Tang Yuehua stared fixedly at the three Soul Rings, especially the purple one. Her beautiful eyes were full of disbelief.
Innate Soul Power of level 0.5... could someone really break through level thirty?
This completely overturned everything she knew about cultivation.
"You..."
Tang Yuehua's voice trembled violently. She instinctively took a step back, then stopped abruptly. Drawing a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down.
She looked at Yang Fan, her voice shaking slightly. "You really weren't lying to me... Is there really a way?"
Yang Fan smiled faintly and withdrew his Soul Rings.
Looking at Tang Yuehua's reddened eyes, he said softly, "Lady Yuehua, if you're willing to agree to my terms, I'll do everything I can to help you."
Tang Yuehua didn't answer right away. She lowered her head and looked at her slightly trembling hands.
These hands had once brushed over the ancient zither countless times, playing the most beautiful melodies in Heaven Dou City.
But only she knew how, whenever night fell and all was quiet, she longed to use these hands to release Soul Power of her own—even if it were only a little.
"Fine."
After a long while, she finally raised her head, a resolute glint in her eyes. "I believe you."
Yang Fan nodded and stepped in front of her. "Then... forgive me for what I'm about to do."
Tang Yuehua paused, but before she could react, Yang Fan had already reached out and gently taken hold of her wrist.
His palm was warm, carrying a faint, peculiar fluctuation of Soul Power. The energy flowed slowly along her meridians, like a warm current, coursing through her body in an instant.
"Ah..."
Tang Yuehua couldn't help letting out a soft cry, and her cheeks instantly flushed crimson.
That Soul Power was so gentle, yet it carried an indescribable invasiveness, as if it meant to envelop her entirely.
She instinctively tried to pull her hand away, only to find that Yang Fan hadn't let go. Instead, he tightened his grip slightly.
"Your meridians..." Yang Fan murmured, a trace of surprise in his voice. "They're even more fragile and clogged than I expected."
Tang Yuehua's heart skipped a beat. She instinctively tried to cover it up, but he continued, "If you'd used century-old Whale Rubber to clear and temper your meridians before you turned ten, while they were still unfixed, you might have broken through. But now..."
She fell silent for a moment, then finally said softly, "Thank you... So it really can't be done after all."
Only then did Yang Fan let go of her hand. He stood up and looked at her slightly pale face. "Don't worry. We just need a more aggressive method. This place... isn't suitable."
Tang Yuehua thought it over. They had already come this far, so she might as well give it a try. Besides, she still hadn't given him the Sinking Silver, so Yang Fan probably wouldn't do anything to her.
With that, she turned and headed for the inner room.
Yang Fan paused, surprised by how decisively Tang Yuehua had acted. But she had already lifted the bead curtain and disappeared behind the screen.
Yang Fan drew a deep breath and followed at an unhurried pace.
The inner room was furnished with exquisite taste. Soft brocade covers lay across the sandalwood bed, and the air was filled with the faint scent of calming incense.
Tang Yuehua was already seated beside the bed. Seeing Yang Fan enter, she said softly, "Sit. What should I do now?"
"Don't move." Yang Fan's voice sounded beside her ear, low and gentle. "Relax. Feel this power."
Tang Yuehua bit her lower lip and forced herself to close her eyes.
She could feel a searing, vital Soul Power flowing through her meridians. Whenever it reached a clogged node, it gave a gentle tremor, gradually shattering the impurities that had blocked it for decades.
The process wasn't painful. Instead, it carried a strange, tingling sensation. Her breathing gradually grew quick, and a fine sheen of sweat appeared on her forehead.
Yang Fan's Soul Power delved deeper and deeper. She could feel that it was gathering toward her dantian, as if searching for something.
"Your Martial Soul..." Yang Fan's voice grew somewhat low. "It's a noble's halo mutated from the Clear Sky Hammer, right?"
Tang Yuehua's body stiffened, panic flashing through her eyes. She rarely revealed her Martial Soul to others; after all, it was a source of pain for her. Yet Yang Fan had actually...
Yang Fan's Soul Power suddenly softened, like a pair of gentle hands tenderly brushing over her chest.
"I was only confirming it so I can tailor the treatment that follows. Next, take this piece of thousand-year Whale Rubber."
Tang Yuehua had already missed the best time for treatment. Century-old Whale Rubber wouldn't be effective enough, while ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber would be too potent. Even the thousand-year kind would require a special method to use.
Tang Yuehua obediently swallowed the warm Whale Rubber Yang Fan handed her.
In an instant, an incredibly domineering wave of heat plunged down her throat. Her skin, white as jade, flushed visibly, and even her breathing grew ragged.
"Mm~"
Tang Yuehua couldn't help letting out a helpless, low moan. Her forehead glistened with fine beads of sweat.
"Hold on."
Yang Fan shouted and activated Spring Breeze Blows and Regenerates.
An overwhelming surge of vital energy welled out of him, like spring rain falling after a long drought, instantly enveloping Tang Yuehua.
She could feel Yang Fan's breath beside her ear. His warm breath brushed her cheek, making her heart race uncontrollably.
But life force alone wasn't enough.
The medicinal power of the thousand-year Whale Rubber was still too fierce for Tang Yuehua. Without an external force to suppress and guide it, the energy couldn't be refined at all.
Yang Fan's Second Soul Ring flashed.
In an instant, an incredibly pure crimson flame rose from his palm, perfectly controlled. It gave off no scorching heat; instead, it carried a peculiar warmth and gentleness.
Under Yang Fan's terrifyingly powerful control of his mental strength, these two forces—which should have repelled each other—miraculously blended together.
He pressed both hands against Tang Yuehua's soft, flat lower abdomen and poured the special Soul Power, infused with both vitality and searing heat, into her without reservation.
"Mm!"
As that special Soul Power entered her body, Tang Yuehua's entire body tensed.
She felt as if two entirely different torrents had surged through her at once, frantically repairing and nourishing the meridians that had withered and clogged because of her Martial Soul Mutation.
Meanwhile, the warm fire element seized the medicinal power of the Whale Rubber and slammed into the invisible barrier that had tormented her for more than twenty years!
Pain! A pain that pierced to the marrow!
Her meridians were forcibly widened, torn apart, then instantly healed beneath the shroud of life force.
The agony was so extreme that Tang Yuehua nearly crushed her teeth.
She clutched the soft couch beneath her, her nails even leaving deep white marks in the wood. Her beautiful eyes, usually as gentle as still water, were now bloodshot and brimming with tears of pain.
"Hang in there! The medicinal power is breaking through your bottleneck!"
Yang Fan's voice sounded beside her ear. Sweat had also appeared on his forehead; maintaining the fusion of these two elements was taking a tremendous toll on his mental strength.
Tang Yuehua struggled through the pain to raise her head and look at the focused man before her. She could clearly feel the hands pressed against her lower abdomen pouring into her a power that could change her fate.
"I... I can do this..."
This might be my only chance in this life to become a Soul Master.
As a woman, Tang Yuehua had built Moonlight Pavilion in Heaven Dou City despite having less Soul Power than a Soul Master. Her will was clearly formidable. Even though the pain made her wish she were dead, she still gritted her teeth and endured.