Reforging the Body

"You really are a strange one."

Looking at Su Chen, who was sealed within crystal and barely clinging to life, Ziji gazed at her handiwork with considerable satisfaction.

Just as she had sensed, this human's martial soul truly possessed an attribute very similar to her own.

But unfortunately, because of his earlier severe injuries, this boy probably could not be used right away.

Su Chen's entire body had suffered devastating damage, forcing Ziji to spend a fortune and seal his body within the Dragon Blood Crystal she had kept in reserve.

Dragon Blood Crystal was a necessity for growing Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng. So-called Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng was actually just ginseng that had absorbed the essence of Dragon Blood Crystal as it grew.

As long as Soul Power was continuously infused into it, the crystal could be used to reforge the body. But this kind of crystal was exceedingly rare. If not for Ziji's noble status, she absolutely could not have produced so much Dragon Blood Crystal.

"I wonder how long it will take for your body to recover. Five years? Or ten?"

Looking at Su Chen, who remained barely alive within the crystal, Ziji thought with great interest.

She could break through to the hundred-thousand-year level at any time, but she was not absolutely confident about the Heavenly Tribulation that came with it.

After all, according to Di Tian, the strength of the Heavenly Tribulation was related to a Soul Beast's own strength and bloodline.

With her bloodline, the Heavenly Tribulation's intensity would probably not be low.

"At most, it'll only take a dozen years or so. Not a problem."

Leaving her dwelling, Ziji went off to hunt with complete satisfaction.

For Soul Beasts, a dozen years was merely the blink of an eye.

Once this boy's body had mostly recovered, she could officially enter the ranks of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

"Teacher, is there still no reply to the letter I wrote to Su Chen?"

In Spirit City, Hu Liena had returned from the academy's break and was preparing to open Su Chen's reply as usual.

"Nana. You need to prepare yourself for what I'm about to say."

A trace of tears flashed imperceptibly through her eyes as Bibi Dong slowly spoke to Hu Liena.

"What is it? Why do you look so serious?"

Seeing Bibi Dong's solemn expression, Hu Liena's heart skipped a beat.

"Su Chen is dead."

"What? How is that possible?!"

Tears burst from Hu Liena's eyes as she grabbed Bibi Dong by both arms.

"He was so strong. How could he possibly have died?!"

Though she refused to accept the truth in her heart, Hu Liena knew that Bibi Dong would never deceive her about something like this.

"An accident occurred during Skywater Academy's soul-hunting expedition."

Bibi Dong spoke very calmly now. She had received word of this yesterday.

She had already vented all her grief yesterday.

"One day, I'll kill those bastards from Skywater Academy..."

Clenching her fists, Hu Liena shouted through gritted teeth.

"Not only Skywater Academy. The other five academies are the same. If these people refuse to abandon darkness and turn toward the light, they will inevitably become scraps crushed flat beneath Spirit Hall's advance."

Bibi Dong's rage was not as openly displayed as Hu Liena's.

She would hide it away until the time was right, then deal her enemies a fatal blow.

Of course, the only people in Spirit Hall who knew of this matter were Bibi Dong, Hu Liena, and Qiandao Liu.

Both Oscar and Xie Yue remained completely in the dark.

"What a disappointment. I never expected you to die in such a way."

Upon learning of Su Chen's death, Qiandao Liu's expression did not change much.

Over the years, he had seen quite a few geniuses fall.

But he had never expected Su Chen to perish so quickly, and so suddenly.

In the end, Skywater Academy released the news of Su Chen's death.

But several months had already passed since the day it happened.

Su Chen had "died," but the world continued to turn.

Time flew, and a year quickly passed.

Under Bibi Dong's deliberate guidance, Oscar came to regard Skywater Academy and Qiandao Liu as targets of his hatred.

"You've regained consciousness? Much faster than I expected."

Seeing Su Chen slowly open his eyes, Ziji revealed a satisfied smile.

It had not been in vain for her to temporarily turn down Di Tian's invitation to absorb the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm together, all so she could focus on pulling this boy back from death's door.

She had infused far more Soul Power into his body than she had anticipated.

Despite possessing cultivation equivalent to only a thousand-year Soul Beast, the Soul Power needed to repair this human body was more than ten times what it should have been under normal circumstances.

For a time, Ziji had wondered whether something had gone wrong.

Her Soul Power possessed the special Yin Water attribute. In theory, its quality should not have been inferior to an ultimate attribute.

There was no possibility that low-grade Soul Power had to be converted into high-grade Soul Power, causing the consumption to increase.

"A dragon?"

The moment he opened his eyes, a massive dragon face appeared before him.

Su Chen instantly tensed and tried to gather his Soul Power.

"Don't struggle. It's only a waste of effort."

With cultivation far surpassing Su Chen's, Ziji instantly saw through his little movements.

"Your body was almost completely destroyed. If not for me, you would already be dead."

"Then thank you for saving my life."

After trying again and discovering that his body truly could not move at all, Su Chen went along with Ziji's words.

"I know you won't want to stay here for long."

Seeing that Su Chen did not put up a fierce struggle and cause major problems like shattering the crystal, Ziji secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Once your body fully recovers, you can leave this crystal."

"Fully recovers? What degree counts as fully recovered?"

Su Chen immediately pressed.

"I couldn't tell, but you're quite impatient. Are you that dissatisfied staying with me?"

Ziji had lived alone in this forest for a long time, and she normally had no one to talk to.

Now that she finally had someone like Su Chen to converse with, she quickly became interested.

"I have friends. If they think I'm dead, they'll be very sad."

As he said this, familiar figures flashed through Su Chen's mind one after another.

"Don't worry. You aren't some kind of supplement. Once I'm done using you, I'll let you go."

Humans had limited lifespans.

By the time Ziji broke through to two hundred thousand years, it would be enough time for a human to live several lifetimes.

Even with techniques like sealing arts, it would be difficult to preserve a human for that long.

To her, Su Chen's greatest use was helping her break through to the hundred-thousand-year level.

"When you can shatter this crystal and break out, your body will have mostly recovered."

Moving her massive body, Ziji slowly left the cave.

She planned to see what exactly was going on with that Sky Dream Ice Silkworm Di Tian had mentioned.