This Was Truly an Accident

Five months later

Ning Qiu lay in the bathtub, looking at Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu's long, beautiful hair was completely unbound, hanging loosely down her back. Her upper body revealed fair skin, while her lower body was entirely submerged in the water.

The water in the bathtub contained Body Tempering Spirit Liquid, giving off mist like immortal vapor. It made Xiao Wu look as though a fairy maiden were bathing.

"Ah, this feels so good!"

Xiao Wu lounged lazily in the bathtub, enjoying the nourishment of the medicinal liquid in the Body Tempering Spirit Liquid. The sensation of threads of energy flowing into her body felt like basking in the sun, leaving her warm all over.

"What are you looking at?"

Noticing someone's gaze on her, Xiao Wu suddenly opened her eyes and scolded coquettishly, "Didn't we agree you weren't allowed to look? Why aren't you keeping your word? You took off the blindfold?"

Uh!

Ning Qiu's heart skipped a beat. Xiao Wu's face was flushed red, and several messy strands of hair hung loosely over her forehead. She looked as though she had just been ravished, stirring an urge in him to pin her to the ground and torment her.

"I told you not to look, but you still looked!" Xiao Wu glared at Ning Qiu, her face red.

Because the bathtub was so large, and Xiao Wu currently had no Contribution Points, she could not exchange for Body Tempering Spirit Liquid. Unable to withstand the miraculous effects of the Body Tempering Spirit Liquid by herself, Xiao Wu had suggested bathing with Ning Qiu.

To prevent Ning Qiu from taking advantage of her, Xiao Wu had laid down three rules with him. First, Ning Qiu had to enter the bathtub before her every time. Second, after entering the bathtub, Ning Qiu had to cover his eyes with a black cloth. Third, Ning Qiu could not cross the line during the bath. The bathtub was large, and each of them had to remain on their own side. After every bath, Xiao Wu had to leave first, and only then could Ning Qiu leave.

Only with those three rules in place had Xiao Wu felt at ease bathing with Ning Qiu. Yet today, Ning Qiu had unexpectedly removed the black cloth over his eyes and looked at her.

"Xiao Wu, we're still young. So what if you see? Your body hasn't even started developing yet." Ning Qiu curled his lip.

"Even so, you're not allowed to look. I said you weren't allowed to look, but you still did! Do you want to spar with me again?" Xiao Wu pouted as she threatened Ning Qiu.

Life in the countryside was boring. Ning Qiu and Xiao Wu had sparred in private more than once. With only some experience in free fighting and no soul skills whatsoever, Ning Qiu had never been a match for Xiao Wu.

"Xiao Wu, I have something to do, so I'll head out first. You can keep bathing here by yourself." Ning Qiu smiled, already beginning to stand.

The moment Ning Qiu moved, he immediately brushed against something soft in the bathtub. The smooth sensation made his mind go blank for a moment. Ning Qiu was certain it had to be Xiao Wu's foot.

"This..."

"This..."

It was not just Ning Qiu—Xiao Wu was stunned as well. Before Xiao Wu could react, Ning Qiu had already stood up.

"Ah!"

Xiao Wu screamed.

Ning Qiu looked at Xiao Wu and shook his head slightly. "It's not like I'm not wearing shorts. Do you really need to make such a fuss?"

"Oh, right, you're wearing shorts this time!" Xiao Wu came to her senses, blushing as she looked at Ning Qiu's shorts.

Thud

Ning Qiu took a step, but before he could leave the bathtub, he bumped into Xiao Wu's foot again. Tripped by her foot, his whole body fell back toward the bathtub.

"This..."

Ning Qiu froze and instinctively looked at Xiao Wu.

It would have been better if he had not looked. The moment he did, things went wrong.

Xiao Wu was looking at Ning Qiu, and Ning Qiu was looking at Xiao Wu. Having been tripped, Ning Qiu fell directly toward the side where Xiao Wu was lying. A cliché scene from a television drama was playing out before them.

Ning Qiu fell on top of Xiao Wu, and his lips landed squarely on hers.

Uh!

Ning Qiu's eyes widened!

Uh!

Xiao Wu's eyes widened too! Even her rabbit ears stood straight up!

Silence! The bathroom was utterly silent!

The disturbed bathwater slapped against the tub, sounding like thunder beside Ning Qiu and Xiao Wu's ears.

"My first kiss in this life!!!"

Ning Qiu was dumbfounded. He had never imagined that his first kiss in this life would be gone just like that! Gone!

Uh!

Xiao Wu was equally stunned. After taking human form, her first kiss as a human was gone too. Gone!

After roughly three seconds of silence, Ning Qiu lifted his head and looked down at Xiao Wu beneath him.

"X-Xiao Wu, th-this was an accident."

Ning Qiu snapped back to his senses and scrambled to get up, only for his palm to touch Xiao Wu's skin again.

"You..."

Xiao Wu looked at her chest, her eyes practically shooting fire. It was no longer merely that Ning Qiu had seen her—he had stolen her first kiss. Even her still-undeveloped chest had been touched by his demon claws.

This time, Xiao Wu had truly suffered a huge loss.

"Th-this was an accident too. I have something to do, so I'll leave first. Please make yourself comfortable." Ning Qiu had encountered such a melodramatic and ambiguous scene for the first time and simply could not endure it. He fled the bathroom as though running for his life.

"Ning! Qiu!"

By the time Xiao Wu came to her senses, those two words roared from her mouth.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

Ning Qiu ran into his room and shut the door. With his back against it, his heart still could not calm down. He had actually stolen Xiao Wu's first kiss just like that.

"Looks like it's time to obtain a Soul Ring!" Ning Qiu muttered to himself.

Xiao Wu had suffered such a huge loss at someone else's hands. Ning Qiu was certain that she would come looking to spar with him later. This time, she might even beat him into a pig-headed mess.

Obtaining a Soul Ring and gaining a Soul Skill had become an urgent matter for Ning Qiu.

"After more than five months of tempering my body, my physical strength should be enough to withstand the impact of a Hundred-Year Limit Soul Ring."

Ning Qiu looked at his arm and lightly clenched his hand. He could feel the explosive power contained within his muscles.

Over the past five months, Ning Qiu had insisted on soaking his body in Body Tempering Spirit Liquid every day. The Grade 2 Body Tempering Spirit Liquid exchanged from the Treasure Pavilion could last for a month. In other words, over the past five-plus months, Ning Qiu had used his privilege five times to exchange for Body Tempering Spirit Liquid, spending 400 Contribution Points.

"System, exchange for a Hundred-Year Limit Soul Ring," Ning Qiu commanded.

"Exchanging for a Hundred-Year Limit Soul Ring requires 999 Contribution Points. Would you like to continue?"

As the host, Ning Qiu possessed a privilege: he could use the functions of any building in the village anytime and anywhere, from any corner. For example, he could exchange for items from the Treasure Pavilion without personally going there.

"Continue," Ning Qiu replied.

"Ding-dong!"

"Congratulations. You have spent 999 Contribution Points and obtained a 999-year Hundred-Year Soul Ring."

The rest was simple. He only needed to begin absorbing the Soul Ring as described in the textbooks.

For a Soul Master to successfully absorb a Soul Ring, two conditions had to be met: their body had to withstand the impact of the Soul Ring's energy, and their will had to be sufficiently resilient.

The Soul Ring Ning Qiu was absorbing far exceeded the maximum age limit for a first Soul Ring. Whether he could actually absorb this 999-year Soul Ring, Ning Qiu did not know for sure.

When the energy within the Soul Ring began to strike Ning Qiu's body, he realized he had been wrong. After more than five months of physical tempering, Ning Qiu's body had become terrifyingly powerful. The entire process of obtaining the Soul Ring went exceedingly smoothly. Ning Qiu did not feel the slightest pain.

"Ding-dong!"

"Congratulations. You have obtained your first Soul Ring. Reward: 58,000 Soul Power. Reward: 3,000 Contribution Points. Item reward: 100 Red Soil Land Transformation Cards!"

"Brother, come out for a moment!"

Before Ning Qiu could rejoice over what he had obtained, Xiao Wu's terrifyingly calm voice came from outside the door.