Returning to the Qiangu Clan's Stronghold

This immortality wasn't absolute, but for Chen Zhou, it was already incredibly rare.

Unless one could vaporize Chen Zhou in an instant, reducing him to specks of light scattered across the sky.

And unless one could bypass his physical form to destroy the two great origins within his body, killing him would be an arduous task.

Furthermore, the second soul skill he had mastered—or rather, the second soul skill Chen Lengjing had bestowed upon him—was also a formidable ability.

Chen Zhou's second soul skill was named Twilight Rain Entanglement. It was a low-tier domain-type soul skill that allowed him to control the precipitation in his surroundings, enabling him to command any seawater within the water screen as his own.

For other water-attribute soul masters, this ability would, at best, increase their home-field advantage and form a rudimentary domain.

However, for Chen Zhou, if he replaced ordinary water flow with seawater from the Primordial Sea, or with the Water of Destruction and life, every droplet would possess immense healing or destructive power.

With such a conversion, it became either a large-scale healing ability or a large-scale destructive one.

Moreover, the range was quite extensive, effective within a circular radius of about 100 meters around him.

Once Chen Zhou advanced to a ten-thousand-year soul ring, this range might even reach 500 meters.

That was already a significant area.

Within this range, Chen Zhou could swap positions using the water droplets.

Relying on his mastery of the water element, he could achieve near-teleportation within this space.

Chen Zhou was quite satisfied with both this second authority and the second soul skill, especially the latter.

He could clearly feel his connection to the Primordial Sea beginning to deepen, to the point where he could even exert effortless control over it.

Although the true seawater of the Primordial Sea still could not enter, this was already remarkably powerful.

Watching Chen Zhou wake, Su Xin remained silent.

She understood that their Young Tower Master must be sensing his soul skills, though the changes brought about by his integration of this second soul skill were somewhat terrifying.

It wasn't until Chen Zhou stood up after about ten minutes of contemplation that Su Xin looked at him and asked, "Young Tower Master, how are you feeling? Do you require any treatment or a check-up?"

As Su Xin spoke, her eyes held a trace of genuine concern.

Glancing at Su Xin, Chen Zhou shook his head. "I'm fine, Sister Su Xin. Don't wake the little girl; I'm leaving right now. Just take me to the high-speed rail station."

"Understood, Young Tower Master. Please, follow me."

As Su Xin spoke, she glanced toward the neighboring room, recalling that Na'er had asked her yesterday to wake her in the morning so she could bid Chen Zhou farewell.

However, given Chen Zhou's declaration, Su Xin felt a sense of helplessness.

After all, Chen Zhou was the highest priority for her service, and she had to follow his instructions above all else.

Sigh, I hope Miss Na'er won't blame me. It's only four or five days; the Young Tower Master should be back by then.

Su Xin muttered to herself before stepping out of the room to contact the driver.

The coordination was swift; although it was not yet 7:00 AM, the drivers were on 24-hour standby with rotating shifts, so someone was always available.

However, as Chen Zhou sat in the car with his prepared breakfast, he was surprised to find Chen Mo already there.

Looking at this opportunistic teacher of his, Chen Zhou blinked but remained silent, simply sitting quietly to the side.

Chen Mo also remained silent, though his gaze fell upon his prized disciple from time to time.

Throughout the journey, Chen Zhou ate his meal, feeling somewhat dazed.

He had expected Chen Mo to ask questions; after all, he had been here for less than a month and had already reached the second ring—a speed of cultivation that could only be described as monstrous.

He thought Chen Mo would press him for details, but Chen Mo didn't say a word from start to finish.

It wasn't until they reached the station and he prepared to get out of the car that Chen Mo gently reached out to fasten a button on Chen Zhou's coat that hadn't been secured properly.

"Don't be nervous after returning to the Spirit Pagoda. See them if you can, and if you don't want to, just avoid them."

"If you can swindle some things out of them when you get back, then do so. If you can't, it doesn't matter; I'll continue finding thousand-year and ten-thousand-year medicinal herbs for you."

"Your teacher may not be much of a backer, but as long as I'm here, no one will be able to bully you."

"If those brothers of yours beat you up again, just fight back. If you can't win, come back and tell me, and I'll arrange for someone to beat them up for you."

Chen Mo's voice was calm, but his words made Chen Zhou's nose sting.

He looked silently at his teacher, opening his mouth to say something, but Chen Mo had already patted his shoulder.

"Go on, there's nothing to worry about. I know you don't want to see those brothers, but the orders of the Qiangu Clan are hard to defy."

"I've already spoken with a senior; she will come to find you once you arrive. If you have any problems within the Spirit Pagoda, you can contact her."

After saying this, Chen Mo handed a piece of paper to Chen Zhou before watching him step out of the car.

Chen Zhou's footsteps felt heavy. He wanted to turn back and look at Chen Mo, but his feet moved subconsciously toward the station entrance.

His expression was uncharacteristically somber, and as he looked at the slip of paper in his hand, he felt a loss of direction.

He felt a heavy surge of emotion rising within his heart, yet Chen Zhou did not know how to express it.

Whether in his previous life or this one, he had grown accustomed to carrying everything on his own, to achieving his goals alone.

This sudden display of concern from Chen Mo left him feeling unsettled.

As he walked into the high-speed rail station, the figure dressed in black stood out prominently—it was the same man in black who had brought him here previously.

The man in black bowed slightly toward him. "Greetings, Young Master Qiangu Qingzhou."

"Please, come with me; I shall escort you back to the Spirit Pagoda headquarters."

The black-clad youth spoke while bowing once more.

Chen Zhou remained silent for a moment before slowly following behind him, the two of them entering the high-speed rail station together.

It was the familiar business class, the familiar silent environment.

Only now, Chen Zhou's expression had calmed significantly, and the trace of bewilderment in his eyes had been replaced by determination.

When he left before, he had departed as an orphan with no father or mother.

But upon returning this time, regardless of how many fathers or mothers the other side might have, none of those who had bullied him before would get off easy.

If reaching the two-ring level at age nine was called a top-tier genius, then reaching it at six and a half was a peerless monster.

Chen Zhou did not believe that anyone in the Qiangu Clan possessed a cheat as potent as his own—a hack even more powerful than a system—that would allow them to achieve such formidable strength at such a tender age.

If there was no one else, those a year or two older than him, even if they possessed two-ring strength, could just wait to be beaten up by him upon his return.