Ye Yong quickly stood up and walked over, taking out a pot of cooked spirit rice and giving it all to Wu Xue. “I didn’t expect you to be so hungry today.”
“Not just me. Maybe because Lil Huan succeeded in forging her physique, she also ate a lot.”
“I’m not! I didn’t! You’re lying!” Lil Huan’s cry came from inside the room. As a girl, it was embarrassing for her that someone talked about how she could eat so much in front of her idol.
“Anyways, eat until you’re full.” Ye Yong pinched Wu Xue’s face. He wouldn’t blame her for breaking the good atmosphere. Lil Huan’s physique forging meant her physical fitness surpassed that of ordinary people, so her appetite must be larger than an ordinary person. Wu Xue was already able to eat a lot. Both were little foodies. The food not being enough was his fault.
Of course, the most important thing was that Ye Yong didn’t expect Qin Shi Meng to make such a move voluntarily, and she didn’t even refuse his request.
Ye Yong also noticed that Qin Shi Meng’s favorability rating for him had risen from 94 to 96, and her state had changed from [Confused] to [Like].
As expected of Empress Qin. Like is like, hate is hate. Very straightforward.
Wu Xue didn’t know what had happened. She looked at Qin Shi Meng and Ye Yong a few times and entered the room with suspicion.
Ye Yong also returned to his seat, and Qin Shi Meng still had her back to him, eating white rice little by little. The atmosphere in the living room was silent and slightly awkward.
After thinking for a moment, Ye Yong decided to change the subject to fix the atmosphere and said, “Shi Meng, do you think that calling me Brother Yong is more like something between siblings?”
“I’m not sure…” Qin Shi Meng had never had friends, so she didn’t know how to call her friends without sounding distant. And the friend she had made now was someone she really cared about, and she seemed to have fallen in love with him, so she didn’t know how to address him.
“You can try calling me by one word. Ye or Yong.”
“Um.” Qin Shi Meng pondered for a moment and turned her head to look at Ye Yong sneakily. “Then… Yong?”
“Sure.” Actually, Ye Yong didn’t care about how he was addressed at all; he just wanted to find a topic to talk about.
“Did you already break through to the Crystallization Realm?” Qin Shi Meng asked, also trying to look for a topic. One-sided enthusiasm would not work out. Only when two people approached each other could there be a possibility for the future.
Ye Yong could feel that Qin Shi Meng was trying hard, so he smiled and said, “My physique is special, so it will take some more time to break through to the Crystallization Realm.”
“Is there something missing? Like pills?”
“No no no.” Ye Yong felt like vomiting at the mention of pills. He just wanted to break through to the Crystallization Realm as soon as possible, as when the time game, he would have other options, like spiritual fluids.
Because the spiritual energy in Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators wasn’t crystallized, it was difficult for them to absorb high-concentration spiritual fluids. And the price of spiritual fluids is higher than that of beyond-grade Spirit Gathering Pills, so Ye Yong wouldn’t waste transcend points on spiritual fluids just because he was tired of consuming pills. “When the time is right, I will naturally break through.”
Qin Shi Meng saw pain in Ye Yong’s eyes and suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable in her chest. A genius doesn’t always have a smooth journey; he must have some unspeakable difficulties. “Whatever you need, just tell me. I can help you.”
Ye Yong knew that Qin Shi Meng had misunderstood him and thought he was stuck at a bottleneck and lacked cultivation materials. But it was actually his cultivation level that was bugged. He couldn’t explain that he was feeling uncomfortable because he had taken too many beyond-grade pills, so he just smiled bitterly and said, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
Qin Shi Meng still cared a lot, but since Ye Yong didn’t say what the problem was, she couldn’t do anything about it. She could only emphasize that if there was trouble, he could find her.
Ye Yong’s trouble was something no one could solve, and he didn’t want Qin Shi Meng to worry too much, so he changed the topic. “What’s your cultivation level now? How much of the sword technique have you understood?”
“A few days ago, I accidentally broke through to the 3rd layer of the Crystallization Realm while comprehending the sword technique. I’ve completely understood the beginning part of the sword technique and reached the entry level, and obtained Golden Core Realm sword intent. To others, Qin Shi Meng claimed that she had only just broken through to the Crystallization Realm and hid it well, but she had no reservations with Ye Yong.
“Speaking of sword intent, I heard about the battle at the Sword Pavilion Hall. You should have mastered more than Golden Core Realm sword intent and obtained Nascent Soul Realm sword intent, right?”
In the same way that Qin Shi Meng had no reservations with Ye Yong, Ye Yong had no reservations with Qin Shi Meng. “Yes, I got pretty lucky.”
Qin Shi Meng didn’t think this was luck. She believed it was due to Ye Yong’s comprehension and hard work, and that he was just being modest.
“After dinner, let’s take a small break and have a spar, shall we?” Ye Yong was now at the 13th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm. He didn’t have anyone else to spar with in the sect where he could use his true strength.
“Very well.” Qin Shi Meng was very interested in this proposal. She wanted to know more about Ye Yong and his true strength.
At this moment, the atmosphere had completely returned to normal. Ye Yong did not ask Qin Shi Meng to feed him anything else, because if he forced the issue after the moment had passed, it would only ruin the mood. Being too hasty was a big no-no.
…
Half an hour later.
Wu Xue and Lil Huan knew that Ye Yong and Qin Shi Meng were going out to spar, so they didn’t follow. Instead, they rushed to clean up the dishes and do the housework.
Ye Yong brought Qin Shi Meng to the Bamboo Lotus Forest.
The Bamboo and Lotus Forest had a unique charm at night. The moon was reflected in the water, and the gentle breeze caused the lotus flowers to sway, creating ripples that blurred the moonlight.
Because the Bamboo Lotus Forest had a spacious open space and was relatively far from where the disciples of the Music and Art Hall lived, it was suitable for training and sparring. However, sword cultivation was a combat profession, and sparring inevitably brought about environmental damage.
Fortunately, Ye Yong had purchased basic formation knowledge when he saved the male fox (that he doesn’t expect repayment from) at the Spirit Phantom Mountain, so he could break or set up common level 2 formations.
So, he opened the system store, bought some materials for setting up formations, and used existing spiritual stones as the energy source to create a level 2 defense formation around the area.
“……” Qin Shi Meng didn’t know what to say when she saw Ye Yong start messing around with formations. Every time she thought she had begun to understand him more, he would do something amazing again.
Formation was the second most difficult of the Six Arts, and it was impossible to learn without talent. Speaking of the Six Arts, the most difficult one, spirit food, was also “mastered by Ye Yong”. Qin Shi Meng believed that the spiritual dishes they ate were all made by Ye Yong.
For a person to achieve so much, just how much talent would they need to have, and how much effort would they need to put in?
In Qin Shi Meng’s eyes, Ye Yong became even more mysterious- and the more mysterious he was, the more she wanted to understand him.
…
Level 2 defensive formations weren’t difficult to set up, but Ye Yong needed to set up a large range so they wouldn’t be constrained during the fight later, so it took some time.
After he finished, Qin Shi Meng came over and handed him a handkerchief.
Setting up the formation required spiritual power, and the larger the range, the more spiritual power was consumed. Ye Yong was sweating a bit.
There was no one around, so it was another opportunity. Ye Yong wouldn’t actively ask Qin Shi Meng to do anything, but he could change the way they interacted based on her initiative.
Without reaching out to take it, Ye Yong looked elsewhere.
Qin Shi Meng understood quickly, and she lightly blushed. After hesitating for a moment, she gently wiped the sweat off Ye Yong’s forehead with the handkerchief.
The handkerchief was made of soft material and carried Qin Shi Meng’s fragrance, making Ye Yong inexplicably want to lean over and take a deep breath, but fortunately, he was able to hold back.
The two didn’t speak, and although the atmosphere was a bit awkward, it more so contained the ripple of fastening heartbeats of a man and woman.