Huo Loli's Embrace

After that day, Qian Chaoguang stopped paying attention to his seemingly useless martial soul.

Aside from his fixed five hundred sword swings each day, he practically lived in the blacksmith shop.

Using forging to temper his body was far more effective than simply meditating to refine himself.

During Forging, Qian Chaoguang also discovered some differences between modern blacksmiths and those from ten thousand years ago.

The first difference lay in their techniques.

Over ten thousand years of change, brutal forging methods represented by the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer had gradually faded from blacksmiths' sight.

Modern blacksmiths had begun to control the force they used while forging, rather than blindly pursuing greater and fiercer strength.

The ability to use extreme methods to remove a large amount of impurities in a short time was no longer the standard for judging whether a blacksmith was skilled.

Master craftsmen with attainments as profound as the Old Blacksmith's had gradually begun walking the path of Spiritual Forging.

Though it was still some distance from the Hundred Forgings of ten thousand years later, it could already be said to possess the beginnings of it.

When forging, Qian Chaoguang did his best to control the strength of his strikes. He recalled the forging techniques described in Dou San and consciously tried to "communicate" with the metal.

Amid such fulfilling yet exhausting days of forging, more than two months passed.

With the high-intensity tempering, coupled with the Old Butler frequently purchasing medicinal ingredients for Qian Chaoguang's Medicinal Baths, the cultivation speed of the Cultivation of Golden Body Art rose dramatically once more. He steadily advanced toward the threshold of the Flawless Body.

By now, he had preliminarily tempered his physique once over.

Although his Soul Power Level remained at level one, his physical condition could already rival that of an Assault Type Battle Soul Master with a Beast Martial Soul.

If his own martial arts were taken into account, then with a blade in hand, killing a Soul Grandmaster with either a Beast Martial Soul or Weapon Martial Soul would be no difficult task.

Elemental Type and Control Type Soul Masters were a different matter.

No matter how strong his body was, it was still flesh and blood, wasn't it?

He would still get blisters if burned by fire.

Early that morning, Qian Chaoguang was swinging his blade in the courtyard as usual, chopping at a wooden post.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Who is it?"

Qian Chaoguang set down his longsword and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

A little head peeked through the crack in the door, and a timid voice called out.

"Brother Zhaoguang."

Seeing who it was, he could not help but smile. "Hm? It's Yutong. Long time no see. How have you been lately?"

During these two months of frantic training, he had practically spent every day going back and forth between two places, so naturally he had neither the time nor energy to bring food to the Huo Mother and Daughter.

Before Huo Yutong could reply, the Old Butler emerged from the house.

"Xiao... cough, cough, cough... Xiao Tong hasn't been having an easy time lately, cough, cough, cough..."

Qian Chaoguang hurried to his side and patted the Old Butler's back to help him catch his breath.

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

The Old Butler waved his hand.

"That damn bitch seems to have grown bolder lately. She's become increasingly blatant in bullying the mother and daughter. Sometimes, even I get stopped when I try to bring them food. What a venomous woman! Xiao Tong is a soul master, so she'll be all right, but Huo Yun'er was frail to begin with. I'm really afraid... sigh!"

The Old Butler did not continue. He merely let out a heavy sigh.

He had retired many years ago, and the saying that people lost their influence once they left their positions was vividly reflected in this ducal estate. He had managed to protect himself all these years only through the residual prestige he had built long ago and his cultivation as a Soul Saint.

The only person who still gave him any face, Dai Hao, had to remain in the Mingdou Mountain Range to guard against surprise attacks from the Sun Moon Empire. Coupled with his fear of the old emperor's suspicions, he had not returned home for years.

There were quite a few spies sent by the emperor around this enormous estate, and the entire family faced all kinds of restrictions whenever they went out.

The White Tiger Duke had originally had several chances to return home, but his wife had turned him away each time with all sorts of excuses.

With the Old Butler's only backer absent from the estate, it could not have been easier for the Duchess, who held all the power, to bypass him and bully a helpless, vulnerable mother and daughter.

Being able to bring the Huo Mother and Daughter food every few days and teach Huo Yutong some cultivation knowledge was already the utmost limit of what the Duchess could tolerate.

Any more than that, and that venomous woman would likely tear all pretenses apart with the Old Butler.

The Old Butler did not bring up Huo Yun'er again. Instead, he turned and asked, "Xiao Tong, are you ready? Is everything all right on your mother's end?"

Huo Yutong nodded gently.

"Grandpa Zhu, I'm ready. Mom said she'll be fine staying in the estate by herself for a while."

"Good. Then wait for Grandpa to pack up, and we'll leave right away."

As he spoke, the Old Butler said to Qian Chaoguang, "Xiao Guang, go wash up and change your clothes. Bring the blade you forged yourself. We're going on a long trip."

"Ah? No, Grandpa, what's going on? Where are we going?"

Qian Chaoguang, who had been an outsider to the conversation this whole time, looked completely confused.

"To the Spirit Beast Forest. Where else would we go? Xiao Tong reached level ten yesterday. Once she obtains a Soul Ring, she'll become a true soul master."

The Old Butler's irritated voice came from inside the house.

What?

She was already level ten?

Only then did Qian Chaoguang react. He looked at Huo Yutong with an excited expression.

He had been forging iron for over two months. Given how diligent she was and her Innate Soul Power, it was about time for her to advance.

"Ah, look at this brain of mine. I completely forgot about that. Xiao Tong, congratulations! You're about to become a real soul master!"

"Thank you, Brother Zhaoguang."

Only then did a faint smile appear on Huo Yutong's gloomy face.

"Once I become a soul master and can earn money, I'll definitely take Mom and move out of this Duke's Mansion."

"Keep it up. A beautiful life is waiting for you."

Qian Chaoguang made as if to give Huo Yutong a hug.

However, just as he stepped forward to embrace her, he realized that he was bare-chested and covered in stinky sweat.

It did not seem appropriate to hug her like that.

Unexpectedly, in the instant he hesitated, Huo Yutong hugged him first, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Feeling her small head nestled against his neck and catching a faint fragrance from her flowing black hair, Qian Chaoguang froze in place, at a loss for what to do.

"N-No, Xiao Tong, I'm all sweaty. I'm dirty..."

It would have been better if he had said nothing. The moment he spoke, Huo Yutong hugged him even tighter.

Her soft, warm breath brushed over his skin, sending an unfamiliar tingling sensation through him.

Whether in his previous life or this one, Qian Chaoguang had never had such close physical contact with a member of the opposite sex.

Even though Huo Yutong was only a six-year-old little girl now.

Several hot tears suddenly slid down Qian Chaoguang's chest as Huo Yutong began to sob softly.

That was right. She was only a six-year-old little girl. How could she possess the same steadfast mentality as the Huo Yuhao from the Original Work, who had been trained to endure everything without resistance?

"You silly boy, hug her. What are you waiting for?"

The Old Butler's voice transmission reached his ears. Qian Chaoguang, whose entire body had stiffened, instinctively closed his arms around Huo Yutong, gently holding her in his embrace as he lightly patted her back.

Please keep reading, brothers. Only with enough follow-up readers can this get recommended. Douluo fanfiction needs even more follow-up readers than books in other genres to get recommendations. Please, please, don't stockpile chapters before it goes premium—it could easily die that way!