The next morning.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Su Jiuer called out, "Breakfast is ready, my little husband!"
Luo Fancheng yawned as he stepped out, seeing the table already set with steaming white rice porridge, a plate of fried eggs, and two small dishes of pickled vegetables.
A warm sense of happiness flowed through his heart.
Luo Fancheng took a sip of the hot porridge.
Ah, so comforting.
Having the Empress herself make breakfast for him—probably something even the emperor of the Azure Dragon Empire wouldn't dare to dream of.
"Pfft!" Su Jiuer leaned on the table with her elbow, resting her chin in her hand, and suddenly giggled, "Little man, what's with those panda eyes?"
"Isn't it all your fault?" Luo Fancheng replied with a look of grievance. Last night, when he caught up to her, he was met with a closed door.
"If I had opened the door, wouldn't you have pounced on me and left me with nothing?" Su Jiuer pouted.
Luo Fancheng took a bite of the fried egg, its aroma filling his mouth.
"Are you kidding? Am I that kind of person?"
Su Jiuer stretched out her long, jade-like leg from the side of the table, lifting her skirt.
"So white, so long, so slender. Want to touch?"
Luo Fancheng nodded instinctively.
"See, don't deny it, you are that kind of person!" Su Jiuer quickly withdrew her leg with a playful hum.
"That's entrapment!" Luo Fancheng protested.
"What entrapment?"
Luo Fancheng fell silent, focusing on his meal.
"Hey, little man, you're not mad, are you?" Su Jiuer poked Luo Fancheng's shoulder with her finger.
No response.
"Rustle—"
Su Jiuer bit her lip, slipping her white, tender foot out of her slipper, her red-painted toes deftly pinching Luo Fancheng's pant leg, rubbing against his calf.
Surely, this would get a reaction.
Su Jiuer thought triumphantly, but the little man remained unmoved.
"I'm done eating." Luo Fancheng stood up, outwardly calm, though inside, he felt like a metal detector was going off.
Su Jiuer's expression changed slightly.
A fragrant breeze swept over him.
Luo Fancheng's tiger-like waist was embraced from behind by a soft, delicate body. Her lotus-like arms wrapped around his chest, ten slender fingers seemingly exuding a faint fragrance, especially as his back felt the presence of something akin to towering mountains.
"Hoo—"
A soft whisper came to his ear, carrying a hint of moisture.
"Husband, I was wrong."
"Last night, I wanted to wear the new flesh-colored stockings to encourage you, but I was just too shy."
"Will you forgive me?"
Luo Fancheng's ear tingled, and to make matters worse, a slender finger traced circles on his chest.
Hiss—
With his mere decade of experience as a scoundrel, how could he possibly contend with this millennia-old fox spirit?
"Why did you suddenly want to buy stockings?" Luo Fancheng asked.
"I saw them while buying meat to nourish you and thought our little pervert at home might like them, so I bought them," Su Jiuer teased. "Not just flesh-colored stockings, but black ones, and even... pink ones too."
Luo Fancheng couldn't hold back anymore.
He turned and embraced that soft, boneless waist, her exquisite features just inches away.
"Aunt Su, it's been a while since I've seen your fully revealed appearance."
"For you, I'll show it."
Su Jiuer smiled alluringly, and with a flash of white light, her already enchanting beauty became a hundred times more seductive.
Delicate white beast ears, blue eyes, draped in fox fur, with golden bells tied to her ankles, and nine snow-white fox tails swaying gently, brushing against Luo Fancheng's arm.
"Husband... do you still find me pleasing?"
Damn!
Luo Fancheng's heart instantly faltered, and he couldn't help but lean in for those fiery red lips.
"Whoosh!"
He kissed empty air.
"Giggle."
Su Jiuer had already reverted to her human form, looking like a dignified noblewoman, speaking seriously:
"Looks like husband isn't angry anymore."
"Tch, always like this." Luo Fancheng pouted.
Su Jiuer came over and hugged his arm, comforting him:
"Little man, Jiuer will be yours sooner or later. Our Fox Clan's constitution has too much yin energy, which naturally leaks out during special contact. For those with strong cultivation, it's yin-yang harmony, but for you now, it's like poison."
"I understand. Once I've cultivated enough, I'll definitely deal with you, you little vixen," Luo Fancheng gritted his teeth.
"I'm looking forward to it, just waiting for you to bully me," Su Jiuer winked, teasing him.
Luo Fancheng's heart fluttered again, and he suddenly pinched Su Jiuer, eliciting a surprised yelp.
"Just collecting some interest!!"
In reality, with Su Jiuer's cultivation, she could easily avoid it, but she went along with her little man's antics.
"Alright, it's getting late. We should head to the village entrance for the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony," Su Jiuer said softly. "Husband, do well, and tonight I'll wear black stockings as a reward."
"Can I get an advance?" Luo Fancheng joked.
"I can wear black stockings now, but you wouldn't want your wife in black stockings to be seen by others, right?" Su Jiuer winked.
"Then forget it, tonight it is."
……
"Outrageous! What's going on with your village? How can someone be late for a Martial Soul awakening?"
"Do you think my time is as trivial as you commoners'?"
At the village entrance square, Temple Deacon Long Tao was berating the village chief, Lu Ren.
Hundreds of villagers around the square dared not make a sound, while a dozen young men and women participating in the awakening stood at the front, trembling.
Village Chief Lu Ren, hunched with age, was sweating profusely, not daring to say a word.
In fact, there was still half an hour until the time, but he couldn't argue with the big shots from the Temple, so he kept apologizing.
"I'm sorry, Lord Long, it was my oversight. But the child who hasn't arrived yet is exceptionally talented. I'm sure the Martial Soul he awakens will not disappoint you."
While apologizing, Lu Ren didn't forget to speak well of Luo Fancheng. In fact, Luo Fancheng was well-liked in the village, often sharing his hunting spoils with the poor and elderly, and occasionally helping widows with farm work.
"Ha!" Long Tao sneered, "The talent you speak of means nothing. What commoners see as talent is worthless and even laughable to the big shots."
"A kid with no sense of time won't have a good Martial Soul either. I don't think it's worth bothering with. I don't care, and neither does the Temple."
"Begin the awakening."
Even though it wasn't time yet, Village Chief Lu Ren didn't dare argue. Not being a Soul Master meant being inherently inferior.
"Roar!"
Behind Long Tao appeared the phantom of a One-Horned Lizard Dragon. With Martial Soul Possession, his body swelled, and blue scales sprouted all over him.
Seeing the fear and envy in the eyes of the surrounding villagers and young men and women, Long Tao's lips curled into a smile.
His One-Horned Lizard Dragon had traces of dragon blood, far surpassing ordinary Beast Martial Souls. His position would eventually rise, and he considered going to various villages for awakening tasks a waste of his talent.
Moreover, he had already visited four villages today, awakening over a hundred people. The best among them was merely a second-grade Martial Soul: a hammer. His patience was wearing thin.
He looked down on these poor, remote places. What good seedlings could they produce? It was a waste of his time.
If not for the Temple's discipline, Long Tao would have been too lazy to test them.
He arranged a Hexagram Formation with obsidian in the center of the square and took out a three-meter-high Bronze Pillar, placing it beside him.
The first girl entered the formation, her eyes red with anxiety, but there was no reaction. She was slapped by her family as soon as she stepped down.
"Useless girl, we've fed you rice and flour for years, and you can't even awaken a useless Martial Soul?"
"What a waste!"
Amidst the scolding of a fierce woman.
"Tiger, you can do it!"
A dark-skinned young man, filled with anxiety, stepped up for his awakening under his family's encouragement.
In the Hexagram Formation, the obsidian emitted a faint golden light.
A green shadow appeared above his head.
"Wheat stalks?" Long Tao gritted his teeth in anger, "Useless, next."
Tiger was a bit unwilling and weakly asked, "Sir, aren't we going to test with the Bronze Pillar?"
"Test for what!" Long Tao pointed at the awakening formation, "The rule has always been that the higher the quality of the Martial Soul, the more intense the golden light from the obsidian during awakening."
"Golden light at one meter is the weakest first-grade mortal-level Martial Soul, while golden light at nine meters is the legendary strongest ninth-grade divine-level Martial Soul."
"The Bronze Pillar, when it shines, has one to nine colors, used to determine the Martial Soul's grade. Your awakening's golden light is just a few inches, do you still need to test the grade?"
The dark-skinned young man left dejectedly. Having been despised by the deacon on stage, he feared being scolded by his family again, feeling inferior and lost. Unexpectedly, his usually strict father patted his shoulder with a rough hand:
"Tiger, it's no big deal. If you can't be a Soul Master, then work the fields with your dad. Being self-sufficient isn't shameful."
"Dad, I'm sorry. I'm useless."
"Don't say that. You're my son, and I make the rules."
After awakening a dozen children, Long Tao's face grew increasingly grim, like a volcano about to erupt.
Useless.
All useless.
Whether he could recruit good seedlings affected his promotion performance too.
The best was a Saber-Toothed Tiger Martial Soul, with the awakening formation's golden light rising to one meter and nine, making the Bronze Pillar shine with two colors, barely reaching second grade.
This novel is available on "pawread.com".
That family was still hugging each other in joy, cheering and celebrating.
"Trash village, as expected, no good Martial Souls can be awakened." Long Tao's mood was at its worst. He cursed at the village chief and villagers, ready to pack up and leave.
"Wait!"
Luo Fancheng came running from afar, leaping onto the square, with Su Jiuer following behind.
"Did you start the test early?"
"Kid, you're late. It's over. Wait for next year," Long Tao said.
Luo Fancheng's face turned cold.
Commoners had no rights in front of Soul Masters and feared them, but he wasn't afraid.
"I haven't been tested yet, and you're leaving. Are all Temple people this unprincipled?"
His words left the entire village in shock, the old village chief's heart trembling with fear, wishing he could run over and cover his mouth.
Long Tao was also stunned. Apart from bowing to superiors, he was used to being domineering in and out of villages. When had anyone ever talked back to him:
"How dare you? Who gives you the confidence?"
Luo Fancheng replied firmly, "I wasn't late. If you don't test me, it's your problem. I'll report this to the Temple branch in the city."
Seeing the other party's confidence and ethereal demeanor, Long Tao felt a bit apprehensive.
This kid didn't seem like a rural villager. Could he be the descendant of some hidden expert? Better see what Martial Soul he awakens before deciding whether to deal with him.
"Alright."
"Begin the awakening. We're waiting for you."
This scene left the villagers exchanging puzzled glances. What was going on? When did the deacon become so agreeable?
Su Jiuer gave Luo Fancheng an encouraging look. Under the gaze of the entire crowd, he stepped onto the Hexagram Formation.
He closed his eyes...
Proofreader: Peter Pan