Winning So Hard

Two and a half years.

Time flew by. During that period, Cheng Xiao spent a great deal of time and finally worked out a Soul Power circulation route that suited Tai Chi rather well.

Every time he altered the route, he would practice Tai Chi for an entire day to assess its effects. If it felt worse, he would scrap it and start over. If it felt better, he would make further adjustments based on it.

After modification after modification and endless experimentation, this Soul Power circulation route finally took shape.

Cheng Xiao still felt it was not perfect. Aside from the first time he entered the state of "Selfless and Formless," he had been unable to recapture that feeling during the past two and a half years.

His current Soul Power circulation route merely allowed him to draw infinitely close to "Selfless and Formless," yet it always fell short by the slightest margin.

He still wanted to improve it further, but limited by his current knowledge and experience, he could no longer make even the tiniest adjustment to this Soul Power circulation route.

No matter how helpless Cheng Xiao felt, he had to admit that human ability had its limits.

He was not Zhang Sanfeng, capable of ascending in broad daylight. He did not possess such incredible ability and could only rely on that faint, intangible intuition to make tiny adjustments, gradually exploring better states in hopes of achieving perfection.

The Soul Power circulation route was finally finalized. Combined with Tai Chi, it was compiled into the Tai Chi cultivation method.

Thanks to Tai Chi making up for his physique, his innate deficiencies were gradually replenished. In less than three years, Cheng Xiao broke through to level ten.

Compared to ordinary people, that speed was quite fast, but it was nowhere near the level of genius.

Tang San and Xiao Wu had broken through to level twenty a few days earlier.

Breaking through at the Soul Master stage was far more difficult than at the Soul Scholar stage, yet they had advanced faster than Cheng Xiao. This showed that in terms of innate physique—namely, affinity—Cheng Xiao still lagged far behind them.

Breaking through to level twenty before even turning ten alarmed the academy headmaster.

Under the academy headmaster's guidance, Tang San hunted down a Ghost Vine and obtained his second Soul Ring. Its skill was Parasite.

The treatment geniuses received was enviable; ordinary people could not enjoy it.

Nearly all students were only led by Soul Master teachers in their teens to hunt Soul Beasts. Few obtained hundred-year Soul Rings. Most only had ten-year Soul Rings, which were not only low in quality but also often had attributes that were far from ideal.

After Cheng Xiao broke through to level ten, he had one chance to ask a teacher to help him hunt a Soul Beast, but he did not choose that option.

Ten-year Soul Beasts were far too weak for him.

He had trained his body so desperately, tempered his muscles and bones, honed his mind, and used Tai Chi to nurture his innate foundation and make up for his deficiencies. Setting aside absorbing Soul Rings beyond his limits, he at least needed to go for the maximum possible. A ten-year Soul Ring was not even enough to fill the gaps in his teeth.

Therefore, he brought up the agreement from over two years ago and sought out Xiao Wu and Tang San.

Many things had happened over those two and a half years. Cheng Xiao and Xiao Wu had grown closer, and naturally, so had Tang San and Xiao Wu.

A year and a half ago, when the first school year ended, Xiao Wu returned to Soul Saint Village with Tang San and became sworn siblings with him. Cheng Xiao had been unable to stop it.

At some point, Xiao Wu had privately arranged with Tang San to spend the summer at his home, leaving Cheng Xiao no chance to interfere.

As for following Tang San back to Holy Soul Village...

Cheng Xiao ultimately dismissed the idea. He had to help his family with their business during summer break and could not remain in Holy Soul Village for the entire vacation. There would always be opportunities for them to spend time alone. He could stop it once, but could he stop it twice or three times?

Besides, the two shared a dormitory and could get together at any time. So long as Tang San wanted to, he would always find an opportunity.

With an adult's soul, Tang San naturally had methods beyond those of a child. Given that Tang San had intentions of his own, becoming sworn siblings was inevitable.

Could Cheng Xiao really watch over them without leaving their side for all six years of the junior Soul Master academy?

If the heavens wanted rain and a woman wanted to marry, then let her go.

Cheng Xiao did not care. At worst, he could just reclaim the bones. He was quite interested in the Invincible Golden Body. As for the body... the bones and soul would both be in his hands. What Tang San obtained would be nothing more than an empty shell without a soul.

Moreover, this was not necessarily a bad thing. Ever since Tang San and Xiao Wu became sworn siblings, Tang San had obeyed Xiao Wu in everything.

And Cheng Xiao only needed to win over Xiao Wu to indirectly command Tang San. Xiao Wu was carefree and simple-minded, much easier to fool than Tang San.

No matter how he looked at it, Cheng Xiao profited from this wave. He was winning so hard.

Of course, Xiao Wu was not stupid either. She definitely would not agree to anything out of line.

"Xiao San, are you free today?"

"Xiao San, do you have time today?"

"Xiao San, you should be free today, right?"

Ever since breaking through to level ten, Cheng Xiao had asked Tang San every day whether he had time to accompany him in hunting Soul Beasts.

Tang San was shocked by this.

The scene on the training ground two and a half years ago had been deeply etched into Tang San's mind, and he had completely lost any favorable impression of Cheng Xiao.

Tang San could also sense Cheng Xiao's ill intentions. Whenever their gazes met, Tang San could always detect a trace of deep scheming.

Thus, their relationship was in an extremely delicate state. If not for Xiao Wu, the taut string between them would likely have snapped in an instant. On the surface, they maintained peace, but in their hearts, neither knew how many times they had simulated fighting the other.

They both knew their relationship had fallen to freezing point, but what Tang San could never understand was how Cheng Xiao still had the nerve to bring up the past and ask him to help hunt Soul Beasts.

"Can a person really be this shameless?" Tang San could not understand. He was utterly shaken.

Cheng Xiao did not care about any of that. Forget that they had not yet fallen out—if they became mortal enemies, he would still use whatever could be used.

What a joke. Did Tang San know how much it cost to hire a Soul Grandmaster outside? Cheng Xiao's family was not nobility. They were not wealthy enough to treat money like dirt.

Exploiting every bit of labor that could be exploited was the conscience of every qualified capitalist.

Cheng Xiao touched his conscience and found that he was indeed quite qualified.

At first, Tang San refused on the grounds that his teacher needed him to help organize documents, but he ultimately could not hold out.

Mainly because his skin was not thick enough, and his weakness was still in someone else's grasp. It would have been strange if he could endure.

He truly had not expected Cheng Xiao to insist on waiting for him. This repeated delay made Xiao Wu somewhat dissatisfied as well. With Cheng Xiao occasionally stirring the pot from the side, Xiao Wu began throwing little tantrums at Tang San.

"Xiao San, when exactly will you have time? If you keep delaying, we won't wait for you anymore." Xiao Wu pouted.

Tang San panicked. "You can't go. Hunting Soul Beasts is too dangerous. I won't be at ease if you go."

"Then what should we do? I promised Little Cheng back then! I'm the boss, I can't go back on my word." Xiao Wu snorted. "Hmph! I don't care. If you still won't make time, I'll accompany Little Cheng by myself."

Tang San was helpless and could only say, "Fine. Wait a few more days. I'll ask my teacher for leave."

"Hehe, Xiao San is the best." Xiao Wu said with a giggle, "I knew Xiao San cared about me the most."

"Only this once. Don't do it again next time. I really am worried about you." Tang San compromised helplessly, his face full of indulgence.

Xiao Wu coquettishly said, "I know. We were still young back then, and when Little Cheng asked us for help, I agreed without thinking. I won't do anything dangerous in the future, okay?"

"That's more like it."

And just like that, Cheng Xiao won over Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu manipulated Tang San, and their alliance was formed—a three-way win.

Time to play some games. I just downloaded Honkai: Star Rail and Genshin Impact. Which one is more fun?