Luo Ling

Ye Qiu turned and went back inside, while Lu Li rose and headed down the mountain.

After striking at Ye Rudí a few days ago, she had gained some insight. Today, after another round of strikes, she had gained something new.

She should be able to achieve it in one leap...

Five days later, Ye Qiu's injuries had essentially healed. He no longer had to worry about the wound splitting open.

A Body Cultivator's constitution truly was extraordinary. Even with medicine—and good medicine at that—an ordinary person would have needed months to recover from a wound like that.

But Ye Qiu had needed just five days!

Of course, Ye Qiu hadn't been idle. He had spent those five days studying the basics of medicine and the Pill Dao.

Brother Snake had also taught him two moves.

Beyond that, his cultivation had steadily improved. He wasn't far from the seventh level of Mystic Passage.

His Qi and Blood was approaching two hundred thousand!

Every fight to the death brought a subtle transformation. For Ye Qiu, it was especially pronounced: as his wounds healed, his Qi and Blood surged.

Those four words fit perfectly: Destruction and Rebirth!

He had also grown more practiced with the Broken Saber.

The saber had changed, too. When he swung it, a faint sharpness glinted along its edge.

Brother Snake called it Edge Awakening.

As for why it had happened, Brother Snake said it might have been a stroke of luck.

Ye Qiu didn't ask further.

The saber was stronger, and it felt better in his hand. His fighting strength had risen considerably with it.

Most importantly, something in Ye Qiu's heart had changed.

After everything he had been through, his heart seemed to have been tempered as well.

He suddenly understood many things, and many of his convictions had grown firmer.

He had grown up!

Brother Snake said that if he kept going like this, he had a small chance of attaining Dao Heart Clarity soon!

Lu Li had Sword Heart Clarity. That was why she had improved so quickly!

The thought excited Ye Qiu.

I'm finally growing some sense...

Ye Qiu left the peak and went straight to the Trial Tower. But with his current strength, he cleared it outright.

It had barely given him a challenge.

As he walked out of the tower, a tall man approached with a young woman beside him.

The man was Wu Xiaokai.

Wu Xiaokai had come to chat with Ye Qiu plenty over the past few days. He had even told Ye Qiu not to worry about repaying the two million.

Ye Qiu had insisted on paying him back. No matter how close they were, money was a separate matter.

Besides, two million might not mean much to Wu Xiaokai, but to Ye Qiu, it was an enormous sum.

Not paying it back would have weighed on him.

Then he learned that Wu Xiaokai had picked up quite a few Storage Rings that day and made over three million.

And that wasn't even counting the treasures and Pills.

Later, Wu Xiaokai had picked up several more at the Academy and earned almost another million.

Ye Qiu promptly borrowed another two million from him.

That little bastard is a real sly dog!

And he didn't even tell me about a windfall like that?

"Brother Ye, heading out?" Wu Xiaokai came over with a grin. The young woman followed close beside him, and when they reached Ye Qiu, they were still holding hands.

Ye Qiu glanced at her. She was tall, with big eyes and a single ponytail.

Bright and pretty, lively and adorable.

Wu Xiaokai chuckled. "My girlfriend, Luo Ling."

Ye Qiu gave him a look. The kid had come from the mountains, but he certainly didn't act like it.

He was neither honest nor simple.

Just a few days ago, Wu Xiaokai had brought along a petite, adorable girl and called her his girlfriend. The two of them had been all over each other.

And now... he had switched girlfriends?

After only a few days?

What a bastard!

Ye Qiu hid his reaction well and smiled at the young woman. "Hello, Miss Luo. I'm Ye Qiu."

Luo Ling smiled. She had red lips, white teeth, and two cute dimples at the corners of her mouth. With her healthy, wheat-colored skin, she looked full of youthful energy.

"Hello, Brother Ye."

Clearly, she knew who Ye Qiu was, too.

In fact, from the Academy to every corner of South Capital, who hadn't heard of Ye Qiu by now?

That so-and-so's fiancé!

Wu Xiaokai said, "Come on. We're heading into the mountains."

Ye Qiu thought for a moment. Wu Xiaokai had indeed mentioned going into the mountains a few days ago. He had found something valuable there.

He had actually brought it up long before that.

But a Demon Beast of the Law Gathering Realm guarded the place. Back then, they hadn't stood a chance!

Now, though...

"All right!"

Ye Qiu didn't think twice. Hunting demon beasts in the mountains would be far more useful training than the Academy's Trial Tower.

The three left the Academy and walked along the streets. Wu Xiaokai and Luo Ling held hands the whole way, laughing and flirting. They even bought a candied hawthorn skewer.

One bite for him, one for her.

Ye Qiu shot Wu Xiaokai a sidelong glance.

What a miser. He only bought one!

Once they reached the mountains, the two finally parted for a moment. Ye Qiu stepped closer to Wu Xiaokai. "That girl seems nice. Don't you dare toy with her!"

Wu Xiaokai looked solemn. "Brother Ye, Lingling and I are truly in love!"

Ye Qiu snorted. "You said the same thing about Miaomiao last time!"

"This time it's real, I swear!" Wu Xiaokai said. "My grandfather's coming in a few days, and her family will send someone too. We're planning to get engaged!"

Ye Qiu stared at Wu Xiaokai.

"It's true!" Wu Xiaokai said. "You'll be invited to the engagement feast!"

Ye Qiu was only half convinced.

"Ah..." A scream rang out. Wu Xiaokai dashed to the foot of a small hillside.

"What happened? What happened?" he shouted as he ran.

Ye Qiu didn't follow.

It wouldn't have been appropriate.

She was relieving herself.

A little while later, Wu Xiaokai came up from below the hillside carrying Luo Ling in his arms. She had her arms around his neck. When they drew near, Ye Qiu asked, "What happened?"

Wu Xiaokai said, "Luo Ling saw a mouse while she was peeing."

Ye Qiu: "???"

Luo Ling still looked shaken. "I'm terrified of mice."

"Don't be scared. I'm here!" Wu Xiaokai leaned in and planted a kiss on Luo Ling's cheek.

Luo Ling grew bashful and blushed, then offered Wu Xiaokai her other cheek.

Ye Qiu: "..."

He turned and walked away.

He waited a full fifteen minutes.

When he came back, Wu Xiaokai's lips looked a size bigger.

The two walked ahead, while Ye Qiu followed at a deliberate distance.

Just then, a tiger's roar erupted from up ahead.

The sound shook the air!

Ye Qiu looked up and saw an Azure-Scaled Tiger leap out of the valley ahead.

Demonic energy billowed from it.

Its eyes were bloodred.

It was a great demon of the Law Gathering Realm!

And at the third level, no less!

Demon beasts were generally stronger than humans at the same level, and the Azure-Scaled Tiger was especially formidable.

Even someone at the fourth level of the Law Gathering Realm would have struggled to take down a demon beast like this!

Ye Qiu's expression turned grave. He drew the Broken Saber and circulated his cultivation and Qi and Blood together...

Then he froze.

Ahead, a thunderous crash shook the ground. Dust billowed everywhere. When it cleared, the earth had been blasted open, and a dead tiger lay in the crater.

A tall young woman stood on its back.

She wore a dazzling smile.

Ye Qiu: "..."

Wait.

Let me get this straight.

Just now, didn't that cute girl named Luo Ling say she was timid and scared of mice more than anything?

Wasn't that what she said?