"Here's the situation," Yan Shaozhe said, his expression turning serious. "Now that you've broken through level thirty, you must find a suitable soul ring. This is extremely important."
"And by my estimate, given your current physical strength, the limit of the soul ring you can withstand should be around six thousand years."
Lin Mo's expression shifted slightly.
Six thousand years!
Having a six-thousand-year third soul ring would put him among the very best on the entire continent!
Yan Shaozhe continued, "Originally, Lexuan and I planned to take you out to hunt soul beasts ourselves. But Lexuan has to manage the inner court's affairs and really can't get away, while I've been going into seclusion on and off lately."
At this point, though he looked as calm as drifting clouds and a gentle breeze, his heart was aching bitterly.
That had been a chance to spend time alone with the Mystic Bird and deepen their bond...
And just like that, it was gone!
But what could he do when he was only one final step away from level ninety-six?
"So," Yan Shaozhe stood, walked over beside the scruffy old man, and introduced him to Lin Mo with a respectful expression. "Lin Mo, let me introduce someone."
"This is Elder Xuan, a level ninety-eight Super Douluo, with the title-Taotie."
"After discussing it, we've decided that he will personally protect you while you hunt for your soul ring this time."
Lin Mo's eyes instantly widened.
No wonder!
No wonder this scruffy old man looked inexplicably familiar. He was Xuan Zi, the next Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion!
Taotie Douluo, Xuan Zi!
But wasn't the Xuan Zi he remembered exceptionally proper and serious?
Yet this man before him...
His white hair was as messy as a chicken's nest, sauce still clung to his beard, and his hands gleamed with grease from the chicken drumstick he had just held. He was the very picture of slovenliness.
But none of that mattered.
What mattered was that a level ninety-eight Super Douluo would personally hunt soul beasts for him!
This was in the bag!!
Lin Mo shot to his feet with a swish and said respectfully:
"Greetings, Elder Xuan!"
Xuan Zi nodded and wiped his mouth.
"All right, enough chatter. Come with me."
As he spoke, he raised his large, greasy hand and pressed it onto Lin Mo's shoulder.
Lin Mo immediately felt an immense suction force.
The next second, the scene before his eyes abruptly blurred. He had already been carried into the air, turning into a streak of white light that hurtled into the distance.
Inside the room.
Zhang Lexuan watched the receding white light, somewhat lost in thought.
"Lexuan-" Yan Shaozhe began with a hint of teasing. "He's already gone, and you're still looking?"
Only then did Zhang Lexuan snap back to her senses.
A blush flashed across her face, and she swiftly withdrew her gaze.
"...Senior Brother, stop teasing me."
"I'm not joking."
Yan Shaozhe put away his smile and said earnestly, "Lexuan, although you and Beibei are engaged, he already has someone he likes. If this engagement continues, it will hurt both of you."
"Junior Sister, I can tell you treat Lin Mo differently."
Zhang Lexuan did not deny it.
She lowered her eyes, her fingertips unconsciously pinching the corner of her clothes, and remained silent for a long time.
Yes, differently.
As she spent more and more time with Lin Mo, the once-blurry images in her mind grew clearer and clearer.
Until, in recent days, she finally saw clearly.
In her dreams, she followed her instincts into a small teahouse.
The wooden door creaked softly, and the fragrance of tea curled through the air.
Behind the counter, a young man of about twenty-three or twenty-four lay lazily in an old reclining chair. One hand rested on the chair's back while the other stroked the black cat in his lap, his features full of leisurely ease.
Noticing her arrival, the man opened his eyes slightly. His dark eyes were bright and deep as he smiled at her.
"You're here?"
In the past, whenever her dreams reached this point, she would jolt awake, her heart pounding wildly, yet she could never remember what that person looked like.
But two days ago, she saw clearly.
The face of the man in the reclining chair was unmistakably what Lin Mo would look like when he grew up.
Before this, she had always thought the person she ought to love was Mu Beibei, who was engaged to her and whom she had raised from childhood.
But then Lin Mo appeared.
For nearly a year now, she had this dream every night.
And during the day, whenever she saw Lin Mo, his every action tugged effortlessly at her heart.
That day on the elevated viewing platform, watching Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao interact intimately with Lin Mo, she had actually felt an uncontrollable pang of bitterness and inexplicable irritation.
It was as though a voice inside her was saying:
Lin Mo should be hers.
Was this what falling for someone felt like?
Zhang Lexuan had denied it again and again, only to be dragged back to the same place by those images in her dreams and Lin Mo's every action.
And now, she finally had to admit-
Perhaps... it was.
She really, truly had fallen at first sight for this boy twelve years her junior.
How absurd.
The esteemed eldest senior sister of the inner court had actually fallen for a child a full twelve years younger than her.
And those dreams seemed to tell her, over and over-perhaps she and Lin Mo had been lovers in their previous lives, brought together by fate but never destined to be together.
And she had fallen in love at first sight in this life because her previous self no longer wanted to wait.
Yan Shaozhe spoke again. "Besides, it's not just me. Teacher has the same idea. Of course, what matters most is what you want, Junior Sister..."
"All right."
Zhang Lexuan suddenly spoke, her voice very soft yet exceptionally firm.
This time, even Yan Shaozhe froze.
He had been prepared to offer earnest persuasion and a lengthy speech. Who would have thought his junior sister would agree so readily?
After his moment of shock came overwhelming delight.
"Good!"
"Junior Sister, I'll go discuss it with Teacher right away!"
Before his words had finished fading, Yan Shaozhe had already transformed into a streak of golden light, shooting through the window with a whoosh and hurtling toward Sea God Island.
The room fell quiet once more. Zhang Lexuan sat alone on the sofa, and Lin Mo's youthful, flustered appearance from earlier involuntarily surfaced in her mind again.
"Pfft~"
Warm light streamed through the window, falling upon her curved eyes and the corners of her lips.
On the outskirts of the Great Star Dou Forest.
Xuan Zi tilted his head back and gulped down some wine, then looked at Lin Mo with somewhat drunken, bleary eyes. "All right, walk the rest of the way yourself. Consider it training."
"Don't worry. If you run into danger, this old man will step in."
With that, Xuan Zi vanished in a flash.
Lin Mo: "...?"
After concealing himself, Xuan Zi also concealed his presence. Without a Super Douluo's imposing presence holding the area in check, several pairs of scarlet eyes instantly opened in the deep forest.
Lin Mo: "!!!"
Although his current location was still in the outer ring of the Great Star Dou Forest, it was already close to the inner ring.
The four or five soul beasts that emerged were mostly hundred-year beasts, and one was even a thousand-year beast!
"Damn it, you old geezer! Are you reliable or not?!"
After cursing, Lin Mo turned and ran.
This was no joke. Although his combat strength rivaled that of a three-ring Soul Elder and he could put up a fight against a thousand-year soul beast... none of these soul beasts were interested in a duel. They swarmed him right from the start!
Fortunately, thanks to his experience from his previous life, Lin Mo was also well practiced at running away, and before long, he shook off the soul beasts.
It was just that he kept having a bad premonition.
(Heavenly Dao: Hm? Hm?!)
(Heavenly Dao: Oh no! My bird!!)