Hearing that Qin Yuan wanted to learn the Carving Path from her, Qian Renxue naturally didn't refuse, even though she was busy with government affairs.
She ruffled Qin Yuan's hair and smiled tenderly, doting on him.
"Whatever Xiao Yuan wants, I'll give him."
And so, Qian Renxue taught Qin Yuan the Carving Path in her courtyard.
On his first attempt at the Carving Path, Qin Yuan's work looked like some unidentifiable creature, hideously ugly enough to make Qian Renxue burst out laughing.
Qin Yuan scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.
But just as when he'd first learned the Chess Path, Qin Yuan displayed an astonishing ability to learn.
In less than a day, from early morning until dusk drew near, Qin Yuan's work went from an unidentifiable mess to something that looked more and more like the real thing.
His terrifying rate of progress left Qian Renxue deeply shaken. At the same time, immense pride and delight swelled in her heart, as if it were her own achievement.
Night fell, and Qin Yuan left.
Watching Qin Yuan's cheerful figure disappear into the distance, Qian Renxue's bright eyes seemed glued to him. His every move tugged at her heartstrings.
The corners of her lips slowly curled up. Thinking of Qin Yuan's peerlessly handsome little face, as if carved from jade, she gently placed her slender, graceful hand over her heart. Her ethereal, melodious voice rang out softly.
"My Xiao Yuan has grown up..."
[Carving Path advanced to the ninth rank, obtained nine evolution points]
A line of information abruptly appeared before Qin Yuan.
He wasn't surprised, since he'd expected this, but joy still flickered in his eyes.
Nine more evolution points!
A whole year had passed since Qin Yuan began learning the Carving Path.
Just as with the Chess Path, it had taken him only a year to reach the ninth rank of the Carving Path, surpassing Qian Renxue and leaving her astonished.
He finished carving the jade in his hands. It was a lifelike woman, as beautiful as a celestial maiden. Her pearly white skin shimmered in the sunlight with a captivating glow, as if she'd come to life.
After putting his carving tools into his Storage Soul Tool, Qin Yuan let out a light breath, raised his sharply defined, handsome face, and looked at the beauty posing in front of him.
"Red Moon, it's done."
The beautiful model was none other than Qin Yuan's maid, Red Moon. She wore red, and her figure was tall and graceful, with delicate features and snow-white skin.
Red Moon smiled radiantly and stepped forward, overjoyed. She respectfully accepted her jade carving from Qin Yuan, her voice sweet and melodious.
"Thank you, young master."
White Butterfly had received a jade carving from young master before, and now she'd finally gotten one too. Let's see how that girl would show off now. Hmph~.
Besides, my jade carving looks way better than hers!
After exchanging a few words with Red Moon, Qin Yuan sent her away, then hurried back to his room. He shut the doors and windows and instructed Li Fu not to let anyone inside.
Once everything was in place, he sat cross-legged on the bed, his heart racing with excitement, and brought up the panel.
[Name: Qin Yuan] [Age: 12] [Martial Soul: Golden Flood Dragon (+)] [Soul Power: Level 10 (+)] [Skills: Chess Path, ninth rank (2468/50000), Carving Path, ninth rank (0/50000)] [Evolution Points: 79]
Looking at the little plus sign beside his Martial Soul, Qin Yuan could barely stop himself from laughing out loud.
At last, he could evolve his Martial Soul for the third time!
In the year since he'd first taken up the Carving Path, he'd earned a total of forty-five evolution points. Added to the thirty-four he already had, that made seventy-nine in all—finally enough for his third Martial Soul Evolution!
After briefly steadying himself, Qin Yuan roared inwardly without the slightest hesitation:
"Give me the points!!!"
His evolution points plummeted by seventy-five, leaving him with only four.
At the same time, it was as if magma erupted inside Qin Yuan, madly coursing through his body, meridians, bones, and flesh. This third Martial Soul Evolution was far more intense than the first two!
Scalding, searing currents surged through his entire body. His fair skin turned red, like a shrimp steamed to perfection.
He could feel something inside him rapidly transforming, though he couldn't explain what it was.
The sensation came quickly and went just as fast.
When it finally subsided, he could clearly feel that his body brimmed with inexhaustible strength, surging endlessly from somewhere deep within him.
He opened his eyes. His dark, bright pupils turned golden, but the color quickly faded.
Ignoring the sweat covering his body, Qin Yuan immediately brought up the panel.
[Name: Qin Yuan] [Age: 12] [Martial Soul: Golden Dragon] [Soul Power: Level 10 (+)] [Skills: Chess Path, ninth rank (2468/50000), Carving Path, ninth rank (0/50000)] [Evolution Points: 4]
His gaze locked on the three words in the Martial Soul field, and his pupils widened.
The ancestor of strength—the Golden Dragon!!!
This was a super Martial Soul second only to a god-level Martial Soul!
A Golden Dragon Martial Soul with Extreme Power!
After a long while, he looked away and closed the panel. His mouth stretched into a wide grin, and he couldn't help laughing aloud.
His two years of waiting hadn't been in vain. At last, he'd evolved into a Martial Soul that satisfied him!
Although he knew his next Martial Soul Evolution would certainly grant him a god-level Martial Soul, who knew how long that would take? Heaven knew how many more years' worth of evolution points he'd have to accumulate.
He wasn't willing to wait any longer, so he decided to head to the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow and hunt for a Soul Ring!
He'd eaten Whale Rubber for eight whole years, building up such a tolerance that anything less than ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber no longer had any effect on him. He estimated his First Soul Ring would be at least five thousand years old!
If ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber weren't so hard to find—even with the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's resources, they couldn't find much—then the age of his First Soul Ring would surely be far higher than that!
Still, a First Soul Ring at least five thousand years old would be enough to greatly raise his Soul Power. He just didn't know how much it would surge. Could it shoot all the way to level twenty?
If so, he could absorb his Second Soul Ring in the Star Dou Great Forest too. What a sweet deal!
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Qin Yuan's mind.
Right, evolution points could be used to raise Soul Power Level. I've never tried it before. I wonder how many evolution points it takes to go up one level.
So he brought up the panel and mentally tapped the little plus sign beside Soul Power.
His evolution points decreased by one.
His Soul Power Level increased by one, rising from level ten to level eleven.
"Holy crap! Evolution points are insanely valuable!"
"One evolution point can actually raise my Soul Power by a whole level!"
Qin Yuan's eyes lit up, his surprise and delight plain to see.
However, he quickly realized that as his Soul Power Level rose, the amount of Soul Power needed for each level would increase too.
So, he figured, the higher his level got, the more evolution points he'd need to gain another one.
Even so, Qin Yuan was thrilled.
After calming his racing emotions, he had his maid White Butterfly prepare hot water, then enjoyed a wonderful hot bath with his two beautiful maids waiting on him.
After changing his clothes, he went to see Qian Renxue and told her that his Soul Power had reached level ten and that he'd be heading to the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow to hunt for a Soul Ring.
Of course, Qin Yuan wouldn't tell her about his Martial Soul Evolution just yet.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Qian Renxue. He simply didn't know how to explain it right now. He could tell her after obtaining the Immortal Herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
That would give him a perfect explanation without exposing the existence of his cheat.
Simply perfect!
Before you continue