Shen Long continued to run around the palace as the sky continued to brighten. As a cultivator, Shen Long's endurance had drastically improved. He could easily match against any Olympics athletes, and he was sure that none of them would be a match for him. Especially at Demigod level, Shen Long's Qi and his body had already completely merged as one. His Qi could constantly replenish his muscles with energy, instead of carrying out respiration.that
In the cultivator world, a mortal was defined as those who couldn't bypass the natural laws of the universe. In simpler terms, those who couldn't breakthrough the shackles of mortality would stay as a mortal forever. An ordinary human, defined by the natural laws, could only live up to 130 years. Once they came in contact with cultivation, they could slowly break past these shackles.
This was why cultivators were still quite rare in the universe. Breaking past these shackles wasn't an easy task at all. Even with Qi manuals in most planets, some people were fated to stay as a mortal. It wasn't guaranteed for one to become a cultivator, even with Qi training. One had to have an affinity for Qi first, in order to start their cultivation path. Or, they could choose to start like Daoist Fireblade and Shen Long - through comprehension of the Daos - which was a much harder path.
Technically, Shen Long started his cultivation path with a Qi Manual. Despite it was incomplete and extremely useless, Shen Long still took the first step with the crappy manual. Without that manual, Shen Long wouldn't be stuck in that embarrassing interview either. He then, of course, wouldn't receive that sudden enlightenment which allowed him to grasp a small part of the Dao.
Sometimes, life really was coincidental and mysterious. Each seemingly irrelevant events were actually all connected. If any of these events were skipped, Shen Long wouldn't be here today. It seemed like that Shen Long was fated to become a cultivator, and everything seemed to be pre-determined already. However, Shen Long would never take that for granted. He still needed to work hard, in order to become stronger.
As he continued to run, he spotted a familiar face who was also jogging. It was a female disciple, dressed in rather strange clothes. Instead of wearing a normal cultivator robe, she wore a self-knitted shirt and long pants. This kind of clothing never existed in the cultivator World. Everyone only wore cultivator robes, and that was it. Even when they were doing exercise, they would still wear the same costume. At most, one would wrap a fancier sash (belt) around their robes for formal occasions.
Even Shen Long had to obey these unspoken rules. Although he would prefer to wear his t-shirt and shorts like he usually did on Earth, he never attempted so in the cultivator world. Firstly, Shen Long didn't know how to knit, so he would never find this kind of clothing. Secondly, Shen Long didn't want to attract too much attention. People would probably stare and laugh at his costume, and Shen Long didn't that kind of attention at all.
Shen Long hastily dashed to her as he had a closer look at her face. It was indeed Chen Mei. Her costume today made Shen Long feel quite nostalgic, as it resembled a normal person from Earth. Seeing her dressed this way, Shen Long's confidence level also boosted up. Taking the initiative, Shen Long tapped on her shoulder and said Hi.
Chen Mei was shocked as she felt a light touch on her shoulder. Her immediate response was to turn around and to ready her ultimate slapping move. Chen Mei was undoubtedly a beauty, and many male disciples had "accidentally" bumped into her before. Even though Chen Mei was shy, she was merciless to those good-for-nothing disciples. She would slap them mercilessly, but the majority of the disciples still thought that it was a good trade-off. A slap for sensing the Goddess' skin? Of course, those desperate disciples would take that trade.
Just as she was going to smack Shen Long in the face, she saw Shen Long's face and quickly retreated her palm. Her anger now had completely faded. Seeing Shen Long's smile, she started blushing. The scene of her and Qingyu moving Shen Long (who was naked) to the Apothecary Department floated in her mind again. Didn't know what to say, she just said "Hi" back.
If it was the normal Shen Long, he would have already ran away already. However, today he wasn't too worried about being stuck in awkward situations for a couple of reasons. Shen Long was quite dejected, so he desperately wanted someone to speak to him. Plus, seeing her in that "Earth" costume, Shen Long's alertness was slightly reduced as he felt that sense of familiarity.
They started chatting casually as they started jogging together. Chen Mei was still quite shy, but Shen Long continued to speak to her. Chen Mei was quite an aloof person, and she rarely interacted with others, not even other female disciples. Her status, as a daughter of the Chen Clan Patriarch, and her cool personality drove many away, so she lacked socializing as well.
She actually quite enjoyed speaking to Shen Long. Even though she was replying with short, brief answers, she still wished the conversation to continue. Was it because Chen Mei liked him? In Shen Long's dreams. She just wished to speak to somebody as well. Chen Mei had never thought about relationships too much as she focused on her cultivation and the Dao of Medicine.
As the duo continued to speak, they felt a bit more familiar with each other. After knowing Chen Mei a bit more, Shen Long realised that her personality was actually really good as well. Chen Mei was actually really kind-hearted, and she fitted perfectly into those classic "tsundere". Initially, she was quite cold, but she gradually opened up her warmer, friendlier side. She began to answer in proper sentences, and she dropped her formal tones unconsciously as well.
It wasn't long until more and more disciples started to show up. The duo - Shen Long and Chen Mei - had caught a lot of attention. As humans were naturally nosy, more and more people started to watch them as they ran together. The two actually didn't realise the stares of others, as they were too immersed in their conversation. It was Shen Long's first time having a proper conversation with a girl, and Shen Long was enjoying it very much.
Speaking to a girl was a very different experience as their replies would be distinctively different. Boys and girls naturally functioned very differently as they would have a different mindset. However, there wasn't that much difference in terms of the speaking skills. Shen Long felt a bit more confident, talking to girls now. Talking to girls actually was no difference in talking to boys. It was just the matter of courage.
The two continued to chat as they continued to run. However, the stares of the crowd started becoming sharper and sharper. Well, that was because the majority of the male disciples were now staring at Shen Long with envy and hatred. Shen Long just shattered their dreams. The normally cold Goddess was actually speaking to a male cultivator? Utterly unbelievable.
The male disciples seemed to have gathered together as they formulated a plan. After reaching a conclusion, they evilly grinned as they stealthily waited at a spot. As Shen Long and Chen Mei were just running in circles, they knew that they would definitely cross this point. Their sinister smiles showed that they were definitely up to something evil.
"Hehehehhehe. Just you wait, Shi* Long... Muhahahahah!"