"Brother Yexuan? Are you going into seclusion again tonight?"
It was noon the next day before Xiao Yexuan slipped out of Zhu Zhuqing's room and went to the maid restaurant for lunch.
Ning Rongrong ran into him while eating and hurried over to sit with him.
Last night, she had wanted to find Xiao Yexuan and spend an unforgettable night together. Who knew he would shut his door and go into seclusion, refusing visitors?
What a shame. She had finally worked up her resolve, too.
Today, she had to hold on to Xiao Yexuan and secure a chance for herself.
Just then, Zhu Zhuqing also came to the restaurant for lunch. Seeing Xiao Yexuan reminded her of what had happened last night, making her legs tremble involuntarily.
Xiao Yexuan met her eyes. Seeing her face flushed shyly like a demure girl from a modest household, he nodded decisively and said:
"Yes, I've made some progress in my cultivation lately, so I need a quiet environment to cultivate at night. What is it? Rongrong, is there something you need me to do?"
Hehe, cultivating at night?
Right, right! Working out with Zhu Zhuqing counted as cultivation, of course.
After all, with Zhu Zhuqing's smoking-hot figure.
Those peach-like buttocks, those soft breasts.
He simply couldn't bear to take his hands off them. Even two years of playing wouldn't be enough.
Disappointment showed in Ning Rongrong's eyes. She wanted to throw a little tantrum, but she also knew that cultivation was the most important thing for a Soul Master.
In her eyes, her Brother Yexuan ought to be a powerful man. If she held him back like this, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself.
Instead, as someone who wanted to claim a place by his side, she needed to find ways to share the workload of the man she liked.
So Ning Rongrong merely shook her head and said:
"No, Brother Yexuan. Have some more food."
As she spoke, Ning Rongrong picked up a piece of meat and brought it to Xiao Yexuan's mouth.
"Miss Zhu Zhuqing? Are your legs all right? Be careful."
When Zhu Zhuqing entered the restaurant, Nijika and Kita hurried to welcome her, only to see her legs trembling as she walked, as though she had trouble moving.
The two women hurried to support her, one on either side, and helped her inside.
There were few people at Maple Forest Evening to begin with, and the maids had long since learned about the relationships between them.
So they helped Zhu Zhuqing over to Xiao Yexuan and Ning Rongrong's table.
"Zhu Zhuqing? What happened to your legs?" Ning Rongrong asked worriedly.
"Yesterday... something went wrong with my cultivation yesterday, and I accidentally hurt my legs."
Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head, the tips of her ears red, not daring to look at anyone.
Fortunately, Ning Rongrong's attention was mostly focused on Xiao Yexuan.
Had she observed Zhu Zhuqing closely, she would have spotted the clues long ago.
"Zhu Zhuqing, speed is your greatest strength. You can't afford to injure your legs. Once we've finished eating, let me take a look and see what's wrong."
Xiao Yexuan asked kindly.
"Yes, Brother Landlord." Zhu Zhuqing nodded gently, her heart filled with anticipation.
"Lord Landlord, so you were here."
"I guessed you'd be here. Hehe."
Meng Yiran and Xiao Wu had arrived as well.
The maids hurried to attend to them.
Xiao Wu was feeling very pleased with herself now. With two Titled Douluo serving as gatekeepers here, she could collect two hundred lottery draws every month.
Meng Yiran felt somewhat inferior. She had only just arrived, had the lowest strength, and lacked much of a background.
The two women naturally sat down at Xiao Yexuan's table.
"Miss Yiran, have you settled in here?"
Xiao Yexuan asked gently.
This made Meng Yiran tremble slightly, and she said, overwhelmed by the attention:
"Lord Landlord! V-very well! The Simulation Pod is simply the finest... finest cultivation holy land in this world!"
"As long as you like it. If there's anything you don't understand in the future, you can come to me."
Almost all the tenants of Maple Forest Evening were here. It really was a scene of flourishing prosperity.
After lunch, Xiao Yexuan went to Zhu Zhuqing's room as promised.
He intended to help treat her injured legs.
The plan had been a good one: under the pretext of treatment, he would come over to secretly do something improper.
But Ning Rongrong insisted on tagging along.
As a result, Xiao Yexuan only massaged Zhu Zhuqing's legs, gave her a few precautions, and left.
"Something's not right..."
After leaving Zhu Zhuqing's room, Ning Rongrong's keen intuition quickly picked up on the change in their relationship.
Then she shook her head again, thinking that Zhu Zhuqing liked Xiao Yexuan just as she did, which was probably why she hadn't resisted much when he massaged her legs.
With that thought, Ning Rongrong had a bold idea.
If her whole body ached, could she get her Brother Yexuan to massage her body...?
Hehehe.
So she hurriedly said goodbye to Xiao Yexuan. "Brother Yexuan, I'm going back to cultivate too. Bye-bye~!"
Ning Rongrong ran very fast, as though a stark-naked Xiao Yexuan stood up ahead.
"Has the sun risen in the west?"
Xiao Yexuan was surprised. He had never seen Ning Rongrong so eager to cultivate.
Just as he turned to find Zhu Zhuqing for another round, he caught sight of Meng Yiran.
Although getting lottery draws now cost more money, new tenants still received newcomer benefits.
Now it took a year's rent to exchange for a single lottery draw, which put considerable pressure on Dragon Duke and Snake Granny.
After all, very few people could produce hundreds of thousands of Gold Soul Coins at once.
The higher a Soul Master's cultivation, the more money they needed to spend.
Meng Yiran had been left at Maple Forest Evening while Dragon Duke and Snake Granny went out to find ways to make money so they could draw something good.
Xiao Yexuan felt he ought to give this new tenant some proper guidance.
At lunch earlier, she had seemed weighed down by worries and had little appetite.
So he walked over to Meng Yiran and asked gently:
"Miss Yiran, is there anything you need my help with?"
With Xiao Yexuan showing concern for her, Meng Yiran's heart fluttered like a little deer, and she was immensely excited.
Many strange ideas filled her head. In the end, she calmed down and kept herself from saying anything foolish.
Only then did she slowly speak:
"I... Lord Landlord, I heard you often help Zhu Zhuqing and Rongrong cultivate. Could you help me cultivate too? I want to become stronger!"
This was a world where strength reigned supreme. To obtain what you wanted, only strength was your true ability.
Xiao Yexuan rested his hand against his chin and looked Meng Yiran over, then nodded and said:
"Yes! Your Martial Soul is the Serpent Cane, which is a Tool Martial Soul. A Serpent Cane, a mage class, long-range attacks-the abilities best suited to you should be summoning-type Soul Skills."
"Summoning-type Soul Skills?" Meng Yiran blinked in confusion.
"Yes! Summoning Soul Beasts can not only help you fight, but also protect you. If your summons have support skills, they can even act as support-type Soul Masters."
"Isn't... isn't that too scattered?" Meng Yiran didn't understand.
Soul Masters were divided into power attack, agility attack, defense, support, food, and control types.
Once each Soul Master settled on their type, they would keep developing in that single direction.
"It isn't too scattered. You need to improve in every aspect. Traditional fighting methods aren't acceptable here."
Xiao Yexuan spoke with a somewhat stern voice.
Meng Yiran's heart trembled. So Maple Forest Evening trained all-round Soul Masters. That certainly wouldn't work in other factions.
Every Soul Master's cultivation was limited.
But Maple Forest Evening had Simulation Pods, allowing them to keep trying out Soul Skills.
Excited, and wanting to become as strong as Xiao Yexuan, she placed a hand against her chest and tilted her head up, her eyes seemingly able to speak, as she hurried to express her thanks:
"I understand. Then, Lord Landlord, how would you suggest I cultivate now?"
Xiao Yexuan nodded slightly and said, "The body is the foundation of everything, so start with body tempering. Would you prefer being struck by lightning, whipped, or squeezed and slapped?"
At his words, Meng Yiran blushed. "Huh?"