Afternoon, at the foot of the mountain.
With a soft thud, Yang Yunhai landed on his toes, the vine he used to descend trailing from the cliff above.
"It's secured. I tied it up tightly up there." He lifted his hand and passed the secured rope to Zhu Zhuqing.
"Thank you." She took the rope and tied it around her waist, then turned to face the cliff and began climbing.
"I should get started too." Watching Zhu Zhuqing climb higher, Yang Yunhai turned and walked toward the other side of the cliff. Once near, he stepped back about five meters, raised his right hand, bringing his middle and index fingers together. Soul power surged as arcs of lightning flickered at his fingertips.
"Discharge!" With a flick of his wrist, a thick arc of lightning shot out and struck the cliff with a _crack_, leaving behind a blackened mark.
Next, he spread his fingers as lightning surged again. Gradually, a thumb-sized golden lightning orb began to form in his palm, crackling and interwoven like a web of electricity.
After a few seconds, Yang Yunhai frowned slightly and tossed it out. _Boom!_ A bright explosion rang out across the rock face.
"My control is still lacking. I can't compress it much further," he murmured, then shook his head and walked toward a dense patch of Blue Silver Grass.
He sat cross-legged, summoned his martial soul, and channeled his soul power. Vines began to rise.
They wove, twisted, and stretched until eventually a thigh-thick, snake-like vine with a conical head and barbs all over its body formed, slithering up to settle behind Yang Yunhai's left shoulder.
It continuously coiled, twisted, and mimicked striking motions.
Half an hour later, another snake head emerged behind his right shoulder, slithering into place.
"Too bad my spiritual power isn't strong enough, and my control still lags. Otherwise, I could use my martial soul's energy storage capability to make these snake vines capable of independent combat." Opening his eyes, he looked around and sighed.
Time passed quickly. An hour later, a soft thud sounded from a distance.
Yang Yunhai turned his head and immediately frowned.
Zhu Zhuqing had reached the ground. She was slightly bent over, her right wrist braced against the stone wall, left arm hanging limply, and both legs trembling uncontrollably.
From afar, her palms appeared bloody, her temples were damp, and salt stains were faintly visible on her ears and neck.
She pushed herself this hard... Yang Yunhai quickly got up and bounded over to support her by the shoulder.
"I'm fine. Just need a little rest," Zhu Zhuqing said through clenched teeth.
"You're covered in blisters and still say you're fine." Yang Yunhai shook his head and began slowly injecting soul power into her body.
As he did so, he said, "Your body is completely exhausted right now. You can't sit down yet. Let me heal you with soul power and ease your muscles a bit. Then we'll walk around a little, and I'll carry you back to the cabin."
"Thank you," Zhu Zhuqing replied simply.
"No big deal." Yang Yunhai smiled and focused on healing her.
After a short while, he withdrew his hand and supported her as they walked back to the cabin. When they were close, he bent down, lifted her in his arms, and jogged the rest of the way.
Zhu Zhuqing didn't speak during the entire process. She just rested her head lightly on his shoulder.
Soon, they arrived. Yang Yunhai placed her in a chair inside the cabin.
"Rest here for a bit. Massage any sore spots. I'll come back later to heat water for your bath."
"Okay." Zhu Zhuqing gave a small nod, watching him leave.
A while later, her muscles felt a little better. She got up and stumbled to the window. From there, she saw Yang Yunhai wearing a short-sleeved shirt, lifting and squatting repeatedly with a nearly three-meter-long log in his arms. His movements were methodical and precise.
Seeing this, Zhu Zhuqing unconsciously bit her lip.
To grow stronger, strong enough to defy the fate forced upon her,this had always been her goal. But now, she realized she might not be trying hard enough. The gap between her and Yang Yunhai seemed to be widening.
With that thought, her hanging hands clenched tightly, and her eyes became more determined.
Half an hour later, the cabin door creaked open as Yang Yunhai returned.
He looked around and didn't see Zhu Zhuqing in the living room. Peeking into the room, he saw her sitting on the bed, eyes closed in meditation.
Smiling slightly, he didn't disturb her and went straight to the kitchen.
He lit a fire to cook and also set water to boil.
Two quarters of an hour later, carrying two large buckets of hot water, he knocked on Zhu Zhuqing's door.
"Zhuqing, the water's ready. I'll bring it in and pour it into the tub for you."
Zhu Zhuqing opened her eyes and slowly got up. "Thanks. Sorry to trouble you."
"No trouble." Yang Yunhai opened the door and carried the hot water to the bathroom.
Each room in this cabin, which had been built with help from the three deans, had a bathroom with a hand-dug well for water. But due to limitations, hot water had to be boiled manually and carried inside to mix with cold water for a bath.
As for adjusting the temperature,that was up to the person using it. He wasn't getting involved in that.
A short while later, he came out with the empty bucket, returned to the kitchen, and brought two more buckets for himself. After a hot bath, he changed clothes and went back to the kitchen, carrying the hot dishes to the dining table.
Soon, Zhu Zhuqing walked out wearing a loose black robe, her figure still visibly curvy.
They quietly finished dinner and returned to their rooms to cultivate.
The night passed uneventfully. The next morning, they woke up early and jogged to the training ground after eating breakfast made by Yang Yunhai. Once morning training ended, they returned to the cabin. After a short rest and lunch, they began a new round of afternoon training.
This time, having adapted from the first day, Zhu Zhuqing didn't appear as worn out.
Though her hands still developed blood blisters, with Yang Yunhai's healing, her body no longer felt as weak. After returning to the cabin and resting, she took the initiative to boil water and cook. Yang Yunhai would come back to find hot water ready for his bath. Of course, he still handled the cooking,Zhu Zhuqing was very aware of her own culinary skills and was willing to learn.
So, while Yang Yunhai cooked, she helped as his assistant.
Just like that, days passed quickly. A week flew by.
"I haven't seen Grandpa in days. Tianheng, he should be back at our Tian Dou City estate this afternoon. I'm going to visit him,do you want to come?" Dugu Yan asked Yu Tianheng after morning training.
"I'll pass." Yu Tianheng instinctively shrank back a bit.
"Is Grandpa really that scary?" Dugu Yan pouted in mock annoyance.
"Meeting the parents is scarier than training," Osler said gallantly, helping ease the mood.
Dugu Yan rolled her eyes but didn't argue.
Yang Yunhai said nothing, just waved to the others and left the training ground with Zhu Zhuqing.
Half an hour later, at a mansion in Tian Dou City,
"Grandpa, I'm back!" Dugu Yan cheerfully stepped in.
"So, anything interesting happen at the academy lately?" Dugu Bo asked as usual.
He'd been holed up in his secret herb garden and knew nothing about the city's happenings.
"There is one thing," Dugu Yan nodded. "A very impressive control-type soul master joined our team."
After days of training together, she had to admit that Yang Yunhai's control skills were remarkable. His personal combat power was overwhelming,strong enough to defeat any of their team members effortlessly.
"Oh?" Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow. "How impressive?"
For someone his proud granddaughter praised, he figured the guy must be something special.
"His name is Yang Yunhai, and he's..." Dugu Yan began to explain.
When she described the appearance of a certain bamboo shoot Yang Yunhai had mentioned, Dugu Bo was shocked.
"That sounds like the one growing in my herb garden!"
But upon hearing Yang Yunhai's cautious theory, his excitement turned to worry.
He had to admit,it made sense. The older he got, the more cautious he became. He couldn't risk eating something untested.
He had a treasure in hand, but it wasn't suitable for him. It was frustrating.
He also couldn't help but envy Yang Yunhai's luck.
The description matched exactly with the one in his garden, which meant the boy was telling the truth. After all, how could a common soul master know of such a rare item unless he truly found it by chance?
"What a lucky kid," Dugu Bo finally said.
"But he's worth getting to know. The boy is not only hardworking, but also thinks outside the box. Talking to people like that can help your own cultivation too." He smiled at his granddaughter.
Honestly, he'd never heard of anyone using the Blue Silver Grass martial soul in such creative ways.
Dugu Yan rolled her eyes. "I know, Grandpa."
"There's one more thing," she added. "One time in the dorm's common room..." She told him how Yang Yunhai had sensed something from her wrist and asked for poison. "Do you think... he sensed something?"
"He's just a kid who doesn't even recognize herbs. What could he possibly sense?" Dugu Bo scoffed.
If a kid like that could detect poison and even find a way to extract it, then what did his decades of studying poison amount to?
"True." Dugu Yan nodded, then added in a soft voice, "Honestly, I kind of hope he succeeds."
Dugu Bo fell silent. Thinking of the pain his granddaughter had endured over the years made his heart ache, though he smiled on the outside.
"Well, if he pulls it off, come tell me. I'll go test it out myself."
"Better not. If anyone's going, it should be me. You might scare him," Dugu Yan muttered.
"Suit yourself," Dugu Bo replied casually. He didn't believe Blue Silver Grass could absorb poison anyway.
Absorbing soul power was one thing. Absorbing poison? That was something else entirely.
"Enough of that. We finally have time together. Let's enjoy a good meal tonight."
"Of course! I already told Instructor Qin Ming and Tianheng,I'm not going back to the dorm tonight."
If you want to read 40 advanced chapters and 3 new chapters daily, please subscribe to my : patreon.com/Moorowkeel