Everyone returned to the hotel to rest.
The night had deepened, yet light still filtered through the windows of the Eastsea Academy suite.
Su Qiu was currently being subjected to a reign of terror from below, with Na'er tormenting him in every way imaginable, vigorously scrubbing his head like she was washing a dog.
Na'er had even taken to playing with the little ahoge on top of the blond boy's head. Opportunities like this were rare, and she intended to make the most of it.
Wu Changkong and the others had gathered nearby, replaying the soul-guided recordings of the day's matches over and over.
Xie Xie pointed at the screen, at the moment the holy sword had released its full power, and clicked his tongue. "Big Brother, what on earth was that?!"
"Absolutely insane."
Arthur said weakly, "Oh, that's the mandatory skill for every swordsman. Photon Cannon."
Everyone fell silent. Arthur was rambling nonsense again.
Xie Xie rolled his eyes. "Give it a rest! What kind of swordsman can do something like that? You think we're three years old?"
Arthur looked at them as though the answer were self-evident. "If you can't fire a Photon Cannon, what are you even doing with a sword?"
Wu Changkong, watching from the sidelines, felt the corner of his eye twitch. He couldn't fire one himself, which was apparently a personal failing.
Gu Yue came over carrying several cups of warm water, distributed them among the group, and let her gaze settle on Arthur.
"Your martial soul is extraordinary. With power this terrifying, the Federation and every major faction will certainly keep a close eye on you."
Wu Changkong collected himself and said in a low, serious tone, "Gu Yue is right.
The tallest tree catches the strongest wind. Your performance today far exceeded everyone's expectations. From here on, you need to tread carefully."
The look he directed at Arthur carried a measure of gravity. "A Spirit Elder defeating a Titled Douluo armored warrior. You should understand what that means."
"I do."
Showing off feels great in the moment.
The thinking comes afterward.
Arthur nodded. "I'll be careful."
In truth, he only really needed to watch out for the Holy Spirit Cult. The likelihood of other factions moving against him was slim.
Shrek was bloated and unwieldy, but it never acted without justification.
The Spirit Pagoda, now, Arthur was effectively one of their own. Let Su Wuyan worry about that.
And with Na'er's connection, Cold Yao Zhu's allegiance was on their side as well.
The Tang Sect wasn't a concern either. That depended on Mu Ye.
The senior members of the Body Sect were scattered like stars across the sky, embedded in every major organization. The Tang Sect had its share of them too.
The Hall of the God of War was even less of a worry, constrained as it was by the Federation.
As for the Federation itself, everyone knew how that worked.
A parliamentary system. Getting anything done required navigating an extraordinary amount of procedure.
With Arthur's background, that procedure would never reach its conclusion.
The only genuine concern was the Holy Spirit Cult, lawless as they were. Nobody could predict when they might decide to do something reckless.
What Arthur didn't know was that the Holy Spirit Cult had already received word of him, but couldn't be bothered.
They were quietly in the middle of something enormous.
The critical moment was nearly at hand. There was absolutely no reason to invite unnecessary complications.
Some genius or other. Not familiar. No matter how impressive Arthur was, could he become a Limit Douluo within a few years?
Once the conversation wound down, everyone drifted back to their own rooms to rest.
The day had been exhausting.
Arthur, for once, skipped his meditation and fell into a deep sleep.
The night had grown very late. In the hotel room, the only sound was the faint, distant hum of passing cars outside the window.
Arthur was sleeping soundly.
Then, without warning, the door was eased open a crack, and a slender figure crept silently inside.
Na'er was dressed in a pink set of pajamas, her long hair loose over her shoulders, her violet eyes glowing softly in the darkness.
She padded to the bedside, leaned down to study Arthur's sleeping face, and extended one fingertip, fully intending to poke him on the cheek.
Arthur's hand moved faster than his brain. He shot out and caught Na'er's approaching hand.
"Who's there!"
Then he woke up properly.
"Na'er?" Arthur was still somewhat dazed. "What are you doing?"
Seeing that the game was up, Na'er dropped all pretense and launched herself at him.
Her expression shifted in an instant. With a wicked grin she declared, "Arthur was born to be devoured by Na'er."
Arthur couldn't hold back.
He had calculated for everything, and yet none of the great factions had made a move. Na'er had struck first.
He had barely sat up before she crashed into him, sending him stumbling back hard against the headboard.
He tried to struggle, but Na'er had both hands clamped firmly on his shoulders.
This was bad. The energy he'd spent during the day hadn't recovered yet. He was no match for her at all.
The girl carried a faint sweet fragrance, milky and soft, and those violet eyes of hers glittered with triumphant mischief.
Her hands began roaming over him with cheerful irreverence.
"Don't."
"Give up struggling, Arthur. Be a good boy."
Arthur felt the will to live leave his body. He was about to be thoroughly humiliated by this little deviant dragon.
Na'er lowered her head until her nose nearly grazed his cheek, her voice sweet enough to ache. "I haven't had nearly enough of you yet!"
Arthur's face went scarlet. "Let go right now! Keep this up and I'm going to get angry!"
"Being angry won't help~" Na'er tilted her chin up with great satisfaction, and her free hand reached over to pinch his cheek. "Arthur, just give in to me already!"
The two of them grappled back and forth across the bed. Arthur was completely outmatched, Na'er exploiting every advantage she could seize.
In the end Na'er simply flopped down on top of him, clinging to his waist like a koala bear, and buried her face in the crook of his neck.
She said in a muffled voice, "I'm not going back. I'm sleeping here tonight."
With that, she closed her eyes.
"That's it?" Arthur stopped struggling.
Na'er rubbed her head against him, puzzled. "What else?"
"Oh. Never mind, then."
Would have been nice to know sooner. Arthur had thought he was about to be caught by a deviant dragon and turned into some kind of beast of wrath.
Apparently he'd been overthinking it.
Just a very clingy pillow. He could live with that.
Arthur let out a quiet breath and let his body go completely slack, allowing Na'er to drape herself over him however she liked.
The girl's breathing was soft and warm, drifting against the curve of his neck in small, tickling gusts.
A click.
The light came on.
Gu Yue stood in the doorway wearing a simple white silk nightgown, her ink-dark hair falling loosely over her shoulders with a few stray strands drifting across her brow, her skin pale as snow against the dark fabric.
She was standing in the doorway, head tilted slightly to one side.
"What are you two doing?"
Arthur calmly chose to play dead. He was asleep. Deeply, irretrievably asleep.
Na'er nearly let loose a string of curses.
She jumped down from the bed, exhaled with rare irritation, and shot back, "What's wrong with you! It's the middle of the night and you're wandering into Arthur's room. What exactly are you here for?"
Gu Yue blinked, caught off guard by the counter-attack.
"The door was open. I thought Arthur might still be awake."
She pushed the door shut behind her without looking and walked further inside.
Her tone remained as unruffled as ever. "I needed to speak with him privately. A personal matter. As for you, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
Faced with Gu Yue's question, Na'er didn't flinch for a moment.
She answered with complete confidence. "Isn't it obvious?"
"I'm here for a night raid, of course."
Gu Yue looked faintly puzzled. "A night raid?"
Na'er planted her hands on her hips and lifted her chin, wearing the air of someone who had nothing to hide.
"Arthur doesn't have the energy to fight back for once. Raiding him is only natural. As for you, showing up at this hour, surely you're not here to compete with me?"
"Ah." Gu Yue seemed to have a sudden realization. "So you're here to mate?"
Na'er's face went from pale to crimson in an instant, all the way to the tips of her ears.
She pointed at Gu Yue and sputtered for a long moment before she managed, "You, what are you saying! Who said anything about mating!"
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones