Only by Becoming a God Can One Live Up to the Celestial Master's Astonishing Betrothal Gift

It was the third day since the Tribulation-Avoiding Garment had been pressed against her skin before Hu Liena finally grew fully accustomed to that warmth.

It was not a warmth on the surface of her skin—it was in her bone marrow.

It spread from her spine to her limbs, continuous and unending, flowing for twenty-four hours a day, seeping out even while she slept.

The door to the cultivation room had been shut for a day and a night.

On the meditation cushion, Hu Liena sat cross-legged, her five fox tails unfurled behind her, the tips shimmering with a faint, silvery-white light.

The golden hue of the Tribulation-Avoiding Garment had mostly faded; it looked no different from an ordinary robe, save for the Three-Legged Golden Toad on the collar that would occasionally roll over, reminding others that this item was no mere mortal object.

The spiritual energy was changing.

It was not the spiritual energy originally present in the cultivation room—that had long since become insufficient.

The golden toad pattern on the Tribulation-Avoiding Garment was breathing, drawing in spiritual energy from the outside world with every cycle.

Through the cracks in the walls, the gaps in the window lattices, and the half-finger-wide slit beneath the door, spiritual energy was dragged inside, converging into visible white currents that surged toward Hu Liena.

The concentration of spiritual energy in the entire cultivation room had reached an inconceivable level.

The air felt heavy.

With every breath, her internal organs were thoroughly saturated.

Within Hu Liena's meridians, her soul power was accelerating.

It was at least twenty percent faster than yesterday.

The bloodlines opened by the Primordial Spirit Bead, the spiritual meridians widened by the Star River Map, and the heaven and earth spiritual energy gathered by the Tribulation-Avoiding Garment—with these three layers of augmentation combined, her cultivation speed could no longer be described as merely "fast."

Level eighty-eight.

It had only been one day since she broke through to level eighty-seven yesterday.

One level per day.

If word of this got out, it would be enough to give every soul master on the continent a heart attack.

"Hiss—"

A sharp intake of breath came from the doorway.

Ye Lingling was crouching beside the threshold, holding a bowl of ginseng soup, her head peeking out from behind the doorframe, her almond-shaped eyes wide with shock.

This was not her first time here.

She brought a bowl of soup every two hours, left it at the door, and usually slipped away quietly.

But this time—

She did not leave.

Because the spiritual energy inside the cultivation room had become so dense that it was overflowing through the cracks in the door.

White currents of air snaked out from the gap at the bottom of the door, brushing against her ankles, cool and carrying a hint of sweetness.

Ye Lingling set the ginseng soup on the ground, pressed herself against the doorframe, and watched.

The spiritual energy around Hu Liena was no longer "flowing"—it was "spinning."

Centered on her, it circled round and round, faster and denser, until it eventually condensed into a translucent cocoon of spiritual energy, encasing her entirely.

There was light on the walls of the cocoon.

Golden—the auspicious aura of the Tribulation-Avoiding Garment.

Silvery-white—the starlight power of the Star River Map.

Pale pink—the luster of the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox martial soul origin.

The three colors intertwined, swirling across the surface of the spiritual cocoon; it was so beautiful that it didn't look like cultivation, but rather like weaving brocade.

Ye Lingling watched for a full half-cup of tea's time.

It was only when the rotation of the spiritual cocoon slowed down and the light faded layer by layer that the figure sitting inside was revealed.

Hu Liena slowly opened her eyes.

A trace of golden light lingered in her fox-like pupils, only dissipating completely after two breaths.

She looked down at her hands.

Soul power swirled at her fingertips, thicker than yesterday, and the color had deepened—shifting from pale gold to a true, solid gold.

Level eighty-eight.

Only two levels away from level ninety. Seven levels away from a level ninety-five Super Douluo. And as for becoming a god...

Hu Liena's fingers curled, then relaxed.

A rustling sound came from the doorway. Ye Lingling walked in with the ginseng soup, not tiptoeing, but moving with natural ease.

"Awake?"

Hu Liena let out a soft "Mm."

Ye Lingling handed over the ginseng soup, found a spot against the wall to lean on, and crossed her arms over her chest.

She sized up Hu Liena.

"Your current soul power fluctuation..."

Ye Lingling tilted her head, sensing carefully for three breaths:

"Eighty-eight?"

Hu Liena took the bowl, blew on the steam, and didn't answer.

"It was eighty-seven yesterday."

Ye Lingling counted on her fingers:

"Eighty-six the day before, eighty-five the day before that... what kind of speed is this?"

She shuffled two steps from the wall, crouched in front of Hu Liena, and looked up at her.

"Miss Hu Liena, I fear your cultivation speed has already surpassed most Title Douluo on the continent, hasn't it?"

Hu Liena held the bowl and took a sip of ginseng soup.

It was hot; the bitterness of the ginseng dissolved at the root of her tongue, leaving a sweet aftertaste.

She pulled the bowl away from her lips and shook her head slowly.

"Still far from enough."

Ye Lingling was stunned.

"Teacher once said—"

Hu Liena set the bowl down beside her knee:

"Above Title Douluo, there are Limit Douluo. And only above Limit Douluo lies the true god level."

She looked down at the Golden Toad on her lapel.

The toad's back rose and fell slowly, each breath sending a steadying warmth.

Level eighty-eight.

Three months ago, this was a height she wouldn't have dared to dream of.

Three months ago, she was stuck at level sixty-nine, trapped for two whole years, unable to even touch the threshold of a Soul Douluo.

Now, she was at eighty-eight.

But—

"Only by becoming a true god can I be worthy of..."

The second half of the sentence took a turn in her throat.

"...the betrothal gifts he gave me."

The last few words were pressed extremely low, the tail end dissipating into the steam of the ginseng soup.

The cultivation room was silent for two breaths.

Then, Ye Lingling smiled.

Not a loud laugh, but the corners of her mouth curling up first, then widening a little to reveal half a row of white teeth.

The smile raced from her face all the way to the roots of her ears, dyeing both earlobes pink.

"You have truly accepted Celestial Master from the bottom of your heart."

The hand holding the bowl stiffened.

The ginseng soup sloshed twice, nearly spilling.

She lowered her head.

Her face was burning. From her cheekbones down to the base of her neck.

Two fox ears popped out from her hair, glowing pink, trembling in the steam of the soup.

She didn't deny it.

Not a single word of denial.

The corner of her mouth hooked.

Very shallow. So shallow that she might not even have noticed it herself.

But Ye Lingling, crouching before her, saw it clearly—that arc pulled up from the left corner of her mouth, curved upward just a tiny bit, and was then suppressed as she bit her lower lip.

It couldn't be suppressed.

The light in her eyes had already betrayed her.

Ye Lingling's smile grew wider.

She shifted from a crouch to a sit, crossing her legs opposite Hu Liena, resting her hands on her knees, and watching the blushing Martial Soul Hall Saintess before her with earnest attention.

A month ago, she had first met Hu Liena in the Pope Palace.

Back then, Hu Liena stood twenty paces away, her entire being radiating a coldness that kept strangers at a distance.

Fox eyes sharp, chin tilted upward, the Saintess held her posture with meticulous precision.

She was the type of person whom even Pope Bibi Dong would have to stand up for to show sufficient respect.

And now?

Head bowed, face flushed, a smile she couldn't suppress hidden at the corners of her mouth, her two pink-tinted fox ears twitched in the warmth.

She was using a bowl of ginseng soup to hide her face.

Hu Liena seemed to sense Ye Lingling's gaze; her eyelids flickered up, only to be hastily lowered again.

"What are you looking at?"

"Looking at you smile."

Ye Lingling wasn't afraid of her in the slightest, her tone light and airy:

"You look especially beautiful when you smile."

Hu Liena's face turned even redder.

"...Is that all you came here to say?"

"I came to deliver the ginseng soup."

Ye Lingling pointed a finger toward the bowl:

"You've already finished half of it; its function as a shield for your face is no longer quite sufficient."

Hu Liena looked down.

The ginseng soup in the bowl was indeed down to the last bit.

She moved the bowl away from her face and set it down beside the meditation cushion.

The stray locks of hair on her forehead fell forward, obscuring most of her face, but they couldn't hide her ears—those two fox ears remained pink, poking out from between the strands, completely disobedient.

Ye Lingling stopped teasing her.

A few moments of silence passed.

Faint footsteps and the clashing of weapons drifted in from outside the cultivation room—the Martial Soul Hall patrol was changing shifts.

In the distance, a bell tolled, deep and long; it was the timekeeping bell of the Pope Palace.

Ye Lingling spoke.

This time, there was no hint of a smile.

"If Celestial Master knew you were thinking this way, he would certainly be very happy."