Auntie Could Stand It, but Na'er Couldn't!

Su Xun's thought had not even finished forming.

Then he suddenly felt the world dim around him. The island in the middle of the lake vanished, and so did Han Tianyi.

The dim world split into two colors, black and white.

Immediately afterward, a Black-and-White Millstone so vast that its edges were beyond sight abruptly appeared. A terrifying suction erupted, dragging his body toward it against his will.

Su Xun's face paled as he recalled the spiritual training method from a certain Martial Universe.

Seriously, dude, you're joining the crossover too?

Before he could think any further, his body was sucked into the millstone...

That evening, Su Xun pushed open the door to the hundredth floor on unsteady legs.

To Na'er, whom Leng Yaozhu had dragged into intensive training, the sound was heavenly music. She sprinted toward the entryway.

Then she saw Su Xun, pale-faced and looking as though he had been drained dry.

"Whoa, Su Xun, what have you been doing?"

Na'er did not understand, but she was delighted. She crouched down and poked the cheek of Su Xun, who had collapsed on the floor and refused to get up.

Looking at Na'er's upside-down face in his field of vision, Su Xun said irritably:

"Go play somewhere else. Let me rest first."

Na'er puffed out her cheeks and called into the room:

"Auntie Leng, Su Xun went off gallivanting somewhere and got drained dry! Come do something about him!"

Thump!

Leng Yaozhu appeared in a flash, and Na'er took a punch to the head.

Na'er shouted, brimming with grievance:

"Su Xun's the one who went gallivanting! Why are you hitting me, Auntie Leng?"

"I'm going to throw a fit!"

Leng Yaozhu rolled her eyes at her.

"Go ahead. Just don't come crying to Su Xun to take you to the night market when you don't get any dinner."

Na'er instantly behaved herself and said with a perfectly straight face:

"Auntie Leng, I suddenly feel like I've got more energy than I can use. How about we do an extra half... ten-no, three minutes of training today?"

"Scram."

"You got it!"

Na'er darted off to the training area and started fiddling around on her own.

In reality, she lasted less than a minute before she began secretly slacking off.

Then she saw Auntie Leng, who treated her as sternly and coldly as a machine, gently lift Su Xun's upper body and ask after him in a soft, caring voice.

Na'er felt as though she had taken a critical hit. Her red lips parted:

"Auntie Leng, you're playing favorites..."

Leng Yaozhu glanced back, her gaze landing directly on the slacking Na'er from far away.

"Do you really not want dinner?"

Na'er puffed out her cheeks and vented her resentment on the equipment.

"If you break the equipment, your meals will pay for it."

Na'er immediately became gentle with her movements.

Auntie Leng was strong; Na'er surrendered.

Su Xun could only find it funny.

"Teacher, stop teasing her. She's pretty pitiful."

Leng Yaozhu shot him a look, her voice carrying only around the two of them.

"If I don't play the bad guy, how can you play the good guy?"

"If you don't play the good guy, how will you sweet-talk her into becoming your wife someday?"

Su Xun was speechless.

Seriously, is this joke never going to die?

Seeing her beloved disciple's expression, Leng Yaozhu immediately began to giggle.

Then her expression turned serious.

"Well? Did Elder Han teach you anything real?"

Su Xun nodded and recounted what had happened.

The smile on Leng Yaozhu's face grew even more radiant, and she nodded to herself.

"It's in the bag!"

"Huh?"

Su Xun pretended not to understand.

Leng Yaozhu explained:

"In terms of seniority, the current sect master of the Body Sect could be considered Elder Han's martial nephew."

"The Body Sect has fallen into decline. Elder Han joined the Spirit Pagoda partly because the Body Sect could no longer support him."

"Secondly, he wanted to seek new breakthroughs through the Spirit Pagoda."

"And thirdly, naturally, he also hoped to use the Spirit Pagoda's channels to bring some disciples into the Body Sect."

"If Pei Hai, the head of the East Sea Spirit Pagoda, weren't one of my people, someone with your circumstances would certainly have been sent to Elder Han first."

"Now that Elder Han has taught you even the treasures at the bottom of his chest, he won't simply stand by and watch you fail to undergo a second awakening."

Su Xun "caught on at the slightest hint," his expression dawning with realization.

"You mean Elder Han will definitely introduce me to the current sect master of the Body Sect someday?"

Leng Yaozhu nodded, then added:

"But all of that is still a long way off for you."

"Your job right now is simply to study diligently under him."

"When the time comes, I believe Elder Han will act of his own accord."

Su Xun nodded to show he understood.

Leng Yaozhu also finished examining Su Xun's physical condition. Finding nothing wrong beyond some spiritual fatigue, she set her worries aside.

"Don't meditate tonight. Get a good night's sleep. It might work even better."

As Leng Yaozhu had instructed, Su Xun washed up and fell into a deep sleep.

He slept until noon the next day. Only when sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto his face did he wake.

Then, to his amazement, he discovered that his mind was unusually active, and even the world before his eyes seemed a little clearer.

His spiritual power had increased considerably!

Su Xun was delighted, but he soon calmed down.

He understood that with this kind of training, the first session would bring the greatest improvement.

As his spiritual power grew more resilient, the effects would inevitably diminish over time.

"Now that you're awake, come have lunch."

Leng Yaozhu's voice sounded beside his ear.

Su Xun blinked, realizing that living with this teacher of his, at his current level, truly left him with no privacy whatsoever.

Still, he did not mind. He got dressed and left his room.

At the dining table, Na'er gazed longingly at the feast spread before her, wiping away her drool again and again. Yet she could only sit there blankly, not daring to move.

Only when Su Xun emerged did she turn some of her attention toward him.

Her eyes were full of resentment.

Her thoughts were written all over her face: Stupid Su Xun, rotten Su Xun! Why do I have to get up early and suffer through training while you get to sleep until noon?

Su Xun deliberately stretched, drawing out an exaggerated "Aaah" for half a minute before finally squeezing out, "What a great sleep!"

Auntie could stand it, but Na'er couldn't!

Na'er raised the banner of revolt, her figure becoming a silver afterimage as she pounced at Su Xun with claws bared.

However, Su Xun had, after all, received half a month of hands-on close-combat instruction from his beloved teacher. How could Na'er possibly match him?

Within just a few exchanges, Na'er cried out:

"Big Brother, Na'er was wrong!"

Su Xun released her and lightly dusted off his hands.

"Tsk, little Na, you still need more practice."

"Your lesson is well deserved, Big Brother. Let's hurry and sit down to eat!"

Na'er was the picture of deference, knowing when to bend and when to stand tall. She even pulled Su Xun's dining chair out to exactly the right distance.

Leng Yaozhu watched the entire exchange, the corners of her lips never losing their upward curve.

Soon, the meal was finished.

As expected, Queen Na'er immediately rebelled:

"How dare you, Su Xun! You caught Na'er unprepared and attacked her weakness! What punishment do you deserve?"

Half a minute later, little Na was behaving herself again.

Their afternoon lessons began. After an hour of posture training, Leng Yaozhu unexpectedly did not proceed with the close-combat lesson.

Instead, she had Su Xun and Na'er sit cross-legged before her, then said:

"As eras change, the system for soul masters continues to improve, and soul guidance technology continues to develop."

"Twenty thousand years ago, the soul master system was still at the stage of hunting soul beasts and obtaining soul rings, with only a very few people collecting soul bones."

"Over ten thousand years ago, the soul master system became more complete and scientific. Soul cores appeared, and the soul spirit system began to take root."

"But today, truly powerful soul masters not only need powerful martial souls and soul spirits, they also need..."

"Battle Armor!"