When he opened his eyes again, he was sitting on the sofa in his room, while Jing Hongchen sat beside him, watching him warily.
"Grandpa, it's all right now."
Hearing his grandson's familiar voice, Jing Hongchen's taut nerves finally relaxed.
He let out a long breath. Just now, Electrolux had merely swept his gray eyes over him, yet the terrifying pressure had nearly left him unable to breathe.
His Spiritual Power wasn't particularly impressive among Titled Douluo. If he hadn't been wearing a Soul Tool that could defend against Spiritual Power attacks, he might have fallen unconscious.
"Good, as long as you're all right." Jing Hongchen's voice still held a trace of lingering fear. "Next time... you won't let him come out whenever he wants, will you? That fellow is terrifying."
Xiao Hongchen rubbed his temples and smiled wryly.
"No. I've opened a Second Sea of Consciousness now. Without my permission, he can't control my body."
Only then did Jing Hongchen fully relax. He looked his grandson over, then suddenly frowned.
"When you fused with that blade, quite a lot of impurities were expelled from your body. Go wash up—you're covered in sweat."
Xiao Hongchen looked down and only then noticed the gray-black stains covering his clothes. A faint, fishy stench still lingered in the air—the residue left behind after the Gold of Life had forcibly expelled the impurities from his body.
He rose with a wry smile.
"Got it. I'll take a shower."
In the bathroom, hot water streamed down over him.
Xiao Hongchen stood beneath the showerhead, letting the warm water wash away the grime.
His physical constitution and body strength had both increased several times over. All his joints seemed incredibly supple. When he twisted his head backward, his neck could turn almost a hundred and eighty degrees. He lifted his right leg behind him and could kick himself in the head with ease.
That was just plain weird, you know?
On top of that, the Soul Power circulating through his body flowed more smoothly than ever. His vitality and Spiritual Power had also increased by leaps and bounds. It was as though he had undergone a complete rebirth.
After washing up, Xiao Hongchen didn't rest right away. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the bed and entered a state of Deep Meditation.
Ten days later, the morning sun spilled into the room through the curtains.
Xiao Hongchen slowly opened his eyes and let out a long breath of stale air.
The results of this meditation had exceeded his expectations. His Soul Power had risen straight from the late stages of level forty-six to level forty-eight!
"Woohoo!" Xiao Hongchen let out a whoop. Fusing with the Gold of Life really was wonderful.
"Cough, cough."
A familiar cough came from beside him. Xiao Hongchen's whoop cut off abruptly. Jing Hongchen was sitting in a chair by the bed, keeping watch over him.
"Grandpa? You've been here the whole time?"
Jing Hongchen didn't answer. He simply poured a cup of warm tea from the table and handed it to him.
Xiao Hongchen took it. As he lowered his head to drink, a warm current flowed through his heart.
He decided to transfer some of the Gold of Life's vitality to Jing Hongchen.
"Have you thought this through?" Electrolux's aged voice sounded in his mind.
"The Gold of Life's vitality can indeed extend the lifespan of someone his age and heal old injuries. But you've only just completed the fusion, and the Eye of Life hasn't stabilized yet. Transferring vitality now will take a considerable toll on you."
Xiao Hongchen didn't hesitate in the slightest.
Electrolux fell silent for a moment. "Then do it."
"Grandpa, how long have you been stuck at level ninety-three?"
Jing Hongchen's brows twitched slightly, but he didn't answer.
He had been at the peak of level ninety-three for nearly ten years. Even with a deep foundation to draw on, he should have broken through long ago.
But nine years ago, his son and daughter-in-law had both died in an accident in the laboratory. At the time, he had only just secured his position as Master of Mingde Hall and had been busy seeking gains for the Hongchen Family. Their deaths dealt him a devastating blow.
On top of that, the medicinal residue from the drugs he had taken in his youth had settled deep in his meridians. Combined with the unique constitution of people from the Sun Moon Empire, all these factors made it understandable that he couldn't break through.
And that wasn't all. Xiao Hongchen remembered that, in the original story, Jing Hongchen's cultivation hadn't advanced at all over the following ten years. It had even regressed.
Indeed, the more glorious the Hongchen Family's rise had been, the more tragic its fall.
Not only had Huo Yuhao stolen Experimental Subject No. 1, along with a large quantity of rare metals and blueprints, but later, Xiao Hongchen had been beaten to the brink of death by Huo Yuhao, who had cheated. After barely surviving, the entire Mingde Hall and Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy had been destroyed in the great explosion at Ming Capital. In the end, Jing Hongchen was sent to Heaven Dou City, completely removed from the center of power.
Xiao Hongchen reached out and took the hand his grandfather had resting on his knee.
"What I fused with recently is called the Gold of Life. It can give Soul Masters pure vitality," he said softly.
"I know you have many old injuries, in every sense of the word. So I'm going to transfer some of the Gold of Life's vitality to you."
Jing Hongchen said nothing. He looked down at the hand his grandson held.
Xiao Hongchen closed his eyes.
A thin green line of light appeared at the center of his forehead. Then a jade-green carving knife—or, more accurately, the Blade of Life's Watch—slowly emerged from the newly opened vertical eye between his brows.
At Xiao Hongchen's command, a gentle stream of vitality flowed from the Blade of Life's Watch and passed into Jing Hongchen through their clasped hands.
That vitality nourished Jing Hongchen's meridians, slowly healing the hidden injuries that had accumulated over most of his life.
After an unknown stretch of time, Xiao Hongchen let go.
His face was a shade paler than before, and fine beads of sweat dotted his temples.
The change in Jing Hongchen was even more obvious.
He had already regained his youth when he broke through to Titled Douluo, fixing his appearance at its prime. But now his complexion was even better. It wasn't a matter of looking younger; it was the vitality radiating from within. His lifespan had increased by at least twenty years.
At the same time, a powerful wave of Soul Power surged from Jing Hongchen's body. Level ninety-four!
Jing Hongchen opened his eyes.
His face filled with irrepressible joy. After all these years, he had finally taken another step forward.
He didn't say thank you. He simply reached out and patted Xiao Hongchen on the shoulder.
Xiao Hongchen was just as excited. If Grandpa was strong, then he was strong too. Before this, Jing Hongchen had been able to trade blows with Xuan Zi and Du Busi.
Now, with his old injuries gone and his vitality restored, Jing Hongchen's endurance in a prolonged battle had increased by at least thirty percent. Even Xuan Zi would have a hard time defeating him outright.
"Then I'll head out first, Grandpa."
Xiao Hongchen wanted to leave his grandfather some space to take it all in. Besides, he hadn't eaten for more than a week, and after what he had just done, his stomach was already growling.
He hurried out through the hotel room door and wolfed down a huge meal in the dining room.
When he was about half full, a white figure sat down across from him.
"Whose pig got loose?"
Xiao Hongchen didn't even need to look to know Meng Hongchen was teasing him.
He raised his head and stared expressionlessly at the silver-haired girl resting her chin on her hands across from him.
"I'm sorry your tongue is so sharp."
"What are you talking about? Then I'm sorry you're arrogant, slow, greedy, lazy, and vain—and that you broke my Flight Soul Tool and said you were 'helping me test its maximum performance'..." Meng Hongchen blinked and paused for breath. "I'm sorry about all that, too."
"You're invincible, Meng."
Xiao Hongchen was at a loss for words. He hadn't expected his sister to master that all on her own.
"You're the one who's invincible. You made us wait a whole ten days. Do you know how my sister Guyi and I spent those ten days?"
"How'd you spend them?" Xiao Hongchen didn't particularly want to know, but he still played along.
"We had to endure the pain of not being able to return to the academy, so we toured all the sights in Star Luo City. Ah, how tragic."
Meng Hongchen pressed both hands to her chest and tipped her head back. Her silver-white hair fell around her as her voice took on the tragic tone of a stage-play heroine.
"...That sounds pretty fulfilling."
"What's so fulfilling about it?" Meng Hongchen prodded her plate with her chopsticks. "Without my brother there to carry things, sightseeing wasn't any fun."
Xiao Hongchen's mouth twitched.
So the point wasn't the sightseeing. It was that she didn't have anyone to carry her bags.
Before you continue