Hm?
Seeing Su Linfeng's slightly flushed little face, Bibi Dong couldn't help but frown. Was this really the reaction of a six-year-old child?
Something felt off.
Her sharp eyes scanned him up and down, as if trying to spot a flaw. Narrowing her gaze, she asked:
"I just feel like you don't seem like a six-year-old at all."
Uh…
Had he been discovered?
Did he really act that obviously?
Su Linfeng froze on the spot. He'd worked hard for six whole years to play the part of a child. If Bibi Dong realized he was essentially a Momonosuke in a six-year-old's body, she might strangle him on the spot.
"Don't seem like one?"
Forcing composure, Su Linfeng stiffly asked:
"Then, Sister, where exactly do I not seem like a child?"
This time Bibi Dong was momentarily stumped. She couldn't pinpoint it. After a pause, her cheeks reddened slightly as she adjusted her nightgown, then feigned indifference and waved her hand.
Forget it!
Children would grow up sooner or later.
Perhaps she was being too sensitive. Spirit beasts and humans weren't the same. Though it took at least a hundred thousand years for a beast to develop intelligence, in the end, he had still lived for a hundred thousand years. Compared to a normal human child, maturing earlier could still be explained.
With that thought, she stopped dwelling on it. Her face regained its usual coldness as she looked at Su Linfeng and asked:
"Then why did you come back?"
Her tone sounded half like a question, half like reproach.
After all, she had taken on great pressure to let him leave safely.
"Because school is over."
Su Linfeng blinked innocently at her.
"I'm not like Hu Liena and the others who live at the Academy. Once classes are done, of course, I have to come home."
"Home?"
Bibi Dong's eye twitched as she stared at him, momentarily dazed.
Did this brat really think of this place as his home? Did he not understand that he was a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast in human form—that the entire Spirit Hall, herself included, coveted his spirit ring and spirit bone?
Yet despite that truth, her heart warmed slightly.
In the end, he really was just a child.
After a while, Bibi Dong took a deep breath and told him:
"Do you understand that if your identity is exposed, not just Spirit Hall but spirit masters across the whole continent will all want to take your life?"
She chose not to hide it. He deserved to know his current danger.
At the moment, only Qian Xunji, Qian Renxue, and she herself knew his true identity. Although his martial spirit concealed his beast aura, it couldn't guarantee he'd never be exposed someday.
Not to mention Qian Xunji, who had long coveted his hundred-thousand-year spirit bone—even Bibi Dong herself couldn't say she was entirely immune to such temptation.
"But Sister still needs treatment for the evil aura inside you, doesn't she?"
Su Linfeng grinned.
"Besides, would Sister really bear to eat me?"
"You—!"
Leave?
Now was not the time.
He had thought carefully about this. Staying here was safer than wandering. He wasn't stupid—he could tell Bibi Dong was changing. As long as he was careful about Qian Xunji, things should be manageable.
"Such nonsense. Do you think I wouldn't dare eat you?"
Completely exasperated, Bibi Dong still warned coldly:
"Remember this well. Even here in Spirit Hall, trust no one but me. And never reveal your real identity."
"Oh, got it."
Su Linfeng nodded with a smile.
"Then, Sister, shall we start dual cultivation now?"
Bibi Dong froze.
"Start what?"
"Cultivating together, of course. Otherwise, how can I help you control the God of Slaughter Domain?"
"You little brat, you'd better learn to change the way you say things. What are you trying to do—believe it or not, I'll cut off that paw of yours—"
"…"
The next morning.
When Su Linfeng woke, Bibi Dong was nowhere to be seen again. He was used to it by now.
No matter. He decided to make himself something to eat before heading to class.
Stretching as he got out of bed, his whole body cracked like popping beans, sending waves of comfort through him.
"You're awake."
The door opened, and Bibi Dong entered, holding a tray of freshly made breakfast.
"Eat first."
Breakfast?
She made this?
Su Linfeng sat at the table and immediately started wolfing it down. After all, back when Bibi Dong raised both him and Qian Renxue, meals were irregular—eat one meal, starve for three; eat three, starve for seven.
"Slow down," Bibi Dong scolded. "No one's fighting you for it."
"Mmm, delicious."
Su Linfeng chewed happily and said:
"After exhausting myself seven times last night, I really am hungry now."
Bibi Dong: "…"
Seven times?
Wait.
Where on earth did he learn to talk like that?
Her eyes widened as round as copper bells. What exactly had happened in the three years she wasn't around?
Truthfully, Su Linfeng had indeed burned through his spirit power seven times last night while suppressing her God of Slaughter Domain. But this cycle of consumption and recovery actually benefited him enormously. His bones were being forged, his body subtly transformed.
It was practically like having a cheat.
Though it slowed down his cultivation speed, Su Linfeng didn't care. Soul power could be trained slowly—but his foundation had to be solid.
For both spirit masters and spirit beasts, soul power was only a measure of strength. The body was the true key that determined one's upper limit. Bibi Dong was the best example: if not for her extraordinary physique, how could she have borne twin martial spirits?
The same with hundred-thousand-year spirit beasts in Star Dou Great Forest. For fragile-bodied species like Blue Silver Grass or rabbits, they had to transform before their hundred-thousand-year tribulation. Unlike ferocious beasts, they couldn't withstand the tribulation head-on. Otherwise, what good spirit beast randomly transforms into human form for no reason?
Of course, Su Linfeng was the exception.
After eating his fill, Su Linfeng neatly put down his bowl and chopsticks, greeted Bibi Dong, and headed off to school.
Spirit Academy
The name sounded grand, but in truth, it was just a school for commoners.
Most children there—like Hu Liena—came from soul villages. The Academy provided them free food and lodging. Of course, there were also native children of Spirit City like Su Linfeng, who commuted instead.
By now, the streets near the Academy were full of youths and young girls heading to class. Su Linfeng naturally walked among them.
He was famous now. After yesterday's battle, nearly the entire Academy knew who he was. Along the way, many classmates greeted him warmly.
"Su Linfeng!"
A familiar voice called from behind.
He turned his head—it was Zhang Ping, one of the Golden Generation. Beside her stood a tall, imposing young man.
The man looked twenty-five or twenty-six, and indeed bore a faint resemblance to Zhang Ping around the eyes. Something about him gave Su Linfeng a sense of familiarity, though he couldn't place it.
"Zhang Ping, you're a day student too?" Su Linfeng asked with a smile, though his eyes lingered on the man.
"My home's here in Spirit City."
Zhang Ping giggled, then followed his gaze and quickly explained:
"Don't misunderstand. I always come to the Academy by myself. He's my uncle, Lordiyara, a teacher here. He's in charge of the monthly student trial tasks."
"When there are no classes, Uncle rarely comes to the Academy."
"Uh…"
Su Linfeng smiled awkwardly, thinking: Why the rush to explain?
Did she think he'd mistake her for a spoiled daddy's girl?
That was unnecessarily hurtful.