The sunshine was warm, the breeze gentle, painting a scene of peaceful days.
Na'er puffed out her cheeks, stubbornly refusing to concede. Yet the presence of the opposite sex kept stimulating the senses of this Silver Dragon King avatar, aged six years and over nine million months. An unfamiliar emotion quietly flowed through her heart, and her gaze softened despite herself. Looking at the boy's handsome features so close to hers, she felt a blush creep onto her cheeks, and even her voice softened:
"Xu Qingjia, you... let go of me first!"
Although the Silver Dragon King had been grievously wounded when the Dragon God split into the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings, and had spent most of her time since then asleep, recovering without any experience of romance, she still understood the concept of relations between men and women.
Only now did she belatedly realize how intimate their position was. They were close enough to feel each other's breath.
Watching the blush on White-Haired Dumpling's cheeks, the amusement in Xu Qingjia's eyes deepened. Rather than let go, he gently pinched her cheek again, his tone coaxing. "Call me big brother, and I'll let you go."
What?!
White-Haired Dumpling bristled on the spot.
Her slightly flushed face instantly took on a fierce little expression.
How dare a mere human cub make her call him big brother?!
"No way!" Na'er stubbornly retorted, though her little ears hidden beneath her hair quietly turned red.
Xu Qingjia continued gently stroking that delicate, tender skin with his fingers, his mood growing brighter by the moment.
What an exquisite pleasure!
"I won," Xu Qingjia reminded her leisurely. "According to our agreement, you have to call me big brother."
"I haven't admitted defeat yet." White-Haired Dumpling struggled beneath Xu Qingjia, her face full of stubborn defiance.
"No going back on your word." Xu Qingjia pinched White-Haired Dumpling's rosy cheek.
It would surely feel wonderful to give it a little suck.
The thought surfaced involuntarily in Xu Qingjia's mind.
Humans really had such a hard time resisting cute things.
"I'm not going back on my word!" Na'er insisted. Yet meeting those smiling eyes, she inexplicably felt a little guilty. "Anyway, anyway, I still have strength left, so this fight isn't over."
"Is that so?" Xu Qingjia smiled faintly, released Na'er's cheek, and rubbed White-Haired Dumpling's little head. "Then let's call it a draw."
He wasn't so determined to settle who was better that he had to argue with this little girl.
Still, she really felt wonderful to touch.
"Huh?" Na'er froze, instinctively releasing her grip on Xu Qingjia's cheek. After a moment of silence, she suddenly called out, "Wait!"
White-Haired Dumpling's cheeks were even redder than before. Her watery eyes seemed filled with immense resolve as her cherry-red lips parted, and a call as faint as a mosquito's hum escaped. "B-big brother."
"Oh?" Xu Qingjia watched the little girl, who was so embarrassed she wished she could crawl into a crack in the ground. He reached out and pulled her up from the grass, deliberately teasing her. "Little sister Na'er, what did you call your big brother for just now?"
"Hah!" Like a kitten with its fur standing on end, White-Haired Dumpling stared fiercely at Xu Qingjia. "This only happened because my soul power level is low and I ran out of soul power."
"Once my soul power level is the same as yours, I'll definitely beat you."
"Mm-hmm." Xu Qingjia nodded with a smile, then added, "Call me big brother again."
"Can't hear you, can't hear you." White-Haired Dumpling covered her little ears and dashed back into the Bedchamber.
Nearby, Shen Xi took a sip of tea, the amusement never leaving her eyes.
What a marvelous fight that had been.
As the saying went, no friendship without a fight. The more battles like this in the future, the better.
"What do you think, Xinglan?" Shen Xi looked at the first daughter-in-law she had chosen.
Ye Xinglan's cheeks were rosy, her eyes full of yearning as she said excitedly, "Na'er's spear techniques are amazing."
Shen Xi: ...
She felt it was only a matter of time before Xinglan was overtaken on the bend.
After a period of rest.
Ye Xinglan challenged Na'er, who had recovered her soul power.
Starlight glittered, and the Silver Dragon roared.
Ye Xinglan had received instruction from a swordsmanship master since childhood, but she was still at the stage of practicing techniques. Facing Na'er, who had already comprehended spear intent, was like being struck from a higher dimension. Her dazzling starlight sword soon fell before the unstoppable assault of the king of all weapons.
Na'er successfully gained a little fangirl.
"Hmph, hmph~" White-Haired Dumpling looked smugly at Xu Qingjia, who was meditating nearby.
Xu Qingjia calmly stood up, and a ripple of soul power emanated from his body.
"Level nineteen." Smiling, Xu Qingjia reached out and pinched White-Haired Dumpling's cheek.
"Little sister Na'er, if you want to catch up to your big brother, you'll have to work hard at cultivating."
Pinching this girl's little cheeks really was becoming more and more addictive.
"Mmph." White-Haired Dumpling puffed up indignantly.
How dare a mere human cub treat Queen Na'er like this.
Once she surpassed Xu Qingjia in strength, she would ride him all day long. No, she would trample him beneath her feet!
Time passed.
Night fell.
Inside Na'er's bedroom.
Having finished washing up, White-Haired Dumpling flopped onto the soft bed.
"Xu Qingjia..." Na'er's cherry-red lips parted as she murmured his name.
The scene of them tussling on the grass that afternoon would not leave her mind.
"That hateful Xu Qingjia!" With her cheeks slightly flushed, Na'er waved her little fair-skinned fists, both angry and embarrassed. He had actually made her call him big brother, and even pinched her face.
"Na'er." Gu Yue's spiritual fluctuations traveled from the silver dragon scale into Na'er's mind. "How are things on your end?"
Recalling everything that had happened during the day, Na'er felt a flicker of guilt, but replied calmly, "Everything is going smoothly. I'm working hard to find his whereabouts."
"Good." Gu Yue still had considerable faith in her other self.
Meanwhile.
In the Netherworld.
Xu Qingjia was conversing with Electrolux.
"Footwork? An intermediate soul cultivation method?" Electrolux pondered.
"I do have a set of Heavenly Dipper Big Dipper Steps. Its creator was a Ninth-Rank Knight, one of the few formidable rivals I had during my lifetime. Because he had contracted a Starlight Divine Beast, the world also called him the Starlight Knight."
A hint of reminiscence emanated from the little gray orb.
"A Starlight Divine Beast?" A trace of wistfulness appeared in Xu Qingjia's eyes.
He must have been an extraordinary talent as well.
The era Elder Yi lived in could be called humanity's Golden
Age.
Unfortunately, it had been ruined by a pair of stupid, utterly shameless lovers.
Xu Qingjia did not believe every human leader was as stupid and wicked as the Pope of the Glorious Church back then. But by the time humanity's leaders noticed what had happened, it was already too late. The Undead Scourge had become the enemy of all humanity. Humanity would not acknowledge this Son of Light's identity, and Electrolux would never trust humanity again. In the end, Elder Yi had single-handedly shattered that once incomparably brilliant Golden Age.
Electrolux continued, "As for an intermediate soul cultivation method, I'm not a rubbish collector."
"However, I remember an advanced soul cultivation method without any attribute. Several powerful humans of my era compiled it, and many advanced soul cultivation methods were based on it. Its name was the Twenty-Sixth Generation Spiritual Cultivation Method: The Call of the Times."