A Year of Accumulation—Seeking Investment

A Year of Accumulation—Seeking Investment

"Xiao Wu, what's wrong?"

In the corridor, Xu Changqing noticed that Xiao Wu, who was usually always cheerful and carefree, had rarely lowered her head and seemed dispirited. He asked her about it.

"Nothing." Xiao Wu's gaze flickered away.

"Is it because humans and soul beasts can't coexist peacefully?" Xu Changqing asked calmly.

After he said that, he clearly felt the little hand he was holding tremble.

So that was it.

"Ah..."

Xu Changqing sighed softly. "Such are the rules of this world. If humans want to grow stronger, they can only continuously hunt soul beasts to obtain Soul Rings. Even those Soul Masters who do not wish to do so gradually become assimilated by the masses, forming fixed beliefs."

"Right now, we can't change anything."

"Working hard to cultivate and become stronger is our top priority. Brooding over such things serves no purpose."

"Don't worry. I won't let anyone hurt you. I can fly very high—so high that even a Titled Douluo cannot reach me."

There was meaning behind those words!

Hearing them, Xiao Wu abruptly raised her head in panic, only to meet a pair of gentle eyes. She pursed her lips and softly asked, "When did you find out?"

"When?" Xu Changqing thought about it, then smiled. "A very, very long time ago. So long ago that I knew before I was even born. Do you believe me?"

Xiao Wu immediately rolled her eyes. "As if I'd believe that."

"Changqing Gege, can I really trust you?"

With her identity exposed, Xiao Wu's heart was in turmoil. She could not describe what she was feeling—worried and afraid, yet unwilling to part with this vibrant human world.

"If I tell you to trust me, will you? Ask your own heart."

Xu Changqing led her to a room. At the doorway, he stopped and looked back with a smile. "If you insist on an answer, then you can trust me forever. Of course, if you want to leave, I'll respect your choice. After some time, I'll find an opportunity to send you back to wherever you wish to go."

After saying that, he closed the door and went to the room across the hall that Si Si Jie had left for him.

That was simply Xu Changqing's nature. He liked open and honest ways of getting along with others. It was also how he treated those he cared about.

If he knew, he knew. If he did not know, he did not know.

He did not like deceiving others, nor did he like being deceived.

He had given her a choice. Some things, once laid out in the open and spoken plainly, were simply spoken plainly. Whether she stayed or left did not matter. What he wanted was for everyone to be free of reservations and able to trust one another completely, forever.

To keep trusting one another.

If Xiao Wu chose to leave, Xu Changqing would naturally keep his promise. If she chose to stay, their hearts could grow even closer because of this.

A kindred spirit was not something measured by number.

It was like the music he played in his past life. Some said he was merely playing nonsense, that it sounded nowhere near as good or exciting as pop music, that there was nothing to be heard in it.

Others called him a master of the zither, saying he played the righteous spirit of the mortal world, half a lifetime of humility like bamboo, all four seasons of spring breeze dancing beneath his ten moving fingers.

On the path of the zither, the same piece played by a hundred musicians could evoke a hundred different artistic realms.

A true kindred spirit was the hardest thing to find.

Xu Changqing was someone who pursued perfection. In this life, his zither was missing two strings, so he had never played it even once.

But the melody of his zither was the same as his heart. Having never drunk Meng Po Soup, he would never change.

Of course, everyone had little secrets they could not tell outsiders, and Xu Changqing had his own as well. The problem was that his secret was simply too outrageous, beyond this world's understanding. It was something he had to protect.

Lying on the bed,

he looked through the System rewards he had accumulated over the past year in the System space.

There were forty-eight white orbs capable of increasing a Soul Ring's age by one year.

There were forty-eight yellow orbs capable of increasing a Soul Ring's age by five years.

There were forty-eight purple orbs capable of increasing a Soul Ring's age by ten years.

There were thirty-five portions of Physique Elementary Enhancement Fluid and eleven fragments of the 100,000-Year Soul Bone Set.

These were all the System rewards provided over the past year by the owner of that Sub-system. That person must have failed to complete two black-tier System missions, resulting in two missing black-tier rewards.

As for the red-tier rewards Xu Changqing had expected, he had not seen one even once. It had even made him doubt whether red-tier rewards truly existed.

"I've accumulated enough over the past year. It's time to improve my strength."

With that thought, he took out a transparent, thumbnail-sized orb from the System space. Within it, he could vaguely see a water-like liquid sloshing around.

This was Physique Elementary Enhancement Fluid. The System had a detailed item description for it—he only needed to swallow it.

Without hesitation, Xu Changqing put it into his mouth. The outer protective layer, like glass, melted as soon as it entered his mouth. A wave of heat flowed down his throat into his stomach, then gradually dispersed throughout his body, nourishing and strengthening his flesh.

A burning sensation similar to when he absorbed his First Soul Ring erupted from his abdomen. Yet the feeling came quickly and left just as fast. After barely a dozen breaths, Xu Changqing opened his eyes.

"That fast?" He froze, then felt sticky all over. Black, foul-smelling grime had seeped from his pores onto his exposed skin. There was no need to look—his skin beneath his clothes must have been in the same state.

After carefully sensing his current strength, Xu Changqing indeed noticed that his physique had improved considerably, by around fifty percent.

It seemed that although Physique Elementary Enhancement Fluid was absorbed quickly, its effects were anything but sloppy.

"Looks like I need to change locations!" Looking at the black stain he had left on the bedsheet, Xu Changqing tidied up briefly and hurried to the bathroom. Then, with the help of the System, he fused ten transparent orbs containing Physique Elementary Enhancement Fluid into one portion of Physique Intermediate Enhancement Fluid.

Without hesitation, he swallowed it as well.

Another burst of scorching energy erupted in his abdomen. This time, the energy was far more violent than before. A faint stinging pain came from every part of his body, as though countless ants had bared their fangs and were gnawing at him.

This enhancement lasted nearly half an hour. When Xu Changqing opened his eyes again, he was nearly startled by his own appearance.

In the mirror, a figure whose face was covered in black filth mimicked his every movement. Good heavens, wasn't that himself?

He looked like he had crawled out of a mud pit.

A foul stench lingered in the enclosed bathroom for a long time.

His body had contained that many impurities?

Xu Changqing was completely stunned.

Drawing a bath was now an urgent necessity.

Half an hour later, he lay once more on the cleaned-up bed.

"Physique Intermediate Enhancement Fluid can actually double my physical capabilities. Adding the fivefold increase from before, does that mean my physique is now three times stronger than before?"

If Xu Changqing's physique before enhancement was considered a one, then after using the elementary fluid, his physique would be five. Using the intermediate fluid on that basis would make it three, wouldn't it?

"With three times the physical strength, the old me should have been able to absorb a Soul Ring over eight hundred years old at level 20. Now that my physique is three times stronger, does that mean I'll be able to absorb a Soul Ring over 2,400 years old then?"

"This..." Even he was shocked. He had originally intended to save the orbs that could increase Soul Ring age for advancing his Second Soul Ring, but now it seemed unnecessary?

Since that was the case, he would first raise his First Soul Ring's age.

Xu Changqing summoned his Five Dragon Lyre martial soul. With a wave of his hand, he took out forty-eight white orbs capable of increasing a Soul Ring's age by one year, forty-eight yellow orbs capable of increasing a Soul Ring's age by five years, and twenty-two purple orbs capable of increasing a Soul Ring's age by ten years. Using Soul Power to hold them aloft, he suspended them above the Five Dragon Lyre and fed them into it one by one.

The age of his Five Dragon Lyre's First Soul Ring was 402 years. These 118 three-colored Soul Ring Age Enhancement Orbs could increase its age by a total of 508 years. Together, that made 910 years.

It was not that Xu Changqing could not continue increasing it. He still had twenty-six purple Soul Ring Age Enhancement Orbs in his System space. The problem was that if he added any more, the color of his First Soul Ring would change.

If a yellow Century Soul Ring carried a trace of purple, even an idiot could tell that his First Soul Ring was definitely over nine hundred years old. How could he possibly keep that secret hidden?

Someone might even take him away for research.

But at his current age of 910 years, it was just right. It raised the Soul Ring's quality without exposing his secret.

Just as Xu Changqing thought these Soul Ring Age Enhancement Orbs could only increase a Soul Ring's age, he suddenly felt a stream of pure Soul Power flow into his meridians. Moreover, the Soul Power grew ever more abundant. After circulating through his meridians once, it flowed into his dantian, equivalent to nearly half a month of hard meditation. His Soul Power level at level 17 nearly broke through to level 18 because of it.

"What's going on?" Xu Changqing was startled and hurriedly checked. He soon discovered that this Soul Power was actually flowing out from the Five Dragon Lyre.

"Could it be that increasing a Soul Ring's age also increases my Soul Power?"

In fact, his guess was correct. It was like two Soul Masters who were both level 10: one absorbed the Soul Ring of a four-hundred-year soul beast and rose to level 13, while the other absorbed the Soul Ring of a nine-hundred-year soul beast and rose to level 16. Different Soul Ring ages naturally brought different increases in Soul Power.

To test his idea, Xu Changqing stopped feeding the Five Dragon Lyre. Sure enough, the immense Soul Power flowing from the Five Dragon Lyre stopped at the same time.

"Damn! There's actually such a benefit?"

Xu Changqing was stunned. Did this mean that in the future, he could continuously increase his Soul Power just by consuming Soul Ring Age Enhancement Orbs?

Wouldn't his cultivation speed take off immediately?

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(End of Chapter)