This time, Xue Mingqing had returned to Blizzard City to rest, relax, and visit his family.
But there was another reason: Xue Mingqing had been stuck at level 20 for over a month.
He needed a Soul Ring to break through his bottleneck and advance.
The Soul Beasts in Star Dou Forest were certainly numerous, but—
When all was said and done, they still couldn't compare to the native Soul Beasts of the Far North in terms of suitability.
So, for Xue Mingqing, the Soul Beasts in Star Dou Forest were merely a backup option if he had no other choice. From beginning to end, only the Soul Beasts of the Far North were truly suited to him.
It was precisely because Mu En had considered this that he'd agreed without hesitation to Xue Mingqing's request for leave to return home.
As far as he was concerned, as long as Xue Mingqing kept striving to grow stronger and remembered how Shrek had nurtured him—
It didn't matter where he grew up or who taught him.
After all, even if Xue Mingqing grew powerful, his personality meant he would never make a move against Shrek Academy.
Since that was the case, Mu En was happy to take it easy instead of helping Xue Mingqing hunt for a Soul Ring.
He might have been taking it easy, but Xue Ningxian had a bit of a headache.
The reason was simple.
She had just tested him. With Xue Mingqing's current physical strength, he could easily absorb a Soul Ring with a lifespan of five to six thousand years.
But there was a problem: the Soul Beast enclosure in Blizzard City only had Soul Beasts with lifespans a little over five thousand years at most.
Besides, she didn't even know if any of them would suit Xue Mingqing.
If one did, then it would be fine. She could accept a slightly shorter lifespan.
But if none of them did...
At the thought of having to travel all the way outside the city to capture a suitable Soul Beast for Xue Mingqing, Xue Ningxian felt a sharp throb in her head.
"Tsk... What a troublesome little pest..."
"Forget it, forget it... I'll go see what that five-thousand-year-old Soul Beast in the enclosure is first..."
"If it doesn't suit him..."
At that, Xue Ningxian let out a deep, fragrant sigh. She turned and walked toward the exit of City Lord's Hall.
In the air above City Lord's Hall, only her long sigh remained, echoing.
"What a born little debtor..."
Meanwhile.
Xue Mingqing had returned to his little courtyard after a long absence. Even though he'd been away for half a year, it was exactly as he'd left it.
Spotless and tidy, without a speck of dust.
At the sight, the corners of Xue Mingqing's mouth curled up slightly.
It seemed his tsundere of a mother, who was only his in name, didn't actually resent him as much as she claimed.
He shook his head with a quiet laugh and walked toward the stone bench in the courtyard, but...
Just as he was about to sit down, someone gently knocked on the gate to his courtyard.
Knock, knock, knock.
At the sound, Xue Mingqing froze and turned to look. "Who is it?"
A pleasant, feminine voice sounded from outside, cool and composed, as meticulous as ever.
"It's getting dark. Time for your medicinal bath."
At that, Xue Mingqing's mouth twitched. He walked over, opened the gate, and looked at Lu Xiaoxiao outside with a complicated expression.
"Um... Aunt Lu, now that we're back in Blizzard City and I've got time off, could you give me a little break too?"
After all, a medicinal bath wasn't simply a matter of sitting in the tub and waiting for the medicine to seep into his body and strengthen him.
It wasn't that simple. In the medicinal bath, Xue Mingqing had to actively use his Soul Power to draw the medicinal energy into his body, then focus completely on refining every bit of it.
Otherwise, if too much medicinal energy entered his body without being refined in time,
The excess would only clog his meridians.
That would actually slow his cultivation and diminish his talent.
So, to Xue Mingqing, a medicinal bath wasn't rest. It was simply another form of cultivation, though not quite as strenuous.
At his words,
Lu Xiaoxiao stood outside with her hands clasped behind her back, her ample curves held proudly. She gave Xue Mingqing a cool glance.
Then she shook her head.
"No."
Looking at Lu Xiaoxiao's fair, smooth face, free of the slightest wrinkle and almost indistinguishable from that of an ordinary mature beauty—
Her long, stunning phoenix eyes held a faint trace of indifference; her nose was elegant and high; her soft, rosy lips gleamed with a tempting sheen.
Xue Mingqing's throat bobbed instinctively. He took half a step back, his expression a little strange.
Was it just his imagination...? Why did Aunt Lu seem even prettier than before...?
Seeing Xue Mingqing retreat, Lu Xiaoxiao took the opportunity to step into the courtyard and walked straight inside.
"Take off your clothes. Get ready for the medicinal bath."
Speaking coolly and briskly, Lu Xiaoxiao took a tub filled with blue-green medicinal liquid from her Storage Soul Tool and casually set it on the ground.
At the sight, Xue Mingqing's mouth twitched. What else could he say?
He couldn't beat Lu Xiaoxiao, and if he tried to reason with her, she'd just say, "It's for your own good." What else could he say?
Nothing at all.
With a long sigh, Xue Mingqing obediently took off his outer clothes and walked toward the tub full of medicinal liquid.
Well, another sleepless night...
And Lu Xiaoxiao?
She stood quietly beside the tub, keeping an eye on Xue Mingqing as he took his medicinal bath.
To be honest, when she'd first learned that Shrek Academy was using her as leverage to keep Xue Mingqing, she hadn't been very happy about it.
After all, no matter how loyal she was to Shrek or how thoroughly it had indoctrinated her, she was still a Soul Saint. She had her dignity.
When they first made her spend time with Xue Mingqing, she'd felt utterly uncomfortable.
But now, watching Xue Mingqing, full of helpless resignation, obediently climb into the medicinal bath,
The corners of Lu Xiaoxiao's soft lips couldn't help but curl into a lovely smile.
After spending so much time with this Little Monster, it seemed...
Staying by his side for a long time wasn't so bad after all?
The thoughts in Lu Xiaoxiao's heart were like the snowstorms of Blizzard City: delicate, yet unnoticed by anyone.
Xue Mingqing was like that right now.
With his clothes off, his well-built upper body exposed, he sat quietly in the blue-green medicinal liquid, circulating his Soul Power and absorbing its medicinal energy.
The next day.
Waking from his cultivation, Xue Mingqing clenched his fist.
He felt the Soul Power inside him, brimming to the absolute limit and almost overflowing.
In response, Xue Mingqing helplessly closed his eyes for a moment.
His Soul Power had been stuck at level 20 for over a month. Without obtaining a Soul Ring to break through the bottleneck, no amount of medicinal baths could improve his Soul Power any further; they could only strengthen his body.
Knowing this was exactly why Xue Mingqing resisted the medicinal baths so much.
After all, they couldn't improve his cultivation, and he still had to divide his attention to refine the medicinal energy, or it would clog his meridians.
Who would willingly do something so futile?
Almost every time, the Soul Power Xue Mingqing gained from refining the medicinal energy ended up being fed to Feng Qingyang, who was sleeping in his spiritual sea.
"Ugh... What kind of situation is this..."
Standing up from the tub, Xue Mingqing glanced helplessly at the stunning Lu Xiaoxiao, who was sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard nearby, chin resting in her hand as she dozed with her eyes closed.
He couldn't help letting out another long sigh.
"Ugh... This is the pain of happiness..."
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