Xiao Xiao and Tuo Tuo

On the way back to the dormitory, Xiao Xiao kept excitedly cradling Yuwen Tuo's Gold Soul Coin card.

"My god, three million Gold Soul Coins! I've never seen this much money in my life. So this is what it feels like to get rich overnight."

"If you like money that much, you can keep the card," Yuwen Tuo said with a smile.

"I can't do that. You won this money by challenging someone above your level. How could I take it?" Xiao Xiao stuffed the card back into Yuwen Tuo's arms.

She couldn't let Yuwen Tuo think she was too materialistic.

Even if she would be the one managing the money at home in the future, she had to win Yuwen Tuo over first.

Take it slow!

"Fine. Since you don't want the money, I'll give you one of these instead." Yuwen Tuo placed a Mystic Water Pill in Xiao Xiao's hand. "You have Twin Martial Souls. I think your Innate Soul Power may have reached Innate Full Soul Power. Even if it hasn't, it should be infinitely close. Taking this Mystic Water Pill can clear out the last impurities in your body. Even if it can't improve your aptitude, it can still increase your soul power a little."

"A Mystic Water Pill! For me?" Xiao Xiao was startled. This Mystic Water Pill was no less valuable than that Gold Soul Coin card.

Though it was not actually that expensive, it was something one could only hope to encounter by chance. Even if one went to buy it from the Mystic Nether Sect, they might not be willing to sell it.

To get one from the Mystic Nether Sect, money alone was not enough. You also needed influence and connections.

Mystic Water Pills could cleanse impurities from the body. If a soul master below Rank 20 took one, it could increase their soul power by at least one rank, and it was Innate Soul Power at that. For soul masters with exceptional talent, it was more of a boost and icing on the cake. But for those with ordinary talent, it was aid in a time of need.

"Xiao Xiao, my Innate Soul Power was actually at the peak of Rank 9. Because of a small accident, my level dropped to where it is now. One Mystic Water Pill is enough for me to recover and break through. Two would be useless to me and would just waste one. Just consider it putting waste to use and take it."

Yuwen Tuo told a small lie.

But it was not entirely false. The Mystic Water Pill was not very useful to him in the first place. Since he had Innate Full Soul Power, its effects would be minimized. If he had not happened to be at the juncture between Rank 19 and Rank 20, with his acquired soul power transforming toward innate soul power, this pill would have been completely useless to him.

One pill was enough. If it worked, it worked; if it did not, taking a second would be useless.

After all, to cleanse impurities from the body, there had to be impurities to cleanse.

"Thank you, Yuwen Tuo!" Xiao Xiao's face flushed. She could steel herself to refuse the Gold Soul Coin card.

But she could not refuse the Mystic Water Pill. To a soul master, its temptation was far too great.

One rank of Innate Soul Power was not merely a simple increase in current soul power. It could also greatly speed up future cultivation. Yuwen Tuo's guess was correct—she truly had Innate Full Soul Power at Rank 10.

But even among those with full soul power, there were differences. She remembered that when she awakened, the final portion of the crystal ball used to test soul power had flickered on and off. That represented an unstable tenth rank of soul power.

It was like a Rank 9 Soul Scholar who had just broken through to Rank 10.

True, perfect full soul power should be at the peak of Rank 10. Without the restriction of soul rings, one should be able to cultivate a little and immediately break through to Rank 11.

This pill should be able to make her truly possess Innate Full Soul Power.

Yuwen Tuo smiled. "Why are you calling me by my full name again? Didn't you just give me a nickname?"

"Can I keep calling you by your nickname from now on?" Xiao Xiao asked hopefully.

Earlier, she had boldly given Yuwen Tuo a nickname in order to take the lead before all the girls in the academy. But now that they were alone, she felt embarrassed again.

Yuwen Tuo nodded. "I don't really mind. My master, mistress, and one good brother of mine used to call me by a nickname too. Back then, it was Xiao Tuo."

"They're your elders and your brother. They're different from me. I want to call you Tuo Tuo, so it feels more unique. Besides, it matches my name, Xiao Xiao. Is that okay, Tuo Tuo?"

"You've already called me that, and now you're asking whether it's okay?" Yuwen Tuo waved a hand and walked ahead.

Xiao Xiao immediately broke into a delighted smile. She knew that by saying that, Yuwen Tuo had agreed.

She hurriedly skipped after him. "Hey, Tuo Tuo, tell me about your family and your brother. If I meet them in the future, I should be mentally prepared."

"Mentally prepared? What do you need to prepare for? But since you want to hear it, I'll tell you. You've already heard about my master. He's a very gentle man. In his life, he killed fewer than seven figures' worth of people."

"My mistress is also extremely kind. The worst thing she ever did was assist a Demon King in destroying the world."

"Honestly, Tuo Tuo, you're teasing me again."

"Haha, let me tell you about my brother too. He was my neighbor back in my hometown. He was a terrible student, an absolute idiot who might not even be able to score sixty out of a hundred. But he's a good guy. Actually, I have another rival. He's rather scheming. Even now, I still often have the urge to chop him to death with one strike."

The two chatted as they strolled beneath the moonlight, their shadows stretching longer and longer beneath its glow.

They parted downstairs, and Yuwen Tuo returned to his room.

He opened the treasure box. Inside was the Mystic Water Pill, its radiance flowing across its surface.

Yuwen Tuo was currently Rank 19, making this the best time to take the Mystic Water Pill. After Rank 20, the pill would be even less effective.

He put the pill into his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp.

At once, waves of icy coolness spread through his internal organs. The medicinal power was cleansing the impurities within his body.

Yuwen Tuo immediately sat down cross-legged and circulated his cultivation technique to speed up the absorption of the pill's effects.

Though the Mystic Water Pill's medicinal power was strong, it was gentle rather than violent. Yuwen Tuo could clearly feel his cultivation rising.

He had pierced through that thin barrier between Rank 19 and Rank 20 dozens of times over the past six years.

Even a tiny bottleneck would have long since widened by now, shaped just like Yuwen Tuo—easy to pass through whenever he wanted.

With the aid of the Mystic Water Pill's medicinal power, he broke through once more with ease and returned to Rank 20.

At the same time, Tang Ya and Bei Bei brought the unconscious Huo Yuhao back to the dormitory.

Bei Bei said in a low voice, "Sigh, I'm useless. Yuhao exhausted all his soul power and fainted just to help me win, yet I turned around and lost both Mystic Water Pills."

"It is indeed a pity," Wang Dong said. Given her background, she naturally knew how useful Mystic Water Pills would be to Huo Yuhao.

Perhaps even more useful than they would be to ordinary people.

Huo Yuhao's Innate Soul Power was only Rank 1. Innate Soul Power was generally linked to the quality of one's martial soul. A Body Martial Soul with eyes as its martial soul should not have poor quality in principle. Such a martial soul absolutely should not have only Rank 1 Innate Soul Power.

It was because he had suffered from long-term malnutrition, resulting in poor development and an excessive amount of impurities in his body.

The Mystic Water Pill could make up for this innate deficiency. If it could raise someone else's Innate Soul Power by only one rank, then for Huo Yuhao, it might raise it by two. Two pills would mean four ranks.

At that point, his Innate Soul Power would be equivalent to that of a soul master with around Rank 5.

This level of Innate Soul Power might not qualify as genius-level, but it would meet the standard for talent. With the Mysterious Heaven Skill to support him, his future would still hold promise.

But now...

"Hmph, it's all that Yuwen Tuo's fault. He ruined little Yuhao's future. Sooner or later, I'll make him pay it back!" Tang Ya was still somewhat unconvinced.

"Xiao Ya, don't say that. Yuwen Tuo is extraordinary. He defeated me fair and square. Moreover, his martial arts attainments are the highest I have ever seen. I suspect he has something similar to our Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, forming a complete martial arts system of his own. That Profound Sun Blazing Flame Finger technique was exquisitely subtle. Every finger strike accurately hit the acupoints in my palms. Even the Mystic Jade Hand couldn't block it. And those strange-colored eyes of his during battle could see through every movement of my Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track."

"No wonder you lost so badly, Senior Bei Bei. It seems this Yuwen Tuo really isn't simple," Wang Dong said as she rubbed her chin.

After being classmates for so long, this was the first time she had felt that Yuwen Tuo was so unfathomable.

Tang Ya puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction. "Hmph, Bei Bei, don't raise others' prestige while crushing our own. How could martial arts from some minor sect compare to our Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Skill? Don't forget that our Tang Sect once produced an ancestor like Tang San, a god. You couldn't defeat him today only because your Mystic Jade Hand, Purple Demon Eyes, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track haven't been cultivated deeply enough."

Bei Bei smiled. "You're right. I lost today, but that doesn't mean the Tang Sect lost. One day, I will win it back. As for little junior brother's Mystic Water Pill, we can only trouble my family to swallow their pride and see whether they can get another one from the Mystic Nether Sect."

For Huo Yuhao's sake, this Tang Sect senior brother had truly worried himself sick.