The Boy and Girl in the Room, Zhu Zhuqing's Change

"What a waste? Although it truly was a priceless treasure to others, it wasn't all that precious to me."

Gu Linyuan said.

It was Water of Life, produced by the Ancient Tree of Life.

Over ten thousand years, it would only yield a few cups.

Even in the God Realm, few deities had been fortunate enough to drink Water of Life.

Gu Linyuan remembered that in the God Realm Side Story, Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao had each drunk a cup.

However, pure Water of Life was divine water, something mortals simply could not bear.

What his God King mother had given him was Water of Life diluted countless times over. She had intended for him to use it to nourish the Tree of Life.

Cultivating a life-type Martial Soul was exceedingly complicated, far more so than cultivating an ordinary combat-type Martial Soul.

There had yet to be a case of anyone successfully cultivating a life-attribute Martial Soul on the continent. Across the entire continent, it was difficult even to find a single pure life-attribute Soul Beast.

He used Water of Life produced by his God King mother's true body, the Ancient Tree of Life, to nourish his second Martial Soul, rapidly cultivating its Source of Life. The strength of a life-type Martial Soul was directly proportional to the strength of its Source of Life.

With a God King mother helping him, cultivating his second Martial Soul was incredibly easy.

"Then... I owe you a favor," Zhu Zhuqing said seriously. "If you ever need my help in the future, just say the word. Even if it's an extremely dangerous task, I won't refuse."

Looking at her solemn expression, Gu Linyuan suddenly found it rather amusing.

"Aren't you afraid I'll ask you to do something strange?"

Zhu Zhuqing froze for a moment.

Then she raised her head, her black eyes staring straight at Gu Linyuan.

"You won't."

She spoke with absolute certainty.

"You trust me that much?"

"I'm a single man. What if I run into some troublesome matter and absolutely need your help?"

Gu Linyuan raised an eyebrow.

"Ah! That kind of thing, no..."

Zhu Zhuqing stammered, her entire face turning red.

She thought of how boys, once they grew up, seemed to have endless strength and boundless energy.

Although he disapproved of Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun constantly going out to fool around, he had still roughly learned from them what a teenage boy's body was like.

"Haha. I'm not teasing you anymore." Gu Linyuan chuckled.

This girl looked rather aloof, but she knew quite a lot.

He had only said it casually, yet Zhu Zhuqing had understood everything.

"Oh, right."

"Didn't you want to make claw guards?"

Zhu Zhuqing raised her head and looked at him somewhat blankly.

She had indeed said she wanted claw guards.

Her Martial Soul was the Hell Spirit Cat, and she fought mainly with her claws. But ordinary claw guards were made of poor materials and could not withstand her Soul Power. They would be damaged after only a few battles.

Although she had obtained the rare Dark Gold Terrorclaw from Gu Linyuan, if she wanted to turn it into claw guards...

"I measured your hand."

Gu Linyuan picked up a pair of black claw guards from the table and handed them to Zhu Zhuqing.

"I should be able to finish making them for you soon. Take a look and see if you like this design."

Zhu Zhuqing accepted the claw guards and lowered her head to inspect them.

They were a pair of entirely black claw guards of unknown material. They felt as warm and smooth as jade, yet as hard as steel. The insides had been carefully polished according to the curves of her fingers, fitting so well that they seemed custom-made for her hands.

Fine spirit cat patterns were carved onto the backs of the claw guards, vivid and lifelike. Five sharp blades extended from the fingertips, gleaming with a cold light beneath the lamp.

Most exquisite of all, a small Soul Power array had been embedded into the claw guards. It could condense the user's Soul Power onto the blades, greatly increasing their attack power.

Zhu Zhuqing put on the claw guards and circulated her Soul Power. They instantly tightened, fitting perfectly against her hands.

They were exactly the right size.

Neither loose nor tight, they fit as though they had grown from her hands.

She flexed her fingers, and the blades extended and retracted with them, smooth and natural.

"Wow. You can actually make things like this? How did you do it? Why did they fit onto my hands as soon as I circulated my Soul Power?"

Zhu Zhuqing was greatly astonished.

The claw guards seemed to have merged with her palms, and the sensation filled her with excitement.

In battle, this kind of seamless unity would directly affect combat effectiveness.

"I carved several small Soul Guidance Arrays into them. As long as you circulate your Soul Power, the claw guards will remember the shape of your palms..."

During the years after awakening his Martial Soul at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, since his cultivation had been unable to break through, he had not simply sat around waiting. Instead, he had thought of developing Soul Tools ahead of time, things that would only flourish ten thousand years later.

If he succeeded, he would become the most influential Soul Master theorist in this world, the kind whose name would go down in history.

And as an auxiliary sect, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could also advance further with the help of Soul Tools. Helping the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect transform from an auxiliary sect into a Soul Tool family could be considered repayment for their kindness in raising him.

But what happened afterward was beyond Gu Linyuan's expectations.

The Soul Tool theories he had compiled over six years had never come into use. Both of Gu Linyuan's Martial Souls were now immensely powerful, so he had no need for Soul Tools at all.

"Soul Guidance Arrays? What are those?" Zhu Zhuqing was stunned.

She understood every word Gu Linyuan said, but when they were put together, she could not understand them at all.

"You know about Storage Soul Tools, right? Storage Soul Tools work by inputting Soul Power into a Soul Guidance Array, then activating the Soul Tool through a specific Soul Guidance Array."

In truth, Soul Tools had already begun to emerge in this world. The existence of Storage Soul Tools proved that someone had thought of such things. It was simply that no one had summarized or studied them in depth.

After all, no one could have imagined that Soul Tools could possess such tremendous power.

"Oh. So that's how it is."

Zhu Zhuqing finally understood.

"But Soul Guidance Arrays have an extremely broad range of uses. You'll understand once I finish making it for you."

Gu Linyuan stood and walked over to the workbench, picking up several prepared pieces of metal.

"Once I finish making it for you, you'll understand."

Zhu Zhuqing watched the boy's focused profile. Under the lamplight, his sharply defined features appeared especially clear, and an indescribable emotion suddenly welled up in her heart.

"You... go ahead and work."

Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head, her voice soft.

"I'll go see what I can make in the kitchen."

Gu Linyuan looked up at her, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

"You can cook?"

Zhu Zhuqing's face reddened faintly.

"A little."

"Fine. The kitchen is on the left, and the ingredients are in the cabinets. Make whatever you like."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded and turned toward the kitchen.

After taking two steps, she suddenly stopped and looked back.

"What... do you like to eat?"

Her voice was so quiet that it was almost drowned out by the crackling oil lamp.

Gu Linyuan looked up and met her black eyes.

The Girl stood at the kitchen door, her long black hair falling to her waist. The lamplight softened the profile of her face. Her expression remained cool, but there was something different in her eyes.

It was like anticipation.

And like nervousness.

Gu Linyuan thought for a moment. "Anything is fine. I'm not picky."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded and turned into the kitchen.

Her steps were slightly quicker than usual.

Her heart was beating fast, and she did not know why.

She only felt that, at this moment, she was happy.

Not the kind of happiness that was earth-shaking and dramatic.

But a plain, subtle happiness, warm like sunlight in spring.

She had never experienced such a feeling before.

From childhood to adulthood, her life had always been arranged by others.

Cultivate, grow stronger, marry Dai Mubai, and become the Crown Princess of the Star Luo Empire.

Every step had been arranged with perfect clarity, leaving her no room to choose.

She had thought her life would always be like that.

Cold, bleak, and devoid of warmth.

But now, she suddenly felt that life could take another form.

It could have warmth.

It could have color.