Spirit Hall Advanced Soul Master Academy.
Two days later, Lin Qian returned.
The semester had ended, and most students had gone home for the holidays. Few remained at the academy.
Lin Qian had left abruptly and returned discreetly, so no one should have noticed. Yet when he entered the Martial Soul Mimicry Training Ground, a figure seemed to have been waiting for quite some time.
"Junior brother, you're really hard to get a moment with~"
Lin Qian had been rather busy lately, so he had not paid much attention to this senior sister for a long time.
After a semester of growth, Hu Liena had filled out considerably. Perhaps it was because she had absorbed the Celestial Fox, but looking at her now, she seemed to carry a trace of divinity.
Lin Qian said, "You've gotten prettier."
Though her heart was sweet as honey, Hu Liena's mouth still denied what her body admitted. "Gotten prettier? Does that mean I used to be ugly~?"
She smiled sweetly, and that divinely tinged allure grew even more bewitching. Any man who saw her would cry that he could not take it, and Lin Qian was no exception. His heartbeat quickened.
Wait, when Hu Liena used to act all sultry, my heart was still as water. I never lost my composure like this!
Could it be...
"Has your martial soul evolved?"
In a flash of inspiration, Lin Qian blurted it out.
Hu Liena said, "You noticed?"
As she spoke, she released her martial soul, the Demon Fox, magnifying her allure without limit.
Lin Qian, however, focused only on her tails.
Of course, this was not because he was a pervert, but because the tail of Hu Liena's martial soul had changed.
The Demon Fox, which originally had only one tail, now sported three!
More fun to play with... no, nicer to touch... no, that's not it either... stronger!
Indeed, judging solely by the martial soul's appearance, its quality had improved tremendously.
If the Demon Fox had previously been merely a good beast martial soul, it was now top-tier. Calling it a divine-tier beast martial soul would not even be an exaggeration.
As an immortal cultivator, Lin Qian could readily sense this change. "It's pretty obvious, isn't it?"
Hu Liena nodded. "Ever since I fully absorbed the four-thousand-year Celestial Fox soul ring, my tails have increased from one to three. And as my soul power grows, I'll gain even more tails."
Lin Qian nodded. "Then Demon Fox no longer fits your martial soul. Give it a new name."
Without even thinking, Hu Liena blurted out, "Then help me come up with one!"
Lin Qian paused, then smiled. "How about Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox?"
Hu Liena was just as unhesitating. "Okay."
He had not expected things to go so smoothly. He had thought she would argue with him a little. For no reason, Lin Qian felt a sense of loss.
Not much. Just a hundred million little bits.
After all, his senior sister had once been a thorny rose, pricking him at every turn. Though she was still sharp-tongued now, she was not as flirtatious as before, and she flaunted her charms far less often.
"I really miss how you used to be, senior sister!"
Lin Qian looked at her and sighed, half sincerely and half in jest.
Women naturally matured earlier than men, and after a brief pause, Hu Liena understood.
She turned gracefully, seduction returning to her face, and breathed orchid-sweet breath toward Lin Qian. "Then do you like your senior sister like this, junior brother?"
Lin Qian could have brushed off mere words. But Hu Liena was playing with racing hearts, matching her words with actions. Her Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox martial soul appeared, its three tails swaying in the wind, dazzling the eyes and bewitching the mind.
"Am I pretty, junior brother~?"
With another soft murmur, Hu Liena pressed closer, until they were almost melded together...
Smack!
He had never been one to lose out, especially when it came to physical contact. At a critical moment, he could not chicken out.
Lin Qian's body moved faster than his mind, doing what he had wanted to do most all along-
He leaned in and kissed her.
Now it was Hu Liena's turn to be dumbfounded.
She had only been flaunting her charms. She had not actually meant to get personally involved, hey!
"Get together! Get together!"
After the kiss landed, Tian Meng in the Sea of Consciousness was even more excited than the people involved, waving a glowing soul bone vigorously in place of a glow stick.
"Get together, my ass! We're still this young. Careful, you'll sit in prison until the floor wears through!"
Lin Qian retorted inwardly, then tried to explain. "Nana..."
"Lin Qian, give me back my innocence!"
Finally coming to her senses, Hu Liena was beside herself with shame and anger. She activated Martial Soul Possession and made to strike him.
Yet she did not know that her mutated martial soul, coupled with her unique charm...
Made her even more mouthwateringly tempting.
"Senior sister, this was purely an accident! I have something for you as an apology!"
His survival instinct at full throttle, Lin Qian invited Hu Liena inside for a talk.
"Really? Once we're inside, keep your hands to yourself!"
Hu Liena was a little skeptical.
A man's mouth is a lying demon!
Even so, out of trust between senior sister and junior brother, Hu Liena laid down some ground rules and followed him inside.
"What a beautiful soul bone!"
In Lin Qian's room, Hu Liena could not put down a pink external soul bone. Whether it was precious came second. The main thing was that it looked pretty and satisfied her girlish heart.
"Pretty, isn't it? If you like it, it's yours! An external soul bone grows along with its owner. Once completely fused, it won't drop upon death like soul bones from other parts of the body."
"Junior brother, you're giving me something so precious that I really have no way to repay you. If you ever need anything, just ask me to do it."
Carried away, Hu Liena blurted this out, then immediately began to regret it.
This scoundrel just kissed me, and now we're alone together in a room. If he goes with the flow and asks to do something else, should I refuse or not?
So she added, "Anything except my body!"
Lin Qian said, "Then never mind."
"???"
What, if I agreed to everything, would you actually want to sleep with me?!
Hu Liena puffed up in anger. After turning it over in her mind, she grabbed Lin Qian by the ear. "You rotten junior brother! So young, and already learning bad habits. Just what fills that head of yours? Careful, or I'll tell Teacher and leave you with more trouble than you can swallow~"
Lin Qian had not cared at first, but her last words instantly sent him into a panic. "Mercy, senior sister!"
Only after offering plenty more sweet words did he get Hu Liena to let him off for the moment.
Afraid she would keep harping on it, Lin Qian changed the subject. "Senior sister, why not absorb the external soul bone while I stand guard for you?"
When the conversation turned serious, Hu Liena demurred halfheartedly. "If I absorb it, what about you?"
Lin Qian spoke with lavish confidence. "It's fine. I used to live in the Star Dou Great Forest. I've stockpiled a dozen soul bones. Go ahead and absorb it!"
Hu Liena said, "..."
So rich it's inhuman!
"Oh, right, senior sister," Lin Qian added. "Now that your martial soul has mutated, ordinary cultivation methods aren't quite enough for you. After you absorb this soul bone, I'll teach you a cultivation method. You won't need to attend classes normally. Just focus on practicing this."
"Okay."
A cup of tea later.
After absorbing the external soul bone, Hu Liena emerged from the Villa feeling refreshed and invigorated. She looked thoroughly satisfied, as though she had just done something delightful (in fact, nothing had happened).
After that incident, she had initially been very angry. But after her martial soul mutated and she absorbed the soul bone, she truly felt wonderful in every way.
If asked now what she thought about Lin Qian forcibly kissing her, Hu Liena would definitely say-
"What?"
"That happened?"
"I can't remember!"