Xiao Xiao and Dong'er Confront

Electrolux's tone carried a hint of amusement:

"Besides, even if I didn't intervene, you could have run to a safe distance before the explosion."

"You wouldn't have been hurt, would you?"

Jiang Ci'an did not refute this, but he still earnestly insisted, "Regardless, I must thank you, Senior."

Electrolux shook his head slightly, his smile deepening.

"You don't need to test me like this."

He looked at Jiang Ci'an, his eyes deep and piercing, confirming his suspicion:

"Little friend... you know me, don't you?"

"..."

Jiang Ci'an was silent for a moment.

So... he had been exposed?

Should he have expected anything less from Electrolux, the man who single-handedly overturned the entire Golden Age of the Throne of Seal world?

He sighed inwardly, choosing not to deny it, and nodded.

"Yes."

It was crisp and clean, without any unnecessary explanation.

Electrolux nodded slightly, as if he had long anticipated this answer, and followed up:

"Using high heat to stimulate the Gold of Life and trigger its life energy—was that also to draw me out?"

"That's right."

Jiang Ci'an remained direct and concise.

Electrolux looked at him, his gaze carrying a touch of appreciation.

"It was certainly difficult for you."

Setting aside the fact that he felt no malice from this youth, the mere act of daring to manipulate the Gold of Life while knowing its true value was enough to earn his respect.

As for knowing him, it wasn't a major issue; after all, since his death, his complete soul had been scattered into thousands of fragments. Perhaps this child had encountered one of them and thus learned a few things about him.

There was nothing worth digging into further.

Besides...

Electrolux pondered silently.

Deep within the boy's heart, he sensed a hidden, familiar trace of hatred.

It was neither intense nor ostentatious, yet it was real—just like his own had once been.

Since he had encountered the boy, he felt he should guide him properly to prevent him from taking an extreme path.

Electrolux slowly raised his hand, and the Gold of Life, sealed by golden chains, floated in front of Jiang Ci'an.

At this moment, the Gold of Life still largely retained the shape of a carving knife, though its edges had softened slightly and its surface was somewhat deformed—all traces left by the high-temperature calcination.

However, the life force within remained rich, and emerald light seeped through the gaps in the golden chains, carrying a warmth that calmed the mind.

Electrolux looked at the Gold of Life in his palm and spoke slowly.

"The Gold of Life is essentially a solid, purified form of life force. Its quality is extremely high, as I'm sure you are aware."

"Although it seemed to release a significant amount of life energy after being stimulated by the heat, in reality, that was merely a drop in the bucket compared to the whole, and the quality of the released energy was not particularly high."

"While I absorbed that portion of life energy to briefly stabilize my remnant soul, it is not enough to stabilize this fragment completely."

"Therefore, I intend to use this Gold of Life to open the Eye of Life for you, after which I will reside within it. What do you think?"

Jiang Ci'an barely hesitated.

"That is acceptable."

Electrolux nodded slightly and asked, "Then, without further delay, shall we begin now?"

Jiang Ci'an was about to nod, but suddenly thought of something and paused.

"Could we wait a while before starting?"

Electrolux looked at Jiang Ci'an, inquiring.

"I need to head home first, so my family doesn't worry," Jiang Ci'an explained.

He always prepared contingency plans for his actions, including how to handle the aftermath should something happen to him.

Although he was perfectly fine now and those plans were unnecessary, he still needed to return early to avoid his childhood sweetheart worrying—that would be a real headache...

Electrolux watched Jiang Ci'an for a moment, his expression showing a hint of surprise, before he nodded, his tone carrying a touch of approval:

"Very well."

A short while later, Shrek City, the backyard of Ping'an Pharmacy.

In Jiang Ci'an's room, the air suddenly rippled slightly. A grey door manifested out of thin air and swung open silently, revealing a deep, abyssal darkness within.

The next moment, Jiang Ci'an stepped out from that darkness.

He glanced around his room, then turned to watch the door behind him slowly close, dissolving into specks of grey light that vanished into the air.

Jiang Ci'an withdrew his gaze, a faint sense of wonder stirring in his heart.

Spatial abilities were truly useful.

By using the Undead Demi-plane as a transit point to open a door directly to his room, a distance that would have taken an hour by carriage now took only a few seconds.

It was as simple as opening and closing his eyes.

He truly wanted to learn such a convenient ability.

Hmm... when he needed to obtain his third or fourth soul ring, he could try hunting a spatial-attribute soul beast.

As for how his "World Modulation Mode" martial soul would "magically modify" such a spatial soul ring...

That was worth looking forward to.

Jiang Ci'an collected his thoughts, pushed the door open, and stepped out, intending to see where Xiao Xiao was.

Then, he froze.

In the spacious training ground, two small figures were confronting each other.

No, perhaps "confronting" wasn't quite accurate.

Xiao Xiao stood on the ground, holding one Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron in one hand by her side, while two more hovered above her head. The cauldrons radiated a faint black glow of Soul Power, looking heavy and imposing at a glance.

Her other hand was pointed toward the sky, her small face taut, her emerald eyes filled with defiance as she shouted in a crisp, loud voice.

"If you have the guts, come down here!"

High above, a pair of brilliant butterfly wings unfurled from Wang Dong'er's back. Golden patterns flowed across the wings, refracting a seven-colored luster.

She hovered in mid-air, wings flapping gently, looking down at Xiao Xiao with guarded eyes, responding with equal stubbornness.

"If you have the guts, come up here!"

"You come down!"

"You come up!"

"..."

The two of them went back and forth, locked in a stalemate, neither willing to yield a single step.

Jiang Ci'an watched this scene, silent for a long while.

He closed the door.

Staring at the mahogany door before him, he paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and then pushed it open once more.

On the training ground, Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong'er were still at a standoff.

"You come down!"

"You come up!"

Jiang Ci'an's brow twitched, and he fell into a profound silence.

Had he really been baked out of his mind by the Sun Furnace to the point of hallucinating? How could he see his own Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong'er fighting?

The sight was truly hard to process, leaving Jiang Ci'an momentarily dazed.

In the distance, Xiao Xiao, who had been puffing out her cheeks while glaring up at Wang Dong'er, caught a glimpse of the figure standing in the doorway.

Xiao Xiao's eyes lit up instantly. She tossed the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron aside, the defiance on her small face vanishing, replaced by a look of pleasant surprise.

"Ci'an!"

The crisp voice brought Jiang Ci'an back to his senses.

Seeing the smile on Xiao Xiao's face, Jiang Ci'an smiled back, though he felt a touch of inexplicable helplessness.

Right.

Confirmed: it wasn't a hallucination.