Chapter 272: Late-Night Snack and Snow

Because the balcony faces west, the dormitory has excellent lighting in the afternoon; there are a few cut flowers in a vase in the living room, and the water in the vase is still full.

Two Zhaojun, two Luoshen, one Zhaoyeqing, two Archangels, and seven or eight Refraction Bubbles—it is slightly cluttered. In early winter, the flowers in the courtyard are not as spectacular as in spring or autumn, but with the drop in temperature, each bloom is exceptionally standard, and the Archangels and Zhaoyeqing emit a fresh, refreshing citrus fragrance.

Jiang Lai is curled up on the sofa; having just returned from the Arena, he is holding a professional book to read.

It is "Martial Artist and Exotic Beast Bloodlines".

Chen Shu glanced at it while passing by; there are many obscure characters in the book, and Brother Jiang has made quite a few pinyin annotations and filled the margins with dense notes.

This young man is also reading with exceptional focus.

"Brother Jiang, you are flourishing in both literature and martial arts."

"Huh?"

"I'm complimenting you." Chen Shu poured a glass of water, dropped a juice tablet into it, and sat down beside him. "When do you plan to fuse with a Beast Bloodline?"

"My teacher says that with my talent, I should keep my feet on the ground and keep moving forward, and not consider this for the time being." Jiang Lai is covered in bruises and contusions, yet he seems not to feel the pain at all, answering Chen Shu's question honestly, his voice as steady as ever.

"What about you? What do you think yourself?"

"I think the same." Jiang Lai has both his own opinions and a clear understanding of himself and his future. "I will walk to the end of the Martial Artist's path first, and when I can no longer move forward, then I will consider the matter of fusing with a Beast Bloodline."

The tone of his speech is just as it always is.

"Hmm..."

Chen Shu pondered for a few seconds: "You aren't planning to use the traditional method to fuse with a Beast Bloodline, are you?"

"?"

Jiang Lai was stunned for a moment, turning his head to look at him in astonishment:

"How did you know?"

"Guessed."

"How did you guess?"

"Make a bold guess, verify with caution." Chen Shu yawned and smacked his lips. "How wonderful, the verification step has been skipped entirely."

"How did you guess it?" Jiang Lai asked, refusing to let it go.

"Hey! Just like that, act cute once, and I'll tell you!" Chen Shu held his cup and looked at him with a grin.

"Hurry up and say it..."

"Okay, okay!"

Chen Shu nodded repeatedly at this posture of his, then glanced out of the corner of his eye: "Oh my, Brother Meng? Are you jealous?"

Meng Chunqiu was speechless and turned to leave.

Chen Shu couldn't help but grin.

A harmonious dormitory is only good if there's a bit of banter.

Jiang Lai stared at him, still puzzled.

Chen Shu stopped smiling, thinking about how to express it to him.

Some things are very strange; they can only exist in the mind and are hard to express. Other things are even stranger—they are information integrated by the brain itself, then conveyed to you in a way similar to intuition. Still other things are not strange at all, but can only remain in the mind, unable to be spoken.

Forget it, I won't express it...

Let him stew!

Chen Shu held his cup and stood up on his own.

Jiang Lai held his book, watching him leave with longing eyes, watching him walk to the door of Meng Chunqiu's room and peek inside, faintly hearing their voices.

"Brother Meng, painting again? What an elegant interest! Oh my, it's not bad at all! I used to study painting too; how about lending me your brush and ink to let me have a go?"

"Did Brother Chen choose painting in art class before?"

"No, I chose music."

"A class you signed up for outside?"

"Not that either."

"Then..."

"I taught myself during Chinese class."

"..."

After about two minutes, Brother Meng chased him out.

Draining the juice in his cup, Chen Shu saw Brother Jiang still looking down at his book, reading intently, and couldn't help but sigh: "Brother Jiang, using the traditional method to fuse with a Beast Bloodline is extremely dangerous. Saying it's a nine-in-ten chance of death is an exaggeration, but the mortality rate is definitely higher than the success rate."

"I know."

"With your talent, even if you don't take risks and only accept modern protocols, you will definitely be able to reach the pinnacle of life on the path of a Martial Artist." Chen Shu tilted his head and thought for a moment. "For example, if you win a global championship in the Martial King Tournament, wouldn't your annual income be counted in the hundreds of millions? Even if you can't fight anymore, opening a martial arts gym would make a fortune. By then, you could use more time and money to do what you want; why take the risk?"

"We'll see..."

"Hey!" Chen Shu was amused again. "You're mimicking the way I talk!"

"Subconsciously..."

"Okay, okay!"

Chen Shu said no more and walked back to his bedroom.

Brother Jiang has extremely high talent on the path of the Martial Artist; one cannot say there has never been anyone like him before or since, but it is probably not far off.

Being unable to open a Spirit Sea is the greatest pain in his heart.

Brother Jiang also has a good temperament—firm, steady, able to endure boredom and waiting, unwilling to settle for less, preferring to go without than to accept something inferior, and fearing neither pain nor hardship. Yet, the modern Beast Bloodline fusion protocols, while safe, have not yet broken through to the bloodlines of High-Tier beasts, mostly consisting of Fifth or Sixth Stage beast bloodlines. In ancient times, there were many martial arts prodigies who fused with Seventh or even Eighth Stage beast bloodlines; it is all recorded in history books.

What a pity, what a pity.

A Martial Artist is always a Martial Artist.

For a Cultivator, going from the Sixth Stage to the High-Tier is another qualitative change; no matter how strong a pure Martial Artist is, they cannot break through this line.

Chen Shu pushed the door open and returned to his room, feeling deeply regretful.

It is getting colder by the day; once it gets cold, one starts having other ideas. I wonder if I would be reported to the whole school if I set up a brazier in the living room to cook hot pot with Brother Jiang and Brother Meng, or perhaps roast some meat over a brazier?

……

The twelfth lunar month has arrived, and the final exams are drawing near.

A new course has been added to the finals called "University Student Career Planning," held on Friday evenings.

The lecturer is a very tall and fat male teacher who talks incessantly at the podium while facing the slides. Below, students from several classes sit; some tilt their heads and listen intently to his bragging, completely absorbed, while others play on their Mobile Phone or do other things, equally entranced. Rarely does anyone make any noise.

This is a rather good trait of the students at Yujing Academy.

Whether they listen to the lecture or not, they do not disturb others. Generally speaking, in this kind of class, the teacher does not care if you play on your phone or read other books.

Chen Shu is not interested in the teacher's career planning for the time being; he just sits alone in the corner, holding the third volume of Introduction to Spirit Body Principles and reading it seriously.

On the table lies a bookmark made from a Wood Daisy.

As of today, he has completely integrated the Cloud Sky Technique into the Thousand Machine Art, and the integration process of the Rising Wind has also exceeded half; it can be called lightning speed. For a normal Spirit Cultivator, even integrating just one Spell would take over a year. Besides Daily Cultivation, learning these things is also very time-consuming.

Chen Shu's short-term plan is to integrate the Rising Wind into the Thousand Machine Art as well, and to cultivate the "Spirit Body" to the introductory level.

His medium-term plan is, firstly, to rely on the sect for a living, and secondly, to live off Qingqing.

His long-term plan is to reach the Ninth Stage, become a human-shaped Zhan Lue Wu Qi, and at that time, find the seven Stone Tablets to see the route home left by his fellow countryman. Then, he will see what his thoughts are at that time; if he wants to go back, he will go back for a look and then return, and if he does not want to go back, he will not go back.

Specific thoughts are influenced by complex factors.

For example, whether it is convenient to go back, whether he can bring someone else along, whether it is convenient to return, and so on and so forth.

The bell for the end of class rang.

Chen Shu pinched the tassel of the Wood Daisy bookmark, tucked it into the book, and stood up to walk out.

It was already snowing outside.

The streetlights cast a patch of bright yellow light, reflecting the snowflakes falling in swarms; a thin layer of snow had already covered the steps. Amidst the biting cold wind, two figures, one tall and one short, stood on either side of a streetlight pole, as if waiting for someone.

The older sister was wearing gray-black leggings, mid-calf leather boots, and a long, thin trench coat. Her hair was draped behind her, and her hands were tucked into her pockets, her expression quiet and indifferent.

The younger sister was wrapped in a thick down jacket, wearing a red scarf and a pair of newly bought snow boots. A white cat poked its head out from her clothes, opening a pair of bright, sparkling eyes to look at the snowflakes outside, while she also lowered her head, unable to help but gently rub the snow on the floor tiles with the tip of her shoe.

Such a scene truly moved Chen Shu, and it also surprised him.

"Hmm?"

Chen Shu walked over and stood in front of them. Because the steps were high, he had to look up at them: "Why are you here? Weren't you going home?"

The little girl was the first to lift her head and retract her toes, pretending she hadn't been doing anything just now, and replied: "Sister heard that you were also going back to the small courtyard tonight, so she decided to come over and wait for you together."

"Why stand here?"

"Sister said this faces the entrance of the Teaching Building, so you would see us as soon as you came out." The little girl paused, "I think she just wanted to be rained on by snow."

"Do you want to?"

"I don't!" The little girl paused again, "If I catch a cold from the snow, I'm going to find her!"

The white cat that had crawled out of her down jacket opened its mouth and yawned lazily, its pink tongue curled up.

Chen Shu smiled, turned his head, and looked to the side.

Qingqing's outfit made her figure look very tall, giving off a gentle feeling, and there were indeed some snowflakes on her hair. When she saw him look over, she only indifferently pursed her lips and turned to start walking.

"Let's go."

The little girl hurriedly followed.

The two sisters walked on the steps, while Chen Shu walked below the steps.

The steps sloped down, gradually becoming parallel to the road, and the three of them walked together.

"Is it because I didn't come to see you for a week that you missed me?" Chen Shu said with a grin.

"I want to have a late-night snack."

"Sure, then let's have a late-night snack before going back! What shall we eat?"

"Sour and spicy noodles."

"I want to eat spicy hot pot."

"I want to eat fried small potatoes."

"Woof~"

Ten minutes later, at the snack street outside the school.

Dim yellow lights, illegally constructed sheds, and stall after stall steaming in the cold winter; students came and went, their breath turning into white mist.

The three of them and the cat sat under a shed.

Cold winters should have late-night snacks.

Ning Qing's sour and spicy noodles and Xiaoxiao's small potatoes were served quickly; they had already eaten half. The folding tables and chairs were a bit small, and the sisters both sat somewhat cramped.

Chen Shu arrived with his spicy hot pot. Just as he took a bite, his feet bumped into something, so he stepped back a little and looked down:

Under the table, two overlapping small leather boots were stretched out under his feet.

The black mid-calf leather boots were wiped clean, the light reflecting in circles on them, and the shoelaces were tied neatly, resting on the shoes, with the left foot placed on the right foot.

These legs are stretched out too far, aren't they? How am I supposed to put mine?

Chen Shu looked up at the person opposite, only to see that Qingqing was also looking at him, expressionless, with a look that said, "I put them there, so what?"

How arrogant!

Chen Shu clamped her legs so she couldn't pull them back.

Ning Qing ignored him for the time being.

Until the three of them finished eating...

The two began to compete in secret.

The little girl was completely unaware; she looked at her sister, then at her brother-in-law, and shared happily: "Brother-in-law, can you tell? I've already reached the Second Tier."

"That's truly amazing."

"I reached the Second Tier the month before last; it only took me half a year."

"Impressive, impressive."

"..." The little girl remained calm, her eyes darting around, "How long did it take you, sister?"

"Two months."

Ning Qing replied coldly.

"..."

The little girl silently wiped her mouth, stood up, and left.

The contest between the two under the table finally ceased; as she stood up, Ning Qing glared coldly at Chen Shu, looking fierce, while Chen Shu didn't care at all and even messed up her hair.