Chapter 24

The night passed.

The sky outside gradually brightened.

Jiang Mu did not feel the slightest bit of fatigue, because he had transferred the side effects to Tang San.

While acting, he had realized that the mental energy consumed by drawing blood seemed to count as a side effect too. Could he use someone else's mental energy instead?

So, he switched to using Tang San's mental energy to draw Tang San's essence blood.

The result was highly successful.

Looking at the ten drops of Blue Silver Emperor essence blood and thirty drops of ordinary essence blood that had appeared in the system inventory, Jiang Mu nodded in satisfaction.

Tang San had already lost a third of his blood. He could not continue any further. If he went too far, it might trigger a backlash. Besides, wouldn't that take all the fun out of it?

This was enough for now.

His gaze slowly shifted to the [Essence Blood] in the system inventory.

"Not bad, not bad. Just as I thought—there's a chance of drawing it. I wonder if it can be consumed directly, or if it needs to be paired with heavenly treasures?"

Jiang Mu frowned. After all, this was the essence blood of a God King.

Even if this place was considered the bottom rung of fantasy worlds, he was in this world. The God King of this world was still a God King, and Tang Ya most likely could not absorb it.

"Dilute it with water and drink it?"

Or something else?

Diluting it with water did not seem very reasonable either. The precise control of a great expert was still terrifying. Not to mention that this had been purified by the system, making it seem more like energy produced by the system.

That would be even more terrifying.

If it was energy, then it could only be refined slowly, perhaps with the help of some special cultivation technique.

Did that mean he had to pass on a cultivation technique to her?

Jiang Mu subconsciously raised his eyes toward the bed.

After an entire night, Tang Ya's sleeping posture could only be described as utterly indecent. She was sprawled out on all fours, and her light-blue nightgown had ridden all the way up.

The nightgown exposed Tang Ya's thighs and slender waist, revealing a waist so slim it could be encircled in one hand. He could even see her abdominal lines.

And, unexpectedly, it was exceptionally pure—white.

Her sleeping posture was not pretty, but it did not affect her adorable face. Her breathing remained even, and the corners of her lips curled upward slightly, proving that she was having a good dream.

It really was not a loss. If one cultivation technique could earn her sincere heart, that would not be bad. And even if, taking ten thousand steps back, she obtained the technique and betrayed him, didn't he still have the system? He had only concealed it, not removed it. Besides, he could not remove it anyway.

He hated betrayal most of all. If it really happened, he could simply kill her.

Thinking about it that way, passing on a cultivation technique was the safest method. It would not cause her to suffer a backlash, and it could raise her strength to the greatest extent.

If she became his woman, improving Tang Ya's strength would be the same as improving his own.

"Mm~"

As he pondered, Tang Ya woke from her sleep, her hand naturally reaching down to grab her stomach.

Then she opened her mouth wide in a yawn and slowly climbed out of bed, her posture utterly casual.

As she sat up, the hem of her bunched-up nightgown suddenly slipped back down in a crumpled mess!

It was enough to show just how restless she had been in her sleep.

"So tired... I'm so hungry..."

She casually rubbed her stomach beneath her clothes as though no one else were present. Even as her clothing slipped, it failed to cover her up.

Jiang Mu continued watching quietly. As expected, she was a foolish girl.

He felt that if he did not say something soon, she might strip off her nightgown and change clothes right in front of him.

"Cough, cough!"

"Huh?"

Tang Ya was naturally startled by the sound. Her previously hazy eyes instantly widened.

"Ah~"

With a crisp scream, her girlish embarrassment made Tang Ya quickly pull down her wrinkled nightgown with both hands, covering the exposed skin.

"Oh, your sleeping posture wasn't very good. I've already seen everything there was to see, so there's no need to be too surprised."

Hearing Jiang Mu speak so bluntly, Tang Ya's face instantly turned as red as an apple. "Y-you saw everything?"

"Mm."

Tang Ya lowered her head and stammered, "Y-you... how could you keep staring?"

Jiang Mu spread his hands, unwilling to continue this topic. "Let's not dwell on that. What are you planning to do today?"

Hearing his question, Tang Ya raised her head, though her face was still adorably flushed.

After thinking for a while, she spoke.

"Let's go straight to Shrek Academy today. Don't you have the letter of introduction I gave you? Go take a look."

"Uh, why?"

Jiang Mu frowned. Could she be getting an introduction fee or something? Why did she keep urging him to go to Shrek Academy?

Without the slightest hesitation, Tang Ya explained her reasoning.

"Don't you want to build a power? If you want to build one, you definitely need to understand some things. You can enter Shrek Academy and learn their teaching methods. If you join a sect instead, it won't be easy for you to leave."

If he wanted to engage with a power, he could not just talk about it. Since he wanted to engage with one, he had to understand it. He could not just say it for fun.

Whether it was how they operated or what they taught, he needed to learn it all.

Shrek Academy was right in front of him. He could take a look and use it for reference.

Moreover, in Tang Ya's view, if the power she interacted with could be associated with the Shrek name, many things would become much more convenient.

But to Jiang Mu, that was not an advantage at all—it was baggage.

"This..."

The words caught in his throat. Just as he was about to refuse, several beautiful figures suddenly flashed through his mind.

Shrek Academy had plenty of targets for him!

Ice and fire, Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochan.

A youthful face and huge breasts, Zhu Lu.

The tsundere Wang Dong'er, and the twin-tailed little loli Xiao Xiao.

It seemed worth taking a stroll around.

There was great significance in taking a look around. As for whether he would be stopped if he withdrew from the academy?

Naturally not, considering Shrek Academy's current arrogant impatience.

If withdrawing from the academy could draw the attention—or even some killing intent—of experts like Xuan Zi or Yan Shaozhe and put them on the list, wouldn't they be his to manipulate?

Whether he used them to absorb soul rings in the future or as a means to refine essence blood, they would be useful. It seemed this trip to Shrek was unavoidable.

Speaking of methods, Jiang Mu suddenly noticed several treasure chests that had appeared from absorbing Tang San's essence blood.

[Dust-Cleansing Art, (After doing bad things, naturally clean up the scene to avoid being discovered)]

[...]

There were two cultivation techniques in total: one for removing dust and one for removing odors.

Jiang Mu was speechless. What use could this possibly have? Was he supposed to become a cleaner? Was he supposed to clean up?

If the system was going to draw cultivation techniques, couldn't it draw some good ones?

Jiang Mu's face fell, and he complained inwardly countless times.

What exactly was this useful for?

Beside him, Tang Ya tilted her head as she watched Jiang Mu's expression change rapidly, curiosity appearing in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Are you unwilling to go to Shrek Academy?"

Jiang Mu came back to himself and responded to Tang Ya, who had been staring at him. "Hm?"

"It's not that I'm unwilling. Doing things as you suggested, Xiao Ya, would work too."

"I was just thinking that if I build a power, it wouldn't be ideal with only the two of us. Should Xiao Ya join as well?"

"Uh, I have my own things to do, so I shouldn't hold back your power, Xiao Mu, right?"