I'll Come See You over Summer Break (Please Keep Reading-the Ranking Dropped Again)

Over the better part of the day that followed, the two encountered several more groups of Soul Beasts.

Some lived in packs, some roamed alone, some excelled at hiding and ambushing, and others charged straight into a head-on fight.

Their ages ranged from a few hundred years to over a thousand, but all were within the pair's ability to handle.

Ye Zhiqiu controlled the battlefield and severed crucial connections, while Dong Qianqiu dealt damage and finished enemies off. Their coordination was so seamless that they might have practiced it a thousand times.

Occasionally, when an enemy moved too fast for even Ye Zhiqiu to sever its connections in time, Dong Qianqiu's ice control filled the gap. She froze the ground, condensed moisture, and created ice walls, buying Ye Zhiqiu time for that one slash.

They exchanged few words in battle.

"Left."

"Mm."

"Severed."

"Got it."

A glance or a gesture was enough for each to understand what the other intended.

After several battles, they were barely even breathing hard. Their physical exertion remained manageable, and they still had Soul Power to spare.

Then, just as they were about to cross a ridge and investigate the seemingly deeper stretch of forest beyond it, everything suddenly went black.

Next, Ye Zhiqiu opened his eyes.

The metal mask slowly lifted from his face, and the transparent gel enveloping his body gradually subsided, sliding down the chamber walls like an ebbing tide.

Sitting in the Simulation Pod, he blinked a few times to adjust to the light of the real world.

The fluorescent tubes overhead cast a soft white glow, while the console beside him emitted the low hum of running machinery.

He rolled his neck and stepped out of the Simulation Pod.

Dong Qianqiu emerged from the neighboring Simulation Pod a few seconds later. She shook her head, making her deep-blue ponytail sway behind her shoulder.

The other students had already gathered around. These two were the last to emerge, and every student stared at them in astonishment as they stepped out.

Were they even human? They weren't even Soul Grandmasters yet, but they could already work together to kill two or three thousand-year Soul Beasts?

Was that really something first-years could do??

They truly lived up to the name of the Twin Autumn Duo!

Several teachers came over as well. Their astonishment had already faded, replaced by delighted surprise.

These were the school's two chosen prodigies! In all the decades since its founding, the school had never had students like them!

The headmaster thought, Achievements! These are all achievements!

"Zhiqiu, Qianqiu, how are you feeling?" The headmaster hurried over to fuss over their well-being. These two were the school's treasures.

"Headmaster, everything feels great," Ye Zhiqiu replied with a beaming smile, looking perfectly well-behaved. Beside him, Dong Qianqiu's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

That's you all right. You've really mastered playing cute!

The headmaster then asked a few more questions, all about how the Simulation Pod had felt, whether they had experienced any discomfort, how much Soul Power they had consumed, and so on.

Ye Zhiqiu answered each one with an obedient expression. Every answer struck just the right balance, neither sounding too proud nor giving the impression that he was brushing the headmaster off.

Standing beside him and listening to that well-behaved tone, Dong Qianqiu struggled to keep a straight face.

She had known him for almost a year. No one knew better than she did what he was normally like. He was practically a different person from the good little boy he presented to everyone else.

The headmaster seemed to notice the subtle shift in her expression. His gaze lingered on her face briefly, but he asked no further questions. After reminding them to get some proper rest, he turned to speak to the other students.

That afternoon, Xu Rang announced the overall final results.

Ye Zhiqiu, first in every subject.

Dong Qianqiu, second in every subject.

Neither Ye Zhiqiu nor Dong Qianqiu reacted much to the results. They were already used to them.

The teacher went over the arrangements for summer break, plans for the next school year, precautions, and other matters before announcing the start of the holiday.

A whole month and a half of summer break!

"Oh, right." Something suddenly occurred to Ye Zhiqiu, and he paused in the middle of packing his things.

"What is it?" Dong Qianqiu turned to look at him.

"Where are you staying over summer break? Still at that... orphanage?" Ye Zhiqiu asked casually.

Dong Qianqiu paused too, then nodded. "Mm, same place."

Ye Zhiqiu thought for a moment. "It's not that far from my house. About a thirty-minute walk, I think. I'll come hang out with you whenever I'm free."

"Really?" Dong Qianqiu's eyes lit up, but she quickly suppressed it. No, no. I can't let this guy see me looking like that.

"Of course. Even pearls aren't this genuine."

"Then you'd better not be lying."

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Dong Qianqiu tilted her head and thought it over. Apparently, he really hadn't. But he was always so flippant when he spoke. Who knew whether he was just saying it offhand?

"All right, I'll remember that. If you don't visit even once over summer break, just you wait when school starts." Her tone was fierce, but Ye Zhiqiu noticed the slight upward curve of her lips.

Amused by her threatening tone, Ye Zhiqiu couldn't help laughing. "Come on. If I don't come see you over the break, who else would I go see?"

Dong Qianqiu turned her face away with a huff, flicking her ponytail. "I'm going home, then. Bye."

"Mm. Be careful on the way."

"You too."

Dong Qianqiu took two steps, then stopped again. With her back to him, she asked, "Then, tomorrow... will you come?"

Ye Zhiqiu considered it. "My parents said they're taking me out to buy some things tomorrow. How about the day after?"

"Okay. The day after, then." Without looking back, Dong Qianqiu waved and hurried out through the school gates.

Ye Zhiqiu stood with his hands in his pockets, watching her retreating figure, and couldn't help smiling. She really was Dong Qianqiu, that "hundred-thousand-year-old" little kid.

Then he strolled toward the school gates. Ye Jiyang's car was already parked across the road.

"Dad, you're here."

"Mm. Get in."

Ye Zhiqiu opened the passenger door, climbed in, fastened his seat belt, and leaned back against the seat.

Ye Jiyang pulled into traffic, glanced at his son, and asked casually, "How did your exams go?"

"First in every subject, and the highest score in the Simulation assessment," Ye Zhiqiu answered simply.

Ye Jiyang nodded without asking anything more.

It was just as he had expected. It would have been strange if his son hadn't come first. His son had long since become a genius among geniuses.

A little while later, the car stopped outside the Ye Family home.

Ye Zhiqiu got out, sat on the living room sofa for a while, and took a couple of sips of water. Then he went upstairs to his room and closed the door.

He locked the door, drew the curtains, and sat cross-legged on his bed. Closing his eyes, he sank his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness.

The silvery-gray ball of light and the translucent little blade still floated within his Sea of Consciousness, rotating quietly.

He could feel that they had become a little more solid than they had been a month ago. The Gravity Star Core in particular had much brighter starlight across its surface than when it had first formed.

He split off another strand of consciousness and extended it into the Infinite Storage Space within his body.

That gray, misty void remained boundless. At its center, the pool of spring water, roughly ten meters square, still emitted a faint silvery-white glow. Its surface was as still as a mirror, while water slowly bubbled up from the spring's eye in the middle.

Ye Zhiqiu's consciousness lingered beside the spring for a while.

Every morning after getting up, he drank a little of the origin water—not much, around two or three mouthfuls.

It looked like ordinary water, colorless and tasteless. After he drank it, a trace of warmth spread from his stomach, then slowly dissipated throughout his limbs and every part of his body.

Over more than half a year, he had clearly felt the spring water steadily, slowly boosting the growth of his spiritual power.

It had been 169 points when he enrolled and was now 321. Apart from the natural increases brought by cultivation and growth, he guessed that the Origin Spring had contributed at least thirty percent of that gain.

This really was a treasure, something he could encounter only by luck, not seek out at will. It certainly deserved its place among the nine options from which he had chosen five.

"As expected of a handsome bastard like me. Top-tier in every way."