Training Ah Yin, A Couple Who Know Cold and Heat

Inside the attic.

The furnishings were simple: a wooden table, a few wooden chairs, and two wooden beds, all hastily prepared by Zi Nü and Nong Yu.

Zhao Linchuan sat down on a wooden chair, took two torso bones emitting a faint golden luster from his soul tool, and placed them gently on the table, his voice calm.

"These are two 100,000-year torso bones."

"One for each of you. Absorb them once I leave."

Zi Nü and Nong Yu stood before the table, their gazes fixed on the two soul bones, their eyes filled with shock.

100,000-year soul bones, and the most precious torso bones at that, just given away so casually?

Zhao Linchuan watched the expressions on the two women's faces and sighed silently. What they didn't know was that while he appeared generous on the surface, he was actually suffering from a headache.

The system had been rewarding him with nothing but torso bones lately, one after another. If he weren't still keeping his eye on the Deep Sea Demon Whale King—that maritime overlord touted as a million-year soul beast—he would have been unable to resist absorbing one himself.

Zi Nü stepped forward silently, took one of the soul bones, held it in both hands, and bowed slightly. "Many thanks, Young Master."

Nong Yu also stepped forward to take the other, bowing in the same manner, her voice soft. "Many thanks, Young Master."

Zhao Linchuan waved his hand, stood up, and brushed the wrinkles from his robes.

"Dress more beautifully in the future," his gaze swept across their faces. "I will come to see you again in a few days."

He turned around, his gaze passing through the window lattice to rest on the silver-blue figure by the spring.

"As for the one outside, you two should train her well."

"Understood," Zi Nü and Nong Yu replied in unison.

"Alright, I have other matters to attend to, so I won't linger."

After saying this, Zhao Linchuan turned and walked toward the door.

The door was pushed open, and sunlight flooded in, gilding his figure with a layer of gold.

He stepped out of the attic, and with a flash of golden light, the Supreme Ease Golden Edge appeared in his palm, carrying him into the sky.

The tightly shut door was gently closed.

Nong Yu looked down at the 100,000-year torso bone in her hand, which emitted a pale golden glow. After a moment of silence, she couldn't help but speak.

"Sister Zi Nü, I heard that a 70,000-year soul bone is enough to trigger a crisis for an entire kingdom."

"This 100,000-year soul bone, and it's the most precious torso bone at that..."

"If outsiders were to find out about this, wouldn't it topple the regime of the Heaven Dou Empire?"

Her voice carried a hint of daze, as if she were still in a dream.

"Such a precious treasure, he just gives it away as if it were child's play."

Zi Nü looked at the soul bone in her hand and suddenly fell silent.

After a long while, she spoke slowly, her tone complex. "We shall stay here in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well for the time being and go nowhere."

She raised her head, her gaze landing on Nong Yu's face. "When he comes again, we shall dress more beautifully."

"And what about her?" Nong Yu pointed outside the window. "He told us to train her; how should we go about it?"

Zi Nü walked to the window and looked at the figure through the lattice, her tone indifferent.

"We must teach her how to serve others."

"We must also make her discard her hostility and complaints toward him, and then subtly change her views and feelings about him."

"As for the end result... that will depend on when he comes to claim her."

"Oh," Nong Yu replied with a nod. "I understand, Sister Zi Nü..."

Three days later.

Fifty miles east of Spirit City, in a bustling small town.

With the Youth Spirit Master Tournament imminent, this already crowded town was now exceptionally lively.

The streets were packed with people, shoulder to shoulder, and flags of various colors fluttered in the breeze, while the teahouses and taverns were filled with the roar of voices.

In a fabric shop, Yan Lingji and Bibi Dong walked side by side through the aisles. Bibi Dong's gaze swept over the fabrics carelessly, her eyes filled with a hint of confusion.

"Sister Lingji," she couldn't help but ask, her voice full of bewilderment. "Why are we looking at these fabrics?"

"To make a few sets of clothes for my husband," Yan Lingji replied casually.

"Why not just buy clothes directly?" Bibi Dong was even more confused, tilting her head to look at Yan Lingji. "If you don't have money, just take whichever one you like; I can pay for you."

"You don't understand."

Yan Lingji held a bolt of black fabric up to her eyes, examining it repeatedly, checking the texture against the light, and pinching the thickness with her fingers, a gentle smile curling at the corners of her lips.

"As the old saying goes, a wife who knows when her husband is cold or warm is a true partner."

"How can store-bought clothes compare to the weight of something made by hand?"

"Is there really such an old saying?" Bibi Dong scratched her head, looking blank. "How come I've never heard of it?"

She thought for a moment, then leaned in closer, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Yan Lingji, her tone filled with a mix of anticipation and pleading.

"Sister Lingji, are you very good at making clothes? Could you teach me?"

"Sure."

Yan Lingji replied, then turned to look at the shopkeeper behind the counter, who had already put on a beaming smile, and pointed to several bolts of fabric she had selected.

"This one, this one, and that one... give me two bolts of each to take with me."

"I want twenty of each!"

Bibi Dong suddenly spoke up, her voice crisp and loud, startling the shopkeeper.

She casually pulled a black card from her soul tool and slapped it onto the counter with a sharp "clack."

"I want the best!"

The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment, then his joy overflowed, the wrinkles on his face blooming into a wide grin.

He agreed repeatedly, scrambling to pack everything up while muttering, "One moment, honored guest, it will be ready right away."

Watching Bibi Dong's "money is no object" display of grandeur, Yan Lingji shook her head helplessly and muttered under her breath.

"A silly child from the Pope Hall."

"Sister Lingji, what did you say?"

"Nothing."

Yan Lingji withdrew her gaze and said casually:

"Let's pack the things up and leave quickly; Zhao Linchuan is back."

"Oh, oh..."

Bibi Dong hurriedly responded, swiftly stowing the bolts of fabric packed by the shopkeeper into her storage soul tool, and followed closely behind.

An hour later.

Spirit City, Consecration Hall.

According to the original plan, Zhao Linchuan and the others were supposed to split into two groups.

He and Yan Lingji were to go to the Consecration Hall to "report" to Golden Crocodile, while Bibi Dong was to return to the Pope Hall to report the recent situation to Qian Xunji.

However, with a single excuse of being "shy," Yan Lingji had insisted on dragging Bibi Dong along to the Consecration Hall.

At this moment, inside the Consecration Hall, at Golden Crocodile's residence.

It was a spacious and simple hall, devoid of excessive decoration, featuring only a few antique pieces of furniture and a scroll hanging on the wall that read—"Peerless Under Heaven."

The brushwork was vigorous and powerful, with iron-like strokes and silver-hooked curves, clearly the work of a master.

Golden Crocodile sat upright in the main seat, his back as straight as a pine, his expression resolute, the sharpness of his youth still faintly visible between his brows.

He held a tightly sealed jade box in his hands, his gaze fixed on the lid, remaining silent for a long time.

Zhao Linchuan and the others stood in the lower seats; Yan Lingji stood quietly by Zhao Linchuan's side, while Bibi Dong stood properly on the other side, eyes fixed on her nose and heart on her breath, looking uncharacteristically well-behaved.