Chapter 81: Reluctant
Translated by algoo | Proofread by algoo
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The encounter with Qin Wan was purely coincidental. After that incident, the two had no further interaction.
Xue Ning’er, however, was a different story. Whether it was martial arts class or Lin Xiu‘s visits to the library, she would always appear by his side. Sometimes she would bring him pastries and candied fruits, other times she would pester him with questions. Fortunately, Ling Yin was busy with her own cultivation during this period and had no time to pay attention to Lin Xiu, otherwise, he would have been subjected to another round of scolding.
As the academy’s top talent, Ling Yin wasn’t actually that idle.
She had to cultivate her mystic arts, improve her martial arts, participate in practical combat drills, and attend ability application courses, among other things. The court and the academy invested significant resources in her. Her cultivation time far exceeded Lin Xiu‘s, so it was impossible for her to keep an eye on him constantly.
Xue Ning’er was different.
Her ability was Earth Rank, and her cultivation talent was quite average. Considering the unique potential for advancement of her flight ability, along with the influence of the Duke’s mansion, she was barely admitted into the Xuan Courtyard.
Xue Ning’er probably didn’t take cultivation very seriously.
Otherwise, with the financial resources of the Duke’s mansion and a little more effort, she should have already awakened four times and stepped into the upper Earth Rank realm, instead of still lingering in the lower Earth Rank. Give Lin Xiu a little more time, and his realm could catch up to hers.
Of course, even within the same lower Earth Rank, there were still significant differences. The gap between someone who had just entered this realm and someone at its peak could represent years of cultivation.
During this time, Lin Xiu and Xue Ning’er maintained a delicate balance.
Neither excessively intimate nor overly distant.
Because he hadn’t saved enough silver yet, his realm couldn’t break through, and the upper limit of his ability hadn’t increased. Even if he won Xue Ning’er over, it wouldn’t be of any use, but would instead put him in an awkward position.
So, he could only stall for now.
However, these days, as long as Lin Xiu appeared in the Mystic Arts courtyard, Xue Ning’er would seek him out, and would stay by his side for a long time, clearly launching an offensive, wanting to capture him in one fell swoop.
To prevent Xue Ning’er from disrupting his rhythm, Lin Xiu simply stopped going to the Mystic Arts courtyard.
But this wasn’t a long-term solution. After all, he still had to attend martial arts class. He had already been absent several times before when he was setting up Yang Xuan. If he missed a few more classes, according to the academy rules, he would fail the course and have to retake it next year.
Today was martial arts class. Lin Xiu had already taken two consecutive leaves of absence to avoid Xue Ning’er, and he couldn’t be absent without reason again.
Sure enough, as soon as Xue Ning’er arrived at the training ground, she quickly walked to Lin Xiu‘s side and asked, “Why haven’t you come to the last two classes?”
Lin Xiu smiled and explained, “There were some matters at home these past few days.”
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Xue Ning’er didn’t press him for details, but happily shared some of the things she had seen and heard in the past few days with Lin Xiu, occasionally initiating some not-too-intimate physical contact, and her words revealed her fondness for him without any disguise.
This made Lin Xiu realize that Xue Ning’er, after fishing for so long, might be ready to cast her net.
Her initial goal was to get close to Lin Xiu, make him fall for her, and then discard him. This way, Zhao Lingjun would become a laughingstock. Although Lin Xiu would also be ridiculed, he was just an insignificant figure. People’s focus would still be on Zhao Lingjun.
As Lin Xiu expected, after the martial arts class ended, Xue Ning’er limped to his side and said, “Lin Xiu, I accidentally sprained my ankle during training. Could you carry me out of the palace? My family’s carriage is just outside…”
At this moment, Lin Xiu deeply regretted his actions.
Why was he in such a hurry to copy Liu Qingfeng‘s ability? A golden opportunity was right in front of him, but he was useless!
Currently, the number of abilities he could copy had reached its limit. Forget carrying Xue Ning’er, even close contact with her would be pointless. Everything had to wait until he broke through again…
Lin Xiu looked at Xue Ning’er and said with difficulty, “Ning’er, men and women should maintain a proper distance. What about the other female classmates?”
Xue Ning’er sighed. “After such a long training session, they’re already exhausted. They can barely walk steadily themselves, let alone support me…”
This wasn’t Xue Ning’er making excuses. The martial arts class was indeed very tiring. Every class, under the instructor’s arrangements, the students would be drained of all their strength in an attempt to push their physical limits. Not to mention the girls, even the male students were walking unsteadily.
Lin Xiu asked again, “What about your instructor?”
Xue Ning’er said helplessly, “I originally wanted to ask the instructor for help, but she has already left.”
Before the number of his abilities increased, there was no need for physical contact with Xue Ning’er. Lin Xiu said again, “But Ning’er, isn’t your ability flight? Can’t you fly out yourself?”
“I used up all my Yuan Li during cultivation yesterday, and I haven’t recovered yet. I can’t use my ability.” Xue Ning’er‘s face showed displeasure. “You said we were good friends, but you’re not even willing to help with this small favor. Forget it, I’ll walk slowly myself. I can reach the palace gate in an hour…”
Lin Xiu sighed, squatted down, and said, “Come on up.”
Knowing full well that Xue Ning’er was tempting him, Lin Xiu couldn’t help but take the bait.
Xue Ning’er had already launched her offensive. If Lin Xiu refused her this time, there might not be another chance like this in the future.
Only by letting her see hope would she continue with the next step of her plan.
“That’s more like it…”
A smile returned to Xue Ning’er‘s face as she leaned against Lin Xiu‘s back. She had actually sprained her ankle, but her claim of having no Yuan Li was a lie. She did it so that Lin Xiu would carry her.
Appropriate physical contact was a crucial step in making this man fall for her.
However, after actually leaning against Lin Xiu‘s back, Xue Ning’er regretted it.
So this was how it felt to have physical contact with a man. The body beneath her, radiating a strong masculine aura, made her heart pound. The blush on her face quickly spread to her neck, and her body became soft and weak.
Xue Ning’er regretted it.
This was the first time she had such close contact with a man. She never imagined that being carried by Lin Xiu would feel like this. Her face was burning hot, and her body was already undergoing some changes. This made her realize that she couldn’t continue like this!
Lin Xiu had only taken a few steps carrying Xue Ning’er when he suddenly felt his back lighten.
He turned around and saw Xue Ning’er floating in the air, her face as red as a ripe peach.
She didn’t dare look at Lin Xiu. “I, I feel like my Yuan Li has recovered a bit. I, I’ll go back now…”
After saying that, she drew a graceful arc in the sky and disappeared from Lin Xiu‘s sight.
Lin Xiu watched with envy. It must be so fun to fly around. He had to get his hands on her ability, and that day was not far off.
Xue Ning’er‘s aggressive advances forced Lin Xiu to make plans in advance.
He originally planned to save enough silver and then break through to the Earth Rank in one go, but now it seemed he didn’t have time.
After Xue Ning’er left, Lin Xiu quickly walked out of the Mystic Arts courtyard and caught up to a figure. “Brother Li,” he asked, “do you have any extra silver?”
Li Bozhang was puzzled. “Are you still short of silver?”
He knew very well that in just two months, Lin Xiu had earned over fifty thousand taels of silver from the tavern. He shouldn’t be short of money.
Lin Xiu nodded. “I have a use for it. I don’t have enough silver on me, so I want to borrow some from you. You can deduct it directly from my tavern earnings later.”
Li Bozhang didn’t ask too many questions. “Including my own savings, I have about fifty thousand taels. Is that enough?”
Li Bozhang generously lent all the silver notes he had to Lin Xiu. Lin Xiu didn’t stand on ceremony. The tavern business was booming, so he could afford to repay this sum, and Li Bozhang knew it too.
…
Wangdu.
Treasure Pavilion.
A man walked into the shop, took out a one-hundred-tael silver note, and said to the shop assistant, “I want a second-rank Yuan crystal.”
More than a month ago, the Yuan Li in his body stopped growing, indicating that his ability had encountered a bottleneck. A Yuan crystal from a higher-ranked beast could increase his chances of awakening his ability, but the price was hefty. This one hundred taels was almost all of his savings.
The assistant shook his head helplessly at the man. “Sorry, customer, but our shop doesn’t have the Yuan crystal you’re looking for.”
The man was stunned. “You might have misheard me. I want a second-rank Yuan crystal, not a fourth-rank.”
Fourth-rank and above Yuan crystals were extremely precious and often unavailable even with money, but second-rank Yuan crystals? How could a shop specializing in selling Yuan crystals not have them?
The assistant explained, “I didn’t mishear. To be honest, just a moment ago, a customer bought all of our second-rank Yuan crystals. Why don’t you try another shop?”
The man could only leave the Treasure Pavilion and go to another shop.
At the same time, he sighed inwardly. A second-rank Yuan crystal cost one hundred taels each. For someone like him, buying one would cost him his entire fortune. Someone else had just bought hundreds of them at once. There were truly many rich people in Wangdu. He could only try another shop.
However, fifteen minutes later, he received the same answer at another shop.
This shop, too, had all its second-rank Yuan crystals bought out.
Then the third shop, the fourth…
He spent the entire day, visiting a total of eight shops, but none had any second-rank Yuan crystals. All of them had been bought out…
Walking out of the last shop, he held the unspent one-hundred-tael silver note in his hand, speechless for a long time.
Without even second-rank Yuan crystals, what kind of shop were they even running?!
Lin Manor.
Lin Xiu walked out of his room, interlaced his fingers, and stretched.
The courtyard was empty. Lin Xiu walked to the spot where Sun Dali usually trained his strength, gripped a stone lock, and exerted a slight force. The stone lock lifted slightly. Lin Xiu didn’t continue, but released his grip, setting it down silently.
This stone lock, which required Sun Dali to exert all his strength to lift, now Lin Xiu could lift with a single hand.
Yes, his spending spree had been successful.
Although it had cost him all his savings and put him in debt to Li Bozhang for fifty thousand taels, compared to the breakthrough in his strength, these were nothing.
From his initial awakening to his third awakening, it had taken less than four months.
Although this was the result of his relentless spending, the strength he gained was his own. Moreover, he possessed several abilities. Having stepped into the Earth Rank, his strength was now incomparable.
If the assassin from that day reappeared, even in a head-on fight, Lin Xiu was confident he could kill him.
Furthermore, after awakening again, his various abilities had undergone new transformations.
Ice and lightning went without saying; their range and power had increased, and his physical strength had also surged. The combination of strength and lightning was actually Lin Xiu‘s greatest trump card.
With his current Yuan Li, the lightning he released wasn’t incredibly powerful, but it could cause momentary paralysis.
In a life-or-death struggle, victory could be decided in an instant.
With the opponent paralyzed and unable to counterattack, no one below the Earth Rank could withstand his punch.
The abilities that had also been enhanced included healing and vision. However, since these two abilities were originally Earth Rank, Lin Xiu knew clearly what changes would occur after their breakthrough. It was the disguise and beast language abilities that gave him a pleasant surprise.
The disguise ability was originally Yellow Rank. No one knew what would happen after three awakenings. Now Lin Xiu knew.
Previously, although he could change his face, he couldn’t change his voice or body shape. Now, the abundant Yuan Li in his body allowed him to control more muscles, partially alter his body shape, and even change his voice.
Lin Xiu had a premonition that this ability had been greatly underestimated.
With the continuous growth of his Yuan Li, his control over his body should become stronger and stronger, until he could freely change his height, body shape, and even…
Rather than calling this ability “disguise,” it was more appropriate to call it “transformation.”
Disguise was merely the initial manifestation of transformation.
As for the evolved beast language, it surprised Lin Xiu even more.
Lin Xiu turned his head and looked towards the courtyard wall.
A dozen sparrows perched in a row on the wall, chirping about something. Suddenly, they took flight, circling in the sky, sometimes forming a V-shape, sometimes a straight line.
After a while, they landed back on the wall, chirping again, as if nothing had happened.
Lin Xiu had just learned that the so-called “beast language” wasn’t actually about understanding animal speech. Being able to understand animals was only the initial manifestation of this ability. After three awakenings, this ability transformed into “beast control.”
He could actively control lower-level animals, making them do things according to his will, like making these sparrows fly in predetermined patterns, or making Da Huang roll over.
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Before the ability awakened, Lin Xiu could also achieve this, but back then, he did so through communication.
If the animals were unwilling, he would be helpless.
But now, he directly commanded them. Strangely, the animals would carry out his commands without hesitation, as if something was controlling their minds.
How could this be the power of a mere Yellow Rank ability?
Inspired by beast language and disguise, Lin Xiu gradually realized that perhaps other low-rank abilities were overlooked for the same reason.
It wasn’t that they were useless, but that no one could fully develop their potential.
Finally, it was worth mentioning the spatial ability he obtained from Wang Wei.
After three awakenings, the size of his personal space had expanded by more than ten times. There was also a new development. Previously, Lin Xiu couldn’t put living creatures into the space, but now he could.
However, there was a big difference between storing living things and storing inanimate objects.
In principle, any inanimate object that could fit in the space could be stored, but living things were different. Lin Xiu tried putting ants and beetles inside, only to find that they quickly died.
Later, he realized there was no air in the space. So, he transported some air inside. This time, the beetle stayed inside for a long time. An hour later, when Lin Xiu took it out, it was still crawling around happily.
It seemed that as long as he continuously supplied air, food, and water, living things could survive in that space.
However, Lin Xiu could only experiment with ants and beetles. Slightly larger creatures, like sparrows, no matter how hard he tried, couldn’t be put into the space. But it was foreseeable that as long as the ability continued to awaken, one day, using this ability to hide people wouldn’t be difficult.
For Xue Ning’er, Lin Xiu had incurred a debt of fifty thousand taels to boost his strength.
He couldn’t wait to see her.
Of course, to be safe, Lin Xiu first went to Pear Blossom Garden to verify with Cai Yi whether the upper limit of his abilities had increased.
Since obtaining the mystic arts cultivation method, Cai Yi cultivated daily, her voice becoming even more melodious, which significantly improved Pear Blossom Garden‘s business. Most people came for her.
She still performed on stage as before, but she no longer sang privately for guests in their private rooms. Of course, Lin Xiu was an exception.
Under the pretense of reading her palm, he briefly held Cai Yi‘s delicate hand, sighing in relief. As expected, whenever his abilities broke through, the upper limit of the abilities he could copy would also increase.
Cai Yi sat opposite Lin Xiu, letting him hold her hand, blinking and asking, “Young Master, have you seen anything?”
Lin Xiu nodded. “From your palm, I can see that you are destined for great wealth and fortune in the future, and you will encounter a beautiful marriage…”
Cai Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “Then I’ll take Young Master’s good words…”
There was martial arts class today, so Lin Xiu didn’t stay long at Pear Blossom Garden. He left and went to the Mystic Arts courtyard’s training ground.
To Lin Xiu‘s surprise, a few days ago, Xue Ning’er was eager, practically wanting to devour him. A few days later, she became shy again, acting coy and avoiding him.
What kind of trick was this?
Xue Ning’er didn’t actively seek out Lin Xiu today, but stayed with her female classmates.
Someone couldn’t help but ask, “Ning’er, how are things with Lin Xiu? Did you finally get him?”
Xue Ning’er waved her hand. “Oh, stop asking. Let me be alone for a while.”
She secretly glanced at Lin Xiu, then lowered her head, lost in endless entanglement and confusion.
Initially, she approached Lin Xiu indeed to embarrass Zhao Lingjun.
But now, she was truly wavering.
Lin Xiu was good. He was handsome, had an attractive physique, and was sweet-talking. Most importantly, he had something special that none of her other pursuers possessed.
Xue Ning’er couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. She only realized that Lin Xiu was different from the others when he gave her that fireworks display.
She liked this difference.
If she could embarrass Zhao Lingjun, Xue Ning’er would be very happy.
But if the price was hurting Lin Xiu…, she was reluctant.
The city is closed, I lost…
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