Douluo Continent: Starting with a Heavenly Fire Judgment

Although Princess Vina maintained her princess-like elegance, a closer look revealed that her complexion was actually not very good; her face was pale and her eyes were slightly red, clearly due to excessive fatigue.

With large swathes of her homeland lost, the pressure she, as an important member of the royal family, endured was unimaginable. Especially when the capital of the Heavenly Soul Empire fell, it is said that the Heavenly Soul Empire's royal family suffered heavy losses. At that time, His Majesty the Emperor of the Heavenly Soul Empire personally led the charge and was seriously wounded.

Tianling City is a large city in the central part of the Tianhun Empire, not too far from Tiandou City. After the fall of the capital, it became the last line of defense for the Tianhun Empire. Once Tianling City also falls, the flat plains of Lima will lie just ahead.

Princess Vina said to Zhang Lexuan, "Sister Lexuan, my father originally wanted to greet you personally, but he was still recovering from his injuries, so he sent me instead. I am truly sorry for the delay."

Zhang Lexuan waved her hand and said, "There's no need for such polite words now. We're all united against a common enemy, and our goals are the same. Besides, the academy has always received resource support from the Heavenly Soul Empire, so helping you on the battlefield is only right. However, Vina, you should know about our plan, right?"

At this point, Zhang Lexuan's gaze toward Vina became serious.

Princess Vina nodded slightly, but said nothing more.

The plan Zhang Lexuan mentioned was naturally the three Soul Master groups created by Shrek Academy. Currently, only the core members of the highest level of the original Douluo Continent Three Kingdoms knew about this, and Vina was obviously one of them.

The group slowly descended towards Tianling City. Tianling City had now been completely transformed into a fortress. Ji Lin and his group even saw Zhuge Divine Crossbows produced by the Tang Clan on the city wall, and there were quite a few of them. It seemed that all the Zhuge Divine Crossbows that the Tianhun Empire had purchased from the Tang Clan that were still intact were here.

There are very few civilians to be seen in Tianling City anymore; soldiers are everywhere.

Princess Vina explained, "The civilians of Tianling City have all been evacuated to safe areas in the rear. This place has now been completely transformed into a military fortress. This is our last line of defense." As she said this, she couldn't help but sigh softly, a hint of sorrow appearing in her eyes.

Just a few months ago, who could have imagined that the Heavenly Soul Empire, one of the top superpowers on the mainland, would suffer such a miserable end in such a short time?

Upon entering Tianling City, Princess Vina personally arranged accommodations for Ji Lin and the others, allowing them to stay in Tianling City for the time being. Then, she personally led Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao to meet the high-ranking officials of the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces in the area.

Ji Lin did not follow them. He was not interested in these matters and instead stayed at his residence to rest with Bei Bei and the others.

Ji Lin took Wang Qiu'er directly into his room and began dual cultivation. Ji Lin's cultivation was progressing towards Soul Douluo, while Wang Qiu'er had also broken through to Soul Saint. The speed at which the two cultivated together was unmatched by cultivation by one person alone.

When the two awoke from their meditation, it was already dark outside, clearly evening.

Stepping out of the room, Ji Lin took a deep breath and immediately felt refreshed. His powerful spiritual energy and vitality gave him a recovery ability far beyond that of ordinary people. Through dual cultivation with Wang Qiu'er and continuous absorption of the energy of the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow, his and Wang Qiu'er's soul power was steadily increasing, and they were striving to break through to level eighty.

Using Ji Lin as a medium, even if Wang Qiu'er is not of the ice attribute, she can still cultivate using the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow.

This is also why she broke through to Soul Saint so quickly. Besides Wang Qiu'er, Wang Dong'er is also a Soul Saint, only Xiao Xiao and Nan Qiuqiu are a little short.

It has to be said that Wang Dong'er's leveling speed is indeed very strong. Wang Qiu'er is because she has dual cultivation with Ji Lin, while she relies entirely on herself, although there is also the factor of immortal herbs. Xiao Xiao and Nan Qiuqiu are a little behind, but they are also close.

"Have you finished your cultivation?"

A clear and melodious sound rang out, and Ji Lin turned around to see Wang Dong'er standing prettily not far from him with a smile on her face.

Ji Lin and the others were assigned to a small courtyard, so whenever they went out, they had to go into the courtyard.

"Dong'er, your cultivation has improved quite a bit!"

Ji Lin smiled and said, "Judging from the soul power fluctuations emanating from Wang Dong'er at this moment, she has obviously broken through again."

Wang Dong'er pouted and said, "Compared to you and Qiu'er, you're still far behind. Don't forget, my target is you and Qiu'er."

Ji Lin laughed and said, "Then your goal is a bit too high. Qiu'er might have a chance, but if you want to pursue me, you're still a long way off."

Ji Lin made a gesture of making a fingertip universe gesture.

Wang Dong'er rolled her eyes at him and said, "You're too arrogant."

Ji Lin chuckled and said, "I was just stating the truth."

"What are you talking about?" Xiao Xiao suddenly appeared out of nowhere, walked over to Wang Dong'er, and looked at Ji Lin with dissatisfaction, saying, "I've improved quite a bit, but you've never praised me."

Ji Lin said helplessly, "Okay, okay, okay, Xiao Xiao is also good, she has made great progress."

"You're just giving me the runaround!"

Xiao Xiao pretended to be angry, making exaggerated gestures, looking extremely cute.

Just then, there was a knock on the door; it was the courtyard gate.

Wang Dong'er glared at Ji Lin before walking over to open the door.

Upon seeing the person outside the door, Wang Dong'er couldn't help but show surprise. Wasn't this Princess Vina who had come to pick them up today?

"Your Highness?" Xiao Xiao was also taken aback.

Vina smiled and asked, "May I come in?"

"Please come in."

Wang Dong'er quickly moved aside to make way for the doorway.

After meeting with the high-ranking officials of the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces that morning, Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao explained their purpose: they had come solely to rescue people, and of course, would also assist the Heavenly Soul Empire to the best of their ability. However, the situation was currently stable, and there was no possibility of a major war.

Ji Lin was unaware because of his cultivation, but Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao knew exactly why this princess had come again.

As Vina entered the courtyard, she naturally saw Ji Lin. Upon seeing him, a smile appeared on Vina's delicate face, and she said, "Ji Lin, you're here. I came to find you."

"Looking for me?" Ji Lin pointed to his nose and said in surprise.

Princess Vina nodded and said, "Yes! Can we talk in your room? I have something to take care of."

Ji Lin hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alright then, Your Highness, please."

As he spoke, he led Princess Vina into Wang Qiu'er's room. Wang Qiu'er was still cultivating alone in his room, and he didn't want to disturb her by bringing Vina in, so he could only go to Wang Qiu'er's room.

Watching Vina close the door herself, Wang Dong'er's eyes widened, and she said to Xiao Xiao beside her, "Xiao Xiao, look, this guy is flirting with other women again. I really don't know what's so good about him."

Xiao Xiao frowned and said, "It shouldn't be like that. You might be overthinking it. Princess Vina probably really is in trouble."

Wang Dong'er retorted, "Why are you overthinking it? If he wasn't a womanizer, why would this princess come directly to him? Isn't Princess Vina a high-ranking official in the Heavenly Soul Empire? And supposedly she holds important responsibilities. If it were official business, even if she didn't go to Sister Le Xuan and Ma Xiaotao, she should have gone to Senior Bei Bei. Why would she go to him? It's obviously an affair."

Xiao Xiao shook her head helplessly and said, "Dong'er, what are you thinking? I think Princess Vina and Ji Lin are clearly just ordinary friends. They are very polite to each other and don't seem to have anything going on. Besides, with the country in such a state right now, how could Princess Vina be in the mood for personal matters? She must have official business to discuss with Ji Lin. Don't forget, Ji Lin is now the consort of the Star Luo Empire and is considered a high-ranking official. It's normal for Princess Vina to discuss official business with Ji Lin."

Wang Dong'er looked at Xiao Xiao in surprise and said, "Hey, Xiao Xiao, I've noticed you've become smarter!"

Xiao Xiao said irritably, "It's not that I've become smarter, it's that you've become dumber! You're just jealous, aren't you? You're getting a little too involved!"

"What jealousy! How could I be jealous! I'm not jealous at all!"

Wang Dong'er blushed slightly and firmly rejected the idea.

Xiao Xiao smiled and said, "Whether you're jealous or not, you know best."

"Well, Xiaoxiao, you've got some nerve! You dare to flirt with me now, take this!"

Enraged, Wang Dong'er began to grope Xiao Xiao.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Dong'er, a gentleman uses words, not fists!"

Xiao Xiao panicked and dodged Wang Dong'er's scratches, then began to accuse her.

"I'm not a gentleman!"

Wang Dong'er curled her lip in disdain and chased after Xiao Xiao everywhere.

Ji Lin invited Princess Vina to sit down, while he himself sat in the chair opposite her. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I've only just moved in myself, so I don't have much to offer you."

Vina shook her head and sighed softly, "I'm not in the mood to care about these things right now. Besides, it was my oversight. I'll have someone bring some drinks over later."

Ji Lin laughed and said, "That won't be necessary. Just as Your Highness said, now is not the time to care about such things."

Changing the subject, Ji Lin smiled and asked, "Your Highness, what brings you here?"

Vina looked up at Ji Lin, her eyes deep and unfathomable, as if they contained some special emotional fluctuations.

Although Ji Lin possessed strong mental power, he still felt somewhat awkward under Vina's gaze. It wasn't that he thought Vina had any special feelings for him; he knew perfectly well that Vina was in love with Long Aotian, and he hadn't had much contact with her. How could Vina suddenly have feelings for him? While he was confident, he wasn't that certain.

Confidence is not narcissism; he wouldn't get any wrong ideas from Vina's ambiguous glance.

Just as Xiaoxiao said to Wang Dong'er, Vina's attitude towards him was that of an ordinary friend. She was very polite, and at most, she would pay more attention to him because of his long-standing relationship and his own strength. But to say that she had any special thoughts about him was pure nonsense.

(End of this chapter)