Angel and Body Forging

At night, Su Zhen rested in a detached courtyard behind the Worship Hall. This was arranged for him by Qian Daoliu, located right next to the elder's own residence.

Lying on a soft bed woven from Heavenly Silkworm Silk, Su Zhen tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. He decided to sit at the table and admire the gifts he had received from his elders.

Su Zhen looked at the bracelet on his wrist, a gift from Grandpa Golden Crocodile. It contained an estimated five to six million Gold Soul Coins. He also added the fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins that Qian Daoliu had given him earlier from his ring into the bracelet.

Staring at the mountain of Gold Soul Coins inside the bracelet, Su Zhen was lost in thought. A month ago, he had said he wanted to earn one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. Now, with dozens of times that amount before him, he couldn't bring himself to feel happy.

The medicinal herbs gifted by Grandpa Azure Luan and the duo Thousand Jun and Falling Devil had been taken by his teacher to prepare a body-forging liquid; he would begin his medicinal bath tomorrow. Su Zhen had put on the soft armor gifted by Grandpa Guang Ling as soon as he entered the room; it could change size according to the wearer's physique, fitting him perfectly. He figured he would have to wait until he was a Soul Elder or Soul Ancestor before his teacher would allow him to absorb the spirit bone from Grandpa Lion.

After sitting by the table for another quarter of an hour, Su Zhen felt a bit drowsy and prepared to rest.

"Creak—"

The door was slowly pushed open. Su Zhen looked toward the sound and saw a small head peek in first. Their eyes met, leaving the person outside in a moment of awkwardness.

"So you're the new disciple Grandpa took in? Not bad, you look alright. Your Martial Soul is a Kirin? Release it and let me take a look."

Seeing she had been discovered, the person pushed the door open and entered. She was a young girl, wearing a pure white palace dress that reached her ankles. Her long golden hair cascaded down her back, and her golden eyes were full of spirit. Though her cheeks still held a hint of childishness, she was delicate and charming. Despite her young age, one could already feel a sense of holiness and nobility about her, like a little angel descended from the heavens. At this moment, this little angel was looking Su Zhen up and down.

Looking at the exquisite girl before him, Su Zhen instantly guessed her identity. In the Worship Hall, the only girl of this age who could come and go so freely was his teacher's granddaughter, the future Angel God, Qian Renxue.

"Alright."

Su Zhen responded, then activated his Martial Soul Possession. A majestic youth appeared in the room, with a lifelike Kirin phantom behind him. Qian Renxue circled Su Zhen, examining him thoroughly.

"Wow, can you be this handsome even with your Martial Soul possessed? This Martial Soul is domineering; you'll definitely be very strong in the future. Do you know who I am? I told you to release your Martial Soul and you just did? So obedient?"

Qian Renxue withdrew her gaze after her inspection and questioned Su Zhen.

"I don't know who you are, but anyone who can appear here must be a descendant of the elders. Of course, I have to satisfy the request of the elders' granddaughter to see my Martial Soul."

Su Zhen retracted his Martial Soul and replied calmly.

"You're not stupid. Your teacher is my grandfather; you can call me Sister Xue from now on."

Qian Renxue pulled Su Zhen to sit on a chair.

"According to seniority, shouldn't I be your martial uncle?"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, nothing. Hello, Sister Xue."

Looking at the small, glowing golden fist Qian Renxue raised, Su Zhen had no choice but to bow his head for the time being.

"Hmph! You're sensible enough."

Seeing Su Zhen yield, Qian Renxue put away her little fist.

"Sigh, I have to go to a very far place to carry out a mission in a few days. I'll be gone for a long time. You stay by Grandpa's side and keep him company. Don't make him angry, you hear me?"

"I will. He is my teacher, too; I know what to do."

Su Zhen knew what Qian Renxue was going to do, but he wouldn't say it, nor would he ask. Having just joined Martial Soul Hall, he shouldn't know, and wasn't supposed to know, such secrets.

Qian Renxue gave a few more instructions before leaving. Su Zhen watched her retreating figure, not knowing what to say. As the only peerless genius on the continent with innate full soul power at level 20, why would she choose to carry out such a time-consuming mission that wasted her talent? If she could just cultivate properly, she wouldn't have to wait until she was forty to become a god. Su Zhen couldn't wrap his head around it, so he went to sleep; he had a rough day ahead of him tomorrow.

Beneath the angel statue, Qian Daoliu, sitting cross-legged, withdrew his spiritual power and sighed softly.

The next morning, Su Zhen was dressed by a maid. Having never been cared for like this in his past or present life, Su Zhen felt a bit uneasy. The days of being served had only just begun, and he would have to slowly adapt.

He wore a purple training suit, and his purple-gold hair, draped over his shoulders, was tied into a bun with a white jade cloud hairpin. His fair, handsome face still held the lingering childishness of his age.

Su Zhen touched his heart. Yesterday, he had asked the maid to sew an inner pocket there, using the strip of cloth embroidered with his mother's lotus. The wooden hairpin was kept inside; only by touching his chest could he soothe his longing for his family.

Su Zhen arrived at the Worship Hall. At this time, only Qian Daoliu and Golden Crocodile were present, discussing something around a large golden cauldron. Seeing Su Zhen, Qian Daoliu beckoned him over.

"Little Zhen, the medicinal liquid in this cauldron was prepared by your teacher and me overnight. We added many herbs beneficial for body forging and expanding meridians. The Heavenly Spirit Fruit and Yin Yang Body Forging Lotus gifted to you yesterday were also added. For someone at your stage, the effect is excellent, but the potency is too fierce, so it has been divided into five portions. You will soak in it morning and evening for these three days. After the final soak on the third day, you can go hunt for your soul ring."

Golden Crocodile introduced it to Su Zhen.

"This is the meditation method your teacher asked me to 'purchase' from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect half a month ago. It is the most suitable for lightning-attribute soul masters. Your Third and Fourth Grandpas and I spent nearly half a month practicing and improving it. You could say that this meditation method is now the top-tier one on the entire continent. If you combine it with the medicinal bath while meditating, the results will definitely be twice the result with half the effort."

Golden Crocodile took a hardcover book from his storage soul tool and handed it to Su Zhen.

Su Zhen took the meditation method; the cover bore the five vigorous characters: "Lightning Heart Meditation Method." He caught the detail in Grandpa Golden Crocodile's words—the method had been in preparation for half a month. This teacher he had chosen was truly beyond reproach.

Su Zhen opened the Lightning Heart Meditation Method and began to learn it quickly. Having awakened the memories of his past life, his spiritual power was already extraordinary, and he memorized it quite fast. With the guidance of two of the world's top powerhouses, Qian Daoliu and Golden Crocodile, Su Zhen fully mastered the technique in ten minutes.

Preparations complete, Golden Crocodile injected soul power into the cauldron, and the thick medicinal liquid instantly began to boil. Seeing this, Su Zhen took off his clothes and jumped in.

As soon as his skin touched the liquid, a violent tearing sensation swept through his entire body. The accompanying pain nearly made Su Zhen cry out, but he hurriedly activated the Lightning Heart Meditation Method, absorbing the medicinal power to flow through his meridians.

Su Zhen's body was being crazily torn apart by the liquid and then rapidly healed by it. He felt as if his body was being sliced by thousands of blades at once, and just as they finished cutting, someone would sew it back up with needles and thread. This repetitive torture brought Su Zhen's consciousness to the brink of collapse, but familiar faces appeared in his mind—the villagers who had died at the hands of Tang Hao. Rage ignited in his heart, and a strong desire for revenge drove him to push the Lightning Heart Meditation Method to its limit, frantically absorbing the medicinal power.

Su Zhen felt as if he had been in the cauldron for a year, or even longer, but in reality, only five minutes had passed in the outside world.

Qian Daoliu and Golden Crocodile watched Su Zhen struggling to hold on in the cauldron with great satisfaction. His talent was good, and his willpower was top-notch. As long as he could rise safely, Martial Soul Hall would have another Limit Douluo.

An hour passed, and Golden Crocodile lifted Su Zhen out of the medicinal liquid. In fact, Su Zhen had lost consciousness a stick of incense ago, with only his body instinctively running the meditation method.

"The effect is good. After a few more times, he will definitely be able to absorb a soul ring of a very high age. I'm afraid it will reach a thousand years."

"A thousand years is still a bit short; eight hundred years is the minimum."

The discussion between Qian Daoliu and Golden Crocodile echoed above the angel statue.