The Scheming Xiao Wu

"Didn't the academy say studying here was free? We still have to buy our own quilts?"

"I don't have any money. If I don't have a quilt, how am I supposed to sleep tonight?" Xiao Wu said, her face falling.

She had heard that work-study students got paid, which was why she had come here. It was also a chance to get close to human Soul Masters and absorb their human aura to cultivate.

As she spoke, Xiao Wu kept sneaking glances at Li Ping'an's bed. Her intentions couldn't have been clearer: she wanted to share a bed with him.

But Li Ping'an seemed not to catch her meaning at all. He reached into his clothes and pulled out a Gold Soul Coin.

It was the very coin Tang San had given him. He hadn't planned to keep it, so he might as well lend it to Xiao Wu.

"Xiao Wu, I have a Gold Soul Coin here. You can borrow it for now. Pay me back when you have money."

Li Ping'an wasn't lending Xiao Wu money because he had more than he knew what to do with.

Tang San had given him a Gold Soul Coin in front of everyone, and he was worried the other work-study students might set their sights on it.

Li Ping'an didn't believe they were all such well-behaved kids that none of them would be tempted by a Gold Soul Coin.

The academy gave work-study students odd jobs that paid five Copper Soul Coins each time, but the work wasn't available every day.

Otherwise, these work-study students could earn a whole one and a half Gold Soul Coins a month from the academy just by taking odd jobs.

So if he lent the money to Xiao Wu and let her spend it, they wouldn't keep their attention on him.

Besides, Xiao Wu had already bonded with his Sub-System, so he naturally needed to raise their intimacy.

Getting closer to Xiao Wu and increasing their intimacy would make her future tasks easier and her rewards more generous.

And it would also let him skim a little more off the rewards.

Xiao Wu froze. She hadn't wanted to borrow money; she'd wanted to get closer to Li Ping'an.

Still, she accepted the Gold Soul Coin he held out. Borrowing it and paying it back would bring them closer, wouldn't it?

"Thank you. Can you take me to the shop? I don't know the way!" Xiao Wu said.

Li Ping'an had finished making his bed, and with nothing else to do, he went with Xiao Wu to the academy shop.

The two of them left Dorm Seven together. Only then did Wang Sheng come around.

He had actually woken up a while ago. Though Xiao Wu had been angry, she knew her limits and hadn't really hurt him.

He had heard every word of the conversation between Li Ping'an and Xiao Wu.

Wang Sheng glanced at Tang San and couldn't help saying, "Boss Tang San, that was your money they used!"

Tang San looked at him. "Wang Sheng, Xiao Wu is the boss now!"

"That money was a debt I owed Li Ping'an. Don't go spreading nonsense. Besides, I came here to study!"

Tang San wasn't stupid. How could he let Wang Sheng rile him up?

Wang Sheng hunched his shoulders. He had actually seen a chilling glint in Tang San's eyes.

"Ugh, I'd better just focus on cultivating. With such a strong boss among the work-study students, things aren't so bad after all!"

The academy's little shop was packed with all kinds of goods.

Even on Douluo Continent, students were the easiest people to make money off, especially students at Soul Master Academies.

These students were all well-off. Even the work-study students had some spending power.

"This skirt is so pretty, and that outfit too! It's lovely!"

"Huh, what kind of food is this? I don't think I've ever tried it!"

Li Ping'an had still underestimated Xiao Wu's spending power. Before long, she had spent all the money.

"Xiao Wu, weren't we here to buy a quilt?" Li Ping'an asked, carrying the things for her.

Xiao Wu realized she seemed to have forgotten what she'd come for in the first place. She hadn't bought a quilt.

But the Gold Soul Coin she had borrowed was already gone.

"Li Ping'an, do you have any more money on you?" Xiao Wu asked.

Li Ping'an shook his head. "Boss, if I had that much money, why would I be a work-study student?"

"But I heard that once you become a Soul Master, you can go to Spirit Hall every month to collect a Gold Soul Coin as a stipend."

"A Gold Soul Coin every month? That's great! I was just worrying about how to pay you back!" Xiao Wu said.

She had Innate Full Soul Power. She only needed to absorb a little human aura to undo her seal, form a Soul Ring, and become a Soul Master.

At the thought, Xiao Wu set her sights on Li Ping'an. In fact, it had been her plan all along.

"Li Ping'an, could I sleep under your quilt for one night?" Xiao Wu asked.

Li Ping'an looked at her. He hadn't expected Xiao Wu to use the same trick again.

"Xiao Wu, if you sleep under my quilt, what am I supposed to do?" Li Ping'an asked.

"Li Ping'an, isn't your quilt pretty big? We can share it!"

"The academy beds are quite big too. We're both still little, so two people can fit in one bed!"

Students at Soul Master Academies grew faster than students at ordinary schools, so their beds really were bigger.

"Even if one bed isn't big enough, we can push our beds together and sleep side by side!" Xiao Wu said.

"Xiao Wu, we're a boy and a girl. Sharing a bed wouldn't look good!"

When she saw that Li Ping'an still wanted to refuse, she hurriedly said, "I don't care how it looks. Why should you?"

"Or do you actually want to do something to me? Is that why you're afraid to sleep with me?" Xiao Wu stared at Li Ping'an with her innocent, wide eyes.

"Besides, I'm the boss of Dorm Seven now. You have to listen to me!"

Li Ping'an was at a loss for words. He hadn't expected a ten-thousand-year-old veteran like Xiao Wu to put on an act in front of him.

But Li Ping'an played along. "All right, then!"

"Yay!" Xiao Wu cheered silently. "When I make a move, taking down Li Ping'an is a piece of cake!"

Night fell. After washing up, Li Ping'an sat on his bed to cultivate his Soul Power.

When he was done, Li Ping'an began studying the secret art of the Wither-Flourish Art.

He wasn't Xiao Wu, who could learn the art in no time, so he still had to study and understand it bit by bit.

"This secret art deals with meridians. I can use this chance to learn about them ahead of time!"

Meridians were a field rarely explored in this world, and that was one of the advantages of Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill.

Li Ping'an silently studied the secret art, while Xiao Wu sat beside him to cultivate as well.

She was still in the juvenile stage of her transformed Soul Beast life. She didn't actually need to cultivate; absorbing human aura alone would raise her Soul Power.

But she wasn't cultivating Soul Power right now. She was practicing Breath Concealment Technique.

After studying it closely, she discovered that the art had other uses besides concealing her aura.

So she planned to practice it seriously, hoping to escape the grasp of that Titled Douluo as soon as possible.

After a long while, Li Ping'an finally came out of his cultivation state.

"I've finally grasped the basics! Looks like my talent isn't bad!" Li Ping'an thought.

With the foundation he had built from the Martial Soul Meditation Method, he had finally learned the basics of the Wither-Flourish Art too.

From now on, he could conceal his aura and keep others from noticing that his Soul Power was abnormal.

The moment he opened his eyes, Li Ping'an saw Xiao Wu sitting beside him, cultivating in the nightgown she had bought that day.

The nightgown wasn't long. It only covered Xiao Wu's shapely thighs, leaving a pair of delicate feet and her fair, slender calves exposed.

Unfortunately, she hadn't fully grown yet. Li Ping'an only glanced once before lifting the quilt and getting ready to sleep.