Upgrading the Five Rings

That night, Huan'er stayed in the room opposite Xiao Mingshu, while Shen Jingchuan went to the room on the other side of the main hall.

He closed the door, placed the Spirit Gathering Formation Plate on the bedside table, and activated his Spiritual Power. The array plate lit up, and an invisible light curtain slowly unfolded.

This array is of the second grade; firstly, it gathers spiritual energy, making the Spiritual Qi more abundant during cultivation;

Secondly, it can block Divine Sense detection, so no cultivator below the Foundation Establishment can get in— Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er naturally couldn't sense the movement inside the room either.

After making the arrangements, he sat down cross-legged and scanned his Storage Ring with his Divine Sense to count the Spirit Stones.

A little over 30,000.

He called out in his heart:

"Sister Xian'er."

Xian'er's voice quickly echoed in my mind, tinged with a hint of teasing:

"So rushed, have you gathered enough Spirit Stones? Want to repair your pile of scrap metal?"

Shen Jingchuan smiled. "I've almost collected enough. Can you check it out for me and see if it's enough?"

With a thought, he transferred the 30,000 Spirit Stones from his Storage Ring into his Heaven and Earth Ring, piling them into a small mountain of Spirit Stones.

"Sister Xian'er, look."

Xian'er glanced at it and pondered:

"Thirty thousand Spirit Stones... I reckon that should be enough."

"Shall we begin?"

"Let's begin," Xian'er said.

Shen Jingchuan followed instructions and transferred the five metal rings, made of an unknown material, from his Storage Ring into his Heaven and Earth Ring, where they were quietly suspended above the Spirit Stones. He then mentally issued the command: Repair, Evolve.

At the command, the Spirit Stone mountain suddenly collapsed, and a massive amount of Spirit Stones transformed into pure Spiritual Qi, which was frantically absorbed into the Ring.

Immediately afterwards, a layer of faint green light emanated from the five metal rings, layering upon layer, enveloping the entire ring and slowly circulating.

Shen Jingchuan stared at it for a while; the green light just kept spinning, and the metal ring didn't show any immediate change. He then said:

"Sister Xian'er, it's not good to just wait here. I don't think it'll be finished anytime soon. Why don't I practice my skills on the side and come in to check on things every now and then?"

Xian'er thought about it and agreed; such repairs were indeed time-consuming.

"Alright, go practice your skills. I'll keep watch over things here for you, and keep an eye on things from time to time."

Shen Jingchuan then swallowed the pills and began cultivating his internal energy.

After refining each High-Grade Qi Condensing Pill, he would send a wisp of his Divine Sense into his Heaven and Earth Ring to take a look.

He kept practicing, one ring after another, until dawn. The five rings in his Ring were still enveloped in green light and were still leveling up.

He finished his practice and got up, then went to the central hall to check. There was no movement from Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er's room.

He didn't use his Divine Sense to investigate. He went straight out of the room, relaxed in the courtyard, and made up his mind that he wouldn't go anywhere today. He would just wait for the Fifth Ring Road to be repaired.

He was squatting by the pond, looking at the koi fish inside, when he heard Huan'er's voice behind him:

"Young Master Shen."

A pretty figure moved closer to him.

"What a pleasant surprise, watching the fish so early in the morning!"

"After practicing all night, you need to relax and unwind a bit, it's good to have a break."

As Shen Jingchuan spoke, he suddenly remembered something and took out a pair of boots from his Storage Ring.

These are mid-grade magic boots he bought at the market after returning from the auction. He immediately put them into his Heaven and Earth Ring and upgraded them to high-grade, but he hasn't had a chance to give them to her yet.

"Here, this is for you."

Huan'er was taken aback and didn't dare to take it. Shen Jingchuan handed the boots to her:

"A top-grade magic Law Artifact, the Gale Boots. With a burst of Spiritual Power, they can significantly increase your speed and conserve Spiritual Power. You're too weak, little girl; you can't beat anyone in a fight. These are for you to use to escape."

He was half serious and half joking.

Huan'er quickly waved her hand:

"Young master, this is too precious, I cannot accept it. If my young lady finds out, she will scold me to death."

"Just keep it, it's something that can save your life."

Shen Jingchuan said:

"Your young lady already has my jade pendant for self-defense. What about you? Even if you can't beat them, you can always run away, right? Besides, what if one day your young lady can't beat them and runs away first, leaving you behind?"

Huan'er was displeased upon hearing this, pouting her little lips, glaring at him sideways, her cheeks puffed out:

"My lady would never abandon me!"

Shen Jingchuan was amused by her:

"Okay, okay, no. You can keep it, just in case you need to go out alone someday."

Xiao Mingshu's voice came from behind:

"Just take it. It's not like it's the first time we've taken his things."

The two turned around, and Xiao Mingshu was coming out of the house.

Huan'er then held the boots in both hands and politely thanked her.

"Well... thank you, Young Master Shen!"

She was delighted and simply sat down on the stone bench by the pool, kicked off her old shoes, revealing a pair of delicate white feet, and put on her new boots.

The magical Law Artifact could adjust slightly to its owner's body shape, and its size fit perfectly. She infused a wisp of Spiritual Power into the boot, leaving a Spiritual Power mark, and it became hers.

The spiritual patterns on the boots flashed briefly before fading away. Huan'er felt a lightness beneath her feet, as if she were walking on soft clouds, and her whole body seemed to float. She looked up in surprise:

"So light! Young master, I feel like I can run really fast now!"

Shen Jingchuan has been teasing this little girl a lot lately.

He still remembered when Xiao Mingshu brought Huan'er to see him, the girl followed beside him like she was invisible, not saying a word.

Now that they're more familiar with each other, she's become more relaxed and speaks more casually in his presence.

Shen Jingchuan said slowly:

"From now on, if you see your young lady unable to fight, run away first, run as far away as possible, and the enemy will naturally be unable to catch you."

Huan'er's lips pouted very high:

"You're the one who's running first! If something like that really happens, I'll fight him to the death—with these shoes, I can run even faster."

She paused, then puffed out her small chest and corrected him earnestly:

"No, I can fly even faster!"

"Fly faster?"

Shen Jingchuan was taken aback, and then he focused his attention on examining her. Upon seeing her, he raised an eyebrow:

"I was wondering why things seemed different today. You've broken through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer?"

Huan'er pouted, raised her chin, and looked proud.

That's it!

But as soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to remember something, and the pride on her face vanished instantly. She lowered her head, her voice becoming soft and earnest:

"Thank you, young master."

If it weren't for the two High-Grade Qi Gathering Pills he gave her, how could she, with only Five Spirit Roots, have broken through to the fourth level so easily?

Qi Refining Fourth Layer means she has already stepped into the Middle Stage of Qi Refining —something she never dared to even dream of before.

Shen Jingchuan's heart skipped a beat. He still had some Qi Gathering Pills left, but he couldn't use them now; Xiao Mingshu couldn't use them either.

So he took out two jade bottles and handed them over:

"Here, these are all for you, consider it a reward for your breakthrough."

Huan'er didn't dare to answer immediately, and first glanced at Xiao Mingshu.

Xiao Mingshu found her gaze amusing, and waved her hand, the meaning of which was crystal clear:

Why are you looking at me like that? Just take it. You've already accepted those expensive boots, why would you care about these two bottles of pills?

Huan'er then accepted the bottle with both hands. She had initially thought it was just a few pills, but after uncorking the bottle and taking a look, she gasped and her eyes widened in shock:

"So much?!"

"Alright, take it."

Shen Jingchuan said, "I don't need these now, and neither does your young lady. These are all that's left, and they're all yours. There won't be any more later."

Two bottles containing over twenty Qi Gathering Pills, along with top-grade Gale Boots, filled Huan'er's heart to the brim.

Her nose tingled, and her eyes instantly reddened, brimming with moisture. She pursed her lips, stubbornly holding back her tears, and simply nodded vigorously at him, again and again.

In all her life, apart from Miss, no one has ever cared about her like this.

Seeing her like this, Xiao Mingshu laughed and teased:

"Alright, look how moved you are. So, are you planning to offer yourself to me right now?"