"Vanishing without a trace for half a year, did you think I was just wasting time?"
Mu Ningxue had recently broken through her Wind Element to the Intermediate Level, making her a dual-element Intermediate mage.
This was originally something that should have made her happy.
Yet... the way Chen Lang put it made it sound like she was just wasting her time!
"Pervert..."
Aside from that, Mu Ningxue really didn't know what to say about Chen Lang anymore; he was just way too competitive!
At eighteen, for anyone else, breaking through to the Intermediate Level was already burning incense and thanking the heavens, but Chen Lang's eighteen was a direct leap straight to the High-level!!!
Although it sounded like an insult, Chen Lang accepted it with great enjoyment and didn't care at all, extending his palm out in front of Mu Ningxue.
Mu Ningxue watched him reach out in front of her, feeling somewhat puzzled.
"Bzz bzz bzz..."
"Bzz bzz bzz..."
Just as she was about to ask, she saw wisps of black electric current appear in the palm of Chen Lang's hand.
These wisps of black current didn't have much offensive power, but they were clearly vastly different from last time.
Mu Ningxue quickly thought of what Chen Lang had said before about an Innate Spirit Seed being able to evolve!
"Has your Spirit Seed mutated?!" Mu Ningxue felt somewhat incredulous.
Because up until now, she had been half-skeptical of Chen Lang's claim...
"Mhm."
After nodding, Chen Lang casually picked up a piece of candy and fed it to her. Before Mu Ningxue could even react, she felt a sweet sensation in her mouth.
"Chew it up and swallow it."
Although she didn't know what Chen Lang had fed her, judging from their interactions, Mu Ningxue still had that much trust in him.
Seeing Mu Ningxue eat it down, Chen Lang was quite satisfied. Based on his estimations, Mu Ningxue, affected by the Ice Crystal Brake Bow, would inevitably touch upon the realm of the Soul Seed much earlier.
Precisely because of this, he needed to turn this natural evolution into assistance coming from him.
If Mu Ningxue discovered the mutation on her own, where would he have any opportunity to freeload?
The treat Chen Lang fed her was sweet, just like candy, and she always felt it was a bit strange...
If she hadn't seen Chen Lang's deadpan expression, Mu Ningxue would have had a lingering feeling that she was being played with somehow?
Mu Ningxue still couldn't help asking, "Just like that?"
"It's not that simple. Don't look at it like it's just candy; this is something countless people dream of and struggle to obtain. It will slowly play its role within your body, and I believe that with your talent, you only need routine cultivation to discover the mutation of your Spirit Seed."
"Of course, if you want to truly complete this kind of evolution, you'll need to wait until you reach the High-level. However, for now, you'll also be able to grasp domain power in advance."
Regardless of whether Mu Ningxue had some doubts, Chen Lang spoke with a completely serious expression.
Plus, in her view, if it were a lie, there would always be a day it got exposed. At the moment, she only nodded.
Thinking that she hadn't told Chen Lang about entering the Mu Clan yet, she said, "After we parted last time, I met a rather mysterious person..."
The so-called mysterious person was naturally Pan Xi.
Chen Lang of course knew about these matters; his Chen Clan was no pushover either. If they couldn't even get this bit of information, what kind of major clan would they still be.
What's more, with the advantage of hindsight, he had long known it would end up this way.
Speaking of which, Chen Lang originally intended to let the Mu Clan lay the foundation for Mu Ningxue anyway. After all, the bow's fragments themselves were a heaven-defying and ruthless business, so the Mu Clan doing it fit just right.
As for stopping it?
Heh... leaving aside why he would stop it, secondly, did the Mu Clan only have one Pan Xi?
Therefore, they wanted to use Mu Ningxue as a bow-nurturer, but in his view, they were helping him cultivate Mu Ningxue for free.
It was a good thing!
"Just focus hard on cultivation; you don't need to overthink other matters."
Before one's own strength was strong enough, thinking about many things was just thinking in vain...
Even though he was a transmigrator, it didn't mean that just because he foresaw certain events in advance, he would have a countermeasure for them.
Lacking sufficient strength right now, he could only do his best to contribute a meager bit of effort.
Just like in Bocheng, Chen Lang had saved quite a few people, but the number of lives lost still reached well into the thousands!!!
Chen Lang felt a slight trace of emotion in his heart and smoothly lay down on Mu Ningxue's lap.
One had to admit, even though Mu Ningxue was a year younger than him, this scale had entirely reached the level an adult should have.
Doing this in a classroom was naturally something Mu Ningxue wouldn't want, but at this moment Chen Lang spoke up: "Right, in a few days I'm going to Venice to participate in the Academy Competition."
The Academy Competition!
Wasn't this precisely her goal?
Only... her goal was the next installment; to think Chen Lang was going to participate in the World Academy Competition in this one!?
The Academy Competition stipulated a participation age limit under twenty-five, but he was only eighteen!
Yet thinking about it, age didn't seem that important, since Chen Lang was already a High-level mage.
"Don't you have anything to say?" Chen Lang's light caress on her hand didn't pause, but his head tilted slightly toward her knees as he looked up at Mu Ningxue.
There was no help for it; a girl whose feet couldn't be seen when looking down like this had zero blind spots when viewed from bottom to top either.
It wasn't that Mu Ningxue didn't want to speak, but rather that Chen Lang was intentionally provoking her, leaving her thoughts in utter disarray.
"Let's go to my dorm building..." There was a hint of a unique undertone in her voice.
Chen Lang had originally only wanted to tease her, but seeing a flush emerge on her icy cheeks, he nodded without forgetting his original intention for a moment...
Dusk.
The single apartment inside the academy.
Mu Ningxue's collar was wide open, her fair waves exposed right there to the air, rising and falling more violently with each breath.
At this moment, her entire body was drenched in sweat as she lay on the spotless soft bed, her delicate face flushed crimson.
For someone like her who had suffered year-round from the Ice Demon's backlash, this kind of scene was undoubtedly a rare sight.
As for the culprit who had reduced her to this state, he was already nowhere to be seen.
Mu Ningxue lightly touched her somewhat numb cheeks, recalling Chen Lang's behavior just now...
He was simply a beast!
Did he not understand how to cherish tender jade?
To think that on that night in Bocheng previously, she had actually thought he was a gentle man...
Yet what Mu Ningxue couldn't figure out was why, clearly wanting to barge straight into her world, he still hit the brakes right at the very last step?
Thinking of this, she felt she was acting a bit abnormal.
She turned over, burying her fair and flawless skin entirely within the soft quilt.
She didn't feel much like moving right now, because at this moment she felt just like a peach...
Chen Lang left Mu Ningxue's apartment with a thoroughly light-headed feeling.
If Mu Ningxue hadn't still been a green fruit at the moment, not fully ripened, he might really have completely possessed her just then.
The reason he didn't stay and instead left was precisely because he knew he didn't want to ruin that piece of perfection.
He wanted a flawless Mu Ningxue, not the still-green version of her now.
Though he had suppressed the impulse in his heart, recalling his frantic crashing and dashing atop her at the very end, there was also a rather special kind of pleasure to it...
As for whether this was love?
In Chen Lang's view, that too was a kind of love.
It was just that the way of expressing this love was somewhat different...
Having tasted a hint of sweetness, Chen Lang frequented Mu Ningxue's small apartment almost constantly over the next few days.
It was also during these past few days that he left his marks everywhere inside the tiny apartment.
Of course, the majority of those marks were still left upon Mu Ningxue's crimson lips.
Yet such lavish and dissolute times were always exceptionally brief, as matters over in Venice had already been settled.
Helplessly, he could only temporarily give up the present beauty; he could tell the difference between momentary possession and eternal possession...
Before you continue