A date with Xiao Wu, and Tang San was the clown?

Tang San's pole-vaulting training had been going on for several days.

Over those days, Tang San had gone from resistance to numbness, from numbness to habit, and from habit to...

No, he had not grown to like pole vaulting.

He had simply resigned himself to his fate.

Every morning before dawn, Yi Yun dragged him out of bed, and he shouldered his pole and went to the training grounds for a hundred practice vaults.

A hundred.

No more, no less. Not one fewer, not one extra.

Yi Yun called it a scientific training method. Tang San thought it was a hundred ways to torture someone.

But today, Tang San had a rare chance to breathe a sigh of relief.

Because Yi Yun had not come.

It was already light, and Yi Yun still had not appeared.

Tang San stood on the training grounds, gripping his pole, waiting and waiting until the flowers had wilted, but Yi Yun still did not come.

"Xiao Wu, why hasn't Yi Yun come today?" Tang San asked Xiao Wu, who was gnawing on a carrot beside him.

Chewing her carrot, Xiao Wu said indistinctly, "Brother Yun said he had something to do today. He's not coming."

Tang San froze for a moment, then the corners of his mouth slowly rose.

"Then I'll head back too."

"No." Xiao Wu stopped him. "Brother Yun said you have to practice by yourself even if he doesn't come. A hundred times a day, not one fewer."

Tang San's smile froze on his face.

"You have to practice even when he's not here. That's called self-discipline," Xiao Wu said, mimicking Yi Yun's tone.

Tang San said, "..."

He took a deep breath, resignedly shouldered his pole, and began a new day of torment.

Yi Yun did indeed have something to do.

He was going to the Star Dou Great Forest.

But not to hunt Soul Beasts or cultivate. He was going there to take Xiao Wu on a date.

Of course, he was not asking her out just yet.

First, he would scout out the Star Dou Great Forest and find somewhere scenic, then return to invite Xiao Wu along.

"Girls all love romance. Xiao Wu might be a rabbit, but she's still a girl," Yi Yun muttered as he flew. "Find somewhere with flowers, grass, and a waterfall, bring something tasty, tell a few jokes, and won't our feelings warm right up?"

The more he thought about it, the more flawless his plan seemed.

"Oh, Tang San, Tang San. Your Xiao Wu is about to become my Xiao Wu."

Yi Yun's smile shone as brightly as the spring sun.

Yi Yun flew a circuit above the Star Dou Great Forest and soon found an excellent spot.

It was a valley hidden among the mountains, with a small lake whose water was clear enough to see the bottom. Colorful wildflowers covered the shore, butterflies fluttered among the blossoms, and occasionally a few little Soul Beasts drank at the water's edge. The scene was as beautiful as a painting.

"This is the place." Yi Yun nodded in satisfaction.

He descended, found a flat patch of grass beside the lake, cleared the surrounding weeds with his Soul Power, then pulled a blanket out of the Space-Time Magic Mirror as if performing a magic trick and spread it on the ground.

"Perfect."

Next came preparing the food.

Yi Yun took another pile of things out of the Space-Time Magic Mirror.

"A date ought to look like a date."

Yi Yun looked at his arrangements, immensely pleased.

"All right, time to go back for Xiao Wu."

When Yi Yun returned, Tang San was on his eighty-seventh pole vault.

He failed to steady himself on landing, stumbled, and fell into the sandpit.

Yi Yun walked past him and patted his head. "Not bad, not bad. You're improving."

Tang San climbed out of the sandpit, his face covered in sand and his eyes full of grievance.

"Where did you go?"

"On a date."

Tang San froze. "A date? With who?"

"Not telling."

Yi Yun walked over to Xiao Wu, who was gnawing on her third carrot of the day, her cheeks bulging like a little hamster's.

"Xiao Wu, are you free this afternoon?" Yi Yun asked with a smile.

Xiao Wu swallowed the carrot in her mouth and tilted her head in thought. "I am. Why?"

"I'll take you somewhere fun."

"Where?"

"The Star Dou Great Forest."

Xiao Wu's expression changed instantly.

Her relaxed body suddenly tensed, and she stopped gnawing on her carrot.

"The... Star Dou Great Forest?" Xiao Wu's voice sounded a little unnatural.

"Yes. What's wrong?" Yi Yun pretended not to notice her tension.

"N-nothing," Xiao Wu lowered her head and said quietly. "But I don't really want to go."

"Why?"

"Because... because it's dangerous there."

Yi Yun smiled. "You'll have me to protect you. I'm a Titled Douluo."

Xiao Wu raised her head and looked at Yi Yun.

Yi Yun stood there with sunlight spilling over him, his white clothes like snow and his smile gentle. He did give off a very dependable impression.

But.

"You look even younger than me!" Xiao Wu said, pointing at Yi Yun's face.

Yi Yun said, "..."

Xiao Wu was right. Although Yi Yun was eighteen, he had a youthful face and looked only fifteen or sixteen, not much older than Xiao Wu after she had taken human form.

Someone who looked younger than her saying he would protect her did make for a rather incongruous picture.

"Age isn't the issue." Yi Yun coughed and said seriously, "Strength is. I'm a level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo. Protecting you is more than within my abilities."

Xiao Wu looked at him dubiously.

She knew Yi Yun was strong, but she still found his claim of being a level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo hard to believe.

After all, there were only a handful of level ninety-nine Peerless Douluos on the entire continent, and they were all old men in their seventies or eighties.

How could Yi Yun possibly be one when he was so young?

"You don't believe me?" Seeing Xiao Wu's doubt, Yi Yun sighed. "Then how about this? I'll prove it to you."

He raised his right hand and pointed his index finger at the sky.

A golden beam shot from his fingertip, soared into the heavens, instantly pierced the clouds, and burst into an enormous sphere of golden light high above.

Its radiance lit up all of Nuoding City and could be seen even a hundred li away.

Then the clouds began to rotate, forming a huge vortex around the golden sphere and drawing in every cloud within dozens of li.

A thunderous rumble came from the sky, and all of Nuoding City shook.

The students on the training grounds were scared witless. Some lay flat on the ground, some hid behind trees, and some simply fainted.

Gripping his pole, Tang San looked up at the strange spectacle in the sky, his mouth wide enough to fit an egg.

"Wh-what kind of power is this?"

He felt his blue silver grass Martial Soul trembling and his Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul resonating. Even his pole vault Martial Soul was humming.

This power had already exceeded the limits of his understanding.

Xiao Wu was stunned too.

She had lived for a hundred thousand years and seen countless powerful Soul Masters, but she had never witnessed power like this.

To stir such phenomena in heaven and earth with a simple gesture-"powerful" was no longer enough to describe it.

This was invincibility.

Yi Yun withdrew his finger, and the strange spectacle in the sky slowly dispersed.

He turned and gave Xiao Wu a faint smile.

"Believe me now?"

Xiao Wu nodded blankly.

"Then are you coming?"

Xiao Wu hesitated.

She had come from the Star Dou Great Forest. It was her home, and it also held her secret.

She had not taken human form long ago. If she returned and encountered Soul Beasts who knew her or powerful Soul Masters, her identity might be exposed.

But...

Looking at Yi Yun's expectant eyes, Xiao Wu suddenly felt that perhaps she was not so afraid anymore.

"I... I'll go," Xiao Wu said quietly.

Yi Yun's smile grew even brighter.

"Then let's go."

"Wait," Xiao Wu suddenly said. "Is Tang San coming too?"

Yi Yun turned to glance at Tang San, who was still staring blankly up at the sky, and shook his head.

"He's not coming."

"Why?"

"He has to practice pole vaulting."

Hearing that, Tang San finally snapped out of his daze and roared, "I don't want to practice pole vaulting! I'm coming too!"

"What would you come for? To be a third wheel?"

"What third wheel?"

"It means... never mind, you wouldn't understand." Yi Yun waved a hand. "Stay here and practice your pole vaulting. A hundred times a day, not one fewer."

"You..."

"If you still have time after finishing a hundred, you can do another hundred."

Tang San trembled with anger, but he had nothing to say.

He could not beat him in a fight or win an argument. What could he do?

He was desperate too!

"Let's go, Xiao Wu." Yi Yun held out his hand to her.

Xiao Wu looked at Yi Yun's hand, hesitated, then placed hers in it.

Holding Xiao Wu's soft little hand, Yi Yun felt delighted.

"Hold on tight."

"Huh?"

Before Xiao Wu could react, Yi Yun had already shot into the sky with her, flying toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Aaaah..." Xiao Wu squeezed her eyes shut in fright and clung tightly to Yi Yun's waist.

Feeling the warmth around his waist, Yi Yun's smile widened a little more.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Wind howled past their ears, and clouds flowed beneath their feet.

Xiao Wu slowly opened her eyes and could not help exclaiming in wonder at the scenery below.

Nuoding City had become as small as a toy beneath them. Fields and rivers lay as neatly arranged as a chessboard, while distant mountain ranges rose and fell like the spine of the earth.

"So beautiful..." Xiao Wu murmured.

"It certainly is," Yi Yun said, but he was looking at Xiao Wu rather than the scenery.

Noticing Yi Yun's gaze, Xiao Wu blushed faintly and lowered her head.

"What are you staring at?"

"You."

"What's so interesting about me?"

"You're prettier than the scenery."

Xiao Wu's face grew redder, as red as the carrots she loved to eat.

"Smooth talker!"

"I mean every word."

Xiao Wu said nothing more, but her arms tightened a little around Yi Yun.

Yi Yun landed with Xiao Wu in that valley in the Star Dou Great Forest.

The moment Xiao Wu touched down, the scenery before her left her stunned.

Clear lake water, blooming wildflowers, fluttering butterflies, and the gentle sound of water from a distant waterfall.

"This is..." Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. "So beautiful!"

"Do you like it?" Yi Yun asked.

"I do!" Xiao Wu nodded vigorously, then ran to the lakeside and crouched to touch the water.

The water was cool and clear, revealing pebbles and little fish on the lakebed.

Xiao Wu dipped her hand into the water. Little fish swam between her fingers, tickling her, and she could not help laughing.

Yi Yun stood behind her, watching how happy she was, and warmth filled his heart too.

He took a blanket out of the Space-Time Magic Mirror and spread it on the grass, then laid out the food he had prepared, one item at a time.

"Xiao Wu, come sit down."

Xiao Wu ran back, and her eyes went round at the sight of all the delicious food spread across the ground.

"Is all this for me?"

"Yes, all for you."

Xiao Wu crouched down, picked up a golden-jade carrot, and took a bite, her eyes narrowing with bliss.

"It's so good!"

"Take your time. There's plenty more."

As she ate, Xiao Wu asked, "Why did you bring me here?"

"Because when you're happy, I'm happy." Yi Yun sat on the blanket, watching Xiao Wu eat, and felt that this sight was more beautiful than any scenery.

With her mouth full of food, Xiao Wu said indistinctly, "You're so strange."

"How am I strange?"

"You're too good to me."

"Isn't it good that I treat you well?"

"It is, but..." Xiao Wu swallowed the food in her mouth and looked up at Yi Yun. "Why are you so good to me?"

Yi Yun thought for a moment, then said earnestly, "Because I want to be good to you."

Xiao Wu froze for a moment, then blushed again.

"You... why do you say such mushy things?"

"Is it mushy? I think it's fine."

"It's unbearably mushy!"

"Then do you like hearing it?"

"No!"

"Then I won't say it anymore."

"..."

Xiao Wu was silent for a while, then said softly, "I didn't say you couldn't say it..."

Yi Yun smiled, his smile full of happiness.

The sun gradually sank in the west, its golden afterglow spilling across the lake's shimmering surface.

Xiao Wu lay on the blanket, rubbing her belly, which had grown round from eating, and sighed contentedly.

"I'm stuffed."

"There's still dessert." Yi Yun took out a plate of exquisite little cakes.

Xiao Wu looked at the cakes, then at her belly, wrestling with herself for a long time.

"I'm eating it!" In the end, she still couldn't resist the temptation and picked up a cake, stuffing it into her mouth.

Watching her eat, Yi Yun felt that this rabbit really was far too easy to feed and care for.

Just a few carrots could coax her into perfect happiness.

"Xiao Wu."

"Hmm?"

"Shall I bring you here often from now on?"

Biting into her cake, Xiao Wu thought for a moment. "Sure, but you have to bring more carrots."

"No problem."

"And there have to be cakes."

"No problem."

"And there have to be..."

"Anything you want, as long as you like it."

Xiao Wu looked at Yi Yun and suddenly felt a little sting in her nose.

Ever since leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, she had been alone, and no one had treated her this well.

Tang San treated her quite well too, but he was too reserved and hardly said anything, let alone prepared so much delicious food for her.

But Yi Yun was different.

Yi Yun would make her laugh, prepare delicious food for her, take her to see beautiful scenery, and say lovely things to her.

When she was with Yi Yun, she felt relaxed and happy.

"Yi Yun," Xiao Wu suddenly called.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

Yi Yun paused for a moment, then smiled.

"You're welcome."

He looked into Xiao Wu's eyes. There was gratitude in them, happiness, and something else he couldn't quite put into words.

He knew that the distance between them had narrowed another step.

And the distance between Tang San and Xiao Wu had widened another step.

Tang San, oh, Tang San, Yi Yun said silently to himself. Sorry, but I'm taking care of your Xiao Wu first.

In the Star Dou Great Forest, a massive Titan Giant Ape stood behind a large tree, watching the scene in the valley from afar.

It recognized Xiao Wu, and it recognized that human too.

That human was powerful-so powerful that it didn't even dare approach.

But it saw that Xiao Wu was smiling happily, and that human treated her very well too.

The Titan Giant Ape hesitated for a moment, but ultimately turned and left.

Perhaps being with that human was better for Xiao Wu than staying in the Star Dou Great Forest.

At least that human could make Xiao Wu smile.

The Titan Giant Ape's figure vanished into the depths of the forest.

What it didn't know was that its every move was within Yi Yun's range of perception.

Yi Yun had known all along that it was watching in secret, but he hadn't exposed it.

That big ape really does care about Xiao Wu, Yi Yun thought. I should treat that ape a little better from now on. After all, it's family on Xiao Wu's side.

Tang San finally finished his hundred pole vaults and collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.

The sun had already set, leaving only a last streak of afterglow on the horizon.

"Yi Yun and Xiao Wu should be back by now..." Tang San murmured.

What he didn't know was that Yi Yun and Xiao Wu were still in the valley in the Star Dou Great Forest, sitting side by side beside the lake, watching the stars.

He, meanwhile, could only lie alone on the cold training ground, gazing up at that same starry sky.

Tang San suddenly felt as though something was missing from his life.

But he couldn't figure out what it was.

Perhaps he was missing a better vaulting pole.