Just as they were preparing to leave, one of the white-robed men flew over.
He tossed Ji Siyuan a package. "These are the Soul Ascension Pill Lexuan promised you, along with the Mystic Water Pill as compensation. It would be best if you forgot about this."
With that, the man left.
Huo Yuhao said, "Damn it! They can hurt people at will, then make up for it by handing over a few things?"
Ji Siyuan said, "We weren't actually hurt. This is just hush money. They don't want us telling anyone about this."
Still, it was strange that they'd given them a Mystic Water Pill. They hadn't been hurt at all.
It seemed like having connections really made things easier. Zhang Lexuan had gotten the pills with just a few words.
"Siyuan, what do the Soul Ascension Pill and the Mystic Water Pill do?"
"Want to know?"
"I do."
"They're pills of the same grade, but their effects are different. The Soul Ascension Pill raises someone's Soul Power without any cost. It increases it by about one level, from level 30 to level 31. And they say a Soul Master won't suffer any side effects if they take one just once in their life.
"The Mystic Water Pill is different. It purifies the meridians, clears out impurities, and raises Innate Soul Power. They're both very precious pills."
Huo Yuhao said, "That's quite a lot for hush money from the academy."
Ji Siyuan said, "Too bad I can't use either of them."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Well, I made a bet with someone, and I can't use pills that raise Soul Power. As for the Mystic Water Pill, my body would absorb impurities if I took it."
To outsiders, that would have sounded like pure bragging.
Huo Yuhao didn't believe him either.
"I'll give it to you tonight. For now, we'd better get ready for class."
"No, no, no. You earned both of these. I don't want them." Ji Siyuan had done all the talking and fighting. Huo Yuyao didn't think she had any right to use the pills.
Ji Siyuan didn't refuse her, either. "We'll talk tonight. We're going to be late for class!"
The Outer Court classes were pretty dull. Ji Siyuan gave up on them completely, while Huo Yuhao studied with great focus.
As night fell, they prepared to return to their dorm and start refining the pills.
Outside, a line had already formed. The two of them were skilled cooks, and their drink-mixing techniques were good too, so plenty of students timed their visits to catch them.
"Damn, are they not coming today?"
"They didn't come yesterday, and now they're not coming today either. I've been starving myself so I can order a few of those huge skewers!"
"I want grilled fish! It took me ages to find something this good. I could put up with them charging more, but what am I supposed to do if they stop selling it altogether?"
Ji Siyuan and Huo Yuhao couldn't hear a thing about their customers' despair. They had already returned to their dorm.
Ji Siyuan opened the package from the academy. Inside were two pills.
One was shaped like a green walnut; the other looked like a blue cherry, with a faint mist of water clinging to its surface.
Huo Yuhao asked, "Which one is the Soul Ascension Pill, and which one is the Mystic Water Pill?"
Normally, it would obviously be the one with the water mist, but neither of them was sure.
Ji Siyuan took out the Space Soul Tool Yan Shaozhe had given him and pulled out the Mystic Water Pill inside.
The pill was shaped like a deep-blue cherry, with white patterns on its surface and a faint water mist around it.
"How come you have another one?"
"Dean Yan gave it to me. He thought I was talented enough to deserve special attention."
Huo Yuhao was incredibly envious. With enough talent, you could do whatever you wanted. Even if you had no money, people would give you some. You could even get a special identity.
If only she had enough talent.
Tian Meng was still comforting her in her Sea of Consciousness, telling her that once she reached level 20, everything would get better.
Ji Siyuan rubbed his nose. "The Mystic Water Pill won't do much for me, and I can't use the Soul Ascension Pill. Normally, I'd give both to you, but I figured you definitely wouldn't accept them. So I'll try one Mystic Water Pill. Its effects would fade over time anyway, until it eventually did nothing."
Huo Yuhao hurriedly refused. "Siyuan, you should take the Soul Ascension Pill. I think it would be best for you. You could even reach level 20 before the Freshman Assessment."
She had heard from Bei Bei that the Freshman Assessment was in three months and knew how important it was.
"The Mystic Water Pill wasn't free, either. I promised Dean Yan I'd reach level 20 in three months without using a Soul Ascension Pill."
"Isn't that too harsh?"
Ji Siyuan didn't even think about it. "I have an Ultimate Martial Soul. My cultivation rises quickly from level 10 to level 30. It only slows down considerably after level 30—more than it does for ordinary Martial Souls."
Ji Siyuan fell silent for a moment. "You don't think I gave this to you for nothing, do you? Listen, you owe me a favor now. Make sure you pay me back someday."
Huo Yuhao's eyes welled with tears. "I'll find a way to repay you! I promise!"
"Then take it. I'll try to find out what this cherry tastes like, too."
Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged and took the Mystic Water Pill first.
She would widen her meridians before taking the Soul Ascension Pill.
Ji Siyuan simply forgot to tell her to get changed first.
After all, when Ji Siyuan took his pill, nothing happened to him at all.
Ji Siyuan's body had no impurities to expel. Huo Yuhao's reaction, on the other hand, was visible to the naked eye.
Before long, a layer of black, sticky substance appeared on her skin, giving off a foul stench.
Ji Siyuan said, "Damn, I really overestimated myself."
He couldn't stand it at all. He left the room, leaving Huo Yuhao alone in the dorm.
He left her a note reminding her to open the windows and air the place out.
Tang San said, "I thought you were going to stay in the dorm and see how the Daughter of Destiny hid her identity."
"Uncle, even those Titled Douluo couldn't tell she was a girl. Now I'm wondering if that million-year-old Soul Beast gave her a Soul Skill to hide her identity. Something like Simulation. She was supposed to acquire it later in the book, but so much has changed already. It's possible she has it now."
"Your reasoning is sound. So you came out because you couldn't bear to miss seeing a pretty girl, right?"
"Of course not. That smell really was awful."
Ji Siyuan went out for a walk. Before long, he saw that the window of their dorm was wide open. He guessed Huo Yuhao had finished refining the pill and went back.
In a good mood, he opened the door.
"Eh? Y-you, how did you get in?" Huo Yuhao was wrapped in a bath towel, her cheeks bright red.
Ji Siyuan felt awkward too. He knew the person across from him was a girl.
"Ahem. Get dressed first. I'm going in to take a bath."
They carefully walked toward each other and accidentally bumped into one another as they passed.
It wasn't just their faces; their necks had turned red too.
Luckily, with Simulation, Huo Yuhao could still hide her identity.
When Ji Siyuan came out, his hair was still beaded with water.
He looked up at Huo Yuhao on the bed. She was staring at him without moving, not even blinking.
When she noticed Ji Siyuan looking at her, she quickly lowered her head and bit her lip.
Ji Siyuan asked, "Have you taken the Soul Ascension Pill?"
"Not yet. I wanted to wait for you to protect me while I did."
"Okay."
Huo Yuhao held the pill in her hand and thought, He gave this to me. He also gave me the Mystic Water Pill that raised me to level 12. I can't let him down. I have to reach level 15! I absolutely can't let him down.
Ji Siyuan hadn't made any demands of her, but she still set the bar for herself.
The green walnut entered her body, and its medicinal power flowed through her meridians. Huo Yuhao began circulating her Soul Power, absorbing the medicinal power and converting it into Soul Power.
Ji Siyuan watched beside her as her Soul Power steadily rose: the peak of level 12, level 13, level 14, and the peak of level 14.
Huo Yuhao's expression grew tense. She bit her lip hard, pushing herself to the limit.
Level 15!
Huo Yuhao opened her eyes and forcibly held back the urge to hug Ji Siyuan. "Siyuan, I reached level 15."