Roaring Tiger Cub in the Valley

Quan Yi noticed that Huo Wu's palms had developed Water Bubbles from Pull-ups, and the blisters had already burst.

On top of that, because Burpees required her to brace herself against the ground, dust from the dirt had stuck to them. The pain went without saying.

Quan Yi took out a waterskin and carefully washed Huo Wu's hands. After he finished, he took a brand-new short-sleeved shirt from his Soul Tool and tore it hard into strips.

Then he wrapped the white cloth strips around the wounds on Huo Wu's hands.

After doing all this, Quan Yi gazed at Huo Wu lying against his chest, a thousand thoughts running through his mind.

It wasn't that Quan Yi was arrogant. He believed that among his peers, almost no one could come close to him, especially in level, physical quality, and perseverance. No one could reach the extent he had.

He had long since surpassed his peers by a large margin.

Yet Huo Wu had relied on her own perseverance to take one step closer to Quan Yi.

This made Quan Yi see possibility in Huo Wu.

Huo Wu's talent was beyond question, and coupled with the perseverance she had revealed today, Quan Yi felt that if this excellent uncut gem were polished just a little, it would certainly shine with dazzling brilliance.

After pondering for a moment, Quan Yi made up his mind. He decided to give Huo Wu a hand.

Quan Yi spread the short-sleeved shirt he had torn part of flat on the ground and placed Huo Wu on top of it. Then he sat down to the side, took out some dried meat, and ate while waiting for Huo Wu to wake up.

A gust of wind swept over, and the trees around the Training Ground rustled with a "sha, sha," their leaves blown loose by the gale.

Fallen leaves drifted in the wind, blowing before Quan Yi. One seemed about to land on Huo Wu, and Quan Yi subconsciously caught it.

"Ugh, water." Just then, a hoarse voice sounded. Huo Wu had woken from her deep sleep.

Quan Yi hurriedly put the things in his hands into the Blazing Sun Heart, then took the waterskin back out from inside.

Quan Yi opened the waterskin, carefully helped Huo Wu up with his arm, brought the waterskin to her lips, and said softly, "Here, drink slowly. Remember not to drink too much at once."

Huo Wu had wanted to push Quan Yi away and drink by herself, but her entire body was letting out cries of protest, and her arms in particular had no strength at all. She could only rely on Quan Yi's help.

Quan Yi was rather good at taking care of children. In his previous life, he had been the oldest in the orphanage, so he had often helped the dean look after the little ones.

Huo Wu had never been treated so gently by a boy before. Her heartbeat inexplicably quickened, and her face burned as if on fire.

After she finished drinking, she lowered her head a little shyly and said softly, "Thank you."

"No need to thank me. Your body hasn't recovered yet, so you can rest a little longer."

Huo Wu did not try to force herself, nor did she have the strength to. Obediently, she lay back down and rested quietly.

Huo Wu wiggled her fingers and found that her palms were wrapped in a layer of white cloth. There was also a white cloth beneath her body. Huo Wu realized this was Quan Yi's White Short-Sleeve.

Sighing inwardly at Quan Yi's attentiveness and thoughtfulness, Huo Wu turned her head toward him. She saw that Quan Yi had picked up the dried meat again and was sitting to the side, quietly gnawing on it.

"When did you start training?" Huo Wu asked curiously.

"When I was two. Three training sessions every day, and I never stopped even once. But before I was six, I practiced swimming. These movements were all things I only started practicing after my Martial Soul Awakening."

"Two! So early. Did your family force you to train?"

"No, I asked for it myself."

Huo Wu was a little surprised.

"Why? What made you keep going?"

Why? The answer was simple.

Quan Yi did not answer immediately. He slowly closed his eyes, and an answer surfaced in his heart. When he opened them again, only domineering arrogance that looked down on the world remained in his gaze.

"The strongest! From beginning to end, I've only had one goal: to be the strongest." Quan Yi's tone was very calm, yet it carried an inexplicable presence.

Huo Wu was shaken by Quan Yi's domineering air. Hearing the words "the strongest" from Quan Yi's mouth made her believe him for some reason. Because Huo Wu felt that Quan Yi really might become the strongest.

But very quickly, Huo Wu felt as if something inside her had been ignited by Quan Yi. Her blood boiled throughout her body, and she trembled as she raised her arm, clenched her fist, and extended it toward Quan Yi.

"Then you'd better be careful. Because my goal is also to be the strongest."

A raging fire blazed in Huo Wu's eyes as she stared into Quan Yi's without the slightest fear.

Huo Wu's "wildly arrogant" declaration delighted Quan Yi. He felt that his decision had not been wrong. Huo Wu's performance had exceeded his imagination.

"Hahahaha, good, good, good! On the road to becoming the strongest, wouldn't it be boring if there were no rivals?"

Quan Yi clenched his fist and bumped it against Huo Wu's.

Huo Wu could not help laughing heartily as well.

"Hahahahaha."

Their somewhat childish laughter lingered over the Training Ground, like a Roaring Tiger Cub in the Valley. Though the sound was small, it could still shake a hundred beasts.

"Guuurgle~" Huo Wu's stomach let out a tremendous sound.

As expected of a tiger cub, even the sound from her belly was extraordinary.

When Huo Wu realized the sound had come from her own stomach, a blush immediately rose across her face. The bold, heroic air from a moment ago vanished completely, and in an instant she turned back into the appearance of a little girl.

Quan Yi was also left stunned by Huo Wu's transformation. He was somewhat unable to figure out which one was the real her.

Still, her stomach rumbling meant that Huo Wu's body was beginning to recover, using the sound to remind her to take in energy.

Quan Yi took out the dried Soul Beast Meat he had been saving from the Blazing Sun Heart and handed it to Huo Wu.

"Here, try this."

Huo Wu was a little surprised, but she did not stand on ceremony. She took it and bit straight down.

"I've wanted to try this jerky for ages."

The jerky was a little tough. That was Huo Wu's first impression. She struggled to tear off a piece, then slowly chewed it in her mouth.

The jerky had only been simply seasoned with salt. The meat was extremely chewy, but as Huo Wu chewed hard, its aroma slowly released, creating a unique texture.

And its taste was unbelievably delicious, full of flavor. Huo Wu felt that with just one strip of jerky, she could eat an entire bowl of rice.

"What kind of meat is this? I've never eaten meat this good before," Huo Wu asked in surprise.

But at that moment, Quan Yi deliberately kept her in suspense and said with a smile, "Take a few more bites first."

Huo Wu was somewhat baffled, but she did not say anything more. Her chewing sped up a little, because right now, she really was hungry.

Before long, Huo Wu's expression gradually changed from calm to astonished.

As time passed, she could clearly feel a warm current emerging in her abdomen, growing hotter and hotter.

When the heat reached a certain point, that warm current began spreading in all directions. In no time, her entire body was filled with heat, and Huo Wu felt as if she were soaking in a hot bath.

Because of the warm current, tiny beads of sweat appeared on Huo Wu's forehead.

Huo Wu looked at Quan Yi in surprise.

Quan Yi said with a beaming smile, "Looks like you've already felt it. This is my personal secret. Consider yourself lucky today.

"Listen carefully. What you just ate was precious Hundred-Year Soul Beast Meat.

"It has powerful effects on repairing the body and enhancing physical quality. After eating this strip, your body should recover to the point where you can move."

Huo Wu was so shocked she nearly choked.

"Cough, cough—what? Hundred-Year Soul Beast Meat? How much must that cost?"

Huo Wu immediately felt the jerky in her hand grow heavy. Of course, that was only in her mind.

Quan Yi, however, said as if it were nothing, "Not much. Just a few months' living expenses for an ordinary family."

Huo Wu quickly calculated the value of the jerky in her head, then thought of how Quan Yi ate dozens of strips every day. She sucked in a cold breath.

Huo Wu was not short on money. On the contrary, she was quite wealthy, and the allowance her family gave her was enough for her to indulge herself freely.

But even that could not compare to the dozens of Gold Soul Coins Quan Yi spent every day.

Huo Wu stared fixedly at Quan Yi's body. At that moment, in her eyes, Quan Yi's body was no longer an ordinary body, but Gold Soul Coins.

Quan Yi's body was practically a building stacked together out of Gold Soul Coins.