The sun and moon turned, time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than two years had passed.
The summer heat beat down, while the grass and trees flourished in lush green. Deep in the forest, Blue Tyrant Academy was just as full of vibrant life.
On the grass by the pond lay a young man. He was tall and slender, with a handsome, refined face beneath his slightly tousled black hair.
He was Mo Li, who had just finished a morning of training. A strand of Blue Silver Grass dangled from his mouth. He slapped the book he'd been holding over his face, then stretched out on the grass and enjoyed this rare moment of leisure.
Wrapped in this pleasant ease, Mo Li was beginning to doze when the book on his face was quietly lifted away. A shadow gradually fell over him.
His eyes were only half-closed, but Mo Li could still sense someone standing in front of him.
He opened his eyes in a daze. First, he glanced at the white clouds overhead. Then his gaze drifted up past a pair of ample hills, climbing slowly until it settled on a cool, exquisite face.
"Who's that? So beautiful..."
Mo Li mumbled indistinctly.
Hearing his mutter, Liu Erlong, crouched beside him, gave him an exasperated look. She stood up and kicked him in the side.
"Ow!"
The kick instantly cleared the sleepiness from Mo Li's mind. He sat up, and only after getting a good look at Liu Erlong's face did he relax and greet her with a smile. "So Sister Erlong's back."
Two years had passed, but Liu Erlong's appearance hadn't changed much. Her willow brows were slightly furrowed, lending her a faintly aggrieved look, while her pale, delicate face remained as cool and striking as ever. However, after managing the academy for so long, she'd naturally acquired an imposing air.
Liu Erlong held the book she'd taken off Mo Li's face in her right hand. Her brows knitted together, and she scolded him in a crisp voice, looking slightly annoyed. "Well, well. Is this what I gave you the meditation method for?"
Hearing the faint chill in her voice, Mo Li coughed to mask his embarrassment and explained, "Ahem, Sister Erlong, I finished all the tasks you gave me these past few days."
For the past two years, Liu Erlong had personally taught Mo Li. When it came to cultivating Soul Power, she naturally had far more experience than he did, being a Soul Saint.
The meditation method in Liu Erlong's hand was decent, but it couldn't hold a candle to the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Art in his sea of consciousness. So he only skimmed through it now and then to put Liu Erlong's mind at ease.
Besides cultivating Soul Power, Liu Erlong had also put him through special training in combat techniques.
She'd handled that training personally. Liu Erlong had said that fighting instincts could never be taught; they could only be forged through real combat.
Mo Li was still young, so she couldn't send him into serious battles. Training with a sparring partner might not be as effective, but it was still necessary.
And for the past two years, Liu Erlong had been his sparring partner.
Mo Li could use Soul Power freely, while Liu Erlong hardly ever used hers. Even so, for the first few months, he was completely overpowered.
Almost every time they crossed hands, he ended up battered from head to toe. Liu Erlong had held back, but she certainly hadn't gone easy on him.
Sorry for not giving Sister Erlong a proper workout.
But after two years of training, Mo Li had made tremendous progress. Yes, his ability to take a beating had improved by leaps and bounds!
Of course, that wasn't all. His combat skills and battle instincts had become remarkably sharp after the special training.
And those two years of tearful training had also taught Mo Li one thing.
Sister Erlong was truly too violent. She was a bona fide human-shaped tyrannosaurus!
Not only was her combat experience extraordinarily rich, but her fighting style was ferocious to the extreme. The overwhelming power she'd displayed in the original story only looked like brute force because her opponents couldn't even withstand that level of attack, let alone make it to the second phase.
Only Mo Li knew what he'd been through these past two years.
Liu Erlong studied Mo Li, who looked completely relaxed, and asked, "You really finished everything?"
"Really!"
Liu Erlong eyed Mo Li suspiciously as he lay back down.
For some reason, the little rascal grasped the cultivation of Soul Power extremely quickly. She only had to mention something once, and he understood it in no time.
Sometimes, even she wondered if her training was too harsh for Mo Li. After all, he was only a little over eight years old. Yet though the child was always complaining, he'd never once chosen to give up.
He'd suffered plenty at her hands over the past two years, but he'd gritted his teeth and persevered all the way to the present. She had no idea where he got such determination.
Thinking of this, Liu Erlong sighed inwardly. Her expression softened a little, and she nodded.
Seeing her nod, Mo Li smiled too. His gaze fell on the bundle in Liu Erlong's hand, and his eyes lit up. He sprang to his feet.
The sudden movement startled Liu Erlong into instinctively stepping back.
"You're always jumping around. When will you learn to be more composed?" Liu Erlong furrowed her delicate brows, her tone mildly reproachful.
Mo Li grinned and stepped closer, hooking an arm around Liu Erlong's. He tugged her toward the house while reaching for the bundle in her hand. "Sister Erlong, what tasty treats did you bring me this time?"
"Always thinking about food. Is the cafeteria food not good enough for you?" Liu Erlong gave the bundle an exasperated shake. "These are the ingredients for your medicinal bath tonight."
Medicinal baths were a rare cultivation resource even on Douluo Continent, but Liu Erlong spared no expense when it came to them.
And Mo Li truly hadn't let her down. In just over two years, his Soul Power had already reached level twenty. His rate of progress had astonished her.
Even by her estimate, he shouldn't have reached level twenty until he was around nine. He was only a little over eight, so she could only conclude that she'd underestimated his talent.
In Liu Erlong's eyes, Mo Li wasn't a cultivation machine. Besides, he was only eight, an age when his mind was still developing. It was perfectly normal for him to want to play and slack off a little.
As for Mo Li, he enjoyed life in this world more than cultivation. Of course, though the training over the past two years had been arduous, it had also helped him find a reason to keep going.
He hadn't been idle in private. He'd kept working on his Eight Meridians, and two of his extraordinary meridians had been completely unblocked. As a result, his Soul Power had quickly reached level twenty, and his body had grown tougher as well.
Even so, Mo Li wasn't in a hurry to obtain his second Soul Ring.
As for why, of course it was because he hadn't taken any Whale Rubber yet.
Whale Rubber improved one's constitution and increased the age limit of Soul Rings one could absorb. This miraculous effect wouldn't be discovered until ten thousand years later, and Mo Li naturally wouldn't let such an opportunity pass him by.
A piece of thousand-year Whale Rubber could raise the age limit of an absorbable Soul Ring by nearly one or two hundred years. Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber could increase it by at least eight hundred years.
In this era, however, the nobles treated it as a health supplement for bedroom use. It was practically all in their hands. Even if ordinary merchants had any, the quality would probably be too poor to meet his standards.
After obtaining his First Soul Ring, his already impressive physique had been strengthened considerably.
By Mo Li's estimate, the age limit of the Soul Rings he could withstand was now almost two thousand years.
Looks like I need to hurry up and find some Whale Rubber.
Mo Li was quite interested in anything that could increase his strength.
After entering the room, Mo Li pulled over a chair and sat beside Liu Erlong's desk. It held only a few books and documents. The desk stood by the window, where the light was excellent, and Liu Erlong sat directly in front of it, facing the window.
This wasn't Mo Li's first time in Liu Erlong's room.
Their rooms had much the same layout: simple and plain, with no luxurious decorations, just the necessities of daily life.
At the desk, Liu Erlong first explained each of the medicinal bath ingredients to Mo Li, including how to use them and how to combine them with other herbs.
After she finished explaining, Liu Erlong piled all the medicinal ingredients in front of Mo Li. Then she stretched languidly, propped one hand against her cheek, and gazed out the window, lost in thought.
Her usually cool face now showed a hint of fatigue, and she looked utterly languid.
Sunlight shone on her porcelain-white cheek, making it gleam. Her long black hair still fell loosely down her back. Beneath her slender waist, a pair of straight, snow-white calves peeked unconsciously from beneath her skirt, soft and lovely.
Compared with her usual stern, aloof image, Liu Erlong now sat in a relaxed posture, her expression easy and natural. She looked somewhat gentle and scholarly.