"Met her on the way back from the Star Dou Forest." Yang Yunhai replied casually.
"Hero saves the beauty?!" The words immediately burst out of Dugu Yan's mouth.
If not for something like that, she really couldn't imagine how the Zhu family's young lady would end up together with Yang Yunhai.
"..." Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head slightly, her gaze dodging as she continued moving her chopsticks, saying nothing.
"..." Yang Yunhai also didn't know how to answer for a moment. He had saved her, yes—but it was also true that he'd been the one who knocked her out with lightning first.
Dugu Yan raised an eyebrow, giving Yang Yunhai a glance before turning her eyes to Zhu Zhuqing. With a teasing tone, she said, "Zhuqing, you'd better act fast. At Heaven Dou Royal Academy, there's never any shortage of beautiful female soul masters. Who knows, one day Xiao Hai might just get snatched away."
"In Team Heaven Dou, he's handsome, strong, and talented. Isn't that basically a walking prize?"
"..." Zhu Zhuqing stayed silent.
"Ahem." Yang Yunhai couldn't watch anymore and spoke up. "Senior, don't go making wild guesses. Zhuqing and I are just ordinary friends. Back then, she didn't have a place to go, and I was alone, going to Heaven Dou City for the first time. Traveling in a strange place, it's easier with someone to look out for you, so I invited her along."
"Counting the days, we've only known each other for less than half a month. How could there be the kind of relationship you're talking about?"
Hearing this, and seeing how Zhu Zhuqing was the quiet type, Dugu Yan quickly lost interest. She curled her lips and muttered, "Fine, fine. I was just helping you out. You really don't know how to appreciate it, do you?"
With that, she went back to eating.
Seeing this, Yang Yunhai didn't add anything more and lowered his head to focus on his food.
As he ate, his thoughts turned.
'It's best to wait a little longer before bringing up Dugu Yan's poison. If I bring it up too suddenly, it could cause misunderstandings. Better to wait until everyone's more familiar. And I'll need to choose the right moment—spring rains in March and April might be the time when her poison flares up.'
'No rush. There's still time. Tang San and the others are only starting the first three-month stage of their training right now.'
'Besides, even if I can enter the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, I definitely won't touch any immortal herbs for now.'
'After all, Bishop Salas is returning next month, and if Chrysanthemum Douluo comes with him, and notices my cultivation has skyrocketed again—especially if he senses the aura of more immortal herbs from me—it'll be impossible to explain away.'
'Can't rush it. I've already made it this far, so what's the harm in waiting a little longer?'
His heart calmed at that thought, and he continued eating while chatting with his new teammates.
Meanwhile, at the main hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
"Greetings, Teacher." When Ning Fengzhi entered with Sword Douluo at his side, Qian Renxue rose from her seat, bowing respectfully.
"No need for such formality." Ning Fengzhi smiled kindly, slowly walking to the main seat. His voice was warm. "Qinghe, what brings you here today? What made you suddenly decide to visit your teacher at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan this afternoon?"
Qian Renxue sat again and replied politely, "Because of a certain child. The things that happened with him—I thought they might interest you, Teacher."
"Oh?" Ning Fengzhi raised an eyebrow.
"This morning, I went to Heaven Dou Royal Academy to inspect the new admissions..." Qian Renxue began to explain.
When she finished, Ning Fengzhi's expression had changed. "Such a strange treasure exists in this world?!"
"I believe it's genuine." Qian Renxue said firmly. "I personally witnessed his spar with Yu Tianheng. Without a martial soul evolution, there's no way his vines could have that kind of strength. There's no other explanation for the changes in him either."
"Indeed. The time was too short, and the changes too great." Ning Fengzhi nodded slowly.
Qian Renxue added, "Teacher, since that child encountered such a rare thing in the mountains, there's a chance more could be hidden there. The chance may be slim, but why not try? If we find even one more, it could be useful."
At that, Ning Fengzhi turned toward Sword Douluo. "Uncle Sword, go make the arrangements."
"Alright." Sword Douluo nodded and left.
Ning Fengzhi turned back to Qian Renxue, smiling. "Congratulations, Qinghe."
"Defeating rank 39 at rank 31, and defeating Yu Tianheng no less—such a genius choosing to join Heaven Dou Royal Academy is truly a great boon for you."
"Perhaps we should even thank Spirit Hall." Qian Renxue smiled faintly.
"Oh?" Ning Fengzhi was surprised. "That child has ties to Spirit Hall?"
"Possibly." Qian Renxue nodded. "When he talked about his first soul ring, I could hear a trace of dissatisfaction toward Spirit Hall in his tone. His second soul ring, he obtained by risking his life hunting alone. That made me think..."
"Perhaps his first soul ring was done with Spirit Hall's help, but they didn't take it seriously."
Leaning forward slightly, she added, "I suspect this because of his martial soul's peculiarity."
"His martial soul is a mutated Blue Silver Grass—but a malignant mutation, containing conflicting energies. According to him, he needed to continually add plant-type soul rings to bolster its life force and suppress its flaws. That means the quality of those rings was especially important."
"I've already sent people to investigate his background. Soon we should know exactly what ties he has to Spirit Hall."
"If that's the case, Spirit Hall may have missed out on a genius for no reason at all." Ning Fengzhi shook his head.
The quality of a soul ring directly affects how well it can suppress flaws. If Spirit Hall really did give Yang Yunhai a poor-quality, low-aged plant-type ring when he most needed help, it was natural for resentment to grow.
Now that his martial soul had evolved and his flaw was gone, drawing him back to their side would be no easy task.
In truth, Ning Fengzhi didn't think Spirit Hall had acted wrongly. After all, Blue Silver Grass was recognized as a trash martial soul, and in his case, a malignant mutation on top of that. Such talent, no matter which power looked at it, would normally be deemed worthless.
But fate had played its trick. Yang Yunhai had stumbled upon a rare treasure that evolved his martial soul. More importantly, the evolved martial soul was overwhelmingly strong.
It was an accident. An accident no one could have predicted.
'Perhaps I should find a chance to meet him myself.' Ning Fengzhi thought silently.
A soul master with such talent, with the potential to one day reach Titled Douluo, was someone the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan absolutely should consider drawing in.
"By the way, Teacher, where's junior sister Rongrong?" Qian Renxue suddenly asked.
"Ah." A pained, fatherly expression spread across Ning Fengzhi's face. "She snuck out on her own again."
"She's grown up, and she's hard to control now."
"Please don't worry, Teacher. Maybe she was just bored at home and wanted to get some fresh air." Qian Renxue quickly reassured him.
"..." The two shifted into casual conversation.
Before long, a servant entered from the side door, carrying in dishes.
(End of Chapter)
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