Mingdu at Peace

"It wasn't that... I saw Grandpa looking extremely grave early this morning, so I got curious and asked him about it. That was when he told me."

Hearing Meng Hongchen's response, Xu Tianming nodded and continued asking,

"Then what was your grandfather's attitude toward you coming here so early in the morning?"

"Isn't it perfectly normal for me to come see Brother Tianming? What attitude could Grandpa possibly have?"

Seeing Meng Hongchen act as though it were only natural, Xu Tianming understood.

That old man Jing Hongchen had definitely deliberately let his granddaughter pass the message on to him.

His reason for doing so was easy enough to understand.

After all, his own granddaughter had clearly been won over by Xu Tianming. As long as it was within his ability, offering Xu Tianming some appropriate help would bring the Hongchen Family no harm at all.

Over the next few days, Mingdu remained as peaceful as ever.

Just as Kong Deming had said, ordinary people had no way of learning about disputes within the imperial family.

After learning through official channels that the second prince, Xu Tianran, had ascended to the position of crown prince, the citizens of Mingdu did little more than discuss it privately with people they knew. Otherwise, everything continued as usual.

As for Xu Tianming, he remained holed up in his Prince Yan's Palace these past few days. Other than Meng Hongchen occasionally coming to visit, he refused all other guests.

During such a sensitive period, Xu Tianming felt it was best to keep a low profile and avoid inviting unnecessary trouble.

During his time staying in the palace, he sometimes sparred with Ye Guyi in swordsmanship, sometimes checked in on Jiang Nannan's mother, and sometimes, when the mood struck him, gave Xiao Xiao some guidance in cultivating her soul power.

But most of the time, he remained in his room, cultivating together with Zhang Lexuan...

Ever since that night when Xu Tianming had asked Columbina to fill Zhang Lexuan's body with Moon-Matrix Power, Zhang Lexuan seemed to have awakened some strange trait.

According to her, although the feeling of being filled for the first time had been somewhat uncomfortable, she had been delighted to discover afterward that her soul power level had improved significantly—enough to match at least half a month of her usual arduous cultivation!

After discovering this, Zhang Lexuan latched onto Xu Tianming and strongly demanded to experience the feeling of being filled several more times.

However, Xu Tianming did not agree so readily.

After all, the Moon-Matrix Power within Columbina's body did not come for free.

On this Douluo Continent, Columbina currently had no way to rapidly replenish the Moon-Matrix Power she had used. She could only wait for the moon to rise at night, then slowly recover by absorbing moonlight.

After learning this, Zhang Lexuan fell silent for a moment. Then her pretty face abruptly flushed red, and a resolute look appeared in her eyes, as though she had made some sort of decision.

"Um... you should have felt your martial soul resonate with mine too, right? As far as I know, even if different soul masters possess identical or similar martial souls, the chance of resonance is infinitesimal. But as long as their martial souls can resonate, both sides have the foundation to cultivate a martial soul fusion skill, and they can complement each other in cultivation, speeding up each other's growth!"

What Zhang Lexuan said was exactly what Xu Tianming had wanted.

He had noticed this long ago and had considered cultivating together with this woman. However, to retain the initiative, Zhang Lexuan had to be the one to make the proposal.

He had thought he would need to plan for quite some time, but he had not expected her to be so impatient.

It seems the Moon-Matrix Power stimulated her even more than I expected! But that's a good thing.

With that thought, Xu Tianming simply went with the flow. After a brief discussion, the two reached another agreement.

Whenever Xu Tianming needed it, regardless of what Zhang Lexuan was doing, she had to immediately use her own soul power to assist him in cultivation.

In exchange, Xu Tianming would fill Zhang Lexuan's body with Moon-Matrix Power at least twice a month. However, he alone would decide exactly when to do so.

At first, Xu Tianming had wanted to fill Zhang Lexuan only once a month, but she had fiercely objected after he proposed it.

After all, because there was currently quite a large gap between their soul power levels, when cultivating together, Zhang Lexuan could only use her own soul power to help Xu Tianming grow stronger rapidly. Xu Tianming's soul power, meanwhile, could offer her almost no help at all.

For that reason, Zhang Lexuan believed that after giving so much, only receiving one filling per month would be far too unfair. If it was fewer than twice, she would never agree to this arrangement no matter what!

And so, the two reached an agreement.

With Zhang Lexuan's wholehearted cooperation, Xu Tianming's soul power rose at least three times faster than it would through normal cultivation.

If he maintained this pace, Xu Tianming estimated that his soul power would reach level fifty in at most around a year.

An eleven-year-old Soul King— even Shrek Academy, which specialized in nurturing monsters, probably would not dare dream of something so outrageous.

Time passed swiftly, and half a month went by in the blink of an eye.

In the room, Xu Tianming, bare-chested and seated cross-legged on the bed, exhaled a breath of turbid air. A sharp glint flashed through his eyes.

After half a month of uninterrupted cultivation, his soul power had finally broken through to level forty-four, leaving him only one step away from five rings.

Naturally, Zhang Lexuan's tireless assistance had played an indispensable role in allowing him to raise his soul power by one level in just half a month.

To thank her for her efforts, Xu Tianming decided to fill her body today, satisfying the body that had been longing for it for half a month.

"Get ready. That power of mine has recovered more or less. I can fill your body at any time. If you're ready, I can begin now."

The moment Zhang Lexuan heard this, the fatigue in her eyes instantly vanished, replaced by excitement she could not conceal.

"I'm ready anytime! We can begin now! Hurry, I can't wait any longer~"

Seeing this, Xu Tianming nodded. After communicating with Columbina in his spiritual sea, he placed a hand on her snow-white, fragrant shoulder.

"Get ready. I'm going in!"

"Mhm! Come in. Don't hold back for my body's sake—the more violent your power is, the greater the benefits I'll gain afterward!"

The instant Zhang Lexuan finished speaking, an immense amount of Moon-Matrix Power flowed through the point where she and Xu Tianming touched and poured into her body once more.

Her expression remained calm, and her lips stayed silent, but inwardly, her cries grew louder and louder.

Yes! This is the feeling! Heavens, it's even more intense than last time, oh ho ho ho~

I-I'm going to break through. I can feel my soul power level about to break through!

This is wonderful! This power is truly wonderful!

Why do I suddenly feel as though my body can no longer leave this power?

Forget it, I won't think about that for now. I'll be spending plenty of time with this man in the future, so I'll just take things one step at a time...