Mu Xi had once primarily focused on forging. Even though Leng Yaozhu and Shrek Academy had helped raise her soul power foundation, she rarely engaged in actual combat.
After she started following Xia Yi, she'd mostly been in seclusion.
So, her combat experience was pitifully lacking.
To improve Mu Xi's battle proficiency, Gu Yue spent the next few days accompanying her in training inside the Star Dou Battle Network.
Registration for the Star Dou Battle Network was open for a full week, so Gu Yue planned to use that time to not only elevate Mu Xi's spiritual power to the Spirit Domain level, but also to train her into a competent battle soul master.
With Gu Yue giving her all to help, Xia Yi finally got a moment to relax. He exited the Star Dou Battle Network ahead of the others.
What Xia Yi didn't expect was to see an unexpected person the moment he opened the Star Dou pod.
"Yali? What are you doing here?" Xia Yi asked curiously.
"Can't you at least put on some clothes before talking?" Yali gave him a grumpy look and turned her head away.
Because parts of the body needed to be connected to various instruments, entering the Star Dou pod couldn't be done with clothes on.
So currently, Xia Yi was stark naked.
"Oh! Oh." Xia Yi finally realized and hurriedly pulled some clothes from his storage soul device, hastily throwing them on.
"How did you get in?" he asked while dressing, gritting his teeth.
He had locked the doors and windows in advance precisely because entering the Star Dou pod required undressing.
He didn't care much if someone saw him, but Gu Yue and Mu Xi's Star Dou pods were in the same room.
"Yaozhu-jie let me in and told me to wait for you here." Once Xia Yi was dressed, Yali finally turned back around. Her expression was calm, as if she hadn't just seen anything awkward.
"Come on, at least blush a little. You're making me feel like my body isn't attractive to women at all," Xia Yi grumbled inwardly, then asked, "So, you came to see me?"
"Obviously. If I didn't, what would I be doing in your room?" Yali snapped.
"What's so important that you had to come to my room?" Xia Yi asked curiously.
"Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan promised you that I'd go sightseeing with you. You already paid the price by forging their two-word battle armor. I'm here to honor their promise," Yali said with a soft smile, her beautiful eyes glancing at Xia Yi with a trace of grievance.
"Huh?" Xia Yi froze, dumbfounded. Back then, it had just been a joke. He never thought Yali would actually agree.
But Xia Yi quickly came to his senses. Yali must have an ulterior motive.
Xia Yi didn't hold back and asked with a probing tone, "Right here?"
As he spoke, he reached to take off the clothes he had just put on.
"Right here? There's no mountains or rivers here. How are we supposed to go sightseeing? And why are you undressing? It's not even hot," Yali said with a smile. Her voice was gentle and pleasant. Dressed in white, as pure as snow, she looked like a fairy untouched by the mortal world—always so serene and flawless.
"Damned Xia Yi, would it kill you to go easy on me for once?" Yali gritted her teeth internally, secretly hating Xia Yi.
Of course she knew Xia Yi was teasing her.
But right now, she could only pretend not to notice and keep acting innocent.
"So you're just playing dumb, huh?" Xia Yi scorned her inwardly. A woman like her dares to act all pure like Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan? Please.
But Xia Yi had no intention of letting Yali off so easily. His gaze aggressively swept over her proud chest, then downward. He chuckled lewdly and said, "Who says there aren't mountains here? I see the Twin Peaks of Snow Mountain right in front of me. As for water—well, I don't know if it's there yet, but I have a way to make it flow."
"You!" Yali's pretty face flushed red. She hadn't expected Xia Yi to speak so bluntly.
"Forget it. Yaozhu-jie wants you to come with me for a trip," Yali took a deep breath and finally laid her cards on the table.
If this teasing continued any longer...
She might really lose control.
"What for?" Xia Yi asked.
"Didn't I just say? Sightseeing," Yali giggled, not giving Xia Yi a chance to refuse as she pulled him out of the Spirit Pagoda.
Xia Yi didn't even have time to resist before being dragged out.
What really hurt him was that even when they were leaving the Spirit Pagoda, neither Leng Yaozhu nor Leng Yulai came out to stop them. They all just acted like they didn't see anything.
Xia Yi felt utterly abandoned.
Those two carefree women—aren't they worried that Yali, this crazy lady, might do something indecent to their man?
After leaving the Spirit Pagoda and then Shrek City, Yali took Xia Yi flying west for a while before descending into a mountainous area.
Surrounded by mountains, they landed in a valley.
The massive valley spanned more than ten kilometers. It was perfectly round, with primitive forests covering all the surrounding mountains—towering ancient trees blocked out the sun.
The valley was sunken like a basin. In the center was a lake filled with crystal-clear water that sparkled under the light, so clear you could see the bottom.
Apart from the sound of a few streams trickling around the lake, the surroundings were eerily silent.
"Where are we? Why did you bring me here?" Xia Yi asked calmly.
"You said you wanted to go sightseeing. There are both mountains and water here—perfect, right?" Yali said with a faint smile, her gaze playful as she looked at him.
"So you like it wild, huh? Surrounded by nature like this, it's a thousand times better than that Devil Island place," Xia Yi muttered.
"Can you be serious for once?" Yali gave him a helpless glance, then tried to compose herself. "Xia Yi, I'm serious. I have something important to talk to you about."
Seeing Yali so solemn, Xia Yi put away his teasing smile and said, "Alright, go ahead. What is it?"
"Xia Yi, I…" Yali looked at him with a complex expression, biting her lip. Just as the words were about to come out, she swallowed them.
"What exactly do you want to say?" Xia Yi asked helplessly, seeing her like this.
"I…" Yali opened her mouth again, but still couldn't say it.
Although bringing Xia Yi here was a decision she made after much thought—
At the critical moment, she just couldn't muster the courage.
If anything were to happen to Xia Yi, she wouldn't just be letting him down, but Leng Yaozhu too.
Leng Yaozhu trusted her enough to let her bring Xia Yi out.
Xia Yi also trusted her enough to follow her here.
With that much trust from Xia Yi, Leng Yaozhu, and even Leng Yulai—how could she possibly make the decision to let Xia Yi take a risk?
"It's nothing. Just walk with me," Yali sighed softly, then pointed at a towering tree.
With a light tap, sawdust flew, and the ancient tree was instantly carved into a simple wooden boat. Yali gracefully stepped forward and landed at the bow.
"Alright then. I'll give you some time to build up your courage," Xia Yi sighed inwardly and leaped onto the stern.
(End of Chapter)