Magneto Qian San

A warm, gentle voice rang out.

Dugu Bo whipped his head around and only then realized that, less than three feet away, a man in a silver mask and gray robes had appeared at some unknown point. There was no fluctuation of Soul Power, no Martial Soul released. It was as though the man had grown out of thin air, perfectly blending into the night.

"P-Predecessor?!" Dugu Bo's eyes widened. He was so startled that he nearly fell from the tree. Quickly steadying himself, he respectfully dropped to one knee.

"Congratulations, Predecessor, on your cultivation breakthrough!"

"Just a minor breakthrough." Qian Xunji casually waved a hand, and a gentle force lifted Dugu Bo to his feet. He got straight to the point. "During the years I was in seclusion, how has Xiao San been doing?"

At the mention of Qian San, undisguised admiration immediately appeared in Dugu Bo's eyes. He reported with deep respect in his voice, "Predecessor, your son is simply a born Soul Master! He's already level thirty-six, and his combat instincts and methods are unlike anything this old man has seen in his life."

Level thirty-six. Qian Xunji nodded slightly. Not bad.

"Were the second and third Spirit Rings hunted according to the route I left behind?" Qian Xunji asked.

"Exactly as instructed!" Dugu Bo hurriedly replied.

"For the second Spirit Ring, this old man accompanied him to the outskirts of Star Dou Forest, where we found a nine-hundred-and-sixty-year-old Shock-Space Rending Armor Bee. That beast was incredibly fast, and its stinger could pierce even refined iron. After your son absorbed it, he gained an excellent second soul skill."

A trace of admiration flashed through Dugu Bo's eyes.

"This soul skill isn't a direct attack, but a high-frequency enhancement. Once he activates his second soul skill, whether it's his fists and feet, the metal weapons he condenses, or those endless, tricky hidden weapons of his, their surfaces will be coated with high-frequency vibrations that grant armor-piercing properties. It can directly ignore fifty percent of an opponent's physical defense!

"You should have seen it, Predecessor. With nothing but a tiny iron nail and that armor-piercing effect, the boy forcibly pierced through the shell of an eight-hundred-year-old Iron Turtle."

The corners of Qian Xunji's mouth curled up beneath his mask. High-frequency vibrations that ignored fifty percent of physical defense—combined with Tang Sect hidden weapons, it was quite a fitting match.

"What about the third Spirit Ring?" Qian Xunji continued.

"For the third Spirit Ring, we still followed your guidance and went to Falling Moon Forest, where we found a three-thousand-seven-hundred-year-old Mysterious Magnetic Meteorite Beast." Recalling that hunt, Dugu Bo's tone grew even more animated.

"This is a soul beast that survives by Devouring magnetic stones and metal veins. After absorbing this Spirit Ring, the young master's abilities underwent a qualitative transformation!"

Dugu Bo gestured wildly as he explained.

"His third soul skill completely broke free from the restriction of having to use his own Soul Power to conjure Liquid Metal from nothing. Now, as long as it falls within the range of his spiritual power, any existing nonliving metal can become his weapon!

"He doesn't need to touch them. He can control and reshape them from afar as he pleases—blades, swords, iron filings, even weapons in an enemy's hands. As long as his spiritual power is sufficient, he can instantly seize control and turn them into a Metal Storm that shreds his opponents!"

At the end, Dugu Bo sighed sincerely. "Predecessor, your son's three soul skills link together perfectly. The first creates, the second pierces armor, and the third controls objects. With his current practical combat ability, even an ordinary level-fifty Soul King would likely not know how he died if Xiao San managed to open the distance."

After hearing Dugu Bo's report, Qian Xunji was very satisfied.

Everything was progressing along the perfect track he had laid out. The current Qian San was a true master of metal and the art of slaughter.

"You've done well, Old Poison. I'll go see my son first. You can head back. Take your granddaughter to the Herb Garden; I'll be there shortly." With a flash, Qian Xunji vanished from the treetop, leaving Dugu Bo alone to bow deeply toward the night sky.

Nuoding Academy, outside the dormitory.

The room was very dim. Only the thin moonlight filtering in through the window barely illuminated several beds. Qian Xunji's gaze precisely settled on Qian San's spot.

To his satisfaction, Qian San and Xiao Qing were not stuck together as they had been in the original story. Instead, they each occupied beds at opposite corners of the dormitory. Qian San sat cross-legged on his bed, Mysterious Heaven Skill flowing around him in long, pure currents. In the secluded, quiet corner diagonally opposite him, Xiao Qing was also meditating with her eyes closed. Her long black hair cascaded over her slender shoulders like a waterfall, and her aura was cold and lonely.

Qian Xunji's lips curled faintly as he moved them.

"Xiao San, come out."

Qian San, who had been immersed in circulating the Mysterious Heaven Skill, shuddered. His tightly shut eyes snapped open, and a flash of purple light instantly flickered in their depths. That incomparably familiar, gentle voice—the one he yearned for day and night—was one he would never mistake, even in a dream!

Father had come!

Qian San's heart began pounding wildly, but the enormous joy did not cloud his mind. He took a deep breath, suppressed the surging Soul Power within him, and lightly tapped the edge of the bed with his toes. Like a fallen leaf that had lost all weight, he used the Tang Sect's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Without making the slightest sound, he gracefully slipped through the half-open window and rushed toward the small forest behind the mountain.

However, the instant Qian San climbed through the window, Xiao Qing in the corner slowly opened her eyes as well.

As a soul beast transformed from a hundred-thousand-year-old Sky Azure Bull Python, her senses far surpassed those of human Soul Masters at the same level. Qian San's momentary disturbance in his aura due to excitement had not escaped her perception.

Why was Qian San experiencing such intense emotional fluctuations in the middle of the night? Who was he going to see?

Xiao Qing did not hesitate. She quietly got out of bed, concealed her aura, and, like an azure ripple melting into the night, followed far behind Qian San as she swept toward the back mountain.

Deep within the forest behind the mountain, moonlight filtered through the lush branches and leaves, scattering mottled patches of light across the ground.

Qian Xunji stood quietly beneath an ancient tree. The silver half-mask on his face reflected a cold, hard gleam under the moonlight, yet the aura around him was incomparably peaceful and warm.

"Dad!"

The moment Qian San landed, he could no longer restrain the excitement in his heart. He rushed forward in quick strides, his knees weakening as he was about to kneel.

Qian Xunji reacted swiftly, grabbing his son's arm and steadily pulling him upright. His broad hand heavily ruffled Qian San's head, which had grown much taller over the past five years.

"You've grown taller, and stronger too." Qian Xunji carefully examined the youth before him. Feeling the Soul Power within him, his eyes were full of gratification.

"Dad, you're finally back!" Qian San's eyes reddened slightly. In this world, no matter how much he behaved like a mature, steady expert, before his father, he would always be that child longing for the warmth of family.