Helping Her Cultivate

Morning sunlight slanted through the mottled window lattice into the room. Zhu Zhuqing folded the last piece of clothing and placed it in her bundle. When her fingertips brushed across the rough wooden table, they left a clear mark in the dust.

She straightened up and was about to turn around when she heard the faint rustle of fabric behind her. Shen Lian had somehow appeared by the door, the draft lifting a corner of his dark robe to reveal the faintly glowing Storage Soul Tool at his waist.

"Zhuqing."

Shen Lian's voice broke the silence.

He slowly stepped forward, the sound of his black boots crossing the wooden floor exceptionally clear in the empty room.

Zhu Zhuqing turned around and saw an unreadable gleam in his eyes. For some reason, her heart skipped a beat.

"We agreed before that as long as you helped me obtain the Star Luo Empire's defense map, I would teach you how to cultivate Soul Power."

Shen Lian lowered his gaze, his long fingers absentmindedly rubbing his Storage Ring as he continued speaking to Zhu Zhuqing:

"Now that we have it, it's time for me to fulfill my promise."

The air in the room seemed to freeze for a moment.

Zhu Zhuqing's eyelashes trembled faintly, and her pale lips pressed into a straight line.

She tried her best to suppress the surging emotions in her heart, but her slightly trembling fingertips gave her away. Ever since leaving Star Luo City, that promise had been like a spark, burning within her cold chest. She had been waiting for this day all along.

Shen Lian watched her whitening knuckles and suddenly chuckled before continuing:

"But there is something I need to make clear first. I don't have any particularly good method for cultivating Soul Power either. It can only depend on one's own effort."

Before he had finished speaking, Zhu Zhuqing abruptly raised her head, her amber eyes contracting sharply.

The fingers clutching her skirt turned white at the joints. Her lips parted several times, but no words came out.

The morning sun outlined her tense profile. The mingled shock and disappointment on her face made Shen Lian's heart inexplicably tighten.

"But you don't need to worry."

Shen Lian spoke before she could, holding out his upturned palm.

A deep blue light suddenly burst from his palm. Three thousand-year Whale Rubbers and the right leg bone of a thirty-thousand-year Gale Demon Wolf floated in the air. Their flowing glow stretched both of their shadows long as Shen Lian continued speaking to Zhu Zhuqing:

"I promised you, so I have a way to make your Soul Power cultivation faster."

Zhu Zhuqing took half a step back and bumped into the wooden table behind her.

The oil lamp made from Moonlight Grass swayed from the impact. Dim yellow light danced across the Spirit Bone's surface, sending fine ripples through her eyes.

"A person's Innate Soul Power is determined when their Martial Soul awakens, and the speed at which they cultivate Soul Power is more or less determined then as well. How can it still become faster?"

Zhu Zhuqing's voice trembled, her words filled with disbelief.

Meeting Zhu Zhuqing's suspicious gaze, Shen Lian's lips curved into a meaningful smile. His obsidian-like pupils glimmered faintly in the dim light.

"Just listen to me. I have my ways."

Shen Lian deliberately lowered his voice, wrapping his words in unquestionable certainty. He casually pulled over a wooden stool and sat down, the Storage Soul Tool at his waist making a crisp clinking sound with the movement.

Before Zhu Zhuqing could press him further, Shen Lian flicked his finger and released the restriction on his Soul Tool, taking out a translucent gelatinous substance.

Under the candlelight, it gleamed with the luster of mother-of-pearl. Pale golden patterns flowed across its surface, winding and moving like living things.

"Weren't you curious why I could absorb Spirit Rings beyond my level and age limit?"

Shen Lian held the Whale Rubber before her eyes and continued speaking to Zhu Zhuqing:

"Besides some special reasons of my own, there is another special reason: this Whale Rubber."

Zhu Zhuqing instinctively retreated half a step, her amber pupils shrinking sharply.

Among the veiled topics circulating in Star Luo's noble circles, Whale Rubber was indeed a secretive "bedchamber treasure," rumored to give men an energy far beyond the ordinary.

Zhu Zhuqing bit her lower lip, the tips of her ears flushing a suspicious red.

"As far as I know, isn't Whale Rubber something men take for that purpose?"

Before her words had even faded, her fingers had unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes.

"Trust me."

Shen Lian suddenly leaned closer. His warm breath brushed her ear, making her whole body shudder in alarm.

Then, with the Whale Rubber resting in his palm, Shen Lian let his Soul Power seep into it like strands of silk. The originally hard substance gradually softened, while its impurities turned into wisps of green smoke and drifted away.

"Take it."

Shen Lian held the processed Whale Rubber out before her. The earnestness in his eyes was enough to make her heart tremble as he continued speaking to Zhu Zhuqing:

"When you refine it, don't think about anything. Focus on guiding your Soul Power."

Zhu Zhuqing stared at the softly glowing Whale Rubber, her fingers hovering in midair for a long time without reaching for it.

Memories surged like a tide—the cold kneeling cushion in the Zhu Mansion ancestral hall, her sister Zhu Zhuyun's contemptuous sneer, and her father's deliberately distant gaze.

Her nails dug deeply into her palm, and the sting scattered her hesitation.

She suddenly snatched the Whale Rubber and tilted her head back to swallow it.

The bitter gelatinous substance slid down her throat and instantly transformed into a scorching current that rushed straight toward her dantian.

Zhu Zhuqing staggered as she braced herself against the table. Every pore on her body seemed to be torn open by invisible hands as bone-chilling cold and searing waves of heat swept through her in turns.

"Don't lose focus!"

Shen Lian's voice seemed to come from somewhere far away. She clenched her teeth and forcibly circulated her Soul Power, drawing the surging energy into her meridians.

The moon gradually slanted westward, and the oil lamp's flame flickered through the entire night.

When the first ray of dawn pierced the clouds, Zhu Zhuqing slowly opened her eyes. Her once-slender body now brimmed with surging power, as though every cell was clamoring to burst free.

She subconsciously struck out with her palm, and the force of the wind shattered the clay jar in the corner.

"The results are pretty good."

Shen Lian leaned against the doorframe, his eyes reflecting her stunned yet ecstatic expression.

He casually tossed her a towel soaked in cold water and continued speaking to Zhu Zhuqing:

"Go get used to your new strength first. Don't tear down the village."

Zhu Zhuqing caught the towel and pressed it to her burning cheeks, then suddenly broke into a smile.

It was the first genuine smile she had shown since leaving Star Luo.

Morning light edged her in gold. Her agile figure sprang from the wooden house like a spirit cat, darting and flipping across the grass.

Shen Lian watched her retreating figure as a faintly glowing Spirit Bone quietly appeared in his palm. That was the main event for tonight.

Night fell like thick ink, slowly staining the sky.

Zhu Zhuqing returned to the wooden house beneath the moonlight, silver-white rays outlining her in a hazy silhouette.

When she pushed open the door, the candlelight inside swayed, illuminating Shen Lian leaning by the window. He was toying with a Storage Soul Tool in his hand. Hearing the sound, he raised his eyes to look at her.

Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath and slowly walked before Shen Lian. She straightened her back, her amber eyes filled with sincerity.

Zhu Zhuqing dipped slightly forward and spoke to Shen Lian in a soft but firm voice:

"Shen Lian, thank you."

These simple words carried all her gratitude, from the Whale Rubber remolding her physique to everything she had received since.

Shen Lian raised an eyebrow and chuckled. He casually waved his hand and said indifferently:

"You don't have to be so polite. You helped me obtain the defense map, and I achieved my goal. We both got what we needed."

Though he said that, Shen Lian's gaze never left Zhu Zhuqing.