Chapter 96: Entering the Second Stage

That thought hummed in Ye Fei’s mind without end.

As for Zhou Danzhuang, she wore an expression that said she had no idea what had just happened. She glanced at Ye Fei, who stood frozen in place, then at Lin Qiqing beside him, and only grew more bewildered.

“Cough, cough…”

“Senior Sister, y-you should go bathe first.”

Ye Fei drew a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Then he hurriedly strode into his room.

Zhou Danzhuang and Lin Qiqing exchanged a look, neither of them understanding what Ye Fei was doing, but they did not press the matter. After all, the wounds on Zhou Danzhuang’s body had indeed already healed. So she hurried off with small quick steps toward the bathroom.

Inside the room.

Ye Fei clenched his teeth, cold sweat beading all over him.

He swiftly sat cross-legged on his bed, hands forming a lotus seal, resting flat upon his knees.

Within his body—

The spiritual energy that had flowed over from Zhou Danzhuang’s body into his own was surging through his organs like a herd of wild oxen gone mad, crashing about in complete disorder.

At first, Ye Fei had been able to suppress it. But after all this time fermenting and building, no matter how hard he tried, he could no longer keep it in check.

“So it really is, just as Master said…”

“Once the Nine Dragon Divine Art breaks through to its second stage, this spiritual energy will not only become a weapon capable of harming others, it may even inflict tremendous damage on my own internal organs…”

“What happens next—life or death—will be up to fate.”

With that, Ye Fei took a deep breath.

Then he lifted a sword finger and tapped his own chest twice.

This was to seal the meridians and reduce the flow of his blood to the lowest possible level.

At the same time, even his breathing became exceedingly slow.

Unless one came very close to him, it would be impossible to sense that he was breathing at all.

Within the Nine Dragon Divine Art, this method was also known as the turtle-breathing technique. It allowed Ye Fei to see clearly the flow of every meridian in his body, then focus his mind and guide all that rampaging spiritual energy into his dantian, where it could be properly suppressed.

Time passed little by little.

Ye Fei’s breathing, too, changed from nearly imperceptible at first to increasingly deep and forceful.

Until, after three in the morning—

At last.

He let out a long breath.

That breath was like white mist.

It slowly spilled from Ye Fei’s throat, even carrying with it a trace of the nourishing force of spiritual energy.

Breath on the lips, white vapor curling.

“I…”

“Have I stepped into the second stage of the Nine Dragon Divine Art?”

Ye Fei looked at his own hands, and a smile rose to his face.

Then, he focused his attention.

With a casual pinch of his fingers—

Whoosh!

A faint thread of spiritual energy, like a lively earthworm, coiled around his fingertips and wriggled there with brisk, playful motion.

“Go!”

Ye Fei pointed at the wall.

That thread of spiritual energy followed his will, transforming into a sharp, blade-like edge. Like sword qi, it carved his name stroke by stroke into the wall.

Ye.

Fei.

The writing was as graceful as a dragon and serpent.

“Not bad.”

Ye Fei nodded in satisfaction.

And in his heart, excitement surged before he could stop it.

No wonder that after he went down the mountain, Master had told him so many things, especially repeatedly warning him about the existence of the nine senior sisters.

So that was the reason.

“I wonder…”

“Would there be any reaction inside the Ninth Senior Sister’s body?”

“After all, it is dual cultivation.”

Ye Fei scratched his head, then dismissed the thought.

No matter what, Zhou Danzhuang was still his senior sister. That earlier opportunity, when she had been so close, was something one could only stumble upon by chance. However shameless he might be, he could never look Zhou Danzhuang in the face and ask her whether she wanted to dual cultivate with him.

He could not do such a thing.

He still had a little conscience.

But inability to do it did not mean it was impossible.

Apart from Zhou Danzhuang, the only senior sister who had appeared before Ye Fei so far was Lin Qiqing.

And beyond that, there was another senior sister who was all but showing herself in public now.

“If I could get my spiritual energy to pass through all nine senior sisters’ bodies…”

“Wouldn’t I then…”

He would have mastered the divine art and become invincible beneath heaven.

Ye Fei shook his head with a smile.

What nonsense was he thinking?

Wasn’t it nice to just be a salted fish?

Still, if Master learned that he was carrying such a thought, would she come after him and give him a beating?

“Maybe I should rename the Nine Dragon Divine Art to the Salted Fish Divine Art. Not just anyone could come up with this sort of training method.”

As Ye Fei muttered to himself, he rose, stretched lazily, then turned to take up his cup, intending to go to the living room for a glass of water. After all, the internal consumption of this cultivation was far too great. In just those few short hours, he felt as though the water in his body had been completely drained.

However—

What Ye Fei had not expected was that the moment he stepped out of his room, he saw a graceful figure in sleepwear standing at his door, as if hesitating over something.

“Second Senior Sister?”

Ye Fei froze.

At the doorway, Lin Qiqing, dressed in a fitted nightgown, had just lifted her hand when she too paused. Then she gave a lovely smile and said, “Little Junior Brother, I saw the light in your room was still on, so I wanted to ask why you still hadn’t gone to sleep. I didn’t startle you, did I?”

“No, no.”

Ye Fei rubbed the bridge of his nose and asked curiously, “Second Senior Sister, why are you still awake so late?”

“I…”

“I have something to ask you about.”

“Would it be convenient for me to come in?”

Lin Qiqing bit her lower lip and asked.

Ye Fei hesitated for a moment, glanced back at his room, then stepped aside to make room for her.

After Lin Qiqing entered, she glanced around Ye Fei’s room. It was a little messy, but she said nothing. She merely sat down on the bed nearby, her fine brows faintly furrowed, and murmured, “Little Junior Brother, tell Senior Sister the truth. Was Danzhuang’s kidnapping today related to the people you killed back then?”

At that question, Ye Fei immediately recalled the scene from that night, after Lin Qiqing had been abducted by Zhang Tianfeng.

He pressed a hand to his brow and said softly, “Second Senior Sister, these matters are not something you should be learning about.”

“Not something I should ask about either?”

Lin Qiqing bit her lip.

“Little Junior Brother, I don’t know how much ability Master has taught you.”

“But no matter how great one person’s ability may be…”

“Against those ancient, deeply rooted great clans, it is ultimately useless.”

“Senior Sister doesn’t want you bearing everything alone.”

Hearing this, Ye Fei could not help feeling a surge of warmth in his heart.

When Lin Qiqing had first met him, she had not exactly been cold, but the way she looked at him had been no different from the way she looked at an outsider.

Yet now, she seemed almost like a different person.

After thinking for a long while, Ye Fei still did not know how to answer this sudden concern from his senior sister.

He knew that Second Senior Sister was also carrying a great deal of trouble on her shoulders.

But in Ye Fei’s eyes, those troubles were nothing.

The only thing he truly worried about was one matter—

That the organization behind Black Wolf would keep coming back to cause trouble.