Tricking This Old Lady Again

"Is there anything else?" Seeing that Mo Li had been silent for a long while, Dugu Yan asked.

Mo Li pondered for a moment, thinking there shouldn't be anything left out, and replied with a smile, "Not for the moment."

He had already explained everything that needed to be said to Dugu Yan; now, it was just a matter of waiting for Dugu Bo to return so the message could be relayed.

"Oh."

Hearing this, Dugu Yan's body immediately relaxed significantly.

Previously, she had been sitting on the stone chair with her body held rigid, terrified of missing a single word Mo Li said.

The toxins of the Jade Phosphor Snake Spirit were undeniably overbearing; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so incredibly proud of them.

However, they also had an impact on her body, causing changes in her eye color—even someone as powerful as her grandfather had green hair and green eyes.

All these characteristics had been accurately predicted by Mo Li.

Originally, she had just assumed these were common changes caused by her spirit, but after listening to Mo Li's explanation, the more she heard, the more alarmed she became, realizing the horror of the toxin's backlash.

The matter was of great importance, so even though she had been extremely skeptical at first, she treated every word Mo Li spoke with the utmost seriousness.

Now that Mo Li was telling her he had a way to resolve the negative effects brought about by their Jade Phosphor Snake Spirit, how could she not take it seriously?

Yet, before this, she had simply wanted to defeat Mo Li to regain the face she had lost earlier.

This shift in perspective made Dugu Yan feel quite awkward.

To hide her embarrassment, Dugu Yan reached out to pick up the teacup in front of her, taking the opportunity to steal a glance at Mo Li.

Meanwhile, having confirmed there were no omissions, Mo Li's thoughts had drifted elsewhere, and he was currently frowning as he calculated the surprise for the evening.

The surprise he had mentioned to Liu Erlong was that he intended to help her locate the Eight Extraordinary Meridians within her body.

The Eight Extraordinary Meridians offered immense benefits for both spirit power cultivation and physical improvement, which was why Mo Li had made this plan the moment his spiritual power broke through.

On the continent right now, he and Tang San were likely the only two who knew of this human mystery.

With the spiritual power he had previously attained as a Soul Ancestor, combined with the assistance of Peering at Heaven and Earth, peering into the meridians within his own body had not been too difficult.

However, he hadn't been fully confident in helping Liu Erlong achieve the same, so he had delayed it time and again.

It was only recently that his fourth meridian had been successfully cleared, which not only increased his spirit power by one level, reaching level twenty-three, but more importantly, his spiritual power had also broken through to the level of a Spirit King. He could say with certainty that he was now fully prepared.

It was just that Liu Erlong had to handle academy affairs during the day, so they would have to wait until the evening.

Yet, just as Mo Li was lost in thought, he failed to notice that Dugu Yan, sitting opposite him, had been staring at him blankly for quite some time.

Her gaze had lingered on Mo Li's face for a while now, to the point where she had even forgotten where she was supposed to bring the teacup she held in her hand.

Although Mo Li's appearance hadn't reached the point of being love at first sight, he was definitely handsome and refined.

Lost in deep thought, his eyes were profound and restrained, his brows slightly furrowed, and his expression serious and focused.

Even though this person had a bit of a loose tongue, it was impossible to actually dislike him.

Dugu Yan curled her lips unconsciously; proud as she was, she had to admit that the youth before her was not only stronger than her in terms of power, but perhaps even his temperament was far superior to her own.

She had pestered him under the guise of sparring, yet she never saw Mo Li show any impatience. Instead, he always accommodated her. Despite being much stronger than her, there was no trace of arrogance; he was very gentle.

The more she thought about it, the further Dugu Yan's thoughts drifted.

"Hey, hey, hey."

It wasn't until a soft call rang out that she was freed from these long, winding thoughts, and a slender palm was waving back and forth right before her eyes.

The owner of the hand was Mo Li, who had regained his senses a step ahead of her; he was calling out to Dugu Yan while waving his hand continuously in front of her.

"W-what is it?"

Dugu Yan snapped back to reality, hurriedly lifting her teacup with a flustered motion. She pressed her lips against the rim, her eyes blinking several times in a short breath, looking quite guilty.

Seeing her like this, Mo Li couldn't help but chuckle, "I saw you were daydreaming, and your teacup has been empty for a while, so I was going to refill it for you."

Mo Li didn't know what Dugu Yan had been daydreaming about; she hadn't even realized the tea in her cup was gone and was still nervously bringing it to her lips.

She looked incredibly dazed.

Dugu Yan placed the cup back on the stone table in embarrassment. Mo Li reached out to pour her some water, but she blocked him with her hand.

"N-no need, I... I have to go now."

"Not staying a little longer?" Mo Li smiled.

Dugu Yan nodded, then shook her head. She looked at Mo Li and said, "I've remembered everything you told me. Also, next weekend, would you like to come visit our academy?"

"If you come, Lingling and I will wait for you at the school gate."

Mo Li hesitated for a moment, thinking that he didn't seem to have anything to do besides cultivation, so he readily agreed, and the two set a time.

Dugu Yan waved her hand to signal that Mo Li didn't need to see her off, then fled the scene as if escaping.

This hurried departure left Mo Li feeling quite confused.

He had only given her some instructions; why was Dugu Yan acting so absent-minded? He wondered if she would even be able to relay the information accurately.

Finding no answers, Mo Li stood up to begin his cultivation.

Time drifted into the evening.

The sky had turned completely dark, a bright moon hanging high as a faint silver glow spilled across the earth.

Inside Liu Erlong's room, Mo Li sat at the table, waiting in a state of boredom.

"I'm back." A crisp voice finally drifted in from outside the door.

The next moment, Liu Erlong, dressed in black, pushed the door open and caught sight of Mo Li lounging in his chair.

"Sister Erlong, I've been counting the stars and the moon, waiting for you to finally return."

Seeing his eager expression, Liu Erlong couldn't help but laugh and sigh. "What are you waiting for? I told you at noon that I had a lot to deal with today."

There was less than three months left until the start of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament, which would hold its elimination rounds in Heaven Dou City.

Since this was the first time their Blue Tyrant Academy was participating, Liu Erlong, as the dean, naturally took it very seriously.

But seeing Mo Li's look, her heart softened, and she said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long."

She reached out to stroke Mo Li's hair, her gaze sweeping across the room. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, she asked with some confusion, "I'm back now, so where is this gift? Why don't I see anything?"

Regarding the surprise Mo Li had mentioned, Liu Erlong hadn't shown much excitement when she left.

Yet, while handling her work during the day, she had clearly felt much lighter in spirit.

"If you could see it already, Sister Erlong, it wouldn't be a surprise," Mo Li said with a smile.

"As long as it isn't a shock, that's fine."

"This surprise of mine is quite special. Sister Erlong, do you want to accelerate your cultivation speed?"

Liu Erlong was stunned for a moment, then looked at Mo Li with suspicion. "I do, but what could you possibly do about it?"

Once Liu Erlong sat down, Mo Li continued, "Sister Erlong, I don't know if you've ever heard of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians in the human body? Opening these eight meridians provides a massive boost to spirit power cultivation."

"Is there really such a thing?" Liu Erlong frowned. "And how would you know about it?"

"I read it in an ancient text," Mo Li said, feeling a bit guilty.

"Trying to swindle your elder sister again, are you?" Liu Erlong raised her hand as if to strike him.

Mo Li hurriedly reached out to grab Liu Erlong's arm, offering a sheepish laugh. "How could I? If I hadn't tested it myself, I would never joke about this with you, Sister Erlong!"

Hearing this, Liu Erlong's expression darkened instantly. A cold aura radiated from her entire body as she said angrily, "Why are you always messing with these strange, bizarre things, and using yourself as an experiment? What is going through your head?"

Without waiting for Mo Li to reply, Liu Erlong grabbed his wrist and began to probe his body.