Chapter 371: Chapter 363: Son of Taotie
The next day, the sky was just beginning to pale like a fish’s belly, though the stars still shone brightly. Mo Qing, her eyes closed, rested gently against Mu Chen’s chest, listening to his heartbeat as if it were the most beautiful symphony she had ever heard.
Mu Chen’s gaze was gentle as he carefully smoothed Mo Qing’s messy hair. He turned his head to look out the window. The warm sun had begun to peek over the horizon, and its orange glow shone through the window onto his and Mo Qing’s faces. Bathed in happiness, the two of them looked into each other’s eyes.
With a slight curl of her lips, Mo Qing leaned in and kissed Mu Chen’s cheek again. She smiled gently. "It’s morning. If you don’t go back soon, Sister Bing’Er and the others might get suspicious..."
Mu Chen ruffled Mo Qing’s hair and smiled. "They won’t. But I should go check on Little Tiger. He might be up already. Can you participate in today’s competition?"
"I’m a Second-Ring Martial Sect, after all. Something like this isn’t enough to affect my performance."
Hearing this, Mu Chen chuckled, stretched lazily, and hopped off the bed.
His Storage Ring flashed, and a new black Institute Uniform appeared in his hands. With a flick of his wrists, he was fully dressed in an instant. A white ribbon was already in his grasp. Gathering his long, ice-blue hair, Mu Chen skillfully tied it back, leaving a waist-length, ice-blue ponytail to sway behind him.
He took two steps forward and vanished from Mo Qing’s room, reappearing an instant later in his own.
She lay in bed for another ten minutes, only slowly sitting up after she was certain Mu Chen had left.
In Little Tiger’s room, Mu Chen, Mu Bingling, and Mo Qing pushed the door open and walked inside. Qing Lei and Ye Shuangshuang were both surprised when they saw Mo Qing.
To them, Mo Qing seemed far more beautiful today than she was yesterday. Or rather, she seemed to have matured a little overnight... ’Is it just my imagination?’
"Wow! Sister Mo Qing, you’re so pretty! Was I out for a few years? Why else would you have changed so much?" A hearty voice suddenly shattered the tense atmosphere.
But at Little Tiger’s words and everyone’s stares, Mo Qing shyly lowered her head. Mu Bingling saw her friend’s reaction and knew instantly what had happened. She shot Mu Chen a glare before gently squeezing Mo Qing’s hand.
Mu Chen gave a wry smile and rubbed his nose. After a couple of dry coughs, he said, "Little Tiger, take a look. It’s me."
Little Tiger didn’t need to look again; his gaze had been fixed on Mu Chen the entire time. Even though Mu Chen was now much taller and stronger, Little Tiger could still recognize his sworn brother at a glance.
"Brother Mu Chen, you’re finally back! I missed you so much..."
As he spoke, Little Tiger, who never showed sadness, felt his eyes redden with the urge to cry. This alarmed Mu Chen. He quickly went to Little Tiger’s side and patted his head. "Little Tiger, do you remember what I told you? A man sheds blood, not tears. No matter what, you can bleed, but you can’t cry. Understand?"
Little Tiger nodded firmly, forcing back the tears that were about to spill over. "I understand!" he said loudly. "I’ve always remembered."
"Haha..." Glancing at the five smiling faces around him, Mu Chen let out a heartfelt laugh. ’Out there, I’m always on my own. It’s only when I’m with these friends, who’ve been through life and death with me, that it feels like I have a complete family.’
"Little Tiger, your injuries should be fully healed, right?" Mu Chen sent a wisp of Primordial Power into Little Tiger’s body. Little Tiger naturally didn’t resist, so Mu Chen quickly gave his entire body a thorough examination. He nodded with a smile. "You’re completely fine. In fact, thanks to the Jade Green Spiritual Liquid, your body has even been strengthened. You can participate in the upcoming matches."
Little Tiger blinked. "Really? But Dean Di Cang just said I’m still injured and not allowed to fight in the arena."
Ye Shuangshuang pursed her lips. "Dean Di Cang was just worried something else might happen. After all, your injuries from yesterday were incredibly severe. If it weren’t for Brother Mu Chen’s Spiritual Liquid, you might never have been able to use Primordial Power again. But since Brother Mu Chen says you can compete, I’m sure Dean Di Cang will agree."
"That’s right. Dean Di Cang is in a great mood right now," Qing Lei added. Despite not having slept all night, Qing Lei was still full of energy. Mu Chen gave him a profound look, suddenly recalling that Dark Attribute Martial Artists also required powerful Spiritual Power. It wasn’t just Qing Lei, either—the same was true for Mu Bingling, Mo Qing, Ye Shuangshuang, and Little Tiger.
After a moment of thought, Mu Chen decided that after the competition, he would create uncopyable imprints of the God-Nashing Technique and the Forest of Myriad Manifestations for each of them to learn. After all, powerful Spiritual Power was a huge boon to advancing in the Martial Artist Realm. ’Since they call me their big brother, I need to act the part.’
"Today’s matches start at nine sharp, and it’s only seven-thirty now. Why don’t we go down and get some breakfast?" Mu Chen suggested, seeing as they had time. At that, Qing Lei finally let out a long sigh of relief. ’Being the acting leader really isn’t easy.’
The ever-boisterous Ye Shuangshuang grinned. "This guy Little Tiger hasn’t eaten for a whole day and night. I bet he could eat twenty bowls of rice and ten roast chickens."
Mu Chen paused, taken aback. He turned to Ye Shuangshuang. "So in the years I’ve been gone, Little Tiger hasn’t gotten any bigger, but his appetite has grown a thousandfold?"
Qing Lei gave a wry smile. "Shuangshuang is being conservative. If you really let Little Tiger eat his fill, he could probably eat ten times more than the six of us combined. I have no idea where he puts it all."
When Mu Chen’s gaze shifted to them, Mu Bingling and Mo Qing both nodded lightly, confirming Qing Lei’s words. At this, Mu Chen’s brow furrowed, and a piece of information suddenly flashed in his mind. ’The Taotie Secret Technique... why does Little Tiger have it? And the Son of Taotie mentioned in the technique—what is the connection to Little Tiger? Or could it be... that Little Tiger *is* the Son of Taotie?’
’That’s it. It must be,’ Mu Chen realized, his expression growing visibly excited as he thought he had figured it out. ’There’s no other way to explain Little Tiger’s appetite. The Son of Taotie... a peak powerhouse with endless strength! If Little Tiger really possesses the Taotie Bloodline, his eventual growth will be absolutely astonishing.’
"Little Tiger, from now on, if you’re hungry, just tell me. I’ll make sure you eat your fill." ’If I remember correctly,’ Mu Chen thought, ’the Great Power who wrote the Taotie Secret Technique said that the Son of Taotie doesn’t need to use cultivation methods at all. There’s only one thing he needs to do, and that is eat! Eat constantly! The more he eats, and the better the food, the faster his strength will increase and the faster his Martial Artist Realm will rise.’
’Looks like I’ll have to make regular trips to the Demon Beast Forest from now on,’ Mu Chen silently planned. ’Ordinary food can’t possibly satisfy the needs of his constitution. No wonder his strength has grown so slowly these past two years—the cultivation methods of a regular Martial Artist aren’t suited for him at all!’
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