Jiang Nannan had no idea what Feng Piaoling was thinking. Seeing him with his brows tightly furrowed, she felt her heart grow inexplicably heavy, though she had just relaxed.
"Benefactor, is something on your mind?" she asked hesitantly.
"No, it's nothing." Feng Piaoling shook his head and continued walking.
Jiang Nannan followed silently at his side. Suddenly, she realized that she had never really understood her benefactor. She knew nothing of his past or what troubled him, and she had no idea what he wanted.
He was like a cloud of mist. No matter how she tried to draw near, she couldn't touch him at all.
They didn't say another word until they reached the dormitory building.
"Benefactor, are you leaving now?" Jiang Nannan asked, watching Feng Piaoling as he prepared to head toward the boys' dormitory. She seemed to want to say more, but held back.
"Mm. You should head back soon, too." Feng Piaoling nodded, passed her, and headed toward the dormitory.
"Benefactor." Jiang Nannan took a step forward and called after him.
"Mm." Feng Piaoling turned around and answered softly. He looked at her quietly, waiting for her to continue.
"During the Soul Fighting just now, I noticed that your control over Soul Power is extraordinary. If I have any questions about cultivation in the future, may I come ask you for advice?"
Jiang Nannan gathered her courage and asked.
The two stood beneath an ancient tree below the teaching building. A breeze swept past, stirring their hair and clothes. They stood quietly, looking at each other.
Feng Piaoling was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Of course."
Jiang Nannan smiled.
It was a genuine smile. She had finally taken one step closer to her benefactor.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao was having a terrible time.
Not long after the students who had gone to watch the Soul Fighting left the dormitory, he got hungry.
He stopped cultivating.
By the time he realized it was dark, he had already missed dinner. So he took some hardtack and water from the imitation Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges that Tang Ya had given him, planning to eat a little before continuing his cultivation.
Who would have thought that after only a couple of bites, Dai Huabin would come charging in and kick the water and hardtack right out of his hands?
"What are you doing? I already made your bed for you." Huo Yuhao was both shocked and furious.
"I didn't know you had a talent for being a servant."
Dai Huabin glanced at his bed. Huo Yuhao had made it so neatly that it looked as if he were a servant in the White Tiger Duke Mansion. Dai Huabin was a little surprised.
Then his tone abruptly turned cold. "But you should never, ever have brought the food you commoners eat into my dorm. It's made me very angry. I feel like beating someone."
As he spoke, Dai Huabin had already kicked out.
Huo Yuhao hadn't expected Dai Huabin to attack without warning. He didn't have time to activate his Spirit Eye Martial Soul and use Spirit Detection before the kick caught him in the stomach. He flew backward and crashed onto his bed.
Dai Huabin hadn't used any Soul Power in that kick; he had relied only on his own strength.
Even so, it was enough to make Huo Yuhao spit out the food he had just eaten.
Not long ago, Dai Huabin had lost to Feng Piaoling and humiliated himself in front of a crowd. The anger had been festering inside him ever since.
Still not over it, he sprang forward, leaped onto Huo Yuhao, and began raining punches down on his head.
Huo Yuhao could only curl up and shield his head as Dai Huabin beat him.
"Yuhao, endure it, endure it. Dai Huabin isn't using Soul Power to beat you right now. If you fight back, this won't end with a simple beating. Remember, a little patience can ruin great plans!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm tried desperately to talk him down.
I'll endure it. I'll endure it. In just one more year, I won't have to fear Dai Huabin anymore. Huo Yuhao tightly covered his head.
And so, he endured.
As the beating continued, he thought of his mother again.
Mother, Mother... Huo Yuhao screamed frantically in his heart.
His deepest conviction suddenly surged within him. In that moment, all his pain was swallowed by his longing and grief.
Mother, one day I'll fulfill your wish.
I'll make Dai Hao kneel before your grave and beg for your forgiveness.
Everyone who ever bullied you will pay the price.
Mother, for your sake, I have to be strong. I have to be strong. No matter what, I have to hold on.
I'm no coward. I'm Huo Yuhao, your son.
For your sake, I have to live on bravely.
I won't become someone like Dai Hao. I'll surpass him.
And Dai Huabin, just you wait. One day, I'll repay you a hundredfold for this humiliation.
His conviction became an indescribable force that burst through his mind. Huo Yuhao managed to hold on, even as the beating left him bruised and swollen, with blood streaming from his nose and mouth.
He didn't make a sound.
After a long while, Dai Huabin finally climbed off him, perhaps because he was tired of beating him, or perhaps because his anger had subsided.
By then, Huo Yuhao had been beaten into a complete pig's head.
Dai Huabin let out a long breath. "Remember this. If I catch you bringing that commoner food into the dorm again, I'll beat you again."
After saying this, he sat cross-legged on his bed, thoroughly satisfied and free of his pent-up rage, and began cultivating.
By now, one of Huo Yuhao's eyes had been beaten shut, swollen so badly it looked as though an egg had been stuffed into it. His other eye was bloodshot, too.
He forced himself to sit up cross-legged and began circulating the Mysterious Heaven Skill, cultivating his Soul Power as he healed his injuries.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was stunned. To endure such a savage beating and then force himself to cultivate through the pain afterward—what kind of unshakable conviction did that take?
At that moment, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm couldn't help feeling a little admiration for Huo Yuhao.
It had originally regretted not sacrificing itself to Feng Piaoling, but now it felt once again that it had chosen the right person.
Meanwhile, Feng Piaoling, already back in his dormitory, naturally had no idea that Dai Huabin had beaten Huo Yuhao again.
After returning, he ate a little of the dried food and drank some water he had brought with him. Then he swallowed the Soul Ascension Pill and began cultivating.
Once the pill's effects took hold, Feng Piaoling was delighted to discover that his Soul Power had increased by a considerable amount. He had originally expected to need nearly two months to reach level thirty-five.
Now, he would need no more than half a month.
On top of that, his already impressive cultivation speed had increased by about thirty percent.
In other words, what had once taken thirteen days to cultivate now took only ten. Over the course of a year, he would save more than eighty days.
"The Soul Ascension Pill really is something. It not only increases Soul Power, but, like the Mysterious Water Pill, it can also stimulate potential and provide more nutrients. It's a shame you can only take one. Taking another would affect your future cultivation potential."
Feng Piaoling calmed his mind and began cultivating.
Night soon gave way to dawn.
The next day, in the Shrek Academy cafeteria,
Feng Piaoling and Jiang Nannan stood by the window, eating breakfast.
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