"One hundred ten... one hundred twenty... one hundred thirty..."
The sun hung high overhead. It was nearly noon, and the temperature, already with one foot in summer, had gradually risen.
In Wu Ling's courtyard, Ember had four iron rings tied to his limbs and wore heavy armor made of special materials. Sitting on his back was the Chrysanthemum Sage, Yue Guan.
Although Ember was doing push-ups beneath him, Yue Guan sat on his back and calmly drank tea.
"Little Ember, do you think I am heavy?"
Ember shuddered at those words. He remembered the time he had said the wrong thing and Yue Guan had personally trained him. Even with Ember's constitution and willpower, he had nearly failed to hold on. After he returned to the main body, Wu Ling's whole body ached for an entire day.
"Not heavy at all. Grandpa Yue, you are so light I can barely feel you."
Yue Guan laughed softly and teased him with interest. "Then next time, I will ask that fellow Demon Bear to come. His weight should satisfy you."
"...After thinking it over, maybe not. Compared with Elder Demon Bear, I still prefer staying with Grandpa Yue."
"Little Ember's tongue really is getting sweeter and sweeter."
Azure glanced at Ember, whose desire to survive was overflowing, then silently turned around and continued meditating.
Seeing this warm scene, Wu Ling's lips curved faintly. He drank a mouthful of tea to moisten his dry lips, then sat cross-legged on the grass and resumed his unfinished cultivation.
Another half hour passed. The gate to Wu Ling's courtyard was pushed open, and Bibi Dong walked in together with Ghost.
When Wu Ling saw Bibi Dong arrive, he ended his cultivation and stepped forward to greet his Master.
"Master, you are here."
"Mm. I came today for two reasons. First, I have not seen you for half a month. Second, there are two matters I want to discuss with you."
"Yes, Master. I will cook now. We can talk while we eat."
Ember chopped vegetables, Azure organized the ingredients, and Wu Ling cooked. Half an hour later, several dishes with excellent color, aroma, and flavor were placed on the dining table.
Wu Ling removed his apron, washed his hands, and then let Azure and Ember return to his body.
But just as Wu Ling sat down at the table, Bibi Dong asked, "Ling'er, why did I not see Rose today?"
Ever since meeting Rose half a month ago, Bibi Dong had taken a liking to that clever, mischievous little girl. As for what exactly she liked about her, only Bibi Dong herself knew.
"Rose? Unless she asks to come out herself, I usually do not call her. Ever since she met you last time, Master, she shut herself in her room and has not come out. Since her Spirit Power can circulate on its own and I am not in a hurry to make her cultivate, I have not recalled her either. If you want to see her, I will call her now."
Wu Ling stood up again and went to a room behind the courtyard.
"Hey, Rose, come out for a bit. Master came to see you."
After waiting for a while with no response from Rose, Wu Ling opened the door himself.
To be honest, this was only the third time Wu Ling had entered this room. The first time was when he initially toured the courtyard. The second was when he accompanied Rose to choose a room. This was the third.
But the moment he stepped inside, Wu Ling froze.
A pile of Soul Beast corpses lay beside him. Among them were animal-type and plant-type beasts, flying creatures and aquatic creatures. Almost every kind of Soul Beast seemed to be present, with insect-type Soul Beasts making up the largest number.
On the other side, countless bottles and jars were stacked together. The jars contained a liquid similar to formalin, and various Soul Beast parts were preserved inside them.
Wu Ling was stunned not because of the corpses or extracted organs. He was stunned because he was wondering when Rose had obtained so many Soul Beasts without him knowing.
While admiring Rose's work, Wu Ling walked deeper inside. The farther he went, the dimmer the lighting became, until only a faint purple glow flickered in the depths.
He walked all the way in before finally seeing Rose. She stood in front of a small furnace, constantly using a ladle to scoop purple liquid from inside.
"Rose, what is this?"
Rose remained focused and did not even turn her head. "A spiritual elixir that can increase the cultivation efficiency of insect-type Martial Souls. What, did you really think Bibi Dong came looking for me out of one hundred percent pure affection?
"I do not deny that approaching Bibi Dong is easier because I am female, but meeting once is not enough for her to miss me constantly."
After Rose poured all the purple elixir into a glass bottle, she plugged it with a soft cork and finally turned around to stand before Wu Ling.
"Let us go. Do not keep our Master waiting."
In the dining room, when Bibi Dong saw Rose behind Wu Ling, especially the purple elixir in Rose's hand, her smile grew even brighter.
"You are here, Rose. Sit beside me. Let us have a proper chat."
Watching Rose get pulled aside by Bibi Dong for a whispered conversation, Wu Ling shrugged helplessly and sat down to eat.
After they had eaten for a while, Rose used rest as an excuse and had Wu Ling take her back into his shadow. From Wu Ling's point of view, Rose seemed somewhat resistant to having her memories shared with him. Whether that came from a girl's reserve or something else, he did not know.
Only after Rose returned to Wu Ling's shadow did Bibi Dong put the purple elixir into her storage ring.
As she ate at an unhurried pace, Bibi Dong finally stated her true purpose for coming.
"Have you heard of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament?"
When he heard this familiar yet distant phrase, Wu Ling pretended to think for a few seconds, then nodded.
"I remember when I was five, Uncle Kiritsugu took me into the city to play, and I vaguely heard that term.
"Spirit Hall also has records on it. I have read some past battle records, so I understand a little."
"The Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament is the largest Martial Soul tournament in the Spirit Master world, initiated and hosted by the Polaris and Star Stripe imperial families, with Spirit Hall serving as co-organizer. The strength of its participants is second only to Spirit Hall's own elite selection tournament.
"Ling'er, since you have read the records of previous matches, what do you think of their strength?"
"What do I think? It feels... well, just average."
Bibi Dong picked up a bite of food and waited until she swallowed before replying. "In previous years, the highest-ranked participant was only a newly advanced Spirit Leader. Most others were Spirit Meisters, and there have even been Spirit Elites.
"With your current strength, it might not be impossible for you to defeat seven opponents by yourself in the early rounds.
"So, Ling'er, are you interested in participating in this tournament?"