Na'er's First Awakening

Su Chen saw the reward but chose not to absorb it, instead storing it within his body to make use of it for the time being.

He would find an opportunity to gift it to Leng Yaozhu in the future.

Under the suppression of the system, the Heavenly Phoenix Essence Blood was almost entirely concealed within Su Chen's body, yet it still provided him with significant benefits.

The first was fire immunity; even against Ultimate Fire, Su Chen could achieve complete immunity by leveraging a sliver of power from the Heavenly Phoenix Origin.

The second was bloodline suppression, which exerted a powerful dampening effect on phoenix-type martial souls. Of course, this was on the condition that the gap in cultivation was not too vast—for instance, when facing Leng Yaozhu...

Unless Su Chen detonated the Heavenly Phoenix Essence Blood, it would be impossible to affect her.

Naturally, this applied to combat; under normal circumstances, the Heavenly Phoenix Essence Blood would instead exert an attraction toward its own kind...

This was not Su Chen's conjecture, but something based on fact.

Su Chen subconsciously looked back at the Goddess Illustrated Handbook interface in his mind.

[Character: Leng Yaozhu]

[Rating: SS-rank]

[Affection: 35]

When the system had first recorded Leng Yaozhu, her affection had been only 24 points.

Yet, the moment Su Chen took the Heavenly Phoenix Origin into his body, her affection surged by 11 points, reaching the current 35.

"Are you done?"

Suddenly, Leng Yaozhu's voice interrupted Su Chen's internal shock.

"Ah, yes... done..."

Su Chen hurriedly snapped back to reality.

Just then, Leng Yaozhu's red lips curled slightly as she spoke, "Since you're done, come over here and take a photo with your teacher."

Before Su Chen could react, Leng Yaozhu reached out and pulled him toward her through the air.

The power of a Limit Douluo was truly terrifying; Su Chen had absolutely no ability to resist before Leng Yaozhu gripped his shoulders.

Leng Yaozhu stood on the steps.

Su Chen stood with his back to her, pressed closely against her.

Su Chen felt two soft, cloud-like mounds against the back of his head, carrying a sense of pressure—clearly, they were of a formidable size.

Standing on the steps, combined with her high heels, Leng Yaozhu was indeed much taller than Su Chen.

At the same time, the unique, delicate fragrance of a mature woman drifted into his nostrils.

Leng Yaozhu did not seem to mind this in the slightest.

Furthermore, just a moment ago, she had sensed something new on Su Chen that made her feel a sense of familiarity and closeness.

Although it was strange, she did not press him for answers; there would be plenty of time to spend together in the future, and she would find out sooner or later.

"Uh, Teacher... what are you doing..."

Su Chen turned his head slightly, seeking a more comfortable position.

"Don't move."

Leng Yaozhu's lazy voice drifted down from above, and one hand pressed naturally onto his shoulder, halting his slight movement.

Her other hand reached for the camera in Su Chen's grip, turning it around to face the two of them.

"Come on, smile."

"Click—"

The crisp sound of the shutter rang out, freezing the moment in time.

In the frame, the tall woman in the red dress stood elegantly on the high platform, head slightly bowed, a smile playing on her lips.

The handsome youth held half-embraced before her had flushed cheeks, his gaze toward the lens filled with a hint of nervousness and awkwardness.

The background featured massive floor-to-ceiling windows and the bustling cityscape of Eastsea City outside.

The photo was printed instantly.

Leng Yaozhu released her grip on Su Chen's shoulder, her long, slender fingers elegantly pinching the still-warm photograph as she examined it with interest.

"Hmm, this camera of yours is quite good; it's surprisingly clear."

Leng Yaozhu seemed very satisfied with the result.

After all, this was her first photo with Su Chen.

On the other hand, the clarity of the photo was remarkably high—even the figures on the street below were captured with perfect sharpness, completely unlike anything else on the market.

However, she didn't ask much about it; curiosity was the extent of it, as she had no real interest in such things.

"Alright, this photo is nice. Your teacher will keep it."

Leng Yaozhu reached out with her other hand and gently ruffled Su Chen's hair, leaving his originally smooth black locks somewhat disheveled.

"As long as Teacher likes it~"

Su Chen broke free from the immense pressure overhead and offered a bashful smile.

"That's enough for today. Starting tomorrow, you need to set aside one hour each day to come here; I will instruct you personally."

Leng Yaozhu's tone returned to its previous formality, carrying a hint of sternness.

She was not a true teacher and was not skilled at instructing students, so she could only pass on some of her own experiences.

However, in her view, every genius had their own path to walk. All she needed to provide was guidance and some assistance along the way to accelerate Su Chen's growth.

There was no need to interfere too much.

"Understood, Teacher. Then I'll head back now."

Su Chen flashed a brilliant smile, appearing very happy.

After all, he had successfully added another SS-rank Goddess Illustrated Handbook entry, and with the ability to check in daily, his growth rate had increased once again; naturally, he had reason to be pleased.

Beyond that, Leng Yaozhu was also a massive backer for him.

With Mu Chen as his backing, Su Chen could walk sideways across East Sea.

With Leng Yaozhu as his backing, Su Chen could walk sideways across the entire continent.

Chairman Mu, let's not contact each other in the future; I'm afraid Yaozhu might misunderstand...

"Ahem..."

Su Chen cast aside the strange thoughts in his mind and headed toward home.

When Su Chen returned home, he discovered that Na'er was not there.

However, Su Chen was not particularly worried, because if Na'er wasn't home, it meant she had gone to the seaside to play.

Na'er was quite the homebody; she usually hid in the study reading books, enjoyed learning about various aspects of the soul master world, and rarely interacted with outsiders.

Su Chen had taken her to the seaside once before, and Na'er seemed to like it very much; it had since become a place she frequented.

Su Chen's thoughts stirred, and space seemed to fold and unfold before his eyes.

With a single step, his figure was already a hundred meters away.

As Su Chen's cultivation improved, his single-teleport distance was no longer limited to a hundred meters but had reached two hundred, and it might continue to grow stronger in the future.

With a few flickers, Su Chen easily crossed a distance of several thousand meters.

The humid sea breeze, carrying a salty scent, rushed toward him, and the sound of waves crashing against the embankment filled his ears.

The setting sun sank lower, dyeing the sea surface into a sheet of molten gold.

On the distant embankment, a small figure sat quietly.

Her short silver hair was blown by the golden sea breeze like flowing moonlight, shimmering with a fine luster.

"Na'er, what's wrong? You seem to have something on your mind."

Su Chen's voice was very gentle as he sat down beside Na'er of his own accord, his tone filled with concern.

Na'er usually came here to read books while blowing in the sea breeze and always seemed very happy, but today, Su Chen could clearly sense that she was troubled.

"Brother... you're back. It's nothing... I think I remembered some lost memories, so I came to clear my head..."

Na'er leaned her head gently against Su Chen's shoulder, her movements very practiced.

"Is it about your background? If you recall any clues, I can help you search for them," Su Chen said with immediate concern.

Su Chen hadn't expected Na'er to awaken so quickly, but it didn't matter to him.

After all, the favorability was already set.

As for whether Na'er would eventually split like in the original work, Su Chen wasn't certain, but he wouldn't interfere either.