The Price, Revealed

"If you also wish to obtain the kind of resources that allow one to ascend to the heavens in a single step, as she just did, then you must also pay a 'price' equivalent to hers."

Zhao Linchuan stood up. "That is fair, is it not?"

Having said this, he did not linger. He pulled the door open and walked out, leaving Yan Fei alone in the room.

The door clicked shut. Yan Fei stood where she was, staring blankly at the door, her expression shifting across her stunning face.

She understood the subtext of the Young Master's words.

"Pay... a price equivalent to hers?"

She repeated the words in a low voice, light swirling in her eyes. "Does it mean... like Yue Shen, to regard myself entirely as his person?"

"But then, why did the Young Master speak up for me earlier, warning Yue Shen not to go too far?"

"Was it out of a desire to cherish his feathers? Or..."

She walked to the table and picked up the teacup Zhao Linchuan had only sipped from once. Her fingertips felt the lingering warmth on the cup's surface, and she fell into a long, deep contemplation.

The young man's thoughts seemed even more profound and unfathomable than she had imagined.

As for Yue Shen... having received the young man's full-hearted support, she would likely be reborn very soon.

A sense of urgency, like cold vines, quietly coiled around Yan Fei's heart.

Late at night, inside Yue Shen's room.

When the energy of the final left-leg bone was completely integrated, Yue Shen slowly opened her eyes.

Deep within her pupils, a faint blue moon-wheel seemed to flash and vanish. Her entire aura became increasingly ethereal and cold, her skin glowing with a lustrous sheen, as if a fairy from the Moon Palace had descended to the mortal world.

She gently raised her jade hand, palm upward. With a flicker of her mind, a wisp of pure, icy moonlight condensed out of thin air, floating silently above her palm, swirling and radiating a chilling coldness and mental fluctuations that made one's heart tremble.

"Is this... the all-encompassing sublimation brought by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone?"

Yue Shen felt the surging power within her body. Her meridians had widened tenfold, her bones were as tough as divine metal, her vitality was as vigorous as a dragon or elephant, and her mental power was condensed into substance, vast as an ocean!

She had an illusion that with her current physical strength alone, tempered repeatedly by the soul bone, she would be enough to crush the so-called top expert of the world, Donghuang Taiyi!

She took a deep breath to suppress her excitement and took a God-Bestowed Soul Ring from her storage ring, holding it in her palm.

"My two martial souls are the Lunar Jade Disk and the mental-type body martial soul, the brain."

Yue Shen analyzed calmly, "If I cultivate the body martial soul first, the sudden infusion of such immense mental power—even with my original foundation and the reinforcement of the soul bone—could very likely lead to mental instability and cognitive confusion. The risk is too great."

"To be safe, I should start with the tool-type martial soul, Lunar Jade Disk, and use the God-Bestowed Soul Ring's energy to steadily increase my mental power while solidifying my foundation."

Thinking of this, she did not hesitate. She closed her fingers and gently crushed the God-Bestowed Soul Ring in her palm.

Hum—!

A low, vibrating hum resonated in the room. A torrent of incomparably pure soul power erupted instantly, enveloping her entire being.

A black soul ring phantom slowly emerged beneath her feet. Then, guided by Yue Shen's firm will, the color of the soul ring began to deepen at a speed visible to the naked eye...

She had begun the arduous journey of challenging for a hundred-thousand-year first soul ring...

The next morning, the sun was bright.

Zhao Linchuan, worried that Xiao Wu's identity might be exposed due to the various experts soon to arrive, made an excuse about "taking you to eat a better carrot feast." He half-coaxed and half-dragged the somewhat confused yet expectant Xiao Wu away from Notting Academy and to the mansion in the west of the city.

In the main hall, however, Xiao Wu felt restless.

The moment she stepped into the mansion's perimeter, she vaguely sensed a pressure that made her soul tremble, as if she were being watched, however faintly, by some extremely terrifying existence.

Zhao Linchuan noticed her unease and said gently, "Xiao Wu, don't be afraid. I am the master here. As long as I don't give the word, no one in this house will hurt you."

It would have been better if he hadn't said that; once he did, Xiao Wu became even more frightened. Her small face turned pale, and she subconsciously wanted to slip toward the door.

Just then—

A vast and majestic wave of mental power, like an undercurrent surging up from beneath a calm sea, suddenly spread out from Yue Shen's room!

"Ugh!"

Xiao Wu let out a muffled groan. Under this pure, mental-level pressure, her legs went weak. She couldn't control herself and collapsed to the ground, her petite body trembling slightly. She couldn't even lift her head, as if facing a natural predator.

The next moment, the air in the center of the main hall rippled with a faint blue light, and a slender figure stepped out from within.

The moon-like halo slowly dissipated, revealing Yue Shen's world-shaking, peerless face.

Compared to yesterday, she seemed to have undergone subtle changes.

Her skin was like snow, her brows and eyes were even more exquisitely painted, and her entire being was wrapped in an aura that was cold, detached, and untainted by the world. As her eyes opened and closed, a faint blue luster swirled within them, as if she could see through the human heart.

Having successfully integrated five hundred-thousand-year soul bones and absorbed nine God-Bestowed Soul Rings, her life level and soul power quality had taken a leap forward, and her charm had naturally reached a new height.

Yue Shen glanced indifferently at Xiao Wu, who was trembling on the ground. Her gaze was calm and waveless, without the slightest interest.

A hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form was, in her current eyes, no different in essence from the flowers and grass by the roadside.

She didn't even have the slightest desire to plunder its soul ring or soul bone—what the Young Master bestowed was ten million times better than this.

She shifted her gaze, her lotus steps moving lightly as she came to Zhao Linchuan's side and bowed slightly. "Yue Shen thanks the Young Master for his grace in cultivating me."

"Yue Shen, you seem... to have become even more beautiful." Zhao Linchuan looked her up and down, smiling as he offered the compliment.

This was no hollow flattery; the dual improvement in both her strength and temperament truly allowed Yue Shen to radiate a stunning brilliance.

A faint blush rose to Yue Shen's fair cheeks, adding a touch more allure to her appearance.

She lowered her head slightly, her voice softening, "It is all thanks to the Young Master. Without your generosity, Yue Shen would not be where she is today."

"Enough, there's no need for formalities between us." Zhao Linchuan waved his hand and pointed at Xiao Wu, who was still lying on the ground, not daring to move. "This girl is named Xiao Wu, and she is my personal maid now. Don't frighten her in the future."

Yue Shen glanced at Xiao Wu again, but this time, even the previous indifference was gone; she swept her gaze over the girl as if she were completely inconsequential.

Her horizons had long since expanded; a maid who was a transformed spirit beast?

If the Young Master liked keeping her around, then so be it.

"Understood, Yue Shen acknowledges this." She bowed once more. "Having just emerged from seclusion, I still need to adjust my breathing and stabilize my cultivation realm."

"If the Young Master has any orders, just call out, and Yue Shen will arrive in an instant."

"Mm, go ahead." Zhao Linchuan nodded.

A flash of deep blue moonlight shimmered once more, and Yue Shen's figure seemed to melt into the water, vanishing silently from the main hall, the suffocating spiritual pressure dissipating along with her.