Inside Qing Yan’s bedroom.
A screen depicting flowers and birds concealed a wooden tub, and the mist rising from behind it made the entire room feel as hazy and ethereal as a dream.
Qing Yan soaked in the hot water strewn with flower petals. A few crystal droplets trickled down her fragrant neck, slid past her charming collarbones, and finally vanished into the snowy, half-exposed valley of her chest.
“It’s been so long, and the Young Master still isn't back...”
She toyed with the petals in the water with a hint of loneliness. Her slender arms were like congealed fat, and her snowy skin was flushed slightly pink from the heat.
“Woof, woof.”
Just then, Wang Cai suddenly squeezed through the gap in the door and ran inside. But before he could even raise his head, a silver-bell-like laugh echoed in his ears:
“If you dare look up to peek, I’ll poke your dog eyes out.”
Though the voice was crisp and pleasant, it sent a chill down Wang Cai’s spine, and he hurriedly shook his head.
“Don’t—don't worry, I definitely wouldn't dare peek.”
Despite his words, Wang Cai clearly felt a bit wronged.
“This is total double standards. You’ve never been on guard against that human; you even invited him to bathe with you once...”
“I—I was just joking with the Young Master!”
Qing Yan’s cheeks instantly flushed a deep crimson. She bashfully submerged half her face into the water, blowing a string of bubbles.
“Even a dog wouldn't believe those words, Miss!”
Wang Cai let out a dissatisfied bark.
He paced back and forth beside the wooden tub, seemingly unsure of how to speak.
After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh and said, “I actually came to find you for something else, Miss.”
“What is it?”
“I just wanted to ask... Miss, are you sure you want to stay by this human’s side?”
“Of course. I said I would stay by the Young Master’s side forever,” Qing Yan replied without hesitation.
“But is that really possible?”
The big yellow dog’s tail drooped, and he wore a look of human-like concern.
“Setting aside the fact that Chen Ning has somehow become a cultivator, there is something more important. In half a month, the once-in-fifty-years Blood Moon Night will arrive.
“Once the Blood Moon Night descends, even the most powerful demons will be forced to reveal their true forms.
“When that time comes, are you certain this human won't turn his sword against you?”
Hearing the words “Blood Moon Night,” the light in Qing Yan’s eyes dimmed with a touch of loneliness.
Up until now, she truly hadn't thought about what would happen when the Blood Moon Night arrived.
But...
Next, the corners of Qing Yan’s mouth curled up slightly.
“I believe that even on the day he discovers my true form, he will never draw his sword against me.”
“Is that so? In that case, I have nothing more to say.
“Just please remember, your identity is not that of an ordinary white fox. The fate of a mere human makes it difficult for him to survive by your side. If you truly wish for him to live a long life, leaving him sooner might be the better choice.”
The big yellow dog sighed. Having finished his piece, he left the courtyard.
Love was truly a terrifying thing. It was hard to imagine that the once cold-as-frost Miss would undergo such a massive change.
Of course, this change only manifested toward Chen Ning alone...
In the blink of an eye, he returned to his usual state of a silly dog wandering aimlessly, and the sense of indifference from moments ago vanished completely.
However, Wang Cai’s words continued to echo in Qing Yan’s ears.
She draped a thin white gauze dress over herself and walked to the window on snowy bare feet. After her bath, her slender and graceful figure was faintly visible through the fabric.
“Leave the Young Master...?”
Her autumn-water eyes, clear as the stream, gazed up at the sky, and she remained silent for a long time.
...
【Chen Ning】
【Noble Qi: 218】
【Purple Qi Protection (Great Perfection)】
【Substitute Puppet Technique (0/200)】
【Poem and Wine Sword Art (100/400)】
【Merit Protection (0/200)】
After returning to the shore, Chen Ning was pleasantly surprised to find a new Divine Ability in his panel called Merit Protection.
According to the system’s description, Merit Protection could condense Confucian merit and coat it inside and outside the body to defend against attacks.
Not only that, Merit Protection could also enhance strength. When applied to the skin, it could even make the skin harder than iron or stone.
No matter how one looked at it, this was a lethal tool for both offense and defense!
All the Divine Abilities he had mastered before were offensive in nature; he happened to be lacking a method that also provided defense.
With this Merit Protection, even if someone tried to sneak up on him while he was sleeping, their blade would probably break before it could even cut an inch of his skin!
He hadn't expected the Confucian school to have such a defensive Divine Ability that rivaled the hard-body Martial Cultivators!
Chen Ning suddenly had a bold idea.
If he found a graveyard overrun by demons and just lay there one day, using Merit Protection for defense while the Noble Righteous Qi and Sword Intent around him eliminated the demons... wouldn't that allow for fully automated mob farming and idle leveling?!
From eliminating the Half-Snake Water Ghost and over a hundred Ghost Infants, combined with the Noble Qi gained from reading over the past few days, Chen Ning had accumulated over two hundred points of Noble Qi in total.
He used this Noble Qi to raise each of his three unfinished Divine Abilities by one level.
This brought Poem and Wine Sword Art to the second level, Thorough Understanding, while Substitute Puppet Technique and Merit Protection both reached the first level, Initial Glimpse.
As the Divine Abilities grew, the Substitute Puppet Technique had already overcome the major issue of the paper figure substitutes lacking warmth and a sense of reality.
Not only did they possess the strength to fight several grown men, but their appearance and touch had become even more lifelike.
It just so happened that the village’s private school was short a teacher. Now, he could use a Substitute Puppet to teach those children in his place without any fear of being discovered!
As for Merit Protection after reaching the Initial Glimpse stage...
Chen Ning leaned down, picked up a few extremely hard pebbles, coated his hand in a layer of golden light, and gave them a light squeeze.
“Crack!”
When he opened his hand, the pebbles were not only completely shattered, but parts of them had been ground directly into powder by the terrifying force!
“Ch—Chen, Brother Chen, what are you doing?”
Jingkong and the others were so startled that their whole bodies trembled.
“Nothing, just testing my strength a bit.”
“Testing a bit?”
Jingkong’s jaw nearly hit the ground in shock.
Crushing pebbles into powder with one hand—and you call that testing a bit?
As a Martial Monk, Jingkong had always felt that his strength was the only thing he had that could be considered respectable.
But compared to this, his Dao Heart nearly wavered.
“Brother Chen... are you absolutely sure you’re a Confucian Cultivator?”
“Of course. What else could I be?”
As he spoke, Chen Ning casually crushed a few more boulders by the river.
Jingkong: “...”
He suddenly felt that he might as well stop being a Martial Monk...
Amidst his existential crisis, he suddenly remembered something.
“Right, Brother Chen, since you belong to the Confucian school, do you plan to participate in the Water Cloud Academy grand exam in three days?”
“Water Cloud Academy? What’s that?”
“Brother Chen, you actually don’t know?!”
Jingkong was taken aback.
“I knew you were dedicated to your studies, but I didn't expect you to be so indifferent to fame and officialdom.
“Water Cloud Academy is the number one academy in the Xuanfeng Dynasty. It is home to our dynasty’s only Confucian Sub-Saint.
“While the triennial capital examinations are indeed very important, for many Confucian scholars, Water Cloud Academy is the place they truly yearn for.
“It’s not just because Water Cloud Academy houses countless classics and is a sacred land of Confucianism. Every Grand Confucian within the academy holds a prestigious status and wields great power in the imperial court.
“If a scholar can pass the palace examination and simultaneously earn the appreciation of Water Cloud Academy, their future is almost certainly boundless!”
Even Chen Ning was surprised.
It wasn't that he wasn't interested in wealth and power, but because he had moved to the secluded countryside after the Chen family’s downfall shortly after his transmigration. Thus, his impression of the Xuanfeng Dynasty was limited to the simplest path of taking exams, becoming an official, becoming a corrupt official, and getting rich. He hadn't expected there to be other shortcuts.
“Water Cloud Academy is that impressive? What does the exam in three days involve?”
Jingkong said, “The content of the exam is actually very simple. You only need to compose a single poem, which I will send to Water Cloud Academy on your behalf.
“However, the standards of those Grand Confucians at Water Cloud Academy are extremely high; they won't easily grant their approval. In the past few decades, the number of people who pass the Water Cloud Academy exam each year probably doesn't exceed five.”
Chen Ning didn't care about the difficulty at all; he only asked one question:
“No limit on the theme?”
“No limit.”
“No limit on the poetic meter?”
“No limit.”
“Then isn't this as easy as pie?!”
Chen Ning was overjoyed.
For a literary plagiarizer like him, such an exam was as easy as rolling over in bed after waking up!
He picked up the paper figure he had used earlier, casually wrote a line of poetry on it, and handed it to Jingkong with a flourish.
Jingkong was dumbfounded. “Th—That fast?”
Chen Ning smiled. “I have some confidence in my poetic talent. Go ahead and take it.”
“Brother Chen, don’t joke around. This is the Water Cloud Academy exam; you can’t be too casual. If you happen to anger those Grand Confucians in the academy...”
Jingkong hurriedly tried to advise him, but halfway through, he accidentally caught a glimpse of the words on the paper figure.
His eyes instantly widened, and he felt a wave of numbness crawl across his scalp.
For a long time, he couldn't utter a single word from the shock.
He simply gave a high thumbs-up and, with a voice trembling with respect, said a single word:
“Marvelous!”
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