"Clatter, clatter—"
The carriage rolled steadily along the road. Inside, Luo Yu sat with a calm, lake-still expression. His deep black eyes reflected the rising crimson sun at the edge of the sky, growing ever brighter as dawn arrived.
"Pop!"
A gentle wave of spiritual power spread outward like a soft breeze. It didn't disturb the horses pulling the carriage, and even the nearby flowers and grass only swayed lightly. Luo Yu's lips curved into a faint smile.
"Gulp."
Sipping a mouthful of rice wine, Luo Yu glanced at the distant outline of Tianshui City's walls appearing through the morning mist. His smile deepened; his mood was clearly good.
He chuckled."Didn't expect my spiritual power to break through just from a simple journey. Guess I've been doing too many good deeds lately—Heaven finally decided to pay me back before I start getting suspicious."
"Hm?" Luo Yu suddenly let out a light sound of surprise as he looked down at his palm.
With his recent spiritual breakthrough, his senses had grown sharper, and he vaguely felt something unusual.
After confirming that no one was around, Luo Yu circulated his soul power and activated both of his martial souls—Zhuzhao and Youying. Behind him, a golden sun and a silver crescent moon rose together, their phenomena distinct yet harmonious, shining with ancient, mysterious gold-and-silver radiance.
Under his control, the golden sun and silver moon drifted upward, floating in mid-air. Within the golden glow, something like a dragon seemed to stir, while within the silver light, the faint outline of an ice phoenix appeared, wings trembling as if ready to soar.
Studying the twin phenomena, Luo Yu touched his chin thoughtfully. Even before his breakthrough he had faintly sensed a thread of soul power diverting toward the martial souls during cultivation. Now he was even more certain.
He tried channeling his soul power directly into the martial souls, and sure enough—both the golden dragon and silver phoenix began to condense a little faster than before.
He withdrew the martial souls, and the visions vanished. Luo Yu hesitated.
It seemed he now had two choices:One, focus his daily cultivation on feeding soul power into the martial souls to accelerate the dragon and phoenix's embodiment.Or two, ignore them for the time being and prioritize overall strength.
"…In that case, I should take a look at what new enhancements appear after the martial soul evolves." Luo Yu murmured, curiosity flashing in his eyes as he made up his mind.
Tianshui City was now in sight.
Originally, Luo Yu planned to stay outside the city for a bit to hide, but honestly—he could avoid the first day, not the fifteenth. What was coming would come.
So he returned to Tianshui Academy with bold determination.
The moment he stepped through the academy gates, he felt a bit uneasy. After all… he had smacked Su Yaoyun's butt last time.
Sure, he did it while pretending to be someone else's "master," but he had zero doubt she would pin the debt squarely on him.
"Ahem… maybe she's cooled off by now…" Luo Yu muttered as he walked as low-key as humanly possible back toward the dorms.
Just as he reached the first floor, he saw a senior sister—dressed in pink pajamas, long snow-white legs bare—heading out to wash up.
They made brief eye contact. Luo Yu felt awkward. She, on the other hand, seemed totally unfazed and greeted him casually.
"Morning, junior. Up this early?"
"Morning, Senior Sister Lingyue." Luo Yu replied.
Lingyue laughed when she saw his uncomfortable eyes wandering nowhere proper."Seriously? Junior, don't tell me you're shy? I am wearing clothes, you know."
"Uh…"
Three metaphorical black lines slid down Luo Yu's forehead.
Wasn't entering Tianshui Academy supposed to be like a wolf entering a flock of sheep?Why did he always end up feeling like the sheep instead?
He headed upstairs with a sigh.
He really needed to reflect on himself. Getting teased by girls every other day wasn't a respectable state of affairs. Obviously, his approach was wrong—he needed to restore his masculine dignity.
"Achoo."
Hand on the doorknob, the fatigue hit him. He hadn't rested at all after running around all night.
Creak.
The door swung open—and Luo Yu froze.
On his bed lay a voluptuous beauty in a red dress, her long snowy legs exposed, her body exuding intoxicating allure. Eyes closed, she rested sideways as if peacefully asleep.
"Hiss—"
A stunning beauty in his bed—an irresistible scene.And yet Luo Yu's face stiffened in panic. He sucked in a cold breath, and his steps became feather-light.
Because… he recognized the bamboo ruler clutched in her sleeping hand.
Luo Yu shrank his neck down, tip-toeing backward toward the door.
"Stop."
A cool, seductive voice rang out.
Luo Yu jolted, a chill running down his spine as he turned stiffly.
The sultry beauty had already sat up. Her pair of pink phoenix eyes locked onto him, the bamboo ruler in her hand tapping her palm rhythmically.
"Su… Su-teacher?" Luo Yu asked weakly.
"Hm?" Su Yaoyun's aura turned sharp and dangerous.
"Ahem." Luo Yu knew he couldn't escape. He straightened his back."Yao-yao-jie… it's the middle of the night. Why're you not sleeping in your own place… and instead waiting for me here?"
"What do you think I'm here for?" Su Yaoyun's pink aura surged, and her spiritual power formed an invisible hand that reached out to drag him toward her.
But Luo Yu had been on guard. His newly-strengthened spiritual power flared instantly, blocking her pull.
"Oh?" Su Yaoyun raised an eyebrow. "Not bad, little man. One trip outside and you've leveled up this much?"
Luo Yu immediately glanced at the ruler in her hand."How about you put that down, and we talk this out peacefully."
But Su Yaoyun's backside was still throbbing faintly from her previous punishment. Rage flared again, and her spiritual power surged. She yanked him straight into the air.
"Woosh!"
Luo Yu drew an arc through the air and landed beside her on the bed, his limbs pinned down by her spiritual suppression.
"Yao-yao-jie, what exactly are you trying to do…"
Su Yaoyun leaned close, blowing a teasing breath into his ear as she spoke with a mix of shame and anger:
"Because you snitched on me, I got my butt beaten. What do you think I'm here to do?"
"Blame goes to who did the deed! Go beat him!" Luo Yu protested.
Su Yaoyun sneered and lifted the ruler again.
"Wait!"
"Hm? You still have something to say?" she asked coldly.
"You're making me lose all my dignity like this!"
"Oh? And my dignity? My butt is still swollen. Should I show you how bad it looks?" she huffed, eyes misty with grievance.
"That's what you get for coming over every night to bully me!" Luo Yu snapped, unable to hold back.
Su Yaoyun froze—then grew even more aggrieved and furious.
"Bully you? I come every night and offer myself to you—that's bullying?!"
Luo Yu shot back, "Then let me take the lead for once! You being the one doing everything makes me feel like a decoration!"
Su Yaoyun pouted. "That's because you're not good enough. If you were, I'd listen to you every day. You tell me to do something, I'd do it."
"…I'm not good enough??"
Luo Yu's voice jumped an octave. He felt personally insulted.
Seeing his wounded pride, Su Yaoyun's face flushed. After thinking for a bit, she felt she should be honest.
"It's not that you're not good. It's… the other thing you're not good at."
"…Which thing? Explain. In detail." Luo Yu demanded through gritted teeth.
(End of Chapter)