Xiao Wu's eyes lit up, and she practiced over and over.
Chen Mo stood beside her, correcting her movements from time to time.
"Sink your waist a little lower."
"Don't shift your center of gravity forward."
"When you kick, grind your supporting foot against the ground and borrow its reactive force."
Xiao Wu practiced diligently. Fine beads of sweat seeped out on her forehead, and a few strands had come loose from her scorpion braid, but she did not feel tired at all.
She could feel her Waist Bow changing.
Her old Waist Bow had been used at close quarters. Now, it had gained a measure of sharpness and reach, making it safer in a fight and more suitable for a girl.
After practicing for over two hours, Xiao Wu stopped, panting, her face full of excitement.
"Brother Chen Mo, you're incredible!" Xiao Wu ran over, her eyes sparkling. "How do you know everything?"
Chen Mo thought to himself, Obviously. All those webnovels I read in my last life weren't for nothing. Do you think I'm that useless Yu Xiaogang?
Out loud, however, he said mildly, "Once you've seen enough, you naturally learn."
Xiao Wu gazed at him in admiration, her little face practically saying, "My big brother is amazing."
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate.
"Is young friend Chen Mo here?"
Yu Xiaogang's voice came from outside, carrying a deliberately warm tone.
The corner of Chen Mo's mouth curled up. Think of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrived.
He opened the gate to find Yu Xiaogang standing outside with a package in his hand, Tang San following behind him.
Tang San froze when he saw Xiao Wu in the courtyard.
"Xiao Wu? Why are you here?"
Xiao Wu wiped away her sweat and said flatly, "I moved here."
"Moved... moved here?" Tang San's eyes widened. "You moved in with my big brother?"
"Yes." Xiao Wu nodded as though it were only natural. "Dorm Seven is too noisy."
Tang San opened his mouth, that inexplicable discomfort rising in his heart again.
Before he could say anything, however, Yu Xiaogang pushed him aside and approached with a face full of smiles.
"Young friend Chen Mo, this old man has come today to ask a favor." Yu Xiaogang offered the package in his hand. It was a packet of tea. "This is some fine tea I've treasured for years. Please accept it, young friend."
Chen Mo did not take it, leaning against the doorframe.
"Grandmaster Yu, if you have something to say, say it."
Yu Xiaogang awkwardly withdrew his hand, rubbed his hands together, and gave a couple of dry chuckles.
"Here's the thing, young friend." Yu Xiaogang lowered his voice, looking mysterious. "That wonderful thing Xiao San has is truly... miraculous. He's only used it for a day, and his Soul Power already circulates much more smoothly."
"This old man was wondering, if you happen to have any spare clones in the future... might you..."
He trailed off halfway through, too embarrassed to finish, but his meaning was already obvious.
He wanted one.
Chen Mo looked at that old face and sneered inwardly.
A good-for-nothing stuck at rank twenty-nine his whole life hears there's a divine artifact that can speed up cultivation, and he throws away all shame, sidling up with 'young friend' in every breath.
Chen Mo did not refuse outright, instead putting on a troubled expression.
"Grandmaster Yu, it's not that I won't give you one." Chen Mo sighed. "There's a limit to the number of divine artifact clones. I only got one at rank forty, and I've already given it to Xiao San."
"The next one won't come until rank fifty. Who knows when that will be?"
Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up. "Rank fifty? Then... then I'm willing to wait!"
Chen Mo laughed inwardly.
Wait? Then take your time waiting.
I already have a Dandelion Clone, but handing it over just because Yu Xiaogang asks? Wouldn't that make it too cheap?
As the saying went, a deal pursued too eagerly was no deal at all.
When Chen Mo spoke, however, his tone was laden with meaning.
"Grandmaster Yu, that thing isn't something just anyone can use. It depends on fate."
"When fate arrives, you'll naturally have one."
Yu Xiaogang listened in a fog, but still nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, yes, yes. Fate, fate."
By now, he completely regarded Chen Mo as a god's successor and dared not offend him in the slightest.
Watching from the side, Tang San was also very excited.
He was now utterly convinced of Chen Mo's abilities. Add in their familial bond as big brother and little brother, along with the Idiocy Aura's ongoing influence, and he believed Chen Mo's words without question.
"Big brother, don't worry. I'll cultivate hard. I won't let you down!" Tang San looked utterly serious.
Chen Mo patted his shoulder.
"Good. Cultivate hard." Chen Mo paused, then added, "Don't let any nonsense distract you."
As Chen Mo said this, his gaze flicked almost imperceptibly toward Xiao Wu.
Tang San immediately understood and nodded firmly.
"Don't worry, big brother. I understand!" Tang San thumped his chest. "Women interfere with cultivation. My heart is set solely on the Dao now. I absolutely won't get distracted!"
Xiao Wu froze when she heard this from beside them.
She looked at Tang San, her brows knitting.
What did Tang San mean by that?
But she was not angry. Instead, she thought... it was rather nice.
She had no particular feelings for Tang San anymore anyway. His taking the initiative to distance himself suited her perfectly.
Now, she only wanted to stay by Brother Chen Mo's side.
Yu Xiaogang and Tang San did not stay long before Chen Mo politely saw them off.
As they left, Tang San kept looking back at Xiao Wu with every step, wanting to speak but holding back.
In the end, however, he gritted his teeth, turned around, and left.
Women interfered with cultivation. Big brother was right.
Once he became strong, what kind of woman couldn't he have?
The more Tang San thought about it, the more sense it made to him, and even his footsteps grew firmer.
After the two left, the courtyard fell quiet again.
Xiao Wu watched Tang San's retreating figure, then looked at Chen Mo and asked softly, "Brother Chen Mo, what did you tell him? Why is he acting so strange?"
Chen Mo looked perfectly solemn. "Nothing much. I taught him to focus on cultivation."
Xiao Wu tilted her head, then went back to practicing her Soul Skill.
That evening, Chen Mo sat in his room writing in his diary.
[Xiao Wu moved in.]
[She read yesterday's diary and probably really got scared, terrified that Tang San might sacrifice her one day. She grabbed her bundle and came running over.]
[It's a little funny, but it also makes my heart ache a little.]
[A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast taking human form is no different from a walking piece of succulent meat in the human world. Everyone wants a bite.]
[But with me here, she won't meet that same end in this life.]
[Also, I gave her a few pointers on her soft techniques today.]
[The Soft Bone Rabbit's soft techniques are close-combat moves. They have her wrapping herself around someone at the drop of a hat. For a girl, it's really indecorous.]
[I helped modify them, changing the Waist Bow's method of generating force from close-quarters strangling to long-range kicks. It keeps its power without having her hang herself off men at every turn.]
[Then there's Tang San.]
[That kid believes me without question now. Every other word out of his mouth is "big brother is right," and cultivation is all he thinks about.]
[Yu Xiaogang is even more extreme. For the sake of that so-called "divine artifact clone," he brings tea every day to curry favor with me, calling me "young friend" over and over until it gives me goosebumps.]
[One theoretical grandmaster who's been stuck at rank twenty-nine his whole life, and one chosen son of destiny whom I've hoodwinked into a complete cripple.]