Chapter 43: Murong Wan Arrives

Dusk fell, the capital's lights lit up one after another, neon flowing like ribbons between buildings.

Under the light of three moons, the streetlights on the long avenue traced golden arcs, the whole city gradually awakening in the night, flickering with a hazy, prosperous glow.

"Lu Xun."

At the gate of Beidou University, Chu Youqing happily ran over and naturally took Lu Xun's hand.

"It's Lu Xun."

"Wow, his girlfriend is so pretty."

This scene happened to be seen by a student who knew Lu Xun.

"What, Lu Xun has a girlfriend?"

"Stay calm, what's the big deal about having a girlfriend? Without one you have to compete with a crowd; with one you only need to compete with her girlfriend."

A girl solemnly popularized knowledge to her best friend.

"His girlfriend is so pretty, can I compete?"

Her best friend lacked confidence.

"You get mismatched competition, right? You don't need to compare looks with her."

"Then what do we compare?"

"Flirtatious."

"Get lost."

This pair of best friends started playfully fighting.

Lu Xun here, hand in hand with Chu Youqing, entered the area near Qingbei Jie.

Formal school opening was near; in the past two days, many couples came out to stroll the streets.

On Qingbei Jie, most students were in pairs.

If a single dog were to come, they'd need a strong stomach.

Otherwise they'd be stuffed by dog food.

"Your mother hasn't left yet?"

"Never mind her."

Murong Yan was still there.

The stall she had taken over specialized in selling small trinkets from the Starry Ancient Road.

For example, moonstone bracelets, stardust necklaces, star-orbit love knots, moon-dew earrings, and the like.

There were also shattered-star glazed bottles; tiny glass bottles holding temperature‑changing stardust that glowed faint blue in the palm, as if capturing a wisp of the Milky Way.

Such trinkets, though from the Starry Ancient Road, were not expensive; Qingbei Jie's students could basically afford them.

They were also suitable as gifts between couples.

Moreover, she as the proprietress was so charming that her business grew ever more prosperous.

But her main purpose was still to keep an eye on Chu Youqing.

As soon as Lu Xun and Chu Youqing arrived, Murong Yan dropped her stall and came running to tag along.

When dealing with her mother, Chu Youqing remained two words: indifferent.

Even to spite Murong Yan, she deliberately snuggled up to Lu Xun, her small hand always tightly interlaced with his.

Seeing this made Murong Yan furious, her heaving chest rising and falling.

"Lu Xun, I heard you also opened your meridian; are you going to cultivate immortal and martial arts together?"

"Hmm."

"But they say immortal‑martial dual cultivation is very dangerous."

"It's fine, don't worry about me; you just focus on your cultivation."

"Hmm, I believe you."

Chu Youqing had also heard about Lu Xun's matter.

Toward Lu Xun, she felt an inexplicable confidence.

"Wow, that much?"

"This is from Teacher Fei; he gave too much, I can't use it all, your cultivation consumes a lot, take it."

"Okay, I'll pay you back later!"

Lu Xun gave her eighty thousand units of Dark Energy.

Chu Youqing took out a little notebook, recorded an entry, then accepted the card.

Lu Xun saw that she had recorded the amount of Dark Energy he gave her.

This little girl.

Actually, she isn't the type who only knows how to take; if Lu Xun didn't stop her from doing that, she wouldn't feel at ease.

"This kid really is a senior female student."

Strolling along, Lu Xun spotted Li Bu Fan in the distance.

Li Bu Fan was walking with a pretty senior female student, happily strolling the street.

He, who once vowed not to be a syphon, was buying drinks for the senior female student, buying gifts, and even squatting to tie her shoes.

"Syphon."

Lu Xun expressed disdain.

Even though Liu Mei deliberately concealed things, he had been good to her for three years, yet never acted like such a syphon.

However, this kid, though syphoning, seemed to be making good progress with the senior female student.

Strolling along, he unexpectedly pulled the senior female student into a taxi, not knowing whether they were headed to KFC.

At least he didn't embarrass his adoptive father.

Lu Xun and Chu Youqing wandered until late, and they even had a midnight snack before parting.

Murong Yan stared at them all night, acted like a searchlight all night, and held a grudge all night.

No, she'll hold onto this anger until tomorrow, even the day after.

After seeing Chu Youqing back to school, Lu Xun turned around and saw Murong Yan glaring at him from over ten meters away, cheeks puffed.

Such a beautiful woman—when she gets angry, she has a different allure.

After thinking, Lu Xun walked over, intending to tell her she didn't need to stare at him like that—he wouldn't drag Chu Youqing off to a hotel.

However, Murong Yan wasn't in the mood to talk to Lu Xun; she snorted at him and returned to her stall.

Alright.

"Let's go, we're heading back."

Lu Xun carried Xiao Bai back to Northern Dipper University.

"The semester's about to start—why hasn't Murong Wan arrived yet, and there's no sign of her?"

Lu Xun wondered what was up with Murong Wan.

【Murong Wan broke through to the second layer of the Qi Sea—you gain twenty times her harvest.】

Just as he was wondering, that night the harvest arrived.

"So fast."

It's only been a little over a month since Murong Wan last broke through to the first layer of the Qi Sea, right?

You know, the Murong family has been swamped lately, and Murong Wan's energy has been spread thin.

"Good fellow."

Lu Xun's martial cultivation also began to surge.

From the third layer of the Qi Sea he shot straight up, all the way to the eighth layer before stopping.

He jumped up five layers at once.

It seems the gain from Chu Youqing isn't that great, but the higher you go, the harder it is to level up.

"Even before school starts, you already have eighth-layer Qi Sea cultivation—won't people think you're a monster when they test your cultivation?"

Lu Xun clicked his tongue.

Martial Qi Sea eighth layer, immortal Qi gathering sixth layer—if word got out, it'd scare a bunch of people.

"No, can't show it all, or they'll definitely target you—just show martial Qi Sea third layer and immortal Qi gathering first layer would be enough…"

Lu Xun began to ponder.

After the official start of school, they'll face a cultivation assessment.

After the assessment, the school will distribute monthly Dark Energy based on cultivation.

Of course, it's also divided into tiers.

For the same cultivation, the gap between the first and second tiers is not small.

You also can't hide it completely; you must reveal a bit appropriately, progressing gradually.

It's been over two months since he first opened his meridians.

Martial third layer, immortal first layer are relatively stable.

Right now his strength isn't enough; he needs to lay low and not draw too much attention.

He's only just opened his spiritual meridians a little over a month ago—if people knew his true cultivation, they'd definitely target him.

Not to mention the risk of exposing the system; if a stronger instructor insisted on teaching him, that would be deadly too.

"Just like that."

Lu Xun rubbed Xiao Bai's head and formed a plan.

"Meow~"

Xiao Bai habitually rubbed against Lu Xun.

The princess inside its body seemed to have vanished; who knows when she'll pop out again.

Two days later.

In the morning, Murong Yan waited at the gate of Clear Void Academy.

A few minutes later, Chu Youqing came out.

"Youqing…"

"I'll take a car myself."

Chu Youqing went straight into a ride‑hailing car.

Murong Yan's expression froze on her face.

After Chu Youqing left, Murong Yan sighed and drove to the airport.

Today is the day Murong Wan arrives in the capital.

As the older sister, Murong Yan naturally had to go pick her up.

"Auntie."

Two hours later, at the airport pickup area, Chu Youqing happily flung herself into Murong Wan's arms.

Since they're close in age, she and Murong Wan have always gotten along well.

Murong Wan dressed exquisitely today, drawing many gazes.

The arrival of Chu Youqing and Murong Yan, the three beauties standing together vying for charm, instantly became the focus of the whole venue.

"Waner, you've been on that plane so long—you must be tired, right?"

"Not bad, sis."

"School only officially starts tomorrow, so you can stay at my place tonight. We sisters rarely get a chance to be alone—let's have a good talk."

"Mm, okay."

After Chu Youqing and Murong Wan finished talking, Murong Yan stepped forward and invited Murong Wan to live with her.

The two sisters are more than ten years apart in age, yet their relationship isn't as close as that between Chu Youqing and Murong Wan.

Still, Murong Wan agreed to the older sister's invitation.