10 Passion(1)

"Senior, I have a question that's been bugging me for a while."

"Go ahead and ask~"

"We've seen that the total mass of a product remains constant before and after a reaction. But then why are cultivators able to conjure water out of thin air? Doesn't it fail to hold the basic laws of conservation?"

Cultivators studied a wide range of topics.

Each of them was vast and profound with no end in sight.

The earlier one started to focus on them, the better their foundation.

As such, in clans such as the Long Aristocratic clan, the children needed to choose specialisations from their teenage itself.

Except for a few common subjects like martial arts, business, and history which needed to learn by all, everyone else had specialization.

Tianlong had chosen physiology, medicine and other sciences as his specialisation.

As such, he still shared many common classes as Qingxue who had chosen to become an alchemist.

Considering how talented Ji Cangyue was, it wasn't much of a surprise.

She had once said that she wouldn't mind guiding Tianlong. He wasn't going to give up such a chance.

His parents might be the most powerful people in the clan, but they weren't an alchemist.

As such, he would take appointments with Ji Cangyue and visit her whenever he had any doubts.

Over the years, the two developed a subtle master-disciple relationship.

Hearing his question, she was filled with praise."You see, the natural conjectures like the law of conservation of mass and momentum fail to hold true whenever spiritual energy is involved. All phenomena that you perceive in this world are dictated by the heavenly laws. When you use spiritual energy, you are borrowing laws in some form or other. So, the conservation laws fail to hold true."

He frowned after hearing that answer. "But it just seems like energy changing into matter…"

"Energy is an ethereal concept while matter is corporeal. You cannot change one of them into other without the involvement of spiritual energy …at least none of us were able to."

The two of them continued their discussion when suddenly they heard footsteps from behind.

The little Qingxue of the past was now a young woman of age. She was incredibly tall, slender and beautiful. Even though she wore no makeup, her face glowed with a natural charm.

Her eyes were like limpid pools of water and incited the desire to protect in anyone who looked at them. She had inherited her mother's beauty but without the mature flavour.

However not only was she a top-grade beauty, but also a cultivation genius.

In just five months of cultivation, she had managed to condense 71 Qi vortexes. It was almost the peak of the second stage of Qi condensation.

Although she couldn't be considered heaven-defying as Long Qianmei, she was certainly in a league of her own.

"Big brother Tianlong! I searched for you everywhere and even went to your house… and here you are sitting in my house." Putting her hands on her waist, she displayed a wronged expression.

"Alchemy related problems." He shrugged.

"Anyway, I wasn't able to attend classes the previous week … I missed a lot of topics …don't have notes. Basically, teach me everything and give me your notes."

Just as he was about to say something, a voice behind her interrupted their conversation. "As far as I know, senior is a second circle alchemist. No offence, but aren't you wasting her precious time with your questions in foundation alchemy?"

Soon a tall youth came into view.

Instead of answering the question, he asked, "Sorry, but do I know you?"

The youth was caught off guard by the response but then calmly responded, "I'm Long Ding. You must've heard of me."

Tianlong had indeed heard of him. In fact, they had met during the study sessions at her place.

Long Ding was the son of a clan elder and always used to come second in the exams. He was the first among his group to enter Qi Condensation. In only eight months, he had opened up 75 qi vortexes.

Previously when they were students, he always used to come second after Tianlong which incited slight frustration in him. When he entered Qi condensation before Tianlong, he thought that he had finally left his rival behind and was filled with pride.

Afterwards, enchanted by her beauty and talent, he decided to pursue her. He gave her many gifts and would frequently ask her out for dinner which should have made his intentions clear to her.

She however never gave him an answer. He never minded it as she treated everyone that pursued her the same way.

However, it all changed when he noticed her constant behaviour around Tianlong.

While others said that she acted like this due to them being childhood friends, he knew it was far from simple friendship.

With the way the two interacted and how they both looked, there was no way they can be just friends with each other!

However, he believed he was better than Tianlong. After all, the latter was still not a cultivator yet. Which could only mean he had worse talent than him!

Worst of all, the guy acted totally oblivious to her affection and only approached her when he needed to get in touch with her mother!

So even if Tianlong never did anything to Long Ding, he was being targeted by the latter.

Ji Cangyue was listening to their exchange with interest. It was clearly a case of a love triangle and she loved drama.

"Ah yes, the second ranker Long Ding. My apologies, we don't share any common subjects and our previous batches were also different, so I couldn't recognize you."

Long Ding snarled at his comment, "By calling me second, are you looking down on me?"

"If you think that calling you second was derogatory, then you are clearly insulting Qingxue."

At that statement, Ji Cangyue laughed out loud while Qingxue glared at him.

"You bastard! Stop twisting my words and answer my question."

"So now we are coming down to insults? I just referred to you as such because that's the only way I know you. Anyway, what was your question again?"

Long Ding felt extremely awkward repeating his question while everyone was looking at him as a clown. The worst thing was Ji Cangyue's face had a cringed expression when looking at him. As if asking, "If I didn't want to answer his questions, I wouldn't have allowed him to come in the first place. Who are you to meddle?"

Tianlong facepalmed and even felt slight pity for the guy. He sighed, "You could've remained silent and avoided all that."

Ji Cangyue's lips twitched as she struggled to keep her laughter in check. Qingxue didn't have that ability and just burst out laughing.

Long Ding's eyes became moist when he saw that.

"Anyway, it's getting late. I'll disturb you some other time senior." He got up and bowed to her.

"OK then, see you later."

"I'll come with you brother Tianlong." Qingxue quickly said and hopped in front of him.

As he walked by Long Ding, he patted long Ding's shoulders.

His body shuddered after that. He accepted the fact that the girl he liked already had someone else.

"Hey look! Isn't that miss Qingxue? …she looks like a fairy!"

"I heard that she only took two months to complete the first level of Qi condensation!"

"This is so unfair! She is already a beauty but also possesses such shocking talents. Hah…I wish to become someone like her in the future. By the way, who's that guy beside her? He looks so handsome!"

"Can't you see those horns on his head? There's only one person in the clan who has such features."

Beautiful people always attract attention no matter where they go.

Even if their character and talent are complete trash, their face alone makes others have a deeper impression of them compared to others.

So, while everyone is born equal, some are born "more" equal than others.

However, this extra attention wasn't always good…

Qingxue's snow-white skin glistened under the moonlight making her look even more beautiful than before.

As for Tianlong, his handsome face and the sharp aura surrounding him made him look like a demon prince.

Now that the two were walking together, they attracted attention among the youth wherever they went.

Qingxue was famous among the youth due to her beauty and talent. While people didn't know Tianlong much due to him spending all of his time in classes and training, everyone recognized him due to his unique and handsome features.

Those who didn't know about their relationship thought that they were dating.

"Look how famous you are." Tianlong chuckled after listening to their discussion.

"It's just because you rarely show your face outside nowadays. Seriously… how do you stay cooped up inside your room all day?" She asked him with a curious expression.

"Well… I'm not gifted like someone else. So I have to utilize all the free time I've got to train or study."

"Ha! as if I would believe you. My mom said that you have an extremely solid foundation and can enter the Qi Condensation stage whenever you want. Tell me… why are you suppressing your breakthrough?"

"It's a secret ~"

"You can tell me. I promise that I won't tell anyone else."

"Sorry, but my father said that women don't have the ability to keep secrets."

"Don't drag uncle into this. I'm sure he'll never say such things… it's clearly your own opinion that you are projecting."

The two of them continued to bicker before reaching his home. Once there, he called out to his parents but they didn't answer. He assumed that they were probably cultivating like usual.

They walked towards his room as she didn't want to sit alone in the guest chamber while he would be arranging the papers. Also, she was curious about how his room looked.

"Come to think of it, it has been so long since I came to your house. The last time I was here, was three years ago."

While he was arranging the notes, Qingxue was observing his room. Though large, it was very simple and clean. It consisted of a large bed, a study table and a shelf with lots of books. His walls had graphs and articles attached to them related to anatomy, mathematics and different subjects. The only things that didn't reek of his dedication towards academics were the neat display of swords, bows, and quivers.

Being a sword user herself, she was intrigued by their beauty and went forward to check them. Taking one sword, she unsheathed it and silently admired it.

"So you are training in the way of swords and archery, huh. You are so lucky to be taught by uncle and aunt who are both experts in these subjects."

"Well, I can say the same about your alchemy. As far as I know, your father is also a sword expert. So I don't even know why you attend those classes."

Qingxue's heaved a sigh. There was no playful expression on her face anymore.

"You see, dad is always in seclusion. He has no time to teach me. We barely meet once or twice a year. Only mom is there for me. But even she has her own cultivation to follow. That's why I admire you, despite both of your parents being experts, they still make time for you." Her voice became very soft at the end.

Tianlong looked at her for a long time. He never knew that this cheerful girl which he had grown up with used to cover her worries with a veil of a smile.

He went near her and took another sword. Unsheathing it, he revealed a blade identical to the one in her hand and suddenly attacked her.

She was caught off-guard and couldn't defend herself in time; the sword stopped just a tip away from her throat.

"…!! Wha- what are you doing?" She said as she flicked off the sword.

"Come to think of it… your mother once asked me to look after you in exchange for her teaching me. Now, I'm pretty sure that she meant that as a joke… but I still need to repay her favour in some form or other. Since you said that your father is busy and can't make time for you… you can look for me to spar. While it won't count as me repaying her, it's at least something." He immediately attacked her after saying that.

Being prepared this time, she was ready for the incoming attack. "Heh… do you really want to spar with me? I may not be a good swordsman but I'm already in Qi condensation-" before she could even finish her statement, she saw her attack being casually flicked off followed by a blinding streak of sword flash. In the next moment, she saw his sword inches away from her throat.

The rest of the words got stuck in her mouth and she understood that he was as much of a monster in swords as he was in academics.

"Cat got your tongue?" He smiled.

Qingxue snorted and responded with an attack. The room soon got filled with the sounds of metal clashing and her curses. Being defeated again and again in the same position made her feel like a helpless lamb.

"Brother Tianlong you are so cruel!" She exclaimed as Tianlong once again bought the tip of the sword inches away from her throat.

"Says the girl who has so many boys chasing after her but still won't give an answer to any. If you don't like them why not just outright reject everyone? What you are doing is much crueller." He calmly withdrew his sword and sheathed it.

Despite not being physically tired, Qingxue was mentally exhausted. She dropped the sword and threw herself in the bed. With her feet on the ground, she was lying down on her back. As she breathed his manly scent, it caused her to blush.

"Hey, I never asked them to give me anything. It's them who are giving me gifts. Tell me, would you reject someone if they give you spirit stones?"

Tianlong was putting the swords back on the rack. Her words made him stop. "They give you… what?"

"Spirit stones! And it's not only one of them but a whole bunch of such idiots, I mean admirers."

He was amazed by the act of these simpletons. It should be known that cultivators used spirit stones as currency. They had a concentrated amount of spiritual energy inside of them which could be used for cultivation, powering up arrays, etc.

They were either naturally formed underground in places with high spiritual energy density or could be produced by cultivators by condensing energy on a stone. However, cultivators rarely condensed them due to the process being inefficient and that time could've been spent in cultivating.

Tianlong sat beside her on the bed. He looked at her beautiful face on the bed which was glistening with sweat. "Perks of being a beautiful girl. People like them will worship you just because of your superior looks."

"I'm pretty sure there are plenty of girls in our class who would do the same for you." She said with a playful expression on her face.

Tianlong shook his head and focused on the papers in his hand.

"Alright, so last week…"

He began to read the notes of previous weeks aloud and give her brief introductions on the topic.

While Tianlong was engrossed in his own world, Qingxue was in no mood to study.

Biting her lower lip, she tiptoed her fingers behind his back and slightly tickled his back.

Tianlong felt a weird sensation due to her action. He caught her arm with his other hand and pulled her up.

"What are you-"

He couldn't finish his sentence.

Due to the strength of his body, a simple pull had bought her directly in front of his face.

Her face was already flushed and covered with fragrant sweat due to the previous physical exertion. Under the light of the night lamp, it glistened like a jewel.

Being so close to him, he could feel her plump breasts rubbing against him.

Under the suddenness of the situation, time seemed to stop for both of them.

Unable to resist the temptation anymore, Tianlong claimed her lips.

Qingxue's body shuddered. She instinctively tried to push him away. However, Tianlong wouldn't let her go. Still maintaining that embrace, he continued to suck her lips.

Gradually, she lost herself in the heat and opened her lips to let his tongue inside. Their tongues danced with a fiery passion while exchanging each other's saliva.

Completely lost in heat, Qingxue put one of her hands in his hair and the other on his back pulling him closer while also wrapping her legs around his waist as if trying to merge with him.

"Mmmh~"

She moaned as she found one of his hands kneading her breasts.

Finding the clothes as nothing but a nuisance at this point, she started to tear apart his garments while still maintaining the kiss as if her life depended on it.

As much as he wanted to return the favour, Tianlong still had a bit of rationality left in him. He remembered that she didn't have extra clothes with her.

If she returns wearing his clothes, it would be glaringly obvious to everyone what they have just done. Something that he didn't want yet.

So with a careful range of motions, he undid the sash of her white robe and pulled apart the top.

What greeted him was a mouth-watering sight of her breasts tightly held by a sexy red duduo. Just as he was going to proceed further, she broke the kiss.

"Fuah~ hah.. hah.. hah.. what… what… what kind of thing are you wearing under your dress?"