Spirit Cultivation

'Oof, I think I'm starting to feel it.'

Xuefeng finally reported, sensing some pain in his mind. Just as Ming said, the more he killed the more uncomfortable he felt. First he was tired, then sluggish and slowly a tingling sensation filled his mind.

He couldn't go any longer like this. 

'No wonder normal people can't get such high scores. Only monsters like Nuwa or Fate Holders would be able to actually get into top rankings,' Xuefeng commented with a sigh, knowing the reality was just too brutal. 

Most Fate Holders use their Fate Spirit's help and only he tried to improve his own strength. It became obvious that this way he will only fall behind others, no matter how much he tries. Fate Spirits were just too overpowered. 

In the middle of the trial, he already realized he wouldn't be able to beat Nuwa while only using his own strength as the clones were appearing and disappearing too fast, his own reflexes not fast enough to react. 

'Alright, I will stop then.' Ming was quick to cancel the support and Xuefeng finally saw how fast did the clones actually move. 

Just as it spawned, it didn't even take half a second before the clone disappeared yet again. Thanks to Ming, he could react faster which made the clones seem slower but only now he could visualize by how much exactly. 

"Huh… What level did I reach?" Xuefeng asked confused, thinking this should actually be enough to beat anyone. Even Nuwa shouldn't be this good.

"As I said, here are no levels in this trial. The more targets killed, the better score. Naturally, there is a limit. If one can reach the point where the clones disappear right after they finish creating with no delay, they will receive a perfect score," the Trial Spirit answered before crushing his dreams, "You are still far from that moment." 

Xuefeng wasn't surprised by that and questioned, "Did I get the first score by any chance?" 

He was sure he passed the trial but he still wanted to be at the top. His goal was mostly taking over the Capital from Royal Family's hands. Winning against Nuwa was just a bonus.

"I'm sorry, your score is currently only on the second place." 

The Trial Spirit announced, making him little depressed. 'Ah, I guess Nuwa beat me again,' Xuefeng lamented but then he heard the Trial Spirit continue, "The first place is still ongoing. She is almost nearing the perfect score so I will have to stop her soon— My bad, she already reached it." 

"Wait…" Xuefeng widened his eyes only to smile, realizing he missed another competitor that could always beat their asses. 

Tianshi. 

Thinking about it, he found it laughable that he hoped to win in this trial. Couldn't Tianshi see the future? She could easily predict where the next clone would spawn, timing the dagger perfectly.

Xuefeng didn't want to continue anymore, knowing it didn't make much sense and waited till the time was up and the Trial Spirit announced the results. 

"Time is up. Congratulations, you have passed the trial. Please claim your reward." 

Xuefeng quickly grabbed the vial with Liquid Ether Qi and the arts before leaving the trial. He already decided to consume everything after he returns to the palace so he didn't need to worry about it. 

He managed to reappear in the temple before Tianshi and waited for her. 

Bzzz. 

A second later, the portal buzzed and the figure of his wife came out, protected by an invisible shield for as long as she stayed near the portal. She opened her eyes and saw him, standing in front of her and waiting to pick her up. 

It always warmed his heart to see her smile whenever she saw him. 

"Xuefeng!" Tianshi called out happily and ran out, jumping into his embrace. 

"Congratulations on the first place," Xuefeng whispered, squeezing her body with love. "I'm happy for you." 

"Really?" Tianshi looked up at him with guilty expression and apologized, "I'm sowwie~ I knew you wanted to win…" 

"Silly," Xuefeng summed her up with one word and kissed her as a reward, pulling her out of the temple. 

She was happy to glue herself into his chest and grab onto his neck, letting him carry her as they flew to join the others. 

"I just wanted to make you proud…" Tianshi muttered sweetly on their way to which he rubbed her back, assuring her, "Don't worry, I don't blame you, but I also won't let you win next trial. Get ready to lose, hehe." 

There was only fair competition between them. 

"Challenge accepted." 

——— 

With Royal Family gone, no longer disturbing them, they were able to clear the next three trials relatively quickly. Xuefeng bet everything on the last, Lightning Inheritance Trial which basically looked like a Heavenly Tribulation Simulator. He has already been through many of them so he was confident he could win this time. 

"Hmpf…" Nuwa pouted, looking at Xuefeng pitifully. 

"If you bet, you should be prepared to lose. No amount of begging will change this fact," Xuefeng shrugged with a grin, enjoying this moment way too much. "Is this how a good girl should behave?"

He naturally won the last trial, ruining Nuwa's plans. 

"Fine…" Nuwa finally stopped pretending and gave up. "It's just a month. I can do this. I will honor our bet and be a good girl."

They just came back to their palace room when Xuefeng reminded her about the bet. It was obvious that Nuwa hated losing. 

"Why do you sound as if being nice will kill you?" Xuefeng questioned, walking up to her. She was sitting on the edge of the bed together with the girls. 

"What do you mean?" Nuwa asked back, pretending to be confused. "I was always nice. Now I will be even nicer." As she spoke, she reached out and grabbed onto his pants, pulling them down. 

Xuefeng quickly reacted and caught her wrists, stopping her in place. "What do you think you are doing?" He asked with a frown. 

"Shouldn't you already know by now? I do it every night," Nuwa replied with a wink. "I thought you said I should be good. Isn't it what a good wife is supposed to do?"

Xuefeng didn't know how to comment on that. Especially when he saw the face of the rest getting excited. 

He gathered the power in him and rejected her, "No, we are not doing it now." Even though he really wanted it, they needed some discipline. "We received the rewards from the trials. Now is the time to master the elements you are missing. We won't have time to do that later as we are busy. We have to use our time efficiently." 

He grasped her hands firmly and pulled her away. She wasn't the only one naughty so he glanced at every face, one by one and called out, "This is applying to all of you. We are training today." 

Sigh~

The girls let out a synced deep breath and started pulling out their vials, ready to cultivate. Wuying, on the other hand, pulled out a communication crystal and played the message. 

'Wuying, will you grab everyone and come to a family dinner? There are some things we need to discuss.'

Everyone paused and looked at Xuefeng, waiting for his decision. 

"Okay, we will have dinner and train at night then. We won't go to sleep until everyone absorbs their rewards." 

It has been a while since they had a family dinner so Xuefeng didn't mind to spend little bit of their time with parents. Especially when he won't see them for a while after they travel. 

Nuwa was the only one dissatisfied with that. 

"Nooo, night is not for training…" Nuwa argued, grasping his hand. "It's for sleeping." 

"Good girls don't argue." Xuefeng replied simply, shutting her down. "Let's go. Parents are waiting." 

To make it fair, he didn't hug any of his wife and they all went downstairs to the dining hall, walking in group. 

To his surprise, everyone was already waiting for them.

His parents, Wu siblings and Little Mei, sitting next to Wu Kong. The moment they entered, she glanced at him with longing before turning her gaze away, pretending she didn't notice him. It didn't escape his attention. 

"Welcome," his father greeted warmly and pointed at the free chairs. "Please, take a seat." 

Xuefeng walked up to the table and sat each of his wife first, pulling the chairs for them before finally sitting next to Little Mei. 

He reached out to pat her head and asked playfully, "Mei Mei, how are you?" 

Just as he expected, she completely ignored him and looked away while pouting. 

"Hmpf!"