The Questioned Shield

Sitting in the rocking chair was another curvaceous older sister. She was smiling as she looked down at her book, seemingly having reached an interesting part, and occasionally popped a pastry into her mouth.

"Big Sister, may we disturb you for a moment?"

Mo Yuqing suddenly poked her head out from the side and asked.

"Hm? What is it?"

The purple-haired older sister instantly changed her expression upon seeing visitors. Her voice turned somewhat cool, as though she wanted to maintain her aloof persona.

"Well..."

Mo Yuqing smiled, but before she could speak, she was interrupted.

"The older sister from the shop across the street wanted us to trick you over there, but we're good children, so we won't lie to you. We just came to remind you not to get fooled," Zhongli said seriously.

Mo Yuqing: ???

After thinking for a moment, the purple-haired older sister revealed a disdainful smile. "I understand. Today is her shift. She must have wanted you to bring me over, then quietly disappear so she could slack off. Then I'd have no choice but to cover her shift. What a scheme."

After saying that, the purple-haired older sister tilted her head slightly and asked, "That fox must have promised you something, right?"

"That's right. A stone."

Zhongli answered honestly.

Mo Yuqing looked at Zhongli strangely. Weren't we supposed to trick her over there? Why did you just expose everything?

"Hmph, at least you're smart. Although the shop is managed by the two of us, everything in it belongs to me, so she has no right to give you anything. In other words, even if she promised you something, she couldn't fulfill it. She wanted to trick both of us, then slip away with a smile to slack off," the purple-haired older sister said with a cold sneer.

Mo Yuqing: !!!

So the scheme ran this deep?

"Still, since you didn't trick me and even kindly warned me, it's no big deal to give you a little reward. The things in the shop aren't worth much anyway. When it's my shift tomorrow, you can take any three items you want. I won't stop you," the purple-haired older sister said generously.

Mo Yuqing: ?!?!

That worked too?

"Thank you for your kindness."

Zhongli thanked her politely.

The purple-haired older sister nodded, glanced at the book in her hand and the pastries beside her, then put on an aloof expression. "Now that your problem has been resolved, please leave. I have important things to do, so it would be best if you didn't disturb me."

Zhongli and Mo Yuqing were not blind. They knew this older sister probably wanted to enjoy her pleasant time alone, so they decisively left.

After leaving the shop—

"Their relationship is so complicated. That clothing store must be their business too... How did you know that bad woman was lying to us?" Mo Yuqing asked curiously.

"Intuition."

Zhongli answered simply.

In front of a large, luxurious villa—

"Is this your new home?"

Mo Yuqing looked at the luxurious villa, then thought about her own home and felt a huge psychological gap. This was merely Zhongli's new home, not his family's home. In other words, this house belonged to Zhongli alone, and his family had many other houses.

"Yeah, my house is pretty big. Feel free to come over and play whenever you have time," Zhongli said with a slight smile, tilting his head as he searched his pocket for the key.

"Mhm."

Mo Yuqing nodded.

"Click."

Zhongli took out his key and opened the door. Looking at his vast and empty home, his heart remained completely calm. Although his family was indeed well-off, his parents were generally very busy. The fact that they had found time to let Mo Yuqing hold onto his allowance had already exceeded his expectations.

"What do you plan to specialize in? Do you want to become a Power Attack System Soul Master or an Agility Attack System Soul Master?" Zhongli asked as he walked inside.

Since they were going to hunt Spirit Rings, they needed to be particular about what Spirit Beasts they hunted. If one wanted to develop toward the Power Attack System, they naturally had to kill Spirit Beasts with strong offensive abilities. If one wanted to develop toward the Agility Attack System, they needed to obtain Spirit Rings from fast Spirit Beasts.

So it was necessary to decide beforehand.

"I'll absorb whatever I can get. After all, I'm not confident I'll even be able to hunt a Spirit Ring," Mo Yuqing said softly as she naturally sat on the sofa. "Of course, if I can choose, I hope to become an Agility Attack System Soul Master. The Power Attack System feels a little too reckless."

Agility Attack System? Aren't you afraid your attacks will feel like scratching an itch?

"The Agility Attack System is actually pretty cool."

Zhongli thought for a moment before saying so.

"Your Martial Soul is a spear. You should develop toward the Power Attack System, shouldn't you?" Mo Yuqing said.

"No. I'm going to become the strongest Support System Soul Master in this world," Zhongli said with a smile.

"Huh?!"

Mo Yuqing was startled and hurriedly said, "Spears have strong offensive power. They're definitely suited for the Power Attack System! Besides, what kind of support ability could a spear possibly have?"

"I can create shields even without Spirit Rings."

Zhongli said proudly.

"Create shields?"

Mo Yuqing smiled somewhat disdainfully, crossing her arms over her chest. "What use is creating shields? You can't increase a Soul Master's attributes or weaken the opponent's abilities. It doesn't affect the Soul Master's own strength at all. Its support capabilities must be limited, so you'd be better off becoming a Power Attack System Soul Master."

"It doesn't matter. As long as they can't break my shield, I'll be the strongest Support System Soul Master," Zhongli said calmly.

"How tough can a shield that comes with a spear Martial Soul be? I advise you to give up on such unrealistic ideas and become a Power Attack System Soul Master." Mo Yuqing looked at Zhongli seriously. From her perspective and based on what she knew, Zhongli had no future at all as a Support System Soul Master.

What kind of spearman became a support?

"Then let's go try it in the courtyard. I'll show you just how tough my shield is," Zhongli said as he stood up.

"Fine, let's try it. How strong could a shield ability that comes with a spear Martial Soul possibly be? It's obviously the wrong specialization... Forget it. I'll be the villain for once and shatter your unrealistic fantasy." Mo Yuqing stood up as well, revealing a confident smile.

Her Mist Splitter Reforged was a top-tier Martial Soul with Innate Full Soul Power, so its offensive power was naturally nothing to scoff at. If she couldn't even break a shield attached to a spear Martial Soul, she would truly begin to doubt her life.

"Hmph, let's go. Follow me."

Smiling, Zhongli led Mo Yuqing toward his family's Training Ground. His home was truly enormous, and all sorts of facilities were fully equipped. It was just that the hired servants had not yet arrived; recruiting them would take some time, though it presumably would not take long.

After all, the pay was genuinely high!

And meals and lodging were included—living in a villa!