Chapter 93: A New Proficiency
Jingni also didn't really mean to blame her; it was just that her naturally aloof personality made her bad at handling interpersonal relationships. Seeing Ling Yuan actually apologize, she was also a little caught off guard.
After a moment of silence, she said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum, "It's okay. I didn't mean to be angry with you." She was afraid Ling Yuan would misunderstand.
At this moment, Qin Xuan, still lying between them, seemed to smell the faint, sharp scent of jealousy in the air. Embracing Ling Yuan on his left and Jingni on his right, he courted death and said with a wicked grin, "That was a good warm-up. How about we do it again tonight?"
Little A Yan, hearing this, immediately raised her two small, stubby hands and babbled incoherently, as if cheering him on, seeming to say: Agree to him, agree to him!
"Scram!" The two women, in front of A Yan, simultaneously spat out this one word, their voices a perfect, unified harmony of annoyance.
After recovering his Spirit Power and stamina, Qin Xuan took a long shower and changed his clothes. The luxurious suite in the Elder Palace was a far cry from the blood-soaked camps of the Star Dou Great Forest.
He originally wanted to pull Jingni in for a bath together, as was his habit, but Jingni seemed to still be dwelling on yesterday's chaotic events. Taking advantage of the time Qin Xuan was recovering his Spirit Power, she had already finished washing up beforehand.
"Where's that girl, Nong Yu?" Qin Xuan sensed around the suite with his Mental Force. He discovered that besides Jingni being in the room feeding A Yan, he didn't sense Nong Yu's presence.
"You just noticed she's not in the room?" Ling Yuan, who was meditating on the plush sofa, slowly opened her eyes. She had also changed into a comfortable silk robe. She stepped forward, her movements languid and confident.
She very considerately put her hands on Qin Xuan's broad shoulders and sat him down by the dressing table, beginning to comb through his still-wet black hair.
"There's something I want to discuss with you," she said, her voice serious.
"Between us, do we still need to distinguish between 'you' and 'me'?" Qin Xuan said, leaning back and enjoying her touch.
"That girl, Nong Yu, is very competitive," Ling Yuan said, her fingers gently working through a tangle. "Early this morning, after handing A Yan over to me, she went straight to my room's cultivation chamber to cultivate. She hasn't come out since."
Ling Yuan paused, her reflection meeting his in the mirror. "I want to take her as my disciple."
"A master-disciple feast?" Qin Xuan licked his lips, his eyes glinting in the mirror. "Not bad. I like the sound of that."
Ling Yuan glared at him, annoyed, and yanked the comb a little harder than necessary. "Are you trying to die? You're always so improper. I'm being serious."
"With the status of a disciple, it will be convenient for us to interact in the future," she explained, her tone softening. "Of course... I also have my own selfish motives."
"Although Nong Yu started cultivating late, her potential and talent are sufficient. Her A+ talent isn't common, and her Spirit is unique. With a little nurturing from me, and the... resources... you provide, her future achievements might surpass yours."
Qin Xuan chuckled. "Are you worried that one day, even she will become your 'elder sister'?"
"Yes," Ling Yuan admitted, her hands slowing. She sighed, her voice losing its edge and becoming vulnerable. "I am a Titled Douluo, but my age is what it was. Even if I consumed an Immortal Herb, I will eventually be surpassed by you, and by Jingni."
"Jingni is a Level 97 monster, and you're... you. I don't want to be the weakest one left behind. I don't believe that if I take Nong Yu as a disciple, you wouldn't give her an Immortal Herb too. At least this way... she is my disciple. My legacy."
Qin Xuan was silent for a moment, then said, "I am a greedy man. I like beautiful women who have talent, strength, and appearance. Even when I initially pursued you, there was an element of wanting to win over you, a Titled Douluo."
He met her eyes in the mirror. "So I won't say irresponsible words like 'You are all equal in my heart, don't overthink it'."
"But," he said, reaching up to cover her hand with his own, "since you have become my woman, then the words I said at the beginning will always be valid."
"Although I, Qin Xuan, am not a good person, I will be responsible to the end for my women. No matter what realm or status I reach in the future, no matter how outstanding the women around me are, you will always be my beloved woman. I won't let you suffer any grievances."
He turned in the chair to face her. "As for Nong Yu, if you really want to take her as a disciple, then do it. I support you."
After hearing Qin Xuan's words, Ling Yuan's body stiffened, and her heart was immediately filled with a powerful wave of emotion. But before she could cry tears of joy, Qin Xuan's next sentence directly broke her defenses.
"That's perfect," he said, pulling her onto his lap with a grin. "I'm also very much looking forward to that master-disciple feast. We can explore all sorts of new..."
"Ouch, ouch! You're pulling my hair!"
Ling Yuan, her face bright red, twisted his long hair in her fist. "Give me back my emotional moment, you bastard!"
"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore," Qin Xuan said, touching his scalp, which was a little sore from being pulled. Fortunately, his hair quality was leagues ahead of his previous life, and none had fallen out.
He took out three ancient scrolls from the storage Spirit Tool at his waist and handed them to Ling Yuan. "This is for you. Since you're taking a disciple, you can't be weak yourself."
"What is this?" Ling Yuan subconsciously took the scrolls, her anger forgotten. The moment she unrolled the first one, she was instantly stunned. The characters were ancient, and the diagrams depicted a flow of energy that was completely alien to Spirit Hall's teachings, yet felt incredibly profound. "This... this is..."
Qin Xuan spoke nonsense with a straight face. "These are a Spirit Power meditation method, a movement technique, and a claw technique that I summarized through extensive reading, researching the Spirit Hall's ancient and modern books, and cross-referencing Jingni's teacher's handwritings. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me at any time. The only requirement is that you must not teach it to others without my permission."
The Spirit Power meditation method was, of course, a translated version of the Ghost Valley Breathing Technique.
[Inorin's Note: The Ghost Valley Breathing Technique is a top-tier internal cultivation method from The Legend of Qin (Qin's Moon) universe.]
This was the most high-level internal cultivation method that Qin Xuan could currently produce. Even Jingni had modified her own cultivation to use it. Cultivation methods from the Qin's Moon world had a unique characteristic: to modify to a higher-level cultivation method, there was no need to disperse one's power and start over, unlike Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill.
The movement technique was Bai Feng's Phoenix Dance Six Illusions.
[Inorin's Note: Bai Feng (White Phoenix) is a character from The Legend of Qin, and Phoenix Dance Six Illusions is his signature, unparalleled lightness skill, focusing on extreme speed and phantom-like afterimages.]
As for the claw technique, it was a lethal assassination art obtained from Mo Ya.
[Inorin's Note: Mo Ya (Crow) is another assassin from The Legend of Qin, a master of assassination and tracking. His skills are fast, precise, and deadly.]
All of them were specially prepared for Ling Yuan after Qin Xuan's careful consideration. Her Spirit was an avian-type, the Fire Spirit Iris Emperor. Bai Feng's movement technique was a perfect match, and Mo Ya's claw techniques would give her a lethal close-quarters option beyond just raw power.
"Also," Qin Xuan added, his tone becoming serious, "it's time to change your silly, turn-based combat style."
Ling Yuan was stunned, "Is there a problem with my combat style?"
"It's not just you. Almost all Spirit Masters in Spirit Hall have problems with their combat styles," Qin Xuan said bluntly. "You've been with me and Jingni for some time now. During this period, you've watched us spar countless times, both big and small. Haven't you noticed the problem?"
"I just think you two are so amazing," Ling Yuan shook her head, looking confused. "You can display strength far beyond Spirit Masters of the same level even without using Spirit Ring or Spirit Bone skills."
Perhaps because her thinking was limited by her growing environment, she hadn't noticed her own shortcomings.
Qin Xuan patiently explained, "You, and even most Spirit Masters in Spirit Hall, are too adhering to that so-called 'code of chivalry'. At the same time, you hold your status and take that so-called 'dignity of the strong' too seriously."
"It's not that I'm complaining to you, but why do you always have to wait for your opponent to get a chance to breathe? Why do you launch a counterattack after you've already been hit? Why do you release one big move, then stand there and wait for them to release their big move?"
"You could clearly have more opportunities to severely injure or even kill your opponent before they even have a chance to react."
This was also why the Titled Douluo of the original Spirit Empire died so quickly and pathetically. One by one, they were like complete idiots, fighting with an unwritten rulebook that their opponents had long since thrown away.
People were coming for their lives, and they were talking about some code of chivalry, disdaining to take advantage of others, or waiting for their opponent to finish powering up.
With such a combat style, if you don't die, who will?
Ling Yuan said hesitantly, "As a Titled Douluo... wouldn't that be taking too much advantage of others?"
"Please," Qin Xuan scoffed. "People are coming to take your life, and you're still talking about 'fairness' with them? That will only give people weaker than you a chance to kill you."
He stood up and faced her, his expression intense. "Let me give you an example. On one hand, there is 'dignity,' and on the other hand, there is 'life'."
"If you choose your own life, you will be subjected to controversy by the world, and even be scorned by the world for fighting 'dishonorably'. But you yourself will not suffer any substantial damage. You will be alive."
"Conversely, if you choose to maintain that so-called dignity, you are very likely to die under your opponent's blade. After your death, you will become a stepping stone for your opponent to become famous, and you will still be subjected to controversy and scorn by the world. You will be a 'foolish master' who died because of their own arrogance."
"Which one would you choose?"
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