CHAPTER 276: CHAPTER 276 MUTUAL ASSISTANCE ATTACK

At 5 a.m., with the vibration of her Wristband, Dong Chengling woke from her sleep.

She rubbed her temples and, with her eyes closed, assessed her status. I can continue to shorten my sleep duration; I’ve slept a little too much, she thought.

Sleep is very important. It is not only a vital physiological activity to soothe the nerves in the brain, but also because metabolic byproducts in the brain can only be absorbed by the cerebrospinal fluid and metabolized in the plasma during sleep.

Therefore, chronic sleep deprivation can lead to brain damage.

The "Mysterious Sovereign’s Secret Records" of Mysterious Country, though primarily focused on accumulating Qi Cyclones with a slight improvement in Physical Condition, doesn’t provide First Transformation Cultivators with many exceptional abilities. However, once reaching the third turn, Cultivators’ Physical Condition also gradually climbs to the pinnacle of humanity. This not only allows women to suppress men with strength but also speeds up Cultivators’ sleep metabolism.

Should I cut my sleep by half an hour or an hour tonight? Dong Chengling wondered as she left the bedroom, only to find the door of the adjacent guest room open.

Xiao Yan went out so early?

Dong Chengling saw that the bathroom door was also open, which told her Gu Yueyan wasn’t merely using the toilet. But she recalled watching Gu Yueyan enter the bedroom last night and hadn’t heard any sounds of Gu Yueyan leaving before she fell asleep.

It’s still dark outside; did Xiao Yan go out without telling me?

Dong Chengling’s confusion didn’t last long, as she soon sensed the familiar ripples of a Qi Cyclone in the living room. She went into the living room and saw Gu Yueyan sitting cross-legged on a cushion in the cultivation area.

The Spiritual Energy Aggregation Device doesn’t increase the Spiritual Energy throughout the entire dormitory; instead, it only aggregates Spiritual Energy in the designated cultivation area. For all teacher dormitories, this aggregation area is located on the edge of the living room—spacious for one person, manageable for two. Of course, student dormitories have much larger aggregation areas, accommodating all residents for simultaneous cultivation.

The living room wasn’t brightly lit; only a warm yellow lamp provided a faint glow for those who got up in the middle of the night. Gu Yueyan also sensed something and opened her eyes to see Dong Chengling, giving her a slight smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Dong Chengling approached and turned on the main light, curiously asking, "Why the diligence today, cultivating so early?"

"Hmm... I couldn’t sleep. And seeing that you’ve improved your Cultivation, Teacher, I need to work hard too to catch up with you."

"Don’t skimp on sleep because of that," Dong Chengling said seriously. "A balance of work and rest is very important for Cultivation, and a good mindset is fundamental. Spiritual Energy moves with the heart—emotions like Hope, Joy, and comfort can significantly accelerate Cultivation. Do not rush things."

"And, what did you call me?"

"I understand," Gu Yueyan nodded, a bit embarrassedly. "It’s just that I haven’t gotten used to it yet... Well, Sister Ling, I’m going back to sleep."

"Right, you get some extra sleep today. I won’t wake you," Dong Chengling said as she went to freshen up in the bathroom.

Gu Yueyan shook her head. Feeling that the food in her stomach was mostly digested, she yawned and went back to her room to lie down, wondering what exactly had happened last night.

Around 3 a.m., Ren Suo had suddenly called her over for a late-night snack.

Then her mind became a mess—as tangled as a ball of yarn—unsure if she was apprehensive or looking forward to it. After taking some time to freshen up and muster her Courage, she really did go to Ren Suo’s House alone.

Then at 3:50 a.m., she returned to Dong Chengling’s house.

At that moment, all Gu Yueyan could think was: Damn it, damn it!

The guy really had just bought too much late-night food and invited her over to eat. He said nothing else and then walked her back—well, to the dorm building downstairs.

This made Gu Yueyan breathe a sigh of relief but also left her feeling frustrated. Having just eaten, she couldn’t go to sleep right away. Her mood was also in disarray, not conducive to sleeping, so she had no choice but to turn on the Spiritual Energy Aggregation Device and begin cultivating, lest she continue to ponder what that guy was really up to. The more I think about it, the angrier I get! she fumed silently.

However, the short hour of Cultivation just now seemed to have been much more efficient than before.

"Emotions such as Hope, Joy, and comfort can greatly accelerate the speed of Cultivation."

Gu Yueyan blinked, turned to her side, and snuggled the little bear toy into her embrace.

"It must be because I ate too much."

"It’s really unusual, little sister actually calling me... How much do you need?"

"I’m not calling for money!" Ren Xingmei’s indignant voice came through the phone. "I have something important to ask you!"

"What important thing?"

Having been catching up on sleep recently, Ren Suo yawned as he got out of bed and walked to the living room where the signal was better, sitting down at the dining table. He saw that the trash from last night’s late snack was still on the table. Just as he was about to pick it up and throw it into the kitchen, his outstretched hand suddenly drew back. Leave it there, he thought. Leave it for the clone to throw away.

"The enrollment office of Heavenly Lotus Academy called and asked whether I had Awakened and told me to register my information on their website within three days. I wasn’t sure if the person was genuine, so I immediately called you."

"The enrollment office of Heavenly Lotus Academy asked if you’ve Awakened?" Ren Suo was taken aback, then he immediately remembered the opening ceremony plan.

The academy planned to stage an act for some students with higher Talent, providing them with the thrill of life or death. A large number of Cultivators would be on standby to ensure safety during this ’against the heavens’ Awakening trial.

Although Ren Suo did not know the extent of his sister’s Talent, her ability to form a Bond with him implied that she was Awakened, even if she was Semi-Awakened and unaware of it.

And among the Awakeners Ren Suo knew, there were hardly any with low Talent. So it was very likely that Ren Xingmei was a high-Talent individual, and her selection by the academy as a participant in the opening ceremony made sense. But... he mused.

"Wait, have you Awakened?" Ren Suo asked.

"No!"

"Then just fill in that you haven’t Awakened, and that’s that!" Ren Suo couldn’t possibly reveal that he knew about Ren Xingmei’s Awakening. Her Awakening Ability is very secretive, merely an enhancement in her Learning Abilities. Even if I told her, she might not believe me and might even think her older brother is avoiding reality, he reasoned.

So, if you’re smarter, you’re Awakened? If you’re prettier, you’re Awakened? Can’t you just admit that your sister’s genes are superior?

Ren Suo imagined her retorting.

"Logging into the website requires entering personal information. What if it’s a fake site? That would be troublesome," Ren Xingmei said. "When he called, I was discussing going to a water park with a friend, and then I got this call that scared me. That’s why I immediately called you, big brother. You have a lot of experience, have been on videos, are educated, and well-informed, so of course, I wanted to hear your opinion."

Ren Suo was quite satisfied to hear this. "Hmm, tell me the website address... Yes, it really is Heavenly Lotus Academy’s website. Just go ahead and fill in your information truthfully."

"Oh, are you going to the water park? Let me sponsor you a bit. Have fun."

"Thanks, bro!"

After hanging up his phone and transferring the money, Ren Suo suddenly realized. Was I just played? Oh well, whatever. He then turned on the Mini-World Game Console and entered "Midnight Walker."

The promised "Collector" feature had yet to appear.

Although Ren Suo didn’t necessarily look forward to this feature that would allow him to earn Merit Points for nothing... well, admittedly I am a little expectant, he conceded.

But wasn’t it supposed to appear right after the mission evaluation was uploaded?

Or could it be that the ’mission evaluation upload completed’ process isn’t just the instant of data upload, but the whole process of becoming reality?

Looking at the still-spinning CD icon at the bottom right corner of "Midnight Walker," Ren Suo decided to let it go for now. Ten or so days? I can wait.

In the afternoon, while cultivating, Ren Suo suddenly felt his Wristband vibrate—a Healing request from the school hospital.

Even though it was summer vacation, Ren Suo still carried the responsibilities of a Healing Cultivator. Normally, there wouldn’t be a need for him unless a patient was near death—but after all, it was the academy’s hospital. Other than the teaching staff, its patients were students staying on campus to cultivate. How could they get seriously injured?

Upon arriving at the hospital, Ren Suo found the patient’s injuries were indeed quite severe. Most of the skin and flesh on both hands were turned inside out, with bones visible amidst the gore. Her hands looked like bloody racks of ribs hanging at a butcher’s stall. The rolled-up flesh was so neat it could have been sliced off and cooked directly. A nurse was attempting to bandage the wounds and stop the bleeding.

"Did you stick your hands into a propeller or something?" Ren Suo asked Lin Xianyu in shock.

Lin Xianyu, whose little face was already tear-streaked from crying, burst into tears again. "I, I was just trying to test the damage of an awakened spell..."

Ren Suo, equipped with the Pure White Mini Holy Grail, gestured to unwrap the bandages and began with "Spell Healing" in one hand and "Touch of Healing" in the other. Tackling both sides, he quickly helped Lin Xianyu recover from her injuries.

"When did you come back?" he asked.

"Today," Lin Xianyu pouted. "When I returned, there was no one in the dorm. I don’t dare to use spells at home, so I went to the back mountain to have some fun..."

Ren Suo chuckled. "Had fun, huh?"

"How was I supposed to know the Qi Cyclone would bounce back!" Lin Xianyu seemed to recall the pain, and her small face instantly turned pale.

Although Ren Suo was not entirely clear about Lin Xianyu’s awakened spells, and it wasn’t appropriate to ask—I’m not her Cultivation instructor and not entitled to inquire

—he could still deduce from the details that Lin Xianyu’s awakened spells required her hands as a medium and were likely powerful cutting spells.

"Did you walk back here by yourself?"

"No, there was an uncle standing guard on the back mountain. He notified the school hospital staff to come and carry me back," she replied.

Ren Suo blinked. He knew there was a security booth on the back mountain, but he had never seen anyone inside.

However, Ren Suo’s trips to the back mountain were usually to take on jobs from Gu Yueyan, assisting on the side. Maybe there’s no one on duty in the security booth at night? he wondered.

"Practicing Awakening Techniques isn’t a problem, but it’s best to do it with a teacher assisting, or at least a friend nearby," Ren Suo said. "Imagine if the guard wasn’t there, or didn’t notice, and you hurt yourself. With no one to carry you back, you’d be crying out to unresponsive heavens and an unhearing earth, dying alone and pitifully..."

Lin Xianyu listened nervously, sitting on the bed and swinging her legs. Her hands had mostly stopped bleeding by now, and Ren Suo was helping her heal the scars.

"I just wanted to train myself a bit," she said.

At that moment, the "Desire Detection" ability triggered, and the reverberation from Lin Xianyu echoed in Ren Suo’s ears: "Improve myself."

Wait a minute, Ren Suo suddenly remembered, I haven’t formed a Bond with Lin Xianyu.

That said, to say he was familiar with Lin Xianyu was quite true; after all, they had a doctor-patient relationship. To say he wasn’t familiar was also true, as they didn’t have other private exchanges.

But for the sake of future Keys and Bond Abilities, Ren Suo still made an attempt. "Why don’t you join me and Gu Yueyan for training on the back mountain? I’ll look after both of you. Though Gu Yueyan can only go at night and hasn’t been going much recently, you should discuss it with her."

Since Lin Xianyu wanted to improve herself, Ren Suo offered for her to train together. And with my participation, I can ensure safety while incidentally achieving a Bond! he thought enthusiastically.

Upon hearing this, Lin Xianyu first blinked in surprise, then an excited light flickered in her eyes.

"You and the class president? ...Have Big Brother Ren and the class president been going to the back mountain at night together before?"

"Yeah," Ren Suo nodded. "Her Awakening Technique is similar to yours, with great offensive power. It’s very easy to get hurt practicing alone, so she asked me to help keep an eye on things."

Ren Suo didn’t mention ’hired’. It’s because I value Gu Yueyan’s Bond and the Key that I accepted the job. The hiring fee from Gu Yueyan, at most, only counts for about 30% to 50% of the reason!

Lin Xianyu nodded vigorously. "Got it!"

"So, are you coming?" Ren Suo asked expectantly. Lin Xianyu’s Bond Ability shouldn’t be weak, and right now I’m in dire need of offensive capabilities, he thought.

However, Lin Xianyu suddenly changed the subject. "But I have a question for Big Brother Ren."

"Sure, ask away."

"Big Brother Ren, what do you think of the class president... What do you think of Gu Yueyan?" Lin Xianyu asked, somewhat nervously.

Ren Suo blinked. "Huh?"

At that moment, the echoes in Ren Suo’s mind resounded again: "Gu Yueyan," "Support romance."

Seeing Ren Suo freeze up, a subtle excitement fluttered in Lin Xianyu’s heart. I hinted so clearly, roundabout yet delicate and just right! Shouldn’t Big Brother Ren realize the class president’s feelings now? Isn’t my assist awesome? I’m the MVP!

But Ren Suo felt a subtle annoyance looking at Lin Xianyu. Are high school girls this chaotic nowadays? Is she asking my opinion about Gu Yueyan, then expressing her feelings for Gu Yueyan? Does she want me to support her and Gu Yueyan? Am I actually going to play matchmaker today?