After a while, Lin Jie opened his eyes, a faint smile appearing on his face. He could clearly feel his strength had increased again, and that filled him with satisfaction.
As he looked around, he happened to catch Liu Erlong gazing at him. Lin Jie smiled and walked over to her.
Liu Erlong hurriedly averted her eyes the moment Lin Jie opened his. But when she saw his smile, she couldn't help but glance back. Somehow, she felt that Lin Jie had become more and more... charming?
"Erlong-jie, what are you looking at?" Lin Jie teased.
"Nothing," Liu Erlong replied a bit guiltily, shaking her head. She certainly couldn't admit she'd been staring at him absentmindedly. Just realizing she'd been so distracted made her cheeks flush faintly red.
Lin Jie sat down next to her without a hint of reservation. He leaned closer, their faces only about ten centimeters apart, and playfully squinted as if scrutinizing her face.
Liu Erlong didn't move away, showing she'd long grown used to Lin Jie's bold closeness.
Lin Jie observed her intently: flowing black hair like clouds, a smooth forehead like white jade, gently curved eyebrows, eyes like autumn water, a high and elegant nose, lips bright red and delicate, and a soft, rounded chin—she was truly stunning. As he stared at her faintly blushing cheeks, an inexplicable impulse to kiss her surged within him.
At that moment, Tang San happened to walk toward them from the direction of the cabin. Due to the angle, he didn't see how close Lin Jie's face was to Liu Erlong's—he simply thought Lin Jie was helping her with something. Without thinking too much, he called out, "Vice Dean Erlong, Lin Jie, what are you two doing...?"
Just before that, Liu Erlong had been entranced, watching Lin Jie get closer and closer. But Tang San's voice snapped her back to reality, and her already red cheeks deepened several shades.
Lin Jie, too, noticed Tang San approaching and responded quickly. He reached up, placing a hand gently on Liu Erlong's forehead. "Oh, Erlong-jie got some sand in her eyes. I was helping her blow it out," he explained smoothly. Then, changing the subject, he said, "Right, Tang San—done talking with Uncle Ning?"
Tang San, having no suspicions, nodded. "Yeah, we've finished discussing everything."
Not long after, Dai Mubai and the others, who had been training inside the cabin, heard the voices outside and came out to greet Tang San.
"Little San, you're back!" Dai Mubai greeted him with a big grin.
"Mm." Tang San nodded lightly.
Soon, everyone was chatting happily again.
Just then, Yu Xiaogang walked into the clearing. When he saw his disciple laughing and talking with the others, the stiffness on his face softened a little. Ever since Liu Erlong had clearly broken things off with him a few days ago, he hadn't looked very well. He should have been relieved, but somehow, the more he thought about it, the worse he felt.
Still, today's victory in the tournament had lifted his spirits somewhat. But as he looked at Tang San, a new concern surfaced. Although Tang San was currently a rank 38 Spirit Master, his control of Spirit Power still wasn't very refined. He was burning through energy too quickly. What's more, he had twin Martial Souls. Once his second Martial Soul began to accumulate Spirit Rings, the rate of Spirit Power consumption would only skyrocket.
So today, Yu Xiaogang came here with a specific purpose in mind.
He remembered that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan possessed a unique technique called Heart Separation Control, a secret skill not passed to outsiders. But for Tang San's sake, he wanted to speak with Ning Rongrong—see if she'd be willing to teach it to him.
"Teacher!" Tang San called out excitedly upon seeing Yu Xiaogang.
"Grandmaster," Dai Mubai and the others greeted respectfully.
Yu Xiaogang nodded. "Don't mind me. You all go ahead and rest. I came to speak with Tang San about something."
Then he turned to his disciple. "Little San, come with me."
Without hesitation, Tang San followed him to a more secluded spot near the cabin.
Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu were still inside cultivating, and Dai Mubai and the others returned indoors. A slightly flustered Liu Erlong left in a hurry as well, her face still tinged with pink.
That left only Lin Jie and Ning Rongrong alone on the grassy clearing.
"Rongrong, what level have you reached in your Heart Separation Control training?" Lin Jie asked casually.
Ning Rongrong smiled and proudly held up two fingers. "Second level! What about you?"
Lin Jie grinned. "Same as you. Second level."
"You've already reached the second stage too? I thought I was progressing fast," she pouted.
The two continued chatting for a while. Not long after, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San returned from their conversation. Whatever they discussed seemed to weigh on Tang San's mind—his face was solemn.
Yu Xiaogang had just talked to Tang San about the issues in his cultivation, particularly his energy inefficiency. He also expressed his hope that Tang San could learn Heart Separation Control to improve his Spirit Power usage. Tang San was silent. He knew everything Yu Xiaogang said was true—but as someone who came from Tang Sect, he deeply understood the concept of guarding one's core techniques. Letting someone else learn a sect's foundational skills was a huge matter.
If someone wanted to learn Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Skill or Purple Demon Eye, they'd either have to become a full member—or risk Tang Sect's wrath.
Likewise, if Tang San were asked to teach these techniques to outsiders, even to his friends at Shrek, he wouldn't agree unless they formally joined a new Tang Sect under his leadership. But by then, they would have missed their best cultivation window.
Now Yu Xiaogang approached Ning Rongrong and said, "Rongrong, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. Can we talk in private?"
"Grandmaster, can't you just say it here? Lin Jie isn't an outsider," she said, puzzled.
"This..." Yu Xiaogang hesitated.
"It's fine, Grandmaster. Go ahead. I really don't consider Lin Jie an outsider."
Lin Jie glanced at Tang San's face and already guessed what this was about. Sure enough, Yu Xiaogang continued, "Then I'll get straight to the point. Rongrong, if I recall correctly, your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan has a technique called Heart Separation Control, right? What level have you reached in your training?"
Ning Rongrong blinked. After glancing at Lin Jie and getting a silent nod, she replied, "I've just reached the second stage—Four Aperture Constant Heart. Why do you ask?"
As expected, Yu Xiaogang had come here to ask her to teach this secret technique to Tang San. Lin Jie could only shake his head with a smile. Yu Xiaogang really would do anything for his disciple—he even had his eyes on a top clan's secret art.