Once the training plan was settled, Lu Wu no longer felt that a month was all that long.
In any case, helping out would not mean neglecting his training.
Although he basically had no time to focus wholeheartedly on practicing magic as he had before.
Still, improving his casting speed while his attention was divided was a good choice too.
They had not melted much Mystic Ice this time before Lu Wu noticed Grandpa Shen approaching.
"Get dressed. I'm taking you out." Shen Shitian looked at Lu Wu and Zu Yanzhi. "You did well. Today's progress went very smoothly."
After recovering some magical energy earlier, the first thing Zu Yanzhi had done was dry her clothes.
Now she picked up her clothes but did not put them on. Instead, she said to Shen Shitian, "Master Shen, I'll just go out like this."
Fire Element mages were relatively more resistant to cold and heat.
Although Zu Yanzhi's body was dry now, that was only after her sweat had dried.
Putting on her outer clothes now would make her feel uncomfortable.
Lu Wu's clothes were in the room outside, so naturally he had nothing to put on here.
Shen Shitian placed his hands on their shoulders, and Lu Wu noticed a silver passage appearing around them.
Although he felt some of the same dizziness as when he had first come here, he was not as flustered.
This time, they returned not to his room, but to the surface of a huge rock.
The others were already waiting there again, and Elder Luo asked with concern, "How is it going?"
"Quite well. Fairly smoothly. The Mystic Ice they've melted will be enough to last the next fifteen days." Shen Shitian nodded.
"Good, good." Luo Long was very pleased to hear this.
He had personally been keeping watch outside. No matter what happened, the refining process could not be disturbed.
It was already dusk outside, and a huge bonfire had been lit.
A great deal of wood was piled up, apparently gathered during the day.
There was plenty of food, from rice and flour to grain and oil. Even seasonings were in ample supply.
Mages could go for long periods without eating, and could even rely on the energy between heaven and earth to survive for a time in extreme environments.
Lu Wu, however, was already ravenous. Catching the scent of roasting meat, he immediately looked over.
Some meat, covered in various spices, was skewered beside the bonfire.
"Go ahead and eat. Some was set aside especially for you," Mu Nujiao reminded him, taking a jar from inside her clothes. "I bought you some facing-heaven chili powder before we came."
"You really do know me best." Lu Wu smiled.
He knew Mu Nujiao could not roast meat, so she might not have cooked this.
But the person who understood him best had to be her. Even Grandpa Shen did not know him as well as Mu Nujiao did.
Otherwise, she would not have brought chili powder for him.
"Stop. Wait for me to roast some for you." Seeing Lu Wu walk toward the cooked meat skewers, Zu Yanzhi spoke bluntly.
The moment she said that, Lu Wu inwardly sensed trouble.
I'm done for.
Sure enough, Mu Nujiao's expression looked rather unpleasant. Lu Wu said helplessly, "When we were melting the Mystic Ice, Grandpa Shen had us each melt our own share. We got bored partway through and made a bet. The stakes were that the loser would cook."
"That's nice," Mu Nujiao said coolly. "Congratulations on winning."
Watching Mu Nujiao put away the jar in her hand, Lu Wu moved closer. "No, I never wanted any stakes in the first place."
"Lu Wu, who are you looking down on? My cooking is good!"
"Shut up. I won, so I have the right to turn down the stakes, don't I?" Lu Wu shot back.
That was indeed the truth. He did not want them.
"I'm going to rest. Here." Mu Nujiao pressed the Stardust Magic Tool bracelet into Lu Wu's hand and walked straight toward her room.
"..." Looking at the bracelet in his hand, Lu Wu felt a headache coming on.
I'm done for. She's angry.
He grabbed a few skewers of meat sizzling with fat, not caring what kind of meat they were, and hurried after Mu Nujiao.
In any case, Lu Wu liked almost any roasted meat without an odd smell.
"Jiaojiao, Jiaojiao..."
Not even daring to call her Nu Jiao anymore, Lu Wu ran after her, completely unaware that someone was watching him.
Nangong Pei was beside the bonfire. He was no longer showing hostility toward Lu Wu.
At a glance, his face no longer looked as severely burned as it had before, though a closer look still revealed traces of the burns.
The jealousy, anger, contempt for Lu Wu, and unwillingness to accept defeat that he had once felt were all absent now.
During his time in the hospital, the scene of Lu Wu casting magic had filled Nangong Pei's mind.
Lu Wu was merely a first-year high school student.
When he had met Master Shen, he could not even cast magic yet!
Before long, he had already become capable of casting spells.
Compared with Lu Wu, he fell far short!!
Even if Master Shen had favored Lu Wu with resources, he could not catch up even by whipping his horse onward. After all, he had possessed plenty of resources himself back then.
That single Fire Burst from Lu Wu had burned through all his pride.
He had once been a genius who stood out even within the Nangong Clan. Aside from a few freaks, few people he met were stronger than him.
Yet now Lu Wu had pinned him to the ground and rubbed his face in the dirt.
Later, he heard that Lu Wu had even killed an injured One-Eyed Demon Wolf. In its berserk state, the One-Eyed Demon Wolf's combat strength would actually have been greater!
It was just that its abdominal injury would have magnified its weakness as well.
Thinking it over carefully, back at the Demon Beast Garden, Lu Wu had argued back when he mocked him for being frightened by the Azure Wind Python.
At Lu Wu's age, he really had been terrified when encountering Demon Beasts!
Whether in family background or talent, he could not compare with Lu Wu.
When Elder Luo Long had sought him out, the complexity of Nangong Pei's feelings had been beyond words.
Elder Luo had stated plainly that he was asking for his help this time and would pay him.
It was merely a transaction.
Lu Wu had given his approval for him to come into contact with Master Shen, although Lu Wu's meaning was that he could come as long as he did not cause trouble.
Although he knew it was unlikely he could now shelter beneath the great tree that was Master Shen, Nangong Pei had come anyway.
This time, it would be enough if Master Shen did not act against the Nangong Family.
At its peak, the Nangong Family would not have worried.
But now the Nangong Family had already begun to decline.
They could not make another enemy this powerful.
"Master Shen." Nangong Pei gathered his courage and walked over to Shen Shitian. "I offended Lu Wu on several occasions before. I hope you won't hold it against an ignorant youngster like me."
Shen Shitian looked at Nangong Pei. "A quarrel between you children isn't worth taking to heart."
If Nangong Pei had used his cultivation as an Intermediate Mage to bully Lu Wu, Shen Shitian would certainly have intervened.
According to those Intermediate Mages at the Demon Beast Garden, when Nangong Pei had made the deal with them, they had all agreed not to take any lives.
Later, the people at the Demon Beast Garden had gone back on their word.
That had left Nangong Pei losing both the lady and his troops, spending money only to buy himself suffering.
Shen Shitian really had not taken it too much to heart.
"From now on, I will certainly do everything in my power to follow your instructions, Master." Nangong Pei secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
A master of this caliber really would not hold things against him.
With that, Nangong Pei tactfully went to tend the bonfire. After all, the two big shots still had things to discuss.
"Have you chosen a location for Lu Wu and the others' body tempering?" Shen Shitian looked at Luo Long.
He had not forgotten that he had originally called Lu Wu over to temper his body.
The others could join the training if they wished.
"I found a place, but it might be a little dangerous." Luo Long nodded. "If they aren't careful, they could very well exhaust themselves completely. It's also a little far from here."
"When the time comes, have Jiang Chun accompany them personally to take a look."