"Heh-heh, we were just a little worried,"
"After all, that's a hundred-thousand-year soul bone. It's better to be safe than sorry."
Yan chuckled awkwardly, scratching his cheek.
"Don't worry, Teacher Ying won't treat us like that,"
Wang Zhong reassured him and then asked,
"Nana, Xie Yue, Yan, what are your current levels?"
"I'm level fifteen."
"Me too, level fifteen."
"I'm level fourteen, but I'll be level fifteen soon."
Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan reported their spirit power levels. While not as astonishing as Wang Zhong's eight-level increase, advancing three to four levels in half a year was still considered genius-level progress.
"Is that so? Then you'll all have to work hard these five years. For the four of us to defeat Teacher Ying, we'll need an average level of at least forty to stand a chance."
"With your talent, you'll reach that easily."
Wang Zhong nodded, indicating his understanding, and then encouraged them with a smile.
Seeing Wang Zhong's cheerful face, Hu Liena pursed her lips.
Reaching level thirty in five years sounded achievable with their current progress of three to four levels in half a year, but the reality was far more complex.
There would be five challenge matches against Ying Yanyang within five years, and Wang Zhong had to win at least three of them to claim the soul bone. This meant he could only afford to lose two matches, and all subsequent ones had to be victories.
In two years, reaching level thirty would require an average increase of at least fifteen levels of spirit power per year. Currently, only Wang Zhong was even close to achieving this.
Hu Liena understood this, but she didn't expose Wang Zhong's seemingly casual remark. He had always been the type to shoulder burdens and strive alone, never one to share pressure with his companions.
"Alright, no more talk."
"You all do your best. I'm going to cultivate."
Leaping up from the sofa, Wang Zhong stretched and walked towards the door as he spoke.
"No way, you just beat Lu Xiaoshuang, and you're already going to cultivate again?"
Xie Yue expressed his shock. Usually, after such a significant challenge and victory, one would celebrate and relax. Yet, after only a few minutes of rest, he was heading back to the monotonous grind of training.
"Of course, one can't slack off in cultivation at all."
"If you don't work hard, others will surpass you. Even with great talent, without effort, it's just potential that cannot be converted into tangible results; it's useless."
Wang Zhong waved his hand at the others behind him, answering casually without slowing his pace.
In the hall, Xie Yue and Yan exchanged glances and shrugged helplessly. Hu Liena, however, stared blankly at Wang Zhong's retreating back.
It wasn't until Xie Yue called her name several times that she snapped back to reality, asking dazedly, "Brother, what were you saying?"
Xie Yue could only sigh and repeat himself.
"I was asking if Wang Zhong might be overworking himself with his cultivation. The teachers have told us more than once that training should be balanced with rest to maximize our improvement."
"But Wang Zhong seems to only have the 'work' and no 'rest.' Isn't that not good?"
Hu Liena shook her head, denying it. "Brother, it's fine. Zhong told me that his two soul skills are designed to push his own potential to the absolute limit."
"Besides, Zhong often eats a lot of those super-nourishing ingredients, also because of those two soul skills."
Hearing Hu Liena mention this, Xie Yue suddenly exclaimed with longing in his eyes.
"Nana, has Wang Zhong taught you his cultivation soul skills?"
"We want to learn them too. Those soul skills are incredibly powerful."
The moment he asked, Hu Liena's face turned crimson. Angrily, she shouted,
"If you want to learn, why don't you ask Zhong? Why are you asking me?"
Without waiting for Xie Yue to react to her outburst, she stomped upstairs, moving as fast as if she were fleeing.
"I did ask him! But every time, that guy Wang Zhong would get this very serious and earnest expression and mumble something I couldn't understand at all!"
Thinking back, Xie Yue was bewildered. Yan was equally confused.
They had both asked, but received different answers. Yet, Wang Zhong insisted that these were the methods. If they hadn't grown up together and known his personality, they might have suspected he was just fobbing them off.
"Yan, do you know what 'Nindō' means? And do you know what chakra is?"
Xie Yue furrowed his brow, his nose wrinkling as he recalled Wang Zhong's past words.
"I don't know that."
"Then Xie Yue, do you know what a Zanpakutō is? Wang Zhong said that only by awakening something like that can one cultivate his soul skills."
Yan also recalled a past conversation with Wang Zhong, his expression troubled.
"Zanpakutō, a weapon-type spirit? But Wang Zhong's spirit is a tree, right? Then how can he cultivate it!"
"Yeah, I don't understand either!"
They looked at each other and simultaneously started scratching their heads.
What in the world were they talking about?
Meanwhile, Hu Liena, who had darted back to her room, slammed the door shut and leaned against it, her face burning like fire.
Recalling the time she asked Wang Zhong if he could teach her those soul skills, his serious and earnest expression and tone made her feel unbearably shy every time she remembered it.
"Zhong, what are you doing?"
"Me? I'm cultivating two self-created soul skills."
"Self-created soul skills! Can I cultivate them with you?"
"Sure, of course. But Nana, cultivating these two soul skills is very painful."
"It's okay, as long as I can get stronger, I can endure anything."
"Alright then, I'll teach you! Here's what we'll do: I'll first teach you some cultivation methods and techniques related to these two soul skills. After that, you just need to cultivate diligently."
"Nana, do you know this! I really like you!"
...
The air froze for a moment. Hu Liena thought she had misheard and asked again in a daze,
"Zhong... what... what did you just say!"
"Really, Nana, I really like you! Really, really, really..."
He repeated "really" several times, making Hu Liena's head spin. When she finally came to her senses, she shamefully covered her face and fled,
shouting, "Wang Zhong, you dummy, dummy..."
After that incident, she didn't speak to Wang Zhong for several days, not out of anger, but because she was too shy to face him.
After locking the door, Hu Liena threw herself onto the soft bed, burying her face in the plush pillow. Her small legs kicked frantically in the air. The delicate, exquisite earlobes exposed were now a bright red, incredibly cute.
A bashful maiden, innocent and beautiful, would endear herself to all. But this maiden's heart already belonged to someone, and could no longer hold anyone else.