Magneto Qian San

A gentle voice resonated.

Dugu Bo whipped his head around, only to discover that less than three feet away stood a man in a gray robe wearing a silver mask. There were no fluctuations of soul power, no manifestation of a martial soul; the man seemed to have grown out of thin air, perfectly blending into the night.

"Sen... Senior!?" Dugu Bo's eyes widened, so startled he nearly tumbled from the tree. He quickly steadied himself and knelt on one knee, bowing respectfully.

"I welcome Senior's cultivation advancement!"

"Merely a slight breakthrough." Qian Xunji waved a hand, a gentle force lifting Dugu Bo to his feet as he asked directly, "How has Qian San been during these years of my seclusion?"

At the mention of Qian San, an undisguised look of admiration surfaced in Dugu Bo's eyes. He reported with a tone full of reverence:

"Senior, your son is truly a natural-born soul master! He has already reached level thirty-six, and his combat intelligence and methods are unlike anything this old man has seen in his entire life."

Level thirty-six. Qian Xunji nodded slightly; not bad.

"Did he hunt the second and third soul rings according to the path I left behind?" Qian Xunji asked.

"Without the slightest deviation!" Dugu Bo hurried to reply. "For the second soul ring, I accompanied him to the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Forest. We found a nine-hundred-and-sixty-year-old Shock-Space Rending Armor Bee. This beast is incredibly fast, and its tail stinger can pierce even refined iron. After absorbing it, your son obtained a truly excellent second soul skill."

A trace of awe flashed in Dugu Bo's eyes:

"This soul skill isn't a direct attack, but a high-frequency amplification. Once he activates it, whether it's his fists and kicks, condensed metal weapons, or those endless, cunningly angled hidden weapons, their surfaces are coated with a high-frequency vibrating armor-piercing attribute. It can directly ignore fifty percent of an opponent's physical defense! Senior, you didn't see it—that boy used a tiny iron nail, combined with this armor-piercing attribute, to pierce clean through the shell of an 800-year-old Iron Turtle."

The corners of Qian Xunji's mouth rose beneath his mask. High-frequency vibration ignoring fifty percent of physical defense, paired with Tang Sect hidden weapons—it was a perfect match.

"And the third soul ring?" Qian Xunji continued.

"For the third soul ring, following your guidance, we went to the Falling Moon Forest and found a three-thousand-seven-hundred-year-old Mysterious Magnetic Meteorite Beast." Recalling that hunt, Dugu Bo's tone grew even more impassioned. "This is a soul beast that survives by devouring magnets and metal veins. After absorbing this ring, the young master's abilities underwent a qualitative change!"

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 condense liquid metal from thin air. Now, as long as the metal is non-living and within his mental range, it becomes his weapon! He doesn't need to touch it; he can manipulate and reshape it at will from a distance. Swords, iron filings, even the weapons in an enemy's hands—as long as his mental power is sufficient, he can instantly seize control and turn them into a metal storm to shred his opponent!"

Concluding, Dugu Bo sighed sincerely: "Senior, your son's three soul skills interlock perfectly: the first creates, the second pierces, and the third controls. With his current combat capability, if an ordinary level fifty soul king were to face him, once he creates distance, they wouldn't even know how they died."

Having heard Dugu Bo's report, Qian Xunji was very satisfied.

Everything was proceeding along the perfect trajectory he had laid out. The current Qian San was a master who truly grasped the art of metal and slaughter.

"Well done, Old Poison. I am going to see my son now; you may return. Take your granddaughter to the Herb Garden, and I will arrive shortly." Qian Xunji flashed and vanished from the treetop, leaving Dugu Bo alone to bow deeply toward the night sky.

Nuoding Academy, outside the dormitory.

The light inside the room was dim, with only the thin moonlight filtering through the window barely illuminating the beds. Qian Xunji's gaze landed precisely on Qian San's position.

What satisfied him was that Qian San and Xiao Qing were not clinging to each other as they had in the original story, but occupied beds at opposite corners of the room. Qian San sat cross-legged on his bed, the long and pure Mysterious Heaven Skill circulating through his body. In the quiet, secluded corner diagonally across, Xiao Qing was also meditating with her eyes closed, her long, ink-black hair cascading like a waterfall over her slender shoulders, her aura cold and solitary.

Qian Xunji's lips curled slightly, and he whispered:

"San, come out."

Qian San, immersed in the circulation of his Mysterious Heaven Skill, shuddered. His tightly closed eyes snapped open, a flash of purple light crossing the depths of his pupils. That familiar, gentle voice that haunted his dreams—he would never mistake it, even in his sleep!

Father is here!

Qian San's heart began to race, but he was not overwhelmed by the sudden surprise. He took a deep breath, suppressed the surging soul power in his body, and tapped his toes lightly on the edge of the bed. His entire body moved like a weightless falling leaf, executing the Tang Sect's supreme Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Without making a single sound, he vaulted out of the half-open window and headed straight for the small woods behind the mountain.

However, the moment Qian San flipped out of the window, Xiao Qing slowly opened her eyes.

As a hundred-thousand-year-old Sky Azure Bull Python in human form, her perception far exceeded that of human soul masters of the same level. The momentary turbulence in Qian San's aura caused by his excitement had not escaped her.

In the middle of the night, why would Qian San have such intense emotional fluctuations? Who was he going to meet?

Xiao Qing did not hesitate. She quietly climbed out of bed, suppressed her aura, and followed behind Qian San like a ripple of blue-green water melting into the night, darting toward the back mountain.

Deep in the woods behind the mountain, moonlight filtered through the lush branches, casting mottled spots of light on the ground.

Qian Xunji stood quietly under an ancient tree, his silver half-mask gleaming with a cold luster in the moonlight, yet the aura he exuded was incredibly peaceful and warm.

"Father!"

The moment Qian San landed, he could no longer suppress his inner excitement. He rushed forward, his knees buckling as he prepared to kneel.

Qian Xunji was quick; he caught his son's arm, steadying him firmly, and his broad, thick hand ruffled Qian San's hair, which had grown much longer than it was five years ago.

"You've grown taller, and stronger." Qian Xunji scrutinized the youth before him, sensing the soul power within his body, his eyes filled with gratification.

"Father, you've finally returned!" Qian San's eyes reddened slightly. In this world, no matter how much he acted like a seasoned and steady expert, in front of his father, he would always be that child yearning for the warmth of home.