I will eventually become a divine being through accumulating constantly

"Sister Zhu, we've heard Master speak of this before,"

Xue Jing tried to keep a calm expression as he spoke.

"Consciousness is independent of the human body; our own consciousness and physical body must be viewed separately."

"—So, this was not my intention, but rather an autonomous reaction of the body."

Zhu Shanying's complexion was rosy, her face written with disbelief.

She said amusedly, "Keep making excuses; Meng and I are all ears."

Xue Jing: "..."

He sighed and said, "You know, I am right at the age of adolescence, the most uncontrollable stage of life, being seventeen and nearly at the Great Perfection Realm of adolescence..."

"At such an age, where one can easily be led astray by demonic saintesses and righteous witches, it's normal to feel a surge in my heart to vanquish demons and uphold justice, causing the Sacred Sword to unsheathe automatically, isn't that a very reasonable, logical thing?"

"One could say this is not my fault at all, but rather the body's fault, or even yours."

Zhu Shanying was dumbstruck by Xue Jing's puzzling argument.

She showed a look of rediscovery and smirked, "Little junior brother, you shouldn't practice martial arts; you should become a lawyer, go back in time and be a litigator, this mouth of yours can turn black into white, toy with heaven and earth."

Meng Qingjiao stood with her arms crossed slightly covering her bosom, her cool cheeks bearing a lingering blush, she nodded in agreement.

Xue Jing scratched his cheek awkwardly and said, "I was just trying to lighten the mood..."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

After a round of obnoxious rhetoric, he finally managed to somewhat defuse the awkward atmosphere caused by the unsheathing of the Sacred Sword, making it less uncomfortable.

At that moment, Zhu Shanying suddenly pressed her hands on Xue Jing's thighs, raised her eyebrows threateningly and said, "Now, I have to ask you, in your eyes, which one of us, Meng and I, is the Demonic Saintess and which is the Righteous Witch? Spell it out clearly."

"Hiss——" Xue Jing gasped in pain and quickly waved his hands, "It doesn't matter, right? It was just a metaphor I blurted out..."

"No, you must clarify!" Zhu Shanying's palm gradually tightened.

Xue Jing had no choice but to say, "You, you're the saintess."

"Hm?" Zhu Shanying's eyes twinkled with laughter, but she stubbornly said, "So, in your mind, I am demonic?"

Xue Jing's mouth twitched.

He thought, compared to Meng, you are absolutely the demonic one.

"..." At that moment, Meng Qingjiao stretched out her hands, held his head, and looked him in the eye.

Her cool, pretty face wore an undefinable seriousness, as if asking, "Me, a witch?"

Xue Jing looked up at the overwhelming shadow before him and thought, you are absolutely the witch.

He sincerely said, "I'm sorry, I spoke without thinking."

"It's all my fault from beginning to end, please forgive me."

Zhu Shanying saw his submission, snorted lightly, and laughed teasingly, "Little junior brother, you're so easily swayed, be careful of beauties trapping you in the future."

Xue Jing didn't respond.

Is this really a matter of concentration?

He glanced unintentionally at Meng Qingjiao's trembling World Cup.

Who wouldn't be confused?

Which officer could withstand such a test?

If you were in their shoes, your sword would unsheathe too.

In front of the World Cup, everyone is equal.

"... So, little junior brother."

Zhu Shanying's gaze unintentionally drifted downwards, then she moved it away as if electrified, her small face blushing deeply.

"... When can it sheathe back."

"In this state... it's not good to continue applying medicine."

Zhu Shanying murmured softly.

Xue Jing: "..."

He was not sure if it was his illusion, but he felt like Zhu Shanying was hinting at something.

Of course, that was definitely an illusion.

With strong mental control due to his "Meditative Visualization" skills, even now, he maintained clarity on the level of consciousness.

At this moment, if he really spoke some strange words, then it would truly be irreparable.

"... I'll take care of the rest myself, it's all easily reachable areas."

Xue Jing spoke softly.

"Then… you handle it yourself, Meng and I will leave now."

Zhu Shanying breathed a sigh of relief but seemed to carry a hint of subtle disappointment in her eyes and brows.

"..." Meng Qingjiao nodded her head, her calm, cool face emotionless, but the lingering blush revealed that her heart was still not at peace.

After they left, Xue Jing moved his mouth corners, looking at the still imposing Sacred Sword, feeling a bit troubled.

This damn thing wouldn't really need to 'see blood to sheathe back'... would it?

...

Finally, using the breathing skills from Armor Shaking Skill related to Blood Training, he controlled the Power to disperse the blood gathered together, treated his wounds himself, and went straight to sleep in the Heart-Nourishing Room.

When he opened his eyes again, it was several hours later.

He felt his recovery from the injuries and found that his skin was still itching and painful.

"It seems this injury was quite severe..."

Xue Jing thought to himself.

The previous time, he had been sliced by the Cockroach Monster at the Rui Zhu Hotel in many deep, bone-visible wounds, which nearly healed the next day, and had almost completely recovered in three to four days.

By now, his Martial Arts Practice and Health Cultivation Skills had improved compared to that time, and the Five Major Practices had also progressed, so logically, his recovery should have been even more dramatic.

But now, it felt like the healing was slow.

Xue Jing touched his arm.

Then he performed the Golden Scales Transformation, dragon scale markings began to appear thickly on his skin, as if a layer of scales had genuinely grown.

He pinched a piece of his skin with two fingers and immediately felt a strong resilience, feeling as if the skin all over his body was being pulled along with this small patch.

"Golden Scales Transformation... Power spirals on the skin membrane, forming scales that connect all skin membranes, dispersing and resolving attacks, bearing the force across the skin membranes,"

"The larger the area of force, the smaller the pressure."

"This is the secret of the unparalleled defense of Golden Scale Skin."

Xue Jing remarked.

No wonder Li Qi said Golden Scale Skin could counter the style of Golden Wind White Rainbow Sword that turns fists and feet into blades.

They themselves rely on the blade-like "Power" with a very small area of force application to output their moves, so when encountering "Golden Scale Skin" that can disperse the pressure, they naturally failed.

It's no wonder it's one of the Hidden Dragon School's five deadly skills, none of them are simple.

"The remaining ones that I haven't grasped yet, one is about 'Blood Training' called 'Shaking Star Fire', the other is about 'Muscle Training' called 'Eye-Penetrating Flow'..."

"But there's no hurry, let's heal up first."

Xue Jing sat up, got off the bed, twisted his neck, and did some stretching exercises.

The moon was already high outside the window.

"Let's go home..." Xue Jing murmured to himself.

...

By the time he got home, it was already twelve in the morning.

As soon as he entered the door, Xue Jing was momentarily startled.

Unlike usual, he did not see Miao Miao, who would usually be squatting on the ground to greet him.

Instead, a black-haired young girl was sitting upright on the sofa.

She was wearing a loose white men's T-shirt, with her long, fair legs exposed, and the hem of the shirt was long enough to cover her thighs—it was too big for her, so it was not clear if she was wearing shorts beneath or... not at all.

Her delicate, straight nose and red lips, not painted with any makeup, along with her narrow willow eyebrows and phoenix eyes, made up a perfectly flawless, pretty face.

That face was so distinctively beautiful, with an aggressiveness not commonly held by ordinary women, as if the concept of 'beauty' had materialized into a tangible being, gripping your neck forcing you to like that face.

However, what was most eye-catching was the fluffy black cat ears on the girl's head and the cat tail that swayed on the sofa, circled with a tail ring.

"Teacher Wan, can you change back into a human now?"

Xue Jing asked in a gentle tone.

Ning Fengwan was sitting on the sofa, her body curled up, holding her thighs with both hands, tilting her head slightly and looking at Xue Jing with those phoenix eyes.

Her lower face was buried below her knees, her specific expression obscured, as she issued a muffled 'hmm'.

A few strands of hair fell over her forehead, adding a touch of delicate femininity to her look.

"...I suddenly found out at noon that I could change back on my own."

Ning Fengwan began speaking, her voice seemingly carrying sadness in it.

Xue Jing walked over and sat in front of her. He intended to pinch her cheeks like when she was still a cat, but after thinking it over, he refrained and simply said with a smile:

"Isn't that good? You don't seem very happy?"

Ning Fengwan, upon hearing this, showed a hint of dissatisfaction on her face and said:

"If I can change back into a human, it means I have to leave. Do you think that's good?"

Xue Jing looked confused:

"Why do you have to leave just because you can change back into a human?"

Ning Fengwan rolled her eyes, "If not, will you keep me?"

Xue Jing nodded and said with a laugh, "I'll keep you."

His statement came out very naturally, just like everyday small talk, without any pressure; he just blurted it out casually.

Ning Fengwan took it as if he did not understand her meaning, and she shook her head softly, saying:

"It's not like that..."

She paused, then said in dismay:

"You don't understand, just by being near you, I bring danger to you..."

The existence of Kangde Security loomed like a mountain over the young girl's heart.

The thought that once she was exposed, Xue Jing would also be implicated and casually crushed by that colossal company left her feeling suffocated.

It was time to leave.

Staying by the young man's side for more than a month had been quite happy, anyway.

It was as if she really had become a cat, carefree, just eating, drinking, playing, sleeping, without having to think about anything else.

Although there were occasionally some embarrassing incidents... Overall, she was satisfied with this brief encounter.

That's it, then. Dreams always have to end.

I am the Sect Hierarch of the Dragon Cult, not a real cat.

Ning Fengwan's eyes misted over slightly, her expression becoming somber.

Xue Jing sighed softly.

"Don't make that face like a little abandoned cat."

"I told you, I'll keep you."

He said softly.

Ning Fengwan paused for a moment, looking at him as if she hadn't quite grasped what he said.

"You don't think I'm one of those horrible owners who tires of their pet and abandons them, do you?" Xue Jing said with a light laugh.

He reached out and gently brushed away the moisture clinging to the corner of Ning Fengwan's eyes with his fingers, picking up a little bit of her tears.

"Once a cat is brought home, once the decision to keep it is made, it should be followed through."

Xue Jing gently held her in his arms and said tenderly:

"From the moment I brought you home, you became a part of my family."

"If I were to give up on you, to distance myself from you just because you could bring danger... then I would surely lose something unseen and intangible, but very important."

"Stay, regardless of any danger, I will face it with you."

"That's what being family means."

Ning Fengwan nestled against his shoulder, silent for a long while.

Suddenly, she closed her eyes, reached out, and hugged Xue Jing very tightly, as if trying to meld herself into his body.

A moist sensation came from Xue Jing's shoulder, as if some warm liquid had dripped onto it.

The delicate scent of the cat-eared girl lingered at his nose, and from beside his ear came her voice, tinged with a sob.

"Can I... stay?"

Xue Jing smiled and hugged her a little tighter.

"Of course, as long as I'm here, this is your home."

His tone was not firm, just casual, yet it made the girl's heart tremble.

"Stay as long as you want."

Xue Jing spoke softly, his gaze deep.

...