Breakthrough?

After leaving Bibi Dong's room, Lin Yichen's heart kept pounding wildly.

"This is bad, this is bad. That woman might really eat me alive someday."

Lin Yichen panted heavily, silently spitting curses in his heart.

But amid those deep breaths, Lin Yichen felt that his soul power had improved again?

The soul power within him flowed more smoothly than before.

Sensing this, Lin Yichen immediately returned to his room to inspect himself.

Sure enough, his soul power was much smoother, and his rank had risen to level sixty-five.

"Bibi Dong's blood is that powerful?"

Lin Yichen was secretly delighted. He had not expected an unexpected gain.

Not only did he get to taste her fragrant shoulder, he also got to absorb soul power.

But the trip three days later left Lin Yichen frowning.

Three days from now happened to be the night of the full moon. His episode just now had been entirely his own reckless doing.

He just did not know whether it would flare up again three days later.

But things had already come to this, and regret was useless.

Still, judging by the way he had ambushed Bibi Dong just now,

the effect of that soul bone was insanely powerful!

Its might was nearly the same as his full-power Moonlight Slash.

There were pros and cons. Thinking too much about it now would only bring more trouble.

Sleep, sleep!

The next day, Hu Liena called Lin Yichen up early to train.

It was over. The good days were gone, and he had to get up early again.

Lin Yichen dragged his exhausted body out of bed. Last night's ordeal had left him aching all over.

Ten parts soreness, one hundred parts pain, one thousand parts misery, ten thousand parts sleepiness.

He pushed open the window, and the morning sunlight slanted in. It was a bright, clear day.

Hu Liena was already waiting outside the door. Today, she wore a fitted light-purple outfit, her long hair tied high, looking crisp and capable.

"Why are you so slow?" She knocked on the doorframe.

"Xie Yue and Yan have already gone to the training grounds."

Lin Yichen rubbed his eyes and answered casually.

The two walked side by side toward the training grounds, with Hu Liena talking nonstop along the way.

Come to think of it, Senior Sister looked quite good in fitted clothes.

Lin Yichen silently appraised her, and his fondness for Hu Liena rose by a few more points.

"Where did you go last night? I looked for you for ages. Then I saw you coming out from Pope Hall before hurrying back in such a rush. Did Teacher make things difficult for you?"

Lin Yichen's steps halted. He could not possibly tell Hu Liena about last night's intimate scene, could he?

"Since I'm new, Teacher gave me some special tutoring. Jealous? Envious?"

Lin Yichen replied with a foolish grin.

Hu Liena raised her hand and flicked his forehead.

"I'm your senior sister. Show some respect!"

The two bickered and joked all the way until they finally arrived at the mimicry training grounds.

Xie Yue and Yan had already arrived. Xie Yue was leaning against a tree, wiping his Moon Blades with unhurried movements. Yan stood in the middle of the grounds with his hands on his hips.

"Oh, you're here?"

Yan's tone still carried that punchable edge, but his gaze was more restrained than yesterday.

"I heard His Holiness the Pope kept you behind alone last night? What, special tutoring?"

The corner of Lin Yichen's mouth twitched as he calmly nodded in approval of Yan's guess.

"That's right. Teacher personally guided my soul power control, then drew out my excess soul power and fed it back into me, raising me two levels."

That was not exactly a lie. Bibi Dong had indeed guided him and had indeed raised his rank, though the method had been rather unique.

Yan's eye twitched, but he held back from saying anything.

Xie Yue, however, stopped wiping his blades and gave Lin Yichen a faint glance.

Hu Liena clapped her hands, her tone light.

"For the next three days, the main thing is building our coordination. Teacher will bring the remaining seven team members over later—three main members and four substitutes."

"These are the strongest members of Spirit Hall Academy. Teacher's intention is for us to keep training together and form a squad."

Lin Yichen nodded slightly. These must be the members of Spirit Hall Academy who participated in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament in the original story.

But because of his arrival, one person had been squeezed out.

No matter. He was just a minor character anyway.

As they were chatting, a crisp clap came from the entrance of the training grounds.

The four turned around and saw Bibi Dong standing there at some point.

She wore a white-and-gold robe, her long hair falling over her shoulders, with a faint smile on her face.

"Looks like you're getting along well."

Bibi Dong walked over slowly, her gaze sweeping across the four of them. When it landed on Lin Yichen, it lingered for a moment.

"Let me introduce the academies participating in the competition."

Bibi Dong spoke, and her tone was indeed a little more normal than yesterday.

"The Five Elements Academy includes Thunderclap Academy, Heavenly Water Academy, Blazing Fire Academy, Kamikaze Academy, and Elephant Armor Academy."

"Each academy will send a representative team, while Heaven Dou Royal Academy will send an additional main team.

You represent Spirit Hall Academy. Victory or defeat concerns Spirit Hall's honor."

"So I'll say it again. Though we are guest elders, we must still demonstrate Spirit Hall's strength and win overwhelmingly."

Lin Yichen was slightly stunned when he heard Bibi Dong's words.

Heavenly Water Academy—Shui Bing'er was there.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy—Dugu Yan was there.

It seemed it was time to sort out the romantic entanglements he had left behind.

"For these two days, train freely. Elder Ghost Douluo will bring your companions in later. Get along well, and if you need anything, just ask."

After saying that, she turned and left. The sound of her high heels gradually faded along the stone path.

Lin Yichen watched her back and let out a breath of relief. Thankfully, that brief eye contact had been normal. Much more normal than last night.

Hu Liena leaned closer and lowered her voice.

"Do you think... Teacher is in a pretty good mood today?"

"Hm?" Lin Yichen was taken aback, clearly not understanding what Hu Liena meant.

"She usually comes to the training grounds with a stern face. Today, she actually smiled."

Hu Liena looked thoughtful. "Is it because we're going to compete? Or something else?"

Lin Yichen did not answer, pretending to think.

He understood that Bibi Dong's good mood today was probably not because of the competition.

"Lin Yichen, come here!"

Bibi Dong's voice rang out, the command extremely urgent.

And Lin Yichen's expression?

It was terrible as well. After silently cursing a few times, he stepped out along the stairs.

Every step he took felt like stepping onto blades.

By the time he approached, Bibi Dong was already standing beneath an old locust tree by the training grounds with her back to him.

"Teacher, I'm here."

Lin Yichen cleared his throat and spoke somewhat nervously.

"Lin Yichen, you are the captain. When the new team members come to report later, you will assign their duties. This is official business."

This was bad, bad, bad. Where there was official business, there would be private business.

"And there is private business."

Sure enough...

"Your Silvermoon Wolf spirit itself has a yin attribute. It can be suppressed with a fire or light attribute that is supremely yang and unyielding."

Fire and light?

That reminded Lin Yichen of something. It seemed he would not need to endure Bibi Dong's torment every month.

"That old man Qian Daoliu noticed you long ago. If you tell him about your situation, he might help you.

You can also find a friend with a fire attribute to suppress it."

"But... you still can't stop coming to me!"

So... there was still no escaping it... But once a month... if nothing happened, it was actually not too bad.

Bibi Dong said nothing more and turned toward the exit of the training grounds.

"I won't pursue the matter of you running away last night. But next time, I'll lock your soul power first."

Lin Yichen thought, ...Forget it. I should focus on the full moon three days from now first.