135: Chapter 135 This little girl is great in every way, except she's a bit of a braggart.

She threw the jade tablet back to Xu Ruyu and stared at him for a long time, then suddenly asked:

"So, that Cultivation Technique you used just now, did you really tinker with it yourself?"

"Yes." Xu Ruyu nodded.

"Demonstrate it for me." The Little Girl ordered, her tone brooking no argument.

Xu Ruyu hesitated for a moment.

Madam Qingli only told him to make this Little Girl "like" him; she didn't say anything about demonstrating his Cultivation Technique.

Moreover, this Little Girl's background was unknown. What if she took a fancy to his Cultivation Technique and tried to take it by force?

"What? Reluctant?" The Little Girl raised an eyebrow. Her young, delicate Face wore an expression that said, "I've already seen right through you." "Don't worry, I... this young lady has seen more Cultivation Techniques than you've eaten meals. Do you think I care about your little crooked and Evil Path methods?"

She paused, then added:

"Besides, although your Cultivation Technique is strange, it's only at the level of 'somewhat interesting.'

In terms of raw power, it's not even as good as a basic spell I created on a whim."

These words were spoken extremely arrogantly, yet coming from the Little Girl, they inexplicably carried a sense of credibility.

Xu Ruyu pondered for a moment and finally decided to display a portion of it.

For one, he wanted to test the depth of this Little Girl.

For another, since Madam Qingli had sent him to find her, surely this Little Girl would not harm him.

"Then... please enlighten me, Miss."

Xu Ruyu stepped back three paces and stood still in the center of the ancient hall.

He closed his eyes, his mind sinking into his Dantian.

The Qi Sea at Qi Refining Level 9 rotated slowly, the nine-layered ring structure lighting up one by one with a faint glow.

Beside the silver-white spot of light at the core, that wisp of ice-blue Qi still lay dormant.

"Haotian True Qi Chapter, Resonance Breathing Method..."

Xu Ruyu adjusted his breathing frequency. With every inhalation and exhalation, he began to synchronize with the thermal motion of the surrounding air molecules.

At first, there was nothing unusual in the ancient hall.

But after three breaths, the air within a three-foot radius around Xu Ruyu began to undergo visible changes—

The temperature plummeted.

Wisps of white mist emerged out of thin air; it was the water vapor in the air condensing due to the cold.

Amidst the swirling white mist, countless tiny ice crystals condensed around Xu Ruyu, like morning frost in winter, shimmering with a crystalline luster under the daylight of the ancient hall.

And what was even more miraculous was that these ice crystals were not stationary; they slowly rotated, rose, and dissipated with Xu Ruyu's breathing... as if they had a life of their own.

"Oh?"

The Little Girl's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but lean closer.

She reached out her small hand and lightly touched the floating ice crystals.

The moment her fingertips touched them, the ice crystals did not melt but instead shattered with a "crack" sound, turning into finer ice mist and dissipating into the air.

"This is... extracting kinetic energy from the air and converting it into ice-attribute True Qi?"

The Little Girl muttered to herself, a flash of surprise in her eyes:

"The concept is quite novel. Ordinary Cultivators cultivating ice-attribute Cultivation Techniques either absorb ice-attribute Spiritual Qi or comprehend the Law of Ice.

I've never seen anyone else start directly from the molecular level to extract heat in reverse like you."

She looked up at Xu Ruyu, her expression becoming serious:

"Did you really come up with this Cultivation Technique yourself?"

Xu Ruyu slowly withdrew his power, the ice crystals around him dissipated, and the temperature returned to normal.

"Yes." He nodded. "When this Disciple was previously contemplating the 'Qi Induction and Return to Origin Art,' I felt that traditional cultivation methods were too inefficient, so I tried a different approach..."

"Stop, stop, stop!"

The Little Girl suddenly interrupted him, an impatient look on her small Face:

"Who wants to hear about your approach or whatever! I'm asking you—are you going to teach this Cultivation Technique to me or not?"

She stood with her hands on her hips, tilting her small Face up. Even though she was "asking for instruction," she had the air of "just try not teaching me and see what happens."

Xu Ruyu looked at this "petite and exquisite" yet "aggressive" Little Girl, and a sense of absurdity suddenly surged in his heart.

Madam Qingli sent him here to please... this little ancestor?

He sighed and said with a wry smile:

"If the Miss wishes to learn, this Disciple is naturally willing to teach. It's just that this Cultivation Technique is still in the initial stages of creation, and many key points are not yet perfected, so I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of! If it's not perfected, then perfect it!"

The Little Girl waved her hand, completely unconcerned:

"Here's the deal. From today on, you stay in this ancient hall. Teach me the Cultivation Technique while perfecting it.

When I'm satisfied, then you can leave!"

Hearing this, Xu Ruyu's heart tightened.

The Three-Month Agreement was imminent; how could he afford to waste time in this ancient hall?

"Miss, this Disciple has urgent matters to attend to, so I'm afraid I cannot stay for long..."

"Urgent matters? What urgent matters could be more important than teaching me this Cultivation Technique?"

The Little Girl frowned, then suddenly remembered something:

"Oh—you're talking about the duel with that girl Leng Ningshuang three months from now, right?"

Xu Ruyu was stunned: "How does the Miss know about that?"

"Pfft, is there anything in this Hehuan Sect that I don't know about?"

The Little Girl curled her lips, with an expression that said, "You underestimate me."

"Isn't it just some 'Three-Month Agreement' that Xiao Yinzi came up with for the sake of Face? A Golden Core fighting a Qi Refining, she really managed to do that."

She paused, then suddenly smiled slyly:

"How about this: you obediently teach me the Cultivation Technique, and once I'm satisfied, I'll help you win that duel, how about that?"

Xu Ruyu's heart stirred.

This Little Girl, is she really that boastful?

"Miss... has a way to let this Disciple defeat the Late Golden Core Stage Leng Ningshuang within three months?"

"What's a Late Golden Core Stage?"

The Little Girl sneered and waved her small hand, her tone as casual as if she were talking about "what to eat today":

"As long as you coax me into a good mood, never mind the Late Golden Core Stage, even if it were Nascent Soul or Soul Transformation, I could make you slap them to death with one palm!"

Xu Ruyu: "..."

He suddenly felt that this Little Girl before him might... really not be simple.

At the very least, her talent for bragging was definitely not simple.