Fiery Beauty Seeks Guidance at Midnight

Today is the seventh day of the mission.

Every time Huo Wu studied a new tactic, Murong Ci would effortlessly dismantle it, leaving her fuming with embarrassment and rage.

[Favorability: 59. It is estimated that once you finish today's bout, she will remember you completely, perhaps even developing some peculiar feelings.]

The system's voice remained as insufferable as ever, even betraying a hint of eagerness.

[Ding—Target character detected, 100 meters from the host.]

Here we go again...

"Murong Ci! Let's continue today. My father said that tomorrow he'll take us to the Geocentric Fire Cave of our Blazing Fire Academy!"

Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang's father was the dean of Blazing Fire Academy. The Geocentric Fire Cave was a facility reserved only for the most elite of core disciples, which meant the dean held Murong Ci in very high regard.

"Geocentric Fire Cave? System, how do I remember that not existing in the original story?"

Murong Ci paused, seemingly trying to recall where such a place might be.

At that moment, the system's voice chimed in, disrupting his train of thought.

[The Five Element Academies each correspond to five exclusive cultivation grounds: Blazing Fire Academy—Geocentric Fire Cave; Skywater Academy—Cold Ice Spirit Spring; Godwind Academy—Wind-Eroded Canyon; Elephant Armor Academy—Thousand Jun Stone Forest; Thunder Academy—Lightning Strike Platform.]

"Then why don't I remember it being in the original story?"

[This system utilized a few minor methods to ensure your martial soul was properly adapted.]

"System, you're a beast."

[Stop with the glib talk and finish this last match quickly. That Geocentric Fire Cave is a good place, so let's make this fast.]

"Alright! Sister Wu, here I come!"

The soul fighting arena was packed to the rafters. Because Huo Wu had been getting thrashed for three days straight, it was an unprecedented event within Blazing Fire Academy, and indeed, the entire Five Element Academies.

Moreover, he defeated her with a different technique every single time.

On the third day, it was the Ice-Fire Meteor, where ice and fire spheres crushed down upon Huo Wu with overwhelming force.

On the fourth day, it was the Ice-Fire Tornado, a counter-rotational strangulation. Murong Ci had even caught a glimpse of Huo Wu's clothes being shredded by the gale, which couldn't help but stir a sudden heat in his body.

On the fifth day, it was the Blooming Ice-Fire Lotus, defeating Huo Wu with the explosions of the lotus petals.

On the sixth day, it was the Ice-Fire Meteor Shower, where ice and fire collided in the air, raining down a sky full of ice dust and sparks.

Of course, this was inseparable from the system's assistance; thanks to the system's development, Murong Ci had now mastered the basic skills of Yongzhen.

That alone was already heaven-defying enough.

As for this final day, Murong Ci decided to stop playing around. He truly wanted to see what the Geocentric Fire Cave, which didn't exist in the original story, looked like.

"Hurry up, Murong Ci! What are you dawdling for?" Huo Wu flicked her braids and released her martial soul.

Murong Ci raised his hand to invoke Yongzhen, and his second soul ring erupted with a fierce glow!

The gray light vanished in an instant, replaced by shimmering green scales emerging on Murong Ci's right hand, and the temperature around him plummeted sharply.

Then, an ice scorpion appeared behind Murong Ci—entirely ice-blue, dotted with faint green fluorescence, and crystal clear.

The ice scorpion seemed to possess its own sentience, looking down on Huo Wu with disdain.

That was the soul of the Ice Jade Scorpion stored within the Yongzhen space. By releasing his second soul skill, he could briefly manifest its power.

Huo Wu and the spectators in the stands felt a bone-chilling cold surge into their hearts.

Even when facing ice-attribute soul masters from Skywater Academy, they had never felt such intense pressure.

"Second soul skill, Ice Scorpion Pincer!"

Murong Ci channeled all his soul power into his right hand, his five fingers forming the shape of a pincer, and lunged toward Huo Wu!

Huo Wu couldn't even move; she was frozen—perhaps by the cold, perhaps by shock, or perhaps by the sheer pressure of attribute suppression and rank dominance.

The Ice Scorpion Pincer stopped three feet in front of her, but a small portion of Huo Wu's hair had already been frozen stiff.

"I win."

"Oh."

"?"

[Target character—Huo Wu detected. She is experiencing a great sense of frustration and low spirits. If not for you and the crowd being present, she would have already burst into tears.]

Murong Ci's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected Huo Wu to react this way; it turned out that even a girl with such a fierce exterior had a fragile heart underneath.

Murong Ci waved to the stands, and the crowd dispersed.

They really didn't want to provoke this monster, and over the past few days, Murong Ci's reputation in Blazing Fire Academy had grown immense.

Huo Wushuang walked over, looking at Murong Ci with a helpless expression, signaling for him to leave as well.

Murong Ci nodded and headed back to his dormitory. He hadn't walked far before he heard the wailing sobs of a woman.

His heart gave a sharp tug.

[Don't worry about it. Favorability is still 59; it hasn't dropped, but it seems someone has developed a few new thoughts in her heart.]

"What's wrong with her?"

[Hmph, hmph.]

"Hmph your old Feng!"

Murong Ci laughed; people tend to laugh when they are helpless.

It was late at night, and Murong Ci was still feeling melancholy.

"System, can you generate Komugi juice for me?"

[Cannot.]

"What about instant noodles? Although this food is delicious, I'm craving instant noodles."

[Cannot.]

Murong Ci shook his head, sighed, and began to undress for bed.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

A knocking sound echoed from outside the door.

"Who is it?"

No one answered him, but he heard the system chuckling in a snide way. He simply opened the door and saw Huo Wu.

Huo Wu was wearing a thin white nightgown, her collar disheveled, her hair loose, and her eyes red and swollen. It was obvious she had just bathed and had been crying.

Upon the door opening, Huo Wu walked in without a word and sat on the bed.

"Are you sleeping here tonight? This is my room." Murong Ci spread his hands and teased.

"Teach me."

"What?"

"Teach me how to use fire. Your ice and fire qualities are too high; I can't beat you. Besides, I don't have an ice attribute. The only way to win against you is to raise my fire to the same quality as yours, or even higher."

[Ultimate attributes were only mentioned in Peerless Tang Sect, and it was explicitly stated that they did not appear during the Douluo Dalu I era, so your attributes are of the highest quality here.]

[However, because your Yongzhen is inclusive, you can choose to elevate certain people's attributes to the ultimate level. This is known as dual cultivation.]

Murong Ci choked.

"What's wrong?" Huo Wu asked tentatively, afraid that Murong Ci would refuse to teach her.

"Nothing, nothing. What do you want to learn?"

"Fire control, quality enhancement."

"Fine. Give me your hand. I'll heal your injuries first. I reckon the ice from today froze you up pretty badly; having fire and ice fighting inside your body isn't very comfortable."

Murong Ci sat on the bed, took Huo Wu's hand, and activated Yongzhen, drawing out the ice-attribute soul power from within her while exchanging it with fire-attribute energy.

"Ah..." Huo Wu let out a soft moan.

[Detected host's heart rate has increased to 120.]

"Shut up!" Murong Ci snapped internally.

Of course, this was merely the process of soul power exchange. This was the simplest form of dual cultivation—treating conflicting soul power attributes while incidentally transferring higher-quality attributes to another.

As he withdrew his hand, Huo Wu collapsed onto the bed, exhausted, only to realize this wasn't her bed and sat up abruptly.

Murong Ci couldn't help but laugh.

"You're still laughing!" Huo Wu glared at him. "You're supposed to teach me how to improve my quality next!"

"Condense. It's mainly about compressing soul power, concentrating soul power, and purifying the flames. Don't be in a rush to increase your level; instead, focus on increasing the purity of your soul power. Want to try?"

Murong Ci extended his hand, signaling for Huo Wu to give him hers, palm to palm.

Huo Wu hesitated for a moment before finally placing her hand on Murong Ci's palm.

The two began to slowly transmit and exchange soul power.

[This is the realm of entering the initial stage of soul power fusion. This process is very comfortable, similar to Haodong Power. Now, let this system give you a hand!]

After the system finished speaking, it mobilized its own permissions, making the soul power even more abundant and solid.

"Mmm..." Both of them couldn't help but let out a soft hum. Their hands gripped tighter, and they couldn't help but lean closer.

The ambiguous atmosphere in the air grew thicker.

The next morning, Huo Wu opened her eyes, feeling incredibly refreshed.

The flames within her body were eager to leap; she had never felt so invigorated.

Her soul power had reached level 34. After cultivating for the entire night, she had actually broken through a level, which was something she never could have imagined.

Meanwhile, Murong Ci had reached level 29.

"Dual cultivation is truly exquisite!" Murong Ci praised the system.

[Of course, and this is only the most basic dual cultivation. Later, when Yin and Yang...]

"Stop it, stop it!"

"Thanks." Huo Wu's voice was very soft. She lowered her head, her hand still gripped tightly, her fingers grazing against Murong Ci's palm.

Huo Wu seemed ashamed of having spent the entire night in a man's dormitory.

"It's nothing. Go back now. If you cultivate according to my method, the quality of your flames will improve."

"Mm..." Huo Wu hummed softly, pulled her hand away, and slowly backed out of the room, looking like a completely different person from her usual boisterous self.

[Affinity 65/100. Not bad, kid, you've managed to carve out a little space for yourself in her heart.]

"Basic operation, don't be surprised."

[...]

[Ding--Mission successful. Fire attribute affinity increased by 30%. Obtained combination soul skill "Ice-Fire Polar Domain".]

Murong Ci smiled confidently.

A new day has begun. Geocentric Fire Cave, here I come!