Chapter 122 Strange Mother-Daughter Relationship
Xia Feng looked up.
Mu Qingtong, dressed in a black gown, sat before the black-and-white piano, her eyes slightly lowered as her fingers moved fluently across the keys. The melody began with a brisk rhythm before gradually building into a high-pitched composition.
She glanced at Xia Feng with her striking eyes but paid him little attention. Instead, as the music swelled, her red lips parted slightly as if preparing to sing again. Xia Feng's expression shifted, and he swiftly pulled out a milky-white fruit, shoving it roughly into her mouth to block her voice.
Mu Qingtong stiffened at the sudden intrusion, her cheeks puffing out like a hamster caught stealing food. Her wide eyes stared up at Xia Feng in disbelief.
"Hiss—"
The milky fruit dissolved instantly, melting into a stream of spiritual energy that surged through her. The woman in the black dress felt the rapid absorption, her swollen cheeks deflating almost immediately. She glared at Xia Feng indignantly. "You—"
But before she could protest, Xia Feng moved again—forcing another fruit into her mouth.
"This is a Spirit Storage Fruit. A rare treasure." He gazed down at her with feigned sincerity. "I'm giving them all to you. See how kind I am?"
"!!!"
The Spirit Storage Fruit was large and rough-skinned, yet it melted effortlessly upon contact. After being force-fed several times, Mu Qingtong soon sensed the transformation within her body—the expansion of her soul space, the condensation and multiplication of spirit particles.
Clutching her mouth, she shot Xia Feng a fierce glare before closing her eyes to stabilize the newly restructured spirit particles.
Normally, a Spirit Master could only increase their spiritual pressure through relentless refinement—optimizing the structure of their spirit particles, compressing them to raise density, and thus storing more within their limited soul space.
The greater the number of particles in a confined space, the higher their density, and consequently, the greater the spiritual pressure.
To simplify: imagine each person's soul space as a 500ml water bottle, with spirit particles evenly dispersed inside. To increase capacity, a Spirit Master must compress these particles, freeing up room to store more.
This compression elevates particle density and pressure. Once pressure reaches a critical threshold, the Spirit Master ascends in rank, their life essence undergoing sublimation.
Thus, "spiritual pressure" often denotes a Spirit Master's strength tier.
However, spiritual pressure and spirit particle quantity are distinct concepts.
Spiritual pressure signifies the Spirit Master's level.
"Spirit particle quantity," meanwhile, refers to the raw volume of particles—the energy expended when casting abilities. Higher-tier Spirit Attire demands greater particle consumption.
Over time, "spiritual pressure" became shorthand for a Spirit Master's energy tier, as achieving third-tier pressure with second-tier capacity was virtually impossible.
But the Spirit Storage Fruit defied this logic—it expanded the soul space, effectively enlarging the "water bottle."
With more room, there was no need for laborious compression, allowing for greater particle storage.
This indirect boost made the fruit a coveted shortcut, especially among privileged Spirit Masters seeking to widen the gap between themselves and ordinary practitioners.
However, overconsumption bred resistance, rendering the fruit ineffective.
Mu Qingtong's absorption was remarkably efficient, leaving no energy wasted. As her soul space expanded, Xia Feng sensed his own soul stretching in tandem.
The newfound space allowed his stagnant spirit particles to multiply anew—like a slight increase in a game's mana bar.
Xia Feng estimated he could now summon his C-tier Spirit Attire one additional time.
"How do you feel?" he asked as Mu Qingtong opened her eyes.
The woman in black lifted her gaze coolly. "Mediocre."
"Don't be ungrateful. Even a first-tier Spirit Storage Fruit is hard to come by."
"Mr. Xia, I never asked for it. Refrain from force-feeding me in the future—or I will lose my patience."
"Oh? Alright, I'll behave next time."
Watching the boy nod with exaggerated solemnity, Mu Qingtong pressed her lips together in resignation. She knew better—Xia Feng's compliance was a facade. He'd dare it again without hesitation.
But it didn't matter. She had recently made a breakthrough in her research - discovering that inflicting pain on extraordinary beings could enhance strength. Once perfected, she'd beat Xia Feng mercilessly, every single day!
As these thoughts crossed her mind, she redirected her focus to her soul space.
The Spirit Storagefruit was indeed beneficial, but carried a significant drawback - the more one consumed, the harder it became to increase spiritual pressure.
This occurred because the expanded space required greater compression of spiritual particles for advancement. Thus, optimizing a more refined spiritual particle structure became crucial, testing a spiritual master's innate talent.
Additionally, if a second-level spiritual master achieved third-level spiritual pressure through Spirit Storage fruit consumption without actual advancement, their spiritual particle density remained at second-level. This resulted in weaker defenses -
For instance, if Xia Feng attacked a genuine third-level spiritual master with his six-tailed appendage, the high-density spiritual pressure barrier might deflect the blow. However, against a second-level master with lower density, the same attack would prove instantly fatal.
Consequently, even privileged second-generation spiritualists dared not overconsume Spirit Storage fruit.
While the fruit could elevate mana to third or even fourth-level, defensive capabilities, mental strength, and physical attributes remained stagnant at second-level. Moreover, advancement difficulty increased exponentially.
In essence: the Spirit Storage fruit was a double-edged sword.
But for Mu Qingtong, it offered pure advantage without drawback.
After experiencing its benefits firsthand, she looked up and stated, "If you have no need for Spirit Storage fruits in future, you may sell them to me."
"Based on current black market prices, the three fruits equate to 30 million each. I'll transfer the funds tomorrow."
Xia Feng nearly protested their partnership arrangement, but upon hearing "free money," promptly swallowed his words.
"Ms. Mu, I deeply admire your business acumen." Xia Feng grasped her delicate hand, beaming with sincere admiration. "Happy cooperation!"
"..."
Mu Qingtong sensed something unspoken in his gaze - something undoubtedly nefarious, though she couldn't pinpoint exactly what.
Her expression cooled as she slapped his hand away. "This concerns serious matters," she said tersely, lips pursed.
"Oh? What matter?"
Xia Feng followed her to the sofa.
"After the Holy Department recovered Wen Zaiye's body, they found no actionable intelligence," Mu Qingtong explained, retrieving a dossier from the table. "However, using my abilities to summon his residual soul yielded some information."
Xia Feng accepted the file - Wen Zaiye's personal records:
[Wen Zaiye, born Sovereign City District 51. Joined Black Moon Church two years ago under unknown circumstances, attaining Black Moon Knight rank. Stole "Moon Goddess' Tears" March this year and defected. During escape, committed multiple crimes resulting in one spiritual master's death and three civilian injuries.]
Xia Feng skimmed the contents, noting two recurring entries in the interrogation log:
[He Jianzhu, Orphanage]
"Residual souls retain fragmented memories, making reliable information scarce," Mu Qingtong noted dispassionately. "But these two terms surfaced repeatedly."
Recalling the earlier documents, Xia Feng connected the dots. "So you're investigating your mother's death?"
"My mother's... death?" Mu Qingtong hesitated momentarily before conceding, "Essentially, yes."
"Essentially?" Xia Feng arched an eyebrow.
"Wen Zaiye's information suggests He Jianzhu's death relates to an orphanage." Mu Qingtong activated her tablet, pulling up a map. "Analyzing his escape route reveals he consistently circled Far-River Town. Even when cornered, he refused to flee, instead heading directly to Mijia Crystalflame Reach on the town's outskirts."
Her fingers pinched-zoomed the display. "Far-River Town hosts only one orphanage - First Harmony Orphanage. Established nearly twenty years ago by the Hydrangea Charity Foundation under royal patronage."
"I see," Xia Feng nodded. "You want me to accompany your investigation there."
"You're not stupid."
"Haha, I'll take that as a compliment."
Xia Feng clapped his hands and stood up with a grin. "Let's go. This uncle will accompany you to find your mother."
"..."
"Oh, right—won't this get reported to the Holy Ministry?" Xia Feng suddenly asked.
The woman in the black dress smiled faintly. "Mr. Xia, I'm investigating He Jianzhu's affairs discreetly. I'd prefer not to involve too many people."
"Don't worry—I'm the soul of discretion." Xia Feng mimed zipping his lips shut.
After minimal preparation, the two set off by car toward Far-River Town.
Xia Feng sat in the back seat, watching the streets flash by through the window, his dark pupils narrowing slightly.
He Jianzhu—mother of the Goddess Mu! Mother of the Witch of Destruction!
Truthfully, Xia Feng was intensely curious about what kind of woman could birth such a peculiar daughter.
He'd noticed a telling detail earlier: most modern people referred to their mothers as "Mom" or "Mother," yet Mu Qingtong called hers by full name.
This mother-daughter relationship was clearly anything but normal.
"By the way, where's your father?" He turned his head abruptly, curiosity piqued. The current Mu family head wasn't Mu Qingtong's father.
She flicked a glance at him with her striking eyes. "I don't have one."
"Oh. Looks like rain outside." Xia Feng quickly faced the window, studying the sky with exaggerated focus.
The implication was obvious—no father meant dead.
As any seasoned reader knew, though protagonists and world-ending villains stood on opposite sides, their backstories shared eerie parallels. Born with cheat-like gifts, yet deprived of parental love, they diverged only in their ultimate paths.
By that logic, Mu Qingtong was fated to be either this world's protagonist—or its destroyer. Xia Feng's mind raced with wild theories.
"Ah, almost forgot!" He suddenly pulled out a sheet of spirit paper and thrust it toward Mu Qingtong. "Miss Mu!"
She looked up, bewildered.
Once again, knowledge was crammed into her mind through underhanded means.
"You're doing it again!" Mu Qingtong sighed in exasperation. This man had a habit of forcing things upon her, his actions dripping with condescension—as if her progress were too slow for his liking.
The arrogance! It infuriated her.
[You forcibly impart knowledge to Mu Qingtong. You instantly memorize the lepton structure diagram of the "Corrective Order."]
[After accumulating countless lepton structures, you've mastered low-to-mid tier formations with ease. You rapidly comprehend the advanced lepton structure of the "Corrective Order"—30%]
To Xia Feng's astonishment, Mu Qingtong absorbed and learned it all in an instant, her speed defying logic.
[39%]
[...]
[59%]
The progress bar skyrocketed wildly.
Her current rate of comprehension surpassed even his wildest expectations.
(End of Chapter)