This time, Hu Liena didn't hesitate at all.
She simply gazed quietly at the miniature bronze cauldron floating before her, then slowly drew a deep breath.
She reached out.
Three days earlier, that hand had trembled faintly with anger. Now it was perfectly steady.
Her fingers were long and slender, white as jade, and beneath the violet qi filling the sky, they carried a sacred beauty.
Her fingertips lightly touched the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron's cold walls.
There was none of the warmth she had imagined, only an ancient, unchanging chill and weight, as if she weren't touching a small cauldron but an entire vast blue sky, condensed from the ages.
Humm—!
The instant her fingertips made contact, the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron suddenly burst with dazzling azure light!
The light wasn't blinding, but it was immensely heavy, as if it contained the weight of the entire world.
A flash of azure light, and the palm-sized Fate-Suppressing Cauldron transformed into a streak of light, shooting straight into Hu Liena's forehead and instantly merging with the pale-violet Nine-Tailed Fox Seal.
"Mm!"
Hu Liena let out a stifled groan, her body swaying backward against her will.
If the Primordial Spirit Bead's power was a spring breeze and gentle rain, purifying and elevating her, then the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron's power was the earth bearing all things, suppressing and stabilizing!
A vast, overwhelming power beyond words exploded inside her in an instant, flooding her limbs and every bone!
This power wasn't violent. On the contrary, it was incredibly gentle. It didn't batter her meridians; instead, it silently seeped into every corner of her body like quicksilver pouring across the ground.
She could clearly feel the foundation of her Soul Power, which had seemed somewhat flimsy after she broke through fifteen levels in a row, growing solid and stable at an astonishing speed.
Every wisp of Soul Power seemed infused with the weight of mountains, heavy and substantial, yet flowing more smoothly and freely than ever before.
The immense power brought by the Primordial Spirit Bead now blended perfectly with this weighty force, yin and yang complementing each other, water and fire existing in harmony.
One elevated her; the other suppressed.
One expanded outward; the other fortified her from within.
They complemented each other perfectly, without flaw.
Hu Liena's body stopped swaying. She stood firmly in place, while the aura around her underwent a complete transformation.
The sacred aura that had seemed somewhat ethereal after her Martial Soul Evolution now carried the composure and restraint of mountains.
She was like a divine sword that had just been drawn, its edge exposed, now returned to a plain, weighty scabbard.
Its sharpness remained, but its depth had grown.
On the terrace of the Pope Palace, Bibi Dong watched in silence.
She watched Hu Liena's aura climb steadily, then settle into stillness;
watched as the body that had yet to adjust to its surging power mastered it completely within just a few breaths;
watched the Fox Seal between her brows shimmer in harmony with the azure light, radiating a profound aura that even made her heart tremble.
Deep in Bibi Dong's violet eyes, a trace of envy flashed—an emotion she herself hadn't even noticed.
"Teacher."
Hu Liena's voice roused Bibi Dong from her daze.
Bibi Dong looked up and saw Hu Liena watching her.
"How do you feel?"
Bibi Dong gathered herself, her voice returning to its usual calm.
"I feel..."
Hu Liena sensed the changes within her and searched for the words.
"My foundation has never been more stable. My Soul Power circulates at least thirty percent faster than before, and my Martial Soul Origin seems to be continuously nourished by a very gentle force. It feels wonderful."
Bibi Dong nodded slowly, her expression unreadable.
She walked over to Hu Liena and stood beside her, both of them gazing at the sky, which had cleared once more.
"These are only the most insignificant effects of the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron."
Hu Liena's heart shuddered. She turned to look at her teacher.
Bibi Dong didn't look at her. She only spoke softly:
"Nourishing a Martial Soul, suppressing evil—those effects are defiance of heaven, but ultimately they're still just external benefits. The truly irreplaceable value of this cauldron lies in its first function."
Her voice paused, each word seeming to carry the weight of a thousand jun.
"Suppressing fate."
Hu Liena's breath caught slightly.
Bibi Dong turned, her deep violet eyes fixed on Hu Liena's.
"Nana, remember this: the most unreasonable thing in this world is fate. You can't see it or touch it, yet it can let someone of ordinary talent stumble upon one fortuitous encounter after another and soar ever higher. It can also make a peerless genius suffer one calamity after another until they fade into the crowd."
"Tang San is the former."
A bone-deep, icy hatred laced Bibi Dong's voice.
"He got where he is today not only because of the gods' support, but, more importantly, because his fate is so abundant it's almost tangible. Otherwise, he would have died ten thousand times over by now."
Hu Liena's heart lurched. She instantly understood.
She looked at Bibi Dong, her lips trembling slightly.
"Teacher, you mean..."
"Exactly."
A cold, triumphant curve touched Bibi Dong's lips.
"From today onward—from the moment the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron acknowledged you as its master—Tang San's good fortune has run out."
"This Fate-Suppressing Cauldron will be like an invisible mountain, pressing down hard on his fate. All his opportunities will be diminished, all his cultivation will take twice the effort for half the result, and every scheme and calculation of his may fail because of some inexplicable mishap."
"That Shen Yichen... He gave you this cauldron for far more than simply nourishing your Martial Soul."
Bibi Dong's gaze grew complicated once more. She looked at her disciple and sighed softly.
"He's quietly helping you cut down the greatest enemy you'll face in the future."
Boom!
Bibi Dong's words exploded in Hu Liena's mind like a thunderclap.
She understood completely.
So that's it.
So this was the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron's true purpose.
That man, the man who had stirred the entire continent with nothing more than a Marriage Contract, had seen not only her potential and the flaws in her Martial Soul, but even... anticipated the greatest enemy she would face in the future.
He hadn't acted personally. He hadn't even shown his face.
He had simply sent over a second betrothal gift, as if it were nothing.
A terrifying treasure capable of gradually strangling Tang San, this "child of fate," at the very root.
An indescribable warmth surged from the depths of Hu Liena's heart, instantly spreading through her limbs and every bone. It warmed her more than any previous baptism of power.
It was the feeling of being held in someone's heart, of being quietly and thoroughly protected.
She had always thought this marriage was forced upon her, that it was domineering.
Now she realized that beneath that unquestionable dominance lay such profound consideration—and such fierce, unwavering protectiveness.
Shen Yichen...
For the third time, Hu Liena silently repeated his name to herself.
This time, not a trace of resistance or anger remained in her heart. There was only deep curiosity, and a hint of affection she was almost too embarrassed to admit...
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, on Sea God Island.
Inside the Sea God Hall.
Tang San sat cross-legged, surrounded by golden divine light. The Sea God Trident floated before him, radiating immense divine might.
He was breaking through the final barrier of the Eighth Sea God Trial.
Everything should have proceeded as smoothly as water flowing into its course.
But just moments ago, without warning, an extreme emptiness suddenly seized his heart!
It wasn't pain, nor was it a tremor in his Soul Power.
It was the feeling that something innate, something bound to his very soul, had been ripped away from him by an invisible hand!
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