Wu Ming's Dressed-Up Confession, Blazing Gel Helps Break Through

As dusk settles over Sea God Lake, the lake's surface reflects half of the golden sunset.

Dai Huabin followed Ma Xiaotao through the tree-lined path towards her secluded courtyard in the Inner Academy.

"Xiaotao Tao, why are you being so mysterious? What kind of reward is it?"

"You'll see when we get there." Ma Xiaotao walked ahead, her steps quick.

Dai Huabin didn't ask any further questions.

After passing through several wooden gates, Ma Xiaotao's secluded courtyard came into view.

The courtyard was spotless, with a pot of tea and several plates of snacks on the stone table, clearly having been tidied up beforehand.

Ma Xiaotao pushed open the courtyard gate and stepped aside to let Dai Huabin go in first.

"Inside," she said, pointing towards the bedroom.

Dai Huabin raised an eyebrow and strode over.

He paused for a moment when he pushed open the wooden door.

The room was lit with warm yellow lamps, and a few newly broken red plum branches were placed on the table, their delicate fragrance filling the air.

A person was sitting in the chair in the very center of the room.

Wu Ming.

Today, she changed out of her usual crimson-gold outfit and wore a light gold knee-length skirt. Her long red hair was not tied into a high ponytail as usual, but was loose on both sides of her shoulders, with a butterfly-shaped jade hairpin in her hair.

Her face was lightly powdered, and her lips were a shade redder than usual.

The woman in her twenties dressed up deliberately, looking completely different from her usual fiery and outspoken self in the practice room.

Wu Ming sat on the chair, her hands folded on her knees, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her skirt.

Dai Huabin glanced at her for two seconds, then turned to look at Ma Xiaotao standing at the door.

Ma Xiaotao crossed her arms over her chest, looking quite smug.

Do you like it?

Wu Ming's ears instantly turned red.

"Ma Xiaotao! Can't you speak normally?!"

"I'm telling the truth. You dressed up like this just for him to see," Ma Xiaotao said matter-of-factly.

Wu Ming wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

Dai Huabin snapped out of his daze, and a slight twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He was indeed somewhat surprised.

But upon closer reflection, it makes perfect sense.

The "big reward" that Ma Xiaotao mentioned on the stage was referring to Wu Ming from beginning to end.

That's just how Ma Xiaotao is; she never beats around the bush.

"Sister Wu Ming." Dai Huabin walked into the room and sat down in the chair opposite her.

Wu Ming looked up, her face still flushed.

"You... you don't listen to Xiaotao's nonsense... I am..."

"What are you?" Dai Huabin tilted his head.

Wu Ming opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Ma Xiaotao, who was outside the door, couldn't stand it any longer and walked in, placing one hand on Wu Ming's shoulder.

"Alright, alright, I'll say it for you. Wu Ming likes you and wants to be with you, on the condition that you give her the half of the Blazing Gel you have. Is that straightforward enough?"

"Ma Xiaotao!!!" Wu Ming almost jumped up from her chair.

Dai Huabin couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This scene is truly hilarious. Golden Crow Saintess Wu Ming, Seven-Ring Soul Sage and a top-tier attacker in the Inner Academy, is now as embarrassed as a young girl whose secret has just been exposed.

"Sister Xiaotao, you can go out first." Dai Huabin gestured with his chin towards Ma Xiaotao.

Ma Xiaotao pouted, walked to the door, and then turned back.

"Gentlemen, I'll just sit in the courtyard and have some tea. Don't keep me waiting too long." With that, he closed the door from the outside.

The room fell silent.

Wu Ming lowered her head, twisting the hem of her skirt with even more force, until the light gold fabric was wrinkled.

"Sister Wu Ming."

"Um."

"Look up."

Wu Ming hesitated for a moment, then slowly raised her head.

Dai Huabin leaned back in his chair, looking very relaxed.

"The matter of the Blazing Gel was originally prepared for you."

Wu Ming was taken aback.

"You and Sister Xiaotao both have the foundation of Ultimate Fire, so I brought a whole block of Blazing Gel, cut it in half, one half for her and one half for you. This plan was decided from the beginning."

Upon hearing this, Wu Ming felt a sense of relief, as if a weight had been hanging over her shoulders.

She knew it.

This man is meticulous in his work and never does anything without a plan.

"What about what you said in the Soul Fighting Arena before, 'show sincerity'...?"

What do you think I mean by sincerity?

Wu Ming remained silent.

Dai Huabin stood up, walked up to her, and looked down at her.

"Sincerity is simple: if you're willing to stand on my side, then no matter what happens in the future, you won't regret it."

Wu Ming pursed her lips.

What if I change my mind?

"Then you can leave now."

The two stared at each other for a few seconds.

Wu Ming suddenly smiled.

"I'm a spinster in my early twenties, and I've dressed up like this and sat here waiting for you, and you're still telling me to leave?"

She stood up; she was about half a head shorter than Dai Huabin.

"Dai Huabin, you're much worse than you seem."

"Same to you."

In the courtyard.

Ma Xiaotao sat with her legs crossed, sipping tea and cracking sunflower seeds from her plate.

Time passed little by little.

The teapot was refilled twice, and a small dish of melon seed shells was piled up.

Ma Xiaotao stretched and muttered to herself, "It's really not fast."

After waiting for a long time, it got completely dark.

The door was finally pushed open, Dai Huabin came out first.

Ma Xiaotao jumped off the stone bench and peered into the house.

Wu Ming sat on the edge of the bed, her hair slightly disheveled, her cheeks flushed, and her jade hairpin had somehow shifted behind her ear.

Ma Xiaotao knowingly looked away and gave Dai Huabin a thumbs up.

"Okay."

Dai Huabin ignored this and took out a palm-sized jade box from his Storage Soul Tool.

Upon opening the box, a dark red crystal, about half the size of a fist, lay quietly inside, its surface shimmering with crimson-gold patterns.

Half a portion of Blazing Gel.

"Let her rest for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and then she can take it directly after she has regained her energy." Dai Huabin placed the jade box on the stone table. "The procedure is the same as before. I will protect her from the side."

Ma Xiaotao took the jade box, looked at it, and nodded.

"No problem."

After an incense stick has burned.

Wu Ming changed into a clean, close-fitting short-sleeved shirt and walked into the cultivation room in Ma Xiaotao's courtyard.

The protective soul-guiding array patterns on the walls of the training room lit up after Dai Huabin infused them with Soul Power.

Wu Ming sat on the futon and took the half-piece of Blazing Gel from Dai Huabin's hand.

The dark red crystal felt warm to the touch, and crimson-gold patterns slowly moved across the palm.

"Are you scared?" Dai Huabin squatted down in front of her.

"With you here, what do I have to be afraid of?" Wu Ming gripped the Blazing Gel tightly, took a deep breath, and then swallowed it in one gulp.

One hour.

The temperature in the training room rose sharply, and the protective array patterns on the walls, subjected to the intense heat, began to turn red at the edges.

Wu Ming's entire body was enveloped in golden-red flames, and the Golden Crow True Fire within his body surged wildly, colliding fiercely with the medicinal power of the Blazing Gel.

The whole process was more intense than what happened to Ma Xiaotao.

The Golden Crow Martial Soul is a close relative of the Ultimate Fire, with a purer foundation than the Evil Fire Phoenix. When the essence of the Blazing Gel is infused into the Golden Crow Bloodline, the resulting reaction is even more intense.