If having the strength of a two- or three-ring Soul Master at around nine years old was still considered normal,
then having the strength of a three- or even four-ring Soul Master at six years old was anything but normal.
It was a case of a tree that stood out in the forest being battered by the wind. Whether within the Qiangu Clan or elsewhere, people would take aim at Chen Zhou.
Chen Zhou was a genius. The Qiangu Clan would do everything they could to nurture him and help him become a powerful figure who could protect the clan.
But if Chen Zhou became eligible to compete for the position of clan head, then the main branch would immediately try to kill him—and spare no effort in doing so.
Chen Zhou could foresee this, so he didn't continue cultivating. Instead, he studied forging techniques.
Before leaving, he hadn't asked Mu Chen for the subsequent forging techniques, but he hadn't fully mastered the knowledge Laite had taught him, either.
So now he was working to understand the forging knowledge Laite had previously passed on to him.
In particular, completing Hundred Refinement directly through the Water of Destruction would make the forging process much faster and, of course, much more powerful. That was exactly what Chen Zhou needed.
The night passed quickly.
The next morning, Chen Zhou was summoned straight away. The man in black who came for him was a special subordinate of the Spirit Pagoda's upper echelons, someone ordinary people couldn't mobilize.
Only a handful of high-ranking officials could send men like him.
The man told him that someone wanted to see him, which left Chen Zhou somewhat bewildered.
It wasn't until he followed the man to the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters that Chen Zhou realized the person who had summoned him probably wasn't a high-ranking member of the Qiangu Clan. It had to be someone else.
Thinking of the note his teacher had given him, as well as the sensitive nature of his position at the Spirit Pagoda in Eastsea City, he could almost guess who it was.
They took the elevator to the top floor of the Spirit Pagoda. This was the highest floor, where the offices were. Only the Spirit Pagoda Master and a few vice masters were entitled to come here.
Chen Zhou entered a vast hall and walked for a long while before reaching a secluded spot and slowly opening a door.
It was a massive door with a gilded sheen, and it looked somewhat ancient. Judging by its location and the status it suggested, it was no place for an elder.
The man in black stood respectfully by the entrance. A few minutes later, the door slowly opened, and he gestured for Chen Zhou to go in.
Chen Zhou looked at the gilded door and fell silent for a moment before slowly stepping inside.
The first thing he saw was a huge office, roughly two hundred square meters in size.
But the office was in complete disarray. All sorts of files had been tossed about haphazardly, while a woman sat behind the massive desk at the back.
The woman had long, fiery red hair, and a hint of coldness in her eyes.
She had her legs propped up on the desk. When Chen Zhou walked in, she raised her head slightly and looked at him.
"You're Qiangu Qingzhou, a collateral descendant of the Qiangu Clan? The disciple of Silence?"
The woman spoke bluntly, making no effort to hide her tone. Chen Zhou was only momentarily taken aback by the sight of her before giving a slight nod.
"Greetings, senior. I am indeed Silence's disciple and a collateral descendant of the Qiangu Clan. May I ask who you are, senior, and why you summoned me?"
As he spoke, Chen Zhou kept his head lowered, appearing both extremely cautious and respectful.
He naturally knew who the woman was, but playing dumb was the best approach.
Sure enough, the woman glanced at him. Seeing his bewildered expression, she only gave a soft click of her tongue.
"You certainly have talent. Silence said he used several ten-thousand-year-old spirit herbs on you?"
"And, with some special methods, your Martial Soul being rather unique allowed him to get you to the second ring in a short time."
The woman paused. She didn't believe a word of it.
But before Chen Zhou could say anything, she continued on her own.
"You've got quite the talent. I'm giving you this opportunity. Whether you succeed or not, your age and talent alone are enough to disgust that old bastard Qiangu Dongfeng."
As she spoke, the woman smiled faintly, a wicked grin spreading across her otherwise cold face.
Chen Zhou felt a chill at the sight. Especially since she had mentioned Qiangu Dongfeng, it was obvious this had something to do with the current Spirit Pagoda Master.
This wasn't good news for Chen Zhou. The woman's offer sounded like a stroke of fortune,
but this opportunity seemed to come at the price of offending the Spirit Pagoda Master and the main branch.
Anyone else would surely have been intimidated, perhaps even unwilling to accept. But Chen Zhou didn't particularly care about Qiangu Dongfeng.
If he wanted to take control of the Spirit Pagoda, it might actually be better to reach an understanding with this woman.
Given her status and strength, if she supported him from behind the scenes, taking the position of Spirit Pagoda Master would be much easier.
"Please explain, senior. I don't quite understand what you mean."
Chen Zhou cupped his hands as he spoke. His expression hadn't changed in the slightest—not a trace of displeasure, nor any sign of delight.
Looking at the young man before her, who remained unruffled by either favor or disgrace, Leng Yaozhu slowly lowered her legs from the desk and stood up, staring directly at him.
"A few of us came up with a little game. Within one hour, whoever's disciple kills the most Soul Beasts in the Riot Spirit Ascension Platform and earns the most points gets to choose a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone."
"They all have disciples, so I've decided to send you. You can probably guess the purpose of this competition: it's to give that piece of Soul Bone to Qiangu Dongfeng's grandson."
Leng Yaozhu was quite frank about it. She didn't have any disciples herself, so it made no difference to her whom she sent.
The reward was the chance to choose a Soul Bone that was over a hundred thousand years old from the Spirit Pagoda's treasury.
Even in the Spirit Pagoda, Soul Bones over a hundred thousand years old were rare. A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone could only possibly be obtained by killing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
And despite the rapid development of the Star Dou Great Forest, very few Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts had been killed.
So the number of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bones in the Spirit Pagoda's possession had to be very limited.
At this thought, Chen Zhou's eyes flickered. Naturally, he wanted a Soul Bone, too.
But neither he nor Neuvillette could create something like a Soul Bone out of thin air, so he still had to find a way to acquire one.
And once he had a Soul Bone, Neuvillette might be able to help him modify it.
Sure enough, just as Chen Zhou was pondering, Neuvillette's voice rang out in his mind.
[You can go and fight for it aggressively. Soul Bones should be connected to the way the laws of your world operate.]
[Once you obtain a sufficiently powerful Soul Bone, I can apply the relevant laws of Hydro to it.]
[That will grant you additional enhancements or special abilities while preserving the Soul Bone's original power—and might even amplify it.]