Caught Between Two Difficult Choices (Continued)

Teasing by a group of girls, Si Ming felt overwhelmed and hurriedly carried the drunk Si Huaruo away.

With Si Huaruo's cultivation level, if she were to use her Internal Cultivation to sober up, she would at least be able to drink a hundred cups without getting drunk. However, some people like the feeling of being half-drunk and half-sober and are unwilling to use their Internal Cultivation energy. Others enjoy watching others make fools of themselves when drunk and try their best to dissuade them from using their Internal Cultivation.

The celebratory atmosphere at the victory banquet was so intense that many girls chose not to use their Internal Cultivation, wanting to experience the feeling of getting drunk to the point of exhaustion. Si Huaruo, encouraged by her classmates, also didn't try to sober up and ended up being so drunk that she couldn't even walk straight.

Leaning against Si Ming's back, Si Huaruo felt a strange sense of security, her consciousness swaying as if she were about to fall asleep.

"This is the second time you've carried me on your back... After one snow-capped mountain comes another. How many snow-capped mountains can you carry me over?"

These were lines from a play performed by the Heavenly Dream Drama Club, but Si Ming dared not continue with the next line, "I'll carry you back to his side even if it kills me"—such a heroic act of sending a green-haired man a thousand miles away was something he would rather decline.

"I'll help you flatten the snow-capped mountain, so don't worry."

"..."

A cool night breeze swept over her, clearing her mind. After a moment of silence, Si Huaruo said hesitantly, "It was just those people making a fuss, don't take it seriously."

"I knew they were joking, so I didn't take it to heart at all."

Si Huaruo said somewhat angrily, "We can't completely ignore it; we should take it a little bit seriously, but we can't be too serious about it either."

Women are so hard to please.

Since the other party was drunk, Si Ming couldn't take it seriously and could only say perfunctorily, "Okay, okay, I won't take it seriously, but I will take it seriously."

"You don't understand anything at all..."

Si Huaruo muttered something, seemingly with some resentment, but being well-mannered, she wouldn't throw a tantrum even when drunk.

Upon arriving at Weiyang Lake, Si Ming did not cross the river by boat as usual. Intending to test his newly improved Internal Cultivation, he carried Si Huaruo on his back and walked directly on the water.

No matter how skilled he was in the past, he could only save himself, not others. Just as Sun Wukong said in "Journey to the West," "As the saying goes, carrying a mortal is as heavy as a mountain. If I were to carry water, I would fall into the water myself."

One's own body knows how to control its center of gravity and muscle exertion, but other people's bodies can't. If it were an inanimate object, it wouldn't be so difficult to adjust its center of gravity, but a living person can move. If they move even slightly, causing their center of gravity to shift, the person carrying them might fall into the river.

At this point, something as unscientific as internal force is needed to counteract gravity.

A cool night breeze blew in, carrying the unique dampness of the lake, refreshing and invigorating. Si Huaruo's mind cleared instantly. Looking down, she saw a full moon reflected on the water. With each gust of wind, the shimmering light danced like gold, the still reflection like a mirror. The lake was like a giant mirror; as she took a few steps, the moon seemed to follow, as if it were always by her side, impossible to shake off.

As the lake view came into view, Si Huaruo suddenly realized something. Looking up and around, she felt that the scenery around Weiyang Lake had become much dimmer and more ethereal under the moonlight.

Under the moonlight, the earth, mountains, buildings, and valleys are all draped in a thin veil, adding a touch of tranquility and peace to all things in the world. The moon still reflects its brilliance in the night sky, the shadows of trees sway in the wind, and the sound of water flows under the stars. All beautiful things at this moment exude their unique beauty.

Si Ming suddenly felt a violent fluctuation in the aura behind him. He quickly turned around and was about to ask a question when he saw Si Huaruo looking lost in thought. He immediately realized that she was probably in a state of profound martial arts comprehension, so he swallowed his question to avoid letting her leave prematurely.

He didn't know why Si Huaruo had entered this state, so to avoid the change in environment from ruining her State of Mind, he simply took a stroll on Weiyang Lake and didn't rush to the island.

"I'm a little envious..."

Si Ming sighed inwardly. He had a talent for sudden enlightenment, so he could learn any martial art instantly and master it with just one practice. He could max out his proficiency in a short time, without any bottlenecks or room for improvement. Therefore, he had never entered such a state before and didn't know what it felt like.

Of course, such a thought might seem like he was getting a good deal but then complaining, so he only thought about it and dared not say it out loud to avoid being disliked.

About fifteen minutes later, Si Huaruo's internal energy gradually calmed down. Compared to before, there was only a slight improvement, which was not significant. Only she herself knew the real benefits, which would gradually become apparent in the coming days. After all, what she gained from comprehension was her martial arts realm, which could only be transformed into substantial cultivation through practice.

After confirming that Si Huaruo had returned to normal, Si Ming stopped beating around the bush and went straight to the island where Water Mirror Manor was located.

"Arrive."

Si Huaruo climbed off Si Ming's back, straightened her wrinkled clothes, bit her lip, and said, "Girls should be reserved, so I won't confess to you. I... I don't like you that much yet."

After saying that, he turned and ran away quickly, leaving Si Ming somewhat stunned.

"What does this mean? Is it implying that I should confess my feelings to her?"

He deduced that this shouldn't be one of the three major misunderstandings in life, and that if he confessed his feelings, the other person would most likely agree. However, Si Ming decided to pretend he didn't know anything.

On one hand, his current identity is fake, and he can't stay at the Water Mirror Manor forever. On the other hand, he has no intention of marrying into the Si Clan and will return to Su State sooner or later. Although Si Huaruo's personality probably doesn't care whether he is a nobleman or a commoner, don't forget that Si Huaruo has a mother who is determined to reclaim the position of clan leader. She wouldn't let Si Huaruo elope with some wild boy who appeared out of nowhere.

On the other hand, Si Ming's life's ambition lies in martial arts. He wants to climb to a higher level and see a wider world. While beautiful women are certainly tempting, they are not as attractive as the mystery and vastness of martial arts. Even compared to delicious food, it is hard to decide which temptation is greater. Therefore, his stance in this regard is that he is happy if there are women, but not worried if there are none. He is destined not to pursue women just for the sake of pursuing women.

Shaking his head, Si Ming returned to his room. After finishing his work with the drama club, he finally had some free time to do his own things.

He had mastered all the techniques of the "Water Moon Precious Mirror," perfected his soft skills, and established them as his core strength. His Internal Cultivation had also unexpectedly broken through to level seven, which was the dividing line between a master and an ordinary person. Although Si Ming had touched the edge of the Spirit Transformation stage in terms of martial arts alone, people were already used to judging a person's strength by their Internal Cultivation level. Unless they fought each other in person, they were used to "judging a book by its cover."

Just like when you were looking for a job in your past life, college graduates and non-college graduates were treated differently. Even if a junior high school student or even an elementary school student could do the job, employers would still hire college graduates because they valued that diploma. There was no way to reason with them.

In conclusion, Si Ming has finally reached the level of "learning from the strengths of many schools," and can learn martial arts at will, and the more he learns, the better. This fulfills the prerequisite for "accumulating knowledge and skills before unleashing them." With his terrifying learning speed, his "accumulation" is destined to reach a level that is unprecedented and may even be unparalleled in the future.

In the Nation of Beauty, distribution channels are still controlled by the Aristocratic Clan families. In addition, due to its remote location, the martial arts manuals that are publicly available in Su State are blocked outside the country. Only a small number of martial arts related to basic Internal Cultivation are allowed to be sold publicly. Therefore, it is impossible for Si Ming to learn hundreds of martial arts in a library as he did in Su State.

However, while the Aristocratic Clan forbade the common people from learning martial arts, they did not forbid their own family members from practicing. They were not fools; the education of keeping the common people ignorant was only meant to deceive the lower classes, and they could not deceive themselves as well. Therefore, they purchased a large number of martial arts manuals from the Su State to facilitate their clansmen's reference and practice.

The Si Clan was no exception. The number of Cultivation Method they collected was about the same as that in the Mohist Knight Guard Base in Tange City. In addition to their own family inheritance, they had more than a thousand scattered books. As the younger brother of the young clan leader, Si Ming could look at any of the techniques except for the most top-level ones. He was not picky and would not refuse any of them, whether it was fist techniques, palm techniques, finger techniques, Internal Cultivation, lightness skills, or hard skills.

Si Huaruo returned to her room with lingering joy, only to find someone already waiting for her—her mother, Si Huamu.

"Mother, is something the matter?"

Si Huamu rarely smiled at her daughter, "I heard you won the title of Nine Arts Phoenix Fledgling. You did very well. You truly are my daughter."

Si Huaruo was overjoyed, having rarely received praise from her mother, and humbly said, "This is the result of everyone's hard work, Non-Self achievement."

"As the leader, you bear the greatest responsibility and deserve the greatest credit. This is an honor you deserve, so there's no need to be modest," Si Huamu said excitedly. "Now you're finally qualified to challenge Si Jingyue's daughter. The ancestral worship ceremony is in seven days. As long as you defeat her in front of the clansmen, the position of the next clan leader will be ours!"

In the end, it all came down to this matter. Although Si Huaruo had expected it, hearing it from her mother still made her feel frustrated, as if all her previous joy had been in vain.