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Shen Qingxue waved her hand, dispersing the soundproof light barrier.

She rose on her sword and drifted away.

The sword light sliced across the sky and soon vanished into the distance.

The courtyard fell quiet.

Shen Qingyue stood there, watching the direction her sister had disappeared in, her expression complicated.

Then she suddenly realized something.

Her sister and brother-in-law had divorced.

Her sister had proposed it, and her brother-in-law had agreed.

Her sister had even told her brother-in-law to find another wife.

Her brother-in-law had agreed to that too.

Shen Qingyue's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

She secretly glanced at Wang Mengde.

Sunlight fell across his face.

The lines of his profile were clear, his features sharply defined.

His eyes were keen and spirited.

A flush instantly rose to Shen Qingyue's pretty face.

Her sister owed Mengde a debt of gratitude.

She could repay it on her sister's behalf.

Then she abruptly snapped awake.

What am I thinking?

Her face reddened even further, burning hot.

Yet that thought grew wildly in her heart like weeds.

Anyway, this bad fellow had been taking advantage of her at every turn over the past year, always looking at her with scorching eyes.

Not long ago, he had even kissed her cheek.

He definitely liked her.

And she liked him too.

Wang Mengde turned his head to look at her.

"Qingyue."

Shen Qingyue jolted and hurriedly raised her head. "Ah? Brother-in-law?"

Wang Mengde asked, "What cultivation art did your sister give you? When I first came back, I heard you mention some disgusting cultivation art."

A faint blush appeared on Shen Qingyue's pretty face.

She lowered her head, twisting the corner of her clothes between her fingers as she said softly,

"It's... it's the sort of cultivation art that two people practice together."

She paused, her voice becoming even quieter.

"But Sister said this cultivation art she gave me is proper. It has no side effects. It isn't that evil kind of cultivation art that drains people dry."

Wang Mengde frowned deeply.

A dual cultivation art?

She wanted Qingyue to cultivate a dual cultivation art.

No wonder she had used a soundproof light barrier when speaking to Qingyue just now.

He looked at Shen Qingyue and said seriously,

"If you don't want to practice it, then forget it. In a while, I'll buy you a proper cultivation art."

Shen Qingyue raised her head, and a flicker of gratitude passed through her eyes.

Then she lowered her head again and said quietly,

"Sister said this cultivation art is of relatively high grade and allows for faster cultivation."

Wang Mengde fell silent, then asked seriously, "Once you master this cultivation art, have you considered cultivating with me?"

Shen Qingyue froze.

Cultivating together?

Then she abruptly understood.

This kind of cultivation art.

Cultivating together.

Wouldn't that mean...

Her heart instantly pounded wildly, as though it were about to leap out of her chest.

This was far too shameless!

This bad thing.

How could he say something like that aloud?

Although this bad thing had become increasingly excessive over the past year or so, taking advantage of her more and more often.

Recently, he had even held her little hand and hugged her.

But he had always known where to draw the line and had never gone too far.

At most, he had only given her a tiny kiss.

She had never heard such blatant words before.

Shen Qingyue's pretty face instantly turned as red as a monkey's butt, and even her neck reddened.

She lowered her head, not daring to look at Wang Mengde. She did not know where to put her hands and could only twist the corner of her clothes tightly.

Wang Mengde looked at her with a serious gaze.

He was a straightforward person.

If he liked someone and wanted her, he said it directly.

He also felt that she had feelings for him.

Then there was no need to beat around the bush.

However.

She now had a boundless future ahead of her. If she looked down on him, that would be normal.

He would never force her, nor would he pester her without end.

He looked at Shen Qingyue and said calmly,

"If you refuse, shake your head. If you agree, go cook the Bloodscale Fish. I'll take that as your agreement."

Shen Qingyue's body trembled.

Cook the Bloodscale Fish?

Now?

She bit her lip, her heart beating even faster.

She secretly raised her eyes and glanced at Wang Mengde.

That fellow was looking at her with a serious gaze that held a trace of anticipation.

Shen Qingyue's heart suddenly softened.

This bad fellow...

She lightly stomped her foot and spat softly,

"You shameless bad fellow."

After saying that, she turned and ran.

Her steps were somewhat flustered.

When she reached the kitchen door, she suddenly stopped.

She turned back.

The blush had yet to fade from her pretty face, while her eyes shone brightly.

She looked at Wang Mengde and said softly,

"Brother... Mengde, Bloodscale Fish is too expensive. Let's sell it."

The corner of Wang Mengde's mouth curled into a smile.

"It's fine. I caught a lot of Golden-Thread Spirit Trout today. The harvest was good."

"Alright."

Shen Qingyue turned around, bent over to lift the Bloodscale Fish from the water vat, and ran into the kitchen.

Her footsteps were light and cheerful.

By dinnertime.

Several dishes were laid out on the table.

The Bloodscale Fish in the center had been braised to a golden-red sheen, its fragrance wafting through the air.

Wang Mengde picked up his chopsticks, took a large piece of belly meat, and placed it in Shen Qingyue's bowl.

"Eat more."

Shen Qingyue lowered her head, her face faintly flushed.

She also picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of fish, and placed it in Wang Mengde's bowl.

"Mengde, you eat too."

"Call me brother-in-law."

"You shameless bastard."

"Haha."

After dinner.

Once they had cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks.

Shen Qingyue said softly, "Mengde, I'm going to cultivate."

Wang Mengde nodded. "I already told you, call me brother-in-law."

"Pah..." Qingyue lightly spat, then turned and entered her room, gently closing the door.

Carrying a bucket of water, Wang Mengde also returned to his bedroom.

He set the water aside.

Then he sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion.

He took out the Meridian-Expanding Pill he had bought today from his robe.

He opened his mouth and swallowed it.

The pill entered his stomach and transformed into a warm current.

That warm current did not disperse. Instead, it surged directly into his meridians, slowly flowing along their inner walls.

Then a sharp, intense pain suddenly struck.

Wang Mengde furrowed his brows and clenched his teeth.

It felt as though someone were pricking the inner walls of his meridians with countless fine needles, densely packed together.

It also felt as though something were gradually forcing his meridians apart, widening them by sheer force.

Pain.

Excruciating pain.

Sweat beaded on Wang Mengde's forehead. Clenching his teeth, he circulated the Minor Five-Element Breathing Art and guided the medicinal power through his meridians.

The pain lasted for more than an hour before gradually fading.

In its place came an unprecedented feeling of smooth openness.

Wang Mengde opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

He circulated his spiritual power and sensed the changes in his meridians.

Their width had increased by more than double.

Their toughness had also greatly improved.

His originally narrow meridians had now become much more spacious.

Spiritual power surged through them with incomparable smoothness, without the slightest obstruction.

A flash of delight crossed Wang Mengde's eyes.

Once his meridians were widened, he could output more spiritual power when casting spells, naturally increasing the power of his techniques.

Those forty-odd spirit stones had been well spent.

Without resting, he took a small bottle from his robe, poured out an Essence-Nourishing Pill, and swallowed it.

He circulated the Minor Five-Element Breath-Absorption Art.

[Minor Five-Element Breath-Absorption Art +1]

[Spiritual Power Cultivation +1]

A quarter of an hour later.

Wang Mengde had completely refined an Essence-Nourishing Pill.

His cultivation art and spiritual power cultivation had both increased by three points.

He was getting closer and closer to the third level of Qi Refinement.

Wang Mengde took a deep breath and calmed his emotions.

He reached into his robe and took out a jade slip.

A Water Arrow Technique jade slip.

Wang Mengde pressed the jade slip to his forehead and sent his divine sense into it.

In an instant, a flood of information surged into his mind.

The spiritual power circulation route of the Water Arrow Technique.

How to condense water essence.

How to compress it into form.

How to shoot it forth.

How to control it with precision.

Wang Mengde closed his eyes and slowly digested the information.

Just then.

A line of tiny golden words appeared in his mind.

[Water Arrow Technique +1]

Profound insights surfaced in his mind, thread by thread.

The difficulties he had encountered with the Water Arrow Technique became clear in an instant.

As though he had practiced it hundreds or thousands of times, everything fell into place as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Wang Mengde opened his eyes, a flicker of delight flashing through them.

The Water Arrow Technique had reached the beginner level.

He had only just finished digesting all the information on the Water Arrow Technique.

Yet the Water Arrow Technique had already reached the beginner level.

One had to know that when his predecessor cultivated those three spells, each one had taken over two months just to barely reach the beginner level.