"Great! I'm absolutely starving!"
Jin Yue'er immediately stood up, grabbed her chopsticks, and reached out. She tore off a piece of fatty meat and gestured toward Xie Yue and Yan's direction.
"Hey, you two! Which one of you wants the chicken butt this time?"
"Him—!"
Xie Yue and Yan pointed at each other almost simultaneously.
"Sister Yue'er, he loves it!"
"Brother, no need to fight over it. There's still a duck butt here!"
Hu Liena smiled and pointed at the whole duck on the table. Xie Yue and Yan's faces immediately soured, and they swallowed hard.
"Haha..."
"This time, I specifically told the kitchen not to cut that part off."
"You two are in for a treat!"
Jin Yue'er left her seat proudly, stuffing the chicken butt into Xie Yue's bowl. Xie Yue's mouth twitched helplessly, and he glared fiercely at Yan.
"Stinky Yan, it's all your fault for running your mouth!"
"I didn't expect this either!"
Yan looked at the duck butt in his bowl, which Ye Tian had forked over, and nearly burst into tears. The rumor he had started not only was taken seriously but had backfired on him!
"Pfft—"
Qian Renxue couldn't hold back her laughter and turned to look at Ye Tian with a smile. Since meeting Ye Tian, she had experienced so much more happiness! This kind of warm and harmonious atmosphere was something she couldn't even find in the Hall of Worship. The elders there appeared amicable on the surface, but hierarchies and formalities still existed.
"Alright, Xie Yue, Yan, hurry up and eat."
Ye Tian chuckled gleefully and slowly raised his right hand. A milky-white Pill Spirit appeared, accompanied by two Purple Spirit Rings and dozens of Jade Dew droplets floating around it, orbiting the Spirit like satellites. A few drops of Jade Dew splashed onto Qian Renxue and Hu Liena's faces, slowly sliding down before rejoining the orbit to continue spinning.
Qian Renxue rolled her eyes at Ye Tian, while Hu Liena paid no attention to her damp face, staring at Ye Tian in awe.
"Brother Ye Tian, you're just too amazing! Two Purple Rings—how incredible!"
Hu Liena's voice snapped Xie Yue and Yan out of their daze as they stared at the chicken and duck butts, their faces greasy. They turned to look at the Martial Soul in Ye Tian's hand and their eyes widened in shock. It seemed they had missed another important detail! Brother Tian was already a Soul Grandmaster—and a Soul Grandmaster with two Thousand-Year Spirit Rings at that!
Catching the scent of the medicine, Jin Yue'er immediately swallowed the fish in her mouth and smacked her lips. No delicacy could compare to the thrill of Ye Tian's pills!
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the Second Soul Ring in Ye Tian's palm began to flash rapidly. Soon, as Ye Tian's face paled slightly, over a dozen Bright Soul Nourishing Pills, shimmering with gold and silver hues and adorned with lotus patterns, materialized in his palm.
"Xie Yue, Yan, since your Martial Souls will awaken soon, I'll start supplying you with my Second Soul Skill from today onward to ensure everything goes smoothly."
With that, Ye Tian picked out six pills and handed them to Xie Yue, explaining, "These can strengthen the soul. Each person should take three pills daily."
"Strengthen the soul?!"
Xie Yue was stunned. Though he didn't fully grasp the implications—this was knowledge the orphanage had never covered—he could still sense its significance.
The soul is an even more profound existence than the physical body!
This was something Brother Ye Tian had mentioned in the bedtime stories he used to tell them.
Out-of-body experiences, borrowing celestial soldiers—all sorts of wondrous applications.
"Thank you, Brother Ye Tian. We will definitely not let you down!" Xie Yue vowed solemnly.
"If Brother Tian doesn't mind, Yan is willing to pledge—"
"Cut it out!"
Before Yan could finish, Ye Tian interrupted him.
Whether as a sworn father or sworn brother—
that whole tradition wasn't something they followed.
"The best repayment you can give me is to focus on your cultivation from now on."
"Don't worry, Brother Ye Tian. Nana will remember!" Hu Liena assured in her sweet, sticky voice before Xie Yue and the others could respond.
As she spoke,
she tugged at Ye Tian's wrist,
stretching her neck and sticking out her tongue, eager to taste Ye Tian's pill.
"..."
Ye Tian couldn't help but laugh. Without being stingy, he popped it directly into her mouth.
"Eek—!"
Hu Liena let out a startled cry, covering her mouth with both hands.
Then, as if suffocating, she choked up and tilted her head back, gazing upward.
Her entire mind went blank in an instant, feeling light and airy.
"Mmm! I'm going to fly away..."
"Ye Tian, I want some too!"
Jin Yue'er watched with eager eyes, full of longing.
"You'll have to wait a bit."
"..."
...
The midday gathering soon came to an end.
Xie Yue and Yan, their bellies full,
took the pills with them.
Carrying the freshly packed meals Ye Tian had prepared for Wang Ma and the others,
they bid farewell to Ye Tian and the rest,
and led the reluctant Hu Liena on their way back.
As for Ye Tian,
he stayed behind in the private room with Qian Renxue and Jin Yue'er.
"Little Xue, Yue'er, in two months, I'll need you to prepare the items required for awakening their martial souls."
Ye Tian was already standing at the door, ready to leave.
"Don't worry, with us on the case, it'll be a piece of cake!"
Jin Yue'er stuck out her little tongue at Ye Tian,
her slightly chubby cheeks flushed red.
Who would have thought
she had even ordered a few glasses of fruit wine for this gathering?
So young, yet already picking up bad habits.
"Mm, I'll go ask Grandpa for it as soon as I get back."
Qian Renxue smiled and nodded, raising her hand to wave goodbye to Ye Tian.
"See you tomorrow!"
"Mm, see you tomorrow. Here's your medicine—take it on time, haha."
Ye Tian laughed as he tossed two bottles to the girls,
then turned and left the private room.
"Wow! Sister Xue, Ye Tian actually gave us six Bright Soul Nourishing Pills!"
Jin Yue'er stared at the porcelain vial glowing with moonlight in her hand,
overjoyed.
"The amount seems a bit more today—there are twenty Marrow Cleansing Pills too."
Qian Renxue smiled as she looked at the bottle in her hand.
"Wait!"
As if remembering something, Qian Renxue quickly turned to remind Jin Yue'er:
"Yue'er, don't eat yours yet! When we get back to the Hall of Worship, let Grandpa and the others have some too. They'll definitely like Ye Tian even more!"
"Heh..."
Ye Tian had just closed the door and taken a few steps when he overheard Qian Renxue's lingering words.
He couldn't help but chuckle.
What did it matter if Qian Daoliu and the others valued or liked him?
Higher-ups in major factions were often more calculating about gains and losses.
And they tended to lack human warmth.
Perhaps Qian Daoliu and the others valued Ye Tian now, but if Bi Bi Dong killed him, would they avenge him?
The answer was absolutely not!
Putting aside the relationship between Bi Bi Dong and Qian Renxue,
could a dead genius still be considered a genius?
Between a dead genius and twin martial souls, they would undoubtedly choose the twin martial souls.
This was precisely why...
Ye Tian chose to have Xie Yue and the others become his disciples to secure ties with the Hall of Worship.
Once they successfully became his disciples,
if anything were to happen to Ye Tian,
Xie Yue, Yan, and even Jin Yue'er would not let the matter rest.
Even if only to appease their emotions,
the Hall of Worship would have to take action!
This lingering effect was exactly what Ye Tian wanted—to make Bi Bi Dong hesitate and hold back.