Chapter 11: I Will Take It Seriously

Though her time with the lion had been brief, Nian Tu could no longer stand idly by in the face of its suffering. Whether it was a real lion or a beastman, she wished for it to live well.

“If I could awaken my spiritual power, then I could soothe him, right?” she asked Lu Zhan.

Lu Zhan had never been so jealous of Xian before.

He wasn’t envious of Xian’s origins, nor his military rank, nor even his influential uncle in a high position.

But he was madly jealous that Xian had already taken the first step into Nian Tu’s heart, albeit in the form of a lion.

What was so special about that lion, after all?

Struggling to compose himself, Lu Zhan forced his jealousy into silence and comforted Nian Tu, “You don’t have to shoulder all the responsibility. He’s not your partner.”

Seeing him evade the question, Nian Tu frowned and thought carefully, finally remembering a crucial detail she had overlooked—

To soothe a male spiritually, the female’s spiritual power level must not be much lower than the male’s genetic level.

“What level is he, as a male?” she asked.

Females were ranked by spiritual power, from lowest to highest: E, D, C, B, A, and the extremely rare S level.

Males also had levels based on genetics, with higher levels indicating stronger qualities, ranging similarly from E to S.

Lu Zhan initially wanted to avoid answering, but seeing Nian Tu’s determined expression, he admitted, “S level.”

“He’s an S-level male,” Nian Tu repeated in shock.

No wonder...

Only females of A level or higher could soothe an S-level male; even B-level females had little effect.

In truth, S-level females were the most effective at soothing.

Yet, the empire hadn’t seen a female awaken S-level spiritual power in centuries. Since the last S-level female had passed away, the highest spiritual power among females was A level, and even then, they were rare—making up only two percent of all females.

With such slim odds, Nian Tu lacked confidence that she could be among that two percent.

Lu Zhan accompanied Nian Tu to the living room sofa and poured her a cup of hot drink.

Seeing the little female’s forlorn expression pained him deeply.

He wouldn’t tell Nian Tu that he himself was also an S-level beastman.

For him, spiritual soothing was important, but not paramount.

He only wished to be Nian Tu’s male, even if she couldn’t soothe him spiritually; he was willing to face his fate calmly.

That was how he felt, but he wasn’t sure if the lion felt the same way.

After all, most males preferred to live and would only bond with females capable of soothing them.

Moreover, that fellow had a marshal uncle—the dominant patriarch would never allow Xian to walk a path of no return.

“Don’t worry too much about him. His loss of control has just surpassed 80; there’s still hope.”

A true point of no return was at 100.

Nian Tu came back to herself.

That made sense. A-level females were rare but not extinct like S-level females. The big lion could still manage to obtain spiritual soothing from a female.

Besides...

Nian Tu recalled the black mist-like things she had seen on the lion—intangible, unable to be touched, yet she could focus her spirit to eliminate them.

Since the lion was a beastman, this black mist was probably related to the male beastman’s loss of control value. Could it be that the process of eliminating the black mist was a form of spiritual soothing?

Nian Tu described the black mist to Lu Zhan and asked what it could be.

To her surprise, Lu Zhan looked shocked. “Wait a moment, I’ll check the records.”

Despite his extensive knowledge and years of medical experience, he had never heard of such a black mist before.

It was normal that males couldn’t see it.

But even females of the same gender had never mentioned anything similar.

Lu Zhan suspected his knowledge was incomplete.

However, after searching through almost all related literature, he was certain that even the S-level females who had passed away never claimed to see this black mist while alive.

Lu Zhan was astonished, and Nian Tu even more so.

Other females couldn’t actually see the black mist?

They exchanged glances, and Nian Tu couldn’t help but ask again, “Then how do other females perform spiritual soothing for males? Can you teach me?”

Before she finished speaking, she watched as Lu Zhan’s pale face suddenly flushed crimson. His stern expression faltered; his eyes flickered anxiously, avoiding her gaze, as if she had said something teasingly mischievous.

The man’s voice was hoarse and barely audible, his handsome face burning red as he lowered his head, breathing heavily.

After a long moment, having composed himself, Lu Zhan still dared not meet her eyes but spoke in an effort to sound calm, “Females usually only perform spiritual soothing for their own partners.”

Nian Tu already knew this. She had always thought it was because spiritual power was limited and naturally prioritized for one’s partner.

But now, seeing Lu Zhan’s reaction—and the emphasis he placed on that sentence—Nian Tu’s instincts screamed that something was amiss.

Sure enough, Lu Zhan’s next words were: “Because the way spiritual soothing works is through mating.”

In the intimate union, the female’s spiritual power fluctuates, overflows, and resonates with the male, granting him spiritual comfort.

This was why females usually only performed spiritual soothing for their partners.

Nian Tu understood.

Her face flushed as if the redness could be contagious, her cheeks burning.

Especially since Lu Zhan added fuel to the fire: “You’ve lost your memories, so I won’t take this invitation seriously.”

“But next time you invite me... I definitely will.”

Nian Tu felt as if her face was on fire. She wished she could travel back three minutes and strangle her ignorant, reckless self.

She covered her face and collapsed onto the sofa.

Yet Lu Zhan’s hand reached around from behind to rest on her shoulder. The burning warmth of his palm pressed through her clothing onto her skin, sending an electric shiver through her entire body.