Fox Charm Physique

On the north side of Cloud Saint Peak lies a picturesque valley, through which a clear, secluded stream flows slowly. Scattered across the valley are dozens of buildings of various styles; this is Orchid Creek Ravine, the residence of Law Enforcement Hall master Zhao Youdao and his disciples.

When the two arrived at the valley entrance, a crescent moon had just crested the eastern mountain. The mournful chirping of a few nightingales made the silence feel all the more desolate.

"Senior Brother Wang, where do you live? Let me walk you in," Sanbao asked.

"No need, I can manage on my own. You should head back quickly; it's already very late. Be careful on the way..."

"Alright, then I'll be off, Senior Brother Wang," Sanbao nodded before turning to leave.

Walking along the winding mountain paths under the moonlight had a charm of its own.

"Wait, Sanbao~" After walking a full hundred meters away, Wang Liang suddenly called out to stop him.

"Is there something else?" Sanbao turned and stood still.

"No, nothing. I just wanted to say thank you," Wang Liang had wanted to say more, but ultimately chose silence.

"It's nothing!" Sanbao shook his head with a smile and then leaped away.

"Brother Sanbao, there is a secret I actually wanted to share with you, but, sigh..." Wang Liang murmured to himself before slowly walking into the valley.

Because he had spent the afternoon healing Wang Liang, Sanbao missed the second round of the Sect Selection Tournament and was eliminated by default. This caused him to lose the chance he had been looking forward to—a good fight against a low-level Spirit General.

Fortunately, Sanbao hadn't held any high expectations for the tournament, so he didn't take it to heart.

After the start of spring, all things began to flourish, and Sanbao seized every moment to cultivate desperately, hoping to reach the Spirit General realm as soon as possible.

Once he stepped into the Spirit General realm, he would become a core disciple of the Cloud Saint Sect. Core disciples were the primary focus of the sect's cultivation efforts, and their status would be incomparable to his current one.

These things, however, were not the most important.

For Sanbao, the most critical aspect was that the Spirit General realm meant his Earth-grade Spirit Skill—Folded Void Claw—could be cultivated to perfection. If his bloodline power was sufficient, he might even be able to activate his innate skill—Folded Void Claw.

Innate skills possessed immense power; if he could master it, he would have a fighting chance even against a powerful Spirit Commander.

By then, his strength would increase significantly, and even without relying on the Cloud Saint Sect, he would have some ability to protect himself.

Thinking of this, Sanbao was filled with hope and buried himself in hard training, wishing to advance to Spirit General as soon as possible.

Three months passed in a flash.

Sanbao had already reached the peak of the Spirit Scholar realm, but he was still a step away from becoming a Spirit General. No matter how hard he tried, that barrier simply would not break.

This was merely the easiest of the eight realms following the initial Spirit Entry stage, yet the difficulty was already this immense; one could only imagine how hard it was to advance through the other realms.

Conversely, the increase in strength after such an advancement was naturally massive.

At this moment, Sanbao's Dantian was already filled to the brim with spirit power. There was only one way to advance to Spirit General: expand the Dantian. By continuously refining spirit power and compressing it within the Dantian, he had to push until the Dantian could no longer withstand the pressure and suddenly burst.

Once the Dantian burst, it would quickly reorganize. After this reorganization, the capacity of the Dantian would increase significantly, allowing it to hold more spirit power; that would be the moment he reached the Spirit General realm.

"Sanbao, you are too impatient. Improving one's realm is not so easily controlled. I suggest you practice the Earth Fire Technique more often lately. While refining your fire-attribute spirit power, you should also adjust your state of mind. Success comes naturally with time. With your talent, a mere Spirit General is nothing to worry about..."

Because his previous cultivation had been too smooth, Sanbao had become somewhat restless in his mindset. After failing to break through several times, he couldn't help but feel discouraged. Jing Yifei had been watching all along, and on this day, when Sanbao failed to advance again, Jing Yifei hurried to offer guidance.

"I understand, Master," Sanbao nodded silently before slowly walking out of the Fire Cloud Hall.

"Sanbao, where are you going?" A-Tie asked loudly from the doorway.

"Nothing much, I'm just going down the mountain for a walk," Sanbao replied, dejected, as he strolled out.

"Huh, this kid has changed his habits. In the year he's been here, I haven't seen him go out more than a few times. Strange," A-Tie muttered, shaking his head as he watched Sanbao's retreating figure.

He had been at the Cloud Saint Sect for over a year, but aside from a few specific places, Sanbao had never been anywhere else.

Unknowingly, he walked to a lush Maple Forest behind the mountain. A few scattered maple leaves danced in the wind, looking incredibly melancholy.

Whoosh.

A white shadow streaked past Sanbao's eyes and quickly vanished into the Maple Forest.

→

"See where you're running? Huh? Where did it go?"

A woman in light-colored clothing, holding a longbow, rushed out of the Maple Forest in a flurry, followed by a panting maid in green.

"This Senior Brother, may I ask if you saw a white sable pass by?" the woman in light clothing asked softly.

"Oh, I saw it. It went into the Maple Forest."

Sanbao turned around and discovered that the person was a young woman. She wasn't very tall, but her figure was curvaceous and particularly full, and her exquisite face looked even more charming and moving.

The most lethal part was that pair of watery, large eyes that seemed to steal one's soul. Sanbao prided himself on having seen plenty of movie stars, but very few could truly compare to this woman.

For a moment, Sanbao was left staring blankly.

Goodness, this must be the legendary Fox Charm Physique.

"Huh? It's a little junior brother. Did you really see the white sable?"

Only when Sanbao turned his face did the woman realize she might have addressed him incorrectly. Although the man before her had a tall, upright frame, he still possessed a youthful air, and his cultivation was only at the Spirit Scholar level; he was clearly not very old.

However, being able to walk around the Cloud Saint Sect at will, he had to be a fellow disciple.

Since arriving at Cloud Mountain, Sanbao had grown very quickly. In just over a year, he had become a head taller than the average man, but his real age was not yet fifteen, so his face still retained a trace of youthful innocence.

"Yes, yes, it definitely went that way," Sanbao snapped out of it, his face flushing with embarrassment. He didn't know why, but seeing this woman appear made him naturally think of that classic verse.

"Stopping to admire the Maple Forest at dusk..."

Sanbao felt a wave of self-annoyance, secretly chiding himself for being so impure; he had only just met the person, yet he already harbored such filthy thoughts.

However, in his defense, the figure of this woman in light clothing was truly superb. It was the height of summer, and she wore only a single layer of thin fabric. Coupled with her charming, rosy face, which looked as fresh as a lotus rising from clear water, it was no wonder Sanbao's imagination was running wild.

"Kid, are you looking to die, staring at our young miss like that?" Sanbao blushed again, only then noticing the maid behind the woman glaring at him viciously.

The woman in light clothing, however, said nothing, merely covering her mouth to let out a light chuckle.

She must have seen this many times before.

"Um, well, two senior sisters, I have matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave," caught in the act, Sanbao was incredibly embarrassed and hurriedly lowered his head to depart.

"Stop right there! You think you can just walk away? You must help us find the White Sable, otherwise, you aren't leaving," the maid in green was exceptionally overbearing, shouting loudly.

"You... this?"

Sanbao did not want to argue with a servant girl, so he looked toward the woman in light clothing, waiting to see what she would say.

"Junior brother, we have been chasing this White Sable for a long time. We were just about to catch it, but it managed to escape again. Could you do me a favor? This senior sister would be eternally grateful."

The woman gave Sanbao a light, graceful smile and asked in a soft voice, her tone carrying a hint of pleading and something else, something inexplicable.

Sanbao felt a surge of heat flow through his entire body, making him feel quite pleased. This woman is formidable, he thought to himself.

"Very well, senior sister, please wait here."

Sanbao nodded, then dashed into the Maple Forest, leaving behind only echoes of laughter surrounding the two women.

"Hehe, young miss, your charm is truly immense!"

"He's just a naive boy. Hurry and get ready; we cannot let the White Sable escape this time." The mistress and servant then split up, forming a pincer movement with Sanbao.

After entering the Maple Forest, Sanbao's expression slowly returned to normal. Although he knew the woman in light clothing had used a bit of seduction on him, it was undeniably pleasant. Since he had run into this situation, it was no harm to lend a hand with such a trivial matter.

With his mental energy fully expanded, Sanbao began to search the Maple Forest slowly. The White Sable was fast, but its stamina was poor; after a burst of running, it had to hide and rest, which was why it had not yet escaped the two women's pursuit.

"Eh, there you are. You won't escape this time."

Sanbao suddenly spotted the White Sable. Just as he was about to call out to the two women to close in, the White Sable suddenly bolted to one side, clearly aware that it had been discovered.

"Over here!" Sanbao shouted, turning to chase after the White Sable. Unlike the two women, once Sanbao's Nine-Turn Golden Body was fully unleashed, even a Spirit General expert would have to look up to his speed in the short term.

Two figures quickly dashed out of the woods, disappearing into the valley as the two women stood there, dumbfounded.