Three Thousand Years

Yan's gaze toward Chen Li underwent a dramatic transformation from hostility to gratitude in just a few seconds.

He almost could not help giving Chen Li a thumbs-up. You kid, you've got guts!

Of course, he held himself back.

But the hostility that had filled his eyes whenever he looked at Chen Li had now quietly gained a trace of... fervent approval.

"I want to complete this training alone." Chen Li did not notice the complicated shift in Yan's expression and continued in a calm yet resolute tone.

"Training in Spirit Hall all the time makes people accustomed to comfort. No matter how realistic a simulated environment is, it is still controllable. True growth can only be gained through battles on the edge of life and death."

He paused before adding, "And I also want to take this opportunity to participate in some real combat competitions outside. Whether at the Great Soul Arena or in the trials of civilian soul-hunting groups, only uncertain environments can reveal my true limits."

This was an excuse he had prepared long ago. It was reasonable, flawless, and perfectly concealed his true purpose.

Xie Yue nodded slightly and did not argue. Having once trained alone outside, he understood what Chen Li meant.

Hu Liena continued watching him without speaking.

Yan, meanwhile, was already calculating in his heart: Hu Liena had been rejected, so she would definitely be unhappy;

When she was unhappy, did that mean he had a chance?

Should he go over and comfort her now? No, that would be too deliberate;

But if he did not show any concern, would she think he did not care enough? Damn it, this was harder than fighting,

Amid this delicate atmosphere, a cool voice came from behind them.

"You may."

Everyone was slightly stunned.

Bibi Dong.

At some unknown moment, Bibi Dong had gracefully arrived at the edge of the training grounds.

Her steps were neither hurried nor slow. Her golden gown flowed with restrained splendor beneath the morning light, while her scepter tapped lightly against the ground, producing crisp, rhythmic knocks. Her peerlessly beautiful face bore no expression, and her pale violet eyes were calm and still, as though she were merely taking an after-meal stroll and had happened to pass by.

Yet the Palace of the Pope was separated from the Core Disciple training grounds by an entire hill and three layers of guarded checkpoints.

No one simply happened to pass through here.

"You may leave alone to hunt for soul rings." Bibi Dong's voice did not rise or fall, as though she were issuing the most ordinary order. "But there is one condition."

Chen Li bowed. "Please enlighten me, Your Majesty."

Bibi Dong's gaze fell upon him and lingered for a moment.

"Every time you arrive in a city or pass through a branch hall of Spirit Hall, you must leave a record of your whereabouts." Her tone was indifferent, yet carried unquestionable authority. "Your Soul Power Level, your approximate location, whether you encounter any unusual circumstances—this information must be regularly sent back to the main hall."

She did not say it was to monitor him, nor did she say it was because she did not trust him.

But the meaning was already clear.

He could fly. But the string had to remain in her hand.

Chen Li raised his head and met those pale violet eyes for a moment.

He did not hesitate in the slightest.

"By your command, Your Majesty."

His response was calm and decisive, without the slightest unwillingness or any tentative attempt to bargain.

Bibi Dong nodded faintly and said nothing more.

She turned, and the hem of her golden gown swept an elegant arc across the ground.

An attendant silently opened the hall doors. Sunlight poured in from outside, gilding her retreating figure in a hazy golden edge.

She left just like that, without lingering for even a breath, as if she had come only to say those words.

The training grounds fell silent for a brief moment.

Xie Yue withdrew his gaze from the direction in which the Pope had vanished and looked at Chen Li with a meaningful expression.

Hu Liena was still leaning against the stone pillar without speaking. She watched Chen Li's profile, her gaze complicated.

As for Yan, his heart was now riding its third roller coaster.

The Pope had personally come to set rules for Chen Li. What did that mean?

It meant the Pope had been paying attention to this kid!

The Pope's attention! Even the Golden Generation did not get to hear the Pope personally give them instructions every day!

Just who... was this kid?

The way he looked at Chen Li had evolved from a hostile → grateful state into a three-stage mixture of hostile → grateful → wary.

Chen Li paid no attention to those gazes.

He merely raised a hand and instinctively touched the Heart of Illusory Thunder at his neck.

A cool sensation passed through his fingertips. The gemstone lay quietly dormant beneath his touch, flawlessly disguising the purple soul ring within him as a bright yellow Hundred Year Soul Ring.

He gazed in the direction Bibi Dong had departed, a faint glimmer of lightning resting deep in his eyes, quiet and sharp.

One month later, Star Dou Great Forest.

Chen Li crouched on a thick branch more than ten meters above the ground, his figure blending into the dappled shadows of the trees.

Several places on his dark combat clothes were torn and barely stitched together with rough seams, souvenirs from his battle with a two-thousand-year Blood Pattern Spider a few days ago. A newly scabbed claw mark lay on the outside of his left arm, a gift from the dying counterattack of a Thunder Claw Sable three days earlier.

But his gaze was deeper, calmer, and sharper than it had been a month ago.

Within the system space, the number of soul rings was steadily increasing.

There were more than one hundred and seventy Ten-year Soul Rings and over sixty Hundred Year Soul Rings. Most were [Inferior] or [Flawed], while he occasionally obtained a [Normal] one. These were the fruits of his relentless efforts over the past month.

It was still not enough.

To create a second soul ring that could be recognized by the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he needed at least one thousand-year soul ring of [Excellent] quality or above as the primary material, supplemented by a sufficient number of Hundred Year Soul Rings as nourishment.

He needed more.

And at this moment...

Neighhh!!!

A sharp whinny, like tearing silk, rang out from beneath the tree, interrupting Chen Li's thoughts.

It was a Purple Thunder Demonic Steed.

Its entire body was covered in fine, deep-purple mane that gleamed with a metallic chill beneath the sunlight. Wherever its four hooves touched the ground, dense purple arcs of lightning darted through the grass like living creatures. Its dark violet beast eyes were currently locked firmly onto Chen Li in the tree.

This was not a chance encounter.

It had actively tracked him down.

Chen Li narrowed his eyes as a thin layer of lightning silently gathered in his palm.

He was no stranger to Purple Thunder Demonic Steeds.

Over the past month, he had hunted three of them, with cultivation levels ranging from eight hundred to sixteen hundred years. They were an exceptionally troublesome type of lightning-attributed soul beast: incredibly fast, keenly perceptive, and somewhat resistant to attacks from fellow lightning-attributed soul masters.

But this one before him,

the color of its mane, the intensity of the lightning arcs dancing around its hooves, and the undisguised, territorial pressure of a dominant ruler in its beast eyes,

Three thousand years.

At least three thousand years.

"Tsk."

Chen Li clicked his tongue softly.

His target had always been soul beasts below two thousand years old. He had proceeded steadily, accumulating materials without taking risks.

That was the survival rule that had kept him alive through his first month in the Star Dou Great Forest.

But now, this Purple Thunder Demonic Steed clearly did not intend to give him a choice.

It had come for revenge.