37: Chapter 37 Little Fatty

"Give up?"

A flash of resoluteness instantly crossed Lin Ye's eyes, and without a trace of hesitation, he shook his head and refused directly.

"Elder Qin, thank you for your kind intention, but I cannot give up."

The Divine Kingdom was his only trump card and his foundation. Even if the path ahead was overgrown with thorns and filled with narrow escapes, it was utterly impossible for him to give up halfway.

Moreover, if the Mother of Shenzhou wanted him to give up, she would not have bestowed her gifts upon him in the first place.

He could not let down his emotional sustenance—the Mother of Shenzhou!

Seeing his incomparably resolute expression, Elder Qin knew that his persuasion was useless, so he sighed helplessly, the worry in his eyes not diminishing in the slightest.

After remaining silent for a long time, he finally relented and provided the only way out.

"So be it. Your temperament is stubborn, and it is useless for this old man to say more."

"It is fine if you insist on taking this path, but you must firmly remember this old man's words today."

"In the future, at the moment you break through to the True God and complete your final advancement, you must have top experts guarding you the entire way."

"Once the ominous aura goes out of control and your consciousness is devoured, having someone preside over you by your side can not only suppress the ominous aura at the first instance but also stop you before you completely go mad, preventing you from turning into a killing machine, creating boundless karmic sins, and ultimately meeting the end of physical death and soul destruction."

This was the final advice Elder Qin could give, and also the only method he could think of to allow Lin Ye to avoid a tragedy.

Hearing this, Lin Ye solemnly nodded, firmly carving these words deep into his heart.

"This junior will firmly keep Elder Qin's teachings in mind."

Suppressing all the ripples in his heart, Lin Ye did not chat any further about the topics of the ominous aura and the Divine Kingdom. Instead, he spoke in a steady tone, "Elder Qin, I want to exchange for another A-grade Divine Kingdom Propagation Card."

This card was something he had planned to acquire long ago. It could accelerate the reproduction of living beings within the Divine Kingdom and stabilize the foundation of the Divine Kingdom, making it arguably the safest resource to enhance his own strength at the current stage.

Hearing this, Elder Qin nodded slightly without asking too much. He skillfully brought up the exchange interface, verified Lin Ye's remaining military merit points, and after confirming everything was correct, handed over a crystal card glowing with a pale golden luster.

As his fingertips touched the slightly cool crystal card, Lin Ye properly stored it away and cupped his hands in farewell once again.

"Thank you, Elder Qin. This junior will take his leave first."

This time, Elder Qin merely waved his hand lightly. The worry in the depths of his eyes still hadn't dissipated as he quietly watched Lin Ye's figure walk quickly out of the exchange hall.

Stepping out of the gates of the Military Merit Exchange, the external breeze brushed against his face, dispersing the oppressive and sultry atmosphere inside the hall.

Lin Ye's pace was not slow as he walked along the academy path toward his residence outside the school. In his heart, he was still secretly plotting the matters concerning the Martial Arts Grand Competition. Since the S-grade Soul Cleansing Array was his only opportunity right now, next, he must prepare for battle with all his might and seize the championship.

But just as he walked halfway, still some distance away from his residence, the personal phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated, and a crisp ringtone rang out abruptly, interrupting his thoughts.

Lin Ye paused slightly, raised his hand to take out his phone, and swept his gaze across the screen. Seeing the caller note, his eyebrows raised slightly.

Caller — Xiao Qingwu.

Hesitating for a moment, he swiped his fingertip and answered the phone anyway, speaking in a casual tone, "Hello?"

From the other end of the phone immediately came a cold, melodious, yet somewhat stern female voice. Without any pleasantries, she went straight to the point.

"Lin Ye, why did you leave the school privately during class hours? The head teacher has already taken roll call, and you were absent the entire time."

Xiao Qingwu's voice was very calm, yet it carried a unique sense of seriousness, as if she were dutifully interrogating a student who skipped class.

Hearing this, Lin Ye smiled indifferently. Without stopping his steps, he continued walking forward, his tone casual and confident, "I had some personal matters, so I left first. Besides, I had already thoroughly grasped the content of the theoretical classes long ago. With the top theoretical rank of the entire department placed right here, it doesn't matter whether I listen to the lectures now or not."

"Moreover, for a trash god rated F-, does it even matter whether I study or not?!"

What he said was the truth. Nowadays, the basic theoretical knowledge of the academy no longer held any learning value for him; it was purely a waste of time.

The other end of the phone fell silent for two seconds, seemingly choked up for a moment by his casual, give-up-struggling attitude.

Before Xiao Qingwu could speak, Lin Ye's heart stirred slightly, and he casually bantered with a hint of a youth's playfulness in his tone, "Speaking of which, Class Monitor Xiao, you stare at my attendance so closely and question me every single time. Could it be... that you've fallen for me?"

As these words fell, the other end of the phone instantly plunged into a dead silence.

There was no immediate refutation, no anger, only a lingering silence—so quiet that one could faintly hear the other person's subtle breathing.

Lin Ye's footsteps also stopped accordingly. Holding the phone, a slight astonishment rose in the bottom of his heart.

In the past, whenever he made such a joke, Xiao Qingwu would immediately refute it with a cold voice, but today, the other party had abnormally remained silent.

After a full several seconds, Xiao Qingwu's slightly hoarse voice, carrying a trace of imperceptible melancholy, slowly came through the earpiece.

"Whether you are a trash god or not, I am very clear about it!"

"However, Lin Ye, do you really... remember nothing at all?"

This question was abrupt, and her tone was exceptionally serious, not looking like a joke at all.

Lin Ye was stunned on the spot, his mind going blank for an instant as he spoke instinctively, "Remember what?"

He quickly searched the fragments of his predecessor's memories in his mind. From childhood to adulthood, his intersections with Xiao Qingwu were not many. The two of them could at most be considered classmates from the same department, a class monitor, and ordinary students. Aside from that, there were no deep intersections.

When he transmigrated over, he was exactly ten years old, and he had completely inherited all the memories of his predecessor. To avoid being discovered that this body had been replaced by another person, he had even deliberately checked the previous memories, so it should be impossible to miss any important past events.

"When you were nine years old, the downtown amusement park."

Xiao Qingwu's voice sounded softly, carrying a faint sense of reminiscence.

"Several people wanted to kidnap me, and no one dared to step forward to help. It was you who rushed over, shouted loudly for help, and drove all those people away."

This short sentence was like a key, instantly prying open the dust-covered corner of Lin Ye's memory. That amusement park visit was the last time his predecessor's parents took him there, which was why he remembered it very clearly.

Vague images suddenly surged into his mind—the old amusement park, the colorful merry-go-round, and the figure of a chubby, timid little girl hiding behind his back.

That memory was too distant, and coupled with the piling experiences of subsequent cultivation and awakening the Divine Kingdom, it had long been pressed into the deepest part of his memory. If Xiao Qingwu hadn't brought it up, he would never have thought of it on his own initiative.

In a flash of lightning, Lin Ye blurted out, his tone full of disbelief:

"You are that crying little chubby girl who used to follow behind me back then?!"

As soon as these words dropped, the other end of the phone instantly erupted into a burst of angry and anxious coquettish scolding. Her cold voice completely broke down, carrying a full sense of bashful annoyance.

"Lin Ye! What nonsense are you talking about! You are the little chubby girl!"

Xiao Qingwu's voice noticeably raised by several degrees, completely losing its previous calm and composure. A full sense of defense-breaching came through the earpiece, clearly conveying her embarrassment with flushed cheeks.