Life after returning to Exotic Beast Academy was peaceful and regular; the residence, the library, the cafeteria, and the mountains outside Ice Soul City where they absorbed purple qi and Moonlight became the fixed routine points for Yu Yan and Xiao Wu.
Yu Yan's Cultivation speed hadn't decreased, but because each Rank of a Spirit Ancestor required more spirit power than before, his progress gradually slowed down.
To give a simple example, going from 1 to 2 only requires one unit of 1, but going from 1 to 10 requires nine units of 1. Without special resources to help, it's perfectly normal for the Cultivation speed to be a little slower than before.
Yu Yan wasn't dissatisfied with the slightly slower Cultivation speed; it was the perfect time to let his progress settle, and time was on his side.
After Bai Chenxiang took the Medicinal Pill gifted by Yu Yan and successfully reached Rank 20, she took a leave of absence from the school to go home and have her grandfather, Bai He, help her obtain a spirit ring.
Earlier, while chatting with Bai Chenxiang, she had expressed doubts about the fact that her Family chose the same type of spirit ring for every single slot. Ultimately, however, she lacked the courage to rebel against her Family and obediently went home to follow their arrangements.
When seeing Bai Chenxiang off, Yu Yan sincerely hoped she could make some changes in the future.
He didn't want to judge the rights and wrongs of having only speed-type spirit rings, but he felt that forcing the entire clan down the path of extreme speed was somewhat inappropriate... One morning more than two months later, while Yu Yan and Xiao Wu were eating in the dining hall, Jiang Jing arrived at their side at high speed with Martial Soul Possession active.
"Yu Yan, the Poison Douluo is here to see you."
"Huh?"
Jiang Jing's words left Yu Yan's head full of question marks; he couldn't quite figure out what Dugu Bo wanted with him.
Unable to figure it out, Yu Yan quickly finished his meal and prepared to follow Jiang Jing to see exactly what business Dugu Bo had with him.
"I'm going too."
Xiao Wu, who no longer needed to worry about being discovered, prepared to go with Yu Yan to see the human Titled Douluo, Dugu Bo.
Following behind Jiang Jing, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu arrived at the Exotic Beast Academy's guest reception area and saw Dugu Bo. He was sitting upright in a chair with his eyes closed, resting.
Sitting not far from Dugu Bo were two girls. One was Dugu Yan, whom Yu Yan already knew, and the other was a blue-haired woman wearing a veil.
"Little friend Yu Yan, you sure are slow."
As Yu Yan stepped into the meeting room, Dugu Bo opened his eyes and voiced a complaint.
"Senior Dugu, you came during breakfast time, and you're blaming me for appearing late?"
Already very familiar with Dugu Bo, Yu Yan directly ignored his complaint and countered with one of his own.
Listening to the familiar exchange between Dugu Bo and Yu Yan, Jiang Jing's gaze swept back and forth between the two of them, trying to understand what was actually happening.
Xiao Wu's gaze, meanwhile, scanned Dugu Yan and the blue-haired woman, wondering why the Poison Douluo had brought two girls to Exotic Beast Academy.
After chatting with Yu Yan for a bit, Dugu Bo got straight to the point and brought up his business: "Yu Yan, I have a favor to ask of you."
"Go ahead."
Without knowing what the favor was, Yu Yan signaled Dugu Bo to speak first before discussing anything else.
"I want my granddaughter to attend Exotic Beast Academy, and I want you to take more care of her."
Knowing Yu Yan's character, Dugu Bo didn't beat around the bush and directly stated the favor he wanted.
On the surface, Dugu Bo wanted Yu Yan to take care of her, but in reality, his intentions were obvious: he wanted to play matchmaker for Yu Yan and his granddaughter, Dugu Yan.
A high-potential prospect with a good character, good temper, and great talent—Dugu Bo wanted him as a grandson-in-law and truly wanted to find someone his granddaughter could rely on.
Furthermore, he had asked his granddaughter about her attitude toward Yu Yan. He only made the decision after learning that Yanyan didn't dislike interacting with him.
Besides the reasons mentioned above, the atmosphere at Heaven Dou Royal Academy had indeed been poor in recent years. On one hand, the constant infighting between Prince Xue Xing and Crown Prince Xue Qinghe was relentless, and on the other, the conduct among the noble children was truly lacking.
"Huh?"
"You want Dugu Yan to attend Exotic Beast Academy?"
Never expecting Dugu Bo to come to Exotic Beast Academy for this, Yu Yan asked back in surprise, confirming he hadn't misheard.
The moment he finished the question, Yu Yan felt he was being a bit foolish.
"I don't want to discuss that. In short, while my granddaughter is studying at Exotic Beast Academy, you must take good care of her, or I won't be easy on you."
Dugu Bo glanced at Yu Yan, who didn't dare look at him after asking the question, and skipped over it, his words still insisting that Yu Yan look after Dugu Yan.
"Fine."
For the sake of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, it was no problem for Yu Yan to take care of Dugu Yan while she was at Exotic Beast Academy.
After Yu Yan agreed to look after his granddaughter, Dugu Bo then 'discussed' the enrollment of Dugu Yan and Ye Lengleng with vice dean Jiang Jing.
On Dugu Bo's end, it was less of a discussion and more of a unilateral notification.
As for Jiang Jing, she had no objection whatsoever to Dugu Bo's granddaughter joining Exotic Beast Academy, and even less to a possessor of the Nine Heart Begonia Spirit joining. She agreed with both hands and feet; the more geniuses that joined Exotic Beast Academy, the happier she was.
Regarding the fact that the Nine Heart Begonia wasn't a Beast Spirit, Jiang Jing's stance was: is everyone in Heaven Dou Royal Academy a member of the Royal Family? Not necessarily.
From the exchange between Dugu Bo and Jiang Jing, Yu Yan learned the blue-haired girl's name: Ye Lengleng, the possessor of the Nine Heart Begonia Spirit.
The Nine Heart Begonia was known as a miracle among Spirits, possessing ultimate healing abilities. As long as you still had a breath left, a Nine Heart Begonia Spirit Master could bring you back.
With every gain comes a loss. Because it possessed such ultimate healing power, the Nine Heart Begonia Spirit was cursed; only two Nine Heart Begonia Spirit Masters could exist at the same time. Only when one died could another appear in the next generation. It could be said to be the Spirit with the fewest numbers.
If this Spirit hadn't been cursed, it was hard to say if the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda would still be the number one support system Spirit on the Douluo Continent.
Yu Yan understood the reason for Dugu Yan coming to Exotic Beast Academy.
But what was the reason for Ye Lengleng coming?
Looking at Ye Lengleng, Yu Yan fell into aimless thought.
As Yu Yan stared at Ye Lengleng in a daze, Xiao Wu speechlessly gave his waist a light pinch.
His thoughts interrupted, Yu Yan turned to look at Xiao Wu, asking with his eyes why she had stopped him.
Reading Yu Yan's expression, Xiao Wu glared back and signaled for him to guess for himself.