Two Kittens

The next day, the morning sun rose.

Everyone gathered on the training grounds early in the morning. Led by Zhao Wuji, they set off for Star Dou Forest, accompanied by Lin Yan and the other seven students.

On the way, while the others weren't paying attention, Lin Yan quietly went over to Zhu Zhuqing.

"Zhuqing, I'll show you something good later."

Lin Yan spoke mysteriously, wearing a teasing expression that made it obvious the "good thing" he was talking about probably wasn't anything good at all.

Zhu Zhuqing warily glanced around at everyone.

"What is it?"

"With so many people around, don't do anything like that..."

Lin Yan's lips curled up.

"Don't worry. I'll show you when we're alone."

"We'll probably stay at an inn tonight. Come to my room then."

As soon as she heard she would have to go find him alone that night, a blush suddenly appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's pretty face.

She didn't need to guess to know it had to do with that sort of thing. But what exactly was it? Why was Lin Yan being so mysterious about it?

Curious, she asked in a quiet voice,

"What is it, exactly? Can't you tell me now?"

"If I tell you now, there won't be any surprise. You'll find out then. I'm sure you'll like it."

After saying that, Lin Yan gave her a meaningful smile. Zhu Zhuqing looked both curious and bashful. With her delicate, pretty face and ample bosom, she was quite a sight...

She wanted to keep pressing him and get to the bottom of it, but Ning Rongrong suddenly stepped between them.

"Hey! What are you two whispering about?"

Startled, Zhu Zhuqing hurriedly turned her head away. Lin Yan also wiped the smile from his face.

"Nothing..."

Leaving her with those words, he returned to the boys' group, leaving behind Zhu Zhuqing, whose gait seemed a little off, and Ning Rongrong, who looked utterly confused.

For some reason, Ning Rongrong had a feeling something bad was about to happen. She felt uneasy.

"Zhuqing, what did Lin Yan say to you? Why do you two seem so strange?"

Women's intuition could be remarkably accurate sometimes, especially for someone like Ning Rongrong, who had already fallen for Lin Yan.

Her intuition told her that those two were definitely keeping a secret...

"You... don't get the wrong idea. He was just asking me about cultivation."

"It's not what you think. There's nothing between us..."

She trailed off, suddenly stopping. She realized her own reaction was strange too. Knowing that the more she said, the more likely she was to slip up, she chose to keep quiet.

From that point on, the atmosphere within the group gradually grew a little strange...

Ning Rongrong kept shooting Zhu Zhuqing wary little glances, while Zhu Zhuqing seemed to deliberately avoid Ning Rongrong whenever she could. It was as if they were both tacitly trying to avoid the same thing.

Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, evening had arrived.

Zhao Wuji took everyone to a hotel near the entrance to Star Dou Forest. As expected, they ran into Canghui Academy there.

Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai provoked the other side, and the two groups fought. It ended with Zhao Wuji utterly overpowering Ye Zhiqiu.

Lin Yan didn't get involved...

Whatever. In a world where strength reigned supreme, it didn't matter to him how much trouble they wanted to cause. Trying to reshape this person's or that person's worldview was far too exhausting.

The evening breeze blew through the window into Lin Yan's room at the inn. He was turning the "Tiger Talisman" he'd received as a system reward over in his hand when someone lightly knocked twice on the door.

His lips curled up. He knew Zhu Zhuqing had arrived.

He got out of bed and opened the door. In an instant, a dark figure slipped inside. The whole furtive scene made Lin Yan laugh.

"Close the door already! What are you standing there for?"

Zhu Zhuqing shot Lin Yan an annoyed look. He closed the door, then slipped an arm around her waist and brought her over to the bed.

They landed heavily on the soft mattress, Lin Yan on top and Zhu Zhuqing beneath him. They could even see the fine down on each other's cheeks...

The young woman's pretty face was flushed as she muttered resentfully,

"What is it, exactly? Why all the secrecy?"

Lin Yan chuckled.

"Of course it's something good!"

"Close your eyes first."

"Stop fooling around. I sneaked out. Rongrong and Xiao Wu will come looking for me if they notice I'm gone."

Lin Yan could clearly feel her heart pounding beneath his palm. Even through the swell of her bosom, its rapid beat was unmistakable.

It was more than enough to show just how nervous Zhu Zhuqing was, and how afraid she was of being discovered...

"Fine."

Lin Yan stopped teasing her. Instead, he opened his palm and held the "Tiger Talisman" out to Zhu Zhuqing.

"Hold it and carefully sense the power within."

The young woman took the talisman suspiciously. Looking at the white tiger pattern on it, she wore a puzzled expression.

"What do you mean?"

Lin Yan nodded for her to do as he said. Zhu Zhuqing had no choice but to hold it in her hand.

In an instant, brilliant light blossomed from her palm. The Nether Civet Martial Soul appeared of its own accord, and its two Yellow Soul Rings began to pulse slowly, merging together before separating again...

The strange sight left Lin Yan just as confused. Honestly, he didn't know what the Tiger Talisman could do in this world either. The system hadn't given him any explanation, so Zhu Zhuqing would have to figure it all out herself.

After a long while, all fluctuations of energy settled down.

Zhu Zhuqing's beautiful eyes gleamed with excitement. She had clearly grasped something wonderful about it.

Before Lin Yan could ask, she spoke first.

"I can feel that every one of my Soul Rings will share the total number of years between them equally. The Soul Rings I get in the future will work the same way."

"Now both of my Soul Rings seem to be just under six hundred years old."

"The power of my first Soul Skill has increased, while the power of my second Soul Skill has decreased."

Lin Yan frowned slightly as he listened, apparently trying to make sense of what she meant.

Before long, he finally understood.

"I get it."

"So that's what it means to balance the energy in your body."

"In other words, if the quality of your future Soul Rings is high enough, all your Soul Rings will reach the ten-thousand-year level, or even the hundred-thousand-year level."

Lin Yan suddenly understood. Balancing the energy in her body referred to the age of her Soul Rings, and perhaps even that of her Soul Bones.

"This..."

"What exactly is this thing? Where did you get it?"

A trace of solemnity appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's face.

She had originally thought Lin Yan had called her over to do that sort of thing. She hadn't expected him to actually have something good for her—and something with such a strange ability, at that...

It could adjust the age of her Soul Rings. That meant that the further she progressed in her cultivation, the greater her advantage over Soul Masters of the same rank would become.

Other people's first two, or even first four, skills were all rather useless. But if all her Soul Rings were at the ten-thousand-year level from the very first one, how could anyone fight her?

The young woman's breathing gradually quickened. The future she had imagined had left her utterly stunned.

Seeing this, Lin Yan chuckled.

"It doesn't matter! It belongs to you from now on."

"One more thing: try to use your Soul Power to activate its energy yourself."