DS 11

Chapter – 11

An Impertinent Request

After emerging from the waterfall, the little white tiger finally stopped running around everywhere. That lotus flower was probably the last spiritual herb it had to give Li Yu.

To repay its kindness, Li Yu caught three wild chickens and two rabbits, roasted them, and offered them to the tiger. He watched as it wolfed them down until its belly was round and taut.

A short while later, on the grassy bank by the stream, Li Yu cradled the little white tiger—which he pretended was a cat—in his arms, kneading its soft, plush body while mulling over his next plans.

The incense burner mark on his chest clearly held a great secret, but it was one far beyond his current ability to unravel.

Three priceless spiritual herbs had been drained dry by it. Although Li Yu felt the sting of loss, he hadn’t walked away empty-handed either. While others got the meat, he’d at least managed to get a sip of the broth. If he wasn’t mistaken, both his Wood Meridian and Water Meridian had now been opened.

For a first-layer Qi Condensation cultivator like Li Yu, his actual combat strength had effectively quadrupled.

Of course, opening two additional meridians wasn’t just about having extra acupoints to store spiritual energy—it meant he could now cultivate two more types of cultivation arts. Down the line, he could also gain a Thunder attribute and a Wind attribute.

However, for now, Li Yu only had a basic Fire-attribute cultivation art, which he’d received when he first arrived at the White Cloud Temple. Upon entry, every new disciple had been given a set of basic cultivation arts suited to their own attributes. Li Yu remembered that Jiang Li was Water-attributed, while Senior Sister Zhou was Wood-attributed…

At the White Cloud Temple, if you wanted to obtain cultivation arts of other attributes beyond your own, you had to exchange spirit coins for them. A single art cost dozens of spirit coins—an amount Li Yu could afford, but there was really no need.

—

**Night.**

**White Cloud Temple.**

In one of the rooms, Zhou Zixuan had just finished bathing and was about to go to sleep when a knock suddenly sounded at the door.

She asked, somewhat puzzled, “Who is it?”

A voice came from outside: “Senior Sister Zhou, it’s me.”

A moment later, the door opened from inside. Zhou Zixuan looked curiously at Li Yu, who was standing at the threshold, and asked, “It’s so late, Junior Brother Li—is there something you need?”

On the verge of sleep, she was only wearing a thin outer garment, her hair casually tied up. Since she’d just bathed, her hair was still damp, clinging to her temples, adding an extra touch of allure to her already pretty face.

Li Yu hadn’t expected to see Senior Sister Zhou like this and froze for a moment.

In both lives, he’d been surrounded mostly by men. He rarely interacted with women and had never seen such a scene. His instincts got the better of him, and he stole a few extra glances.

Noticing Li Yu’s gaze—fixed on her so blatantly—Zhou Zixuan blushed slightly and tugged at her collar, murmuring, “J-Junior Brother Li, is there something you need?”

Li Yu snapped back to reality, remembering he was here on serious business. Clearing his throat, he said, “Coming to see you so late, Senior Sister Zhou, I do have an impertinent request…”

Zhou Zixuan smiled faintly and said, “What is it, Junior Brother? Just tell me.”

Li Yu thought for a moment and said, “This might be a bit presumptuous, but I hope Senior Sister Zhou won’t tell a third person. Let it be known only to heaven and earth, and to you and me…”

The White Cloud Temple had a rule strictly forbidding the unauthorized transmission of cultivation arts, on pain of expulsion. Although there was no explicit rule about disciples sharing arts among themselves, it was still best to be cautious and avoid giving others ammunition.

“Presumptuous…” “Known only to you and me…” “Let heaven and earth know…”

Zhou Zixuan stared at Li Yu, frozen for a moment, and then her expression shifted.

*Late at night. A man and a woman alone. An impertinent visit. Known only to heaven and earth, to you and me.* How could this *not* invite wild speculation? And looking at Li Yu—disheveled clothes, messy hair—was he perhaps…

Although she did have feelings for him, and he’d saved her life, wasn’t this—wasn’t this moving too fast?

—

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—

As if picturing certain scenes, Zhou Zixuan’s face flushed crimson. She twisted her hands together and spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, “Th-this… this probably isn’t appropriate…”

*Women really are unreliable.* Just yesterday she’d said that if he ever needed anything, she definitely wouldn’t refuse. Now he was only asking to borrow a basic cultivation art, not asking her to pledge herself to him—and before he’d even finished speaking, she was already getting all shy and hesitant…

Li Yu had no choice but to assure her: “Senior Sister Zhou, don’t worry. I absolutely won’t tell anyone that you lent me a cultivation art…”

“G-give me a little time. I’m not prepared yet…” Zhou Zixuan lowered her head, cheeks burning. Then her body jolted, and she looked up in surprise. “Ah? A cultivation art?”

—

A moment later, Li Yu happily tucked a small booklet into his robe, waved at Zhou Zixuan, and said, “Thank you, Senior Sister Zhou! I’ll return it soon…”

Zhou Zixuan stood dazedly at the door, watching Li Yu’s figure disappear into the night, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

By then, Li Yu had already returned to his own room and opened the basic Wood-attribute cultivation art he’d gotten from Senior Sister Zhou.

The art he himself practiced was called the *Blazing Flame Art*—a basic Fire-attribute technique. It recorded a few minor Fire-attribute spells and briefly mentioned spells from other schools, such as Water Sphere, Vine Entanglement, Sandstorm, and so on…

Fire-attributed magical power could actually be used to cast spells from other schools, but they would only be about fifty to sixty percent as effective as using the corresponding elemental power. The same was true for using other elements to cast Fire spells.

The art Senior Sister Zhou practiced was called the *Evergreen Art*. It contained more Wood-attribute spells and touched upon spells from other elements as well. The biggest difference between the two manuals lay in their meridian diagrams.

The *Blazing Flame Art* only marked the seventy-two acupoints of the Fire Meridian on its human meridian chart, while the *Evergreen Art* only marked the Wood Meridian. Li Yu’s guess had been correct—the green herb earlier had opened an acupoint called *Dadun*, which was the first acupoint of the human Wood Meridian.

Following that logic, the lotus flower must have opened his Water Meridian.

As for a basic Water-attribute cultivation art, Jiang Li had one. There was no need to be polite with Senior Sister Zhou—and with Jiang Li, there was no need at all. Everyone at the White Cloud Temple knew that Li Yu and Jiang Li were thick as thieves.

Jiang Li’s room was right next door.

Li Yu stepped outside and noticed that the light in Jiang Li’s room was still on. But when he reached the door, he found it bolted from the inside.

“Locking the door in the middle of the night, huh…” Li Yu muttered to himself. He channeled that trace of Wood-attributed magical power, and a slender vine sprouted from the door bolt, manipulating it open.

Li Yu thought to himself: *Wood-attributed magical power might not be the strongest offensively, but it’s definitely top-tier for lock-picking.*

He pushed the door open with ease. Jiang Li’s room was filled with rising steam, making it hard to see more than a few feet ahead. Li Yu stepped inside and couldn’t help but say, “What the hell are you up to so late at night, you little—”

His gaze cut through the swirling mist and locked eyes with a person sitting in a wooden bathtub. Both of them were stunned.

All he saw was a stretch of pale white. Li Yu’s first instinct was to cover his eyes, and he immediately blurted out, “Sorry, Junior Sister! Wrong room!”

He turned and bolted for the door, but then stopped in his tracks.

*This junior sister’s… proportions… though nowhere near as generous as Senior Sister Zhou’s, were still there. That was the key evidence Li Yu used to determine her gender.* He couldn’t have gone to the wrong room. His first thought was: *That rascal Jiang Li has been hiding his depth all along—he’s already hooked up with a female disciple in the temple so fast…*

But wait—why did her face look so much like Jiang Li’s?

*Had he seen wrong? Had that kid secretly been training his pectoral muscles behind his back?*

*Not sure. Let me take another look…*

Thinking this, Li Yu glanced back. The moment he turned his head, several water spheres came hurtling toward his face, accompanied by a flustered, furious female voice:

“*Still looking!*”