P.S. Thanks to Wo Si Ge for the 2,000-book-coin tip, and thanks for the Monthly Tickets! Thanks to I Am a Pigeon, a Killer Without Emotion for the 500-book-coin tip. Thanks to Xu Huan for the tip.
Enjoying the delicious food and the soft cushions, life was simply wonderful~ As for the cost of the meal, it was nothing to Tang Miao. After all, he was the sort of person who didn't have much money to his name, but never lacked for a little spending cash.
Ai Tutu was ruthless when it came to ordering, but she barely ate. Mu Nujiao ate in tiny bites, and the two of them together didn't even manage half of what Tang Miao ate.
Once they'd eaten their fill, the two girls headed back to school. As for Tang Miao, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have gone back. Aside from collecting cultivation resources and entering the Three-Step Tower, he generally didn't spend time on campus.
But today was different. He wasn't just escorting the girls back; more importantly, he needed to enter the Three-Step Tower once more. He'd try to raise his Ice Element to Intermediate Level Three as well. His Summoning Element was now ready to make a contract, and, as it happened, the Kirin Jade had given him a hint: a Totem Sacred Beast, the White Tiger, lived in Tianshan. He could go and contract a White Tiger. By then, his strength would surely be even greater!
Of course, since Tianshan was known as a perilous place, there was no way he'd go alone. Whatever else happened, he'd have to bring the Dark Serpent along as his trusty tool.
"You stinking pervert, didn't you just say you usually never go to school? Why are you coming back with us?"
Ai Tutu had already put plenty of distance between herself and Tang Miao. She wasn't worried about him taking advantage of her, and her little-devil personality had returned.
Mu Nujiao was also a little curious. Why was Tang Miao coming back with them? Was he interested in her?
It wasn't as though she was full of herself. She was simply perfect in every way. She might not have certain prominent assets like Ai Tutu, but overall, she was far superior to her.
Seeing the two girls watching him as if waiting for an answer, Tang Miao shrugged. "I'm coming back because I need to see Dean Xiao. You two don't think I came back with you because of you, do you?"
The two girls instantly lost all desire to keep talking to him. Was that any way for a person to talk?
Once they reached the academy, they headed for the women's dormitory, while Tang Miao made his way to Dean Xiao's office. Before entering the Three-Step Tower, he naturally had to report in. Besides, the old man looked frail, but his strength was not to be underestimated.
Although he had the Dark Serpent looking out for him, there was no harm in having a few more powerful people on his side. That was why Tang Miao was always happy to build a good relationship with Dean Xiao and Old Man Bao whenever he had the chance.
Just as he was about to reach Dean Xiao's office, a strikingly handsome man approached from up ahead.
The man had slightly curled, shoulder-length hair, like it had been permed. He had the textbook prince's face from a fairy tale and wore a simple, pure-white tracksuit. That pretty-boy face of his was almost as handsome as Tang Miao's!
The guy beside him was the same one who'd caused trouble earlier and been paralyzed by Tang Miao's bolt of lightning.
"You must be Tang Miao, right?" The man walked over, then continued, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Zhao Manyan, and my primary element is Light..."
Zhao Manyan had a warm, friendly smile. He looked amiable, with no sign that he intended to stick up for his underling.
"Zhao Manyan?"
Tang Miao muttered to himself, thinking, So this is that lecherous pig. He smiled. "I thought you were here to avenge this loser."
The man beside Zhao Manyan, who was still numb all over, had no intention of arguing with Tang Miao's taunt.
Zhao Manyan shook his head. "Heh, he was just being stupid. Besides, it'd be foolish for a Light Element mage like me to challenge the top student of the Lightning Academy."
Tang Miao didn't dislike Zhao Manyan, the Turtle Shell Mage. And he hadn't expected one random bolt of lightning to bring a member of the Zhao Clan his way...
"If you're not here for revenge, I'll be on my way."
Zhao Manyan smiled and nodded. Only after Tang Miao had left did he turn to the man beside him. "Even my old man says he wants to recruit him. And even if we can't, there's no need to offend him. He has connections to the Tang Clan in the Judgment Society. You blind idiot—were you asking to get beaten?"
The man who'd been beaten looked thoroughly miserable, but he didn't dare talk back.
Some prominent families could be quite arrogant, but if someone had connections to the Judgment Society, a family that wasn't among the top tier wouldn't dare offend them lightly. Even a top-tier family had no reason to make an enemy of them, right? Of course, that was unless the family had someone in the Judgment Society!
But the Zhao Clan wasn't like that. Their family was in business.
Tang Miao didn't give it much thought. After parting ways with Zhao Manyan and the others, he went to find Dean Xiao.
Dean Xiao gave him a token lecture about his earlier fight on campus. Tang Miao nodded and admitted his mistake like a well-behaved student.
In the end, the matter was naturally dropped. He was then granted permission to enter the Three-Step Tower ahead of schedule.
The reason was, of course, that Tang Miao was about to go out and gain experience. Dean Xiao thought it was still a little too early for him to go, but seeing that he'd already made up his mind, he didn't try to stop him.
Still, Dean Xiao reminded him that, given his talent and strength, it would be best to keep a low profile when he went out. Pearl Academy didn't usually concern itself with such things, but Tang Miao was different! When the World University Games came around, held once every four years, Dean Xiao was counting on Tang Miao to make the academy proud!
Tang Miao humbly accepted Dean Xiao's well-intentioned advice.
After receiving some guidance from Dean Xiao, Tang Miao entered the Three-Step Tower. Who would have thought that this cultivation opportunity, something others would do anything to get, felt to Tang Miao like the backyard of his own home... He could come and go as he pleased.
His cultivation began, and time flew by... Especially with his cultivation speed increased, Tang Miao felt like those seven days had passed in the blink of an eye...
When his time was up, he still hadn't managed to break through to the third level of the Intermediate Ice Element.
After leaving the tower, Tang Miao asked Dean Xiao for an extended leave and then left Pearl Academy directly. Afterward, he also called Tang Yue, but he didn't tell her he was going to Tianshan. He only said he wanted to find a quiet place to focus on understanding his Lightning Domain.
Tang Yue had no doubts about that. Tang Miao had said before that when his Lightning Element reached Intermediate Level Three, his Lightning Domain seemed to have grown stronger and undergone some changes. He still hadn't fully figured it out.
After explaining things to Tang Yue, Tang Miao went to Qingtian Hunter Agency to report in. Old Man Bao didn't have any objections. It was a good thing for Tang Miao to get stronger! Ling Ling, on the other hand, was in a bit of a bind. If Tang Miao didn't show up for several months, she'd be in for a rough time, especially now that the school year had begun!
But even the little girl's resentful look couldn't make Tang Miao give up on his trip to Tianshan. This counted as his "well-intentioned lie," didn't it?
He would have liked to bring her along, since she was a walking encyclopedia. But with his current strength? It really wasn't suitable... Tianshan was a forbidden zone, and there were quite a few Rulers there... Besides, no one could be sure there weren't even stronger beings around. The Dark Serpent would already have a hard time protecting just him. Protecting a little girl who hadn't even awakened her magic as well would be even harder.
The only reason Tang Miao had chosen to head to Tianshan was that the Kirin had told him the Totem Sacred Beast, the White Tiger, was still alive there and would protect him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to Tianshan even if you killed him.
P.S. Please vote for the Monthly Tickets and send tips!
Before you continue