Breakthrough on the Bus

Eastsea City was still quite far from Skysea City. This time, their Soul Guidance Bus was taking the Soul Guidance Highway.

The Soul Guidance Highway employed magnetic levitation and soul guidance technology, greatly increasing the speed of Soul Guidance Buses. Its top speed could reach half that of a Soul Guidance Train. For destinations that were not especially far away, it was even more convenient than a Soul Guidance Train.

Even so, the trip from Eastsea City to Skysea City would still take the Soul Guidance Bus around four hours.

Along the way, Lin Xiuran merely rested with his eyes closed. He looked as though he were dozing, but in truth, he was immersed in his Sea of Consciousness.

He had now reached level thirty. This was not exaggerated for him. Lin Xiuran had always cultivated quickly; he had merely been stuck at level twenty without obtaining a Soul Ring, so he had been unable to progress. But after obtaining his Soul Ring, his accumulated Soul Power burst forth, and he rose several levels in a row. Then, after several months of diligent cultivation and another increase in cultivation speed following the awakening of his Phoenix Bloodline, his Soul Power directly reached level thirty.

Of course, it was not exaggerated to him, but to others, it was simply too outrageous. This cultivation speed was truly far too fast.

One had to know that some Soul Masters of the same level would only advance one or two levels even after cultivating for a year. Those with good talent might advance several levels.

But very few Soul Masters could truly achieve what Lin Xiuran had.

"My third Soul Ring controls the Water Element?"

Lin Xiuran slowly looked at the icy-blue sphere before him and asked curiously.

Gu Yuena nodded. "Precisely the Water Element. You can also call it the Ice Element."

As the power within him gradually sublimated, a blue ring encircled him. Then it suddenly flared, and the entire Sea of Consciousness seemed to have frozen over.

"This absorption was so fast."

Lin Xiuran absorbed the Water Element power Gu Yuena had given him in mere minutes, then condensed his Soul Ring.

"Does it get faster the further along I go?" Lin Xiuran asked.

Gu Yuena calmly shook her head. "Actually, no. It is completely the opposite. The further you go, the more difficult every elemental awakening becomes, and the more elemental power it requires."

"Then why was this time faster than last time?"

Gu Yuena explained, "A large part of the reason it was so fast this time was that during the month you spent sparring with Wu Zhangkong, you absorbed some of his Ice Element whenever he attacked you with it. It also allowed your body to receive the aura of the Ice Element in advance. With that external assistance, it was much easier for me to transmit Ice Element power to you from within, which was why it went so quickly this time."

That was easy to understand. After all, the further one progressed, the harder it became not only to increase elemental power, but even Soul Power. It was probably the same principle.

"Alright. After you reach your room tonight, I'll help you train your control over the Ice Element."

"Okay." Lin Xiuran agreed. After hesitating for a moment, he still said, "Sister Na, I still think I need to remind you. The you outside seems a little off, doesn't she?"

Gu Yuena raised a brow slightly. "What is off about her?"

"Isn't she getting too close to humans? You are the Silver Dragon King, once half of the Dragon God. How could you be like this with humans?"

Lin Xiuran's reminder was quite subtle. As a transmigrator, he naturally knew everything. But he could not tell Gu Yuena that.

So he could only hint at it subtly. After all, Gu Yuena's help to him during this time had been utterly wholehearted. She was serious and attentive, without even a trace of a Dragon King's arrogance. Instead, he felt that she was perhaps a little too gentle.

A trace of bitterness appeared in Gu Yuena's eyes as she softly said, "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Since he had made his point, Lin Xiuran felt at ease. In any case, all choices were hers to make. If she needed his help, he would help her. But for now, it was up to her to consider things herself.

After Lin Xiuran left, the girl with pink-blue hair finally revealed herself.

Tang Wutong looked at the scene outside and shook her head. "Sister Na, Xiuran has a point. I've wanted to ask for a long time—are you really just going to let the you outside get so close to my little brother?"

"Though I do not know the exact circumstances, if she regains those memories someday, how much will she regret it?"

As Tang Wutong said this, she looked at Gu Yuena with pity.

Gu Yuena said helplessly, "If I interfere, Tang San will definitely notice."

Gu Yuena knew that both the her outside and Tang Wulin had been caught in the schemes of a certain scumbag God King. She could not act rashly.

"In the end, I can no longer truly make up for the past. Nor do I hope that this version of me can stand beside Xiuran again."

By this point, her purple eyes were already brimming with glistening tears. "As long as I can protect him in this life, that will be enough."

After a long silence, she came back to herself and looked outside. "No matter what, she has her own choice. Though she and I are the same person, we are not truly the same person. In the end, I cannot interfere. Doing so would be unfair to Xiuran."

"What I can guarantee is that I will not let him be hurt again. I am using almost all of my power to help Xiuran conceal those threads of fate, preventing anyone from seeing through his true identity."

This was also why Gu Yuena, despite knowing Tang San's danger, still allowed Lin Xiuran to approach Guyue and Tang Wulin. At the very least, Tang San could see nothing on the surface. As long as the threads of fate were concealed, his divine sense would be even less likely to discover anything.

Moreover, she was unwilling to take the risk of interfering with the her outside. Being able to accompany Lin Xiuran as he grew once more already left her very satisfied. She did not ask for much more.

She could not foresee too much about what would happen in the future. As long as she first ensured that Lin Xiuran could grow stronger, that would be enough.

Tang Wutong, beside her, let out a deep sigh and comforted her softly. "Don't worry, Sister Na. You still have me."

In the outside world, however, after Lin Xiuran's consciousness emerged from the Sea of Consciousness, he slowly opened his eyes and felt refreshed all over.

At the same time, a flash of icy-blue light passed through his pupils. An invisible pale-blue ripple also spread outward.

Wu Zhangkong, seated at the front of the Soul Guidance Bus, seemed to suddenly sense something. He looked over with surprise in his eyes.

Lin Xiuran lightly moved his arm, only to suddenly brush against a slightly cool body. His eyes widened a little.

He immediately sensed that something was wrong. He remembered sitting alone, with an empty seat beside him. Why was someone there now?

When Lin Xiuran looked over, the person beside him looked back as well.

Black hair, black eyes, a long ponytail hanging behind her, and a neat school uniform. She was not particularly beautiful, yet she possessed an exceptional temperament.

Guyue!

Guyue slightly withdrew her gaze from examining Lin Xiuran and smiled softly. Then, before Lin Xiuran could ask, she explained first:

"Wulin fell asleep, so I gave him my seat so he could lie down. Yours was the only empty seat left on the bus, so I sat here."

"I didn't disturb you, did I?"

Lin Xiuran shook his head. "It's fine."

Guyue asked curiously, "Did you break through?"

"Mm." Lin Xiuran raised his brows slightly. He was not surprised that she had sensed it and merely nodded.

There had been Soul Power fluctuations during his breakthrough just now. With Guyue's powerful spiritual power, it was only natural that she could sense them. It was nothing unexpected.