Now that the job was finished, I sheathed both my swords, recalled Snow Aegis and shrank it, and then placed both Spirit Swords into my storage device.

"Now I have to a.s.similate all the qi in my body," I murmured to myself.

Unfortunately, at that moment, I suddenly felt a blazing agony spread through my body. Even though I could easily absorb the frosty yin qi, the fiery yang qi was not as compatible. It scorched the inside of my body, burning me mercilessly from the inside out.

"…gah!"

Crying out, I dropped to my knees and clutched my chest. It felt as if molten lava was pouring through my veins or qi channels. In addition to the new, burning sensation, it felt as if my injuries from fighting Mo Long had been aggravated and flared up.

"Ugh!"

Crying out in pain, I collapsed onto the ground, my body feverish. My insides were scorched by the fiery yang qi. d.a.m.n it, I had gotten careless and too greedy. I had thought I would be able to deal with the fiery yang qi by slowly a.s.similating it over the next few hours, or maybe even the next few days if necessary, but I had underestimated the purity of the qi.

The Solar Celestial Dragon Formula was truly a legendary martial arts technique deserving of its reputation as one of the four Celestial Creatures" ultimate arts. The essence of the yang qi was so pure, so distilled that it was too powerful for an icy yin pract.i.tioner like me. I ended up swallowing a bomb, so to speak.

My body went into spasms and I flailed about uncontrollably as my insides were ravaged by the molten, fiery yang qi, and I began to lose consciousness.

Right before I did, however, I had a vague impression of a couple of people appearing. Princ.i.p.al Xiao Zhang and Song Ting Yu.

"My goodness…Student Fei Wu again. He"s always been reckless. What has he done this time?" Xiao Zhang knelt down to feel my pulse, and then grimaced. "He used Heaven and Earth Absorption again. And this time, he absorbed quite the troublesome qi. If he had been cultivating martial arts techniques with yang qi, he would be fine, but for someone like him who had overly specialized in icy yin techniques, this will be too much."

"Do you have a way to treat him, Honored Princ.i.p.al Xiao?" Song Ting Yu asked, a tinge of concern in her voice.

"Yeah. What happened? I mean, I can check the videos later, but…"

"Mo Long from Green Dragon Sect attacked us. He tried to a.s.sa.s.sinate Mister Fei Wu." Song Ting Yu inhaled sharply. "I didn"t think Mister Fei would actually be able to defeat him, yet he succeeded in killing Mo Long and even sucked his qi dry…"

"The Green Dragon Sect again!" Xiao Zhang thundered furiously. "First it was Li Chun Long, and now it"s this Mo Long! What do they have against my students? Student Zhu Jiao, Student Fei Wu…they are always targeting my most promising students! One of these days, I"m going to have to pay that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Jian Ao a visit."

"But…Mister Fei actually won." Song Ting Yu"s voice was in wonder. "I can"t believe it. Despite the vast difference in their strengths…"

"Hah! Student Fei Wu is always full of surprises." Xiao Zhang chuckled indulgently. "We"ll have to bring him to the hot spring to suppress the fiery qi that"s rampaging through his meridians right now. Otherwise he"ll end up being incinerated by the yang qi."

"I hope you don"t mind if I take care of him."

"That would give me a huge peace of mind." Xiao Zhang acceded to Song Ting Yu"s request. I vaguely wondered what she meant by taking care of me, and concluded that it couldn"t be anything good, but before I could muster a retort, the darkness swallowed me.

Then I heard and saw nothing.

*

"…"

Blinking, I came to life and found myself soaking in what seemed like an enclosed yet open-air hot spring. Enclosed, because there were traditional wooden walls built around the hot spring, but open-air beause there wasn"t any ceiling. Staring skyward, I saw that the heavens had darkened, and night had clearly fallen.

How long had I been out for? When I was fighting Mo Long, it was during the day. Yet it was clearly night by now. I wouldn"t be surprised if I had been asleep for days, but I doubted it. For one thing, n.o.body was going to soak me in what seemed like a hot spring for days.

Another thing I noticed was that I wasn"t wearing my gla.s.ses. Actually, I wasn"t wearing any clothes at all. Then again, it was only natural. Who the h.e.l.l would soak in a hot spring totally clothed? As it was, I was completely bereft of clothing, but thankfully any embarra.s.sment I would have felt was veiled by the thick fog that drifted over the cloudy water that I was immersed in. The problem was when I got out, but at least there was a towel nearby.

Someone had conveniently placed a towel for me next to the wall where I was leaning against this entire time. Now that I was inspecting my surroundings, I saw that it was all natural, or at least constructed to look natural. There were rocks that seemed to originate from geological formation rather than artificially built, no sign of concrete or bricks. It seemed like someone just built a wooden fence around the area, but otherwise left the area completely untouched.

They knew the value of preserving a true, natural hot spring…I guess. I wouldn"t know.

While I was taking stock of my surroundings, I heard a giggle. Turning my head up, I caught sight of Song Ting Yu perched atop one of those high rocks. Well, not that high. Just high enough for her to soak her feet in the hot spring. She was sitting barefooted, swinging her exposed legs above the steam, causing the water to splash about as her bare feet moved under the surface, and giggling as she watched me from above. Still dressed in that somewhat revealing pink dress of hers, and her short skirt was being used to its full benefit here.

"You"re finally awake," she remarked.

"You"re stating the obvious," I retorted.

Song Ting Yu raised an eyebrow, but chose not to rise to the bait. Instead, she offered some pertinent advice.

"Don"t move about carelessly," she told me. "The h.e.l.lfire Yang Hot Spring is good for treating your internal injuries as well as stabilizing the ferocious fiery yang qi that you absorbed from Mo Long"s Solar Celestial Dragon Formula."

"Ah…"

Now that she mentioned it, I could feel the fiery yang qi somewhat quietening down. Before, it had been like a volcanic eruption, ravaging my insides with molten metal and incinerating me from inside out, but now it was just a fierce rumble, surging impatiently about my qi channels but not as hot and agonizing as before.

Then suddenly I realized something and turned red. For one thing, I was completely naked, save for the hot spring surrounding me, and for another, there was an extremely beautiful girl in the same s.p.a.ce as me.

"Uh…this isn"t appropriate, is it?" I muttered under my breath.

"Ha ha ha!" Song Ting Yu giggled as she brought a hand to her delicate mouth. "It"s too late to start getting embarra.s.sed now. I"ve already seen everything, forbidden or not."

"You…" trying to hide my embarra.s.sment, I could only shake my head. "Just what is going on?"

"Heh." Song Ting Yu chuckled again. "Don"t worry. I only brought you here to treat your internal injuries. This is a special place within Wu Ling Academy"s territory. It"s not exactly the infirmary, but one of those dense qi-saturated hot springs where Wu Ling Academy students use to recuperate and improve their cultivation."

"Ugh…recuperate, huh?" I sighed wearily as I glanced down at my chest. True enough, the injuries I had sustained during the fight with Mo Long were gone. Wow, the effects of the hot spring were truly miraculous.

I was reminded of the Green Dragon Spring from so long ago. This h.e.l.lfire Yang Hot Spring wasn"t as potent, but it was still pretty good, considering that it doubled as something that could help boost someone"s cultivation in yang qi.

Speaking of which…

"I a.s.sume you know what happened to Mo Long?" I asked frostily.

"The a.s.sa.s.sin from Green Dragon Sect who attacked you?" Song Ting Yu was smiling brightly. "You are the one who killed him and sucked his qi dry. Why are you asking me?"

"Hmph." I closed my eyes briefly and smirked. I knew it. Even though we told her to get lost, the crafty girl had remained close by, presumably to watch our duel to the death. "So you didn"t heed our warning and stayed nearby to watch, after all."

"Thanks to that, I saw something really interesting." Song Ting Yu chuckled throatily again. "I really didn"t expect you to be able to defeat someone of Mo Long"s level."

"Look here, lady." I was getting tired of her games. "I don"t know you that well, but I a.s.sume you have a reason for helping me." Even though the academy would have helped me if she wasn"t present. "Spit it out."

"Straight to the point, huh?" Song Ting Yu shook her head in mock disappointment. "You won"t be popular with girls like that."

"Fortunately, I have no intention of being popular with girls," I replied coldly.

"What a waste." Song Ting Yu sighed exaggeratedly, then she smiled. "As I told you before, Mister Fei. I"m interested in your Sunburst bombs. I would like you to sell them to the Martial Arts Alliance. I a.s.sure you, we"ll pay a high price."

"And I already said no," I replied stiffly. Wow, this girl was persistent. Did she really think I would hand over the one advantage that Nine-Tailed Fox Sect possessed to our enemies? "If you want them, we will cooperate with you against the demonic sects, but I will be the one who uses them. Not the Martial Arts Alliance."

"Pity. I was so sure we could come to an agreement." Song Ting Yu studied me, licking her lips. "Well, you don"t seem like you"ll change your mind on that anytime. But…" her smile widened. "I"ve become more interested in you personally."

"Me?" I frowned. "I"m a very boring person. There is no reason for you to be interested in me."

Song Ting Yu burst out laughing. "Says the guy who defeated an opponent several realms and many levels above him. Stop being so modest. You"re a fascinating person. Especially those techniques you wield." She narrowed her eyes. "To be able to absorb someone"s qi…"

I immediately saw the Spirit Diagram forming inside her pink pupils and understood that she was using a spirit technique. The charm technique again? Was she really trying to use that again, even though she had already failed the last time?

Then I realized something else. I didn"t have Snow Aegis on me. Apparently, when I was unconscious and they removed my clothing, they took Snow Aegis and all more other stuff with me. Currently I was as vulnerable and literally naked before Song Ting Yu"s attack.

Or so she would think, except that I made the smart decision to strengthen my spiritual defense with Heaven and Earth Formula previously, instead of solely relying on Snow Aegis. Taking a deep breath, I formed a Spirit Diagram of my own inside my dark brown eyes, a defensive mental aegis that would guard me against her charm technique.

"You think I"m from a demonic sect?" I countered calmly.

"…" Song Ting Yu must have realized that her charm technique had no effect on me, for she suddenly broke eye contact. Shaking her head, she brought both her dripping feet out of the hot spring. "No need to be so hostile."

She then slowly stood up in a seductive manner, a sultry smile on her face.

"Why don"t we be a little more…intimate?"

"Excuse me?"

"Talking like this won"t get us anywhere." Song Ting Yu sighed dramatically. "I"ve already known that your resistance against my charm technique is absolute. So…"

She stood up straight.

"I think sharing a bit of skinship with you would allow us to open up more with each other."

"Skinship?" I repeated blankly.

Song Ting Yu giggled as she reached up to the top of her dress and loosened the strap. I watched, stunned, as her pink dress fell from her body, the silky fabric pooling at her damp feet. Song Ting Yu stood before me, completely naked and extremely gorgeous.

My face turned red.

"You…you…!" I spluttered. I couldn"t help it. Even my thirty-over self was a virgin. This was the first time I had seen a naked woman in my whole life. Turning my head away to avoid ogling at her, I managed to muster a coherent inquiry. "What do you intend to do?"

"I told you, didn"t I?" stepping out of her dress, Song Ting Yu walked into the hot spring, immersing most of her body inside the warm water. "I intend to change my negotiation methods. Like I said, we might open up more to each other if we share some skinship."

"No way!" I shouted, backing away. Except there was nowhere to retreat to because I literally had my back against a moist rock wall. "Hurry up and get dressed!"

Song Ting Yu giggled at my reaction as she slowly approached.

"What are you afraid of?"

"It"s not that I"m afraid of anything," I snapped as I raised both hands to keep her at bay. "But this sort of conduct is improper. You should only do this with a guy close to you."

And suddenly Song Ting Yu was right in front of me, grabbing my hand and curling her delicate fingers around my knuckles.

"The man I want to get close to is you, Mister Fei."

Her voice was now a throaty whisper. I suddenly understood. Now that Song Ting Yu realized that her charm techniques and spiritual methods weren"t working, she had resorted to using a more physical, baser manner. Even if she couldn"t charm or hypnotize me, she was confident in her absolute beauty to seduce me.

She leaned closer, our naked bodies almost coming in physical contact, but I managed to pull away.

"If I negotiate with you like this, would you be a lot more acceding to my request?" she asked almost innocently.

I closed my eyes briefly and sighed.

"If you"re trying to seduce me, it"s not going to work." Then I frowned when I realized something. Song Ting Yu seemed a bit unsure. She had closed the gap somewhat and was in close proximity, but she seemed like she didn"t know how to proceed. She looked as if she wanted to press closer, but her cheeks were flushed and shy, and she instinctively pulled away. Then I guffawed, causing her to frown angrily.

"This is your first time trying this sort of trick, isn"t it?" I grinned. That made sense. Song Ting Yu"s charm techniques had never failed before, so she never had to really engage in actual physical intimacy. So now that she was trying it out for the first time in reality, she was at a complete loss at what to do. "You"re a virgin like me."

"Heh." To her credit, Song Ting Yu wasn"t offended. She slightly pulled away and shrugged, her ample chest almost visible through the surface of the hot spring. "Are you disappointed?"

"No. I"m relieved, actually." It was a good thing Song Ting Yu was a complete amateur at physical seduction, or I might really have fallen into her trap. Now that I had retained a modic.u.m of my rationality, I was able to mount an effective response. "If you aren"t sure of how to do it, don"t even try it. Now get out and get dressed."

I added a chilly note to my warning, my icy qi snaking across the hot spring and freezing the water into ice. Song Ting Yu backed away instinctively.

"Hey, Fei Wu!"

Before Song Ting Yu could get out of the hot spring, a familiar voice rang through the area. Craning my neck, I spotted Tong Xue trotting in with a set of new clothing.

"I got you a fresh set of uniform. Your previous one was pretty bloodied up, so we sent it to the laundry…"
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He trailed away when he saw Song Ting Yu in the hot spring, and his jaw dropped so wide I swear it actually hit the ground.

"This isn"t what it looks like," I said, even though I knew how cheesy and clichéd that sounded. Unfortunately, there was nothing much I could say in this situation.

"You the man!" Tong Xue exclaimed, seemingly delighted that I had recovered from the loss of Tang Qi Hong and moved on. He placed my uniform nearby and flash me a thumb"s up. "Sorry for intruding. I won"t disturb you further."

"No, I mean…"

But Tong Xue was paying no attention to my explanations. He was grinning as he ran out of the hot spring.

"…"

Feeling a headache coming, I buried my face in my palm and sighed. Song Ting Yu, who had witnessed everything, chuckled.

"Now that we"ve been seen, should we do it for real?"

"If you don"t get out of the hot spring, I"ll freeze you to death." Then an idea struck me, and I shook my head. "Never mind, you can stay here for as long as you want."

"Really?" Song Ting Yu widened her eyes, completely taken aback by my sudden change in heart. "So you…"

"…are getting out of here."

Making use of the fog to hide myself, I climbed out of the hot spring, dried myself and wore my fresh uniform in a matter of seconds before Song Ting Yu or anyone beyond the fourth wall could see anything.

Song Ting Yu stared at me in disappointment. "Are you even a man?"

"Oh, I most definitely am. But that doesn"t mean I"ll sleep with any girl just because she"s beautiful."

Throwing a callous retort at her, I began striding out of the hot spring.

"Wait for me!"

Like h.e.l.l I would.

"The thing is that…" I could hear and sense Song Ting Yu getting dressed behind me. Like the gentleman I was, I kept my back on her and refused to peek. I wasn"t a h.o.r.n.y adolescent, after all. I was a guy mentally over thirty. The naked bodies of teenage girls didn"t really interest me that much. "Everyone should know by now that you"re my fiancé."

"What?!" I yelled, outraged, turning on her.

"Well…it"s easier that way, so Green Dragon Sect will stop targeting you. And you"ll be under the protection of the Martial Arts Alliance."

"I don"t need their protection," I replied furiously, the memories of their invasion still raw in my mind. Stomping off, I ignored her pleas to wait and left the hot spring.

"Oh, so you"re finally up." Xiao Zhang coincidentally happened to be outside when I emerged. Though I suspected he had been waiting there for quite a bit, or immediately swooped down here when Tong Xue reported my status. Or perhaps they could sense my qi and tell whether I was awake or not. In any case, I was sure it was no coincidence.

"Sorry for the trouble," I apologized and bowed my head.

"It"s no trouble at all. Actually, that was a ma.s.sive achievement…to be able to defeat and slay someone of Mo Long"s caliber…" Xiao Zhang grinned and stroked his beard. "Very impressive. You have brought pride and honor to our academy."

I only did that because the b.a.s.t.a.r.d was trying to kill me. And also because I was fascinated by his techniques and wanted them for my own, but admittedly, if he wasn"t attempting to a.s.sa.s.sinate me, I wouldn"t have slain him. I would have just politely approached him and asked him to teach me. Heaven and Earth Absorption was actually less effective when it came to stealing techniques as there were a lot of unknowns and variables, and I had no mentor to accurately guide me along the right path. I would have to improvise.

"There"s also one more thing I have to inform you."

Xiao Zhang was being as cryptic as usual, and it was annoying the h.e.l.l out of me. I was already in a bad mood after Song Ting Yu"s bungled attempt at seduction, and didn"t have the patience to play along with his games.

"What is it?" I asked frankly.

"Well…the fiery yang qi that you absorbed from Mo Long…it"s not going to fade away."

Now that Xiao Zhang mentioned it, he was right. After leaving the hot spring, I could still feel the molten fiery yang qi ravaging through my qi channels. They had grown hotter, but at least I could suppress them with my icy yin qi, unlike before.

"To keep it under control, you"ll probably have to soak regularly in the h.e.l.lfire Yang Hot Spring." Xiao Zhang glanced at the wooden enclosure behind me. "Until you find a way to expel the fiery yang qi, or a.s.similate it."

"I"ll definitely a.s.similate it. Eventually." I vowed.

"I have no doubt you will, but…it seems like this time it"s different." Xiao Zhang frowned as he studied me. "Your body has not adapted well to the presence of the fiery yang qi and is struggling to a.s.similate it despite your best attempts. Normally, immersing your body in the h.e.l.lfire Yang Hot Spring should have allowed you to successfully a.s.similate it under normal circ.u.mstances, even if you"re unconscious, but it didn"t seem like it worked."

I felt a chill run down my spine. That was not good.

"Well…it"ll also be troublesome if you go on missions. I recall that you were going to the Toxic Marshes to hunt down the Black Venom Cult." Xiao Zhang scratched his head. "Obviously you"ll be there for quite some time, and you won"t have any h.e.l.lfire Yang Hot Springs to help you, so you"ll probably need this."

He produced a bottle of pills. I took them hesitantly.

"These are…?"

"Nine Yin Pills. They are similar to the Nine Yang Pills that Ling Qing Zhu of the Incendiary Ifrit Sect is taking currently, to suppress the icy yin qi that is ravaging her body. I suppose you have heard of her? After all, I recall that you"re the one who temporarily saved her from that."

I did remember Ling Qing Zhu and her condition. I had never thought I would end up suffering from the same condition. Whoops. I had truly underestimated the pure yang qi produced by the cultivation of Solar Celestial Dragon Formula.

"Thank you."

"They are only a temporary stopgap. But knowing you, you"ll definitely find a way."

Xiao Zhang placed an a.s.suring hand on my shoulder, and then turned to leave.

"Good luck, Student Fei Wu. Work hard for the glory of both your sect, and for Wu Ling Academy!"

I watched as he disappeared, and nodded, knowing he was referring to the mission to the Toxic Marshes. I had best get prepared for that mission then.

Known to the both of us (Xiao Zhang and I could sense Song Ting Yu"s badly concealed presence behind the wooden gate), Song Ting Yu had been leaning close and eavesdropping on our conversation. A smile spread over her beautiful face.

"The Toxic Marshes, huh?" she whispered as a brilliant idea (or incredibly moronic idea, depending on who you ask) flickered to life inside her crafty mind.