Eleven minutes! That roar lasted for eleven whole minutes!
Ruan Hongling stood on wobbly feet, supporting herself with her hands on the railing of her balcony. She was too shocked to move, too shocked to breathe.
I can’t believe this! A great Cultivator is living so close to me, yet I didn’t even know that until now! We’re practically neighbors! Ruan Hongling thought after she’d recovered from her shock. Gotta visit him some day and pay my respects…
A second later, Ruan Hongling wanted to smack herself in the head.
Some day??! Ruan Hongling thought. Am I an idiot? Why would he stay here after disturbing all his neighbors with that roar? What if he leaves tomorrow out of shame? What if he gets kicked out of the building?
Moments later, Ruan Hongling made up her mind. No! This won’t do! I have to meet him now while he’s still here!
From her waist, Ruan Hongling pulled out a piece of red damask about six inches long. Then she flicked her hand, and the red damask flew out of the window like a jet of red light.
***
Li Yundong released a long sigh of relief when it was all over.
“Oh, God…. That felt so goooood….”
“F*ck you, asshole! Do you know what time it is, you motherf*cker! What the f*ck are you yelling for!”
“So you can yell for ten minutes! So what! I hope you run out of air and drop dead, you shit! You can yell all you want in the afterlife!”
“It’s the middle of the night, you f*cking piece of shit!! Go masturbate elsewhere!”
Li Yundong grimaced, then turned towards Su Chan. They stared at each other for several seconds, then scrambled across the room to close the windows and curtains of the bedroom. After that, Li Yundong ran to the door and flicked the light switch beside the door; the bedroom went dark. Through the darkness, Li Yundong spotted Su Chan sitting on the floor beside the bed. He shuffled across the room, then sat down beside her.
“Stop yelling in the middle of the night, you nutcase!”
“I have to go to work tomorrow, you asshole!!”
Li Yundong sighed and ran both hands through his hair. Shit… What the hell have I done…
***
“PFFT!!!” Su Chan burst into giggles, then glanced at Li Yundong’s gobsmacked expression.
I hadn’t had so much fun since… ever!!! Su Chan thought. It was true. She couldn’t remember having so much fun before she met Li Yundong.
“Christ! What the hell is your problem, man!! It’s in the middle of the f*cking night!”
“F*cking cuckoo!!! My dog shitted itself because of you!”
“Go f*ck yourself!!!”
“Pfft… HAHAHA….” Su Chan began slapping her thigh in laughter. This was hilarious! In the world of Cultivation, a roar like that would’ve caused other Cultivators to start worshipping Li Yundong! Yet, in the mortal world, all he received were curses and yells. What a world of difference.
Soon, Li Yundong started to laugh with her as well, though his laughs sounded a bit bitter. “Damn, these people,” Li Yundong grumbled. “Now they’re the ones who’re disturbing others!”
Amidst the yells and curses of angry residents, Ruan Hongling’s red damask drifted through the air and landed on a spot about five meters from Li Yundong’s balcony.
If my estimations are correct, that voice came from somewhere here… Ruan Hongling thought. But which apartment?
None of this added up. Cultivators usually keep their doors and windows open when they train to ensure good air circulation. But when Ruan Hongling had piloted her magical item around the building earlier, she didn’t find any open windows at all.
A wave of disappointment crashed into Ruan Hongling. Maybe he doesn’t want to be disturbed? Ruan Hongling’s magical item circled the building a few more times. Still, she found nothing. After a while, the red damask drifted away from the building.
Standing on her own balcony, Ruan Hongling burst into laughter at all the “colorful” things she’d heard as the damask circled the building. Dear me, the mortals really are ignorant, she thought, her disappointment slowly seeping away. They’d just heard something legendary and epic, yet they’re cursing and yelling!
A second later, Ruan Hongling turned pensive. I wonder which Cultivator has a CQ that high? Which school is he from? she thought, holding her chin.
***
“My God… Finally!” Li Yundong said, wiping his sweat off his brow. “I can’t believe these people have been yelling for 20 minutes straight! That doesn’t even make sense! Why didn’t they just go back to sleep?”
Su Chan sat up on the floor. Her hair was now a tangled mess after all that rolling and laughing she did on the floor earlier.
The little minx.
“It’s your fault for yelling like that,” she teased.
Li Yundong colored slightly. “I just… I couldn’t help it… Wait a minute…”
Li Yundong sat up straighter all of a sudden.
“Holy shit! That was some badass massage!” he said, staring at Su Chan. “What did you do to get that kind of reaction out of me?”
Instead of answering him, Su Chan stood up and pulled Li Yundong to his feet. Li Yundong frowned, but before he could ask, Su Chan dragged him out of the bedroom and into the living room.
“Throw a punch!” Su Chan said eagerly.
“What? Here?” he asked in a tone of surprise.
Su Chan nodded forcefully. “Yes! Go ahead!”
“Okay…” Li Yundong said, giving Su Chan a strange look. “Where should I punch?”
“Anywhere!” Su Chan said.
Li Yundong nodded, backing away from the furniture and various appliances in the living room. A wise move, unless he wanted a repeat of that pendant light incident. He turned until he was facing the living room’s balcony, which was pretty much empty. No tables and chairs, which made sense. Wouldn’t want those pieces of posh furniture to get caught in the rain, would they? Bravo, interior designers.
All clear, he thought, staring at the glass panels attached to the balcony’s railing several meters away. He got into his stance, then punched the air.
***
Su Chan watched in anticipation as Li Yundong cocked his fist back to throw a punch.
WHOOSH!
The glass panels rattled against their fixtures.
Then, they shattered.
Tiny shards of glass clinked to the floor of the balcony, whereas a few larger pieces fell backwards off the edge.
A series of crashes was heard seconds later, followed by the wailing of alarms.
“F*ck!!! What the hell is it this time!!!”
“Arrgghhh!!!! Be quiet!!!! People are trying to sleep, dammit!!!”
Su Chan jumped on the spot, clapping a few times. Yayyyy!!!!!! I’ve done it!!! I’ve gotten him through Da Zhoutian!!!!
“But how…” Li Yundong said, staring at his fist in disbelief. “Wh- what just happened?”
This is the power of the Renyuan Jindan, Su Chan thought. Li Yundong is literally breezing past the early stages of Cultivation. Hehehe… I bet other Cultivators would be so jealous…
Li Yundong had now completed Kuojing, Qining, and Ziru, which placed his current CQ at 26. It was now time to begin his advanced training in the Lianqi phase, which would require him to go through the final three dans of the Lianqi phase: Neiguan; Guanxiang; and Liantai. Once he had mastered those, his CQ would be bumped up to 29, by which time he would enter the third phase of Cultivation, the Ningshen phase!
After the Ningshen phase would be the Zhuji phase, one of the most important stages in any Cultivator’s training.
Once Li Yundong had passed the Zhuji phase, he would officially be recognized as a true Cultivator.
It would also be time for me to reveal my identity to him… Su Chan thought.
After that, they would travel the world and visit all the mountains and rivers of great renown, then unite with the Tao together.
A Shenxian couple… How nice… Su Chan thought. Lovers… Mmm…
Desire burned inside Su Chan, making her knees go weak. The flames of passion consumed her, and she allowed herself to melt into Li Yundong’s arms.
***
All of Li Yundong’s doubts and questions fled his mind the moment he felt Su Chan’s body heat. His arms moved instinctively to wrap themselves around Su Chan’s soft curves.
They both moaned at the contact, their eyes darkening with desire. God, she was so beautiful. In the past, he’d pictured himself being close to a woman, but none of those images made it past his imagination. Now, here she was, this bombshell of a lady, inside his frigging arms.
Something inside Li Yundong’s head snapped. It was like he was holding an abyss in his arms, a black hole in the form of a beautiful woman, and he was utterly helpless in the face of her seemingly infinite gravitational pull. He lowered his head and captured her lips, sucking them gently as though they were the sweetest gelatin he had ever tasted.
Melodious giggles escaped those lips as Su Chan shifted in his arms. Then, he felt it, her tongue poking out from her lips to give his own lips a tentative lick. Then it was gone, not just the feel of her tongue, but her lips as well; Su Chan had pulled away and was now laughing at him as though this was all just a prank.
Oh, she was playing with fire, a fire that she had ignited. Desire spread through Li Yundong like a firestorm, and he pounced.
“Kyaaa!!! Hahahaha… Mmph!!!”
***
For a long time, they kissed each other passionately, their tongues tangling and their teeth clashing. However, before he could take things up a notch, Li Yundong was pushed away.
“No! Stop! W- we can’t!” Su Chan said, panting.
“Seriously?” he said, then groaned loudly. He gave Su Chan a scorching look. “I feel so hot I could explode. God, you have no idea what you do to me, woman…”
Su Chan chuckled, her voice low and husky, stoking the flames inside Li Yundong.
He took another bold step forward, but the pressure on his chest was firm and unyielding. “Yundong! Stop! We can’t!” Su Chan protested. “We really can’t!”
When Li Yundong saw the fear and wariness in Su Chan’s eyes, it was as though he had been doused by a bucket of ice water. He sighed and sat down on the floor. “Okay… I’m sorry…”
A second later, a pair of delicate arms circled him from behind. Strands of hair tickled his cheek, then he felt the warmth of her lips again, which lasted only for a second. However, he didn’t have time to bewail the loss of the touch of Su Chan’s lips as she suddenly began kneading and massaging his shoulders and back.
“At least for now…” Su Chan added.
Hope lit up inside Li Yundong. “Then when can we…” he trailed off, turning around to face her.
Su Chan’s blush was noticeable despite the darkness. Li Yundong reached out to caress her cheek, but the she turned around and ran before he could touch her. Sounds of her melodious giggles filled the living room amidst the patter of her footsteps. At the bedroom door, Su Chan paused and turned around to face him. A sweet smile lit up her face, and he heard another round of giggles.
“It’s a secret! Why don’t you try guessing it on your own?” Su Chan said playfully.
SLAM!
Li Yundong’s heart plunged to the pit of his stomach when he saw the door close. This woman will be the death of me… he thought. And all it would take is one look from her…
Li Yundong sighed and rose to his feet, then walked out into the balcony.
“So this is how our cohabitation begins, huh?” he mumbled, staring at the shards on the floor. “With pieces of broken glass, and a severe case of blue balls…” Li Yundong released a wry chuckle. “Great… Now I have to find someone to fix this tomorrow…”
Later that night, when Li Yundong was lying on the bed in his own room, staring up at the ceiling, Su Chan was all he could think about. In the end, he decided that Su Chan had done the right thing by rejecting his advances. Even if he wanted to take things further with her, he should at least wait until he was worthy of her. Right now, who was he? A nobody. Li Yundong sighed at that thought, then closed his eyes.
***
The next day, Li Yundong was roused by the ringing of his phone. He groped for his phone on the nightstand.
“Hello…” Li Yundong slurred. “Is it important? If it isn’t then please leave a voice message… I’m hanging up now, bye—”
“Hang up? How about I come over and hang you instead!”
