Consciousness returned, and the first thing she saw were the various wounds on her body.
The wounds weren't very large, but they were all over her body. If she had returned even a little later, the small wounds might have expanded further, causing irreparable consequences.
However, now she had returned, and both her consciousness and mental strength were on a completely different level.
Pale pink mental power entered her body, quickly taking control of the flow of soul power within. The soul ring energy, still under the control of the Nine Hearted Hibiscus' undulations, was powerless to resist Ye Lingling's control.
The situation of energy riots was completely resolved in a destructive manner.
Along with the resonance with her martial soul, her mental strength level was still increasing, and the pale pink color of the Nine Hearted Hibiscus was completely fixed on the martial soul.
However, her expression quickly changed to a smiling one.
People cannot be forever imprisoned in past memories, but that doesn't mean they should forget the past.
Ye Lingling faced her inner self, released her pain, and stepped out of the barrier in her heart with her most precious memories.
"Grandma, thank you. It's time for me to move forward."
Tears welled up in her eyes, but the smile on her face was even brighter.
After saying goodbye to her past self in her heart, Ye Lingling wiped away the tears from her eyes and turned to look at Quan Yi.
Her eyes were full of unconcealed provocation and smugness.
Her expression seemed to say, 'Hmph, your test is nothing more than this. I still managed to break through it.'
The dragon pupils in Quan Yi's eyes flickered slightly, and he felt a lot in his heart.
After looking at each other for a moment, his expression softened, and he congratulated her with a sincere and approving tone and expression:
"Congratulations on breaking through to Soul Grandmaster and completing the secondary awakening of your martial soul ahead of schedule, Sister Ling."
Sister Ling, such an intimate name, was spoken from Quan Yi's mouth for the first time.
Hearing Quan Yi call her that, the smile on Ye Lingling's face grew even brighter. She knew this was Quan Yi's recognition of her performance.
It was just a simple change in address, but it made her feel no less happy than breaking through.
She stood up and replied, "Of course. Who do you think your Sister Ling is, Little Yi?"
Ye Lingling retorted to Quan Yi, calling him by the nickname Little Yi.
Although she was very grateful to him, she had not forgotten the pain of the soul and body being torn apart.
What's wrong with retaliating a little?
Quan Yi could only smile wryly at this and silently endure it.
At this time, Qi Feng, who had been silent for a long time, walked unsteadily towards Ye Lingling, eagerly paying attention to her physical condition.
He looked at the scars on his daughter's body with heartache, and then gave his daughter a thumbs up with a relieved expression.
Everything was unspoken.
A father's love and pride for his daughter were condensed in these expressions and actions.
Ye Lingling's eyes were red. First, she used the brand-new black soul ring to release pale pink petals to quickly restore the injuries on her body, and then couldn't help but plunge into her father's arms, releasing all the emotions in her heart.
Qi Feng gently hugged his daughter, stroking her back with red eyes.
He didn't know how long it had been since Ye Lingling cried.
In his memory, it seemed that he had only heard it once when she was six years old, and had never seen it again.
This belated cry seemed to symbolize a new beginning.
After a long time, Ye Lingling, who had completely released everything accumulated in her body, looked at Quan Yi and Huo Wu with flushed eyes and explained the gains of this time to the two who had been waiting for a long time.
"Thanks to the stamen and the ten-thousand-year soul ring, my martial soul has indeed evolved as you said.
In terms of soul skills, the appearance of the new soul ring did not bring me any new soul skills.
However, the effect of the original range-based overall treatment has undergone significant changes.
And this change, Little Yi, you have shown it before, is the effect of repairing soul damage.
Regarding this point, you should have known it when you first came into contact with the Nine Hearted Hibiscus, so you asked me to absorb the Mandala Flower, right?"
This was the question Ye Lingling wanted to ask Quan Yi the most.
Having seen Quan Yi in the awakened state of his martial soul, he must know many facts that she didn't know.
Now, understanding these situations, thinking back to Quan Yi's choice, she could only feel that he had a 'premeditated plan'.
In response, Quan Yi shook his head and said, "No, what you said is not accurate.
The reason I asked you to absorb the Mandala Flower was indeed to supplement your weakness in mental strength, but this ability is an effect that comes with the awakening of the martial soul.
I just wanted to advance this process as much as possible within the range that Sister Ling could bear.
However, I didn't expect you to be able to complete the evolution at the Soul Grandmaster stage. This was not within my expectations.
In my calculations, even if you absorb a soul ring beyond the limit, you would at least have to reach the Soul King realm to barely meet the conditions for a secondary awakening.
But you surprisingly completed this ahead of schedule. In other words, there is another factor that affected the result."
Ye Lingling was first surprised, and then, because of the last sentence, she felt a little fluctuation.
She recalled the noisy but exceptionally comforting shouts that echoed in her mind not long ago. It was because of the guidance of the voices that she was able to wake up so quickly.
Quan Yi noticed the change in Ye Lingling's expression and chose to explain it to her.
"It seems you have already felt it.
Let me explain. In essence, your secondary martial soul awakening is very different from mine.
If my secondary awakening relied on high-level wood-attribute energy to forcibly ripen the martial soul,
Then your awakening was the martial soul naturally maturing after gaining the recognition of the martial soul and being supported by many wills.
Although it looks like there is no difference, the difference inside is huge."
"Many wills..."
Ye Lingling repeated the word in a low voice, her pupils trembling violently.
"Could it be that the voices I heard were all real?"
Speaking of this, Quan Yi's heart suddenly surged, and he couldn't help but raise his voice and said excitedly:
"Don't you understand? The voices that guided you were the wills injected into the martial soul by the Ye family ancestors who passed down the Nine Hearted Hibiscus martial soul.
Your will has gained their recognition, allowing the wills hidden in the martial soul to help you complete the true secondary martial soul awakening.
This is a hymn to the belief in people, and a miracle caused by the resonance of hearts.
Nine 'Hearted' Hibiscus, it can be said to be worthy of its name."
