Lu Chen slipped the black ring onto his left index finger and tossed the pink one straight to Xiao Wu, who stood beside him looking like a curious child.
"Here, yours."
Xiao Wu copied him and slipped on the ring, looking quite pleased with its exquisite workmanship and color.
"What is this?"
"A Storage Soul Tool. Feed in a trace of Soul Power to use it. I checked just now, and there's quite a bit of space inside," Lu Chen explained.
The lord of Nuoding City had truly spared no expense this time.
Those two storage rings alone were worth at least 200,000 Gold Soul Coins. With his strength as a Soul Ancestor, even holding the lucrative post overseeing Nuoding City, a trade hub between two nations, he had still bled heavily for this.
"System Sis, search for Nuoding City's lord, Xiao Lang, on the Live Point Map."
[Located Nuoding City's lord, Xiao Lang (￣^￣)ゞ]
As he led Xiao Wu out of the restaurant, Lu Chen suddenly looked back toward a nearby teahouse. His gaze locked onto a particular room on the third floor. He gave a slight nod, then turned and left.
Watching the boy and girl gradually disappear down the street, a tall, stern-faced middle-aged man stepped away from the window in a third-floor tea room and returned to sit at the table.
Nearby, Xiao Chenyu knelt respectfully, a bright red handprint on his face.
Looking at his disappointing only son, Xiao Lang let out a long sigh and said angrily:
"Elder Lu Tian and Senior Lu Yun's grandson. Among Nuoding City's entire younger generation, there was just one person you couldn't afford to offend, and you still managed to find him?"
"Xiao Chenyu, did you think your father was sitting too comfortably as Nuoding City's lord and decide to spice things up for me?"
"Or did I owe you something in my last life, so you've come to collect my life in this one?!"
The sinister dark-green gleam in his father's eyes made Xiao Chenyu feel as though a starving wolf had fixed its gaze on him and would bite through his throat the next moment. Frightened, he hurriedly lowered his head and apologized.
"S-sorry, Father."
Seeing his son's useless behavior, Xiao Lang waved a hand wearily. What was done was done; berating him further would accomplish nothing.
Besides, hadn't he been the one who spoiled this useless son?
Gesturing for Xiao Chenyu to get over and sit down, Xiao Lang suppressed his anger and regained his usual composure as Nuoding City's lord, speaking slowly.
"230,000 Gold Soul Coins, and countless favors spent to obtain two storage soul rings with large internal spaces."
"Recommendation letters for Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy that were meant to win over the quartermaster and the city defense officer."
"Now I've given them all away... Get over here and sit down! I'm not telling you this so you can keep kneeling before me!"
Seeing his son about to kneel before him again, Xiao Lang rolled his eyes and scolded irritably:
"Those eyeing my position might never hear about what happened today, but that won't stop them from constantly wanting to drag me out of the city lord's seat!"
"Without those things, the path through the empire has become difficult."
"So what comes next depends on you!"
Huh?
Me?
Xiao Chenyu pointed at himself, his eyes never having looked so clear and innocent.
"Idiot! Aren't you usually quite clever?"
Xiao Lang raised a hand and pointed toward the city center. There, a massive domed building crouched upon the ground like a giant beast, standing even taller than the city lord's residence.
"Do you mean Spirit Hall, Father?"
Xiao Chenyu quickly grasped his father's meaning, then felt deeply troubled. "But today I just..."
Xiao Lang clapped his hands, a trace of a smile appearing on his cold, severe face.
"That's right. Today, you offended the one person in Nuoding City's Spirit Hall circle you absolutely shouldn't have offended!"
"But that might not be a bad thing. After all, Lu Chen knows you now, doesn't he?"
He certainly knows me now, though I think the sole of his shoe might welcome me more.
Thinking of the foolish things he had done today, Xiao Chenyu felt an urge to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
It was like how someone in the throes of adolescent delusions never thought there was anything unusual about their behavior, but once they suddenly grew out of it one day, that feeling was simply...
I no longer wish to remain in this world!
"Senior Lu Yun's only son graduated from Spirit Hall Academy and joined Spirit Hall's enforcement squad immediately afterward. Then, just a few years later, he died while pursuing an evil Soul Master."
"Because of that incident, Senior Lu Yun's attitude toward Spirit Hall is quite complicated. It's also one of the reasons he has always lived in Dragon Soul Village rather than following Bishop Lu Tian to settle at Spirit Hall."
Xiao Chenyu's eyes lit up, as though something had clicked, and he said excitedly:
"So there's a good chance Lu Chen will enroll at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy?"
"Those two admission recommendation letters were a probe?"
Xiao Lang nodded painfully.
Using two recommendation letters that could have directly earned him the goodwill of the city defense officer and quartermaster as compensation and a probe-he had certainly indulged in extravagance!
"I don't care what you're thinking. From now on, you're a considerate senior at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy with excellent character and grades, and Lu Chen's personal lackey."
"Also, keep that pack of disreputable friends of yours in line. Cut loose anyone who isn't on the same path as soon as possible!"
"Tell me, can you do it?!"
Looking at his only son, Xiao Lang had truly hardened his resolve this time.
"I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"
"Good! That's the spirit!"
Utterly unconcerned with whatever else happened between the Xiao father and son afterward, Lu Chen confirmed Xiao Lang's location through the Live Point Map, gave a small indication of his attitude, then quickly returned to the inn with Xiao Wu.
Ah Yin had awakened!
Lu Chen carefully planted Ah Yin's true body-the gold-patterned blue silver grass-in a flowerpot he had picked up on the way back, then nodded in satisfaction.
Good, just the right size.
The main issue was that the tier-one shop had no items with miraculous effects on growing plants, so he could only make do with this for now.
The two stood on either side, with the flowerpot on the floor between them.
Lu Chen cleared his throat and said with a smile:
"Ah Yin, I know where you came from."
"A hundred-thousand-year blue silver emperor who took human form, left behind a grass seed after sacrificing herself, then was planted by Tang Hao and survived by a stroke of luck."
"Now that you're awake, won't you even thank the people who saved your life?"
[Xiao Wu: @Ah Yin, say something~] [Yanzi: @Xiao Wu, Ah Yin woke up?] [Xiao Wu: Ah Yin in a pot.jpg] [Little Princess: Yay, Ah Yin's alive!] [Angel: Hmph~] [...]
Seemingly provoked by the mention of Tang Hao, the blue silver grass's golden leaves shook violently. A strange soul fluctuation spread out, instantly conveying its meaning to Lu Chen and Xiao Wu-
Let me die!
That won't do...
Leaving aside the many key event junctures Ah Yin was involved in,
the mere fact that she had contributed only those few dozen points of check-in fortune so far meant Lu Chen could not possibly let her die.
You there? Show me your remaining value?
He released the Soul-Calming Domain, but rather than the Spiritual Shock used against enemies, his spiritual power brushed over Ah Yin in an extremely gentle manner.
Sensing its soothing intent, Ah Yin gradually calmed down, and her leaves stopped shaking so violently.
Spiritual fluctuations emanated from the blue silver grass. "You shouldn't have saved me. Letting me die like this would be better for everyone."
"I gave up everything, just to become truly human."
"But the human world is so complicated. My husband, my son... I can no longer tell what is real and what is false."
"Clinging to life in this world no longer holds any meaning for me."
This is a serious case... Lu Chen considered inwardly. It seemed he would have to try a new approach.
Notebook, activate!
[Lu Chen: Ah Yin really doesn't want to live anymore.] [Lu Chen: This is difficult. She's involved in several important event junctures that directly affect the stability of the Douluo Plane. If anything happens to her, I'm afraid it'll immediately draw Extraterrestrial Tang San's attention...] [Lu Chen: But she's also a pitiful person. The people she trusted most deceived her together, and she lived in a false dream from beginning to end.] [Lu Chen: Now that she's awakened from her dream, perhaps dying with such clarity wouldn't be a bad thing.] [Lu Chen: Maybe I should respect her wishes. As for the Douluo Plane's safety... perhaps shattering a little of its essence could fool Extraterrestrial Tang San?]
Ah Yin: ...
Before you continue