Chapter 82 Teacher Mu, Please Have Some Respect
The northern night was as cold as a bone-carving steel knife.
Fierce winds whipped up ice shards, emitting a shrill whistle across the empty training ground. Three thousand recruits lay on the snowy ground; although they were dreaming, their bodies instinctively shivered, and white frost coated their eyebrows and beards.
Beside the specially made recliner in the center of the training ground, a beautiful figure was swaying precariously.
Mu Qingxue bit her bloodless lips tightly, arms wrapped around her chest, trying to lock in the last trace of heat in her body. But that "Nine Yin Cold Poison" originating from deep within her bone marrow was like a burst dam, becoming increasingly violent as the night deepened.
"Damn it... why tonight of all nights..."
Her vision began to blur, and the ice crystals condensed on her eyelashes made everything look double.
If it were normal times, she could rely on True Qi to suppress it. But having overdrawn herself preparing supplies and traveling these past few days, she was now like a defenseless porcelain doll, ready to be shattered by the cold at any moment.
Her gaze involuntarily fell upon that recliner.
There, a warm "firelight" existed.
Jiang Chen was curled up in a thick animal-skin blanket, holding a furry silver-haired girl (Iliya, forced to serve as a body pillow) in his arms, his body radiating pure Yang Qi like a furnace.
That heat held a fatal attraction for the current Mu Qingxue.
"Just... borrow some heat... that shouldn't count as a violation, right?"
Reason appeared fragile in the face of survival instinct. Mu Qingxue moved her stiff feet instinctively, approaching the heat source named "Jiang Chen" step by step.
The closer she got, the more intoxicating that warmth became.
When she reached the recliner, her body uncontrollably went soft, and she knelt on the thick cushion.
"Jiang Chen..."
She tried to wake him, but her voice was as weak as a mosquito's hum.
The person in the blanket didn't react, only turned over, flipping up a corner of the blanket, as if extending a silent invitation.
The heat wave pouring out from that gap completely broke down Mu Qingxue's last line of defense.
"I am doing this to... monitor the student's safety."
She gave herself a lame excuse in her heart, then with trembling hands, lifted the blanket and, like a freezing kitten, carefully crawled inside.
Hiss—!
As soon as she got in, the scalding masculine aura rushed at her, enveloping her entirely.
Mu Qingxue almost groaned aloud in comfort. She instinctively sought the core of the heat, her body pressing tightly against Jiang Chen's back.
Her cold skin touched his scorching back, producing a "sizzling" sound almost audible to the ear.
【Ding! High-intensity external cold source detected.】
【System assessment: Humanoid walking air conditioner (faulty freon-leaking version).】
【Heat exchange in progress... Yin and Yang complementary mode initiated.】
In his sleep, Jiang Chen's brows relaxed slightly.
He was dreaming he was roasting by a fire in the Flaming Mountains, feeling incredibly hot, when suddenly a massive block of ten-thousand-year ice leaned against his back—cool, slippery, and simply exhilarating.
"Mmm... this ice pad is nice... it even moves..."
Jiang Chen mumbled groggily, reaching back and accurately scooping the "ice pad" behind him into his arms.
This scoop was significant, pulling Mu Qingxue completely into his embrace.
Their posture instantly became extremely dangerous.
Jiang Chen lay flat, his left arm hugging Iliya's furry big tail, while his right hand clamped tightly around Mu Qingxue's slender waist, pressing her face against his chest.
"You... let go..."
Mu Qingxue was mortified and wanted to struggle, but the Yang Qi surging into her body left her limbs numb; she didn't even have the strength to lift a finger.
What was even worse, Jiang Chen seemed to think this was enough and wanted to push further.
His leg pressed up naturally, landing right on Mu Qingxue's thigh, wrapping around her like an octopus.
"Don't mess around... an air conditioner should have the awareness of an air conditioner... turn up the cooling..."
Jiang Chen said in his sleep while rubbing his face against Mu Qingxue's cool hair.
"Jiang Chen! You... please behave yourself!"
Mu Qingxue gritted her teeth, her voice trembling, her face flushed as if it would glow in the night.
If looks could kill, Jiang Chen would already be an ice sculpture. But in this narrow, warm, and ambiguously scented blanket, her protest seemed so pale and weak, perhaps even carrying a hint of... coy reluctance?
Just then, Iliya, who had been squeezed into the corner, was also woken up.
"Wu... so crowded... who is it..."
The little Fox Spirit opened her eyes groggily, and by the faint starlight, saw Mu Qingxue close at hand.
Their eyes met.
The air seemed to freeze for three seconds.
"T-Teacher Mu?!" Iliya widened her purple eyes in horror, "Y-you... you came to be a body pillow too?"
Mu Qingxue: "..."
She just wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into, or just freeze herself to death.
"Shut up! Go to sleep!"
Mu Qingxue snapped fiercely, trying to cover her embarrassment, "I am here to... check his physical condition! This is a medical procedure!"
"Oh..."
Iliya shrank her neck aggrievedly, but muttered in her heart: Does checking physical condition require hugging so tightly? Your legs are even tangled together...
【Ding! "Threesome" high-level sleeping posture detected.】
【Achievement unlocked: Left and Right Embrace (Pseudo).】
【Mental Energy recovery speed increased by 500%! Ice resistance increased! Charm resistance increased!】
【host current status: Feeling great.】
This night was an incredibly comfortable one for Jiang Chen.
On his left was the soft and sweet Fox Spirit, and on his right was the cool and refreshing ice-mountain goddess.
In his dreams, he went skiing in the Antarctic one moment and took a sauna in the Flaming Mountains the next; within this extreme experience of ice and fire, his Mental Energy barrier was silently melting away.
But for the other two, it was torture.
Mu Qingxue dared not move, fearing she might touch something she shouldn't; Iliya dared not move, fearing she would be frozen into an ice pop by that fierce woman.
The two of them stayed stiffly with Jiang Chen for the whole night.
...
The next morning.
When the first ray of sunlight pierced the darkness and shone on the Northern Fortress training ground.
"Roar—!!!"
Beast-like roars erupted from the mouths of the recruits on the snowy ground.
They opened their eyes abruptly, their eyes blood-red, their bodies surging with Killing Intent, as if they had just crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
"Kill! Kill all these beasts!"
"Don't bite my leg! I'll fight you to the death!"
Three thousand recruits woke up at the same time. On their bodies, they all emitted the iron-blooded Evil Qi that only battle-hardened veterans possessed!
Lei Heng stood on the high platform, watching this scene, so shocked that the pipe in his hand fell.
"This... this is the effect of one night?!"
He could clearly sense that the Qi and blood fluctuations of these recruits were at least 30% stronger than yesterday! A few hundred people even had a Breakthrough in their Realm!
"A miracle... it really is a miracle!"
Lei Heng was trembling with excitement, his gaze fixed on the blanket in the center of the training ground.
At this moment, the blanket moved.
A messy head popped out.
Jiang Chen let out a huge yawn, stretched out his hand, and habitually reached to the side.
"Hmm? Where's my air conditioner?"
He touched nothing.
Mu Qingxue and Iliya had long since taken advantage of the pre-dawn darkness to flee with blushing faces, leaving behind only that unique scent of mint and milk in the blanket.
"Tsk, ran away really fast."
Jiang Chen smacked his lips with some regret, sat up from the recliner, and looked at the recruits surrounding him, all filled with Killing Intent.
"Yo, you're awake?"
He waved his hand lazily, "Since you're awake, don't just stand there. The cafeteria is open, go grab some food. If you can't grab any... go hungry."
"Yes! Chief Instructor!"
Three thousand people roared in unison, the sound shaking the clouds. In their eyes, there was no longer confusion, but absolute fanaticism and worship for the strong.
And in a corner far away.
Mu Qingxue leaned against the wall, covering her burning cheeks with both hands, her heart beating so fast it felt like it was about to jump out of her chest.
She looked down at her palms, where the temperature from Jiang Chen seemed to still linger.
"Mu Qingxue... you're done for."
She smiled bitterly, yet couldn't help but look back, taking a deep look at the youth stretching in the sunlight.