Time ticked away, minute by minute, and gradually, darkness fell.
The moon was like a silver plate, set against a sky full of stars.
After absorbing their soul rings, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Nanmen Yun'er, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, and Wang Gang woke up one after another. However, seeing that everyone else—including Feng Piaoling—was busy cultivating, they had no choice but to suppress the joy in their hearts and re-enter a state of cultivation themselves.
As for Ju Zi, although she possessed the highest cultivation among them, her efficiency in absorbing soul rings was the slowest.
After finally finishing her absorption, she did not continue cultivating. Instead, she walked over to the massive boulder where Feng Piaoling was seated and sat down right next to him.
Sensing Ju Zi's arrival, Feng Piaoling opened his eyes and exited his cultivation state.
He pulled out a soundproofing soul tool to envelop himself and Ju Zi, then looked at her and asked, "What's wrong? Are you not used to our pace of cultivation? If you aren't, you can go to sleep first. With me here, you don't need to worry about any soul beast attacks."
During these past few days together, Feng Piaoling and the others had spent all their time cultivating whenever they weren't searching for soul beasts. Because of this, Ju Zi had altered her usual regular routine, following their lead by replacing sleep with cultivation.
Ju Zi shook her head. "It's not really a matter of being used to it or not. I just obtained my fifth soul ring and wanted you to test out my fifth soul skill."
As she spoke, five soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black—flashed out from beneath her. In her hand, an orange adorned with silver patterns appeared.
"Then I shall gladly accept," Feng Piaoling said as he took the orange and popped it into his mouth without even peeling it.
The orange melted the moment it entered his mouth. To his surprise, he discovered that after consuming it, his mental strength instantly surged by about fifty percent. Furthermore, there seemed to be attribute bonuses as well.
Right in front of Ju Zi, Feng Piaoling produced a Fire Bullet Talisman, an Earth Evasion Talisman, and a Dark Gold Talisman.
Through comparison, he found that the fireball manifested by the Fire Bullet Talisman had increased in power by fifty percent, and the speed and range of the Earth Evasion Talisman had also increased by fifty percent. The Dark Gold Talisman's power remained unchanged.
Feng Piaoling said in amazement, "It can actually boost mental strength by fifty percent instantly. My fire and earth attributes were enhanced too. If I'm not mistaken, it should be equally effective for the wind, water, thunder, light, and dark attributes. It looks like after absorbing the Silver Moon Wolf King's soul ring, you not only inherited its mental attribute but also the seven elemental attributes it could control."
He then silently estimated the duration and nodded. "Though it only lasts for three minutes, it can already be considered an incredibly extraordinary auxiliary soul skill."
Ju Zi smiled. "This is all thanks to the Silver Moon Wolf King you helped me hunt. At this rate, I might even be able to advance to a Class 6 Soul Engineer before I reach the rank of Soul Emperor."
"It was just a minor effort," Feng Piaoling waved his hand dismissively.
Ju Zi's expression suddenly turned serious. "Piaoling, do you know? I really envy the relationship between all of you."
"Why do you say that?" Feng Piaoling asked with mild interest.
Ju Zi looked toward Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, and the others who were still cultivating, and said softly, "Pardon my bluntness, but at the very beginning, I thought you were just using them, treating them as tools for your revenge. I even thought I was no exception. But after spending these days together, I realized that the feelings between you all are truly pure. This kind of friendship, unburdened by any conflict of interest or calculation, is really enviable."
Hearing this, the corner of Feng Piaoling's lips curled up slightly. In the beginning, he indeed had the intention of utilizing these people, and when they chose to leave with him back then, most of them had also done so for their own benefit.
However, as time passed, driven by the anxiety of being in a foreign land, the group had huddled together for warmth and began to rely on Feng Piaoling. Especially during their encounters with soul beasts in the Jing Yang Mountain Range, it was Feng Piaoling who had protected them through several dangerous attacks.
That initially impure friendship had gradually become genuine.
Moreover, Feng Piaoling had always possessed a character of treating others with sincerity if they treated him with sincerity. This was also why, after obtaining Electrolux's approval, he was willing to unreservedly teach them the Soul-Cleaving Divine Eye.
"If you feel envious, you can join us too. We rank ourselves by strength. If you join, I can let you be the Second Sister," Feng Piaoling told her with a smile.
"Me?" Ju Zi froze for a moment. Looking at Feng Piaoling's handsome face so close to hers, and seeing his clear, bottomless gaze, she could tell he was neither teasing her nor being insincere.
She admitted to herself that she was indeed tempted. But the moment she thought of the deep blood feud she carried and the pressure coming from Xu Tianran, she ultimately shook her head. "I think I'll pass. If I really were to join, that lord over there wouldn't be able to sleep at night."
"True enough." The two shared a knowing smile.
Ju Zi paused for a moment before adding, "But fortunately, none of your brothers and sisters belong to the Duke of White Tiger's manor. This way, I don't have to worry about encountering them on the battlefield. If there comes a day when I complete my revenge against the Duke of White Tiger, I would be willing to become their Second Sister."
"Alright then, I will keep this position of Second Sister open for you forever. But you'll have to cultivate hard. Otherwise, if your cultivation falls behind when the time comes, you might end up as Eleventh Sister instead," Feng Piaoling teased.
"Bah, who are you looking down on?" Ju Zi let out a soft huff. As if to retaliate, she mimicked Feng Piaoling's tone and said mischieviously, "I can tell exactly what kind of thoughts those nine people have. Huang Chutian looks up to you with awe, admiration, and gratitude, and Wang Gang can be considered fiercely loyal. However, those seven girls all harbor special feelings for you. Be careful your harem doesn't catch fire."
Feng Piaoling's mouth twitched, but he glared back at Ju Zi without backing down. "Then when you join us in the future, you can just help me manage the harem."
"Bah, bah, bah! Go on and dream your grand dreams." Ju Zi's fair face flushed red, and her skin, as tender as a lychee, was instantly coated in a faint rose tint. Under the illumination of the moonlight, she looked exceptionally captivating.
Seeing Ju Zi's rare embarrassed display, Feng Piaoling's gaze dazed slightly for a moment before he turned his head away, breaking eye contact.
Ju Zi seemed to notice something as well and similarly turned her head away.
Silence fell. They stole glances at each other, speechless.
After a long while, Feng Piaoling finally broke the silence. "There is still an hour before dawn. Tomorrow we still have to find a suitable soul beast for Cui Yajie. You can go sleep for a bit."
"No, I can't sleep," Ju Zi replied. "When that lord was young, his dream was to enroll in Shrek Academy. His current dream is to conquer Shrek, hoping that Shrek can help him restore his severed limbs. Haven't you been to Shrek Academy? Why don't you tell me about what happened there."
"Are you betraying that lord by asking this? He has never told me about these things."
"Just say whether you're willing to tell me or not..."
"Of course I am. This actually starts from the Great Star Dou Forest..."
The two talked back and forth, exchanging words.
Before they knew it, the sky had already brightened.
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