"If you had wanted to kill me, you wouldn't have waited until now," Xiao Wu stared at Tang Hao. "But you didn't. Not only did you not kill me immediately, you brought me into human society. What exactly is your purpose?"
"Purpose?" Tang Hao sneered, his gaze fixed on Xiao Wu, teasing. "From a soul master's perspective, I should have kept you in captivity. When you're no longer needed, I could have killed you outright and absorbed your spirit rings and spirit bones."
"But I didn't do that. Because you still have use, I had no choice but to spare your life."
"Little rabbit, if you know what's good for you, don't entertain thoughts you shouldn't. I'll always be watching you from the shadows. Sometimes, you need to understand—your survival depends entirely on the value you provide."
"When the day comes that I no longer need that value, then you can die. Understand?"
Having said that, Tang Hao disappeared from Xiao Wu's sight without looking back.
"No… I can't just sit here and wait to die. At the very least, I need to think of a way—a way to save myself."
With Tang Hao gone, Xiao Wu clearly understood the danger of her current situation. Only by finding a way to preserve her life could she hope to return to the Star Dou Forest.
......
Tiandou City, Seven Star Academy.
A faint strip of dawn-colored light appeared on the horizon. Cheng Xiao had already completed his morning weighted training.
Sitting on a bluestone beside him, Ye Lingling held her cheek in her hand, watching the young man gulp water, completely unconcerned about his appearance after the intense training.
More than a week had passed since Seven Star Academy opened. With the support of the royal family, the academy had recruited quite a few students. Less than half a year remained until the continent's Advanced Soul Master Elite Competition began, so everyone was focused on cultivating as much as possible.
Of course, to get stronger, Yu Tianheng and the others participating in the competition also chose to join Cheng Xiao's training. At this moment, they were wearing fifty-kilogram weighted armor and running ten kilometers.
Running ten kilometers alone would be easy for them at this stage. But when using soul power, it becomes more than mere physical training. So, with Du Gu Bo's kindness, he blocked their soul power. Now, they relied solely on willpower to run, without the leisure they were accustomed to.
Because this was really exhausting.
After replenishing his water, Cheng Xiao sat down beside Ye Lingling, who handed him a towel to wipe his sweat.
"No wonder you're so much stronger than us. Blocking soul power and relying on pure physical training must be exhausting, right?" Ye Lingling said gently while wiping his sweat.
"It's okay. Once you get used to it, it's not tiring," Cheng Xiao smiled. Physical training had long become part of his routine, so facing it again felt easy rather than exhausting.
After every grueling session, a good sleep restored his body to peak condition, including mental fatigue.
If only there were a system panel to track daily training progress—he'd probably feel like he was flying from excitement.
"Hmph," Ye Lingling hummed softly at his words and asked, "Have the participants for the competition been decided?"
"Yes, they have," Cheng Xiao replied.
"Ning Rongrong will participate too, right? I never properly thanked her for helping me last time, but now she's going to be a teammate," Ye Lingling said. She was referring to the battle between the Royal Dou Empire and Shrek Academy. Ning Rongrong, unwilling to see her as a support-class soul master being targeted, had enhanced her with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tower, leaving a strong impression on Ye Lingling.
"There will be opportunities," Cheng Xiao smiled. He glanced at his teammates, exhausted and collapsed on the ground after their weighted training, and couldn't help but laugh.
"They persevered. Very good," Ye Lingling said with a small smile.
"Yeah. You should heal them; otherwise, they really won't be able to get up," Cheng Xiao said with a grin. "I'll go back and shower first. See you at the cafeteria later."
"Okay," Ye Lingling nodded lightly. "See you at the cafeteria."
......
"Whoa, boss, is Cheng Xiao's training really humanly possible?"
"Yu Feng, can you stop barking like a dog? Didn't you finish it already?"
"Damn, Osro, don't you know what exaggeration means? No sense of humor at all," Yu Feng said while eating steamed buns and drinking meat porridge.
Osro shook his head in disdain. This guy—probably turned stupid from all that training.
"By the way, boss, should we invite Ning Rongrong over to eat with us?" Osro glanced at Ning Rongrong sitting alone at a thin-looking table and asked Yu Tianheng.
"No need. Someone will eat with her soon," Yu Tianheng said without lifting his head. At this moment, his full attention was on the meat porridge and steamed buns in front of him. He'd never appreciated food like this so much—training had made him realize how delicious these simple things could be.
"Uh…" Osro scratched his head in confusion. When he looked at Ning Rongrong again, three people had suddenly joined her table.
They were Cheng Xiao, Ye Lingling, and Du Gu Yan.
"Alright, I thought it would take her longer to integrate with us," Osro shook his head and focused on eating.
At Ning Rongrong's table, she was slightly startled to see the three of them sit down, then nervously lowered her head.
Seeing this, Cheng Xiao teased with a smile, "What's this? Miss Ning is actually nervous?"
Ye Lingling then said, "Rongrong, welcome to our team. And thank you for helping me back then."
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong lifted her head, surprised, looking at Ye Lingling. "It's you?"
"I remember you wore a veil back then. No wonder I didn't see you when I arrived. You've taken it off now, huh?"
Ye Lingling smiled softly and glanced at her teammates enthusiastically eating, laughing lightly. "Yes, I no longer need the veil."
"I really envy the atmosphere between you guys," Ning Rongrong sincerely said.
"Don't envy it. You're one of us now," Du Gu Yan said with a slight smile to Ning Rongrong. Then he glanced at someone eating greedily. "You said you had a gift for Ning Rongrong? Give it to her now."
"A gift… for me?" Ning Rongrong was stunned and instinctively wanted to refuse. But before she could speak, Ye Lingling gently said:
"Accept it, Rongrong. This gift may help your spirit weapon break through its limits."
"Break… the limits of my spirit weapon?" Ning Rongrong was dumbfounded. She had never heard of anything that could make a spirit weapon surpass its limits. Could it be some kind of elixir?
"Here, this is the Qiluo Tulip. I'll tell you how to use it later. When you go home, follow the instructions. You'll experience an unexpected surprise," Ye Lingling said. The cafeteria was nearly empty, aside from Yu Tianheng and others eating and Cheng Xiao's group.
Seeing the strange immortal herb before her, Ning Rongrong was amazed. She had never seen such a miraculous herb and didn't know how to respond.
"You can skip the thank-yous. Also, welcome to Seven Star Academy," Cheng Xiao said with a smile.
"Okay!" Ning Rongrong carefully took the Qiluo Tulip, deeply inhaled its fragrance, and giggled. "Then I'll go back and absorb it. See you later."
After speaking, Ning Rongrong left the cafeteria with the Qiluo Tulip.
"Someone really is generous—giving my grandfather's immortal herb right after meeting me," Du Gu Yan said, glancing at Cheng Xiao with a snort.
"Yan Zi, you can't blame Cheng Xiao. He's just being responsible for the team," Ye Lingling smiled.
"You, truly, a woman cannot hold back," Du Gu Yan said helplessly, covering his forehead. He turned to Cheng Xiao, "Since this flower can help break through spirit weapon limits, why not let Lingling use it? Her spirit weapon has limits too."
"I know, but I can't let Lingling use it," Cheng Xiao shook his head. "I understand the herb's effect, but I only know that soul masters with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tower weapon spirit will break through to the ninth tower after using it. I don't know what effect it would have on Lingling."
"If it's beneficial, that's fine. But what if it backfires?"
"I can't take that risk. Besides, just because we don't know a solution now doesn't mean there won't be one later. When the time comes, I'll find a way to help Lingling overcome it."
Hearing Cheng Xiao's serious words, Ye Lingling smiled softly and whispered:
"I believe in you."
...........
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(End of Chapter)