"Heh," Ye Lingling's eyes flickered. "You certainly talk a good game."
"Leaving aside how exceedingly rare a Support-system Titled Douluo is in this world, do you truly believe you can become one?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Zhao Liuyun arched an eyebrow, countering with a matter-of-fact question.
"If you harbor doubts about yourself, by what right do you aspire to climb to the realm of the Titled?"
"I will only strengthen my conviction and press forward with indomitable will, never looking back!"
His courage, naturally, came from the profession panel.
It wasn't that Zhao Liuyun hadn't considered what would happen if he didn't have this heaven-sent opportunity...
But there were no 'what-ifs'!
On a path already set, where was the room for hypotheses?
There was only the way forward!
His nearly blind self-confidence was like a scorching beam of light, piercing through the layers of misty gloom in Ye Lingling's heart.
It was like a ray of brilliant gold breaking through the clouds when black mists pressed down upon a city.
Or like a lighthouse suddenly ignited on a dark coast, guiding a lonely, drifting boat.
Ye Lingling stared blankly at the person before her, carving this somewhat arrogant face deep into her heart.
Using this profound impression as a lead, Zhao Liuyun utilized [Hypnosis] to completely transform her stagnant heart—once shrouded in isolation but beginning to stir—into living water.
Loneliness and desolation dissipated like morning mist. Although other emotions would still require time to settle, she no longer carried the countenance of the doomed.
Her autumn-water eyes lingered on Zhao Liuyun's face for a long time.
"I'm leaving."
Only when he began to feel puzzled did Ye Lingling suddenly turn around, her sleeves fluttering as she hurried away.
"She actually said goodbye..."
Watching her receding figure, Zhao Liuyun felt a sense of joy at the subtle change.
It seemed his efforts to turn around that deathly silent personality had not been in vain. These past two months of hard work had paid off.
Another two months passed in a flash.
In his fourth month in Heaven Dou City, Zhao Liuyun practiced tirelessly and successfully broke through to Level 25.
Every day, the Ye family's library continued to steadily provide 120 points of General Experience.
In the afternoons, he held consultations at the clinic. Most of the patients' ailments were common, but the sheer volume of people made up for it.
In a single day, Zhao Liuyun could earn nearly 40 points of [Physician] profession experience. This accumulated to nearly 1,200 points a month.
Over four months, that amounted to 4,800 points.
Coupled with his original 5,319 points, he successfully reached the 10,000 profession experience mark.
[Profession: Physician Lv.1 (10,119/10,000)]
After filling the bar, the experience continued to accumulate.
Just as Zhao Liuyun had anticipated, another condition for the second job advancement—beyond experience—surfaced.
[Successfully treat over a thousand people (592/1,000), or cure an extremely difficult-to-heal illness.]
The former was time-consuming and laborious, though it could be achieved slowly over time.
The latter seemed like a hopeless endeavor; after all, an illness recognized by the panel as "extremely difficult to heal" would surely be one beyond the reach of medicine or Spirit Masters.
However, Zhao Liuyun's heart stirred. He happened to know a perfect candidate—
Dugu Bo.
Poisoned to the marrow, a terminal case!
The solution merely required emulating Tang San.
As this thought took root, Zhao Liuyun's mind became active. Many of his future plans revolved around Dugu Bo, a key figure. He began to calculate how to use Ye Lingling to establish a connection with Dugu Yan.
It wasn't necessarily about becoming close friends; he just needed a chance to see her up close, and from there, he could proceed to contact Dugu Bo.
He was still pondering how to make it happen naturally when, unexpectedly, the opportunity arrived on its own.
In the two months since their last conversation, Ye Lingling had watched Zhao Liuyun's soul power progress steadily, matching the conviction he had previously shown. The blurred silhouette in her heart grew increasingly vivid.
The ice within her melted, and her emotions became clearer.
Outwardly, these changes manifested as a new sparkle in her beautiful eyes and a more diligent approach to her cultivation.
The men in the group were blunt and careless, and since Ye Lingling was habitually silent and practically a ghost in the team, they noticed nothing.
However, as the only other female member of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy team, Dugu Yan keenly captured this subtle difference.
She leaned in close to Ye Lingling, observing her carefully before asking with a giggle, "Has something wonderful happened to you lately, sister? I see a radiance in your eyes; it's as if your whole being has come back to life."
One's spirit and aura are the truest reflections of the heart. This was the essence of a "glowing" appearance.
"There is no 'wonderful event'," Ye Lingling said, shaking her head gently.
"I don't believe you!" Dugu Yan huffed playfully, reaching out to hook her arm. "Let me guess—could it be that this block of wood has finally sprouted, and you have someone you like in your heart?"
She blinked, her eyes dancing with mischief. "Which family's young master is it? Tell me, so your big sister can vet him for you."
Ye Lingling instinctively bit her lower lip. A lean, scholarly figure flashed through her mind, and her cheeks couldn't help but flush with a faint crimson hue, like the sunset reflecting off snow.
"It isn't 'liking,' just admiration," she said, quickly changing the subject, her voice soft. "Do you remember me telling you about the prospective retainer my father recently recruited?"
"The one named Zhao Liuyun?" Dugu Yan arched an eyebrow.
A minor Spirit Master newly recruited by the Ye family wasn't famous; he was supposedly a genius discovered among ordinary Spirit Masters.
But which family didn't have a few geniuses? She hadn't taken it to heart previously.
Ye Lingling wasn't the type to blab about the cultivation speed of her family's retainer to outsiders either.
She nodded, but her eyes couldn't hide her amazement. "When I went home last time, I heard he had already broken through to Level 25. He was only Level 24 when he arrived. It won't be long before he catches up to me!"
"That is quite fast..."
Dugu Yan was stunned for a moment, but then her eyes darted around as her smile deepened. "Don't think you can deflect so easily. Do you like him?"
"Sister Yan!" Ye Lingling grew flustered.
She couldn't quite define the hazy feeling in her heart, but it was certainly different from how she felt about others.
"Hehe, you're shy, aren't you?" Dugu Yan giggled, tightening her grip on Ye Lingling's arm to prevent her from running away.
Then, she reached out to gently stroke Ye Lingling's soft hair, whispering in her ear:
"How about bringing him to the academy next week to hang out? Let your sister properly vet him for you."
"I..." Ye Lingling wanted to say something, but Dugu Yan raised a hand to stop her.
"Your heart is too pure, like a little white flower that doesn't know the ways of the world. How can I not look out for you?"
A pair of emerald-green eyes stared fixedly into Ye Lingling's deep blue ones.
"No refusing!"
After a long silence, Ye Lingling admitted defeat. She lowered her head and replied softly, "Then I will bring him over next week."
Returning home over the weekend, Ye Lingling tossed and turned in bed. After much deliberation, she finally chose to seek out Zhao Liuyun while he was reading in the library.
"Liuyun."
She omitted his surname, a form of address carrying a hint of intimacy.
"Does Sister Lingling have something to say?" Zhao Liuyun looked up calmly, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.
Ye Lingling rarely appeared in the library; at least during the time he had been perusing the archives, he had never run into her once.
"Could it be that Aunt Yun is asking you to take me out to play again?"
Yun Ying knew that Zhao Liuyun's lofty ambitions and passion had influenced her daughter. Regardless of whether a marriage came of it, this alone was a pleasant surprise. Over the past two months, she had repeatedly arranged for Ye Lingling to take him out under the pretext of letting him familiarize himself with Heaven Dou City.
"Mmh... Mother wants me to take you to see the academy where I study." Ye Lingling had been weighing her words, but Zhao Liuyun's remark gave her a convenient excuse.
However, that "Mmh" was slightly emphasized at the end.
Zhao Liuyun could sense that her heart was racing like a trapped deer, a mix of shyness and nervousness.
A lie... If you can't keep a straight face and tell a lie so convincing that even you believe it, how can you hope to deceive others?
You still need practice, girl.
With a faint smile in his heart, Zhao Liuyun asked, "Alright. When?"
He figured her teammates probably wanted to see him. What had Ye Lingling said to them?
Whatever, it didn't matter. As long as he could meet Dugu Yan, it was fine.
"Tomorrow. I'll take you there tomorrow," Ye Lingling replied softly, her fingertips unconsciously gripping the corner of her clothes.