Chapter 136: Strength

Murong Yueyin came to Room 2012 of the men's dormitory to find Xin Lang. She wanted to obtain the saint-grade potion in Xin Lang's possession and, at the same time, see if the rumors about Hu Qingqing coming to warm his bed every night were true.

When Murong Yueyin arrived, Xin Lang was not in his room. Driven by curiosity, she trespassed into his bedroom to see if Hu Qingqing was inside, but just as she stepped out, she was caught red-handed by Xin Lang himself.

"I... I... I came to..." Murong Yueyin stammered for a long time, unable to explain why she was there.

"Oh?" Xin Lang looked at her flushed cheeks and teased, "Don't tell me you snuck in here to warm my bed while I was away?"

Hearing this, Murong Yueyin was mortified. Just as she was about to retort, a thought occurred to her. She lifted her chin, stared straight at Xin Lang, and said, "That's right. I've already finished warming your bed. You must keep your word—now you can give me those saint-grade potions you had last time!"

"Uh..." Xin Lang hadn't expected her to turn the tables on him. He was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "Fine. I still have a few bottles left. We'll settle the account once you've finished your warming duties for the rest of the month!"

"You..." Murong Yueyin hadn't expected Xin Lang to be such a scoundrel. However, knowing she was at a disadvantage, she couldn't find a way to argue back.

Just as the two were at a stalemate, the door was rudely pushed open. Fatty Gu shouted, "Boss, are you in? I need to talk to you about something... Oh!"

Before Fatty Gu could finish his sentence, he saw Xin Lang and Murong Yueyin standing in the middle of the room in an "ambiguous" posture. Late at night, a man and a woman alone in a room—it didn't take a genius to see there was something going on.

Fatty Gu chuckled awkwardly, "Uh, never mind. I didn't see anything. Carry on!"

With that, he turned, left the room, and closed the door behind him, muttering to himself, "The boss is truly legendary; he’s bagged another school beauty."

Fatty Gu came and went in a flash, vanishing before Murong Yueyin could even process what had happened. She realized that coming to see Xin Lang today had been a mistake. If she hadn't come, she wouldn't have been curious about Hu Qingqing, wouldn't have been caught by Xin Lang, and certainly wouldn't have been misunderstood by Fatty Gu.

"Xin Lang," she said anxiously, "he won't go around spreading rumors about us, will he?"

"What are you afraid of? We didn't do anything. If people want to talk, let them," Xin Lang shrugged.

Murong Yueyin was so angry she could have killed him. She wanted to stop Fatty Gu from gossiping, but the only person who could do that was Xin Lang, and she refused to humble herself to beg him.

Creak!

The door opened again. Expecting Fatty Gu, they were surprised when the person who entered was the last person Murong Yueyin wanted to see.

"Hu Qingqing? What are you doing here?" As soon as Murong Yueyin saw her, she regained her usual overbearing demeanor.

Hu Qingqing was equally stunned. "Murong Yueyin, what are you doing in Xin Lang's room?"

Hu Qingqing had been curious about how Xin Lang had mastered the "Qi Transformation Arts" so effectively. She had tried to find him during the day, but since he was never around, she had decided to ambush him at night, never expecting to find Murong Yueyin there.

Seeing Hu Qingqing's surprised expression, Murong Yueyin felt a surge of joy at the chance to strike back. Ignoring her question, she smiled. "Are you here to help Xin Lang warm his bed?"

"Hmph, so what if I am? This is between me and Xin Lang; it has nothing to do with an outsider like you. If you have nothing else, leave!"

Instead of being offended, Murong Yueyin laughed. "I hate to break it to you, but I've already warmed his bed for today. You don't need to come anymore—you've been laid off!"

Xin Lang, standing to the side, was surprised by how aggressive both women were. They were so busy trying to outdo each other that they were saying things like that. Unfortunately, he was caught in the middle and gained nothing, as the two women were all talk and no action.

"I decide who stays and who goes," Xin Lang interjected. "Stop arguing, both of you. Get on the bed and warm it together!"

"Ah!" Both women cried out in shock.

Hu Qingqing was the first to lose her nerve. "Since the bed has already been warmed for today, I'll come back tomorrow!" She turned and fled the room.

Seeing her rival run off, Murong Yueyin breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, "At least I got rid of that vixen!"

But before she could celebrate, Xin Lang added, "Classmate Murong, it's getting late. Are you staying to continue warming the bed, or are you coming back tomorrow?"

"Ah..." Murong Yueyin’s face turned deep purple. Her mind was in chaos. She stammered, "I'll come back tomorrow," and fled the room as well.

"Miss, what's wrong?"

Back in her dormitory, Murong Yueyin threw herself under the covers without even changing her clothes. No matter how much her maid, Qiuyue, called her, she refused to come out.

"It's over! It's all over! How could I say something so embarrassing in front of a man? It’s all that vixen Hu Qingqing’s fault! Yes, it’s all her fault!"

After driving both women away, Xin Lang felt a bit disappointed. "Why did the system set the main quest to chasing Shangguan Ningyu? If it had been Hu Qingqing or Murong Yueyin, the difficulty might have been much lower!"

Xin Lang returned to his bed and released his little cat, Rou Rou, from the system. "You did well today. I'll buy you sweet and sour crucian carp tomorrow!"

"Meow!" The cat happily licked his face.

Xin Lang placed the cat on his lap and entered a state of meditation. After reaching the seventh layer of the Qi Transformation stage, he felt his cultivation speed increase significantly. The advantages of his heaven-grade technique, his heaven-defying meridians, and the daily tasks from the system all accelerated his progress. At this rate, even without using the system to level up, he would soon reach the eighth level of the Master stage.

He had integrated the "Qi Transformation Arts" into the system's daily tasks, allowing him to refine essence into Qi and channel it into his dantian continuously. The circulation of Qi through his meridians had become increasingly stable, almost constant. Even while multitasking, he could complete fifty cycles a day.

With his current reserves, his internal energy was more profound than that of an average peak-level Master. With his super weapon, the "Heavenly Halberd," he had the strength to challenge even a low-level Martial Saint!