Daily Life!

Life became unexpectedly mundane after returning from Martial Soul Hall.

Tang San's daily routine was as precise as clockwork: he rose before dawn to meditate on his Mysterious Heaven Skill, practiced Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon on the playground once the sun was up, spent his mornings reading in the library, occasionally sparred with Xiao Wu in the afternoon, and returned to meditation at night.

With his first soul ring secured, his passion for cultivation burned even brighter than before, as if he were determined to make up for the months he had spent stuck at level ten.

Huang Fei's routine was like a different set of clockwork: he slept when Tang San rose, slept while Tang San practiced, slept while Tang San read, and simply moved to a new spot to continue sleeping when Tang San sparred.

He would occasionally wake up to eat, only to go right back to sleep afterward.

The work-study students transitioned from initial disbelief to later indifference, and finally to the conclusion that "if Brother Fei ever stops sleeping, we must all be dreaming." The smoothness of this mental shift surprised even them.

Wang Sheng once asked Tang San in private, "Is Brother Fei... really alright? Sleeping all day like that, won't his soul power drop?"

Tang San thought for a moment and replied earnestly, "He's been like this since we were kids, but he never drops the ball when it really matters."

Wang Sheng nodded, half-convinced, and didn't press the matter further.

Xiao Wu, however, observed Huang Fei for a few days before reaching a conclusion that left everyone speechless: "Did he die of sleep deprivation in his past life?"

Huang Fei was eating when he heard this assessment.

He looked up at Xiao Wu and said seriously, "Possibly. That's why I have to make up for all the sleep I missed out on in this life."

Xiao Wu was choked by his righteous attitude, her rabbit ears nearly popping out from her ponytail.

Days passed by, one after another.

Autumn at Notting Academy was short; the ginkgo leaves had barely carpeted the playground before the north wind brought a chill blowing in from outside the city.

The work-study students increased their bedding from one layer to two, and the difficulty of getting out of bed in the morning upgraded from "a bit hard" to "nearly impossible." This was good news for Huang Fei—it gave him even more reason to stay in bed.

Tang San's soul power was growing steadily.

After absorbing his first soul ring, it was as if a blockage in his Mysterious Heaven Skill had been cleared, and it circulated much faster than before.

He didn't deliberately measure it, but judging by the feeling of fullness in his soul power, he estimated he was already nearing level fourteen.

He attributed this to his daily persistence in cultivation and didn't think much of it.

Huang Fei didn't deliberately measure his own soul power either, but the system would chime promptly every time Tang San leveled up.

Ding—Target Tang San's soul power has increased to level 14. Host's soul power has synchronized to level 24.

Ding—Target Tang San's soul power has increased to level 15. Host's soul power has synchronized to level 25.

These notifications rang out every day or every few days; the frequency wasn't high, but it was consistent.

When Huang Fei heard these sounds while lying in bed, he would roll over, the corners of his mouth curling up, and then go back to sleep.

Life was as comfortable as soaking in warm water.

The only thing that felt off to Huang Fei was Yu Xiaogang.

Ever since they returned from the Soul Hunting Forest, Yu Xiaogang hadn't sought Tang San out for a private conversation.

He didn't come to Dormitory Seven, didn't waylay him on the path, and even when Tang San took the initiative to find him, he remained polite and strictly professional, completely lacking the eagerness to take on an apprentice that he had shown before.

This struck Huang Fei as abnormal.

Based on his judgment, a man like Yu Xiaogang wouldn't give up so easily.

Giving away the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges proved that he was determined to have Tang San.

So why had he gone so quiet during this period?

Huang Fei pondered it for two days and reached a conclusion that wasn't quite a conclusion: Gangzi was probably brewing something big.

Or perhaps he had changed his strategy, shifting from "active pursuit" to "playing the long game."

Regardless, Huang Fei didn't intend to get involved for now.

Tang San was already on guard, his first soul ring had been chosen correctly, and the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges were in his possession; their short-term goals had all been met.

As for whatever schemes Yu Xiaogang was cooking up, as long as they didn't cross his bottom line, he could do as he pleased.

In any case, Huang Fei had only one principle from start to finish: stay lying down.

In the blink of an eye, Tang San and Huang Fei had been at Notting Academy for over a month.

The weather had turned thoroughly cold; a thin layer of white frost would coat the playground in the morning, and their breath turned into white mist.

That day, Tang San returned from his usual morning practice and pushed open the door to Dormitory Seven.

The room was much warmer than the outside; over a dozen work-study students were huddled together, their body heat and breath keeping the cold at bay.

Wang Sheng was lying on his bed reading a book on soul beast illustrations. Seeing Tang San enter, he asked casually, "Boss, the break is coming up soon. Are you going back?"

Tang San was stunned.

A break?

He glanced at the calendar hanging behind the door and realized that the date was indeed approaching.

He wasn't very familiar with the semester system at Notting Academy, but judging by Wang Sheng's tone, it must be the year-end holiday.

"I'll probably have to go back," Tang San said after a moment of thought.

"My father is still in Holy Soul Village, so I'm going back to see him."

After saying this, he turned his head to look at where Huang Fei was.

Huang Fei was curled up under his quilt, with only the top of his head visible.

"Huang Fei, what about you? Are you going back?"

There was a three-second silence from under the quilt, followed by a muffled voice: "Going back."

Tang San was somewhat surprised.

Given Huang Fei's personality, he had expected him to say, "It's too much of a hassle to travel back and forth, I'm not going."

"Why are you going back?" Tang San asked.

"Going back to see Grandpa Jack."

Huang Fei poked half his face out from the quilt.

"And to eat all the sweet potatoes at your place while I'm at it."

Tang San: "..."

Wang Sheng, who was nearby, couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.

Xiao Wu walked out from the inner room, holding a half-eaten apple, her ponytail swaying behind her.

"You guys are going back? Holy Soul Village? Where is that? Is it far?"

"It's not far, a day's ride by carriage," Tang San said.

Xiao Wu bit into her apple and thought for a moment, her eyes suddenly lighting up: "Then I'm going too!"

Tang San was stunned: "Why are you going?"

"To have fun!"

Xiao Wu said it as if it were only natural.

"I've never been to a village before. I've heard you talk about it so many times, I want to see what it's like."

Tang San subconsciously glanced at Huang Fei.

Huang Fei had already tucked his face back into the quilt, leaving only a muffled sentence drifting out: "Don't look at me, it's not my house."

Tang San hesitated for a moment.

It wasn't a big deal if Xiao Wu wanted to tag along; there was nothing in the village that couldn't be seen by others.

He nodded: "Fine, then go tell the teacher and see if the academy will let you go."

"Don't worry, they definitely will!"

Xiao Wu finished the apple in a few bites, tossed the core out the window, and skipped out.

Dormitory Seven was quiet for a while.