Chapter 445: Xiaoxiao (Cold and Ruthless Powerhouse Version)

The faint fragrance in the courtyard crept through the window with the night breeze.

The two sat cross-legged side by side, cultivating in silence.

Having reached the Seven-Tier Peak a month and a half ago, Chen Shu had been continuously polishing his Spirit Lock to loosen it. However, under the influence of Divine Power, his Spirit Power Quality far exceeded what it should have been for someone who had reached the Seven-Tier Peak without the bonus of a mark; under such Spirit Power Quality, the Spirit Lock also appeared exceptionally fragile.

Chen Shu even had a feeling—

Even without using a Beast Pill, through pure natural impact, it would not take much effort for them to break through to the Eighth Stage with the bonus of the marks.

But the Beast Pill still had to be used.

The Beast Pill had many benefits, especially for a Spirit Cultivator; it could almost directly make up for the shortcoming of a Spirit Cultivator's relatively fragile physique.

"Hoo..."

Chen Shu was the first to open his eyes and let out a long breath.

A moment later, Ning Qing also opened her eyes. After pausing to reflect for a moment, she turned her head to look at the person beside her: "You were a bit faster than me today."

"What does that mean?"

"It means sitting side by side is indeed more conducive to improving your concentration than sitting face to face."

"Wrong!"

"..."

"It means your attraction to me is declining; you're sitting right next to me, and I didn't even get distracted!" Chen Shu put on an expression of feeling bad for her, clicking his tongue and shaking his head as he spoke, sighing on her behalf, "It's over, it's all over, this is not a good sign."

"Bang!"

A straight punch.

Chen Shu behaved himself: "I'm almost at the Eighth Stage."

"Mm."

"Aren't you surprised?"

"No."

"Why?"

"That is the function of the mark."

"And you?"

"I can cultivate this fast even without a mark."

"What is the principle behind that?"

"I'll tell you later."

"What exactly is the purpose of the mark? What is the goal of it making us reach the Ninth Stage quickly? Will we become gods in the future?"

"Perhaps."

"And you?"

"If you do, I will."

"Good..."

This was all Chen Shu cared about—

Whether or not there was a mark didn't actually matter much; it was merely a matter of how fast one cultivated. What he cared about was that he had one and Qingqing did not, and vice versa. In short, the two of them should spend the rest of their lives together, and their lifespans should be equal. Compared to this, the speed of cultivation or whether they could become gods were secondary.

Ning Qing pursed her lips and stood up:

"Time to sleep."

And so, the two walked back to their room from the Quiet Room.

Before bed, Chen Shu checked his Mobile Phone as usual, favoring his few frequently used apps one by one.

There were new messages in the "idiot" group chat.

Beauty with Eight-Pack Abs: Saw Ning-shijie's graduation defense video, wow, so romantic.

Beauty with Eight-Pack Abs: Ning-shijie is so beautiful.

Green Lamp Ancient Buddha: Amitabha, to be honest, indeed.

Gate of All Wonders: There have been so many scholars coming to our temple these past two days asking for help with observing Spiritual Power; the uncles and aunts can't handle it anymore.

Green Lamp Ancient Buddha: Same here.

Gate of All Wonders: You guys have it better; the observation methods linked to your Buddhist Sect require Zen Cultivation of the Eighth Stage or higher, so there should be far fewer people coming to you. Most scholars have flocked to our Yuan'an Temple, and most importantly, I've already reached the Seventh Stage /tears.

Gate of All Wonders: Now I have to receive guests every day /tears.

Green Lamp Ancient Buddha: Amitabha, Junior Brother is truly miserable.

Grandma Always Says: I watched it too.

Grandma Always Says: Qingqing is so badass.

Grandma Always Says: So gentle.

Grandma Always Says: I was even moved to tears.

Let's Just Call Him Luo Huaian: Is this what a Heavenly Human is?

Grandma Always Says retracted a message.

Grandma Always Says: I meant, not a pure-blooded Heavenly Human.

Beauty with Eight-Pack Abs: I was touched too.

Suddenly Standing Still: +1.

Beauty with Eight-Pack Abs: In some world, will there be a story with us as the protagonists?

Suddenly Standing Still: Perhaps.

Suddenly Standing Still: Whenever I think that in another world someone might have coincidentally written a story about me, I get a strange feeling in my heart.

Grandma Always Says: Me too.

Grandma Always Says: It's just a pity.

Grandma Always Says: You lot, one look and I know you can't be the protagonist. Even if you were dreamt of by people from another world, you'd only be dreamt of as supporting characters. Only the most dazzling person of this era can become the protagonist, and that person is me.

Haoran:?

Gate of All Wonders:?

Green Lamp Ancient Buddha:?

Suddenly Silent Standing:?

Jiang Lai:?

Just Call Me Luo Huaian:?

Beauty with Eight-Pack Abs:?

"Here we go again, here we go again..."

Chen Shu happened to see this and couldn't help but shake his head.

This group of people, who were usually either proud or humble, either reserved or direct, but who all believed in their hearts that they were the protagonists of the era, had started arguing again.

Scrolling down, as expected, there was an argument hundreds of messages long, and they were still arguing even now.

These people are truly shameless.

Chen Shu had no choice but to take Qingqing's Mobile Phone.

Zhaoyeqing: Boring.

Zhaoyeqing: Everyone is the protagonist of their own story.

Beauty with Eight-Pack Abs: Wow, Senior Sister has appeared.

Gate of All Wonders: Judging by the tone, it sounds like Zhaoyeqing herself.

Haoran: Makes sense.

Suddenly Silent Standing: It's different when a big shot steps in; the style of talking to this group of people isn't even on the same level.

Just Call Me Luo Huaian: +1.

Grandma Always Says: What Qingqing says is always right / Yay.

Green Lamp Ancient Buddha: /Cracking melon seeds.

Gate of All Wonders: I have a bad premonition.

Zhaoyeqing: However, the person most suited to be the protagonist is still Chen Shu.

Messages in the group kept flashing, each person sent a question mark, and it finally ended with a melon-seed-cracking sticker from Dharma Master Tongdeng.

Grandma Always Says: This dog is using Qingqing's Mobile Phone again!

Grandma Always Says: Right! Forgot to tell you all!

Grandma Always Says: Grandma is about to attempt the Eighth Stage. This time I'll succeed in one go. You Seventh Stage trash—oh, and there's a Sixth Stage one—anyway, you fireflies shouldn't try to compete with the sun and moon.

Haoran: Those who walk at the front often aren't the ones who walk the furthest; the most crucial characters often only appear at the most crucial moments.

Just Call Me Luo Huaian: Agreed.

Gate of All Wonders: +1.

Qingcai Keke: When is Zhang resigning?

Grandma Always Says: In a few days.

Grandma Always Says: After resigning, I'll return to the Sword Sect for promotion first. I'll treat you all to a meal after I get back.

Qingcai Keke: Going to sleep.

Grandma Always Says: A High-level Practitioner sleeping this early??

Qingcai Keke: I'm not a single dog.

Grandma Always Says: /Complex expression.

Chen Shu put down the Mobile Phone and turned to hug Qingqing.

……

In the following days, the news about Chen Shu and Qingqing underwent a second fermentation, completely going viral across the entire internet with boiling intensity.

Because major media outlets and marketing accounts learned the fact that they were a couple through the forums of the two schools and leaks from interested parties, and also learned that they had both tested out from the same place and the same school. Some media even went to the Seventh Talent Academy of Baishi and learned from the teachers that the two of them had walked together every day back when they were studying at the Talent Academy—childhood sweethearts. This kind of fairy-tale-like love story is the favorite of marketing accounts.

And it is also the most sought-after by the girls on the internet.

For a time, the whole internet was full of similar videos.

Later, someone dug up that this year's Ning Qing and last year's Zhang Suannai were actually roommates, making people have to sigh that the circle of big shots is truly small.

Chen Shu had rarely taken a liking to watching marketing accounts.

Especially the comments below; every time, they made him unable to stop grinning, and he would keep scrolling down for a long time.

"When we are old in the future, our current glorious deeds will be beautiful memories of our youth, and also capital for bragging to our children," Chen Shu said. "Maybe in a few decades, if we have children, they might be able to dig these things up through the internet, and then take one look, wow..."

Ning Qing glanced at him silently, and only after a long while did she ask: "Do you like boys or girls?"

"..." Chen Shu's eyeballs rolled twice. "What kind of question is that? If I liked boys, I would have gone to find Brother Meng; would it even be your turn?"

"Bang!"

"Girls."

Chen Shu answered honestly: "Usually fathers like daughters, and I have more experience taking care of daughters..."

"Bang!"

"Okay."

Ning Qing glanced at him as he quieted down and whispered: "Today is the day your daughter is fighting at the Martial Body meet."

"Oh, that's right!"

Chen Shu finally remembered.

Xiaoxiao had signed up for the Martial Body Association Arena Tournament, and the Martial Body Association Arena Tournament is divided into three stages: the intra-school Regular Group, the intra-school Martial Academy Group, and the inter-school tournament. Because Chen Shu is considered part of the Martial Academy Group due to the Ancient Cultivation Department, he skipped the intra-school Regular Group, but Xiaoxiao has to start fighting from the Regular Group.

At the same time, the Hunting Festival has also recently opened, but it is a pity that as he is already at the Seventh Stage, he is too embarrassed to go to Qingshan Ridge again.

"Let's go."

Chen Shu pulled Qingqing's arm and stood up: "Let's go watch your sister fight. After watching, we can stop by the foot of Qingshan Ridge to walk around and see if we can buy some loose Sword Pig meat and Sword Pig brains."

Ning Qing stood up with him.

Half an hour later.

Ling'an Academy Martial Cultivation Hall.

Secret Sect Practitioners are indeed terrifying; when Ning Qing stepped into the Martial Cultivation Hall with Chen Shu, the announcer happened to be reading the name "Ning Ji".

The little girl stepped into the Arena and subconsciously turned her head left and right, looking for something in the audience, so Chen Shu raised his hand high and waved at her.

When she saw the figures of her sister and brother-in-law, she withdrew her gaze, still wearing a serious expression, and walked toward her designated position.

Today, Ning Ji is a cold and ruthless powerhouse.

"Clang!"

The sound of the gong rang out, and the battle erupted.

Although the little girl is only twenty years old, she already has Fifth Stage cultivation.

What is the concept of the Fifth Stage?

Four years ago, when Chen Shu participated in the Martial Body Association for the first time, he was only at the Fourth Rank Peak; when Yan Keling won the Yujing Academy Regular Group championship, she was also at the Fourth Rank Peak.

The little girl rushed forward quickly; clearly, she follows the same Spirit Cultivator path as her brother-in-law, yet relying on the powerful physique brought by her Night Person Bloodline, she forced her way to defeat her opponent just like a Martial Artist fighting.

The power, speed, and angle of those punches made Chen Shu click his tongue in wonder repeatedly.

"Tsk tsk..."

"How is it?" Ning Qing glanced at him sideways, "Seeing the good girl you raised from a young age being so violent, are you a bit surprised?"

"A little."

"I told you before."

"Mm, as expected of Director An's daughter, as expected of the sister of the founder of the Ning-style Straight Punch." Chen Shu sighed, paused, and then asked, "Does your school have any other Cultivators above the Fifth Stage?"

"There is a Fifth-tier Sword Cultivator in the fifth year."

"Only this one?"

"Yes."

"Oh..."

It seems that ever since Zhang Suannai graduated, and with Ning Qing also about to graduate, the talent gap at Ling'an Academy is quite severe.

By comparison, Yujing Academy is much more impressive; those participating in the off-campus Martial Body Association this year include at least two at the Seventh Stage and one at the Sixth Stage, and Song Rentou and Guan Bingxiang from Chen Shu's class have also reached the Fifth Stage one after another, a lineup that can be called the most luxurious in history, crushing Ling'an Academy in every aspect.

At this moment, the little girl had already stepped off the stage and came to her brother-in-law and sister with a series of small, quick steps.

Chen Shu revealed an expression of Surprise at the right moment:

"Xiaoxiao, you are actually this amazing?"

"!!"

The little girl felt extremely delighted inside, but she still had to keep a straight face, only nodding slightly and saying "mm" to maintain the image a cold and ruthless powerhouse should have.

Ning Qing watched them from the side without saying a word.