Inside the bedroom, Qiangu Wuji gasped for breath, his heart pounding.
That had been one of Gu Yue's subordinates, right?
That was close. He'd nearly been discovered.
Thinking of the woman with purple hair, Qiangu Wuji had a pretty good idea who she was.
She was probably the Demon Empress, Zi JI.
Realizing that he'd actually spied on someone of her stature, he suddenly felt lucky to have survived.
A powerhouse of that level had such formidable spiritual power. If she'd tried to disrupt his detection just now, he wouldn't have been able to withstand it with his current strength.
Whew. It looked like he couldn't use Spiritual Detection so casually in the future. If someone had stronger spiritual power than him, they'd notice.
If they noticed and launched a direct mental attack, he'd be in serious trouble.
Sigh. In the end, he was still outmatched!
[Ping! Because you were suppressed on a spiritual level, your Martial Soul decided to help you save face. As a result, your spiritual power has increased substantially. Your spiritual power has now reached 150 points.]
"Huh?"
Qiangu Wuji's eyes widened. That worked?
Then he started laughing. What did you call that? Turning a misfortune into a blessing!
He'd been scared, sure, but his spiritual power had shot up by so much. He'd made a killing!
Thinking of his vastly increased spiritual power, he hurriedly closed his eyes to test it out and see what 150 points felt like.
But the moment he closed his eyes, he froze, his expression turning bitter.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
"Are you asleep?"
Qiangu Wuji felt a little helpless. He glanced at the neatly made bed behind him, thought for a moment, then deliberately rumpled the covers a bit before answering.
"I was just about to go to sleep. What's up?"
"Nothing. There are a few things I wanted to talk to you about. Is it all right if I come in?"
Gu Yue's cool voice came from outside.
Qiangu Wuji pursed his lips. Of course he knew Gu Yue hadn't come to chat. She probably suspected him.
But he couldn't afford to panic.
So he replied,
"Sure, come in."
A short while later, Gu Yue pushed open the door and entered. As soon as she came in, her eyes roamed around the room, seemingly at random, before settling on him.
Qiangu Wuji glanced at her, then stood and walked over to the tea table in front of him. He sat down and asked, though he already knew the answer,
"Gu Yue, what brings you here so late?"
Gu Yue also went over to the table and sat down. After a moment's thought, she asked in a cool voice,
"The Soul Spirit you absorbed this morning gave you your First Soul Ring, right? Can you tell me what your first Soul Skill is?"
Here it comes!
Qiangu Wuji's heart tightened, but he put on a dejected expression.
"Ugh, don't remind me. My first Soul Skill isn't much use. Here, see for yourself."
As he spoke, he summoned his Martial Soul again, and his First Soul Ring lit up.
Gu Yue froze and instinctively looked around. Seeing that nothing had changed, she couldn't help asking,
"What does your Soul Skill...?"
"See? You think it's useless too, don't you?" Qiangu Wuji gave a helpless, wry smile. "Simply put, it greatly increases my spiritual power for a short time."
"Increases your spiritual power?"
Gu Yue murmured, instinctively glancing at Qiangu Wuji's golden eyes. A wave of dizziness washed over her in an instant.
She hurriedly shook her head and looked away. Only then did she believe what he had said.
Her expression turned complicated. In the end, she said nothing more and simply stood up again.
"Are you leaving already?"
Gu Yue paused and looked back at him.
"Things have been unsettled lately. Don't go out unless you have to."
With that, she turned and left the room.
Qiangu Wuji watched her go and breathed a sigh of relief.
Good thing he could control the range of his Spiritual Detection, and his spiritual power had happened to increase just in time. Otherwise, he really wouldn't have known how to handle that.
He'd been pretty nervous when Gu Yue came in. He had no idea what she was there for.
For all he knew, she'd come to silence him...
If that had been the case, he probably wouldn't have lasted long enough for Leng Yaozhu to come rescue him.
It looked like he still had to get stronger!
Now he was even more eager to find Tang Wulin.
All right, time to get going!
Meanwhile, Gu Yue walked out of the room. As soon as she stepped into the hallway, a purple-haired woman shrouded in a black cloak came to meet her.
"My Lord, is this the talented human you mentioned?"
Gu Yue didn't even look at her. She continued straight ahead.
Zi JI walked beside her, praising him as they went.
"He really is an impressive young man. I can sense that his spiritual power is exceptionally strong. For someone so young to possess spiritual power of that caliber—even you would find it hard to do, wouldn't you, my Lord?"
At that, Gu Yue stopped and turned to look at her calmly.
That single glance was enough to make Zi JI realize her mistake. She broke out in a cold sweat.
"My Lord, I didn't mean that you're not as good as him. What I meant was..."
"Enough!" Gu Yue's brows furrowed slightly as she impatiently cut her off. "How is she?"
Zi JI paused, understanding what Gu Yue meant, and hurriedly replied,
"Your other half has arrived in Aolai City." She hesitated, then added, "My Lord, should we send people to protect her?"
Gu Yue snorted and started walking again.
"She chose her own path. No one else gets to decide it for her."
Zi JI was truly at a loss. She hurried to catch up.
"My Lord, should we kill the young master of the Spirit Pagoda? If we let him grow unchecked, won't he threaten our plans in the future?"
"No need. He won't amount to much."
Gu Yue gazed at her with calm eyes and said coolly,
"If that day ever comes, I'll deal with him myself."
Since the day the Awakening Ceremony ended, Qiangu Wuji had been enjoying some time off.
Over the past two days, Leng Yaozhu had arranged for him to enroll at Red Mountain Academy, but she hadn't let him leave right away. Instead, she had given him countless warnings, fretting over everything.
For example, what to watch out for in a new place.
And how to be extra careful around new female classmates so they wouldn't trick him into falling in love or anything.
She was so anxious you'd think he was some young princess setting off on a journey.
But he was a guy! It wasn't like some girl was going to trick him into a relationship.
Still, she was only showing that she cared about him. No matter how little he thought of her worries, he could only agree to everything.
And so, before he knew it, the day of departure had arrived.
Outside the main entrance of the Spirit Pagoda headquarters, Qiangu Wuji stared speechlessly at Leng Yaozhu, who was dressed for a trip.
"Mom, what are you...?"
"Is something wrong?"
Leng Yaozhu smiled faintly.
Qiangu Wuji felt a headache coming on.
"Mom, you're not coming with me, are you?"
As he spoke, he turned to look at Gu Yue, who was standing nearby with a travel bag on her back, dressed for the journey as well.
This was unreal. What were those two up to?
Before you continue