"Is there anything else?" Seeing that Mo Li had been silent for a while, Dugu Yan asked.
Mo Li thought for a moment, figuring he hadn't left anything out, then smiled. "Nothing for now."
He had already explained everything that needed explaining to Dugu Yan. Now all they had to do was wait for Dugu Bo to return and pass along the message.
"Oh."
At that, Dugu Yan's body relaxed considerably.
Earlier, she had sat bolt upright on the stone chair, afraid she might miss a single word Mo Li said.
The poison of the Jade Phosphor Snake Spirit was undeniably domineering. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so proud of it.
But it had also affected her body, changing the color of her eyes. Even her grandfather, powerful as he was, had green hair and green eyes.
Mo Li had gotten every one of these traits right.
At first, she had assumed they were ordinary changes caused by her Martial Soul. But after listening to Mo Li's explanation, the more she heard, the more alarmed she became, realizing how terrifying the backlash from the poison was.
The matter was of great importance. Even though she had been deeply skeptical at first, she had treated every word Mo Li said with caution.
Now Mo Li had told her he could solve the negative effects caused by their Jade Phosphor Snake Spirit. How could she not take him seriously?
But before this, she had only wanted to defeat Mo Li and reclaim the face she had lost.
The contrast between then and now left Dugu Yan feeling rather awkward.
To cover up her embarrassment, Dugu Yan picked up the teacup in front of her and took the opportunity to sneak a glance at Mo Li.
After confirming he hadn't left anything out, Mo Li's thoughts had already wandered elsewhere. He was still frowning as he planned tonight's surprise.
The surprise he had promised Liu Erlong was that he would help her locate the extraordinary Eight Meridians in her body.
The Eight Meridians were tremendously beneficial to Soul Power cultivation and improving one's constitution, so the moment Mo Li's spiritual power broke through, he had decided to do this.
At present, there were probably only two people on the continent who knew about this secret of the human body: him and Tang San.
With his spiritual power previously having reached the Soul Ancestor level, and with the aid of Peering at Heaven and Earth, looking inward to examine his own meridians hadn't been particularly difficult.
But he hadn't been fully confident that he could help Liu Erlong do the same, so he had kept putting it off.
Then, just recently, he had successfully opened his fourth meridian. Not only had his Soul Power increased by one level, reaching twenty-three.
More importantly, his spiritual power had also broken through to the Soul King level. He could now say he was fully confident he could do it.
Liu Erlong had to take care of the academy's affairs during the day, though, so they had to wait until evening.
While Mo Li was lost in thought,
he failed to notice that Dugu Yan across from him had been staring at him blankly for quite some time.
Her gaze had rested on Mo Li's face for a while now. She had even forgotten where she was supposed to bring the teacup in her hand.
Mo Li wasn't quite handsome enough to make someone fall in love at first sight, but he was certainly clean-cut and good-looking.
Lost in thought, his eyes were deep and restrained. His brows were slightly furrowed, and his expression was serious, making him look intensely focused.
He could be a little too loose-lipped, but somehow, he still wasn't easy to dislike.
Dugu Yan unconsciously pursed her lips. Proud as she was, she had to admit that the young man before her was not only stronger than she was, but perhaps far more magnanimous as well.
She had pestered him under the pretext of sparring, yet Mo Li had never shown any impatience. Instead, he had always indulged her. Though he was clearly much stronger than she was, he showed not the slightest trace of arrogance. He was a very gentle person.
The more she thought about it, the further Dugu Yan's mind drifted.
"Hey, hey, hey."
Only when a soft call rang out did she snap out of her long train of thought. A slender hand was waving back and forth before her eyes.
The hand belonged to Mo Li, who had come to his senses before her. He was calling to Dugu Yan as he waved his hand in front of her.
"W-What is it?"
Dugu Yan suddenly came back to herself and hastily lifted her teacup. Her lips pressed against the rim, and her eyes blinked several times in the brief span of a breath. She looked rather guilty.
Seeing her like that, Mo Li couldn't help laughing. "You were spacing out. Besides, your teacup's been empty for ages. I was going to refill it for you."
Mo Li had no idea what Dugu Yan had been daydreaming about. She hadn't even noticed that her tea was gone, and still looked all nervous as she brought the cup to her lips.
She looked utterly dazed.
Dugu Yan awkwardly set the cup down on the stone table. Mo Li reached out to pour her some tea, but she stopped him.
"N-No need. I, um, should get going."
"Won't you stay a little longer?" Mo Li asked with a smile.
Dugu Yan nodded, then shook her head. She glanced at Mo Li and said, "I've memorized what you told me. Um, next weekend, would you like to visit our academy?"
"If you come, Lingling and I will wait for you at the school gate."
Mo Li hesitated for a moment. Since he didn't seem to have anything to do besides cultivate, he happily agreed. They settled on a time.
Dugu Yan waved to indicate that Mo Li didn't need to see her out, then fled as if escaping.
Her hasty retreat left Mo Li baffled.
All he'd done was explain a few things. Why was Dugu Yan acting so distracted? He wondered whether she would even pass the information along correctly.
Unable to make sense of it, Mo Li got up and went to cultivate.
Evening came.
The sky had grown completely dark, and a full moon hung high overhead, casting a pale silver glow across the earth.
In Liu Erlong's room, Mo Li sat at the table, waiting rather idly.
"I'm back." At last, a clear voice came from outside the door.
The next moment, Liu Erlong, dressed in black, pushed the door open and immediately spotted Mo Li leaning back in his chair.
"Sister Erlong, I've been waiting and waiting for you. At last, you're back."
Seeing him looking so eagerly expectant, Liu Erlong couldn't help laughing. "Waiting for what? I told you at noon that I had a lot to do today."
There were less than three months left before this year's Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament began. The knockout rounds would be held in Heaven Dou City.
It was the first time Blue Tyrant Academy had participated, so Liu Erlong, as its dean, naturally took it very seriously.
But one look at Mo Li's face made her heart soften. An apologetic expression came over her as she said, "Sorry for the wait."
She reached out and tousled Mo Li's hair, then glanced around the room. Seeing nothing new, she asked in confusion, "I'm back now, so where's the present? I don't see it."
When Mo Li had mentioned a surprise, Liu Erlong hadn't shown much excitement as she left.
But while handling her work during the day, she had clearly felt much lighter.
"If you can see it, Sister Erlong, it's not a surprise," Mo Li said with a smile.
"Just don't let it be a fright."
"This surprise is something special. Sister Erlong, would you like to speed up your cultivation?"
Liu Erlong was taken aback, then looked at Mo Li suspiciously. "Of course I would. But what can you do about it?"
After Liu Erlong sat down, Mo Li continued, "Sister Erlong, have you ever heard that the human body has the extraordinary Eight Meridians? Opening these eight meridians greatly improves the progress of Soul Power cultivation."
"Is that really a thing?" Liu Erlong furrowed her brows. "Then how did you learn about it?"
"I read it in an ancient book." Mo Li sounded a little guilty.
"Trying to con your old lady again, are you?" Liu Erlong raised a hand as if to smack him.
Mo Li quickly reached out and caught her arm, giving an awkward laugh. "Come on, I'd never joke about this with you, Sister Erlong, if I hadn't tried it myself!"
At that, Liu Erlong's expression darkened. A cold aura radiated from her as she snapped, "Why are you always messing around with strange things like this? And experimenting on yourself, too! What were you thinking?"
Before Mo Li could answer, Liu Erlong grabbed his wrist and began examining his body.