Chapter 70: Castorice

[Extra]

At this moment, in the vast flower field of St. Freya Academy, Lu Jingming and Castorice were once again on a private date. Castorice sat gracefully on her knees in the sea of flowers, while Lu Jingming lounged comfortably with his head resting on her fair, slender legs, elegantly wrapped in delicate white stockings, enjoying this exclusive moment of tranquility and warmth between the two of them.

Beside them, a white knight's lance was planted askew in the soft ground, its shaft emitting a gentle, white glow. It constantly released the power of creation, silently helping the flower field resist the erosive aura of death emanating from Castorice.

Were it not for Lu Jingming and his Black Abyss White Flower, Castorice would never have been able to set foot in this sea of flowers.

Her very existence was akin to a messenger of death; wherever she went, all life would wither.

Yet, with Lu Jingming by her side, everything was different.

His power allowed Castorice to briefly touch these beautiful blossoms without snuffing out their lives.

For Castorice, even this fleeting period of time was an immense happiness.

To her, being able to experience the beauty of life up close and truly feel the warmth that belonged to Lu Jingming was more than enough.

Castorice reached out and gently stroked Lu Jingming's snow-white hair, a serene smile blossoming on her face as if time itself had frozen at this moment.

Suddenly, soul power within Lu Jingming surged violently, like a calm lake being struck by a boulder, sending out layer upon layer of ripples.

Immediately after, it was as though he had broken through an invisible barrier—his entire aura instantly grew stronger, and the power of creation radiating from the white knight's lance became even more vast and dazzling.

"You broke through?" Castorice's mouth opened in surprise, her innocent and adorable expression even more endearing.

"That's right—level fifty. See, I told you a lap pillow would help me break through." Lu Jingming sat up with a satisfied grin and even patted Castorice's stocking-covered legs.

A faint blush appeared on Castorice's cheeks, and she shyly drew back her slender legs.

She knew she'd been tricked by Lu Jingming. He'd only said that a lap pillow would help him break through so she would agree. In reality, Castorice wasn't naive—she knew that Lu Jingming had long been on the verge of a breakthrough; that was just an excuse to get a lap pillow.

Yet even so, she still agreed—because she craved that warmth just as much.

This warmth was something she'd never experienced in her long, lonely thousand-year existence. Even when she had tasted fleeting moments of comfort in the past, they were always short-lived and inevitably followed by separation and pain.

"It looks like it's time to head to the Star Dou Great Forest. Sister Lexuan has also broken through to level eighty and needs to obtain her eighth soul ring." Lu Jingming stroked his chin and murmured.

Both his fifth soul ring and Zhang Lexuan's eighth required them to go to the Star Dou Great Forest.

Lu Jingming didn't have high demands for his own soul ring—he wasn't that particular about the type of soul beast.

But for Zhang Lexuan, it was different. To get a compatible soul ring, the Star Dou Great Forest was unquestionably the best place on the continent to meet her needs.

At only twenty-two, Zhang Lexuan had broken through the level eighty bottleneck—her talent was extraordinary.

Of course, this couldn't have happened without the honkai energy provided by Lu Jingming.

In the original timeline, Zhang Lexuan also became a Soul Douluo at this age, relying on Shrek Academy's resources and the help of the Golden Tree.

Now, she not only lacked for nothing, but the pure energy had comprehensively enhanced her body, making her far stronger than she would have been in her original destiny. Now, Zhang Lexuan was fully confident she could absorb a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, with no need to worry about failure—the Honkai energy had greatly fortified both her mind and body.

In her original fate, Zhang Lexuan only absorbed a hundred-thousand-year ring out of necessity, and she needed half a year to recover afterward.

Now, she was actively seeking a hundred-thousand-year ring, eager to further her strength.

However, such soul beasts were exceedingly rare and not something one could simply seek out—finding one, even in the Star Dou Great Forest, was a matter of luck.

Lu Jingming knew of the whereabouts of some hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

But he did not plan to go there for now—Tang San had left the Mysterious Heaven Record's poison and immortal herb chapters there and planned to use the Lovesick Heartbroken Red to test Huo Yuhao.

Lu Jingming knew that to go there recklessly at this time could alert Tang San, who might have left behind some backup plan.

It simply wasn't worth the risk for a few herbs and a soul ring.

Besides, with honkai energy gems in hand, he could use a special method to forcibly upgrade a ten-thousand-year ring to a hundred-thousand-year one.

If this trip to the Star Dou Great Forest didn't yield a suitable ring, he would never let Zhang Lexuan settle for less.

No matter how much honkai energy it took, he was determined to get Zhang Lexuan a hundred-thousand-year eighth soul ring.

After all, a hundred-thousand-year ring would greatly boost her power—many Title Douluo didn't even have one.

"Let's go, Castorice." Lu Jingming drew the white knight's lance with his left hand and naturally offered his right to Castorice.

Castorice, wearing black gloves, gently placed her left hand in his. Lu Jingming gave a gentle pull and lifted her to her feet.

Hand in hand, the two slowly left the sea of flowers that Lu Jingming had personally created.

After escorting Castorice back to the villa, Lu Jingming headed directly for the teaching building to find Zhang Lexuan, who was handling academy affairs.

As the senior sister of St. Freya Academy, Zhang Lexuan had already graduated and now served as the academy's director of education, managing most of its affairs.

Keqing was in a similar situation; all the expansions of Haiyuan City had relied on her efforts.

This Yuheng Star had devoted herself entirely to her work, even spending less time with Lu Jingming.

But precisely because of Keqing and the others, Lu Jingming could take things easy—playing with the little fox, teasing Castorice, Firefly, and March 7 when he felt like it.

Changli handled management, Keqing took care of construction and development, Ningguang oversaw business funds, Zhang Lexuan ran the academy, and with soul tool technology so advanced, there was nothing to worry about.

The Golden Guard had expanded to two thousand strong, and all five commanders had undergone advanced fusion surgery, now all at the Soul Sage level.