Chapter 117: Crimson Glow Peony
After a long while, Yue Guan finally smoothed down the breath that had been stuck in his chest.
He turned around and looked at Shi Nuo with an expression of blazing fervor.
"Shi Nuo, how about you take this old man as your master?"
"Ah?"
Shi Nuo looked at Yue Guan with some difficulty, not knowing how to respond. Although the path Yue Guan walked was also considered a strong attack–type, it clearly differed greatly from his own.
With no other choice, he cast a pleading glance toward Lin Beiya, hoping to hear his opinion.
Seeing this, Lin Beiya could only look at Yue Guan with a head full of black lines and advise him:
"Uncle Ju, putting aside the fact that the two of you don't walk the same path at all, do you even have the time?"
"Uh..."
The impulse in Yue Guan's eyes gradually subsided, and he began to evaluate, in his heart, the necessity of taking Shi Nuo as a disciple.
To be honest, his desire to take Shi Nuo as a Disciple was only to study how the medicinal properties of Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum would affect the human body.
Seeing him fall into hesitation, Lin Beiya thought for a moment before speaking:
"How about this, Uncle Ju? If you both have the time, let Shi Nuo cooperate with you in researching some data. But if your affairs are too busy, then just let him cultivate on his own."
"As for the title, let him be a nominal disciple."
Hearing this, Yue Guan's long, narrow eyes instantly lit up. He excitedly turned to Shi Nuo and said:
"That's good, that's good! Shi Nuo, are you willing?"
"Don't worry—even if you're only a nominal disciple, I'll take care of all your future soul rings."
Since Lin Beiya had already given his advice, Shi Nuo naturally had no reason to refuse. At most, he would just need to spare some time to cooperate with Yue Guan in researching the medicinal properties of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.
Moreover, having Yue Guan—this bargain-price teacher—handle his future soul hunting was nothing but a benefit.
"Master."
"Hahaha, good, good, good! Even if you're only a nominal disciple, this old man won't treat you poorly. You don't have a spatial soul tool yet, do you? Take this."
Seeing Shi Nuo agree, Yue Guan was clearly delighted. He immediately took out a ring and handed it over.
"There's ten cubic meters of space inside this ring. It's not very large, but it should be more than enough for you, Shi Nuo."
"Thank you, Master."
Shi Nuo looked toward Lin Beiya. After seeing him nod, he happily accepted Yue Guan's gift.
There was no complicated apprenticeship ceremony. Just like that, the two simply established their master-disciple relationship. In the original story, after seeing Dai Mubai, who had consumed the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, Yue Guan had also developed the intention to take in a disciple, so Lin Beiya didn't find this strange at all.
Thinking about it carefully, he actually felt a little apologetic toward Yue Guan.
The Immortal Herb Illustrated Manual had been obtained from him—without it, Lin Beiya wouldn't have been able to distinguish the quality and characteristics of the various immortal herbs at all.
Yue Guan had also helped him hunt soul rings several times, always giving it his all, never once being careless.
Yet the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum was of tremendous benefit to Shi Nuo. With closeness and distance clearly distinguished, Lin Beiya ultimately chose not to give this extremely suitable immortal herb to Yue Guan.
After some thought, Lin Beiya stepped forward and lightly tugged at Yue Guan, who was staring at Shi Nuo with a scorching gaze.
"Uncle Ju, come with me for a moment."
"Hm? What is it, Little Beiya?"
Though puzzled, Yue Guan still followed Lin Beiya as he moved to the hotel balcony.
Having made up his mind, Lin Beiya no longer hesitated. A flower wreathed in faint crimson light appeared in his hand.
At the very instant the flower emerged, the confusion on Yue Guan's face vanished without a trace.
In its place was the frenzied, yearning expression of an addict seeing contraband.
"Crimson Glow Peony!"
With an immortal herb right before his eyes, Yue Guan's already sharp voice became even more piercing, clearly shaken to the extreme.
"Little Beiya, where on earth did you find this? Tell me—quickly!"
Naturally, Lin Beiya had no intention of revealing any information about the Ice and Fire Yin–Yang Well. Otherwise, an unavoidable clash with Dugu Bo would follow, and at worst, it could end in both sides suffering heavy losses.
That was not an outcome he wanted to see.
"I found it by accident the last time I was clearing out some evil soul masters. Since Uncle Ju likes it, I'll give it to you."
"Th–this… this… this… you're really… really giving it to me?"
Lin Beiya had read the Immortal Herb Illustrated Manual before, so he naturally knew very well the effects of the Crimson Glow Peony.
Even so, the other party still chose to give such an immortal herb to him. After the shock passed, a deep sense of emotion welled up in Yue Guan's heart.
"Yes. Uncle Ju has helped me quite a lot with my previous soul rings, and Shi Nuo will need to trouble you as well in the future."
"Don't worry. Even if you need a hundred-thousand-year soul ring in the future, as long as we find a suitable target, this old man will drag Old Ghost along to help."
Yue Guan did not refuse any further. He grabbed the Crimson Glow Peony in one swift motion, leaned in, and took an epic lungful straight from the petals. Immediately afterward, a look of intoxication spread across his face.
"As an immortal-grade herb among the kings of flowers, this Crimson Glow Peony truly lives up to its reputation. Just this one breath and I can already feel my qi and blood flowing smoothly throughout my entire body!"
The reason the Crimson Glow Peony was classified as an immortal-grade herb was not only because it nourished the skin and enhanced one's appearance, but also because it could greatly extend the lifespan of the consumer.
It could even grant an ordinary person a lifespan comparable to that of a Limit Douluo. And for someone like Yue Guan, who was already a Titled Douluo, the effects would only be even more terrifying.
Crimson Glow Peony—crimson glow indeed. When facing enemies, it gave one an extra option.
That option being: If I can't beat you, I'll outlive you—along with ten generations of your descendants. This was no exaggeration.
"Little Beiya, I owe you a great debt for this. From now on, if you ever need anything, just say the word. To me, this flower is far more than just an immortal herb—it's the finest collectible I've encountered in my entire life."
"Uh..."
Lin Beiya twitched the corner of his mouth. From those words, it was obvious that Yue Guan had no intention of actually consuming the Crimson Glow Peony. As expected of a true flower fanatic.
Still, the immortal herb had already been given away. How it was handled was entirely up to the recipient—Lin Beiya had no intention of interfering.
"As long as Uncle Ju likes it."
"Hahaha, like it? I couldn't like it any more!"
After making some simple arrangements, Yue Guan carefully stored the Crimson Glow Peony in his soul tool. Judging by his expression, Lin Beiya was certain that even if Yue Guan encountered a soul bone, he wouldn't treat it with this much care.
Returning to the lounge, Lin Beiya had Shi Nuo call over Yu Quan.
From Yu Quan's report, he learned about the situation in the promotion matches over the past few days.
The results were exactly as he had expected. Under Huo Lingyun's leadership, Blazing Academy had achieved an impressive five-win streak, including a decisive victory against Blue Sunshine Academy.
Blue Sunshine Academy thus became the only elemental academy to suffer a defeat, simply because the attribute suppression they faced was far too severe.
"This Huo Lingyun is indeed formidable. In every match, she fought alone and swept all seven opponents. I really don't know where she gets so much stamina."
"I think she probably doesn't have a boyfriend," Yu Quan replied seriously.
Hearing this, Lin Beiya stared at Yu Quan with a completely baffled expression. Can you analyze things like that? Though… strangely enough, there was a bit of logic to it.
"Alright, enough. In the finals, we'll most likely only need to pay attention to these few academies. The Five Element Academies aren't weak, but the seniors should be more than capable of handling them."
"Our main opponent is still the Star Luo Royal Academy."
Time quickly passed, and ten days later, the promotion matches came to a perfect conclusion.
Blazing Academy unsurprisingly secured first place in the promotion round, earning the benefit of a bye in the first round of the finals.
As a seeded academy, the Spirit Hall team would absolutely not receive a bye in the first round. The same was true for the two royal academies of the Star Luo and Heaven Dou Empires.
These three teams would join the other twenty-nine academies—excluding Blazing Academy—to compete for the sixteen spots in the top bracket.
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End of Chapter