As Chu Mo's Martial Soul, Xiao Lu could help with cultivation, so naturally it could help him cultivate too.
Tang Ya followed Chu Mo back to the dormitory. Strange looks followed them the whole way, making Chu Mo feel a little uncomfortable.
But Tang Ya acted as if she hadn't noticed. She kept bouncing along, carefree and seemingly unconcerned.
"Hehe, it's just gossip. It doesn't matter. As long as I can get stronger, that's enough. Besides, I've already cleared things up with Bei Bei and rejected him outright. It's my freedom to be with whoever I want."
Tang Ya had returned to her usual carefree, easygoing self. As soon as she entered, she flopped straight onto the bed.
"Uh."
Watching the lively, innocent-looking girl act as if she were at home, rolling around on his bed and hugging his pillow, Chu Mo pressed his lips together.
Chu Mo didn't believe Tang Ya was the sort of person who truly didn't care about gossip. She had probably just gotten used to it, become immune to it, and that was why she seemed so indifferent to the rumors now.
"On the way back, I checked the Chat Group. Dong'er recorded our fight, and the footage was really clear. It even showed through all that shadowy gas."
Tang Ya rolled around until the whole bed was covered in her scent, then sat up and spoke with flushed cheeks.
Hearing that brought Chu out of his thoughts. He looked at her again. She was so innocent-looking that he felt an urge to pinch her cheeks.
"Yeah, I saw it too. There were definitely some openings. But I saw you take out those golden needles and stab Xu Sanshi with them. Are you sure he doesn't need treatment?"
He nodded and said he'd watched it too.
There was still room to improve in battle. He had too little experience fighting people; usually, he fought Soul Beasts, where he could go all out with every move. But in a competition, he couldn't aim to kill, so he naturally had to hold back. Sometimes, if he didn't perform well, things could really go wrong.
"Mm..."
Tang Ya frowned. She still remembered Xu Sanshi insulting her. Although beating him had let off some steam, she still didn't want to see him, let alone remove the Dragon Whisker Needles herself.
"Who cares? He won't die, and Bei Bei is there anyway. He knows how to remove the Dragon Whisker Needles too. He must have gone over by now. Those two are best buddies, so he'll definitely help."
Tang Ya squeezed the pillow between her plump thighs and hugged it, resting her chin on top. She didn't want to keep talking about it, so she patted the spot beside her.
"Enough. Let's get down to business. We should hurry up and cultivate."
With a move that intimate, who could tell whether they were cultivating or... cultivating?
Chu Mo's face reddened a little too. Yep, his mind had gone straight to the gutter.
"Mm."
Cultivation in progress.
Next door, Room 108.
"Scumbag! Scumbag!"
Wang Dong'er sat on the bed, fuming as she lightly pounded her pillow, as if it were someone in particular.
Huo Yu'er stood by the bed, looking at her friend and trying helplessly to console her.
"Wang Dong, don't be angry. Chu Mo already said in the group that he came to Shrek Academy to look for Senior Jiang Nannan."
"Yu'er, don't let him fool you. He's only helping you cultivate because he thinks you're naive. He'll definitely make a move on you sooner or later. Don't let him take advantage of you."
Wang Dong'er suddenly looked up and rapidly pounded the pillow in her hands, speaking in agitation.
"Uh, isn't Wang Dong overthinking this? Chu Mo only pat my head."
Huo Yu'er thought she was making a mountain out of a molehill and waved a hand lightly.
Besides, even if Chu Mo had ulterior motives toward her, Huo Yu'er wasn't all that opposed. She had never been important to anyone before. Now someone genuinely cared about her. Whatever the reason, whatever he wanted in return, at least that care was real.
There were also a few words she kept to herself: Wang Dong'er, what right did you have to be jealous?
It didn't seem like she had one. After all, they'd only met once. Claiming she liked him even a little would be a stretch.
That guess was right, of course. Wang Dong'er hadn't fallen for him. She was more annoyed by the feeling of someone trying to snatch away her toy.
After all, Chu Mo himself had said in the Chat Group that it was his cheat. Wang Dong'er was very interested in it and thought of it as a secret between them. She was naturally happy to meet fellow group members.
Like Chu Mo and Tang Ya.
That afternoon, Chu Mo had sent Tang Ya a message in the group asking her to come find him and speed up her cultivation. Wang Dong'er had mostly been sticking up for Tang Ya, afraid Chu Mo would use her quest for revenge to take advantage of her. She wasn't actually opposed to it.
But Jiang Nannan wasn't even in the Chat Group, yet she had still gotten Chu Mo's attention—and the two of them seemed so familiar with each other. Wang Dong'er hated it.
"Hmph, Yu'er, you're just too naive. That's why he can fool you."
Huo Yu'er scratched her thin, bony arm, then shook her head and said nothing more. Wang Dong'er seemed to be stuck in a dead end, and the only thing to do was let her calm down. There was no point trying to talk her out of it.
It looked like she wouldn't be able to leave today. She might as well take her pills and cultivate in the dormitory. She still had plenty of progress to make up, after all.
Huo Yu'er washed up quickly, then returned to her bed and began cultivating.
That left Wang Dong'er sitting on the edge of the bed, hugging her pillow and staring blankly at the floor.
"Hmph, scumbag. I'm not talking to you for three days—unless you apologize to me..."
Pouting, Wang Dong'er made up her mind, then lay down to sleep. She didn't cultivate.
Late at night.
In a bedroom filled with a young girl's charm.
Meng Hongchen slowly withdrew her Martial Soul and ended her cultivation. She opened her eyes to assess the results, and the corners of her mouth lifted without her noticing.
"Not bad. The effect hasn't noticeably diminished, so the price really is worth it!"
Ding~
She opened the Chat interface and looked through her unread messages from top to bottom. The first one she saw was a message he'd sent right after trying out his first pill.
[Ice Frog is Stronger than Poison Frog: Want to fight? Can't you record it? Record it so I can see if you look cool, and check out how strong you are while you're at it.]
[Revenge Girl: Isn't it bad to secretly record people without their permission?]
[Dong'er is Not a Girl: OK]
8 p.m. ...
[Dong'er is Not a Girl: (video)]
[Dong'er is Not a Girl: Won the match easily. Xiao Lu is still really strong.]
[Revenge Girl: This Martial Soul is so strange.]
[Grilled Fish Girl: Brother Chu Mo said Xiao Lu is a Slime, and it can change its shape too.]
These were the messages Wang Dong'er and Huo Yu'er had exchanged in the group while waiting for their agreed-upon time.
Without Meng Hongchen, the group's chatterbox, and with Chu Mo arriving at the meeting place in person, the conversation soon came to a halt.
"Looks like everyone's busy. Nobody's chatting."
Seeing that the other five members were offline, Meng Hongchen found she had no one to talk to.
She reached out and pinched her thigh, then opened the video to watch.
The fight was completely one-sided. And without the purple-black fog obscuring the view, the match was incredibly boring.
The opponent had done nothing but defend. If Meng Hongchen hadn't already known what was going on and had only seen the video, she would have thought they were throwing the match.
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