Moving

Nothing happened that night.

The next day, Yang Yunhai's stubborn body clock woke him early, preventing him from continuing to immerse himself in the milky-white Xue Zi of his dreams.

A year's plan began in spring; a day's plan began in the morning. Only through daily diligence could one attain the Great Dao and make dreams come true. His muscle memory had deeply ingrained this point, so, for the sake of his own happiness, it had long resolved to diligently urge its dream-loving master onward.

A little while later, knock, knock, knock. Having washed up and dressed, Yang Yunhai knocked on Zhu Zhuqing's door.

Airheaded and naive, lacking any opinions of her own; cold and abstinent in the early stages, single-mindedly pursuing strength; then, after her characterization collapsed in the later stages, becoming a mere decorative vase who could only cling to the strong, like some accessory or tamed pet—there had indeed been no shortage of debates among readers in his previous life regarding Zhu Zhuqing.

Honestly, he sometimes thought so too.

But on second thought, weren't all the female characters written by that great author like this? From powerful career women to airheaded sweethearts, it had always depended on the needs of the plot. Bibi Dong was like this, Qian Renxue was like this, and so were Hu Liena and Zhu Zhuqing.

The intelligence-reduction aura was truly terrifying!

So where, exactly, had things gone wrong? He did not know, did not understand, and could not comprehend it!

But one thing was certain: books were books, reality was reality, and he was no gentleman.

Airheaded sweethearts might not be especially likable, but if that person was his own, it was another matter entirely. Especially when this airheaded sweetheart was a stunningly beautiful, voluptuous big-breasted cat—pure or seductive, pettable or huggable.

What cat-loving man would not like that?

As his thoughts wandered, a crisp reply came from behind the door. "Yunhai, I need a little more time. You go downstairs first."

Women really were slow. Yang Yunhai expressed his understanding, but still shook his head and went downstairs alone.

Half an hour later, in the first-floor living room, his companions gradually gathered. Under Yu Tianheng's lead, they headed out for a run. Only after forty-five minutes, having completed a lap along the forest-side trail around the dormitory, did they return.

By then, a lavish breakfast had already been laid out on the table: meat buns, soy milk, and fruit, all nutritionally balanced.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Qin Ming, seated at the head of the table, began explaining that day's training arrangements.

"After thinking it over last night, I came up with some ideas regarding Xiao Hai's martial soul control ability."

"Since Xiao Hai can control multiple vines at once, I think we need not limit them to controlling opponents. They could also be used to control and assist teammates."

"For example, vines could be tied around an attacking teammate's waist and directly fling them behind the enemy formation, disrupting their formation. Or, when an opponent unleashed certain area-of-effect soul skills, they could be pulled back in time to evade them."

"With this, the team might be able to advance and retreat with greater control during battle, greatly increasing our flexibility."

"Furthermore, with Xiao Hai's vines helping us, some attacks that would otherwise require soul skills to defend against may no longer need them, and some distances that require a lot of running may no longer need to be run. This would reduce the physical and Soul Power consumption of our attacking members as well."

"With these considerations in mind, I think we might be able to develop several new tactics centered around Xiao Hai. Everyone can practice coordinating with them over the next while and see how effective they are. What do you all think?"

"I think it's feasible." Yu Tianheng, as captain, considered it briefly before nodding in strong agreement.

"I think it's worth trying too."

The other team members nodded as well.

Only then did Qin Ming nod and turn to Yang Yunhai. "Xiao Hai, if we do this, you may have to work harder from now on. Since you'll be the tactical core, you will not only need to divide your attention to control the vines during matches, but also keep watch over the flow of battle at all times and adapt accordingly."

"No problem. This is also an excellent training opportunity for me." Yang Yunhai smiled.

"Also, after hearing your explanation, I have some ideas about the application of the Third Soul Skill." He swept his gaze over the others before continuing, "I think that, when I tie vines around everyone's waists, I could take the opportunity to scatter Parasitic Spores over your bodies."

"Besides serving as a medium for directly using the Second Soul Skill to Drain the Soul Power within a Spirit Master's body, my Parasitic Spores can also slowly absorb the Soul Power dissipated in the air. Once enough Soul Power has accumulated, I can trigger them remotely."

"In that way, when we get close to opponents, they might be used as an offensive method."

"Also, I can control the vines' growth and wrap them around your bodies as a defensive measure."

Everyone's eyes lit up at once. Yu Tianheng promptly said, "In that case, whenever necessary, we can let Xiao Hai Drain our own Soul Power to accelerate the catalyzation. It would be like each of us carried a special soul skill that could both control and defend."

"If that's the case, teams specializing in close combat probably won't dare approach us carelessly in the future." Yu Feng could not help interjecting. "After all, no one wants to be fighting only for several vines to suddenly shoot out from the opposing contestant's body and bind them."

"Isn't that perfect? The longer a battle drags on, the easier it will be for Xiao Hai's Second and Third Soul Skills to show their effects." Osler chimed in.

"Indeed." Qin Ming nodded with a smile. "Xiao Hai's idea is very good. We can practice coordinating with it more from now on."

"Since that's the case, there's no time to lose. Instructor Qin Ming, let's head to the Training Ground and give it a try." Yu Feng said eagerly.

"Alright." Qin Ming nodded and rose from his seat.

Before long, everyone arrived at the Training Ground and began practicing coordination with Yang Yunhai.

Team coordination practice in the morning; cultivation of his martial soul in the Simulated Training Field and physical training in the afternoon; returning to the dormitory with Zhu Zhuqing at dusk; cultivating Soul Power at night. For the next several days, Yang Yunhai's schedule remained the same. That continued until Meng Shenji of the Education Committee sent someone to deliver word that the cultivation site he had requested earlier was complete, and asked Yang Yunhai to go see whether he was satisfied with it.

Thus, Yang Yunhai bid farewell to his teammates and followed the instructor who came to lead him there.

The entrance was not far from the dormitory. It was a mountain path roughly one meter wide, marked with a sign stating that members of teams other than Team One were forbidden from entering. Following the winding path inward led them into a dim forest thick with vegetation. It took the two nearly an hour to reach their destination.

Before them lay a narrow valley wedged between two towering Stone Mountains. A clear spring flowed out from one side and gathered into a stream in the middle of the valley. Near the stream, Blue Silver Grass grew lush and dense, so abundantly that some had even developed into ten-year soul beasts. The terrain on both sides was steep, somewhat resembling the stone peaks along the outskirts of the mountain range he had once climbed while searching for the Blue Silver Emperor.

Shifting his gaze to the right, he saw a brand-new Wooden House standing beside the area where the Blue Silver Grass grew most densely.

"What do you think, Student Yang?" the accompanying instructor asked with a smile.

"I am extremely satisfied. I would appreciate it if you could convey my thanks to the three members of the Education Committee," Yang Yunhai replied politely.

"As long as you're satisfied." The instructor smiled and nodded. "Then, Student Yang, familiarize yourself with the surroundings first. I'll go report back to the Education Committee."

"Alright, take care, Instructor," Yang Yunhai replied at once.

After watching the instructor leave, Yang Yunhai strode toward the Wooden House. Once he had briefly familiarized himself with it, he turned and returned to the dormitory.

At dusk, it was time for dinner.

Yang Yunhai set down his bowl and chopsticks, looked up at everyone, and said, "Instructor Qin, everyone, the private training facility I asked the three Education Committee members to help build has been completed. To save travel time, I may move over there from now on."

"For morning training in the future, I'll head straight from there to the Training Ground to meet up with everyone."

"Don't the other Simulated Training Fields for Blue Silver Grass already exist? Why build one separately? It looks pretty far away, too." Dugu Yan looked puzzled.

"It's for the convenience of developing my Martial Soul." Yang Yunhai turned to look at her. "Yan Jie, like when I told you last time about using my Second Soul Skill to absorb poison—I still haven't gone out to buy lab mice for experiments. I can't exactly keep small experimental animals in the dormitory from now on, can I?"

"Fine! You should raise them somewhere else. If they die, at least they'll be easier to bury." Dugu Yan waved a hand.

"That was my thought too." Yang Yunhai nodded.

Qin Ming, seated at the head of the table, nodded at that moment. "In that case, Xiao Hai, if the team has any new arrangements in the future, I'll explain them to you during the morning."

"Alright, sorry to trouble you, Instructor Qin." Yang Yunhai replied politely.

At that moment, Dugu Yan turned to Zhu Zhuqing. "Then what about Zhuqing? Xiao Hai, can you really bear to leave her here?"

Yang Yunhai could not help turning toward Zhu Zhuqing. "Zhuqing, do you want to come with me? The three Education Committee members built a Wooden House for me in that Mountain Valley, along with several other rooms. Most importantly, the stone peaks on both sides of the valley are extremely steep, making it a good training environment for you. Climbing along steep cliff faces should effectively strengthen your limbs."

"Your Martial Soul is a cat, and your combat style mainly relies on claw attacks. Therefore, arm strength, wrist strength, and the gripping power of your fingers are especially important. You also need to train your leg strength, which can greatly improve your speed and explosiveness. Beyond that, there's core strength and bodily balance. All of these can be trained very effectively through free climbing."

"When you can one day traverse steep cliffs barehanded as though walking on level ground, I think your practical combat ability, at the very least, should improve considerably."

"Listening to that makes me want to train there too." Osler, who possessed the Ghost Leopard Martial Soul, could not help clicking his tongue.

"It seems I could try training that way as well." Yu Tianheng also fell into thought.

"For Beast Martial Soul Spirit Masters who excel at close combat, this really is an excellent training method." Qin Ming's eyes lit up as he voiced his strong approval.

"I'll just say one thing: being a third wheel is a good way to make people hate you." Dugu Yan nodded slightly.

"Then I'll just find somewhere else. There are plenty of Stone Mountains behind the academy anyway." Osler quickly chimed in.

Qin Ming smiled faintly and said nothing.

As far as he knew, one reason Heaven Dou Royal Academy had chosen to build in this mountain range was because it contained many stable Stone Mountains. Not only could stone be quarried locally, but the ground was also solid enough for foundations, making it an ideal location for a large academy.

For Spirit Masters, cutting into mountains and quarrying stone was not difficult. The stability of the foundations was the more important consideration.

As he pondered, Zhu Zhuqing, who had been sitting with her head slightly lowered, gave a small nod and softly hummed in agreement.

"Alright, then we'll pack tonight and move over tomorrow after morning training." Yang Yunhai said.

"Okay." Zhu Zhuqing, thin-skinned as ever, nodded gently.

Thus, at noon the next day, after training ended, Yang Yunhai and his teammates finished lunch in the dormitory. He then rose with Zhu Zhuqing and headed for their new home.