The night before (4)
The sun was shining brightly in the early morning. Lin Yin, who was sitting downstairs in the dormitory, was listening to the music of the growing Vajra Gong team while lying on a chair by the roadside and reading a book.
She didn't lose a single match until the end of yesterday, and Belle was jumping around the ring like an excited little animal from the beginning to the end of the match. Every victory of hers became a carnival for her.
Linyin usually showed little expression, but she was not a cold-hearted person. It was difficult for her to refuse Belle now. She had just accepted her friend request and she gave her a huge shock.
"Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian...Breathless Realm..."
The densely packed words on the pages made her frown slightly. The version of Wuji Zhenqi that Belle gave her talked about more than ten methods of cultivating skills along the meridians of the human body. For example, the first chapter talked about blocking one's own lung meridian, which could solidify the air in a certain area and force the enemy to suffocate for a period of time.
This is too overbearing... It means that if she doesn't breathe, no one else can breathe either.
"Not everyone, it takes practice. You might need to use it close up on someone to be effective at first." Belle wore her academy uniform for the first time today. She walked around fanning herself. "Well, am I a good friend? What you're looking at is one of the Lan family's most valuable secret manuals."
Rinyin gave her a big sunny smile in return, "Thank you, Belle. This is very helpful to me."
Belle felt a little burned by the smile, and stopped fanning herself for a few seconds. "Is it just a verbal thank you?"
"So it wasn't lent to me unconditionally?" Linyin closed the book and handed it back to her.
Belle curled her lips and didn't take it. "There's no such thing as a free lunch, not even here." Her lace-gloved hand nonchalantly twirled the decorative button on her sleeve. "But it won't be difficult for you. Just teach me the Wuji Qi."
"Teach you?"
Linyin suddenly thought, if Wuji Zhenqi will automatically appear after practicing Vajra Gong to a certain level, then how deep is this level?
Based on Ah She's descriptions, Lin Yin concluded that the so-called "Life-giving Breath" would advance to become Infinite True Qi after reaching a certain level of volume. However, while also practicing Vajra Gong, the other practitioners did not experience the Life-giving Breath.
"Yes, teach me." Belle shook her ponytail. "I'm a genius girl recognized by my grandma herself. I'm sure I can learn it quickly."
A hint of confusion appeared in Linyin's eyes. Seeing this, Belle added, "My grandma is Kate Lan." Seeing that Linyin still seemed to have a question mark on her face, Belle was helpless. "She is one of the top ten masters. You know the top ten masters, right? She won't brag just because I'm her granddaughter."
Lin Yin had never heard of the ten great masters, but she wouldn't confront them directly. She simply smiled and said, "I believe you can learn it." She paused, recalling the moment when she comprehended the Infinite Qi, "But I'm not sure how to teach..."
Her boundless Qi was triggered by suppressed anger. Was she going to use the same stimulation on Belle? But... as the only heir to the Lan family, what could possibly be worth suppressing her anger?
Belle listened to Linyin's question but didn't see it as an obstacle. "You condensed the Qi seed on your own without any external help, which must have been difficult. But according to our family's records, as long as there is the first person who successfully condenses the seed, the others will gradually succeed." She wrinkled her nose. "I think that with a genius like me, if I just practice with you for a while, I should be able to do it."
As Linyin listened, she unconsciously used her Chi Vision to observe her classmates nearby. They were finishing their exercises and preparing to eat breakfast. However, even if she tried her best, she could hardly find even a tiny breath of life in their bodies.
She sighed, her eyes suddenly fixed.
No, there is one.
It seems to be... bear biscuits?
Linyin withdrew her true energy and discovered that the person with the breath of life in her body was Jiaojiao.
Why does it feel like... whoever is more familiar with her will have a bigger life force...
Lin Yin was slightly shocked by this speculation. According to the so-called Qi seeds recorded by the Lan family, the development of a group's Wuji Qi is indeed highly correlated with the first person in the group who practices Wuji Qi, but this degree of correlation is still a bit far-fetched.
However, she is now more interested in something else than how to teach.
"Belle." Lin Yin suddenly spoke.
"Hmm?" Belle raised her head, but before she could react, Linyin had already quietly moved closer to her. The distance between them instantly closed. Linyin's fingers gently rested on her chest, and the infinite true energy flowed from her fingertips along the path of the lung meridian, slowly sliding down.
The air seemed to freeze in an instant.
Belle's breathing suddenly stagnated, the air around her became heavy and sticky, and an invisible force tightly wrapped around her. She tried to breathe, but she couldn't feel a trace of air flowing into her lungs.
Lin Yin's fingers stopped an inch below her collarbone. The Wuxi Realm consumed Wuji Zhenqi at an alarming rate. She had tried it out and was about to withdraw her hand -
Behind Belle, a ten-meter-tall orchid appeared, its translucent petals shimmering with blue-purple starlight. The entire dormitory area fell silent, and all the students doing morning exercises froze in their places, overcome by the overwhelming pressure.
Belle's ponytail moved without a breeze. "Dark night, shining snow," she uttered, her voice devoid of emotion. The dewdrops on the orchid's shadow seemed like countless faceted glass beads, refracting the sunlight into a dazzling waterfall of light. As the orchid swayed gently, the waterfall of light surged left and right. Linyin's infinite true energy was rapidly depleted, and the breathless realm finally vanished in the tug and tug.
"You're making such a big deal." Linyin panted and sat back in her chair. It was the first time that she was forced to use all her true energy, and her legs were actually a little weak at this moment.
"Who gave you the guts to try out your skills on me?" Belle glared at her, and the orchid's shadow disappeared. "If it weren't for my special beast, we would both be in trouble."
"You stay in the medical bay, and I'll go to the detention center?"
This was Linyin's first encounter with the legendary Dark Night Orchid. Her knowledge of mythical beasts was limited to the annually updated "Hyperbole Statistical Yearbook" of the Phantasmal Beast Hall and a few older lists of celestial-level mythical beasts. As the inherited mythical beast of the Lan family, a renowned martial arts family, the Dark Night Orchid had no classification or illustration, and the Lan family wouldn't authorize anyone to study it, making it quite mysterious.
"It's all your fault. So many people saw it." Belle stamped her foot. "No one would have taken a picture of it... If someone posted it, we'd have to find someone to delete it. Oh my god, it would be so troublesome."
"So your methods of keeping secrets are so primitive..." Rinone was curious. "Then will you participate in the ladder tournament? It will be broadcast live online, and it will be difficult for people not to catch the video recording and study it over and over again."
"I wasn't planning on participating originally, but now I don't have to worry about that." Belle winked at her. "As long as you work hard to teach me Wuji Zhenqi, and I have a new trump card, it won't matter if the old one is known to others."
"Well? I wasn't kidding you. I'm pretty good. Do you want me to join your team? If you do, teach me well and then go ahead."
Rinyin stepped back, "How did it become my team? The trials haven't ended yet, and I don't know if I will be selected in the end."
"How could you possibly not be selected?" Belle was very confident. "The Thorn Flower is no longer the same Thorn Flower it used to be. Looking at the students our school has had in recent years...besides me, who could be better than you?"
Linyin shrugged noncommittally, her eyes scanning the crowd of morning exercisers gradually dispersing in the distance. "I'm hungry," she suddenly said. "I'm going to the cafeteria to eat some synthetic meat. Want to join us?"
"Go ahead."
……………………
As usual, the Coachella sky was cut into blue fragments by countless skyscrapers.
This is the most prosperous city in the Federation, and the headquarters of the Fantasy Beast Palace is located here.
The towering building's facade is made of silver-grey alloy material. The magical patterns carved on the surface ensure its stability while creating a scale-like visual effect for the exterior wall. It is said that the design was inspired by the scales of the mythical beast King of Ten Thousand Devourers, which can only be inherited by the successive masters of the Fantasy Beast Hall.
However, no matter how magnificent the office looks, the workers still only have their own cramped workstations and extremely compressed personal time.
A medium-sized office near the top floor was filled with the rustling of papers and hushed conversations. Everyone's desk was piled high with documents, and occasionally, a few small mythical beasts would scurry across the desks, deftly assisting with passing files or organizing materials. A brightly feathered parrot-like mythical beast perched atop a filing cabinet, urging in a shrill voice, "The materials for Conference Room 3 haven't been delivered yet!"
"Why is the communication speaker designed in the shape of a parrot..."
Rumi was so annoyed by the noise that he looked like he had lost all hope. The light screen in front of him was filled with layers of data tables, which made him dizzy. He simply emptied his mind and listened to the gossip of his colleagues at the next workstation.
"Have you heard? The rules of the Fantasy Beast Ladder Tournament are going to be revised again." Colleague A lowered his voice and said mysteriously.
"Change again? What to change this time? I've just prepared to distribute paper copies of the detailed rules to all schools." Colleague B came over, holding a stack of freshly printed documents.
"I heard there will be a lot more esoteric beast-related test items this time, and students without esoteric beasts will simply lose points." Colleague A shrugged. "I don't understand. Is it necessary to send out a special notice about something like this? What idiot student who doesn't even have a esoteric beast would participate in the esoteric beast competition? They'd never win."
"Tsk, it must be some idiot supervisor who is adding more workload to us so that he can show off his presence." Colleague B rolled his eyes with a disdainful tone.
"Stop talking so much," Colleague C quickly interrupted him. After looking around and making sure no one was paying attention, she lowered her voice and said, "It is said that this time it was that person—" She pointed to the ceiling and winked meaningfully, "who personally gave the order."
"No way, it's such a small matter, can that person personally give the order?"
Rumi paused on the keyboard when he heard this. He couldn't help but think of the mysterious phone call from Melian and the strange reaction of the Palace Master after he reported it.
There should be...nothing to do between the two, right?
……………………
The small restaurant at the school gate was filled with the heat and aroma of food.
"Three baskets of xiaolongbao, freshly made."
Song Baiyue stood in front of the cashier counter and stretched out his hand for the boss to scan his terminal.
The boss was about to say no, but when he looked up, he was stunned by the unapproachable aura of the person who came. He then put on a smile and said, "If it's made right now, you'll have to wait a while..."
"Okay." Song Baiyue responded briefly, his eyes sweeping across the store, finally landing on Su Lian in the corner. He was arranging the tableware, and the small Dream Mammoth was napping at his feet.
Su Lian noticed the gaze and unconsciously twisted the edge of her apron with her fingers.
He was so stupid! He knew Rinyin liked the boss's cooking, and even heard from the boss that "Rinyin might like xiaolongbao" - why didn't he think of asking the boss if he could make it?
Mustering his courage, he quietly asked Song Baiyue, "Are you going to bring food to Rinone-san?"
Song Baiyue glanced at him and said indifferently: "Yeah."
Su Lian bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Rinyin...she's been very tired from the competition recently...you should pay more attention to her..."
Song Baiyue's gaze stayed on his face for a second, then moved away, her voice still cold: "I know."
Su Lian lowered his head, feeling a little bitter. He knew that Song Baiyue and Lin Yin had a special relationship. Every time he saw them standing together, he would feel like an outsider. However -
As long as Rinone-san is happy, that's all that matters.
The two looked at each other in silence. Su Lian wiped her hands on her apron awkwardly and said, "Then I'll get back to my work."
Song Baiyue nodded. The boss came out carrying a bamboo basket. "We don't have enough flour and meat filling for three baskets. This basket has eight pieces. I'll charge you for six."
Su Lian suddenly remembered something, opened the restaurant's storage cabinet, took out a handful of homemade sauce packets, and chased after Song Baiyue: "This...Rinyin likes to dip everything she eats in this."
Song Baiyue looked down at the sauce in his hand, frowned slightly, but still took it and thanked him.
Su Lian gave a shy smile: "You're welcome... I hope Linyin likes it."
Song Baiyue did not respond and turned and left the shop.
Su Lian stood there, watching his back disappear, and patted her face gently.
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