Chapter 41

The sun rose and set, flowers and grass flourished and withered. The days passed peacefully, one after another, and it was incomparably pleasant.

Shen Hanyu had even briefly harbored the illusion that he wanted things to continue like this forever. But reality told him that it was all temporary. People could rest appropriately, but they could not remain decadent forever. The meaning of life lay in constant exploration and movement. Lying still and winning by doing nothing was not very realistic for someone of his half-aristocratic background.

After absorbing the Sixth Soul Ring and the Right Leg Bone, his Soul Power had reached Level Sixty-Five. Now, after two and a half months of cultivation, it had finally reached Level Sixty-Six.

Soul Masters with ultimate attributes cultivated extremely slowly between Levels Thirty and Seventy. This was one drawback of ultimate Soul Masters. However, the advantage was that their combat strength generally far surpassed Soul Masters of the same level. Once they broke through to Soul Sage, their cultivation speed would greatly exceed that of ordinary Soul Masters. That was why Soul Masters with ultimate attributes always achieved more than ordinary Soul Masters.

Although his cultivation speed was somewhat slow, Shen Hanyu did not care much about it.

After Tian Meng sacrificed himself to become his Seventh Soul Ring, he could only provide Shen Hanyu with a nine-hundred-ninety-thousand-year, or even million-year, Seventh Soul Ring. He could also provide him with a blank Ice Attribute Martial Soul.

Shen Hanyu's original intention was for his Second Martial Soul to preferably be a Soul Beast possessing both ice and fire attributes.

Although that sounded difficult, quite a few Soul Beasts actually possessed these two seemingly conflicting attributes.

For example, Soul Beasts such as the Ice Fire Magic Tiger and the Li Wen Ice Fire Flood Dragon. Though rare, they were not impossible to find.

The Fire Attribute energy within his body was fairly stable. It even showed signs of merging with his Extreme Ice, which was undoubtedly a good thing. Once he completely mastered that energy, his achievements would surely shock the entire Douluo Continent.

Shen Hanyu then thought of the two dragon corpses beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. He greatly coveted those two God-level Soul Bones. No matter what, he had to obtain them. Even if no divine trial came knocking, he would surely be able to use the divine power within those two Soul Bones to break through the barrier of a Limit Douluo in one fell swoop and step into the divine rank.

Once he broke through to Soul Sage and obtained his Second Martial Soul, Shen Hanyu decided to immediately acquire Soul Rings for it. That would bring another surge in his cultivation, but before then, he had to make sure his body could withstand the terrifying energy brought by so many Soul Rings.

Shen Liuyu and the Shui Bing'er sisters had been coming rather frequently lately, visiting almost every two or three days. Shen Hanyu did not find it annoying and appeared quite happy each time.

But whether he was genuinely happy or only pretending was unimportant. What mattered was keeping up appearances.

Just as Dugu Bo had said, he was someone who acted one way in public and another in private. Of course, it was best not to let too many people know about that. There was no benefit in it, after all.

Whenever the three girls came over, Shen Liuyu showed no particular reaction. Shen Hanyu was her biological older brother, and this place could be considered her home, so naturally she was not restrained in the slightest. Sometimes, she even ordered Shen Hanyu around in front of the Shui Bing'er sisters, looking every bit like a little adult.

Shui Yue'er was a little social butterfly. If anyone wanted most to visit Shen Hanyu, it was definitely her. Sometimes, she would stare blankly at Shen Hanyu's face in a daze, so entranced that no one could rouse her.

She looked exactly like a little lovesick girl.

Shui Bing'er had been somewhat reserved at first, but gradually relaxed once she became more familiar with him. She could even tell Shen Hanyu amusing stories from the academy and reveal quite a few embarrassing incidents involving Shen Liuyu.

None of these matters were particularly serious. Shen Liuyu merely slept during class, dragged them out at night to secretly climb over the wall and visit the night market, and once even beat up two hooligans from the neighboring Elephant Armor Academy in the street.

Shen Hanyu listened patiently, lightly sipping his tea. Aside from an imperceptible cold smile when he heard the word "hooligans," he listened throughout. There was even something in it that reminded him of his university days in his Previous Life.

Because he had been an orphan in university, with no one to rely on, several delinquents in his class had set their sights on him. He was the sort to hold grudges. Within days, he secretly ambushed those thugs in an alley without surveillance cameras and gave them a vicious beating with Benevolence · Morality · Kindness · Red Brick. Two of them were even smashed into incoherence, while another collapsed and could not get back up after taking a brick to the forehead.

Those people had often stolen petty things nearby, bullied their classmates, and harassed female students on the street. Yet not one of them dared call the police. They could only grit their teeth and endure it themselves.

Only after that did Shen Hanyu's life return to peace.

As for how he later accidentally became a mercenary abroad, that had been purely an accident. During one operation, the other side's leader noticed that he was clever and had a ruthless streak, so he recruited him directly. Shen Hanyu did not disappoint him. The first time he killed someone, he had been incomparably decisive, without even the slightest emotional fluctuation afterward.

Of course, those were all matters of the past and need not be mentioned further now.

By the time Shui Bing'er slowly finished telling those stories, it was already getting late. The sun began its pathetic bout of impotence again, struggling at the horizon as it painted the sky crimson.

Shui Bing'er got up and went to the kitchen to cook. She had already formed the habit. Shen Hanyu's cooking was mediocre, while Shen Liuyu and Shui Yue'er did not touch kitchen work at all. This heavy responsibility could only fall upon her, though she did not dislike it.

Some girls might not like cooking, but many girls were quite interested in it, such as Shui Bing'er now.

Tonight's dinner was simple: braised hundred-year Earth Dragon Meat, steamed ten-year Snow Fish, and cold Blue Silver Grass mixed with Tang San's mom... Ahem, cold Blue Silver Grass and jade fungus. Just three simple dishes, yet both simple and plentiful. There was meat and vegetables, and the nutrition was balanced. It could be said to be essential fare for a genius Soul Master.

Only with sufficient nutrition could a Soul Master's body grow properly. As for eating plain steamed buns and rice porridge every day... well... one could survive.

Everyone present was a Battle Soul Master, and all of them had hearty appetites. The tableful of food was quickly finished.

After dinner.

Shui Yue'er rubbed her already round little belly and said sweetly, "Sister, your cooking is so much better than Brother Yu's. At least there aren't any bugs in the cold Blue Silver Grass..."

Shen Liuyu's expression changed when she heard that, and she immediately gave Shen Hanyu a hard pinch.

Shen Hanyu looked utterly innocent. After all, who would have known that a little fellow was still hiding in the washed Blue Silver Grass?

And it just so happened that Shen Liuyu had discovered that little fellow. Well... it was not poisonous, but the psychological torment was not something that would fade in a day or two. It might even become a lifelong trauma...