Feed Her Until She's Satisfied? I Get What You Mean!

Jin Hongchen weighed her words, finally choosing a term that was safe without sacrificing dignity.

Yan Shaozhe propped her chin on one hand, her smile as light as drifting clouds. "You flatter him, Director Jin. That boy Xingyue is just a little better at fighting, that's all. He keeps sleeping in class, too. Even I don't know what to do with him."

The corner of Jin Hongchen's mouth twitched.

A little better at fighting? With Soul Elder cultivation, he beat a sharpshooter Soul Ancestor who specialized in soul tools and a swordsmanship expert known as a sword fanatic like he was thrashing his own sons. That counted as a little better at fighting?

She felt that never mind two opponents, Gu Xingyue could practically string ten of their students together and beat the whole lot!

But she did not say that aloud. She merely nodded, then turned toward the students behind her, who were still whispering among themselves. Her tone was gentle but firm. "All right, that concludes our sparring exchange. Tang Gang, go to the infirmary and get yourself treated first."

Two students from the Sun Moon Empire hurried onto the platform and hauled Tang Gang out of the crater, one on either side.

Tang Gang's legs were weak, and he was dragged along like a heap of mud, still mumbling things like "the ultimate secret of Pole Vault" and "a sharpshooter who never misses," instantly filling the arena with a cheerful atmosphere.

After Tang Gang was dragged off the platform, Jin Hongchen stood as well and gave Yan Shaozhe a slight nod. "Dean Yan, today's exchange has been very rewarding. It's getting late, so I'll take the students back to the guest quarters to rest. We'll continue touring your academy's Soul Guidance Department tomorrow."

Yan Shaozhe rose as well and nodded. "All right. Du Weiya, see Director Jin out."

Du Weiya approached from the side and raised a hand in an inviting gesture.

Jin Hongchen led her students toward the training ground's exit.

Ji Xueyi walked at the very back of the group. The wound on her left shoulder had already received basic treatment and was wrapped in white bandages.

As she passed Gu Xingyue, she paused and turned her head to glance at him.

Gu Xingyue was putting both hands back into his pockets. Noticing her gaze, he tilted his head and looked back.

Ji Xueyi said nothing. She merely gave a slight nod, then continued after the group. Her steps remained light, her back straight, with no sign that she was injured.

Once the Sun Moon Empire's party had gone far enough away, only Shrek's own people remained at the training ground.

The Inner Court disciples dispersed in twos and threes. A few gave Gu Xingyue a thumbs-up as they passed him. Gu Xingyue paid them no heed and walked toward Yan Shaozhe.

Yan Shaozhe was still standing at the edge of the grounds with her arms folded, watching him approach.

"How was it?"

Gu Xingyue heard her question and said, "Still didn't get my fill."

"Is that so? My apologies that the Sun Moon Empire Royal Soul Engineering Academy couldn't make you use your full strength." Yan Shaozhe looked at him, a hint of teasing in her voice. "But there's no need for you to go back to the Outer Court, is there? Why not just cultivate at the Golden Tree?"

Hearing that, Gu Xingyue silently shook his head. An ordinary person would indeed think that way. After all, cultivating at the Golden Tree was countless times faster than cultivating outside.

But to him, staying here was how a loser thought.

Of course I have to go stay with Huo Yutong.

This was not to say that Douluo Continent's underlying code, its romance code, had invaded Gu Xingyue's brain. Rather, he knew perfectly well-only by staying near Huo Yutong could he get system rewards.

Forget cultivating beneath the Golden Tree-even the Golden Tree itself is nothing special compared to system rewards. What if the system rewards me with a transcendent divine artifact once Huo Yutong's affection reaches its maximum?

Like that Eternal and Creation God Seal Throne, or whatever it was called?

If I miss out because I'm cultivating at the Golden Tree, wouldn't that be a huge loss?

So Gu Xingyue turned Yan Shaozhe down and returned to the Outer Court to continue waiting for Huo Yutong.

Then, one day, when Wang Yan dismissed class, he spotted Ji Xueyi in the distance, standing quietly beneath a tree with her sword in her arms.

Upon seeing him, Ji Xueyi ran over and said, "I want to fight you!"

Gu Xingyue froze. "Wait, why should I? What's in it for me? Besides, you're asking me for a favor, aren't you? If you're asking for a favor, you need to act like it."

Ji Xueyi was a little taken aback.

Back in the Sun Moon Empire, once she picked someone, she would just stand there like this, and they could not get rid of her. Eventually, owing to her own circumstances, she had even gained the right to challenge anyone she pleased.

But this was Shrek's territory now. Perhaps she had gone a little too far.

So she immediately bowed, then said, "I'm sorry. But I still hope you'll accept my challenge. I am a little poor, and I don't have anything valuable, but whatever you ask for, I'll do everything I can to fulfill it. So please, you must fight me, because-while fighting you, I felt my swordsmanship improve again."

Seeing Ji Xueyi say so much in one breath, with such a sincere attitude, Gu Xingyue found it rather hard to refuse. In the end, he agreed.

Ji Xueyi's cheeks flushed with excitement. Her expression made it look less like someone had agreed to a duel and more like someone had accepted her confession.

The next few days were nothing but tedious sparring.

He was asked to satisfy Ji Xueyi in all sorts of positions.

"Yes, that move! Your saber is so powerful!"

"Um... could you turn your lightning into a sword? Of course, if you can't, that's fine too."

"Any shape works," Gu Xingyue replied.

"That's wonderful! I can't hold back anymore. Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Ji Xueyi said.

"So many demands. Just take what I give you. Are you seriously treating me like your toy?" Gu Xingyue grumbled.

"Of course not. We're dear friends. Fighting you is my favorite thing," Ji Xueyi said.

"Heh." Gu Xingyue was speechless.

After spending these past few days with her, he discovered that Ji Xueyi was an extraordinary woman whose head contained nothing but swords.

It made him too embarrassed to bully this fool. And so Gu Xingyue, who was not particularly diligent about cultivating to begin with, came to the training ground day after day and began his routine as her personal sparring partner.

Ji Xueyi clearly was not the sort who could read the room. Every time Gu Xingyue had already lost interest, she would be especially excited.

Sure enough, though she was already drenched in sweat and looked ready to collapse, she turned around, took her stance again, and called out with sparkling eyes, "That was amazing! One more time!"

Gu Xingyue looked at her and opened his mouth to say something. In the end, he merely sighed and readied his fighting stance again.

A hundred meters away, in a pavilion at the edge of Sea God Island, Mu En sat in a wicker chair, drinking tea.

She took a sip and set down her cup, her gaze settling on the distant training ground as the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"It's good to be young," she sighed softly. "That girl is lucky, too, meeting someone willing to spend all that time with her. Still... keeping her company like this is bound to feed her until she's satisfied sooner or later."

With her level of Spiritual Power cultivation, everything within several hundred meters lay within her perception.

Every movement of those two little figures on the training ground was perfectly clear within her perception.

She watched for a while, then took another sip of tea, her expression carrying the knowing look of someone who had been there before.