Early the next morning, Su Cheng stood by the hotel room window, gazing at the dawn light filtering in, silently reminiscing about the previous night's frenzy.
In truth, bringing Zhu Zhuqing out for training and helping her improve her cultivation was not meant to lead to anything more.
Even when booking the hotel, he had reserved two separate rooms.
It wasn't that he was pretending to be proper.
Although Zhu Zhuqing, being a high-level spirit master, had a mature appearance and figure, she was actually not very old.
Moreover, she had just broken through, and her mental state wasn't great; she needed more rest.
Su Cheng could see that she was under a lot of pressure, even if she didn't say it outright. The source of this pressure was obvious.
Furthermore, he hadn't thought of a good way to deal with Qian Renxue either.
To advance further in the current circumstances would be unfair to both women.
However, Su Cheng had not anticipated that Zhu Zhuqing, with her personality, would be so proactive, completely catching him off guard.
Coupled with the stark contrast in her demeanor and actions compared to usual, the temptation was too great.
One moment of lost control...
The most surprising part was that Zhu Zhuqing's sensitivity contrasted sharply with her appearance and temperament.
"Sigh, what are you hesitating for? You already decided, so why are you still wavering here..."
As he pondered this, he became slightly entranced.
"Swish—"
Suddenly, a cold light accompanied by a sharp whooshing sound flashed towards him, stopping just in front of his neck.
The blade was so sharp it seemed to prick his skin, causing a slight sting.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Su Cheng sighed in resignation, tilting his head back slightly to avoid the blade pressing against his skin.
"Are you treating me like a toy?!"
An icy voice, almost freezing the air, came from behind, brimming with suppressed anger.
Thinking of the scenes from the previous night, Zhu Zhuqing felt both angry and shy, her delicate face turning bright red.
"No, you seemed to enjoy it at the time, didn't you?"
"Stop saying such nonsense!"
Su Cheng turned around to see the girl, dressed only in a simple inner garment.
Large patches of her fair skin were exposed, marked with red prints and kiss marks.
He glanced at her nonchalantly, assuming she hadn't had time to use her spirit power to erase the marks. He reached out, wrapping his arms around her slender waist, and kissed her cheek.
Seeing him ignore her threat, Zhu Zhuqing gritted her teeth but had no choice but to withdraw her spirit power, pretending to be calm as she brushed off his arm, huffing, "Wait for me."
She then turned and picked up her clothes from the floor, dressing quickly before heading to the adjacent room.
This wait ended up lasting more than an hour.
The door opened quietly.
"You—"
Before Su Cheng could finish saying "took so long," he swallowed his words, his eyes revealing a hint of amazement.
She wore a familiar, sleek black long dress, adorned with dark silver patterns, simple yet mysterious like the night sky.
A dazzling diamond necklace hung from her delicate collarbone, each gem glittering brightly. She also wore a pair of earrings with blue gemstones, clearly of high value.
Subtle red eye shadow accentuated her already captivating almond-shaped eyes, making them appear even more transparent.
Her long, dark red hair cascaded to her waist, combined with the cold and elegant aura she had cultivated from past experiences, her tall figure, and perfect curves after becoming a spirit emperor, making her look exceptionally noble.
She no longer appeared as a mere teenage girl but rather as a high-ranking noblewoman in her twenties.
"What are you staring at?"
Noticing Su Cheng's dazed expression, Zhu Zhuqing felt a twinge of pride, but she spoke indifferently.
She brushed aside a stray lock of hair, the delicate silver hairpin glittering.
Su Cheng was both amazed and puzzled.
Zhu Zhuqing, who had previously paid little attention to her appearance, preferring simple and practical clothes, now seemed transformed.
"What's with this...?"
"Stop talking nonsense, let's go."
Zhu Zhuqing waved impatiently, not bothering to explain.
Su Cheng's heart stirred, and a teasing smile appeared on his face, "Could it be that you're dressed up like this because you're going to meet my family?"
"Don't flatter yourself. You're annoying," Zhu Zhuqing retorted, her face flushing slightly as she turned to leave.
"Wait."
Su Cheng quickly stopped her, gently tidying her hair and touching her neck and collarbone with his fingers.
With a slight movement of his spirit power, he prepared to erase the red marks on her neck.
"Slap!" Zhu Zhuqing swatted his hand away, "What are you doing?"
"You still have some red marks. I was going to help you remove them."
"I can do it myself. Stop wasting time."
"Alright, fine."
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was located just over ten miles outside of Heaven Dou City.
After leaving the hotel, it didn't take them long to reach the foot of the sect's mountain.
This was Zhu Zhuqing's first time here, and she was visibly impressed, "I've heard that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is incredibly wealthy. Seeing it today, this mountain gate is indeed extraordinary, no less impressive than the Xingluo Palace."
"Yes, it's indeed a wealthy family." Su Cheng sighed, looking a bit unusual.
In this world, without strength, no amount of money can protect you from being someone else's piggy bank.
Aside from himself, the strength that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect currently possessed was not enough to match their immense wealth.
Not lingering at the foot of the mountain, they started to ascend.
The disciples guarding the mountain recognized Su Cheng and did not stop him, only sending one disciple ahead to inform the sect.
Su Cheng didn't mind, instead slowing his pace to stroll up the mountain path with Zhu Zhuqing.
"I heard you adopted a little sister in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
As they walked, Zhu Zhuqing casually asked.
"Yes," Su Cheng nodded, "She's the sect master's only daughter, highly talented, and the designated successor."
"That's Ning Rongrong from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, right? Her Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Spirit caused quite a stir. But knowing you, why would you adopt a sister for no reason? Even with exceptional talent, she'd only be on par with my previous food-type spirit master teammate, Oscar."
"I come from a humble background. No matter how talented I am, without connections, I can't make much headway in a place like Heaven Dou City. Thanks to my teacher and Senior Poison Douluo's care, I could achieve my plans. My teacher has no children and treats Rongrong as his own. He wanted it, and I had no reason to refuse."
"You have deep feelings for Sword Douluo."
"He's like family to me."
"But in the end, you betrayed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and became a lapdog for the Spirit Hall."
"Hey, that's harsh," Su Cheng raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean, a lapdog? And didn't you join the Spirit Hall too? So what does that make you? A wife of a dog?"
Speaking of this, he suddenly chuckled, "Speaking of which, who was it last night pretending to be a cat and dog in bed?"
"Su Cheng!"
Zhu Zhuqing's face turned bright red, grabbing his arm, ready to lash out.
"Brother!"
At this moment, a figure appeared from the side of the mountain path, calling out to them and quickly running over with a joyful expression.
"Rongrong." Noticing her, Su Cheng waved gently in greeting.
It was Ning Rongrong.
When she reached them, seeing the intimate posture between Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing, her smile froze slightly, carefully examining Zhu Zhuqing standing next to him.
The woman before her was extremely beautiful, her hair accessories and jewels making her seem otherworldly.
But more striking than her delicate features and outstanding figure was her noble and cold demeanor.
"It's been a while, Rongrong." Su Cheng looked at Ning Rongrong with surprise, "It seems you haven't wasted this past year."
The girl before him had already reached the mid-level of a spirit master.
This rate of improvement was quite remarkable.