Chapter 222: Chapter 219: Stirrings (Part 2)
Just how powerful was the External Incarnation?
It was impossible to use True Essence in the Fighting Cultivation Room, so even though Mu Xue reacted in time, she was still powerless to resist and crashed headfirst into the wall.
THUD!
With a dull thud, a deep indent appeared on the wall, and the entire cultivation room trembled slightly.
Mu Xue’s vision went black, and she was knocked unconscious.
Not only that, but the skin on her forehead was broken, a large welt swelled up, and fresh blood gushed from the wound.
"This..."
Mo Qi thought to himself, ’I’m screwed.’
He might have been able to explain away what happened before as a misunderstanding, but this time, it wouldn’t be so easily resolved.
Without a second thought, he hurried to Mu Xue’s side and fed her a healing Medicinal Pill.
Seeing Mu Xue’s face and body covered in footprints, Mo Qi was lost in thought.
’A delicate beauty, and she’s been completely trashed.’
’If she goes out looking like this, aren’t people going to think I’m a pervert?’
’No!’
’Absolutely not!’
Mo Qi rubbed his nose. ’I don’t care if they call me a pervert, but I can’t ruin this girl’s reputation.’
With this in mind, while Mu Xue was still unconscious, Mo Qi quickly helped her over to a corner, propped her up against the wall, and began gently brushing the footprints from her clothes.
But just then, as fate would have it, Mu Xue slowly began to stir.
The first thing she saw was Mo Qi’s hands resting on her body. The first thing she felt was the warmth radiating from them.
"You shameless lecher!"
Mu Xue flew into a rage, assuming Mo Qi was taking advantage of her.
She raised her hand to slap Mo Qi across the face.
Mo Qi, alert to the danger, retreated and dodged the blow.
"Wait, it’s a misunderstanding! I was just..."
"You’re just courting death!"
Before Mo Qi could finish speaking, Mu Xue, like an enraged leopardess, kicked off the wall and launched herself at him.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Mo Qi only dodged, refusing to fight back.
"Is running all you know how to do, you lecher?"
Mu Xue jeered when she found she couldn’t catch up to Mo Qi.
While dodging Mu Xue’s attacks, Mo Qi gave a wry smile. "It’s really a misunderstanding. I just wanted to brush those footprints off you. Surely that doesn’t earn me the title of ’lecher’?"
He would have been better off not saying anything; his words only enraged Mu Xue further.
’How dare you say that?’
’Where do you think these footprints came from?!’
"Hmph. Today, you either leave an arm and a leg behind, or you die!" Mu Xue said coldly.
Mo Qi’s eyebrow twitched, and his guilt toward Mu Xue instantly faded.
’She looks like such a beautiful girl, yet her heart is so vicious.’
’So quick to demand an arm and a leg.’
’Never mind the fact that you were the one who triggered the restriction on the Cultivation Room door and interrupted my Cultivation! You were the one at fault first!’
’Even if I did accidentally hurt you, we’re both students of the Imperial Academy, not mortal enemies. I was willing to apologize. Did it really have to come to a life-or-death battle?’
Although such situations were common in the Martial Arts World, Mo Qi despised them.
He believed that to be human meant you couldn’t just cast aside your humanity; you had to preserve a sanctuary of integrity deep within your heart.
Without humanity, Cultivators were nothing but slaves to their power.
At that point, one’s emotions would be crushed by power, turning them into a callous monster who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
And for this, Mo Qi couldn’t help but feel a flicker of disgust toward Mu Xue.
Mu Xue keenly sensed this shift.
For some reason, her heart sank. All her anger vanished, replaced by a restless agitation.
The gazes she received from men were always ones of adoration, longing, worship, or awe.
No one had ever looked at her with such an emotion before.
It left her feeling deeply unsettled, almost unable to accept it.
Mo Qi stopped dodging. He threw a punch, knocking the advancing Mu Xue back.
"I’m not giving up an arm and a leg, and I’m definitely not giving up my life. Whatever you want to try, bring it on. I’ll take it all!"
This was the kind of person Mo Qi was. If you gave him an inch of respect, he’d give you a yard.
If you were polite to him, he would be even more polite to you.
But if you tried to play rough with him, he’d show you what it meant to be truly unstoppable.
Mo Qi’s attitude immediately stung the pride deep within Mu Xue’s heart.
’I am Mu Xue! Who are you to be so arrogant in my presence?’
’So what if you defeated Li Yuanhao?’
’So what if your fighting skills are superb?’
’You’re just an ordinary student at the Imperial Academy! In terms of status, resources, and background, you are nothing!’
’What right do you have to be disgusted with me?’
The more Mu Xue thought about it, the worse she felt.
She didn’t know why this was happening. She should have been furious, but instead, she just felt incredibly wronged.
"Why are you like this!"
In the end, Mu Xue stomped her foot, her complex emotions coalescing into a single sentence that sounded surprisingly like a pout.
"This is just how I am. Don’t like it? Too bad," Mo Qi said, waving his hand with a dismissive air of impatience.
His words left Mu Xue speechless, and the feeling of being wronged only intensified.
’I’m the one who got hit, so why do I suddenly have the urge to apologize?’
’Is it because he’s so overbearing?’
At some point, Mu Xue’s eyes had turned red, and shimmering tears began to well within them.
"Er..." Seeing Mu Xue start to cry, Mo Qi sighed. "You win."
"It’s just an arm and a leg, isn’t it? Here, I’ll give them to you!"
As he spoke, Mo Qi shaped his hand into a blade and sliced off one of his own arms and a leg.
"You... You’re actually doing it for real?"
Mu Xue’s face paled in shock. She felt not a shred of satisfaction, but rather a profound sense of dismay.
It felt as if something incredibly important was slipping away from her.
She was so distraught that she didn’t even notice the lack of blood flowing from Mo Qi’s stumps.
’No, no, no, this isn’t what I wanted!’
Mu Xue shook her head again and again.
Just then, Mo Qi picked his severed arm and leg back up.
And reattached them.
Yes, just like that—effortlessly, simply, nonchalantly—he put them back on!
It was an External Incarnation, after all. Forget mere arms and legs; if Mo Qi wished, he could even turn into a puddle of liquid.
After all, wasn’t his usual four-piece kitchen set just something he had split off from his External Incarnation?
"We’re even now, right?"
Mo Qi glanced at the stunned Mu Xue, then opened the door to the Cultivation Room and walked out.
’If I can’t afford to offend her, surely I can afford to avoid her?’
Reality, however, had a different answer: No, you can’t avoid this.
Because the area outside the Cultivation Room was packed wall-to-wall with people. As far as the eye could see, every single one of them was a young man.
The moment Mo Qi appeared, he became the center of attention, with every eye in the crowd fixed on him.
’What’s going on?’
Mo Qi was utterly bewildered.
’Where did all these people suddenly come from?’
Before Mo Qi could react, a petite figure dropped down from above.
"You pervert, you fiend! What did you do to my Sister Xue?"
The newcomer was none other than Li Xuemiao, who was a good two heads shorter than Mo Qi.
With tears blurring her vision, she raised her fists and began hammering them against Mo Qi’s chest.
Mo Qi quickly clasped his hands behind his back, terrified that another conditioned reflex would cause him to throw Li Xuemiao away as well.
