"Elder Sister Ruo Lin, you shouldn't speak too soon. It's still anyone's guess which of us will be the other's downfall."
Xiao Ling smiled.
"You..."
Mentor Ruo Lin's limpid eyes widened in shock as she stared at the white-robed youth opposite her.
She had suspected as much, but a suspicion was one thing. When she actually saw the Dou Qi Gauze that symbolized a Dou Master, she still gaped in astonishment.
"Phew..."
She took a deep breath, and her full chest rose and fell sharply, forming a curve she'd never shown before and setting off the hungry wolves all around her.
Even our hypocrite... ahem... upright gentleman Xiao Ling couldn't help sneaking a couple more glances. He secretly nodded to himself.
That woman's chest was huge!
No wonder they called her a woman like water. He just wondered which man would be lucky enough to end up with her someday.
"Little brother, do you think I'm pretty?"
Mentor Ruo Lin looked at the white-robed youth who'd been sneaking peeks at her, her expression half-amused.
She wasn't angry about it. So many people stole glances at her that if she got mad at every one of them, she wouldn't get anything else done all day.
At her words, spoken in a voice full of an enticement that made him weak to the bone, Xiao Ling couldn't help cursing inwardly. Then he deftly changed the subject.
"Elder Sister Ruo Lin, you have nineteen moves left."
"Hmph, what a hypocritical little brother..."
"But... since you're a Dou Master, little brother, I'll have to use a little more of my strength. Otherwise, people might think I'm going easy on you."
At the end, Mentor Ruo Lin composed herself, and her voice returned to its original gentle softness.
"Elder Sister Ruo Lin, don't hold back."
Xiao Ling ignored the crowd's chatter and smiled as he nodded.
At that moment, a glimmer of surprise flashed through Bai Zhi's lovely eyes, over at the Jia Nan Academy side.
She hadn't expected her opponent to be a Dou Master. No wonder he'd dared accept Elder Sister Ruo Lin's challenge to withstand twenty moves.
"Good. Then be careful, little brother. I won't hold back."
Mentor Ruo Lin smiled at him, then drew on her Dou Qi once more and called out.
"Water Mandala: Entanglement!"
As soon as Mentor Ruo Lin spoke, the dense water-attributed Dou Qi inside her surged through her meridians and poured out from her body. In the blink of an eye, it became hundreds of vines as thick as a baby's arm, lashing out to wrap around Xiao Ling again.
Looking at the hundreds of blue vines, each as thick as a baby's arm, rushing toward him, a glint flashed in Xiao Ling's eyes. He immediately lunged toward Mentor Ruo Lin.
This time, he had no intention of standing there and serving as a target for the woman.
"Well done, little brother. You've got courage."
Mentor Ruo Lin smiled at the sight. Though she seemed gentle, she showed no mercy when she attacked. She controlled the hundreds of vines, sending them at the white-robed youth from every direction and at every angle.
Xiao Ling dodged one strike with a quick sidestep and was just about to move when a vine shot toward his vital area from a tricky angle. He shuddered in alarm and hurriedly stepped back, evading it. Then he cursed under his breath.
Xiao Ling: "..."
Then he used "Yanhuang Finger: Slash" again, cutting down all the vines rushing toward him.
Only then did he charge at the woman. He was now more than twice as fast as before, leaving a trail of afterimages behind him.
In the blink of an eye, Xiao Ling reached Mentor Ruo Lin. With the woman right before him, he didn't say a word—he raised his hand and pressed it toward her chest.
At the sight, Mentor Ruo Lin's cheeks flushed. She gave him a light scolding.
"Bad little brother... You shouldn't be doing things like that..."
After scolding him, Mentor Ruo Lin moved with light steps. Yet at the very last moment, with her ample chest, she still let the little fellow brush against it.
She gazed at the white-robed youth, his face flushed as he savored the moment, and did her best to calm herself. She kept telling herself that he was only a little kid. What did it matter if he touched her?
By now, the crowd around the plaza had recovered from their shock. They looked at the white-robed youth with admiration and envy in their eyes.
Just because the woman seemed gentle as water, that didn't mean anyone could get away with taking liberties with her. They'd bet that if anyone else had tried that today, he'd already be in a world of hurt.
"Hmph! Bad Brother Xiao Ling... Stinky Brother Xiao Ling... You big bad wolf, you lecher... All you ever do is take advantage of girls..."
At the breakfast shop, Xun'er's porcelain-doll face was flushed as she angrily berated someone.
Xiao Ling, of course, had no idea. He lifted his still-youthful face and looked at the woman before him, as gentle as water. Meeting her embarrassed, indignant gaze, he smiled.
"Elder Sister Ruo Lin, you were pretty ruthless just now, weren't you? I only wanted to collect a little interest. You don't mind, do you?"
At his words, Mentor Ruo Lin took a deep breath, her full chest rising and falling slightly. She gazed at the white-robed youth with her limpid eyes and smiled gently.
"Little brother, did you like how soft I was?"
"If you admit defeat now and join Jia Nan Academy, I might even consider becoming your girlfriend. What do you think?"
"I may be a little older than you, but I've always kept myself pure. You wouldn't be losing out, little fellow."
Xiao Ling: "???"
Wasn't this supposed to go differently?
Wasn't she supposed to fly into a rage and attack him?
Then he'd pretend to struggle to a draw with her, earning everyone's respect and establishing the Xiao Clan's standing.
But what was happening now?
"A honey trap?"
The woman was indeed beautiful, and her figure was outrageously full.
But he wasn't the sort to think with his lower half. He'd only made a move because the woman had attacked him too fiercely.
He'd been so annoyed that he'd wanted to collect a little interest. It wasn't as if he should have to take the loss.
The crowd around them was stunned too. They hadn't expected the situation to take so many unexpected turns. It was absolutely insane.
Immediately afterward, the crowd around the plaza erupted into unprecedented discussion.
"Holy crap, this kid's got so much luck with women? I'm so damn jealous!"
"Give me a break. If you'd reached One-Star Dou Shi at eleven or twelve, you could have had something going on with Mentor Ruo Lin too..."
At the crowd's words, Xun'er came to her senses. Her delicate, porcelain-doll face flushed with embarrassment as she cursed under her breath.
"Shameless..."
Even the students of Jia Nan Academy were stunned. The male students then looked at Xiao Ling with a trace of hostility in their eyes.
Xiao Ling could have predicted how the crowd would react.
He'd come to his senses too. Who said a woman with a huge chest had no brains?
This woman, gentle as water, had an outrageously full chest and a mind just as sharp. She'd put him in a difficult spot.
"Phew..."
He took a deep breath and looked at the woman staring at him. Then he smiled.
"Elder Sister Ruo Lin, you really know how to play your hand."
"In that case, how about you admit defeat, Elder Sister Ruo Lin? If you do, I'll reluctantly accept your cradle-robbing ways."
"How about it?"
Before you continue