186: Lianxin Waterfall

"I'm fine, it's just that my hands and feet feel a bit uncomfortable."

After all, having been tied up for an entire night and a morning, Gu Xiaoyue had deep rope marks on her hands and feet.

Fortunately, it hadn't been too long, so the skin wasn't broken.

Shui Lingyu grabbed her hand, gently stroking the marks, feeling a bit heartbroken.

"Are you hungry, Xiao Yue? Let's go get something to eat before returning to Huaqing."

Everyone agreed; they had been searching for them all night and had barely slept, let alone eaten.

While Gu Xiaoyue and the others went to eat, Xiao Hang and Xiao Han returned to report their work to Xiao Mingyan.

Chu Li took a moment to give Gu Xiaoyue the last Hanxing Grass from Charlie.

"He returned to Sun Never Sets this morning. Since he couldn't find you, he asked me to deliver this."

Gu Xiaoyue understood and accepted the Hanxing Grass.

Even as Charlie was leaving, he was still worried about her.

After the meal, everyone returned to Huaqing together, where Coach Huo and the official teachers for the National Competition were waiting for them to depart for Lianxin Waterfall.

The fans of Gu Xiaoyue and the haters of Duan Yao who were waiting around called out in dissatisfaction when they saw Gu Xiaoyue and Duan Yao returning hand in hand.

"Duan Yao, your reputation is ruined, stop trying to use our Xiao Yue for clout!"

"Xiao Yue, just focus on your career and stay away from that hater, Duan Yao!"

Hearing the fans shouting, Duan Yao silently pulled her hand away from Gu Xiaoyue's arm.

Gu Xiaoyue teased her, "Weren't you quite arrogant before? Are you scared now that the fans are nagging you?"

"You're finally back! Where have you been running off to again!"

Coach Huo said, half-angrily.

"Sorry, Coach. Something came up, and it delayed everyone's schedule."

Gu Xiaoyue bowed respectfully to Coach Huo, and his expression finally softened a little.

"Alright, if we leave now, we'll probably only be able to stay at the base and start the training tomorrow."

Just as Coach Huo said, by the time the participants for the Lianxin Waterfall training arrived at Guyuan Mountain, it was already very late.

Everyone stayed at the military garrison base for the night, and it wasn't until the next day that proper arrangements were made for the trainees.

This year was different from the last; the team in first place would have 3 days of training, the second place 2 days, and the third place 1 day.

The top three winners of the individual competition were also granted reward days in the same manner.

This meant Gu Xiaoyue could stay in Lianxin Waterfall for six days.

Last year, because she lost consciousness, she had stayed in Lianxin Waterfall for a full seven days.

This year was great; it was legitimate, so she didn't have to worry about others being jealous and nagging her!

When allocating areas, Gu Xiaoyue specifically requested a larger waterfall branch that could accommodate five people.

Although Zhuang Yanxin had also come along, Gu Xiaoyue did not intend to train with her.

Coach Huo did not object, so Gu Xiaoyue, Chu Li, Fang Xiaoyu, Ye Wanrou, and Chen Yixuan grouped together.

The water from Lianxin Waterfall poured onto her body, and the pain arrived right on schedule.

Gu Xiaoyue gritted her teeth and persisted, but before long, she lost consciousness again.

Just like last year, Gu Xiaoyue found herself in a cloud of murky mist, unable to see anything around her.

She had no choice but to sit cross-legged and meditate.

The hoarse voice appeared again, "Haha, girl, you've come. This is the second time!"

"Senior? Please tell me, what does this mean?"

They were speaking in riddles last year, and it was the same this year.

Gu Xiaoyue was once again isolated from the world; she had no information and could not use her Mental Power to investigate.

"Girl, when you come for the third time, I will tell you, and there will be a big gift for you!"

"Senior, tell me now! Senior?"

Gu Xiaoyue's curiosity exploded, but despite calling out several more times, the hoarse voice was like a severed signal, offering no further information.

She sighed softly. It seemed she would have to come to Lianxin Waterfall a third time to get the answer.

Since she was here, she might as well make the best of it; Gu Xiaoyue began to cultivate.

Everything was just like last year; she stopped distracting herself and focused on cultivating her internal cultivation technique.

It wasn't until the mist dissipated that she regained consciousness.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Chu Li and the others, who looked a bit thinner.

"You all—"

Gu Xiaoyue was just about to ask why they seemed to have lost so much weight when Ye Wanrou hugged her tightly.

"Oh my god, Xiao Yue! If you weren't breathing normally, we would have thought you were dead!"

Ye Wanrou didn't have much strength either; although she was excited, her voice sounded weak and breathless.

Gu Xiaoyue looked at them in confusion and asked Chu Li.

"How long did I lose consciousness this time?"

Chu Li's expression was a bit weary.

"Half a month. Although we were only separated from the outside by the water curtain, people from the outside couldn't come in, and we couldn't go out."

Gu Xiaoyue was surprised that she had been cultivating for so long.

What about them? If they couldn't get out, didn't that mean they had been staying in Lianxin Waterfall with her the whole time?

"Although Snowball leveled up, Xiao Yue, I'm so hungry!"

They had edible ingredients in their Yu Beast Space.

But they couldn't start a fire in Lianxin Waterfall, and because they were worried about Gu Xiaoyue, they had only been eating whatever they could find.

No wonder they all looked so much thinner!

"Snowball leveled up, what about you all?"

Gu Xiaoyue asked Chu Li and the others.

Even after staying in Lianxin Waterfall for half a month, Chen Yixuan's pet beasts hadn't leveled up, and for Ye Wanrou, only Snowball had advanced from the Xuan Tier to the middle grade of the Earth Tier.

Fang Xiaoyu, on the other hand, had each of his pet beasts level up by one small grade.

Chu Li had stayed for seven days last year, and only three of his pet beasts leveled up; the Youming Tiger did not level up.

This year, he stayed longer, and even the Immortal Tier peak grade pet beast he contracted later had risen to the middle grade of the Celestial Immortal Tier.

Now his Teng Snake was at the middle grade of the Heaven Tier, the Fire Phoenix and the Lihuo Red-Eyed Beast were both at the peak grade of the Immortal Tier, and the Youming Tiger had risen from the peak grade of the Heaven Tier to the middle grade of the Immortal Tier.

It seemed that training in Lianxin Waterfall to level up pet beasts required not just time, but also coordination with one's Yu Beast talent.

If one's Yu Beast talent wasn't good enough, there would be limitations to leveling up.

And Ye Wanrou's Snowball had gone from the Xuan Tier to the middle grade of the Earth Tier, which was two small grades.

Perhaps Ye Wanrou's potential was quite good; it was just that she hadn't seriously cultivated her Yu Beast abilities before.

Gu Xiaoyue mused to herself until her stomach let out a "rumble."

Under everyone's gaze, she instantly blushed, "Let's go out and get something to eat."

Before the words had even left her lips, she had already exited the water curtain of Lianxin Waterfall.

Waiting for her outside were not only Zhuang Yanxin and Coach Huo, but also Duan Yao.

Zhuang Yanxin didn't say anything, but the jealous look in her eyes could not be hidden at all.

Duan Yao's pet beasts were all God Rank, so her training in Lianxin Waterfall wasn't for the purpose of leveling them up.

Over the past few days, her Mental Power had improved significantly, making her even more adept at controlling her pet beasts.

"So you finally decided to come out! You, you never let people stop worrying about you!"

Coach Huo held a large bottle of drink, complaining while he drank.

Gu Xiaoyue scratched her head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

She hadn't expected that this time would take so long.

So long that her stomach was rumbling in protest!

However, after taking stock, her gains this time were quite significant.

Xiao Qi and Xiao Lan rose from the middle grade of the Celestial Immortal Tier to the peak grade of the Celestial Immortal Tier.

Xiao Jiu, Xiao Mo, and Bi Fang rose from the peak grade of the Immortal Tier to the middle grade of the Celestial Immortal Tier.

Qingqing rose from the middle grade of the Immortal Tier to the peak grade of the Immortal Tier.

Xiao Lu rose from the peak grade of the Demon Tier to the middle grade of the Berserk Demon Tier.

Xiao Hei rose from the peak grade of the Demon Tier to the middle grade of the Berserk Demon Tier.

Xiao Xiong rose from the peak grade of the Heaven Tier to the peak grade of the Immortal Tier.

There were even unexpected gains?