Chapter 497 - You Made It?
Gu Yue watched Tang Wulin eat in silence, a faint smile on her lips. After every finished plate, she swiftly replaced it with a new one. They sat close to the academy gates lost in their own little world.
A while later, all of the food in the three boxes was gone, swept within Tang Wulin.
“Are you full?” Gu Yue asked, eyeing his barely bulging stomach, his capacity to eat more still apparent.
Tang Wulin nodded. “Yeah. There weren’t many dishes, but they were all very filling! Where did you even get all that? Must have cost a small fortune.”
Gu Yue’s smile grew a crack wider. “I made them. All of them. I’ve been practicing how to cook at home. I think I did pretty well, judging by how good everything smelled.”
“You really cooked all those dishes by yourself?” Tang Wulin’s eyes went wide. For people like them, students of Shrek Academy, time was their most valuable resource. Yet Gu Yue had spent her vacation learning how to cook for his sake.
Warmth washed over him. He looked her straight in the eye. Just giving his thanks was not enough, could not be enough to begin expressing his gratitude.
He stood up and helped her tidy up the boxes, then stored them into his storage ring. “Let’s go,” he said, beckoning to her.
The two walked back to the dormitory shoulder-to-shoulder, enjoying the evening air. The moon shone bright in the sky, meeting the street in a soft spray, peeking through the branches of the trees. Neither Gu Yue or Tang Wulin spoke a word.
In Tang Wulin’s heart, Gu Yue felt different from before. Something had changed since the last time he saw her. After spending the last month hard at work cultivating, and even reuniting with Na’er, he had felt worried when Gu Yue had failed to appear. Then she returned, and joy flooded his heart. He had never experienced anything like it.
A single glance, and Tang Wulin was treated with a spectacular sight. Moonlight shimmered around Gu Yue, accentuating her delicate features. While she wasn’t the most beautiful of girls, at that moment, he was enchanted.
“What are you looking at?” Gu Yue asked, aware of his heated gaze.
Tang Wulin smiled. “You.”
Gu Yue blinked. “I’m not that pretty. What’s there to look at?”
“That’s where you’re wrong. You are pretty,” Tang Wulin said, his smile growing bigger.
Gu Yue knit her brows together, lowering her head in thought. She clenched her fists, then slowly unclenched them. They kept silent and resumed their trek to their dormitory.
“Big Sis Gu Yue!” Xu Xiaoyan had called out to them the moment she saw them, dragging Gu Yue into the girls’ room.
But Tang Wulin had other ideas. Once standing at the center of the dormitory courtyard, Tang Wulin shouted, “Everybody! Please come out for a moment! I have something important to talk about!”
Xu Xiaoyan, Gu Yue, and Ye Xinglan immediately left their room. Xie Xie and Xu Luzhi also responded, rushing out of the room meant for the boys. To Tang Wulin’s surprise, even Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu left the comfort of their rooms. Though he probably shouldn’t have been too shocked. Yuanen Yehui did slightly warm up to him after he had delivered the spirit alloy to her. Of course, that was only with Tang Wulin. Her attitude hardly changed toward Xie Xie.
“Sorry, this doesn’t involve you guys. It’s just a class matter,” Tang Wulin said to his upperclassmen.
Yue Zhengyu chuckled. “It’s fine. I’ll still listen in. Just consider me a little spy. Let me tell you, the second grade students still aren’t convinced of your strength. Who knows if there’ll be a chance for a rematch this year?”
Tang Wulin shrugged. “Well, we’re happy to take your points whenever you want.”
“Wow! Sure are confident, aren’t ya? Have you grown stronger recently?” Yue Zhengyu said, a teasing grin on his lips.
Tang Wulin rolled his eyes. “You got your fourth ring yet?”
Yue Zhengyu puffed out his chest. He didn’t say a word, but his display of confidence was answer enough.
“We’re not too far from four rings either,” Tang Wulin said. “If you guys still can’t accept your loss, then we’ll show you exactly the true meaning of power.”
Yue Zhengyu glanced at Yuanen Yehui. She had remained silent throughout the exchange. As the class president of the second grade, only she could speak for their class.
Tang Wulin moved on, turning to face his teammates. “Luo Guixing paid me a visit today. His team challenged us. The match is tomorrow afternoon. Prepare yourselves.”
“Oh.” Xu Xiaoyan nodded, not a word more.
Xie Xie was a different picture. “Yes!” he shouted, bubbling with excitement. His captain’s words brought forth the image of Xu Yucheng popped to mind. In their last battle, he had managed to incapacitate Xu Yucheng at the cost of himself. But Xie Xie had changed, had become stronger, more confident. He was eager to discover the winner of their next exchange.
“A good chance to practice,” Ye Xinglan said, a faint glint to her eyes.
“You’ve got your spirit soul now?” Tang Wulin asked.
Ye Xinglan nodded.
“I’m down for it,” Gu Yue said. “If they can’t accept their loss, then we’ll beat them until they do.”
Xu Lizhi chuckled.
None of them had any reservations about the match. They may have struggled the last time they faced the rankers, but now was a completely different story.
Wu Siduo likely had grown much stronger, but that held true for them as well. The perfect chance to verify the results of their training.
Soon enough, night descended, yet instead of returning to his room, Tang Wulin hid himself within the woods, cultivating amidst plant and tree. For this was the best environment for his cultivation.
Tang Wulin had the lowest soul power among his teammates. Even after breaking the fourth seal, he was only at rank 35. Xu Xiaoyan had surpassed him a while ago with the incident at the observatory, reaching rank 37. Xu Lizhi and Xie Xie were both rank 38, Gu Yue rank 39, and Ye Xinglan rank 41.
Tang Wulin was far behind his teammates. Although he could supplement his strength with the power of the Golden Dragon King, soul power was still the basis of strength for soul masters. He resolved himself to forge less over the next semester and devote more time to cultivating.
In addition to improving his body, Tang Wulin’s consumption of nutritious foods aided his soul power cultivation. As for his spiritual power, he wasn’t worried about it. It was steadily growing ever since he attained the Spirit Sea realm.
Through the night, Tang Wulin slowly consolidated and strengthened his soul power.
Only when the birds began to chirp and the first glimmers of dawn peeked over the horizon did he wake. He gazed at the dawning sun, sweeping his gaze over Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan, Xu Lizhi, and Ye Xinglan, who just joined him in the forest. They cultivated Purple Demon Eyes together, gazing upon the purple wisps. They shared in the sensation of their spiritual power pulsing, growing by the tiniest amount. A faint mist surrounded their eyes before entering.
Reaching the Spirit Sea realm didn’t seem like much to most soul masters, but in reality the change penetrated into every aspect of life. Before reaching this realm, although Tang Wulin could to tell that his spiritual power was growing whenever he cultivated his Purple Demon Eyes, he could not discern by how much. Now, however, he could. He was certain his spiritual power was growing faster than before.
He thought of Gu Yue, who had attained the Spirit Sea realm long ago. He could only guess her current level.
Taking in a deep breath, Tang Wulin used the Mysterious Heaven Method. The gentle surge of energy cleared his mind. This was his daily life now.
“Captain, you don’t need to cultivate here at night. There are lots of plants, but the life and natural energies are lacking. You should rent a specialized cultivation space from the Academy like I do!” Xu Lizhi said.
Blinking a few times, Tang Wulin asked, “A specialized cultivation space?”
“Yeah! Wait. You do know what they are, right? All you have to do is pay the Academy some points and you get to use a personalized cultivation space. It’s been a whole year. Do you really not know that?”
Tang Wulin groaned. Of course he knew! The teachers had mentioned it when they first came to Shrek Academy!