Two months later.
Holy Soul Village.
The clear morning sunlight spilled across the newly paved bluestone road, casting slanting patches of light.
The muddy road that had once been impossible to walk on had vanished from sight, replaced by a broad, smooth avenue wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side.
At the village entrance, a massive wooden sign stood tall, engraved with five bold characters: "Holy Soul Village Logistics."
Though the writing was somewhat crooked, having been carved by Old Monk himself, it carried an unmistakable sense of pride and satisfaction.
"Old Village Chief, are those crates from yesterday ready? The next shipment for the City Lord's Manor will arrive soon!"
"They're ready! We collected them last night. Don't worry!"
"Aunt De, the food is already in the storeroom. Hurry to the kitchen and help out—the masters rushing the carts are starving!"
The once quiet and desolate village was now bustling with life.
Cart after cart loaded with goods rolled in along the official road, parking in orderly rows at the newly built warehouses under the villagers' guidance.
The clatter of unloading, the shouts of cart drivers, and the crisp chime of soul coins striking one another blended into the most beautiful melody in the world.
Holy Soul Village, which had originally contained only eight hundred villagers, had now more than doubled in population.
Young men from the surrounding villages had all come running to look for work. Even some wandering soul masters were willing to settle down here, filling the place with vitality.
Behind the village, within a dense oak forest.
Mu Rong lay shirtless on a thick oak branch.
Sweat ran down his toned back, dripping onto the rocks below and instantly evaporating.
Though he was only seven years old, his muscles had already begun to take shape. They were not the frail muscles of an ordinary child, but were like polished jade, brimming with explosive strength.
"Ninety-eight..."
"Ninety-nine..."
"One hundred!"
With a powerful burst from his waist and abdomen, his entire body drew a sharp arc through the air before landing steadily.
Without even pausing to catch his breath, he immediately began another hundred sit-ups.
Talent was not enough. Hard work had to make up for it.
Since he possessed neither Tang San's innate full soul power nor any foundation in spirit martial arts, he could only work desperately to improve his physical condition.
Nearby, Old Monk was directing several villagers as they erected new market stalls, his face shining with unprecedented brilliance.
Mu Rong wiped the sweat from his face and looked at the thriving scene below the mountain, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.
This was only the first step.
The logistics center had been completed. Next came spirit beasts.
By the time Tang San was born, Holy Soul Village would probably no longer belong to the Tang family or Old Monk, but to the Mu Rong family.
"Hah—"
After letting out a long breath, Mu Rong sat cross-legged. Ice Crystal-colored soul power slowly circulated around him.
His level three and a half soul power barrier, tempered day after day, seemed to show signs of loosening once more.
"Again."
He closed his eyes and once more immersed himself in the dry yet fulfilling cultivation.
The evening breeze swept through the oak forest, its leaves rustling like a song, accompanying the determined youth into the depths of the night.
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, more than a year had quietly passed.
Ju Yuan Academy, within the high-class two-person dormitory area, was silent.
Two figures sat cross-legged, faint traces of soul power glowing around them as they continued their daily unshakable meditation cultivation.
Mu Rong's body was like an enormous whirlpool, greedily devouring the energy drifting through the air.
The highly condensed soul power surged without pause, repeatedly crashing against that invisible barrier.
Finally, at a certain moment, as though something had been completely pierced through.
Crack!
A crisp sound seemed to ring out from the depths of his mind.
A torrent of soul power, far more powerful than before, instantly surged through his limbs and bones!
Mu Rong suddenly opened his eyes, and a flash of icy blue light swept past them.
He slowly exhaled a breath of frosty air, feeling an unprecedented fullness within his body.
Level ten.
Almost at the same time, Suo Ling, seated beside him, also finished cultivating.
Feeling the soul power fluctuations in the room that had flared for an instant before subsiding, his face was filled with undisguised admiration.
"Brother Rong, you... you broke through to level ten?"
"Mm."
Mu Rong stood and stretched, producing a series of crisp cracking sounds from his bones.
Glancing at the plain interface, he saw that after eight years of steady tempering with medicinal baths and spirit beast meat, combined with his own relentless effort, he had forcibly raised his originally innate level three soul power to level ten.
Such speed would have been enough to make anyone proud anywhere.
"Xiao Ling, I won't be coming to class tomorrow. Help me ask Old Man for leave."
Mu Rong's tone was calm, yet it carried an unquestionable certainty.
"Okay, Brother Rong!"
Suo Ling answered without hesitation, then asked somewhat worriedly.
"Then, Brother Rong, have you decided what spirit beast you want for your first spirit ring?"
"Of course."
Mu Rong's lips curved into a confident smile.
"Tomorrow, I'll ask Uncle Suo to come with me to the Star Dou Great Forest."
"What? The Star Dou Great Forest?!"
Suo Ling's voice instantly rose.
That was one of the continent's three most famous spirit beast habitats. How could the spirit beast forest outside Ju Yuan City compare to it?
"Don't worry."
Mu Rong patted his shoulder, signaling for him to calm down.
"Uncle Suo is a Soul Sect, after all, and the City Lord's Manor is watching over him. Nothing will happen."
Upon hearing the words "Soul Sect," Suo Ling's emotions settled slightly.
A Soul Sect expert was already a ceiling-level existence in a place like Ju Yuan City.
"That's true..."
He nodded, then lowered his head with some disappointment.
"Brother Rong, you're about to become a true Spirit Master tomorrow. Old Suo will probably reach level ten in another eight or nine months. As for me... I'm holding you back."
"Don't talk nonsense."
Mu Rong smiled and said a few more words.
"Have you ever seen someone with innate level three soul power raise it by three levels in less than two years? Your speed is already faster than most people's."
After a pause, he continued.
"At most, in another three years, you'll become a Spirit Master too. Once you obtain your spirit ring, leave Ju Yuan City's little pond and see the wider world outside."
Those words were like a dose of encouragement, instantly reigniting the blazing fire in Suo Ling's eyes.
"Okay! Brother Rong! I'll continue cultivating now. I'll risk my life to keep up with you!"
With that, he sat down cross-legged once more and reentered meditation with an almost self-punishing posture.
Mu Rong smiled but said nothing further.
With his current cultivation speed, this was already a familiar routine.
After all, he was not an ordinary person. His meditation technique had been optimized countless times by the Demon Blade, and his cultivation efficiency could no longer be compared to what it once was.
At this point, besides the original explorations of the pavilion, becoming the Sealed Void Demon required a peerless monster whose talent, fortune, and temperament had all reached their peak. There was simply no complete experience left behind by predecessors to draw upon.
Even the legendary Sealed Void Demon, if he had been born in the era of Demon Two, would likely have been nothing more than a minor figure among those powerful demon cultivators.
This era was, after all, declining.
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