Jiang Huai hadn’t lost in a long time.
He didn’t have any particular obsession with winning or losing. Winning was winning, and losing was losing. He had genuinely unleashed the Overlord Art with all his strength to match Su Qingyi’s sword speed, dissecting her moves time and again. However, his sword speed couldn’t surpass hers, so after several dozen breaths, he was defeated.
But since they were going to explore the Secret Realm together tomorrow, Jiang Huai felt it was necessary to reveal his full capabilities. He said softly, “I have another secret technique that can raise my cultivation to Void Refinement Level Two, for about two incense sticks’ worth of time.”
Su Qingyi nodded slightly. She had already put on her silver high heels and sat up straight again, her fox tail still resting on her lap. Jiang Huai continued, “I also have a soul secret technique, though its effectiveness against Demonic Beasts is probably average. And there’s a very powerful sword technique that only requires one strike. After using it, I’ll be weak for a long time, but it should be fine for dealing with Demonic Beasts below Body Integration.”
Su Qingyi simply nodded again.
Su Qingyi just sat there quietly, not speaking, like a silent Fox Girl statue, letting Jiang Huai’s gaze rest upon her. The dazzling sunlight illuminated her skin, making it incredibly translucent. She didn’t seem to care about what Jiang Huai called his “one-strike sword technique against beasts below Body Integration,” as there wouldn’t be anyone below Body Integration who could match her anyway.
The climate in the Fox Clan territory was excessively hot, and Jiang Huai felt a little thirsty. He took out his water pot and took a large gulp. Su Qingyi quickly noticed the fine sweat beads on his forehead and said softly, “Follow me.”
Jiang Huai stood up and followed her, watching her fox tail sway gently. He gradually became distracted, and when he came to his senses, he found himself following Su Qingyi into her palace. The moment he entered, the oppressive heat seemed to vanish, and the temperature dropped slightly. Jiang Huai looked at her with curiosity and heard Su Qingyi reply softly, “My spiritual脉 is water-attuned. The Jade Cold Jade at the heart of the courtyard is used as the foundation for the Spirit Gathering Array, which is why it’s cooler here. You can sleep in that room tonight, and I’ll wake you up in the morning for departure.”
Jiang Huai nodded gently and sat down under the locust tree in the courtyard. The coolness under the shade of the tree gradually calmed his heart, which had been agitated by the weather. Su Qingyi, meanwhile, sat by the chair, removed her silver high heels from her slender jade feet, and began practicing her swordplay under the scorching sunlight.
Her sword technique was fluid and graceful, a pleasure to behold at a glance. Jiang Huai’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to her. In the momentary gap as she turned sideways, her exposed side-boob through the sleeveless Qipao trembled with her movements. The hem of her Qipao swayed with her dancing feet, and her snow-white, slender legs were shapely and fair. Though they seemed delicate, they contained an incredibly terrifying power. The light played on the curves of her taut thighs, each line clean and beautiful.
Every sword strike she unleashed was almost her best effort, repeated over and over, operating with the precision of a machine. Jiang Huai gradually became engrossed, watching the sword tip flip out various sword flowers in her hand. It wasn’t until fine sweat beads appeared on her skin, slightly soaking her Qipao and clinging to her snow-white body, that she finally stopped practicing. Her sword-wielding hand began to tremble slightly. *She’s so diligent.*
Su Qingyi didn’t say anything but turned and walked towards the backyard bathhouse, her fox tail trailing behind her. Jiang Huai closed his eyes to enjoy the cool shade. When the sound of footsteps approached again, he slowly opened his eyes. In an instant, his pupils contracted slightly, and he hurriedly averted his gaze. Su Qingyi, having just bathed, was dressed particularly scantily. She wore only a white, thin dress, its weight supported by straps around her neck. The dress barely covered the snow mounds on her chest, and the hem barely reached past her snow buttocks. As she turned slightly, her entire back was exposed. In the bright sunlight, the thin dress was almost transparent, her slender waist peeking through the fabric. Such a cool, thin dress naturally made Jiang Huai afraid to look around, yet Su Qingyi seemed completely unaware. She simply stood in the sunlight, gently shaking her fox tail, dislodging water droplets, and making her wet tail fluffy again.
Jiang Huai almost thought that perhaps the Fox Clan was planning some honey trap for him. But a moment later, he suddenly understood. Since all cultivators in the Fox Clan were female, there were only female foxes in the Fox Clan’s Imperial City. Su Qingyi likely didn’t think her attire was inappropriate in front of him. Yet, Jiang Huai didn’t know whether to remind her. He realized that the Monster Clan’s customs differed greatly from the Human Clan’s in many aspects. For example, Bai Li would make suggestive jokes about him in front of Bai Jin, but if it were the Human Clan, Bai Li would probably be smacked on the head by her mother for being shameless on the first occasion. Jiang Huai had tried to correct Bai Li twice, but after failing, he gave up. *When in Rome, do as the Romans do.*
“What is it?” Su Qingyi’s cold and indifferent voice suddenly rang out. Jiang Huai turned his gaze back, trying his best to focus only on her cheeks. Looking at her clear, autumn-pupil-like eyes, he said softly, “Your dress…” “I usually dress like this in the courtyard. If it has offended you, I apologize.” “Off-offended?” Jiang Huai didn’t feel offended at all. He felt it was too “spicy.” But after a moment, he suddenly realized that differences in perspective couldn’t be changed in a short time. He could only say softly, “No, it’s not exactly offensive.” “That’s good.” Su Qingyi nodded gently. Then, she sat down by the stone table, took out a pile of materials for drawing formations and diagrams, and began meticulously drawing them.
Jiang Huai didn’t disturb her and closed his eyes, planning to take a nap. He was startled awake by an explosion near his ear. He opened his eyes, and Su Qingyi looked at the shattered talisman paper in front of her, biting her lip. After a moment, she noticed Jiang Huai, who had been woken up, and said apologetically, “Sorry… I didn’t expect it to explode when drawn like this. I’ll draw it elsewhere.” “Explode? What talisman are you drawing?” “The Form Restraining Talisman.” Jiang Huai walked closer and looked at the “Complete Compendium of Talisman Engraving” on her table. This was a beginner’s guide to talismans. Jiang Huai had read it before, but unfortunately, most talismans above the Earth rank had restricted information. The talismans above Earth rank in the book only had simple descriptions of their creation methods, but didn’t really explain many details. Talismans and formations were unique to the Human Clan. The greed and selfishness of the Human Clan meant they would never easily impart their hard-won knowledge to strangers.
Jiang Huai hesitated for a moment and asked softly, “Shall I teach you?” “You know how?” Su Qingyi was slightly taken aback. “I know a little about talismans and formations.” Jiang Huai thought to himself that he already owed the Fox Clan a favor, and if there was a way to reciprocate, he would do so. He picked up the spiritual brush on the table, bent slightly, and carefully engraved on the talisman paper, while also explaining to Su Qingyi the crucial points to pay attention to when drawing the Form Restraining Talisman. Jiang Huai knew these things because he was bored. Many seemingly complex things he understood at a glance, and learning them wasn’t difficult for him. Back at the Tian Xuan Sect, he was treated as a Saint Son, and if he wanted to learn formations and talismans, there were countless secret books for him to study. His memory was excellent, and he recalled many key details. Talismans and formations were like the technology of cultivators. Many sword cultivators, on the other hand, disdained learning these things. They placed more faith in the sword in their hands. Talismans and formations were, after all, considered unorthodox paths. But the reason Jiang Huai was bored was that no matter how he practiced his swordplay, his techniques wouldn’t improve, yet he had many boring and monotonous hours to fill.
“This is the Form Restraining Talisman?” “Mmm.” Jiang Huai nodded gently. “The materials are limited, so it only has a binding effect on cultivators within the fifth realm.” “Let’s try it.” Su Qingyi said softly. So, Jiang Huai pinched the talisman, lit it with a wisp of weak spiritual energy, and instantly the talisman burned, turning into a spiritual chain that flew towards Su Qingyi. With Su Qingyi’s cultivation level, she could have evaded it, but to test the talisman, she stood still and let the spiritual chain bind her hands. A moment later, the spiritual chain wrapped around her slender legs, pulling them tightly together. Jiang Huai was momentarily stunned. The sight of the bound Fox Girl once again gave rise to strange thoughts in his mind. Sometimes Jiang Huai wished he could wash his brain thoroughly, to stop having such strange, “bottom-feeding” thoughts all day. But at that moment, Su Qingyi’s chest was tightly bound by the thin rope, making her breasts appear even fuller and rounder. Her dress was already somewhat transparent, and her face remained cold and indifferent. As the spiritual chain tightened, her porcelain-white, tender skin left a slight red mark. Jiang Huai took the opportunity to explain to her, “The Form Killing Talisman, which is a step further than the Form Restraining Talisman, involves setting the tightening force of the spiritual chain to be even more terrifying when engraving the talisman. The spiritual chain also becomes finer and more condensed, directly strangling the person into pieces. Many heavenly-ranked talismans are eventually improved and evolved from earthly-ranked talismans. Therefore, to study talismans, one must lay a solid foundation for every single one.”
“I understand.” Su Qingyi gently raised her hand and broke free from the spiritual chain. She had deliberately suppressed her spiritual energy restraint earlier to test the strength of the spiritual chain. But because of this, her delicate white dress began to show significant signs of tearing and cracking under the strain. Now her white dress was shattered, exposing large patches of her white and tender skin to Jiang Huai’s sight. Yet, she showed no shame or blush, only saying softly, “Pardon me.” “It’s okay.” Jiang Huai looked up at the sky. “I’ll go change.” Su Qingyi turned and walked back into the room. Jiang Huai watched behind her as the remnants of her dress slowly fell, further enhanced by her movements. He could even see the underwear beneath her skirt hem; it was a super lightweight style with thin straps. Before any strange thoughts could surface in his mind, Jiang Huai punched his own chin, forcing his head to look back up at the sky. *Jiang Xiaohu, you are a gentleman and a Hamster baby. No looking where you shouldn’t.*
