「November 19, Monday, morning.」

Having already completed "Inverted World," Ren Suo had slept soundly.

He hadn't used "Lazy Diligence's Body" for automated Cultivation. While it saved time, there was a notable issue: the Sleep quality was quite mediocre. Furthermore, because he sat cross-legged on the cushion the entire time, his butt felt really stiff upon waking. (After all, sitting for several hours without moving is no joke.)

So, every few days, he would sleep soundly through the night just to give his butt a rest. Cultivators had robust vitality and health, and Ren Suo had also updated his Healing Spells for hemorrhoids. Nevertheless, a man still needs to take good care of his butt...

"When I tear apart this dim universe of half a mile, a three-foot blade of green light spins and cleanses the dust~"

Ren Suo turned over in bed, reached out to grope on the bedside cabinet for his phone, and picked it up to answer, "(#`O′) Hello!?"

He was a bit cranky from being woken up. Why would someone call so early in the morning? Don't they know that the last few minutes before waking up are the prime time for having sweet dreams?

"Suo, are you awake? Little Jiu should be getting up for school soon, right?"

Ren Suo snorted twice. "Hmm-hmm."

"Haven't made breakfast yet?"

"Hmm-hmm."

"Then I'll come over and cook."

"Hmm-hmm."

"You're actually still in bed, aren't you?"

"Hmm-hmm."

"Then I'll come over and make breakfast to wake you up, is that okay?"

"Hmm-hmm."

After hearing the call end, Ren Suo put the phone back on the bedside cabinet. He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, adjusted the pillow so his skin wouldn't touch the drool-soaked part, and drifted back to sleep once more.

Just one minute before the alarm sounded, Ren Suo woke up. After waking up at the alarm's set time for several days, his body had memorized the timing.

Who was it that called me just now?

Ren Suo picked up his phone. Before he could unlock the screen, there was a KNOCK KNOCK at the door.

"Suo, time to get up."

The sound of the latch clicking incorrectly echoed crisply, and the door creaked open. Dong Chengling appeared at the door, tilting her head and looking at Ren Suo.

The morning sunlight, streaming through the window, fell on her slippers, illuminating her smooth calves. Her hair was casually tied into a ponytail hanging over her right shoulder. She wore casual Daily house clothes and had a calm smile on her face, looking very natural.

Ren Suo looked at his phone's screensaver, then at her. He rubbed his eyes. Am I dreaming? How come this scene looks exactly like my screensaver?

If it's a dream, is it the kind you have just before you wake up?

"Time to get up and eat breakfast," Dong Chengling said. "We've run out of ingredients at my place too. Luckily you bought a lot of buns, noodles, and pre-made dumplings... I'll go wake Little Jiu up; you go freshen up."

"Oh... oh."

Ren Suo dazedly went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and washed his face. Then, he sat in the living room before the steaming buns, dumplings, and glistening egg-fried noodles. He turned to look at Dong Chengling, who was eating, felt a rush of emotion, and suddenly had an epiphany. "Cheng Ling, you've come out of seclusion and advanced to the fourth transformation!"

Dong Chengling nodded. "I advanced an hour ago."

The sleepy Little Jiu in the bathroom immediately gasped. She ran to Dong Chengling with a mouthful of toothpaste foam, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at her. "Sister Ling has reached the fourth transformation!? Let Little Jiu see, let Little Jiu see!"

Little Jiu's strength level was roughly equivalent to a Third-turn Cultivator. She had long been intrigued by Fourth-Stage Cultivators. The Fourth-Stage Cultivators she had seen before were Aurora Roy and Mr. Chuan. To her, neither seemed particularly pleasant; she could only shiver in their presence, naturally unable to truly understand Fourth-Stage Cultivators.

"Don't come out halfway through brushing your teeth, you're all dirty," Dong Chengling said seriously, educating Little Jiu. Then she tapped Little Jiu's forehead, and Little Jiu vanished.

The next second, Little Jiu let out an exclamation from the bathroom and then ran out again with a mouthful of toothpaste foam. She hugged Dong Chengling, shaking her arm and saying, "That's so cool, so cool! Do it again, do it again!"

"No playing, brush your teeth properly!" Dong Chengling said sternly, though she still tapped Little Jiu's forehead, Teleporting her directly back into the bathroom.

Ren Suo, standing to the side, said, "Is this... instantly Teleporting the target to another place? And it doesn't matter if the target location isn't in the line of sight?"

The bathroom and living room were separated by a wall, yet Dong Chengling was able to place Little Jiu exactly on the bathroom floor. Ren Suo remembered the sensation of Teleporting: one misstep could lead to a loss of balance and an embarrassing fall, but Little Jiu stood firm after her Teleport.

"Yes," Dong Chengling said. "That's the difference between a Fourth-Stage Cultivator and a Third-turn one."

"The materials provided by the academy call this power 'Telekinesis,'" Dong Chengling said, pointing at the chopsticks on the table without touching them. Yet, as she curled her fingertip, the chopsticks slowly floated in mid-air.

With a pull of her hands, the chopsticks did a backflip and landed steadily in her hand.

Ren Suo watched this scene with envy. Does that mean after a... significant bowel movement, one could clean one's behind without toilet paper, just by willing it clean?

Dong Chengling, of course, had no idea Ren Suo was considering such a practical application. If she knew, she wouldn't do anything, but she might buy him a few dozen rolls of toilet paper just to put his mind at ease.

She continued, "After advancing to the fourth transformation, Cultivators can faintly sense Telekinesis and even directly use it to influence reality. However, nascent Telekinesis is very weak, and if used to directly influence reality, it will be consumed very quickly.

Moreover, Telekinesis is hard to cultivate and can only grow naturally. The materials say that the Telekinesis of a Peak Fourth-Rank Cultivator can, at most, break twenty wooden chopsticks consecutively from a distance."

When Ren Suo first heard this, he felt a little disappointed. But upon learning that a Peak Fourth-Rank Cultivator's Telekinesis could break twenty wooden chopsticks in a row, he was relieved. Twenty times should be enough to clean up, even after a feast of spicy crab, Sichuan hotpot, spicy hot pot soup, and fried chicken.

"And because Telekinesis isn't hindered by any physical matter, its correct use is as a medium for Casting Spells from afar, or to merge Willpower and Spiritual Thought to strengthen Spell effects."

"Just now, I anchored my Telekinesis to the bathroom floor, which is why I could Move Little Jiu there accurately. It not only ignores visual constraints but also increases casting accuracy," Dong Chengling said.

"The materials also describe another use: Intimidation. By merging Telekinesis with the invisible Qi Cyclone and unleashing it as Pressure, one can intimidate all Cultivators below the fourth transformation," she added.

Dong Chengling was already familiar with this application. Back when You Jiu and the others met the Third-turn Cultivators of Lianjiang, they had used Spiritual Thought Pressure to intimidate all the Third-turn Cultivators.

By this time, Little Jiu had finished brushing her teeth and was sitting obediently next to Ren Suo, listening to Dong Chengling's explanation. Hearing this, she immediately said, "Let's see one, let's see one!"

Ren Suo had never experienced the Pressure of a Fourth-Stage Cultivator and was also quite curious. However, he was too embarrassed to act spoiled like Little Jiu, so he said, "I haven't felt much pressure in my Cultivation recently. Cheng Ling, why don't you let me witness the power of a Fourth-Stage Cultivator?"

If it had only been Little Jiu asking, Dong Chengling was unlikely to agree.

But since Ren Suo said so, she changed her mind. "Then steady your minds. I haven't tried it before, so I don't know what will happen."

"Okay!"

Dong Chengling calmed herself, concentrated her Willpower into her Qi Cyclone, then released its constraints. Following the "Mysterious Sovereign's Secret Records," she exerted herself to rotate the Qi Cyclone and unleash the Intimidation!

Dong Chengling unleashed the Pressure for just one second before stopping, but the effect was completely beyond her expectations:

Ren Suo and Little Jiu hugged each other, shivering so much that they nearly vibrated into Afterimages, looking at Dong Chengling with soft, rabbit-like eyes.

She couldn't help but laugh. "What's wrong with you two? Such a big reaction?"

Little Jiu sniffled. "Little Jiu felt like she was being stared at by dozens of giant wolves. So scary..."

Ren Suo let go of Little Jiu, too embarrassed to speak. It's one thing for Little Jiu to be frightened, but for me, a grown man, to be scared like this is somewhat shameful. Though, at that moment, I felt like I was being stared at by dozens of burly, muscular men; it really frightened me enough that my sphincter clenched.

"Alright, alright, finish your breakfast quickly and go to school," Dong Chengling said.

Little Jiu suddenly got excited. "Right, right, Sister Ling, just Teleport Little Jiu directly to the school gate! That way, Little Jiu doesn't have to walk there!"

Dong Chengling immediately shook her head. "No."

Ren Suo, who had just been about to agree with Little Jiu's idea, also closed his mouth. He, too, wanted to enjoy the convenience of Dong Chengling's Teleport service. After all, why walk when you can Teleport?

Little Jiu immediately hugged Dong Chengling and acted coquettishly, but Dong Chengling shook her head. "Teleporting to the school gate is a bit far. You must wear my Spirit Energy Coordinates."

"Then Sister Ling, give Little Jiu the Spirit Energy Coordinates."

"I only have a disposable Spirit Energy Coordinate. I can't waste it on something like Teleporting you to school."

"Isn't there a permanent Spirit Energy Coordinate?"

"Your big brother has one. I gave him one."

Little Jiu immediately turned and burrowed into Ren Suo's embrace, rubbing against him while her sparkling eyes pleaded, "Big~bro~ther~"

"To give or not to give..." Ren Suo immediately put on airs.

However, he rarely used the Spirit Energy Coordinate Dong Chengling had given him, so it wouldn't be a big deal to give it to Little Jiu.

"If your big brother gives it to you, I'll consider letting you Teleport to school," Dong Chengling suddenly said.

Little Jiu's little head nuzzled even more eagerly into Ren Suo's chest, but Ren Suo blinked, coughed twice, and took on a serious expression.

Dong Chengling is being sneaky now too, Ren Suo thought. Fortunately, he habitually wore his "Listening Headphones" as soon as he got up, so he heard the unkind echo in Dong Chengling's tone: You just try.

Seriously? To make Little Jiu walk to school properly instead of being lazy, you're going to bait her like this? And you want me to play the bad guy? That goes completely against the persona I've always maintained!

Ren Suo touched Little Jiu's head and said seriously, "That won't do, Little Jiu. This is something your Sister Ling gave me, and I can't give it to you."

Little Jiu pouted and nodded. Since Ren Suo and Dong Chengling had both said so, she naturally wouldn't make a fuss and just ate her breakfast obediently.

Suddenly, a sound of shattering ice came from outside, followed by a familiar deep male voice entering Ren Suo's House: "Ren Suo!"

Wearing a black trench coat, Bai Ji flew directly into the living room from the balcony (which didn't have a security screen). His white scarf fluttered high, and the White Edged Ice Pillars on his back dissolved into falling droplets.

"Has someone attacked you...?"

Bai Ji, looking at the three people in the living room, quickly understood what was going on and switched to a smiling face. "Cheng Ling, congratulations."

Dong Chengling accepted Bai Ji's congratulations and asked, "Why did you suddenly rush over here? Could it be... while I was in seclusion, you often came over like this?"

Ren Suo's Listening Headphones picked up Dong Chengling's wary echo: Bai Ji.

Ren Suo glanced at Dong Chengling, not quite understanding why she was wary of Bai Ji. You're at the fourth transformation now; shouldn't Bai Ji be someone you can easily handle?

Bai Ji explained, slightly embarrassed, "No, I sensed the Pressure of a Fourth Stage Expert emanating from here from afar, so I hurried over to see what was happening."

"Don't barge into people's homes like this next time," Dong Chengling said sternly.

Ren Suo glanced at Dong Chengling. You're one to talk.

Although Dong Chengling had told him over the phone that she would come over to wake him and make breakfast, Ren Suo hadn't expected her to Teleport straight into his house...

"Bai Ji, have you had breakfast?" Ren Suo hurried to smooth things over. "These dumplings are ones I made for the Start of Winter. Why don't you give them a try?"

Bai Ji had already eaten breakfast, but after hearing this, he immediately sat down. "Well, I'll have a little bit."

Little Jiu, who had just finished a custard bun, picked up her chopsticks to go for the dumplings only to find that the plate of chive and pork dumplings had already been divided between Dong Chengling and Bai Ji.

She tilted her head, thinking that her big brother's cooking skills were no match for Sister God of Cookery's and were just mediocre. How could they eat so fast...?

Bai Ji had also looked at the information on Fourth-Stage Cultivators and started discussing the changes that occur upon advancing to the fourth transformation with Dong Chengling.

Meanwhile, Dong Chengling learned from their conversation that Bai Ji had once had dinner with Ren Suo, accompanied Ren Suo to Joyous World, and impressively dealt with some thugs in front of Ren Suo, showing off his power. She seemed thoughtful throughout their chat.

Breakfast time quickly ended. Ren Suo had to take Little Jiu to school, Bai Ji had to prepare for his classes, and Dong Chengling also had to go out.

When they reached the ground floor, Little Jiu stepped out of the elevator and immediately noticed Black Bell basking in the sun early in the morning. She quickly trotted over with tiny steps.

Black Bell wasn't very affectionate with anyone, though it would allow Ren Suo to pet it. However, if Ren Suo stroked it a bit too much, it would instantly scratch him. But with Little Jiu, Black Bell had "unlocked" all poses and positions.

Whether Little Jiu rubbed its belly, scratched under its chin, or randomly stroked its head, Black Bell wouldn't get agitated. Ren Suo marveled at the sight. Is this the Suppression of a higher-tier being over a lower one on the food chain?

But according to this food chain theory, does Black Bell regard me as a fellow creature or a lower-tier one...?

Ren Suo walked briskly over, trying to ride Little Jiu's coattails to pet Black Bell's head as well. As he stepped out of the dormitory building, he heard a resounding voice: "Ren Suo!"

Zhao Huo walked over from another dormitory building, his expression one of self-assured triumph, as he declared loudly, "I've reached the third turn!"

Zhao Huo had advanced to the third turn the previous night. Thanks to the combination of the Tiger Form Technique and the Mysterious Sovereign's Secret Records, his vitality surged like a river, and his spirit grew sharp, significantly strengthening his Physical Condition. His bones and muscles felt like long-starved sponges, desperate for nutrition. He had eaten all the food reserves at home last night and woke up hungry again this morning, ready to go get breakfast.

When he saw Ren Suo, he realized it was the perfect opportunity—to capitalize on the momentum of advancing to the third turn, to challenge Ren Suo, defeat him, and reclaim the title of the top close-combat fighter at Heavenly Lotus Academy!

A Martial Artist thrives on a certain "ferocity." Having advanced to the third turn, Zhao Huo's own "ferocity" was boiling like fire, desperate for release!

Zhao Huo looked at Ren Suo, thinking that whether Ren Suo refused or accepted, he would strike. He would use the battle to quickly adapt to his Third-stage Combat Power!

"Oh."

Ren Suo replied indifferently, "By the way, Cheng Ling reached the fourth transformation."

"Hmph, since you put it that way... Wait, Teacher Dong reached the fourth transformation?"

Zhao Huo then saw Bai Ji and Dong Chengling walking out of the dormitory. With a Martial Artist's intuition, he sensed that Bai Ji possessed an aura similar to his own. Dong Chengling, however, seemed like an unfathomable vortex; he couldn't see through her at all and, instead, felt a familiar chill creeping up the back of his neck.

"Yeah, so don't get too arrogant. Third turn, who isn't?" Ren Suo shrugged.

Indeed. Zhao Huo glanced at the five people present. Apart from Little Jiu, everyone else was already at the third turn, and there was even someone at the fourth transformation! Moreover, they had all reached the third turn faster than him!

If Zhao Huo knew that Little Jiu was also equivalent to a Third-turn Cultivator, he would probably collapse.

"By the way, did you stop me for something?" Ren Suo took Little Jiu's hand, letting her say goodbye to Black Bell, and then turned to ask Zhao Huo.

Zhao Huo glanced at Dong Chengling and shook his head. "No, nothing. I just advanced to the third turn and felt happy, so I wanted to tell you..."

Since Dong Chengling had advanced today, Zhao Huo decided to let Ren Suo off the hook for now and find another time to challenge him when Teacher Dong wasn't around.

"By the way," Ren Suo said, "Cheng Ling, you're the first among us to advance to the fourth transformation. We should celebrate, right?"

Bai Ji nodded in agreement. "Yes, and you haven't come out for nearly twenty days. Everyone is very concerned about you."

Zhao Huo asked, "What about me?"

"You can come along and join the celebration."

Hearing their conversation, Dong Chengling chuckled. "Sure. I also need to go report to the Tactical Bureau and apply for Fourth-Stage Spells. I'll contact Xiao Qiao and see if she's free to come over."

"Is it going to be a celebration at home again?" Ren Suo inquired.

"Of course," Dong Chengling confidently stated. "I'll cook myself, and I guarantee you guys will be too full to go back home tonight."

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