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Level 21, mid-stage...

Level 21, peak...

Level 22!

Level 23!

Level 24!

The moment his soul power broke through the threshold of level 25, the meridians that had been widened to accommodate his Innate Full Soul Power were completely cleared and smoothed out.

The speed at which his soul power circulated increased several times over!

Every pore on his body seemed to open, bringing an indescribable sense of relief.

It was not until his soul power stabilized at level 26 that the warm current gradually subsided.

Gu Chensha slowly opened his eyes, a flash of brilliance flickering through his pupils before vanishing.

"Level 26."

He whispered to himself, "Although I didn't manage to return to level 27, I've still advanced my progress by more than half a year. It's not a loss."

"Back then, in order to forcibly raise your level 7 soul power to Innate Full Soul Power, I used my own origin as a guide, consuming 6 levels of your own soul power to expand your soul power pool and reshape your meridian foundation."

"That deal was definitely profitable."

"At this rate, it won't be long before I break through to level 30 and obtain my third Soul Ring."

His gaze turned toward the window, piercing through the night as if he could see the countless opportunities and secrets hidden deep within this continent.

"To take the first step toward Becoming a God, hard work alone is far from enough."

"Some treasure lands, some inheritances—they must be seized."

"The path I intend to walk has never been the ready-made path of divine inheritance."

"Inheriting someone else's godhood ultimately means living within the shackles of one's predecessors, never able to jump out of the rules of the Douluo God Realm."

"Only by creating a new godhood of my own can I truly break the constraints and witness true transcendence."

"And the opportunities hidden in this world are not limited to the four great divine inheritances of the final battle."

"The inheritances of the Asura God, Rakshasa God, Angel God, and Sea God are not the only paths."

"The inheritance of the Fallen Love God in the Qiankun Asking-Love Valley, the Thunder God bloodline within the Thunder Hell Vine, the fragments of the Evil God inside the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger..."

"And the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well left behind by the fall of the Ice and Fire Dragon King..."

"These are all our bargaining chips!"

When Zhu Zhuqing woke up, she found herself submerged in a warm liquid.

A cozy, melting sensation enveloped her body from all sides, seeping through her pores and into her meridians.

Even the gaps between her bones felt comfortable, nearly causing her to moan aloud.

She lowered her head to look.

The water surface was just above her collarbone, rising and falling slightly with her breathing.

In the swirling steam, her skin glowed with a healthy, rosy flush.

It was like tempered mutton-fat jade—lustrous, firm, and radiating vibrant vitality.

Steamed by the hot water, the redness spread from her cheeks all the way down to her chest.

It was like a peach blossom on a branch in early spring, just about to bloom, the pink hue perfectly balanced.

She stirred the liquid in front of her with her hand.

The warm water flowed between her fingers, sliding over her palms, wrists, and forearms.

Further down, the water surface obscured most of the scenery.

But those two mounds, flushed red from the hot water, still appeared and disappeared amidst the ripples.

Supported by the water, they were fuller and perkier than usual.

Like two ripe honey peaches, they hung heavily on her chest, swaying gently with the movement of her stirring the water.

Her waist had been softened by the hot water, yet it remained without a single ounce of fat.

From her ribs to her hip bones, it curved into a line of extreme fluidity, as if carved by the finest chisel.

She raised her arm and scooped up a handful of water, pouring it over her shoulder.

As the droplets slid down the inside of her arm, one could see the thin layer of muscle slightly bulging beneath her skin.

It was like a leopard—slender, filled with explosive lines.

Strange.

Even though she had performed such intense exercise under the Teacher's requirements...

She tried moving her shoulders and bending her knees.

The expected soreness didn't arrive.

Instead, there was an indescribable lightness.

It felt as if something blocked within her body had been cleared.

Her soul power flowed through her meridians several times faster than before.

Every pore of her body was breathing.

Right, she was so bare...

Did that mean her clothes were also...

Her face, already flushed from the hot water, instantly burned even hotter.

The tips of her ears felt so hot they seemed to be steaming, and she instinctively sank deeper into the water.

The water level rose past her chin, leaving only her eyes visible, bubbling with a gurgling sound.

No, Teacher wouldn't have any thoughts about her body, Teacher was a spider...

She shook her head vigorously, trying to cast away those messy thoughts.

But it was strange.

Why hadn't Teacher appeared?

Normally, Teacher would greet her when she woke up.

Never before had it been so quiet, not a sound.

"Teacher?"

She called out softly in her Sea of Consciousness.

No response.

"Teacher?"

Still nothing.

Zhu Zhuqing frowned, waited a few more breaths, but her Sea of Consciousness remained as still as a dead pool.

She slowly stood up, water cascading off her body and flowing back into the pool along her calves.

Her wet long hair clung to her shoulders and back, water droplets from the ends falling one by one, splashing onto her instep.

She picked up the towel draped by the pool and dried herself.

As the towel brushed against her skin, she only then realized, her skin seemed more delicate than before?

Not a soft, yielding delicacy, but like tempered steel that had been repeatedly refined.

Smooth on the surface, yet possessing astonishing resilience within.

After drying herself and changing into clean clothes, she noticed a piece of paper on the table.

The handwriting on the paper was messy, crooked, with strokes as stiff as a child just learning to write.

"While you were unconscious, I absorbed the full medicinal power of the Soul Ascension Pill for you and used it to temper your physical body."

"Next, I will sleep for 7 days."

Zhu Zhuqing put down the paper, and with a thought, her Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul was quietly released.

A halo enveloped her body, and two yellow Soul Rings slowly rose.

She felt her aura, "As expected, I've recovered to level 26, but it's strange..."

She tilted her head slightly, a hint of confusion.

"Teacher clearly said before that the Soul Ascension Pill is best taken when breaking through a bottleneck for maximum effect?"

"Why was it used in advance this time?"

"Could it be that my understanding was wrong?"

After thinking for a long time and not understanding, she decided to let it go.

All she knew was that she absolutely could not slack off for the next seven days.

For the next seven days, Zhu Zhuqing strictly followed the training plan left by Gu Chensha.

It consisted of cultivating her soul power during the day and running with weights every night.

This was merely the first stage of what Teacher had described.

But the changes were visible.

She could clearly feel it.

The occasional muscle soreness that used to occur when exerting force had disappeared, and her reaction speed and explosive power had reached a new level.

Even the speed of releasing her Soul Skills had increased significantly.

She guessed that when Teacher absorbed the medicinal power of the Soul Ascension Pill, he had also used a special technique to remove the impurities accumulated in her body, ensuring every bit of medicinal power was used effectively.