Tranquil Spirit Heart-Concentrating Orchid

How could he describe that fragrance?

Overall, it was a little cloyingly sweet, making one want to lose oneself in it at once.

But as it happened, most creatures in nature that gave off such a fragrance were rather dangerous.

For example, there was the Nightmare Man-Eating Flower from Douluo Dalu III: The Legend of the Dragon King, which had ambushed and brought down Lan Fozi.

And then there was the woman beside Lin Qingchen.

He was certain this scent was practically what one would get from being pickled in Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison.

According to the original story, Dugu Yan and Yu Tianheng were supposed to be a couple, but from what Qin Ming had said, the Imperial Fighting Team had only been established recently. The academy's three education committee members had been deeply troubled by the decadent atmosphere in the academy and, to keep its geniuses from being buried, had gathered the top talents into one class to be taught by Qin Ming, a young commoner Soul Emperor.

From what Lin Qingchen could see now, the two really were familiar strangers.

Why is she getting so close? She's blocking the power of the water element around me.

Lin Qingchen frowned. For the time being, he ignored her and continued comprehending the power of the laws.

He had thought that if he ignored Dugu Yan, she would take the hint and leave on her own.

But to his surprise, not only did she stay, she edged even closer.

"Miss Dugu, please don't come so close."

Dugu Yan's expression stiffened.

"Come on, little brother Qingchen, there's no need to be so formal, is there? We're going to be classmates from now on, after all." Dugu Yan's lips curled into a charming smile.

"I wouldn't want to be poisoned to death in my bed by His Majesty Poison Douluo one day and die without even knowing why," Lin Qingchen said.

"Hm? You know my grandfather?" Surprise flashed through Dugu Yan's eyes. She had thought that Lin Qingchen, a commoner Soul Master, shouldn't have known about him.

"Everyone has a few secrets, and besides, didn't Teacher Qin Ming say your Martial Soul was the Jade Phosphorous Serpent? I'd say there's only one family under heaven with the surname Dugu and the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul, isn't there?" Lin Qingchen smiled, but offered no explanation.

Dugu Yan didn't pay much attention to his answer. Since his talent was so strong, she felt he was probably hiding something. She couldn't even be sure whether he really was a commoner.

But as before, there was no need to dig deeper, or she might sour their relationship instead.

Even so, she couldn't help muttering, "My grandfather isn't that scary, is he? His temper is a little strange, but he's a good person too."

"Are you sure?"

"Uh... I should be sure, I guess?"

"What do you mean, you should be?" Lin Qingchen was so exasperated he almost laughed. Wherever people had even a little knowledge, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's reputation was enough to stop children from crying at night.

After all, if you offended an ordinary expert, the worst that could happen was being beaten to death, perhaps with a few more people killed as well. But if that old poison got involved, he would leave neither chickens nor dogs alive. Survivors? You could forget about them.

You might as well dream on. Anything was possible in a dream, anyway.

"If that's all you wanted to say, let's leave it at that. I think I'd be better off using the time to cultivate," Lin Qingchen said seriously.

Come on, those were the laws of the universe! How could girls possibly be more enticing than that?

In any case, Lin Qingchen currently followed the "three noes" principle: being strong himself was what really mattered. Once he had strength, would he still need to trouble himself chasing girls?

All the more so on the Douluo Continent, a plane suspected of having been created by the god of love (strike that).

Lin Qingchen closed his eyes again, while Dugu Yan's teeth itched with anger.

Well, well. Countless people at the academy fawned over her, yet Lin Qingchen had slammed the door in her face.

Dugu Yan had originally wanted to gossip with Lin Qingchen about how he felt toward her good friend Ye Lingling, but now she could only give up.

"Ah, Lingling, don't blame your big sister for not helping you. I had the door slammed in my face too..."

The next day, the group set out as usual. They had long been prepared to spend several more days searching, so they weren't in a hurry. It could serve as practical combat training as well.

Their main goal remained finding a wood-attribute Soul Beast for Lin Qingchen, though they also kept an eye out for signs of life-type Soul Beasts.

The group chatted on and off as they walked, so they didn't find it boring.

Before they knew it, they had walked for another half day.

"Hm?"

Lin Qingchen's nose twitched, and he suddenly stopped.

Ye Lingling, who had been keeping an eye on the rear, reacted instantly and tugged Dugu Yan, pulling her into a stumble.

"What is it, Lingling?"

Hearing the commotion, the others immediately stopped and looked at Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan.

"Qingchen, why did you suddenly stop?" Ye Lingling asked softly.

"Don't you smell a faint floral fragrance?"

"A floral fragrance?"

Everyone frowned and sniffed, but found nothing.

Qin Ming, however, nodded. "There really is a little. It's just mixed in with the usual scent of plants in the Star Dou Great Forest. You really wouldn't be able to pick it out without paying attention. I didn't expect your sense of smell to be so sharp too, Qingchen."

He nodded approvingly.

"That's strange. Why would a floral fragrance suddenly appear here? It doesn't seem ordinary." Yu Feng rubbed his smooth chin.

"Isn't that obvious? I think there might be some spirit herb or spirit fruit nearby. Or perhaps some unknown Soul Beast is using it to hunt. You never know." Osler spread his hands and casually suggested a few possibilities.

"Forget it. Whatever the case, let's go take a look first. But stay alert and be ready to retreat at any moment, understood?"

The group immediately changed direction, following Lin Qingchen, who had the sharpest sense of smell, toward the source of the fragrance.

Notably, this was not an ordinary dense forest, but a small valley.

The farther in they went, the more clearly they could smell the floral fragrance drifting toward them.

At last, a flower about three feet tall appeared before them. Its stem was translucent and lustrous white, without any markings or other colors. Its leaves were pale bluish-white, with a soft, smooth texture, and faintly glowing life Soul Power flowed through their veins.

"Is this... a Tranquil Spirit Heart-Concentrating Orchid?"

Ye Lingling said suddenly.

Clearly, she recognized what it was.

"What? Is this a Soul Beast too?" Yu Feng hurriedly asked.

"Yes. This kind of Soul Beast is extremely gentle. Though it has a high age, it isn't aggressive in the slightest and naturally avoids all conflict. Its Soul Power is pure and free of hostility. It's one of the very few purely life-type Soul Beasts, nurturing only its life origin and cultivating no offensive or defensive abilities. If its cultivation is high enough, it could be considered a heavenly treasure by others too, I suppose."

Ye Lingling nodded as she spoke softly.

But...

"Don't Soul Beasts without any offensive abilities usually help each other out by staying with other Soul Beasts? Why is this orchid the only thing we can see here?"

Yu Feng looked at the empty valley and scratched his head as he spoke.

Just then, a loud, heavy breath suddenly came from behind him.

"Huff..."