Miss Fairy, Please Hear Me Out

Day by day, Xu Yuan grew increasingly skilled in using the Blood Origin Heartfall Art. For those who cultivated qi, combat truly tested the mind. They needed the kind of calm that did not change even if Mount Tai collapsed right in front of them.

At the very least, they could not be scared stiff by a jump scare the second a door opened. The situation in battle changed in the blink of an eye, and qi cultivators had to drive their source qi through specific meridians according to their techniques in order to cast their skills.

At his current low level of strength, it was not too bad. But once his cultivation rose, some complicated moves would become much less forgiving. If he circulated his qi through the wrong meridian while performing them, the enemy might not even need to attack. He would just suffer qi deviation and explode himself first.

Xu Yuan’s current practical training was mainly aimed at overcoming this. Maintaining elegance under pressure. For example, right now.

At the edge of the martial platform, Xu Yuan’s arms, which had been guarding his torso, were knocked apart by the burly woman across from him with a clever burst of force. His centerline was instantly wide open. Before he could adjust, a whip kick tore through the air toward the head of this Third Young Master.

With Zhou Chen watching from the side, these eighth rank guards no longer held back at all. In that split second, the Blood Origin Heartfall Art circulated at high speed. With a surge of blood-colored source qi, a thin, blood-red mirror condensed beside Xu Yuan’s head.

Just like the Ice Cloud Steps in Ran Qingmo’s cultivation art, the Blood Mirror was one of the defensive skills available at the eighth rank of the Blood Origin Heartfall Art.

The next instant, the woman’s long, corded leg slammed heavily into the Blood Mirror.

CRACK! With a crisp sound, the tremendous force carried by her leg directly caused the Blood Mirror that Xu Yuan had just condensed to splinter rapidly.

Before the woman could launch her next attack, source qi surged around Xu Yuan, and several blood-colored mirrors condensed into being.

The woman steadied her breathing and focused her mind, throwing several heavy, forceful punches in succession. Yet every one of them was blocked by those strange Blood Mirrors. She could not harm the Third Young Master in the slightest.

Seeing the scene before him, Xu Yuan felt an inexplicable thrill rise in his chest. After nearly a month of brawling with this bunch of muscle monsters, he finally looked a little like a proper spell-slinging qi cultivator.

Now this is what freaking cultivation is supposed to be! The thought had only just appeared when his extended soul sense suddenly picked up a pulse of dread.

Triple Pole Collapse. The burly woman’s left arm suddenly bulged with blue veins, and she stomped forward hard.

With a bang, the specially made stone slab beneath her foot caved in. Immediately after, a suffocating punch blasted toward the Blood Mirror in front of Xu Yuan’s chest.

Seeing this, Grandmaster Zhou lowered his eyelids and yawned.

The martial apprentices and guards watching nearby all showed varying degrees of astonishment.

She dared use a martial skill on the Third Young Master? Was she insane?

Xu Yuan hurriedly gathered his focus and circulated his skill with all his might.

CRACK! With a sharp sound, the first Blood Mirror shattered like paper. Then came the second, the third, the fourth. After being weakened layer by layer by the little blood-red mirrors, the woman’s fist finally stopped just short of Xu Yuan’s chest.

For one instant, everything fell still.

BANG! A blood-colored burst of force shot out through the air and struck the burly woman in the lower abdomen. Drained of strength, she was sent flying straight off the martial platform.

Xu Yuan stood alone on the platform and briefly savored the feeling from that exchange. If his source qi reserves had not far surpassed those martial apprentices, he might have capsized right there. In this world, he was not the only person with techniques and martial skills.

At that thought, Xu Yuan let out a soft sigh and said in a low voice, “Continue. Next.”

Once he gradually broke away from close-quarters brawling, Xu Yuan’s actual combat ability immediately shot up by a whole octave. But precisely because of that, the guards also stopped relying solely on fists and feet. Whenever they found an opening, they threw all sorts of martial skills straight at Xu Yuan’s head.

Still, the Blood Origin Heartfall Art truly lived up to its Blood-tier. It was powerful, strange, and wickedly hard to deal with.

CRASH! After knocking a burly man off the platform, Xu Yuan was just about to continue when he noticed that beside the stage, apart from Su Jinxuan, who had been coming by every day to watch him train, there was now another graceful figure, Ying’er.

Xu Yuan stopped. He turned to the crowd and said, “Everyone who went up just now gets one Bone Tempering Pill,”

Then, he jumped down from the platform. When he reached Ying’er, Xu Yuan asked, “What is it?”

Ying’er handed him a small booklet and said softly, “This is the secret art Lady Lou Ji prepared for you.”

“So fast?” Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow. He took it, gave the precious secret art a rough look, then put it away into his Sumeru ring. “Anything else?”

“Yes.” Ying’er nodded and said in a low voice, “The Eldest Young Master has already arrived in Dawnseal. He should reach Stillwater in a few days.”

“Is that so.” Xu Yuan felt slightly more at ease.

Judging by the timing, Qin Mo should be coming out of that secret realm dungeon soon as well. Maybe he would even have the chance to bring his big brother along and block this plot protagonist’s path.

After finishing her brief report, Ying’er did not wait for Xu Yuan to speak. Her figure flashed, and she vanished outright.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan clicked his tongue.

Over these past few days, Ying’er’s attitude toward him had changed quite a bit, but overall, she still was not very obedient. Now, every time he wanted to take a swing at her, she would dodge without leaving a trace.

As for that Si Ziyu, Xu Yuan had barely seen the man at all these days.

In the end, Zhou Chen was still the most down-to-earth. A Grandmaster, yet he followed behind Xu Yuan every day like an attendant and did not seem the least bit embarrassed about it.

The thought made Xu Yuan smile faintly. He had no intention of continuing his training, so he turned his eyes toward the two women beneath the long corridor beside the training ground, Su Jinxuan in plain white robes, and the maid assigned to attend her.

Ever since they reached their agreement, Su Jinxuan had been permitted to move freely around the vast Xu estate.

Recently, every afternoon, this woman would come here to watch him train. She did not speak either. Every time he finished on his end, Su Jinxuan would leave as well.

Today was no exception. Seeing that Xu Yuan had stopped training, the two graceful figures over there rose and headed out of the courtyard.

Xu Yuan hesitated briefly, then for the first time chose to follow.

“What is it?” Su Jinxuan’s voice was rather cool.

Because Xu Yuan had been diligently draining her every night, her complexion was not exactly rosy. There was a faint, sickly fragility to her now. The bewitching spores could condense on their own, but that speed ultimately could not keep up with Xu Yuan’s devouring.

Xu Yuan said nothing. He only glanced at the little maid beside her.

The maid immediately bowed and sensibly withdrew to a spot more than ten meters away.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan pointed at the stone path ahead, indicating that they should walk while they talked.

Su Jinxuan gave a slight nod.

The Xu residence really was enormous. Once they left the cluster of courtyards where the servants lived, what greeted them was a stretch of tranquil wetlands and lakes.

The winter breeze blowing across the lake was a little cool against the face, lifting the long hair that spilled down her back.

Sometimes, Xu Yuan cursed at the wildly popular game’s planners for having dog brains, but he absolutely could not question the art team’s nose for what people liked.

The clothing in this world was not as bulky as ancient clothing from his previous life. It carried a touch of modern tailoring, with a slim, graceful beauty. Beneath the plain white robes, the woman’s elegant curves could still be faintly seen.

Amid the quiet, Xu Yuan broke the silence. “You don’t need to come to my room tonight.”

Su Jinxuan turned her eyes toward him, somewhat surprised. “Why?”

Xu Yuan shrugged. He had to care about sustainable development. “You’ve been getting weaker and weaker over the past half month. Rest for a few days before we continue.”

At that, a smile of unclear meaning appeared in Su Jinxuan’s beautiful eyes. “Then I shall give my thanks to the Third Young Master for his tender concern.”

Xu Yuan gave a soft laugh. “Su Jinxuan, you should just call me Xu Changtian. Hearing you call me Third Young Master every other sentence gives me the creeps.”

“Fine.” The corner of Su Jinxuan’s lips curved slightly, and she agreed quite readily. “Did you need anything else from me?”

Xu Yuan looked out over the shimmering lake. “You’ve been watching me train these past few days?”

When they cultivated at night, the two of them basically said nothing. He would enter the room. The bewitching spores would attach. He would refine them. Then once he was finished, he would leave.

By tacit agreement, neither of them had ever mentioned it.

Su Jinxuan lowered her beautiful eyes, wanting to look at the tips of her toes, but unable to see them. “I had nothing to do, so I wandered around.”

Xu Yuan did not mind and asked casually, “After watching for so many days, how do you think my strength compares to Qin Mo’s?”

Su Jinxuan froze at that. She glanced sideways at Xu Yuan, her voice carrying a teasing note. “Xu Changtian, are you jealous?”

Xu Yuan was rendered briefly speechless. “Interpret it however you like. Maybe I am.”

Su Jinxuan laughed softly. After thinking back for a moment, she answered very seriously. “Mhm... I don’t know whether he can defeat a seventh rank opponent above his realm, but among those of the same rank, he should be invincible. If you faced him now, you would probably die in the first exchange.”