CSMCDB - Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Wen Yuncheng was in too much pain to argue with 1947. Enduring the agony of body tempering was bad enough.
After about ten minutes, 1947 suddenly set off an alarm bell in Wen Yuncheng's mind. The sound made Wen Yuncheng, her face contorted in pain, flinch. "What are you doing?"
[I think someone's coming!]
Wen Yuncheng: ?
What did you say?!
Wen Yuncheng's first reaction was that she'd been caught sneaking in. Ignoring the pain, she stared at the entrance and listened intently. It seemed she really could hear footsteps. Panic set in. "If I get caught for this violation, am I going to be expelled? Why didn't my cheap teacher put some kind of lock on this back door!" Wen Yuncheng paced anxiously, stuffing her dirty clothes from the bank into her storage ring. She took a deep breath and submerged herself completely in the Fire Tempering Bath.
The footsteps drew closer.
Wen Yuncheng didn't dare to breathe, afraid that even a few bubbles might float to the surface. But being fully submerged was truly unbearable. Wen Yuncheng suspected that those iron-headed kids probably tempered their bones just like this, head and all.
1947, can you see if that person has left? I can't hold my breath much longer, Wen Yuncheng urged mentally.
1947 resignedly adjusted its perspective and looked up—only to see a mosaic.
[That person... seems to have taken off all their clothes. All I see is a mosaic.] 1947's tone was puzzled, then it became alarmed. [They-they-they're getting in the water!!!]
Holy crap, male or female?!
[It's a mosaic, I can't see!]
You said you have—Ah! Wen Yuncheng was still bickering with 1947 when she felt a foot step on her head. The pressure pushed her down in the Fire Tempering Bath, and caught off guard, she swallowed a mouthful of the viscous liquid...
[Cub! Get out! Spit it out, quickly! You can't drink that!—] The old father figure shrieked in panic.
"Who's there?"
...That voice sounded a little familiar?
Wen Yuncheng's mind was fuzzy. She instinctively swam upward and was pulled out by a hand. The thick, red liquid splashed everywhere. Wen Yuncheng collapsed, her upper body on the bank, and coughed up the liquid she had just swallowed.
She lay on the bank coughing for a long time, her face a mess of snot and tears, feeling utterly miserable. By the time she realized how strangely quiet the place was, it was already...
"Lin-Lin Jinyu? Why are you here?!"
"Classes during the day, practical combat in the afternoon. So, I cultivate in the Fire Tempering Bath at night." Lin Jinyu's expression was still relatively calm. Wen Yuncheng couldn't tell if she had already gotten over her surprise.
"I-I see..." Wen Yuncheng was too embarrassed to continue the conversation.
"You're a girl."
The tone was as casual as saying the moon was very big tonight. Wen Yuncheng was so startled she choked on her own saliva. She quickly covered her chest and shrank to the edge of the bath. "I-I... I really didn't know about the engagement, and I never meant to deceive you, it's just..."
"No need to explain." Only Lin Jinyu's head was visible above the water. "Hurry up and cultivate. You're only a Star Practitioner 1st Layer. Remember to get out in two hours."
"Ah, oh, o-okay." Wen Yuncheng meekly gave in, feeling a little guilty. She slowly sank back into the Fire Tempering Bath, leaving only her head exposed. Now, no matter how much it hurt, she forced herself to maintain her composure, not daring to make that ferocious face again.
...Well, it made sense. They were both girls, what was wrong with taking a bath together? It was perfectly normal! If she were a boy, Lin Jinyu would have probably run her through with a sword by now. Wen Yuncheng let her mind wander to distract herself from the pain.
The system, which had been silent for a long time, finally spoke up: [Why is it this woman again!]
Hah, you have the nerve to talk?
[You were both just mosaics, what could I say? I couldn't help it.] 1947 sounded helpless. [Cub, it's over now. You'll probably never be able to complete that mission.]
I never planned on completing it anyway, Wen Yuncheng said to herself. But the mission to challenge Lin Jinyu was still achievable.
With that thought, Wen Yuncheng couldn't help but look over at Lin Jinyu. The young girl had her eyes closed and her face was expressionless, as if she were sound asleep. Of course, Wen Yuncheng knew it was impossible to sleep through the pain of the Fire Tempering Bath, so Lin Jinyu must be enduring it to cultivate.
She's so hardworking...
As her thoughts drifted, Wen Yuncheng's attention shifted to Lin Jinyu's profile. If the water weren't so thick that any movement would be felt by Lin Jinyu, she really would have wanted to admire Lin Jinyu's face from all 360 degrees.
1947, look at her, isn't she beautiful? When her features mature a bit more and her expression becomes a little colder, wow!
[...]
But even now, though her face is blank, she still looks soft. The contrast with her cold expression is so cute. I wonder if her voice will change when she grows up.
[Cub, can you please not act like a pervert.] 1947 felt heartbroken. [Can you wipe your drool?]
I have nothing to discuss with a system that has no aesthetic sense. Wen Yuncheng dissed 1947, pursed her lips, and confirmed that she wasn't actually drooling before she felt relieved. Then again, the tears she'd cried from the pain had already evaporated, so any drool probably wouldn't have left a trace either.
Lin Jinyu kept her eyes closed the entire time.
So, for the rest of her time, Wen Yuncheng was secretly glancing at Lin Jinyu—no, she was openly admiring her. It wasn't until the system reminded her that time was up that Wen Yuncheng reluctantly averted her gaze. "My time is up, I'm getting out."
"Mm." Lin Jinyu silently turned, showing Wen Yuncheng the back of her head.
Wen Yuncheng suddenly found Lin Jinyu a little cute. She suppressed a laugh and climbed onto the bank. At first, she stumbled, not yet accustomed to being out, but thankfully she didn't fall. Once she had deftly changed into her pajamas, she was about to leave. But then she remembered something and said seriously, "Um, about getting into the academy, thank you. I'll repay you."
"No need."
Wen Yuncheng didn't reply. If I just let it go because you said so, wouldn't I lose face? Besides, this kind of thing isn't just about words.
The footsteps gradually faded away.
In the Fire Tempering Bath, Lin Jinyu tilted her head and suddenly sighed. Her ears were a little red, but it could have been from the heat of the environment; they were always red anyway.
Wen Yuncheng had been staring at her... making it hard for her to even move. Wen Yuncheng is such a strange person, Lin Jinyu thought.
In every respect, she was just too unique, too strange.
And, she was actually a girl.
Thinking about Wen Yuncheng's battles when she was a Star Apostle, Lin Jinyu felt an increasingly indescribable feeling.
"1947, I feel like my whole body is brimming with power! Tomorrow, if I fight Zhou Xuan hand-to-hand, he might not even be my match!" Wen Yuncheng stretched her body. If she weren't in her pajamas, she would have run another two kilometers to earn points.
[...The Fire Tempering Bath isn't that miraculous. It's a place for long-term cultivation. You think you can be completely reborn after just two hours? You'd be better off going to sleep.]
"But my cheap teacher didn't say I could go again tomorrow."
[You're lucky to get one session as a Star Practitioner 1st Layer. Be content. You'll only get regular access if you're still in A-Class in your second year.]
Wen Yuncheng suddenly felt like she had just tasted a delicious meal, only to have it taken away after a single bite.
Fine, then.
The next morning, Wen Yuncheng still felt a bit dazed.
It wasn't until she finished her morning two-kilometer run and felt less tired than before that she truly believed last night had been real. Although she had only soaked for two hours, the effects of the body and bone tempering were very noticeable for a weakling like her.
With 50 experience points in hand, Wen Yuncheng went back to shower, changed into clean clothes, and headed to the cafeteria for breakfast. The 350 experience points she had earned yesterday, plus the 50 from this morning, brought her total to 3315. If nothing unexpected happened... she would level up today.
After getting the experience from her noon two-kilometer run, Wen Yuncheng wondered who her third sparring partner this afternoon would be, and imagined their expressions when they saw she had reached Star Practitioner 2nd Layer so quickly.
When she sparred with Zhou Xuan and the others after dinner... they would probably be shocked too. But after this period, Wen Yuncheng probably wouldn't push herself so hard anymore. She needed to relax for a while. Pushing oneself too hard for too long wasn't good.
[It's only Star Practitioner 2nd Layer, it's not like you can learn new skills.] 1947 said. [But the month is almost over. When you get your Star Stones, remember to upgrade your equipment and make a few more C-01 Guardians to protect yourself.]
Speaking of which... Wen Yuncheng thought about the large sum of money she might receive this month and the Star Stones that would flow out like water. She only had about 11,000 Star Stones on hand, as food and drink also cost money. She had no other expenses, and this was all she had earned from working herself to the bone on weekends.
The sales of the mechanical armguards... should be pretty good. Not just within the academy, even some of Wen Yuncheng's opponents in the Dueling Arena had already switched to them. The only difference was that they had to manually press a button to operate them. If someone else bought one and it got damaged, they couldn't repair it themselves, which meant she could continue to make money from it.
Wen Yuncheng leveled up after sparring with the third student.
Host: Wen Yuncheng
Race: Human
Age: 15
Class: Mechanical Master
Level: 14
Experience: 15/4000
Points: 114
The moment she leveled up, all the students in A-Class looked at her as if she were a freak—how long had it been, and she'd leveled up again?!
If Wen Yuncheng weren't also fifteen years old, they would probably be even more frantic.
The consequence of Wen Yuncheng's magnificent level-up, which drew a wave of resentment, was that the fourth sparring partner was slow to appear. It wasn't until the teacher randomly picked a student that Wen Yuncheng finally got a combat opponent.
Star Practitioner 2nd Layer in one month, achieved.
That evening, after a celebratory dinner with Zhou Xuan and the others in the cafeteria, Wen Yuncheng didn't ask them to spar. She practiced a few basic fighting moves on her own and then ran two kilometers in one go.
With the prerequisite for the Beast Tide mission completed, she now just had to wait for Yan Ling to take her to the Demonic Beast Great Forest to get 3000 experience and 200 points. It was simply too good to be true. The 200 points, in particular, gave Wen Yuncheng the illusion of being suddenly rich.
The next day, Wen Yuncheng went to the forging building and, as expected, found the vice headmaster.
"I knew you'd come, kid." The vice headmaster had heard about Wen Yuncheng's breakthrough to Star Practitioner 2nd Layer yesterday and guessed she would come today. "Don't worry, I've already submitted your name. That girl Yan will take you with her."
"Thank you, Vice Headmaster!" Wen Yuncheng smiled, her heart at ease. But she had another purpose for coming this time... "Um, I..."
Get instant access to all chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment