Second Martial Soul Evolution

Hearing that Qin Yuan wanted to learn the Carving Path from her, Qian Renxue naturally would not refuse, even though she was currently busy with state affairs.

She ruffled Qin Yuan's hair, a soft, doting smile gracing her features:

"Whatever Little Yuan wants, I shall give."

And so, in her own courtyard, Qian Renxue began to teach Qin Yuan the Carving Path.

Upon his first contact with the Carving Path, Qin Yuan's first work looked like a shapeless mess, incredibly ugly, which made Qian Renxue burst into laughter.

Qin Yuan scratched his head and offered an embarrassed smile.

But following that, just as he had when first learning the Chess Path, Qin Yuan displayed astonishing learning ability.

In less than a single day, from dawn until dusk, Qin Yuan's work transformed from a shapeless mess into something increasingly resembling the real object.

This terrifying speed of progress left Qian Renxue deeply shocked; at the same time, a great sense of pride and joy welled up in her heart, as if it were her own achievement.

Night fell, and Qin Yuan left.

Watching Qin Yuan's cheerful retreating figure, Qian Renxue's bright gaze seemed to cling to him, every movement tugging at her heartstrings.

The corners of her lips curled up bit by bit. Thinking of Qin Yuan's peerlessly handsome face, carved like fine jade, she placed her slender, elegant hand gently over her heart, and a voice as ethereal as mist sounded softly.

"My Little Yuan... has grown up."

[Carving Path advanced to Level 9, gained nine Evolution Points]

A line of information suddenly appeared before Qin Yuan's eyes.

He was not surprised, as this was within his expectations, yet his eyes still brimmed with joy.

Nine more Evolution Points in the bag!

A full year had passed since Qin Yuan began learning the Carving Path.

Just like his study of the Chess Path, it had taken him only one year to reach Level 9 of the Carving Path, surpassing Qian Renxue and shocking her in the process.

He finished carving the jade in his hand; it was a lifelike woman, beautiful as a celestial being, her translucent white skin shimmering with a captivating luster under the sunlight, as if she had come to life.

Storing his carving tools into his Soul Tool, Qin Yuan exhaled lightly, lifted his sharp-featured, handsome face, and looked at the beauty modeling for him.

"Red Moon, it's finished."

The beauty modeling for him was none other than Qin Yuan's maid, Red Moon, dressed in red, with a tall, graceful figure, exquisite features, and snow-white skin.

Red Moon smiled brightly, stepped forward in high spirits, and respectfully took the jade carving from Qin Yuan's hands, her voice melodious and pleasant:

"Thank you, Young Master."

Previously, White Butterfly had received a jade carving from the Young Master, and now she finally had one too. Let's see that girl show off now, hmph.

Besides, my jade carving is much prettier than hers!

After exchanging a few words with Red Moon, Qin Yuan dismissed her. He then returned to his room impatiently, locking the doors and windows, and instructed Li Fu not to let anyone enter.

Once everything was prepared, he sat cross-legged on his bed with an excited heart and summoned his panel.

[Name: Qin Yuan]

[Age: 12]

[Martial Soul: Golden Flood Dragon (+)]

[Soul Power: Level 10 (+)]

[Skills: Chess Path Level 9 (2468/50000), Carving Path Level 9 (0/50000)]

[Evolution Points: 79]

Looking at the small plus sign next to his Martial Soul, Qin Yuan almost couldn't suppress a wild laugh.

Finally, he could perform the third Martial Soul Evolution!

In the year since he first touched the Carving Path, he had gained a total of forty-five Evolution Points. Added to his original thirty-four, he had a total of seventy-nine, finally enough for the third Martial Soul Evolution!

Simply calming his emotions, Qin Yuan roared in his heart without hesitation:

"Add points for me!!!"

His Evolution Points plummeted by seventy-five, leaving only four remaining.

At the same time, it felt as if magma were exploding within Qin Yuan's body, frantically scouring his physique, meridians, bones, and flesh. This third Martial Soul Evolution was far more intense than the previous two!

Scalding, searing heat flowed and scoured his entire body; his fair skin turned bright red, like a boiled shrimp.

He could feel something within his body undergoing a rapid transformation, something indescribable and profound.

This sensation came quickly and left just as fast.

When it finally ceased, he could clearly feel an inexhaustible power surging from the depths of his body.

Opening his eyes, his dark, bright pupils turned into golden eyes, though they quickly faded back to normal.

Ignoring the sweat covering his body, Qin Yuan immediately summoned his panel.

[Name: Qin Yuan]

[Age: 12]

[Martial Soul: Golden Dragon]

[Soul Power: Level 10 (+)]

[Skills: Chess Path 9th Dan (2468/50000), Carving Path 9th Dan (0/50000)]

[Evolution Points: 4]

His gaze locked onto the three characters under the Martial Soul column, his pupils dilating sharply.

The Ancestor of Strength—the Golden Dragon!!!

This was a super-tier Martial Soul, second only to god-tier Martial Souls!

A Golden Dragon Martial Soul possessing the ultimate power!

After a long while, he withdrew his gaze, closed the panel, and his mouth stretched into a wide, uncontrollable grin as he let out a laugh.

It was worth the wait of two whole years; he had finally evolved a Martial Soul that satisfied him!

Although he knew that the next Martial Soul evolution would surely result in a god-tier Martial Soul, who knew how long that would take or how many years of evolution points he would need to accumulate.

He was unwilling to wait any longer, so he decided to head to the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow to hunt for a Soul Ring!

Having consumed Whale Rubber for eight whole years, he had developed a resistance, rendering Whale Rubber under ten thousand years useless to him. He estimated that his first Soul Ring would be at least five thousand years old!

If not for the fact that ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber was hard to find—even with the resources of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family—the age of his first Soul Ring would certainly be much higher than that!

However, a first Soul Ring of at least five thousand years was enough to significantly boost his soul power. He just didn't know how much it would skyrocket; perhaps it would jump straight to level twenty.

If that were the case, he could absorb his second Soul Ring in the Star Dou Great Forest as well—how delightful!

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Qin Yuan's mind.

Right, evolution points can be used to add points to soul power levels. I haven't tried that yet; I wonder how many evolution points are needed to increase one level.

He summoned the panel and, with a thought, tapped the small plus sign next to the soul power column.

Evolution points decreased by one.

Soul power level increased by one, from level ten to level eleven.

"Holy crap! The value of these evolution points is terrifying!"

"A single evolution point can actually increase soul power by one whole level!"

Qin Yuan's eyes lit up, filled with surprise and joy.

However, he quickly realized that as the soul power level increased, the soul power required for each subsequent level would also rise.

Therefore, he estimated that the higher the level, the more evolution points would be needed to increase his soul power.

But this was still enough to make Qin Yuan ecstatic.

Afterward, calming his agitated emotions, he had the maid White Butterfly prepare hot water and enjoyed a wonderful hot bath, served by two beautiful maids.

After changing his clothes, he went to find Qian Renxue to inform her that his soul power had reached level ten and that he would be heading to the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow to hunt for a Soul Ring.

Of course, Qin Yuan would not mention his Martial Soul evolution for the time being.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Qian Renxue; he just didn't know how to explain it yet. He would have to wait until he obtained the immortal herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to tell her.

That way, he would have a perfect excuse without exposing the existence of his golden finger.

Simply perfect!