Chapter 145: Eating Candy

Early in the morning, as the sun slowly rose, the quiet mortal world once again became lively. The chirping of birds and the calls of cicadas were endless.

Yet Ye Junze, who usually woke up early at this hour, showed no signs of waking up. But that was only natural; after all, it was the weekend, and it was completely understandable for Ye Junze to indulge in a bit of extra sleep just like anyone else.

Therefore, even though he sensed that the daylight outside was gradually brightening, Ye Junze simply pulled his blanket up higher, covered his eyes, and continued to sleep soundly.

It seemed it would take quite a while before he finally woke up.

Fortunately, today Ye Junze had nothing else on his agenda besides practicing the Sword Dao and his daily cultivation. So, as he drifted back to sleep, he thought to himself, "It's fine to stay in bed a little longer. It's a hard-earned weekend, so I must make the most of it."

However, Ye Junze, who was stubbornly refusing to wake up at this moment, could never have imagined what kind of situation was awaiting him once he finally began practicing the Sword Dao.

Time flowed slowly. As the sun climbed higher into the sky, the hands of the clock pointed to nine o'clock.

The very instant the clock struck nine, Ye Junze abruptly snapped his tightly closed eyes open and grabbed his phone to check the time.

After confirming the hour, he put the phone back down, rubbed his still drowsy eyes, and slowly sat up from the bed.

Ye Junze muttered to himself, "It's getting late. I still need to practice the Sword Dao with Lingling. I should tidy up quickly and head into the Mirage Realm. I wonder how Mengyuan and Lingling got along yesterday? Probably not bad, I suppose. Mengyuan would surely let Lingling have her way in everything."

With that thought, Ye Junze stopped procrastinating and quickly got dressed.

Leaving the bed, he skillfully ordered a sumptuous breakfast and then walked straight into the bathroom to wash up.

A short while later, Ye Junze had swiftly freshened up and emerged from the bathroom.

True to form, his breakfast had already been delivered to the table, waiting for him to enjoy.

Ye Junze smiled as he looked at the still-steaming breakfast, a satisfied grin lingering across his face.

He then contentedly seated himself at the chair and began to slowly savor the delicious meal.

Though he said he would savor it slowly, Ye Junze's eating speed was not particularly sluggish. Before long, he let out a satisfied burp.

Ye Junze let out a long breath and sighed with emotion, "Even after so many days, the food at the school still tastes every bit as amazing."

It was no surprise that Ye Junze felt this way. After all, the cafeteria chefs at Anze poured a great deal of heart and soul into the meals they prepared for the students every day, rather than just rushing through the work or throwing something together casually. Food prepared with such genuine care naturally tasted wonderful; on the contrary, it only seemed to get more and more delicious.

If Ye Junze were to rate various places around Anze, the cafeteria would undoubtedly receive the highest score from him. Moreover, it was safe to say that not just Ye Junze, but all the other students as well held the cafeteria in the highest regard.

After all, after a busy and exhausting day of studying and intensive cultivation, who wouldn't be in a great mood upon finally getting to eat a rich and delicious meal? After working hard for so long, wouldn't anyone look forward to such a delectable reward?

Ye Junze shook his head, brushing the thoughts aside.

Rubbing his stomach, he muttered to himself, "Now that my energy is replenished, I'll go into the Mirage Realm and find Lingling to practice the Sword Dao."

Having made up his mind, Ye Junze quickly cleaned up the remnants of his meal.

Returning to the bed, he assumed a meditative posture and once again entered the Mirage Realm.

The moment Ye Junze entered the Mirage Realm, Lingling, who had been wandering around the realm, noticed his arrival.

Riding the Lingxu Sword, Lingling flew rapidly toward Ye Junze and shouted happily, "Master, you're here!"

Seeing this, Ye Junze smiled, nodded, and extended his arms to catch Lingling as she leaped directly into his embrace.

***

After being caught by Ye Junze, Lingling said with sheer delight, "I've missed you to death, Master."

Hearing this, Ye Junze asked with a puzzled expression, "Oh? Really? What is it? Did Mengyuan bully you?"

Lingling hurriedly shook her head and replied, "No, no! Mengyuan has been very good to me and has taught me all sorts of things. Now I have a great understanding of the world you and Master live in. Mengyuan didn't bully me at all, you're overthinking it, Master."

Ye Junze nodded and said, "That's good then. I figured you two would get along well. After all, you're both spirit entities, and you can be considered Mengyuan's very first little companion in all this time."

At that, Lingling seemed a bit embarrassed, scratching her little head as she said, "Then Master doesn't have to worry at all."

"Alright, alright," Ye Junze replied with a chuckle.

Holding Lingling, Ye Junze faded his smile and put on a serious expression. "Alright, let's talk business now. Didn't you say yesterday that you were going to have me practice the Sword Dao?"

Lingling nodded, detached herself from Ye Junze's embrace, and floated in mid-air facing him. "That's right. Are you fully prepared today, Master?"

Ye Junze nodded and answered, "I'm ready."

Lingling responded with a solemn expression, "Very well, then I shall now impart all the Sword Dao inheritance left by my previous master directly into your memory, Master."

As she spoke, Ye Junze watched as Lingling struck a peculiar pose with her hands.

At the same time, an intensely bright glow began to emanate from Lingling's body, illuminating the pitch-black Mirage Realm.

Lingling's little mouth moved continuously as she chanted incantations under her breath.

Shortly after, Ye Junze found himself enveloped by a beam of light. Though he was somewhat perplexed, he felt no discomfort and calmly waited in place.

Not long after the beam of light surrounded Ye Junze, Lingling executed an unknown action, causing two flashes of light to gleam from her eyes.

Emerging from Lingling's eyes, these two beams of light shot straight toward Ye Junze, who was trapped within the pillar of light. In a fraction of a second, they made contact with his forehead.

Right before the light reached him, Ye Junze could not help but close his eyes. The moment the light touched his forehead, his brows furrowed tightly, and he wore an expression of mild pain.

However, those two beams of light paid no heed to Ye Junze's sensations; upon contacting his forehead, they pushed further inward until they finally manifested within his sea of consciousness.

As the two beams entered his sea of consciousness, they seemed to react instinctively, gradually converging and merging together.

This transformation did not last long before a book radiating a pure white light materialized within Ye Junze's sea of consciousness.

Sensing this with his spiritual sense, Ye Junze grew quite curious.

He muttered to himself, "Could this be the Sword Dao inheritance Lingling mentioned?"

"Since I'm not sure, I'll just have to experience it firsthand."

With that, Ye Junze directed his spiritual sense to reach out and touch the book floating within his sea of consciousness.

The absolute instant his spiritual sense made contact with the book, a drastic change occurred.

The massive white book instantly dissolved into countless tiny specks of white light, which directly integrated themselves into Ye Junze's spiritual sense.

Suddenly flooded with a massive influx of Sword Dao knowledge, even the resilient spiritual sense of Ye Junze strained under the pressure. His brows furrowed deeply, and his hands instinctively massaged his temples as if enduring excruciating agony.

Seeing Ye Junze's appearance, Lingling instantly panicked and asked with deep concern, "Ah, Master, are you alright?"

***

Yet, given Ye Junze's current state, how could he possibly hear her words? Even if he heard them, he had no capacity to spare and could not answer her.

Fortunately, Mengyuan, who had spent a long time with Ye Junze and understood his condition well, provided an answer. Mengyuan said, "Don't worry, this is a normal reaction when inheriting certain cultivation techniques. His spiritual sense is far stronger than that of ordinary people, so you don't need to worry about him. This bit of pain is well within his threshold of endurance."

Hearing Mengyuan's reply, Lingling felt somewhat reassured, knowing that Mengyuan was very reliable and never spoke falsely. Still, despite the relief in her heart, an unconcealable look of worry remained on Lingling's face.

Gazing at the pain-stricken face of Ye Junze, Lingling looked rather dejected and repeatedly blamed herself, "It's all my fault! If I hadn't insisted that Master practice the Sword Dao, he wouldn't be suffering like this right now."

Mengyuan had no choice but to comfort her once more, "It really is fine; you don't need to blame yourself like this. After all, you are doing it to help him elevate his strength. It's okay, don't worry too much. He is our master after all; you have to believe in him."

Hearing this, Lingling nodded, yet the lingering anxiety in her eyes refused to vanish, terrified that something might happen to her master.

Noticing Lingling's state, Mengyuan let out an imperceptible sigh.

Then, as if a thought had crossed its mind, Mengyuan softly uttered, "Got it."

Immediately afterward, a large pile of lollipops appeared right beside Lingling.

Seeing this, Lingling's curiosity was instantly piqued, and her worried expression faded slightly. Looking at the strange objects she had never seen before lying next to her, Lingling asked, "Mengyuan, what are these?"

Mengyuan replied, "These are a kind of food from Master and the others' world called lollipops. In their world, if someone is in a bad mood or feeling very sad, eating one of these makes them feel better. Why don't you give it a try? Besides, lollipops are said to have the magical property of lifting one's spirits."

Naturally, these lollipops were conjured by Mengyuan utilizing the unique properties of the Mirage Realm, and their taste was indeed indistinguishable from the ones ordinary children ate. As for whether they possessed the mood-boosting effects Mengyuan claimed, that remained to be seen.

Hearing Mengyuan's explanation, Lingling exclaimed in amazement, "Really? That sounds so magical!"

Mengyuan answered, "Well, whether it's true or not, why don't you taste one and find out?"

Lingling nodded, picked one lollipop from the large pile, unwrapped it, and slowly popped it into her mouth.

"Nom~"

The moment the lollipop entered her mouth, Mengyuan let out a sound of pleasant realization.

The expression on her face softened into one of sheer bliss, as if she had just tasted the finest delicacy in the entire world.

Lingling couldn't help crying out, "This is so good!"

Mengyuan responded, "Then eat as many as you like; there are plenty more. How is it? Do you feel a bit better and less worried now?"

Lingling nodded and answered, "I really do!"

So Mengyuan prompted once more, "Then just keep eating your candy while you wait. Look, isn't Ye Junze looking much less painful than he did a moment ago?"

Lingling nodded, indicating that she had noticed as well.

Munching on her candy like a thoroughly comforted child, Lingling's worried expression finally dissipated significantly. Naturally, this was also largely due to the fact that Ye Junze no longer looked as if he were in agonizing pain.