Chapter 21: All Birds Gone, Good Bow Hidden
Jiang Qingyun certainly wouldn't have guessed that her seemingly upright and naive disciple could be so cunning in private, especially since Zhang Chi was someone she watched growing up.
She took him as a disciple when he was eight years old, just as she had assumed the role of the Sect Leader. She was still finding her footing and had to build her power.
Accepting Zhang Chi as a disciple was purely for her own benefit. She instigated a conflict between Zhang Chi and the Grand Elder's grandson to divert the elder's attention.
However, this tool-like disciple could perceive the various emotions hidden beneath her calm, unfeeling expression.
He would cheer her up when she was unhappy, distract her when she was troubled, and was always diligently cultivating, expressing his wish to grow stronger quickly to share her burdens.
He never spoke about being bullied, not wanting to cause her any trouble.
Everyone has feelings, and unknowingly, she found herself incapable of using Zhang Chi as a tool. As Zhang Chi grew older each day, unfamiliar feelings began to emerge in her heart.
Once she recognized this, she constantly struggled to suppress her feelings. But the stronger she suppressed them, the more intensely they would burst forth whenever she saw Zhang Chi.
She could only strive to avoid Zhang Chi. She too was part of the reason why Zhang Chi was being constantly distracted by tasks—it was not solely the Grand Elder's doing.
Afterward, she would feel guilty, providing Zhang Chi with many resources, only for him to become even more devoted to her. He said that no one had ever treated him so well...
This foolish disciple was completely unaware that he was being used.
In her heart, Jiang Qingyun worryingly wondered, how heartbroken would Zhang Chi be if he ever discovered her true self?
This was Jiang Qingyun's greatest inner struggle.
External restrictions were secondary, what she feared the most was that getting closer to Zhang Chi would allow him to see her true self.
Until last night when Zhang Chi went to the basement with another woman.
At that time, Jiang Qingyun could no longer control her emotions, which resulted in her displaying an inappropriate attitude before Zhang Chi today.
Thinking of all these, Jiang Qingyun couldn't help but cover her face.
"I truly am not a good master."
Jiang Qingyun sighed, forcing herself to gather her thoughts, then began refining magical weapons.
From beginning to end, she had failed to realize that it was not her lack of will, but that Zhang Chi had been a tease since he was young!
"Considering my master's current flurry of thoughts, I feel really excited. Is this the pleasure of the forbidden?"
Free today, Zhang Chi went home, took some healing medicine, and lay down.
Feeling worn out from last night's activities, he was also very tired.
However, at this moment Zhang Chi was unable to fall asleep, thinking about Jiang Qingyun's flustered attempts to avoid him brought a crazy smile to his face.
After all these years, the aloof Jiang Qingyun had her disguise shattered before him for the first time.
Once there's a first time, there will be a second time.
All these years of effort will one day bear fruit.
Gu Youyou: "..."
As a demon clan member, she often found herself struggling to keep up with Zhang Chi's thoughts due to her not being evil enough. It wasn't right, was it?
She was simply very curious, wondering who could give birth to such a gifted individual like Zhang Chi?
Although Gu Youyou could hear Zhang Chi's thoughts, she couldn't hear everything.
She could only catch Zhang Chi's surface thoughts, not his true feelings deep within his heart.
At this level, she naturally wouldn't know that Zhang Chi has lived two lives.
In Zhang Chi's previous life, he had studied law, a young lawyer with six years of experience. Once, he too was a passionate youth, who had fantasized about upholding justice using his own abilities during his internship.
However, his first experience in court sobered him up.
He thought he would be arguing eloquently, using his intelligence and law knowledge to render the opposition speechless, but he soon realized the true meaning of the right of final interpretation.
This wake-up call, as if stimulating his vital channels, made him quickly understand a principle.
Mediocre lawyers study law, top-notch lawyers study people.
After that, Zhang Chi's capabilities improved significantly. He shouted slogans louder than anyone else, and his calculations were sharper than anyone else's.
Just as he was on the brink of a bright future, a mud truck opened the door to a new world for him.
No point in dwelling in the past, for he still has a bright future now.
Gu Youyou didn't reply, and Zhang Chi didn't mind.
He relaxed his body and fell into a deep sleep.
Although Tang Ruoling was the one who had been most tired from last night's activities, he too had expended a significant amount of energy.
When he woke up, it was already evening.
He had maintained his position without moving throughout.
It seemed that his second personality wouldn't show up during the day, even if he let his guard down.
Zhang Chi noted this information silently, while deliberately thinking about some provocative things to mask his true intentions.
Two tigers cannot share the same mountain, let alone two personalities in one body.
Previously, Zhang Chi had appeared to be very friendly toward his second personality, showing no caution while sharing everything with her. This was due to the circumstances at the time.
Without the help of his second personality, he would have had a hard time dealing with Tang Ruoling's situation.
Now that matters had been settled, he could no longer leave his second personality unattended.
However, he didn't have any control at the moment, so he could only proceed cautiously bit by bit.
For example, whether his second personality could take over his body every time he relaxed.
He managed to confirm that this was not the case. His second personality seemed to only appear at night.
In that case, he decided to test a second hypothesis. If he remained conscious and didn't relax, could his second personality still directly take over his body?
Gu Youyou simply thought he was reminiscing about last night's events, completely unaware that Zhang Chi was already preparing to deal with her.
She was still deliberating where to go tonight.
Zhang Chi had slept for a long time today and had eaten well last night, so he didn't have any significant cravings today.
In this case, she might as well practice her skills at home. With her help in laying the groundwork, Zhang Chi's power would increase more rapidly once he reached the Foundation Establishment Stage.
At night, Zhang Chi was occupied with reading a book. Gu Youyou did not think much of it, considering it was normal for him to be unable to sleep at night after sleeping so much during the day.
However, as soon as it was 9pm, Zhang Chi suddenly fell asleep, allowing her to take control of the body. She was oblivious to the fact that Zhang Chi was conducting some sort of test.
"After the spiritual roots have been fully cultivated, the cultivation speed has indeed increased quite a bit."
Once Gu Youyou came online, she refined another round of True Qi. The improvement was quite significant this time. Compared to the time when she lacked the Wood element, it seems the amount of Spiritual Energy absorbed into the body during a cycle was around five times more.
That's the advantage of possessing complete Five Elements Spiritual Roots.
However, cultivating at such a speed is not wholly beneficial.
The surrounding spiritual energy was quickly depleted by her.
Having no other choice, she had to use Spirit Stones for cultivation.
But she could only maintain this for about two hours before all the Spirit Stones ran out.
If she wanted to speed up her cultivation, she either needed to find a place with more abundant spiritual energy or obtain more Spirit Stones.
If that's the case, Gu Youyou naturally chose the latter.
If there are no Spirit Stones left, what to do?
Divine Thief Gu Youyou was on her way...