Just a Few Hardships...

"Ah!"

Lin Suchou felt the meridians within his body suddenly ignite, and he was in unbearable pain.

But when he thought about how, with Spirit Meridians, the Divine Abilities he gained upon advancing to the Heavenly Supreme realm would only grow stronger...

It felt like nothing more than a few hardships...

As the Seven Spirit Meridians fused into him, the scorching air they released caused the room's temperature to soar.

With Lin Suchou's current Level 2 Spirit Body, it was still a little too much for him to bear.

Drops of blood began seeping from his pores, quickly forming scabs.

An hour later, Lin Suchou opened his eyes again. He rose to his feet, shook off the blood scabs covering his body, and washed himself with the water stored in his Spirit Storage Ring.

"This is practically a complete rebirth."

Lin Suchou was brimming with energy. With a slight clench of his fist, he could feel boundless power rapidly gathering within it.

A Divine Meridian truly deserved to be called a Divine Meridian. No wonder Mu Chen in the original story could always fight opponents above his level and break through in the midst of battle.

After fusing with the Seven Spirit Meridians, Lin Suchou used the Spirit Array Master Talent as well.

A cool sensation washed through his head before everything returned to normal.

"Looks like I can only cultivate spirit arrays after leaving the Spirit Road."

Lin Suchou sighed, then bound the God-tier Spirit Artifact Storage Ring to himself.

When he sent his consciousness inside, he discovered that it contained ten thousand square meters of space. No wonder it was a God-tier Low-grade Spirit Artifact.

"System, open my Personal Panel."

With a thought, Lin Suchou opened his Personal Panel for the first time.

Host: Lin Suchou

Contracted Goddess: Luo Li (42 intimacy points)

Spirit Meridians: Seven Spirit Meridians

Talent: Spirit Array Master Talent

Spirit Arts: Luo Ling You Shen Step (High-grade Spirit-tier), Luo Shen Three Sword Style (High-grade Spirit-tier)

Spirit Artifacts: Shou Luo Sword (God-tier Low-grade), Spirit Storage Ring (God-tier Low-grade)

System Evaluation: Eggs should not be put in one basket. The host is advised to contract more goddesses.

Was the system trying to turn him into a playboy?

But I like it.

A smile appeared on Lin Suchou's lips. He then began studying the Luo God Wandering Step. Although he had no spiritual energy, learning its basic footwork was still possible.

After roughly memorizing it, Lin Suchou took out the Spirit Beast Essences he had collected over this period, around thirty in total.

Most were Spirit Movement Realm Spirit Essences. Only four were from the early Spirit Wheel Realm, while one was from the middle Spirit Wheel Realm.

Lin Suchou sat cross-legged on a cushion, took out the Blood Token, and absorbed every Spirit Beast Essence.

Boom! Boom!

Pure spiritual energy surged like a tide into Lin Suchou's Spirit Essence.

But he was no longer the person he had been before. With the Seven Spirit Meridians, not only did he completely absorb all the Spirit Beast Essences, he did not waste even a trace of spiritual energy.

His body turned crimson red, only returning to normal after quite some time.

Upon closer inspection, the bones and skin throughout his body had become tougher.

Every drop of blood seemed to have been cleansed, expelling excess impurities from his body.

He had now reached the peak of the Level 2 Spirit Body, only one step away from the Level 3 Spirit Body.

After absorbing a few more Spirit Wheel Realm Spirit Essences, Lin Suchou felt that he would be able to enter the Level 3 Spirit Body.

After all that exertion, Lin Suchou collapsed directly onto the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

When dawn arrived the next day, Lin Suchou opened his eyes again.

After washing up, he went outside and stretched. Breathing in the fresh morning air, he felt utterly refreshed.

"Creak."

Hearing the movement, Luo Li opened the door to the room beside his and walked out as well.

Lin Suchou walked over and pulled her directly into his arms. A delicate fragrance soon filled his nostrils.

"Let's go."

Luo Li looked helpless as she urged, "If we don't hurry, all the missions will be taken again."

"Mm, I'll listen to my wife!"

Under Luo Li's flirtatious eye roll, Lin Suchou held her hand and entered the City Lord's Mansion once more.

But today, the Mission Hall was packed so tightly that not even water could pass through. Everyone stood on tiptoe, constantly peering inside.

"Stop blocking the way! Get the hell out of my way!"

As a young man's angry curse rang out from the hall, the crowd immediately scattered.

A Black-Haired Youth in a long green robe, tall and slender in build, strode out of the hall.

However, when he saw Luo Li's peerless beauty, he froze for a moment. Seemingly recalling something, he smiled at her. "Luo Li, no wonder Zhao Tiandu didn't take you back that day. So this pretty boy helped you out."

"Whether I'm a pretty boy or not, you'll find out once you leave the Guardian Land."

Lin Suchou's gaze turned icy as he looked at him.

Since they had taken all the missions, he would simply kill them!

"Hmph, then let's see whether you have the ability. We're both at the peak of the Level 2 Spirit Body, but I have over twenty brothers. One mouthful of spit from each of them would be enough to drown you."

Qiu Beihai made a throat-slitting gesture, then swaggered away.

His lackeys also gave Lin Suchou disdainful looks, their faces full of lecherous expressions as they stared at Luo Li.

"Luo Li, I need to head out."

Lin Suchou took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart as he smiled at Luo Li.

"I'll go with you."

"No. I can handle this by myself."

Lin Suchou held her shoulders with both hands, lowered his head, and lingered over her two cool, soft lips for a while. Then, gripping his longsword, he followed behind Qiu Beihai.

He followed them all the way out of the city gates and onto the plains beyond the town.

Lin Suchou flipped his hand and gripped the Shou Luo Sword tightly. The Crimson Flame on its blade rose along with his fury.

This was the special quality of the Shou Luo Sword as a Divine Artifact. The spiritual flames on its blade did not rely on spiritual energy, but on the fury buried deep within a person's heart.

"Goddess Luo's Flying Flowers!"

He darted toward their backs at high speed and fiercely slashed out with his sword. Countless fiery-red sword shadows appeared in the air, forming flame petals as red as blood.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The sound of tearing air rang out in succession. Once the sword shadows fell, nearly ten people lost their lives one after another. Some were even sliced cleanly in half at the waist, dying miserable deaths.

And Lin Suchou finally understood what kind of flowers Goddess Luo's Flying Flowers referred to.

The blood spraying through the air actually blossomed into strange, bewitching flowers of blood.

"That brat really dared to chase us out! Everyone, get him!"

Hearing the commotion, Qiu Beihai turned around. Upon seeing Lin Suchou, he shouted loudly.

With that, he drew an icy-blue longsword and charged at Lin Suchou.

"Goddess Luo's Water Strike!"

Lin Suchou immediately swung his sword again. Carrying the explosive roar of magma, this strike swept horizontally toward the crowd ahead.

Flames spread outward, burning their clothes to ash!

Sword light flashed across each figure's waist. Their upper bodies slid off from their waists, and their intestines and organs spilled all over the ground.

It added an unusual sight to the otherwise empty plain.

"Now... it's your turn!"

Lin Suchou stared at the furious-faced Qiu Beihai and walked straight toward him.

The tip of his sword scraped the ground, throwing sparks as he advanced.

"I didn't expect you to have some skill, but... my Cang Lang Sword isn't famous for nothing!"

After saying that, Qiu Beihai gripped his sword with both hands and charged at Lin Suchou.

The sword he wielded was like surging waves, each wave stronger than the last, its force growing ever greater.

Even Lin Suchou, wielding the Shou Luo Sword, was briefly suppressed by this sword technique.

"Go to hell!"

At last, Qiu Beihai leaped high into the air and came crashing down at Lin Suchou's head, his eyes filled with savage madness.

Clang!

Lin Suchou barely blocked the strike, but the force transmitted through the blade sent him sliding several yards backward.

"Now you know the difference between us, don't you?"

Qiu Beihai twirled his sword, arrogance written all over his face as he prepared to launch his final attack.

"That's what I wanted to say to you!"

"Luo Shen Three Sword Style, Third Sword—Goddess Luo's World-Shaking Strike!"

Since Luo Li had not come up with a name for it, Lin Suchou had named this sword strike himself.

At this moment, he gathered all his strength. His feet stepped through an abstruse pattern, as though he were walking atop the waves of a great river.

Though his toes touched the ground, Lin Suchou's body was light and drifting. He left afterimages in the air as he rapidly closed in on Qiu Beihai.

"Cang Lang Sword Art, Breaking Waves!"

Qiu Beihai likewise summoned all his strength and charged at Lin Suchou. The longsword in his hand seemed to carry the sound of ocean waves.

At last, it collided with Lin Suchou's World-Shattering Sword.

On the walls of the Guardian Land, seventy or eighty figures watched the two of them intently.

"Pfft."

The two stood still for a moment. In the end, Qiu Beihai was the first to cough up a mouthful of blood.

He lowered his head and looked at the hole in his heart, his eyes filled with shock. Then he collapsed weakly, sending dust flying.