The next second, Xiao Yan said,
"But I won't let you give me three years of your time for nothing."
"What do you mean? Are you going to pay me? If that's what you mean, there's no need. This was the result of my own actions."
Ling Luochеn's tone was somewhat puzzled, and her eyes held a questioning look.
"Why don't you hear what I'm offering you first?"
Rather than letting Ling Luochеn rush to refuse, Xiao Yan continued, "Do you think your Martial Soul has any room to improve further?"
Ling Luochеn frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said."
Xiao Yan spoke calmly and confidently.
"Your ice-attribute Martial Soul is already quite good. But after fighting you, I found that it still has a slight flaw. It isn't Ultimate Ice yet..."
After listening, Ling Luochеn didn't deny it. "Just say what you want to say."
"Perhaps I can take your Martial Soul a step further and bring it to the level of Ultimate Ice."
Xiao Yan stopped keeping her in suspense and said it outright.
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly fell quiet.
The words Ling Luochеn had been about to say in rebuttal stopped in her throat.
He could make her ice-element Martial Soul evolve?
She looked at Xiao Yan suspiciously, as though trying to find the answer in his expression.
"Are you serious?"
Ling Luochеn asked again.
Martial Soul Evolution was no simple improvement. Once a Soul Master awakened, the quality of their Martial Soul was essentially set.
Only those with Body Martial Souls still had a chance to tap into their potential and improve the quality of their Martial Souls, but even that was fraught with difficulty.
Even Shrek Academy had no way to make a Soul Master's Martial Soul evolve.
So to Ling Luochеn, Xiao Yan's words sounded no different from a tale out of the Arabian Nights.
"I'm serious. I have no reason to joke about something like this, do I?"
After speaking, Xiao Yan raised his right hand.
The next moment, a deep-white flame quietly appeared in his palm, dancing in his hand like a snow-white flame spirit.
"Is that the flame?"
At the sight of it, Ling Luochеn's eyes filled with curiosity.
In their battle half a month ago, this terrifying power had disrupted the rhythm of her Soul Skill releases.
Now, feeling that strange chill mingled with searing heat at close range, she sensed it even more clearly.
The flame actually made her instinctively wary.
This was definitely no ordinary flame. Even the books Shrek Academy had collected over ten thousand years had never recorded a flame like it.
"You mean the flame in your hand can make my Martial Soul evolve?" Ling Luochеn went straight to the key question.
"Yes. My flame is very powerful. If I send it into your body, there's a good chance it will start your Martial Soul evolving."
Xiao Yan nodded slightly. He also wanted to try and see whether this path would work.
With Ling Luochеn as his test subject, he could gain experience and help those close to him evolve in the future.
But Xiao Yan paused, unwilling to make too firm a promise.
"Of course, I can't guarantee that your Martial Soul will evolve. But even if it doesn't, it can still greatly increase your cultivation speed. It's worth a try, isn't it?"
Xiao Yan still had more he hadn't said. In fact, besides the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, the Ice Empress and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm would also join the effort, one person and two Soul Beasts working together.
Moreover, every outcome of the process would be under Xiao Yan's control, making it easier for him to improve the quality of his loved ones' Martial Souls in the future and help them break through to higher realms.
Using Ling Luochеn as a guinea pig would kill several birds with one stone. He could not only fulfill his promise, but also gain the Ling Clan as a potential connection for the Xiao Clan.
"All right."
Ling Luochеn never hesitated when it came to crucial decisions.
Another reason she agreed was that the Evil Fire in her body had dissipated!
After she returned, freed from the Evil Fire's interference, her Soul Power had risen straight to level fifty-two.
Although she didn't know why, after turning it over in her mind, she had finally concluded that it had to have something to do with the flame in Xiao Yan's hand.
Besides, Ling Luochеn knew that Xiao Yan wouldn't joke with her about something like this. He had nothing to gain by deceiving her.
If her Martial Soul really could evolve, what did spending three years matter?
After settling matters with Ling Luochеn, Xiao Yan went to find his father, Xiao Zhan.
He told his father that he planned to set off for the Sun Moon Continent after the New Year festivities.
In his study, Xiao Zhan was handling clan affairs.
"Father."
Xiao Yan knocked on the door first.
"Come in," Xiao Zhan's voice called out.
When Xiao Yan entered, he saw his father sitting at his desk, handling clan affairs.
"What is it, Yan'er?"
Xiao Zhan asked curiously.
His sensible child rarely came looking for him. At this time, he should have been cultivating.
"Father, I wanted to tell you about my plans for the future," Xiao Yan said, getting straight to the point.
"Sit down first. Whatever it is, we can talk sitting down."
Xiao Zhan put down the register in his hands and sat up straight. Only after Xiao Yan had taken a seat did he ask,
"Go on, what are your plans?"
"Father, I plan to go to the Sun Moon Continent at the beginning of spring next year," Xiao Yan replied.
"The Sun Moon Continent? Why do you want to go there?" Xiao Zhan asked in puzzlement.
"I want to go to the Sun Moon Continent to study Soul Guidance Technology. That way, I can better research Martial Souls and help my cultivation." After explaining, Xiao Yan waited for his father's reply.
The Sun Moon Empire on the Sun Moon Continent was renowned for its advanced Soul Guidance Technology. In this era, the Sun Moon Empire held an overwhelming technological advantage over the Douluo Three Kingdoms.
In Shrek Academy alone, the highest-ranked Soul Engineers were only level eight and a half, and there were no more than three of them.
By contrast, Mingde Hall in the Sun Moon Empire, led by Jing Hongchen, had many Level 9 Soul Engineers at the Titled Douluo level. Jing Hongchen himself was a Soul Engineer close to level ten. Later in the original story, during the siege of Star Luo City, he broke through level nine and reached the rank of Level 10 Soul Engineer.
Those who fell behind would get beaten. Whether for himself or for the clan and the Sun Moon Empire, he had to make the trip.
"The Sun Moon Empire..."
Xiao Zhan murmured to himself and fell deep in thought. After a long while, he raised his head and looked at Xiao Yan with hope in his eyes.
"Yan'er, do you really think Soul Guidance Technology is stronger than Martial Souls?"
"I don't think so. But it's certain that combining Martial Souls with Soul Guidance Technology makes them stronger," Xiao Yan answered.
Xiao Zhan nodded. "That's true. Combining Soul Guidance Technology and Martial Souls does make them stronger."
Xiao Zhan wasn't an old fossil. He had also had some exposure to Soul Guidance Technology, but he found it too tedious and difficult.
At the time, the clan had been in danger, so he could only focus on cultivating his Martial Soul.
Thus, he became the Xiao Clan's first Soul Douluo.
In terms of talent and ability, Xiao Zhan was not necessarily inferior to others of his generation.
It was just that he was older now and had lost his former enthusiasm for cultivation, which was why his strength had stagnated for so many years.
"Father, the future belongs to Soul Guidance Technology. We need to start planning early."
Xiao Yan spoke earnestly. "So I'm also going to the Sun Moon Empire to look for a new place to settle."
"A new place to settle?"
Xiao Zhan sounded puzzled. "Are you planning to have our clan leave the New Star Luo Empire and go to the Sun Moon Continent?"
Xiao Yan gave no definite answer. "I'm not sure yet, but we can start making plans."
"All right. Since that's what you have in mind, of course I support you." Xiao Zhan nodded.
Xiao Zhan had long since grown used to Xiao Yan's foresight. Geniuses were always beyond the ordinary.
"Oh, right, Father. There's one more thing. I found a teacher for Xiao Xiao."
"A teacher? Who?" Xiao Zhan asked.
"Ling Luochеn of the Ling Clan. I asked her to teach Xiao Xiao for three years in my place," Xiao Yan replied.
"All right, I trust your judgment." Xiao Zhan had no objections to Xiao Yan's arrangement. "Three years? Are you planning to be gone for three years?"
Xiao Yan shook his head. "Perhaps three years, perhaps less. In any case, I'll definitely come back at least once within three years."
"All right, it's the young people's era now. I'm an old man, so I won't join you in all this. Do you need Uncle Zhong to go with you?" Xiao Zhan shook his head with a sigh.
"No need. Let Uncle Zhong stay home and keep Xiao Xiao in line." Xiao Yan refused his father's offer.
The journey would take him over high mountains and along distant roads. With his means of self-defense, as long as it wasn't a Titled Douluo ambushing him, he had his own ways to escape and save his life.