names. Since we were little, they've just called us Big Girl and Second Girl."

Li Chen paused, then nodded. "Then from now on, you'll be called Red Heart Two and Red Heart Three."

Dugu Yan's mouth twitched as she listened beside him, and she could not help cutting in. "Red Heart Two? Red Heart Three? What kind of names are those? They sound like serial numbers." She looked Li Chen up and down. "Are you really that careless about naming people? At least give them something that sounds like a person's name."

In the middle of her complaints, she spotted the green-robed young man Liu Liujiao approaching and suddenly stopped. The manager of the Ten Thousand Fragrance House seemed to be called Lü Jiuyi.

She whipped her head around to stare at Li Chen. "Liu Liujiao? Lü Jiuyi? And now Red Heart Two and Red Heart Three?" She counted them off on her fingers, her expression growing more colorful by the second. "This naming style of yours... so you're just numbering them in order? Does that mean you also have Lü One through Lü Ninety around you?"

Li Chen thought for a moment. "More or less."

Dugu Yan pressed a hand to her forehead and took a deep breath. "Your naming skills... are absolutely awful."

Liu Liujiao stood beneath the corridor roof and cupped his hands, his expression unchanged. "A name bestowed by our lord is a blessing to us."

Seeing how perfectly natural he found it, Dugu Yan choked on everything she had wanted to say. After a long while, she finally managed, "Fine. As long as you're happy."

She waved a hand, no longer inclined to dwell on it.

"But tomorrow, I absolutely have to tell Lingling all about these names, Red Heart Two and Red Heart Three. Let her witness your naming prowess too."

"Liu Liujiao, take them to wash up, then arrange a room for them for now," Li Chen instructed.

Early the next morning.

Wine Fox took Red Heart Two and Red Heart Three back to Origin Village first. After all, Li Chen no longer needed her to protect him at his side all the time.

He and Dugu Yan went to find Dugu Bo first, then headed together to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

As soon as they approached the academy gates, the guards recognized Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo. They did not dare stop them and let them straight through.

Knowing the way well, Dugu Yan led them through the front courtyard, around several teaching buildings, and toward the dormitory area.

The Heaven Dou Royal Academy had few students to begin with. They all lived in small, detached buildings, two or three to each, scattered among the shady trees. Everything was quiet, with hardly anyone moving about.

Dugu Yan stopped in front of one building with white walls and gray roof tiles. Looking up at a lit second-floor window, she called, "Lingling! Are you up yet?"

The window opened a crack, and Ye Lingling leaned halfway out to look down. Seeing Dugu Yan, she gave a slight nod in greeting.

"I'll be right down," she said simply.

With that, she closed the window. Before long, footsteps sounded on the stairs.

Soon, the door opened.

She wore a pale blue lounge dress, her long hair falling loosely around her. Her face was cool and reserved, her features carrying a composure beyond her years.

Standing in the doorway, she first inclined herself slightly to Dugu Bo. "Senior Dugu."

Her gaze then turned to Dugu Yan before briefly sweeping over Li Chen. Her voice was even. "What brings you here so early?"

"Let's talk inside, let's talk inside. Standing around is tiring."

Ye Lingling stepped aside to clear the doorway, and they filed into the sitting room.

The furnishings were simple and neat: a wooden table, two chairs, a cushioned couch, and a small potted plant on the windowsill, with little unnecessary decoration.

Dugu Yan sat on the couch and patted the spot beside her, signaling for Li Chen to sit. Then she beckoned to Ye Lingling. "Sit down too, Lingling. I really do have something important to tell you."

Ye Lingling settled unhurriedly into the chair opposite them. She glanced at Li Chen again before returning her gaze to Dugu Yan. "Go ahead."

"I'm transferring schools to compete in the Soul Master Tournament. Come with me," Dugu Yan said, getting straight to the point.

"Can we really manage with just one Soul Elder and one Soul Grandmaster?"

At those words, the corners of Dugu Yan's mouth immediately lifted. Without wasting words, she raised her hand and summoned her martial soul. Four soul rings appeared together: two yellow and two purple. Level forty-three, a full-fledged Soul Ancestor.

"I'm a Soul Ancestor now." Dugu Yan withdrew her martial soul and raised her eyebrows at her.

Ye Lingling's gaze lingered on Dugu Yan for quite a while. "Hadn't you only just passed level thirty a few days ago? Weren't you going with Senior Dugu to obtain a soul ring? How did you suddenly reach level forty?"

Her tone remained as cool and neutral as ever, but there was clearly more curiosity in her eyes.

"Let me explain." Li Chen took over, pulling a Bottle o' Enchanting from his backpack and setting it on the table before sliding it toward her. "Drinking this will raise your soul power level without any side effects."