Chu Tianle felt something was off about the situation. Perhaps it was the tranquil moonlight and the soft glow of the lamps, but his mind seemed to be playing tricks on him.
He said, "Sheng Yi, what I like is..."
"Here, take back the spirit stones I borrowed from you last time," Bai Sheng Yi handed Chu Tianle a pouch.
Chu Tianle fumbled to take it, feeling both flustered and embarrassed.
Bai Sheng Yi, however, hadn't heard what Chu Tianle had just said and tilted her head in confusion, "What did you just say?"
"Nothing. Go to sleep early."
Chu Tianle practically fled.
Bai Sheng Yi scratched her head, not understanding what was wrong with him. But with her own matters weighing on her mind, she didn't dwell on it and went into her room.
"Qingmeng Vine?" she called out several times with no response. She changed her address, "Little Vine Leaf?"
"Master..." Qingmeng Vine finally responded weakly to Bai Sheng Yi. It looked very tired but still managed to form a heart shape for Bai Sheng Yi with its small vine leaves, soft and fragile, pitiful and obedient.
Bai Sheng Yi felt she was about to be overwhelmed by this "green tea" vine's charm.
She unconsciously softened her voice, "How about I give you some of my spiritual energy?"
This "eating" was literal. Bai Sheng Yi didn't know how Qingmeng Vine had formed its contract, but she could clearly feel that besides cultivating on its own, Qingmeng Vine could also grow stronger by consuming her spiritual energy. She had asked Qingmeng Vine before, and it had admitted to it.
However, Bai Sheng Yi had observed for a long time and found that this little cutie was quite sensible and never made any unscheduled moves.
Qingmeng Vine: "No need, Master, I'll be fine after sleeping for two days."
The tender vine leaves brushed against Bai Sheng Yi's fingertips, soft and smooth, like a floating feather.
Bai Sheng Yi frowned, wanting to persuade it further, when she heard Qingmeng Vine continue, "I'm going to sleep now, Master, don't worry. Little Vine Leaf is alright."
Bai Sheng Yi felt even more worried.
But Qingmeng Vine was no longer responsive. Bai Sheng Yi had no choice but to silently transfer her spiritual energy to it...
The Reincarnation Brush, witnessing this scene, couldn't help but twitch its brow, "Dear Master, don't you care about your most beloved brush?"
It had a bad feeling.
As expected, Bai Sheng Yi calmly said, "Oh, how are you doing now?"
"You're not sincere at all!" The Reincarnation Brush huffed, "Brushy is now a great contributor to you passing the assessment, is this how you treat your great contributor?"
Unknowingly, it had been robbed of its master's affection by this scheming vine. Brushy was not happy!
The Reincarnation Brush thrashed wildly in Bai Sheng Yi's spiritual sea, showing its deep dissatisfaction. However, Bai Sheng Yi was solely worried about Qingmeng Vine and didn't notice the Reincarnation Brush's emotional changes at all.
By the time Bai Sheng Yi realized, the Reincarnation Brush had already become self-pitying.
"Little Reincarnation? Have I already awakened my fire spiritual root?" Bai Sheng Yi asked the Reincarnation Brush.
The Reincarnation Brush remained silent.
Bai Sheng Yi guessed randomly, "But I can't feel any fire elements in my body? Or, has the Nine Nether Desolate Fire become my innate fire?"
The Reincarnation Brush continued to remain silent.
Bai Sheng Yi finally realized something was wrong with the Reincarnation Brush. With a little thought, she understood, "Good Reincarnation, don't be angry. I'm sorry, Qingmeng Vine helped a lot, I can't just abandon it."
"You clearly said, I am your favorite brush," the Reincarnation Brush felt wronged.
Previously, Bai Sheng Yi had been wary and distant towards Qingmeng Vine, but how long had it been, and Bai Sheng Yi was already so concerned about it? Would it be replaced by Qingmeng Vine in the future? And then abandoned...
The Reincarnation Brush suddenly felt terrible, a discomfort like its whole body was burning, suffocating and painful.
If Bai Sheng Yi really did that, it felt it might never forgive Bai Sheng Yi.
Bai Sheng Yi didn't know what the Reincarnation Brush was imagining, but she only felt a commotion in her spiritual sea. Simultaneously, black and blue flames erupted from the tip of the Reincarnation Brush, burning her so much that she couldn't help but cry out.
"I'm sorry!" The Reincarnation Brush quickly controlled itself.
Bai Sheng Yi recovered, "It's okay, Little Reincarnation, it was my fault, don't be angry. You will always be my favorite brush, the only brush. Don't worry, this is just this once, and later I'll hand Qingmeng Vine over to you to manage..."
Bai Sheng Yi poured out sweet words without restraint.
"I won't!" The Reincarnation Brush haughtily interrupted Bai Sheng Yi, its tone rising, "That's my little brother, for you to boss around."
"Forget it, Brushy won't fuss with you anymore." The Reincarnation Brush mumbled. A master like Bai Sheng Yi was rare, and it had to be tolerant of her sometimes.
Bai Sheng Yi didn't know what the Reincarnation Brush was thinking, but seeing that the Reincarnation Brush was no longer sulking, she felt relieved and couldn't help but ask her earlier question again.
The Reincarnation Brush: "Your fire spiritual root is not usable yet. But this fire has become my fire, and you can use me, so it's only natural that you can use fire. You can try writing another character now."
The Reincarnation Brush's tone was a little proud.
Bai Sheng Yi thought of something and her heart lit up with joy. She quickly summoned the Reincarnation Brush.
This time, she wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she felt the Reincarnation Brush was even more translucent and radiant, as if something that was missing had been repaired. No, only a part of it had been repaired.
Bai Sheng Yi had a premonition that this was not the Reincarnation Brush's final form.
Following her thoughts, she circulated her spiritual energy, held the brush, and deliberately wrote a large character in the air.
"Fire!"
The blue-green spiritual energy was instantly stained by the black-blue ink, and with a "hiss," it turned into a small flame floating in the air.
Bai Sheng Yi reached out slightly, and the flame landed on her hand. It had no temperature and looked extremely harmless.
"Because of your current strength, this flame can only burn through the physical defenses of Foundation Establishment cultivators," the Reincarnation Brush said, though its voice was as calm as possible, Bai Sheng Yi could feel its suppressed excitement and a hint of pride in its tone.
"That's wonderful!" Bai Sheng Yi praised without reservation. She had fire now too!
The Reincarnation Brush boasted, "Of course. Who do you think made it?" If it had a tail, it would be held high right now.
The next day, Bai Sheng Yi got up early and met with Chu Tianle, Luo Feihua, and a few others for breakfast.
Feng Wuya stared at Chu Tianle's dark circles and curiously asked, "Chu Tianle, what were you doing all night yesterday?"
For cultivators, dark circles were as strange as catching a fever from being in the rain. After all, cultivators could rest through meditation and cultivation even without sleeping.
Chu Tianle gave Feng Wuya a blank stare and didn't answer.
Feng Wuya thought this kid had a story, so he spent the morning pestering Chu Tianle with questions, almost driving Chu Tianle to the point of taking action.
"The academy has notified the qualified teams to gather at the No. 3 Combat Arena," Chen Qiyang reminded them.
So, the group wasted no more time and headed over.
Quite a few people were already gathered nearby. Bai Sheng Yi recognized Ximen Hongchun, Li Shiqing, Qing Buli, Jiang Pengyu, Bai Murong, and others. Among them were two individuals with particularly unique auras.
One was a man in white, carrying a Guqin on his back, standing tall and straight like a pine tree. The other was a delicate girl holding a jade-colored object, her hair tied up in a bun, looking cute and lively, yet also somewhat unfathomable.