Yan Lingji: Oh ho ho, Master, I was wrong.

Inside a room at the Rose Hotel, Yan Lingji was suspended against the wall, her toes barely brushing the floor.

A full day and night had passed, and she had made significant progress.

The effects, however, were just as obvious.

She could feel her bones, muscles, and meridians undergoing yet another round of strengthening.

But after all, it was her first time.

She had been put through the wringer.

It was only when Jiang Ce released her that she finally caught her breath, collapsing onto the bed like a puddle of water.

After a long while, she propped herself up against the headboard.

"My Master, this concubine is starting to feel more and more like you only made me eat that Whale Rubber just to torment me." Her voice was bewitching, laced with resentment.

"Nonsense. It was clearly to increase your strength."

"Hehe... is that so?"

Yan Lingji's eyes shimmered, a meaningful curve tugging at the corner of her lips.

"This concubine doesn't think so."

"Then we shall continue."

As Jiang Che spoke, a tentacle coiled directly around Yan Lingji's ankle, hoisting her upside down.

"Master... this slave was wrong."

Yan Lingji surrendered decisively.

Her master was no ordinary man.

If he were to put her through another day and night of this, she simply wouldn't be able to take it.

"I'll let you off this time."

"Go ahead and test your current state."

The tentacle released her, and Yan Lingji slumped onto the bed, her chest heaving with Three Thousand Lightning Movement.

Yan Lingji cast a resentful glance at her own status.

At that moment, Jiang Che cast Super Healing, mending the wounds from the White Tiger Dagger and restoring her stamina.

Feeling the changes within herself, Yan Lingji offered a charming smile.

"Master's Super Healing is truly useful."

With that, she stood in the center of the room, completely naked.

She raised a hand.

She threw a punch.

"Crack!"

The air snapped with a sharp, explosive sound.

Yan Lingji froze for a moment.

She threw another punch, this time using ten percent of her strength.

"Crack—!"

The sound was even louder, and the force of the punch swept through the room, flipping the bedding on the bed.

She looked down at her fist, her eyes filled with astonishment.

Then, she threw a kick.

"Whoosh—"

The wind from her leg was fierce, her speed so fast that the naked eye could only see a blur.

She felt that even without the amplification of her venom, relying solely on her physical body, she could shatter that giant boulder from yesterday with a single punch.

She went through a set of strikes.

Every punch broke the wind; every kick whistled with power.

Jiang Che watched as she moved, completely bare.

The Three Thousand Lightning Movement was truly eye-catching.

The room was left in a mess; quilts and pillows were scattered everywhere, and even the curtains had been torn by the force of her strikes.

After finishing, she retracted her stance and stood still, her breathing steady, her face neither flushed nor winded.

"I didn't expect this thing to have such miraculous effects," Yan Lingji whispered to herself.

"And why wouldn't it?" Jiang Ce paused. "Do you know now that you wronged your master?"

Yan Lingji curled her lips: "Yes, this concubine wronged Master."

"Since you were wrong, then accept your punishment properly."

Jiang Ce made her assume the orz pose.

"Snap—"

A pitch-black tentacle whip lashed against her backside.

A good while later.

Suddenly, urgent knocking came from outside the door.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

The knocking was as hurried as always, as if there were some pressing matter.

Moreover, a drizzling rain began to fall outside the window from time to time.

The sun was high in the sky.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, shining onto the edge of the bed.

Yan Lingji gripped a tentacle, barely managing to support her body.

She was so exhausted that she didn't even want to move a finger.

"Master... this concubine truly cannot go on..."

"Fine, I'll spare you this time."

Jiang Ce let her down, gently placing her on the bed.

Yan Lingji lay limp on the bed, motionless, gasping for air.

After a while, she rolled over, lying on her side, and reached out to grab the water glass on the nightstand.

Just then, Jiang Ce's tentacle curled up a stone bead from the side and held it out before her.

"Where did you get this thing?"

Jiang Ce's tone carried a hint of confusion.

Yan Lingji looked at the bead, her movements pausing for a moment.

"I picked it up in that great fire." Her voice lowered a few degrees.

"That fire... it burned down the entire village. My younger brother was lost at that time as well."

"I kept this bead afterward and have carried it with me ever since."

Jiang Ce looked at the bead in his hand in silence.

The object looked ordinary, gray and dull, like a random stone picked up by the river.

But strangely, when he possessed the symbiote, all of Yan Lingji's clothes were devoured.

Yet this bead alone remained unchanged, staying within his body the entire time, as if unaffected by the Venom.

"How long have you carried it?"

"Nearly five years."

"Five years?"

Jiang Ce frowned.

The original work never mentioned Yan Lingji having such an item.

He held the bead, turning it over and over to examine it, but couldn't discern anything special.

Then, he probed it with his mental power.

The next second.

His consciousness was dragged inside.

A boundless space unfolded within his mind.

It was not a void, nor a dream, but a truly existing, infinite chaos.

There was no heaven or earth, no direction, no up or down, only endless gray mist.

But within that chaos, there were two points of light, one on the left and one on the right, faintly connected.

Jiang Ce's consciousness probed toward the light point on the left.

The light point suddenly expanded—

Mountains and landscapes emerged in his field of vision.

Rolling mountain ranges, winding rivers, and city after city.

His perspective plummeted rapidly from high altitude, passing through the clouds, and landed above a magnificent capital city.

Palaces and towers were layered upon one another, resplendent in gold and jade.

He recognized those buildings at a single glance.

Xianyang Palace.

It was not the Xianyang Palace from history, but the one from The Legend of Qin.

He could be certain of this, not because of the architecture itself, but because of the person standing on the plaza.

A youthful Ying Zheng.

He stood upon the imperial dais, clad in a black royal robe, hands clasped behind his back, his gaze cold and stern as he looked toward the distance.

Beside him stood a middle-aged scholar, holding bamboo slips, waiting respectfully to the side.

Jiang Ce's perspective hovered in mid-air, looking down at the scene from above.

He could even hear the sound of wind chimes ringing as the breeze swept past the eaves of the palace.

It was too real.

So real that it didn't feel like a mere image, but as if he were truly standing there.

He tried to pull his perspective further away.

The streets, shops, and pedestrians of Xianyang City were all clearly visible.

There were people haggling on the roadside, others drinking tea in teahouses, and a squad of patrolling soldiers marching down the long street.

This was not a static map, but a living, functioning world.

Jiang Ce felt a jolt in his heart.

He hurriedly pulled his consciousness back and probed into the light orb on the right.

Another perspective unfolded.

Heaven Dou City.

The layout of the entire city, its streets, buildings, and flow of people all spread out within his field of vision like a living holographic map.

He could even see the roof tiles of the Rose Hotel where he was currently staying.

Not long after, his consciousness was ejected.

Jiang Ce gripped the bead, remaining silent for a long while.

What on earth was this thing?

Could it be because of this bead that he had been diverted to Douluo Continent instead of landing in The Legend of Qin as intended?

An object capable of traversing between different worldviews had to be, at the very least, a powerful spiritual treasure.

Since it was a spiritual treasure, there should be a process of claiming ownership.

Blood-binding?

But in his current state, he had no blood at all.

Refining it with spiritual power?

He had tried, but there was no reaction.

Injecting soul power?

That didn't work either.

He pondered for a moment and considered another possibility—could it be because he was too weak?

That the world he was in, or his own strength, was insufficient to activate it?

"Master, a drop of ink has appeared on this bead."

Having finished her water, Yan Lingji noticed something strange on the stone bead.

Jiang Ce looked down.

On the surface of the grey, dull stone bead, a pitch-black mark had appeared at some point, like a drop of ink that had fallen onto it and was slowly seeping into the stone's interior.

Yan Lingji leaned in and poked it curiously.

"I've carried this bead for nearly five years and never saw it react. How did it change the moment it came into Master's hands?"

Jiang Ce felt a chill in his heart.

Could this thing actually sense the thoughts in his mind?

He stared at the bead, attempting to communicate with it through his intent.

There was no response.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

What the hell was this thing?

He tossed the bead into the air, temporarily suppressing the doubts in his heart.

"Interesting. Since I can't figure it out, I won't think about it for now. The most urgent priority is to raise my strength first."

He paused.

"Let's go."

"So, is Master going to help this concubine hunt for a soul ring now?"

"Naturally."

"Then what kind of soul ring would be suitable for this concubine?"