"Since I've already spent four rounds beating up the same person, how about we have some fun with this little thief?" Wu Meiwu warned. "Don't kill him. Whoever extracts the Soul Force will go remove the curse, while whoever pulls the strings stays behind to watch the network."
"I agree!" The other three—Luo Suo, ???—expressed their agreement.
"Scissors, stone, cloth!" Under Jia Ruo's command, Jia Meng, Wu Meiwu, and Xia Bu simultaneously threw out their hands.
In the blink of an eye, the draw was decided, and Jia Meng revealed an unfortunate expression.
"Hahaha, the result is obvious." Wu Meiwu laughed and said, "Since I lost, I'll go with Jia Ruo to remove the curse. You stay behind and keep watch with Jia Ruo's little sister."
"Your friend really knows how to order people around. Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you?" Jia Meng complained unhappily. "Otherwise, I'd be afraid I couldn't hold back and would charge up there myself."
"Don't worry. Let Jia Ruo leave the curse to me. I promise I'll finish it quickly." Wu Meiwu confidently patted his chest. Then he turned to Xia Bu. "Brother, I'll compare myself with you too. Let's see who can remove the curse first."
The two exchanged a glance, smiled, and stood together at the starting line. At Jia Meng's command, "One, two, three—go!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Meiwu and Xia Bu shot toward their targets like arrows leaving the bow. However, what no one expected was that the two of them got stuck at the entrance to the domain at the same time, and neither could move forward.
"He... he..." Jia Ruo looked at their embarrassing state and couldn't help covering her mouth. "That's just a single Soul Force."
"Don't laugh, Ruo'er." Jia Meng comforted her. "You know Wu Meiwu's strength. Even if Xia Bu's strength is slightly inferior, if he can't handle it, he still has us."
"You should just rely on yourself, Meng. If you get hurt, don't expect me to leave a mouthful of cursed energy behind and wait for you to save me." Jia Ruo suddenly spoke seriously.
"Why don't we have Jia Ruo give the order? Let's see how he handles it. After all, removing a single Soul Force shouldn't take too long." The two chatted idly for a while before Jia Meng got up and spoke.
Jia Meng and Jia Ruo arrived at the eighteenth floor, just in time to see Xia Bu compressing a Soul Force into a black ball and stuffing it into his mouth.
"What did you put in your mouth? Could that be your cursed energy?" Jia Ruo asked curiously.
"What? That's my Soul Force." Xia Bu stopped his hand and explained.
"I can refine Soul Force into a wolf pill, then swallow it into my stomach. When I need it, I can spit it out to help me fight."
"That Soul Force looks delicious. What does it taste like?" Wu Meiwu suddenly interrupted, his eyes fixed on the black ball.
"The Soul Force I refined tasted just like a ball of mashed excrement." Xia Bu laughed bitterly. His refining method was powerful, but even the most advanced method could not be described as particularly pleasant.
Upon hearing this, the other three immediately lost their sympathy and respect for Xia Bu, and looked at him strangely.
"You've worked hard for the peace of the cursed realm. You really suffered." Jia Ruo said sincerely.
"If you trust me, I do have a way to improve the taste of that thing." Jia Meng suddenly opened his mouth.
Jia Meng's eyes suddenly lit up.
"I'm also someone who keeps my word. Naturally, I trust you." Xia Bu answered, then added warily, "But if it's something from your cursed technique, what method could you possibly have?"
"My cursed technique has a flaw. Just wait for a moment and it'll be fine." Jia Meng explained.
"My cursed technique has a flaw. Wait a moment." Jia Meng said, extending a finger and gently touching Xia Bu's shoulder.
The instant his fingertip touched Xia Bu, a flash of light suddenly appeared. It seemed he had tampered with the structure of the cursed technique.
"All right. Now swallow the black ball you refined from the Soul Force again." Jia Meng curled his finger and spoke.
Xia Bu half-believingly placed the black ball into his mouth. His face immediately twisted into a strange expression.
Wu Meiwu and Jia Ruo stared fixedly at his reaction.
The instant Xia Bu swallowed the black ball, the expression on his face suddenly changed from disgust to shock. Then, as if he had discovered something incredible, it became wild delight.
Xia Bu's expression changed again and again. Jia Meng knew he had succeeded.
Wu Meiwu and Jia Ruo had no idea what had happened. They could only watch Xia Bu jumping about excitedly nearby.
"What exactly did you do, Meng? You really are a miracle worker." Wu Meiwu couldn't help asking.
"The Soul Force tasted as if it had been soaked in honey. It was sweet enough to make even a black-toothed person lose his teeth." Xia Bu carefully savored it, then revealed an intoxicated expression.
"Ha ha ha, it really is useful." Jia Ruo and Jia Meng sincerely felt happy for Xia Bu.
"If you think it's too sweet, I can slightly insult it again." Jia Meng smiled faintly.
"If possible, I hope its flavor can approach the richness of hand-ground coffee." Xia Bu made another request.
"Your request is quite difficult." Xia Bu turned around and saw Jia Meng's bitter smile.
And so, Jia Meng began patiently adjusting it. He kept trying different things, until Xia Bu finally revealed a satisfied smile.
"Ah, it really is exhausting." Jia Meng collapsed onto the ground, so tired he could barely move. Xia Bu's demands had been far too excessive.
Jia Ruo had endured it for too long. Now that the cursed technique had finally been resolved, she just wanted to return home, but Jia Meng had suffered for nothing.
"You'd better try swallowing your cursed technique again and see if it's normal." Jia Ruo reminded her.
Xia Bu launched into another round of Soul Force manipulation, then spat out the Soul Force he had just finished refining. Compared with before, it was completely different. He also let go of the stone flute that had been weighing on his mind.
"I actually made a mistake. I used my hand to change the red-light structure of the Jia family's cursed technique, thereby altering its flavor system. It won't affect the operation of your cursed technique." Jia Meng explained.
"Just changing the red-light structure has such an effect?" Wu Meiwu asked curiously.
"Just because you don't understand doesn't mean nothing happened. There's a lot you don't know." Jia Meng casually replied, unwilling to waste more words explaining to Wu Meiwu.
In the end, the four of them successfully completed their first mission, and also helped Xia Bu resolve the flaw in his cursed technique.
The disciples of the Cursed Technique Academy would all receive a certain amount of merit points after completing a mission.
The four decided to use those merit points to treat their meritorious partner to a luxurious meal, thereby celebrating the success of the mission.
The food satisfied Xia Bu immensely, making him even more secretive about his techniques.
Three months later, the Cursed Technique Academy completed a mission to run a kilometer along the correct path of Ye Lian. Wu Meiwu, Xia Bu, and Jia Ruo were sitting together on the academy grounds, chatting.
"You're used to having Jia Ruo reverse-engineer cursed techniques, aren't you?" Jia Ruo gently massaged her aching little waist and asked.
Originally, she could have used the reversal cursed technique to eliminate the fatigue, but because it would leave a flaw in Ye Lian's correct path, she had no choice but to endure it.
"Because mastering the reversal cursed technique makes things much more convenient." Wu Meiwu replied with a dark expression.
Before you continue