The Unintentional Speaker, the Attentive Listener

Returning to Fish Village, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu's lives returned to how they had been before.

In the mornings, they went to the mountaintop. Yu Yan cultivated by absorbing Purple Qi, while Xiao Wu absorbed the high-quality Soul Power leaking from Yu Yan's body and refined it into her own.

The mornings were for regular training. Yu Yan also read the books he had bought in Balaque City, while Xiao Wu ran wild through the village and acted as the big sister to the children her age in Fish Village.

The afternoons were for combat training. After the initial adjustment period, Yu Yan could now trade blows evenly with Xiao Wu when she did not use the Soft Technique. Even when she used it, he had gone from lasting five seconds at first to lasting three minutes now. His progress could not be called anything but tremendous.

In this state, both Yu Yan's cultivation and strength improved rapidly. Xiao Wu was improving as well, though not as noticeably as Yu Yan.

One and a half months later, early one morning, Yu Yan sat cross-legged atop the mountain. The Ice and Fire Twin Fish circled around him, and the chilling cold radiating from the Ice Fish enveloped him.

With his eyes closed, he sensed his surroundings and drew a wisp of Purple Qi into his body.

As his proficiency and cultivation improved, the Purple Qi Yu Yan refined had changed from Purple Qi that was about to dissipate into Purple Qi that was already in the process of dissipating.

Well, that might not sound very intuitive.

To put it more plainly, he had previously absorbed one-tenth of the Purple Qi, but now he absorbed three-tenths.

The most direct effect of the improved quality of the Purple Qi he absorbed was the rapid growth of his cultivation. Second, his Soul Power had gained a faint violet tint, improving its quality.

Purple Qi entered his body and was transformed into Soul Power by the Meditation Method.

Without any surprises, Yu Yan successfully broke through to Level 9 two months after awakening his martial soul. This was slightly slower than he had expected.

If outsiders learned that someone had raised his Soul Power by a level and a half in two months yet was still dissatisfied, they would surely have some very "civilized" words to say to him.

"Yu Yan, did your Soul Power break through?"

Sensing that Yu Yan's aura had grown stronger, Xiao Wu asked whether he had broken through as soon as he opened his eyes.

"Mm, Xiao Wu. I'm already Level 9 now. You'd better speed up, or I'll leave you too far behind."

Knowing that Xiao Wu possessed Innate Full Soul Power but could not say so herself, Yu Yan teased her with considerable mischief.

"Mm, I'll work hard. I'll catch up to you."

Unable to openly admit that she had Innate Full Soul Power, Xiao Wu looked at the smile on Yu Yan's face and suddenly felt like sparring with him.

Seeing the ill-intentioned look on Xiao Wu's face, Yu Yan coughed lightly and immediately changed the subject. "Xiao Wu, we should hurry down the mountain. Let's go home and cook something."

At the mention of food, Xiao Wu immediately put away her threatening smirk. She skipped down the mountain with Yu Yan and headed home to eat.

Another morning arrived. Still unable to sense Purple Qi, Xiao Wu dejectedly asked Yu Yan, "Yu Yan, it's been so many days now. Why do you think I can't sense the existence of Purple Qi?"

Xiao Wu asked because Yu Yan had taught her a few tricks for sensing Purple Qi, yet she had failed to detect even a trace of it. It left her deeply frustrated.

Several answers flashed through Yu Yan's mind when Xiao Wu raised the question.

A transmigrator.

The powerful spiritual strength accumulated from two lifetimes.

The unusual nature of the Ice and Fire Twin Fish, his Companion Martial Soul.

Those were Yu Yan's guesses as to why he could sense Purple Qi. It might have been one of those reasons, or the combined result of several of them.

"I don't know either. Maybe I'm just a little special?"

Unable to give a precise answer, Yu Yan gave Xiao Wu an ambiguous reply.

Hearing that answer, Xiao Wu walked around Yu Yan, looking him over from left to right, but she could not see anything special about him at all.

Unable to see what was special about Yu Yan, Xiao Wu asked directly, "Special? What's special about you? Why can't I see it at all?"

"I said maybe. If I understood why, wouldn't I have told you already?" Yu Yan reached out and took the still-thinking Xiao Wu by the hand. "Don't trouble yourself over this. Let's head back. I'll make you something delicious."

"Fine."

Xiao Wu was still in low spirits. She continued thinking, wondering what the reason could be.

"Yu Yan, do you think it might be because of the Ice and Fire Twin Fish martial soul that you can sense Purple Qi? After all, I've never seen a martial soul as strange as yours."

After racking her brains, Xiao Wu thought of Yu Yan's Ice and Fire Twin Fish martial soul. It was the most likely explanation she could think of.

"I think that's possible. I actually had the same guess, but I wasn't sure whether that was the reason, so I didn't tell you."

Since Xiao Wu had thought of it herself, Yu Yan simply admitted it.

Seeing Yu Yan admit it, Xiao Wu became even more dejected. "If it really is because your martial soul is special, doesn't that mean I'll never be able to absorb Purple Qi?"

"No. Purple Qi does not exist because of my martial soul. It's simply there. If you can't absorb it, it only means you haven't found the right method yet."

Yu Yan could be certain of that. The fact that Tang San could use Purple Qi to cultivate the Purple Demon Eye was the greatest proof.

"I hope so."

Xiao Wu raised her head gloomily toward the sky. She spotted a crescent moon that had yet to fade, and a wild idea suddenly appeared in her mind.

"Yu Yan, Yu Yan, there is Purple Qi in the rising sun. What do you think is inside the moon? Could it also have some similar special energy?"

Xiao Wu's words exploded in Yu Yan's mind.

Yu Yan had constantly been thinking about how to use Purple Qi more efficiently, and he had subconsciously overlooked the moon, which stood opposite the sun.

When someone focused on one thing for too long, they overlooked the little things most easily noticed, just as many people searched for their phones while holding them in their hands.

Even when he had lain in the courtyard with Xiao Wu, gazing at the stars and chatting for a long time, Yu Yan had never considered this possibility.

The speaker had no intention, but the listener took it to heart.

Xiao Wu's casual remark prompted Yu Yan to continue thinking along that line.

Since the sun contained Purple Qi from myths and legends, then the energy in the moon opposite it should be Moon Essence?

Sun and Moon Essence!

Sun and Moon Essence!!

How had I not thought of something so simple?

"Xiao Wu, you're a genius!!!"

Overwhelmed with excitement, Yu Yan loudly praised Xiao Wu.

If he could use Moon Essence to cultivate, Yu Yan's cultivation speed would surely double.

"Huh?" Yu Yan's wild joy bewildered Xiao Wu, but she quickly understood what had made him so excited. "Could there really be corresponding special energy within the moon?"

"Most likely. After all, the sun and moon correspond to each other."

Until he had actual results, Yu Yan would not make a definite judgment. He only stated his inference, leaving himself some room to retreat.