Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, five years had gone by.
In those five years, many things had changed.
Zhao Ming's cultivation had soared, reaching level 30. In fact, Zhao Ming had already broken through to level 30 two years ago, but the system had yet to release a mission on how to obtain his third puppet. As a result, his cultivation had stagnated for the past two years. However, with the accumulation over these two years, once Zhao Ming obtained his third soul ring, his cultivation would skyrocket again. Additionally, he had cultivated the *Soul Refining Technique* to the fourth stage, giving him four times the soul power of an average level 30 soul master.
In contrast to Zhao Ming's cultivation plateau, Xiao Wu had advanced ahead of him, breaking through to become a Soul Elder at level 31.
Meanwhile, Flame Spirit Ji had fully awakened. She was now no different from an ordinary person, with normal thoughts and actions. The puppet, once devoid of emotion and will, had transformed into a real being once her life force reached its maximum.
As Zhao Ming slept, he felt a pair of soft, warm hands gently caressing his face.
Feeling the warmth, Zhao Ming couldn't help but recall the wildness of last night, a sense of warmth and tenderness rising in his heart.
He opened his eyes to see a breathtakingly beautiful face right in front of him.
"You're awake?" Flame Spirit Ji smiled sweetly at him when she saw his eyes open.
"What do you think? Didn't you just wake me up?" Zhao Ming chuckled, reaching out to pull Flame Spirit Ji into his arms.
But she wasn't about to let him succeed so easily. With a nimble shift of her body, Zhao Ming's grab hit nothing but air. She quickly pulled a sheer white silk robe over her naked body, covering everything except her delicate collarbones and slender feet. This tantalizingly vague view was even more alluring.
Seeing Zhao Ming's eyes blaze with desire, Flame Spirit Ji deliberately hooked the edge of her silk robe with her foot, slightly revealing a smooth, rounded calf.
"Giggle," she laughed, the sound of her voice as light and crisp as bells.
"Yan Yan, you're playing with fire," Zhao Ming couldn't hold back any longer. He lunged at her, planting kisses all over her sweet face.
His hot breath tickled her neck, making Flame Spirit Ji's face flush a deep red.
"That tickles! Stop, I'm sorry, okay?"
"Just saying you're sorry isn't enough. You dared to tease me, so now I'll have to deal with you properly," Zhao Ming grinned mischievously as he admired her enchanting face.
"You want more? No way!" Seeing his desire stir once again, Flame Spirit Ji quickly pushed him away. "Hurry up and get out of bed, or your precious Xiao Wu might get angry."
Flame Spirit Ji wasn't foolish. She knew all too well how men were. The easier something was to obtain, the less they would cherish it. Only what they couldn't easily have held true value. By controlling the pace, she could maintain her importance in Zhao Ming's heart.
"It won't take long, just a few minutes," Zhao Ming grinned slyly.
"Hmph, as if I don't know what you're thinking. If I believe that, I'd be a fool," Flame Spirit Ji snorted, swiftly rising from the bed. She reached for her dress, but not before giving Zhao Ming a playful glance. After all, she wasn't Xiao Wu or Bi Jiโhaving cultivated her charm techniques from a young age, she knew all too well what men were like.
"Turn around."
"Why? I've already seen everything. It's natural for a man to look at his wife. What's the problem?" Zhao Ming teased, his eyes glinting as he admired the glimpses of her figure, still exposed beneath the loosely draped silk.
"You..." Flame Spirit Ji flushed with embarrassment but then a mischievous glint flashed in her eyes. She chuckled and said, "Fine, you can look all you want. But afterward, I'll go tell Xiao Wu how you bullied me."
"No, don't do that! I won't look, okay?" Zhao Ming quickly backed down. If Flame Spirit Ji exaggerated the story to Xiao Wu, even with her usual tolerance, there was no way she'd let him off the hook.
Everyone has their own selfishness when it comes to relationships. Even if someone says they don't mind, you can't just take that at face value. It would be foolish to believe that they really don't care.
But knowing Flame Spirit Ji's playful personality, Zhao Ming was sure she wouldn't really tell Xiao Wu.
"Alright, I was just teasing you. But you still can't peek," she said softly, seeing that Zhao Ming had turned away. She thought he was genuinely upset, so her voice softened.
"Don't worry, I'm not that petty," Zhao Ming chuckled, seeing her slightly apologetic expression.
"Alright, you can turn around now. I'm dressed," she said a few moments later, having finished putting on her clothes. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, an unconscious gesture that only made her look more charming, leaving Zhao Ming momentarily speechless, his heart brimming with happiness.
"Let me help you with your hair," Zhao Ming offered, as he watched her sit down in front of the mirror to comb her hair.
"Sure," Flame Spirit Ji smiled, handing him the comb.
Thanks to Xiao Wu's guidance, Zhao Ming had become quite skilled at doing hair. So naturally, he was able to handle Flame Spirit Ji's long, silky hair with ease.
Her hair was incredibly long, cascading down to her hips when fully untied. Normally, she kept it tied up, so it only reached her waist.
As Zhao Ming's fingers and the comb moved gently through her hair, he admired its smooth, silky texture.
"Zhao Ming, thank you," Flame Spirit Ji suddenly said.
"Thank me? For what?" Zhao Ming asked, puzzled.
"Thank you for not treating me as just a puppet and for being so good to me," she said softly, her voice barely audible.
"You silly girl. You're so beautiful, who would dare treat you that way?" Zhao Ming smiled, amused.
"Alright, enough of that. How do you like this hairstyle?" With a few deft movements, Zhao Ming styled her hair into an elegant updo and inserted a long hairpin to complete the look. It was a style he had seen in anime in his previous life, and it suited her perfectly.
In the mirror, a graceful, dignified, yet subtly seductive woman appeared.
Flame Spirit Ji admired Zhao Ming's handiwork in the mirror, and a wave of sweet happiness filled her heart. The lingering sadness she'd felt earlier dissipated. After all, she wasn't one to dwell on things for long.
She jumped up and gave Zhao Ming a quick kiss on the cheek.
"That's your reward!" she said playfully, before disappearing out of the room.
---
๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐จ๐จ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ ๐ข๐ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฎ. ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ข๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐!
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ๐ ๐๐ผ:
โข ๐ฝ๐ค๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐จ๐๐ช
โข ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ
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๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ป๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ:
โข ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐: ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฑ+ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐.
โข ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐๐-๐ข๐๐: ๐๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐จ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐จ ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ!
๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐บ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐. ๐๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐'๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ท๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐!
๐ ๐ ๐ค๐๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ: ๐๐๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ค๐ฃ.๐๐ค๐ข/๐๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ง