Nighttime Conversation

Dai Mubai was furious after having his dirty laundry aired and immediately retorted, "I play around? At least I'm better than you, who only goes after country girls!"

"Even if you paid, no one would want you!"

This time, Ma Hongjun was truly anxious.

He had always envied Ma Hongjun and Oscar's looks, envied them terribly.

He had finally gotten Tang San as someone beneath him to balance things out.

And now they were attacking his sore spot again.

He immediately fired back.

Dai Mubai counterattacked as well.

The two exposed each other's dirty secrets, letting Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing see exactly what kind of people they were. Both girls subtly moved away from them.

Even Oscar's image in their hearts was tarnished. He went from Sausage Uncle to Creepy Sausage Uncle.

Tang San's eyes lit up. His chance had come again!

He had failed to catch up with Xiao Wu earlier and had missed the perfect chance to comfort her.

But now, he had to make his stance clear and draw a line between himself and them.

He moved closer. "Xiao Wu, I'm not like them. I've never been to that kind of place."

See how devoted I am to you.

Xiao Wu glanced at him without saying anything. Whether Tang San went or not had nothing to do with her, and she did not care anyway.

As long as Lu...

She instinctively looked toward Lu Shi.

As though she had thought of something else, her gaze gradually dimmed. She lowered her head, and her long scorpion braid drooped as well, losing its usual luster.

They remained silent the whole way. When they reached the village entrance, they happened to run into Ning Rongrong running laps around the village.

However, Ning Rongrong ignored them and continued running on her own.

Seeing this, Flender assumed she knew she was wrong but was too embarrassed to admit it, and he could not help feeling smug.

You think I can't handle a little girl whose feathers haven't even grown in yet?

Inside the academy, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun called Oscar over, and the three decided to go have some fun.

However, only Ma Hongjun and Oscar wore dazzlingly broad smiles.

Dai Mubai was simply giving up completely.

There was no hope left anyway.

The lofty image he had tried to fabricate had been utterly destroyed.

Tang San wanted to go too, not for any other reason, but mainly to bond with his good teammates. Yet he was afraid Xiao Wu would misunderstand, so he could only watch them leave with an envious gaze.

Then he returned to his dormitory alone.

Meanwhile, Xiao Wu had just lain down on the shabby wooden bed when she realized something was wrong.

Normally, even after she returned to the dormitory, Tang San would pester her for quite a while. Why had he left so decisively today after only saying goodbye?

Could he have gone to find Dai Mubai and the others?

Xiao Wu did not care about Tang San at all, but she was afraid Lu Shi would be influenced. What if Lu Shi wanted to go to a brothel too?

What would she do then?

She abruptly sat up.

Absolutely not. I have to go over there...

Then she remembered what had happened tonight, and her excited emotions sank again.

That was right. What did it have to do with her anyway...

She and Lu Shi were only... ordinary friends...

Xiao Wu's lips trembled as she had no idea what to do.

For some reason.

As moonlight poured into the room like salt through the window, she rose as if possessed and headed toward Lu Shi's dormitory.

No, I need to see what Lu Shi is doing!

Unexpectedly, halfway there, she happened to see Ning Rongrong looking for Lu Shi. Then the two of them went out of the village for a walk together.

Her heart instantly turned cold.

Why can Ning Rongrong do it, but I can't!?

After parting with Ning Rongrong, Lu Shi returned to his dormitory.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, sank his consciousness inward, and entered the Small World.

The weakest teachers in the academy were all Soul Emperors, so he had no way to release the Soul Beasts now.

Otherwise, he would have no way to explain where the Soul Beast aura came from.

Because of that, Lu Shi discovered a new ability of the Small World.

It was not just Soul Beasts and himself who could enter and leave the Small World. Any other object could enter as well!

Water, food, weapons... anything could be stored there.

He arrived in the Small World where the Mandala Snake lived. This Small World had expanded once again, and the banyan tree at its center had grown further, its vigorous roots twisting up from the ground.

They tangled together in a dense mass.

When Lu Shi arrived, a crimson figure flashed out from between the roots, coiling around him and affectionately rubbing its snake head against his cheek.

"Hiss! Hiss!"

"You missed me, didn't you?" Lu Shi scratched under its chin, and the scaled skin felt strangely textured beneath his fingers.

At the same time, he took Soul Beast meat out of his Storage Soul Tool.

Meat could not be stored in the Small World. Time flowed here, so meat would rot after two days, whereas it would not inside a Storage Soul Tool.

With a thought from him.

A wild boar and a small pile of fruit appeared on the grass.

The wild boar was a weak Soul Beast less than ten years old. Its bristles were grayish-black, its body plump, and it was roughly a meter long, with protruding snow-white tusks at its mouth.

Weak Soul Beasts usually had strong reproductive abilities, and this kind of wild boar was no exception. They could breed nearly year-round and gave birth to at least ten offspring at a time.

Young boars only needed three months to mature before they could contribute to the continuation of their species.

He had specially prepared the fruit because the Mandala Snake loved eating it.

Sure enough, the moment it saw the fruit, even its tail started wagging as it happily flicked out its pink tongue.

"Hiss!"

After dealing with the wild boar, Lu Shi went to the Lava Small World and spent some time interacting with the Flame Spirit Eagle before leaving it food.

Finally, he went to the Small World where the Thunder-Patterned Sacred Tiger lived.

The moment he entered, thunder rumbled in his ears.

The wind howled, and thunderclouds formed from Lu Shi's Soul Power gathered in the sky.

He did not know what they were for. Perhaps they were meant to temper the body with lightning.

This place was a cliff covered in forest, and scattered bones could be seen across the grass.

Behind him.

The Thunder-Patterned Sacred Tiger stood atop the cliff.

Tiny arcs of electricity flowed through its fur.

When it saw Lu Shi, it walked over, stretched out its tongue to lick his face, and raised its tail high.

A rumbling purr came from its throat.

Of the three Soul Beasts, the Thunder-Patterned Sacred Tiger had the largest appetite, so Lu Shi had prepared two enormous striped water buffaloes for it.

The bones on the ground were the remains of Soul Beasts it had eaten.

Sitting at the edge of the cliff, with a bottomless abyss stretching beneath his dangling feet, he was just about to rest when he heard someone gently knock on his door.

"Lu Shi, are you there?"

It was Ning Rongrong.

Why had she come to see him so late at night?

He left the Small World and opened the door, and a delicate fragrance filled his nostrils.

Tonight was a full moon, surrounded by a faint blue glow.

There were few people in the village to begin with, and at night, it did not even have the slightest trace of human presence.

Lu Shi and Ning Rongrong walked side by side. Bright, pristine moonlight spilled over the grass, while cooing calls and the fluttering of wings came from the distance.

"Why were your first three Soul Skills all thousand-year ones? I've never seen anyone like you in my life."

Ning Rongrong asked curiously.

Lu Shi smiled. "Every Soul Master has a different limit for absorbing Soul Rings. There are three factors that affect Soul Ring absorption: Martial Soul quality, a Soul Master's physique, and spiritual power. If all three are strong enough, then even the first Soul Ring can be a thousand-year one."

A glimmer flashed through Ning Rongrong's beautiful eyes. It was such a novel theory.

She had never heard of it before.

"Did you research this yourself? Or did that Grandmaster research it? I heard you, Tang San, and Xiao Wu attended the same academy. Tang San seems to have taken that theory Grandmaster as his teacher. Why didn't you?"

"No. I saw it in some unknown ancient texts."

He tilted his head back and sighed as though recalling something unpleasant.

"That Grandmaster, Yu Xiaogang, came looking for me. I refused to take him as my teacher, so he tried to use his theories to convince me. In the end, he knew less than I did."

Ning Rongrong watched him as they walked, a sweet curve rising on her lips. "That impressive?"

"Is that why Tang San doesn't like you?"

You're even more capable than his teacher.

"No, it's because of Xiao Wu..."

At last, Lu Shi had taken the initiative to mention Xiao Wu.

Ning Rongrong's pretty face was hidden behind her long hair, and her glass-like eyes narrowed as though she had planned this all along.

She clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her head at Lu Shi. She had deliberately changed into a long dress, making her resemble a blooming white camellia, pure and noble.

Spotlessly clean.

"Xiao Wu is a great beauty! She clings to you all day long. Haven't you really ever been tempted?"