Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Chapter 558: Chapter 54 The Immortal Venerate Takes Off

Xie Ruoxi had just stepped out the door when she happened to bump into Lin Ning coming out of her room.

She glared at Xie Ruoxi, looked around, and then walked past her expressionlessly.

Xie Ruoxi sighed internally, ‘How did I let myself be so foolish as to believe what those sly girls said in the group chat?’ Now the team leader looks down on me, which is bad enough, but my teammates have also noticed, and even sisterly affection has been damaged. What am I going to do!

She returned to her room sighing, feeling off from head to toe, as if bad luck was clinging to her. Then she remembered Yun Jin’s advice and simply grabbed some clean clothes and went to the communal bathroom to take a shower.

After Xie Ruoxi had left, Su Yunjin slightly frowned and calmly asked Yan Yu,

“Why was Ruoxi in your room? And dressed… like that?”

“I don’t know,” Yan Yu said. “I was startled myself.”

Su Yunjin naturally didn’t believe him. If she were the same Miss Su who had been pampered from a young age, she would have definitely put a lot of pressure on Yan Yu until he was sweating profusely and stumbling over his words, unable to speak clearly. Only then could she judge the truth of his words.

However, after returning home for the New Year, Mr. Su went to his study to specifically get a copy of “Aesop’s Fables” for her. She had read this book countless times as a child, and when she saw the bookmark was placed at the beginning of “The North Wind and the Sun,” she keenly comprehended and reread the story carefully, gaining many insights and understanding the lesson her father wanted her to learn.

Therefore, she didn’t press Yan Yu, but simply said with a gentle smile,

“Perhaps he really was drunk. After all, your room is at the very end of the corridor, so forgetting to turn is quite normal.”

This was nothing more than a blatant lie. No one in the Zhenhai Team liked to drink alcohol. How could Xie Ruoxi have gotten drunk?

Yan Yu couldn’t bother digging deeper and said,

“Maybe.”

Observing his reaction, Su Yunjin saw that he appeared quite nonchalant and in no hurry to explain. She was somewhat reassured and was about to speak when she heard someone enter from outside—it was naturally Lin Ning.

Lin Ning had thought she was the first to return and was ready to ask Yan Yu “why Ruoxi was under the covers” only to find Yun Jin had arrived ahead of her. She was momentarily taken aback, unsure of what to say.

Su Yunjin gave her a slight smile, thinking to herself that Lin Ning arrived without knocking, which likely meant she had come many times before.

It doesn’t matter.

You won’t get to sneak around anymore.

Because Yun Jin was standing there, Lin Ning couldn’t exactly jump on him and interrogate him. She had to suppress her emotions and asked through a silent transmission,

“Why was Ruoxi in your bed just now?”

“I don’t know,” Yan Yu replied. “She said she entered the wrong room because she was drunk.”

“Where in our villa would she find alcohol to get drunk on?” Lin Ning immediately said. “She didn’t drink the cooking wine I use for meals, did she?”

“Who knows,” Yan Yu said.

“Hmph, I’m sure she’s up to no good,” Lin Ning murmured, growing angrier by the minute. She wanted to glare at Yan Yu but, seeing Su Yunjin’s beaming smile, she dared not show her annoyance and gritted her teeth as she silently sent, “Feeling proud, are you? Everyone in the team is interested in you; you must be very happy and proud.”

“Ningning, are you interested in me too?” Yan Yu asked back. “Is this a confession?”

That left Lin Ning speechless, her face beginning to heat up. To hide her blushing from Su Yunjin, she stiffly stood up like a puppet and said,

“I’ll go see if Sister Zhao has arrived.”

As soon as she opened the door, she saw that Sister Zhao had already reached the doorstep.

This was the so-called Murphy’s Law. In theory, the chances of encountering someone right after stepping out the door are low, but in reality, the very thing you fear is most likely to occur.

Before Lin Ning could duck her head to hide, she heard Zhao Yuanzhen curiously ask,

“Ningning, why is your face so red?”

“Don’t ask!” Lin Ning blurted out in panic, abruptly grabbing her wrist. “Come in!”

The three young women gathered in the room while Yan Yu looked down at his small bed and sighed.

Practicing Breathing and Energy Refining is essential. But such a small bed—how could it bear the weight of the entire team?

For now, he would have to manage sleeping on it, and perhaps it was time to change the bed frame back in Jinling.

Since no one knew how long Xie Ruoxi would take to shower, they all sat down on the bed to meditate. They faced each other and began teaching the newcomer Su Yunjin how to refine energy.

After circulating their internal energies for a few minutes, Yan Yu and Lin Ning both realized something unusual.

The speed of cultivation had increased!

Cultivation talent is not easy to quantify under normal circumstances, but it becomes glaringly obvious during joint cultivation; the amount of True Yuan reciprocated by others is evident at a glance.

If Lin Ning’s talent is B and Zhao Yuanzhen is A+, then Su Yunjin is around A, slightly inferior but not by much.

In other words, where it used to be Zhao Yuanzhen dragging two along, it’s now Zhao Yuanzhen and Su Yunjin working as dual engines, naturally enhancing the speed of cultivation significantly.

With her burden lightened significantly, Zhao Yuanzhen, who had some reservations about Su Yunjin, was now no longer worried, thinking to herself that Yun Jin is indeed a good sister of mine, capable of sharing worries and solving difficulties, very good indeed.

Su Yunjin, on the other hand, was surprised. She had thought herself to be the one with the best talent in the Zhenhai Team, only to find out that Sister Zhao was even a notch above her.

With such talent, why didn’t the captain make her a Magic Cultivator?

But she was new to the joint cultivation team, so she didn’t put too much thought into it, only gearing up to diligently practice the Breathing Exercises of the Spiritual Energy, wanting to make everyone feel her significant contribution.

On the other side, Xie Ruoxi took a leisurely bath, changed her clothes, and came over to knock on the door.

“Who is it?” Zhao Yuanzhen asked in surprise.

While Yan Yu went to open the door, he explained to her that he hadn’t mentioned Ruoxi lying naked on his bed, but simply said she accidentally found out that everyone would gather here every night, so he invited her to “have a try.”

Zhao Yuanzhen had no objections, considering that Xie Ruoxi was a good sister of hers, although she frowned and said,

“We’ve gone through several Circulating the Heavens already, and the rounds with the fastest increase in True Yuan have passed. Now inviting Ruoxi over, she won’t gain much benefit, right?”

“Indeed,” Yan Yu said, “But we’re just letting her try. Missing one day of practice won’t make much of a difference.”

“Oh, okay,” Zhao Yuanzhen said.

Yan Yu then repeated the Breathing Chapter of the String-Pulling Technique to Xie Ruoxi.

“Did you remember it?”

“No.”

Yan Yu patiently recited it again, “Did you remember it now?”

“I have a bad memory,” Xie Ruoxi said, sticking out her tongue.

“You’re foolish and you think you’re right?” Yan Yu said, turning to speak, “Yun Jin, teach her.”

“Ruoxi, let me explain it to you,” Su Yunjin approached and said.

The two of them practicing and learning, after about half an hour, Xie Ruoxi managed to bumble her way through memorizing the first third of the original text and its meaning.

And there was still two-thirds left…

Zhao Yuanzhen played with her mobile phone out of boredom, while Lin Ning couldn’t sit still any longer and went over to help Su Yunjin teach her.

Yan Yu waiting on the side was becoming a bit impatient and asked Xie Ruoxi,

“How did you learn the Breathing and Energy Refining previously?”

“It took a long time,” Xie Ruoxi said apologetically, “Back then I wasn’t really into training, always thinking about slacking off, I’d rest a whole day after studying a bit, and slowly I memorized it all.”

“What about the Thunder Method?” Yan Yu asked.

“The Thunder Method doesn’t require understanding, just gather Qi according to the records,” Xie Ruoxi said.

“How about trying without understanding first,” Yan Yu suggested, “Just get her to start practicing it directly.”

“That’s not appropriate,” Zhao Yuanzhen expressed her disagreement, “Breathing and Energy Refining is different from Taoism Method, it’s much more complex, and if you only have a half understanding, it’s impossible to practice successfully, plus, it could be disastrous if deviated.”

“Let her try first,” Yan Yu said, “If anything is slightly amiss, we’ll stop immediately.”

So Su Yunjin wrote out the Breathing Chapter by memory and placed the draft paper on Xie Ruoxi’s legs for her to look at while practicing the energy refining.

The others also sat down cross-legged, their palms facing each other, forming a Five Elements circle, and began the Breathing Exercises to Circulate the Heavens.

Everyone had their eyes tightly shut, their minds free from distractions, except for Xie Ruoxi, who was looking down at the draft paper on her knees, reciting to herself in her heart:

“The Tao of Heaven is to take from what has an excess to make up for what is deficient, bestowing evenly upon things, and it is nothing but so…”

She quickly recited the mental method in her heart, and with the external guidance on both palms, she also slowly relaxed her mind, letting everyone lead her in Circulating the Heavens, while getting familiar with the route of moving Qi.

Sitting to her right was Su Yunjin, who soon felt that Spiritual Energy was finally starting to come through from Ruoxi’s side, thinking to herself that the captain’s idea was indeed sensible. Ruoxi wasn’t suited for learning by memorization before understanding; it was quicker to start hands-on.

Then, her expression gradually changed.

Because from her left hand, the Spiritual Energy was becoming more and more abundant, so much so that it even made the entire Lesser Yin Heart Meridian running through her hand swell uncomfortably, creating an indescribable feeling of distress.

It was as if being force-fed from above!