Little Marten: Boss

With the traded goods in hand, Mu Chen prepared to leave. He declined the invitation to dinner; the family surely had much to discuss now, and Mu Chen did not want to draw attention to himself.

"My worthy nephew, come visit the palace when you have time. You and Yuan'er are the same age." Zhou Qing handed Mu Chen a Pass Token. He had a favorable impression of him.

"Sure. I'll come when I have time."

"Uncle Zhou, when you lost your arm, you must have suffered some internal injuries as well. Though the spirit liquid can't regrow your severed arm, it can help with your hidden injuries."

"Give two drops of spirit liquid to Aunt Qin. Any more would be useless; it can't replenish her lifespan. As for the remaining two drops, you and Zhou Yuan should each take one. They'll be good for your bodies."

Zhou Qing's left hand gripped the empty sleeve of his right arm, and he nodded gently.

Suddenly, a maid hurried out, panting as she spoke.

"Your Majesty... after Her Majesty drank that bottle of medicine... she vomited a mouthful of black blood..."

"What? Is Qin Yu all right?"

Zhou Qing was greatly alarmed. His dignified face was now filled with worry.

"Uncle Zhou, don't worry. This is normal. The spirit liquid is clearing her internal meridians and replenishing some of her depleted vital essence. She won't be so weak now," Mu Chen said.

The maid nodded. "Your Majesty, I wasn't finished. Her Majesty's complexion is very good now, much better than before."

"Haha... I understand. Go back and take care of Qin Yu first. I'll be there shortly." Zhou Qing was in high spirits.

"Mu..." Zhou Qing turned around, only to see that Mu Chen had already gone far away. He could not help shaking his head with a laugh.

He knew Mu Chen did not want to take up their time. Zhou Qing turned and headed for Qin Yu's palace.

"Uncle Zhou really is generous. This is just enough to renovate Su Youwei's house."

Mu Chen looked at the Source Crystal Card Zhou Qing had given him. Since he had been staying at Su Youwei's home, he naturally had to pay some rent.

Five thousand Source Crystals was no small sum for ordinary people.

If Su Youwei had possessed that much money, she would have long since taken her grandfather somewhere for treatment.

"Mu Chen, let me see that Beast Soul Crystal already."

Little Marten's eager voice rang out. It was clear that Beast Soul Crystals held great appeal for him.

"Call me Boss, and I'll give you the Beast Soul Crystals," Mu Chen said teasingly.

Little Marten froze for a moment before cursing, "Dream on! There's no way Marten Lord will call you that."

He was a Heavenly Demon Marten with backbone. He would never sell his dignity for Beast Soul Crystals.

"Let me introduce it to you. You know its name already—it's called a Beast Soul Crystal. After a Source Beast dies, its beast soul turns into this crystalline form, which protects the beast soul.

"It's somewhat similar to the formation of demon spirits on the Heaven Xuan Continent. They're generally used to forge weapons."

Mu Chen tossed the pale yellow translucent crystal in his hand. A shadow within it formed the shape of a Source Beast, radiating an unusual glow.

Gulp~

Mu Chen heard the sound of swallowing from within the Ancestral Stone. It seemed Little Marten really did need this.

He had gotten these things for Little Marten anyway; they were of no use to him at the moment.

Though he did not know how to restore Little Marten's body, he could at least restore some of his demon spirit.

Still, getting Little Marten to call him Boss even once would definitely be satisfying. After all, Little Marten was so proud.

"This Beast Soul Crystal really is similar to a demon spirit... gulp..." Little Marten truly wanted to take a bite.

The Ancestral Stone could nourish souls, but because he had self-destructed his body, his demon spirit was also in a frail state and needed something like demon spirits to replenish it.

"Really, just say it once. These Beast Soul Crystals will all be yours." Mu Chen tempted Little Marten in an extremely enticing tone.

"You can eat one first and see how it tastes. If it's good, I have more here."

Little Marten took a Beast Soul Crystal in his hand, sniffed it first, then swallowed it in one bite. His little eyes immediately lit up. The taste clearly pleased him, and his demon spirit became slightly more solid.

However, one Beast Soul Crystal had little effect, and these had all come from First-grade Source Beasts.

"Boss, give me a few more. That wasn't enough." Little Marten gave in. They really could restore his weakened demon spirit a little.

That felt good!

Mu Chen nodded in satisfaction and gave more than thirty Beast Soul Crystals to Little Marten at once. These Beast Soul Crystals from First-grade Source Beasts came from creatures whose strength in life was equivalent to a Meridian Opening Realm Source Master, so they were easy to obtain.

Getting Little Marten to call him Boss counted as progress.

Mu Chen knew Little Marten had only called him that for the Beast Soul Crystals. To make him say it willingly, Mu Chen would need strength that Little Marten respected.

Little Marten ate Beast Soul Crystals inside the Ancestral Stone, deep in thought. He knew Mu Chen had obtained the Beast Soul Crystals for him, and this improved Little Marten's opinion of Mu Chen considerably.

But making him a lackey? What ignorance of his own limits. Mu Chen had even brazenly claimed that he would become stronger than him one day. If he truly accomplished that, then recognizing Mu Chen as his boss would not be embarrassing.

"Little Marten, do you have any body-tempering methods?" Mu Chen asked.

"Body-tempering? I do, but you can't use them yet. It would be better to start cultivating them after you open all Eight Meridians and break through to the Qi Nourishing Realm." Little Marten lay atop the Beast Soul Crystals as he spoke lazily. These were snacks, after all. If he ate them too quickly, he would have nothing left when cravings struck.

Mu Chen was quite ambitious. The path of body tempering was far more difficult than improving one's cultivation.

If it had been anyone else trying to cultivate several paths at once, he would have mocked them for biting off more than they could chew. But Mu Chen, this strange boy, might really be able to make it work.

That would come later, though. Mu Chen had not even formally set foot on the path of cultivation yet, so there was no need to begin body tempering so early. The process of cultivating the physical body was anything but gentle, and one needed the will to persevere.

Mu Chen nodded. He had only asked casually and had no intention of beginning physical cultivation now.

There was little description of the Primordial Ancestral Symbol among the Eight Great Ancestral Symbols, but it was likely related to the physical body. The Lord of the Primordial Era, who had once possessed it, had an exceptionally powerful body and mainly attacked through physical strength.

His body had been nourished by the Ancestral Stone Spirit Liquid and already far surpassed those of his peers. His physical constitution should be no weaker than that of a Source Beast. He could begin Meridian Opening now, the first step of cultivation.

After returning, Mu Chen gave the Qi Gathering Technique to Su Youwei. Its quality was somewhat better than the Great Zhou Mansion's Qi Gathering Technique, since it had come from the royal treasure vault.

"Youwei, open your meridians as soon as possible, so those people won't bother you when you enter the Great Zhou Mansion," Mu Chen said.

Though he did not care too much about other people's gossip, Mu Chen did not want to be bothered by them either.

"Mm, Brother Chen, don't you need it?" Su Youwei asked.

"No. Heh, I have another method. It definitely won't be worse than this Qi Gathering Technique," Mu Chen said with a smile.

"All right, I understand." Su Youwei nodded. To be able to help Mu Chen in the future, she took her cultivation very seriously.