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The silver moon hung high, and its cold, clear light spilled onto the grand gate of Heaven Dou Royal Academy. At this moment, Dugu Bo and Tang Chuan were walking side by side into the academy, the moonlight shining on them, casting long shadows on the bluestone path.
"Kid, this time, how many people from the Royal Fight Team do you think will leave Heaven Dou and join our academy?" Dugu Bo suddenly asked as they walked.
A flicker of deep thought crossed Tang Chuan's eyes. His steps slowed slightly. After a moment of silence, he softly said, "We still need two more people to successfully participate in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament. This time, I believe at least one person will be willing to join us."
"Who?" Dugu Bo turned his head in confusion and asked.
"Ye Lingling." A smile played on Tang Chuan's lips as he explained, "Ever since I entered Heaven Dou Royal Academy, I've had a good relationship with her and your granddaughter." Speaking of this, he suddenly smiled at Dugu Bo, "Doesn't Yu Tianheng like your granddaughter? If Yan Zi joins our academy, he'll probably join too, right?"
"Hmph! This old man doesn't like that fellow." Hearing this, Dugu Bo's old face sank, a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes, and he said with a touch of sarcasm, "I think, this Yu Tianheng is only trying to get close to Yan Yan to win me over, so that this old man will stand with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
"What you're saying isn't entirely unreasonable. Let's go, let's go in and see what they say first." Hearing this, Tang Chuan spread his hands helplessly and said.
Dugu Bo snorted irritably, even his beard twitching slightly in anger, and said, "What do they say? I think, if that kid Yu Tianheng knows we're just one or two people short of being able to participate in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament, he might even use that to threaten me, to make me agree to his marriage with Yan Yan."
"If that's truly the case, then he can just get lost. Our academy doesn't care whether he's here or not." Hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in Tang Chuan's eyes, and he said with extreme assertiveness. At the end, he suddenly raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a confident smile. "Short on people? At worst, I'll just create a few Clones and bring them to the competition. I think, to win the championship, the few of us are completely enough."
"Hahaha! I just love that confident look on you, kid!" Dugu Bo let out a loud laugh, his laughter exceptionally clear in the quiet night sky, startling a few roosting birds. "I think, with your and Xiao Rui'er's strength, besides the Spirit Hall team, all other teams probably won't be a match for the two of you."
Hearing this, Tang Chuan and Dugu Bo exchanged a smile, not refuting, and stepped through the academy gate. In his opinion, what Dugu Bo said wasn't entirely unreasonable.
His current spirit power Rank had already reached Rank 50, and Xiao Rui'er's spirit power Rank was also fast approaching Rank 50. The two also possessed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Besides the Golden Generation of the Spirit Hall team, other teams could truly be treated as mere small fry.
Ye Lingling's Secret
After entering the academy, Tang Chuan did not choose to find Yu Tianheng first. Instead, he came alone to the outside of the courtyard where Ye Lingling resided.
Moonlight poured like mercury into the exquisite courtyard. Ye Lingling was sitting alone on a stone stool, her slender fingers unconsciously fiddling with the hem of her clothes. Her cold, delicate profile appeared exceptionally soft under the moonlight, yet carried a hint of unresolved melancholy, as if something was on her mind.
"I wonder when the Nine Heart Begonia Spirit will be able to overcome its defect of only being passed down through a single lineage. I remember my father saying that a long time ago, this Spirit wasn't like this," she murmured softly, propping her chin with her hand and looking up at the bright moon in the sky.
Although the Nine Heart Begonia Spirit did not have the same spirit power Rank advancement restrictions as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, it had an even greater drawback: the Nine Heart Begonia Spirit could only be passed down through a single lineage.
Therefore, the number of Nine Heart Begonia Spirit Masters on the Douluo Continent was extremely rare. Furthermore, each generation of Nine Heart Begonia Spirit Masters could only have one inheritor. That is to say, at most, there could only be two Nine Heart Begonia Spirit Masters alive at the same time.
Ning Fengzhi once said that if the Nine Heart Begonia was not limited to a single lineage, the title of the continent's number one auxiliary Spirit Master would definitely not have fallen to his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
Only after one owner died could a successor to the Spirit appear in the next generation. This also meant that while Nine Heart Begonia Spirit Masters gained powerful healing Spirits, they often suffered the immense pain of losing loved ones.
In the past, Ye Lingling's grandfather, in order to allow Ye Lingling to Awaken the Nine Heart Begonia Spirit, resolutely chose to end his own life.
Similarly, Ye Lingling's great-grandfather did the same. In order to allow Ye Lingling's father, Ye Renxin, to Awaken the Nine Heart Begonia Spirit and pass on this already rare Spirit, he also chose to end his own life.
Perhaps one day in the future, when Ye Lingling also had children, her father would likewise choose to sacrifice himself in order for the Nine Heart Begonia Spirit to be successfully passed down.
It was precisely because of the defect of the Nine Heart Begonia Spirit that Ye Lingling was usually quiet and reserved. She had almost no friends, did not like to talk, and was always alone from beginning to end.
Because in her childhood, she had personally witnessed her loved ones die so that she could Awaken the Nine Heart Begonia Spirit. This sense of powerlessness in life and death caused Ye Lingling's personality to become this way.
"If possible, by my generation, no matter how much effort I put in, I must find a way to solve the defect of the Nine Heart Begonia Spirit. Because only then will father not have to..."
Just as a mysterious emotion was taking root in Ye Lingling's heart, a blue jacket was gently draped over her from behind.
"Lingling, what are you thinking about? Is it because of your Spirit? It's cold and chilly, put on a jacket." Tang Chuan's familiar and gentle voice subtly touched Ye Lingling's heart, which was most sensitive at this moment.
The next second, she turned around, sniffled softly, and blinked her long eyelashes, hiding the dampness in her eyes, and asked softly, "Aren't you a busy person? Why do you have time to come see me today?"
Hearing this, Tang Chuan scratched his head awkwardly, smiling a little sheepishly. "No matter how busy I am, I can't forget old friends. Haven't I come to see you as soon as I had a moment?"
The moonlight fell on his serious profile as he slowly walked to the stone stool, changing the subject. "Lingling, I remember you told me about your Spirit's defect before. I don't think you need to worry too much. I've come this time to solve this problem for you. But in return, you have to promise me one thing."
Hearing this, Ye Lingling suddenly stood up, her sleeve accidentally knocking over the teacup on the stone table, her voice trembling with excitement, and she asked in disbelief, "What did you say? You can solve my Spirit's problem? This... is this true?" Her hand unconsciously tightened on Tang Chuan's arm, her fingertips trembling slightly.
"Yan Zi's Jade Phosphorous Serpent Spirit evolved into the Jade Phosphor Serpent with my help, you should know that. If I can help her evolve her Spirit, I can naturally help you too." Gazing at Ye Lingling's slightly trembling eyes, Tang Chuan explained after a moment of silence. "Perhaps, after your Nine Heart Begonia evolves, the Spirit's defect will be gone."
"Spirit Evolution?" Although she had anticipated it, hearing Tang Chuan say this still startled Ye Lingling. She said seriously, "My Nine Heart Begonia Spirit, it seems, can indeed evolve.
When I was a child, my father once told me: Legend has it that a long, long time ago, an ancestor fortunately obtained a Heaven And Earth Treasure, and his Spirit evolved.
A hundred years later, this ancestor Cultivated his spirit power to Rank 100, and Ascended to godhood with another food system Spirit Master, leaving the Douluo Continent for a higher plane. It's just that the truth of this legend is unknown."