Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Side Effects of Dual Cultivation

Shen Qingzhi caught Shen Lihan’s gaze, his pride wounded. With a cold snort, he brushed past Lihan’s shoulder and strode inside.

Shen Lihan closed the door behind them. “Stop acting like a child, you’re an adult now. I won’t indulge you anymore.”

“If you’ve failed, stay in the room and don’t embarrass yourself out there.”

“If you mess up my plans, don’t even think about returning to F City.”

The detached tone sparked anger in Shen Qingzhi’s heart. He spun around, meeting Shen Lihan’s calm, unruffled eyes—and his fury fizzled away.

He dropped his head in defiance, muttering quietly, “Who asked you to interfere?”

Shen Lihan gazed out the window at the sprawling lights of the city, his thoughts drifting to a letter of recommendation he’d received earlier from Li Huanyi.

What connection did she have to Jiang Wangshu?

Li Huanyi was straightforward, even reckless, but never helped strangers without reason. Unfortunately, she’d gone to the Gate of the Star Realm; otherwise, drawing her out with this matter would have been ideal.

Late at night.

Yu Hanyi was awakened by urgent knocking. He rushed to open the door. “What happened?”

All the teachers from the school’s Array Division stared at him, their gazes burning in the darkness. Startled, he stepped back, clutching his chest. “What are you—”

Seven or eight teachers crowded in, holding the books he’d tossed to them the day before. They opened the volumes, eagerly explaining their excitement.

“Headmaster, where did you find such a treasure? Look—this array imprint isn’t in any of the books we’ve seen!”

“We just collectively tested the array imprint and combination on page three. The effect is amazing!”

“Yes, yes, it’s even better than the Jiang family’s Heavenly Gang Array. Look, Headmaster.”

They produced an array disc hastily crafted overnight, demonstrating it for Yu Hanyi.

Yu Hanyi’s mind hadn’t fully awakened yet.

Another commotion erupted at the door.

All the teachers from the Spell Division swarmed in.

“Headmaster, do you have a second volume of this treasure? We desperately need it.”

“Headmaster, you didn’t compile this yourself, did you? We’ve searched every book and found nothing similar.”

“Headmaster, how did you crack the complexity of spell formulas?”

“Headmaster—”

Yu Hanyi felt as though a thousand ducks were quacking in his ears.

He shouted, “Stop!”

The room fell silent at once.

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More shouting echoed from outside.

“Headmaster—”

“Headmaster—”

Yu Hanyi, familiar with his staff, could tell it was the teachers from the Alchemy and Talisman Divisions.

Utterly despairing, he covered his eyes. “Looks like there’ll be no sleep tonight…”

By the stream.

Bathed in moonlight, Little Black rested his hands on the bank, sharply defined muscles shimmering with alluring hues, his black fish tail lazily slapping the water, scattering multicolored reflections.

Why couldn’t he sleep?

He scowled in frustration, picking up a stone and crushing it in his hand. Fine powder sifted between his fingers, drifting away on the current. Soon, the stone was gone, only dust left floating downstream.

He had slept deeply and swiftly last night, even cultivating faster than usual.

Inside the house.

Jiang Wangshu tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Was she some kind of masochist? The soft, fragrant bed left her restless; only the big stone outside gave her rest?

She closed her eyes, forcing herself to sleep, but became more awake.

Enough!

She got out of bed, dragged the big stone from outside into the house.

Sensing her familiar aura approaching, Little Black glanced over, watching Jiang Wangshu move the stone.

Hmph! If she ignored him, he didn’t care in the slightest.

He let go, sinking into the water with a splash, bubbles rising as he disappeared beneath the surface.

Two hours later, the ground shook with a dull thud—the stone returned to its original spot. Jiang Wangshu looked disgruntled. “What a useless rock.”

She couldn’t sleep at all.

Yawning, she simply sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.

She would train hard and crush those villains—if she couldn’t rest, neither would they.

She swore to herself, but half an hour later, her body slumped and she fell asleep on the grass.

Little Black’s eyes emerged from the water, crocodile-like, creeping closer in a stealthy ambush.

The nearer he got, the faster his spiritual power circulated within him. Correspondingly, he grew sleepier.

Could this troublesome human actually help him cultivate?

He reached the bank, grasped her wrist, and as their hands touched, his spiritual energy surged even faster.

With a dull thud, he collapsed beside her, fast asleep.

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The cash-burn system yawned, eyes brimming with tears, thinking to itself: Tomorrow, I’ll remind my host—early stages of dual cultivation require frequent contact, or there’ll be side effects.

Morning.

Pale golden sunlight filtered through the leaves, painting the grass below.

Jiang Wangshu opened her clear, black-and-white eyes, staring blankly, mind still savoring last night’s sweet sleep.

Ah, this was it—the feeling was wonderful, the sleep so comfortable.

Her thoughts slowly returned. Tender green grass met her gaze, and just an arm’s length away was a striking, spirited face. Long black lashes drooped peacefully across his cheeks, fierce eyes closed, now showing a hint of docility.

She moved her hand slightly, and his sword-sharp brows furrowed, his face instinctively nestling into her palm.

Her heartstrings resonated, and Jiang Wangshu couldn’t help but smile. So obedient.

The next second, mischief bubbled up within her.

She smirked wickedly, gathered strength in her right hand, and flicked his smooth forehead hard.

A red mark appeared instantly. His eyes still closed, his two-meter-long fish tail thumped the ground, flailing in a defensive posture.

But harming others often backfires.

Little Black’s brute strength jerked her up entirely, smashing her against his solid chest. Her nose stung, tears involuntarily pooling in her eyes.

Little Black growled warily, hoarse and deep, the sound throbbing with beastly dominance. Cold, oceanic menace filled his eyes, scanning back and forth, his whole being shrouded in murderous chill.

The vibrations from his chest tingled her ears, and the grip around her waist nearly snapped her in two.

Next time, before doing something bad, she must avoid any contact with him.

Almost annoyed, she reached up and slapped his cheeks hard. “Snap out of it, right now. There’s no one else.”

“It was my sneak attack.”

Little Black lowered his eyes, saw the noisy person in his arms, and quickly relaxed his hold, shoving her away.

With a splash, he dove into the water.

Ahhh! How could this scheming human get so close to him! She must have used some underhanded trick.

He sank beneath the surface, peering through the stream at her blurry figure, scoffing disdainfully.

He would never fall for this fierce, noisy human. Once he broke free and had his fill of fun on land, he would return to the sea to find his ideal little mermaid.

Jiang Wangshu barely managed to steady herself, looking at the conspicuous Little Black in the clear stream, her expression hard to describe.

From being yanked up to pushed away, everything happened in an instant.

She deeply felt this guy was behaving erratically.

Clearly, keeping a pet was not for the average person. Shaking her head, she headed inside to fetch her books for class.

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