Chapter 35: The Tsundere Ye Lingling! The Imperial Exchange Delegation! A Blockade on the Road!

Page (1/3)

“Senior Dugu, this…”

For a moment, Lu Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Dugu Bo glared at him. “What? You’re unwilling?”

“Grandfather!” Dugu Yan stamped her foot and glared at Dugu Bo, her face flushed with embarrassment.

Only then did he relent. Waving his hand, he said, “All right, all right! This is a matter for the younger generation. I won’t interfere.”

With that, he turned and walked away with a chuckle.

Lu Yu finally let out a sigh of relief. Dugu Yan turned toward him, lowered her head, and said softly, “Lu Yu, I’m sorry… I…”

Lu Yu waved his hand, cutting her off. “Senior Dugu was right. Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, let’s put the matter behind us.”

After a moment’s thought, he asked tentatively, “Senior Sister, about those things from last time…”

At those words, the blush that had only just begun to fade from Dugu Yan’s face surged back. She glared at him and said irritably, “Keep them for yourself!”

Then she turned and ran out of the courtyard.

Lu Yu pursed his lips. He had lived three lifetimes, after all. Surely he could handle a little girl.

In high spirits, Lu Yu left the courtyard and made his way down the mountain. When he reached the lake at its foot, he spotted a familiar girl in a black dress sitting by the water.

Lu Yu walked over and sat down beside her. Before he could speak, Ye Lingling said first, “Why aren’t you staying with Dugu Yan? What brings you here?”

Lu Yu froze.

What was with that sour note in her voice?

It seemed that, without realizing it, he had somehow acquired several inexplicable romantic entanglements.

Putting on an innocent expression, Lu Yu said, “Senior Sister Dugu and I have only met a few times. Miss Ye, what makes you say that?”

Ye Lingling glanced at him but said nothing more.

The corners of her lips lifted into a captivating smile, yet the black veil concealed the sight from anyone who might have admired it.

The two of them sat quietly by the lake. After a long while, Lu Yu suddenly asked, “Miss Ye, will you be participating in the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament?”

Ye Lingling did not answer. Instead, she asked in return, “Are you going?”

“I am. His Highness the Crown Prince came to see me. He wants me to serve as captain and lead the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy into the tournament.”

Then he added with a smile, “But I have no intention of entering as part of a seeded team and advancing automatically. I plan to establish a second team and fight our way all the way to the finals.”

His purpose in participating in the Soul Master Tournament was to temper himself through battle. If he advanced directly as a seeded team, the entire exercise would lose its meaning.

Page (1/3)

Page (2/3)

Ye Lingling turned to look at him. A flicker passed through her eyes before she nodded. “I agree.”

“Hm?” Lu Yu stared at her in bewilderment.

What exactly had she agreed to?

He had not even invited her to join yet!

But Ye Lingling had already turned away again, her gaze settling on the surface of the lake, so Lu Yu said nothing more.

This girl… was quite the proud and tsundere type.

After sitting there for nearly half an hour, Lu Yu was the first to leave. When he returned to the dormitory, he found Meng Shenji waiting outside the door.

He hurried over. “Chief Meng, what brings you here?”

Meng Shenji smiled. “I came today to tell you something.”

“In one month, the empire will send an exchange delegation to the Star Luo Empire to discuss matters concerning the Soul Master Tournament.”

“The delegation will be led by teachers from the various advanced Soul Master academies. Each academy will also send student representatives to exchange ideas with the Soul Master academies of the Star Luo Empire.”

“The academy hopes that you will serve as the student representative of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. I believe that you alone are more than capable of representing all our students.”

At this news, Lu Yu’s brows drew together slightly.

He had originally planned to leave the city and obtain his fourth soul ring. However, Heaven Dou City was a considerable distance from the Star Dou Great Forest. The journey there and back would take nearly ten days, and searching for a suitable soul beast would also require time.

If anything unexpected happened, the trip could take even longer.

If he joined this imperial exchange delegation, he would have to postpone his plans to obtain his fourth soul ring.

But then another thought occurred to him: the Star Luo Empire also had places where soul beasts gathered.

Once there, he could obtain his fourth soul ring all the same.

With that in mind, Lu Yu nodded immediately. “Chief Meng, I understand.”

Meng Shenji smiled with satisfaction, then turned and left.

Early the next morning, Lu Yu did not continue his secluded cultivation. Instead, he left the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy and headed toward the outskirts of the city.

He planned to visit Sunset Forest and see whether he might be lucky enough to find a soul beast suitable for becoming the source of his fourth soul ring.

Just as Lu Yu left the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy and began making his way toward Sunset Forest, two groups of people who had been waiting outside the academy for quite some time simultaneously set their sights on him.

The two groups displayed remarkable tacit understanding. Each sent one person back to report, while the rest continued following Lu Yu.

Sunset Forest was a gathering place for soul beasts within the Heaven Dou Empire.

Although it was far inferior to the Star Dou Great Forest, the quality of its soul beasts was still superior to those found in Hunting Soul Forest.

Page (2/3)

Page (3/3)

Sunset Forest was not far from Heaven Dou City. It contained countless ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts, as well as a great many thousand-year soul beasts. There were even a few ten-thousand-year soul beasts, though they were relatively scarce.

After wandering through Sunset Forest all morning, Lu Yu encountered only two ten-thousand-year soul beasts, neither of which was suitable as the fourth soul ring for his Heaven-Flipping Seal.

Searching for a fourth soul ring by luck was only one of Lu Yu’s purposes in making the trip.

There were too few ten-thousand-year soul beasts in Sunset Forest, and finding one suitable for him would be even more difficult. Thus, he had never placed much hope in it.

His other objective was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

This blessed land nurtured countless rare and precious treasures.

If he could claim them for himself and use them to support his cultivation, Lu Yu’s cultivation speed would undoubtedly increase dramatically.

The Spirit-Nurturing Orchid he had purchased at the Heaven Dou auction earlier was no different from garbage compared with the treasures growing around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

After an entire morning without gaining anything, Lu Yu stopped searching and left Sunset Forest along the road he had taken in.

He had discovered someone secretly following him soon after setting out that morning.

There were two groups. One consisted of several Soul Masters whose cultivation ranged from the third to the fifth ring.

The other was led by a Soul Emperor.

Lu Yu knew that, with his talent now standing out so conspicuously, it was only natural for people to watch him from the shadows.

Therefore, until he had confirmed their identities and intentions, he did not act rashly.

After all, in everyone’s eyes, no matter how monstrous his talent might be, he was still only a three-ring Soul Elder.

If word spread that a three-ring Soul Elder could effortlessly detect the surveillance of Soul Kings or even Soul Emperors, it would only make him more conspicuous.

Too much was as bad as too little. Lu Yu had already displayed enough value to make every major faction take him seriously. If he continued revealing his edge, he would inevitably invite all manner of trouble.

The moment he stepped out of Sunset Forest, Lu Yu noticed that the group led by the Soul Emperor had quietly withdrawn.

At the same time, a convoy came speeding toward him along the official road ahead. It eventually stopped a short distance in front of him.

Lu Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly. Without hesitation, he changed direction and started walking toward the other side of the road.

“Please wait!”

At that moment, a voice suddenly rang out.

In the next instant, Lu Yu’s vision blurred, and an elderly woman with graying hair appeared before him.

Page (3/3)