A Soul Ancestor's Physique

The next day, at dawn.

After finishing his morning exercise, Ling Yi led Ah Yin, who had come looking for him, to the warehouse.

In the large warehouse, within the "Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Diagram," standing on a black and white stone platform, Ah Yin appeared dazed, her eyes unfocused.

At the same time, a huge phantom of "Blue Silver Grass" appeared behind Ah Yin, growing larger and larger, with its aura gradually becoming stronger.

After instructing Ah Huang and Meow Meow to guard the place, Ling Yi turned and left, heading towards his own courtyard.

Not long after returning to the courtyard, Li Zhishu knocked on the gate.

"Old Li, come in quickly."

In a corner of the courtyard, under the "Drunken Peach Tree," Ling Yi fiddled with the tea set in his hands while inviting Li Zhishu, who was standing at the door, to join him.

It was March, the season when peach blossoms were in full bloom. A gentle breeze carried the fragrance of the flowers throughout the courtyard, while the Iron Birch Tree, Fire-Patterned Parasol Tree, and Golden Thread Jujube Tree a dozen meters away complemented each other beautifully.

Even in the small pond in the southeast corner, although the lotus flowers have not yet bloomed, the green lotus leaves are still full of vitality.

"Sit."

Ling Yi stood up and poured Li Zhishu, and the aroma of tea filled the air.

Li Zhishu picked up his teacup, sipped the scalding tea, turned his head to look around the idyllic courtyard, and finally looked at Ling Yi:

"Your return has brought life back to this place, just like the Blue Silver Territory has found its backbone."

"I am honored by this," Ling Yi said with a rare lack of modesty, offering a faint smile.

Seeing the sharp glint gradually appearing in Ling Yi's eyes, Li Zhishu smiled and said, "It's been a long time since I've seen you like this—"

"When was the last time? Let me think, was it when you broke through to become Grand Soul Master, or when you returned from the Heaven Dou Empire after purchasing the ' Ruyi Hundred Treasure Purse '?"

Ling Yi's smile remained unchanged, but a hint of reminiscence appeared in his eyes. "I think so."

"Back then, although I did think about realizing some ambitions in the duchy, my main concern was to improve the lives of myself and those around me. Becoming Grand Soul Master or getting to know Senior Dugu would have given me more confidence. Unfortunately..."

"Forget it, that's all in the past, let's not talk about it anymore—"

Shaking his head, Ling Yi picked up the teacup, blew on the rising steam from the rim, and took a sip.

"Old Li,"

Setting down his teacup, Ling Yi looked at Li Zhishu and asked, "What level is your Soul Power now?"

"Hmm?" Li Zhishu glanced at Ling Yi with some surprise, but without thinking much of it, she answered directly, "Level 39."

Upon hearing this, Ling Yi seemed to be deep in thought, swirling the teacup in his hand. After a few moments, he asked, "I remember, Old Li, you should be twenty-eight years old now, right?"

"Hmm." Li Zhishu nodded and calmly took a sip of hot tea.

"With your Innate Soul Power, Old Li, even if it's difficult to cultivate Food-type Martial Soul, you shouldn't still be struggling to break through level 40. How far have you progressed with your ' Furious Horse Assaults the Pass ' and ' Bull Demon Great Strength '?" Ling Yi analyzed, then asked again.

"Should..."

Li Zhishu put down his teacup, about to say something, when Ling Yi raised his hand and said, "Wait, let me test you myself. Pay attention—!"

After saying that, he raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and punched Li Zhishu in the chest.

Seeing this, Li Zhishu, who had received Ling Yi's signal in advance, curled his lips into a "Dragon King" smile, clenched his left fist, and punched out from his waist under the table, meeting Ling Yi's fist first despite being delayed.

"Bang—!"

A muffled thud, like a deep rumble of thunder, exploded in Ling Yi's courtyard.

Surprisingly, despite the violent collision, the stone table, teapot, and teacups located less than 20 centimeters below the two fists remained completely unaffected.

Clearly, both Ling Yi and Li Zhishu had completely mastered the power of their punches, and not a single bit of their energy leaked out.

The two fists remained pressed together, appearing to be locked in a struggle, but only the two men knew that they were not just competing in strength, but also engaging in a clash of energies.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

About thirty breaths later, noticing that Li Zhishu's strength was beginning to dissipate, Li Zhishu Ling Yi withdrew his force, simultaneously counteracting the uncontrollable force surging towards him and guiding him to control the even smaller, dispersed force.

Another dozen or so breaths passed, Ling Yi withdrew his fist, smiling as he looked at Li Zhishu, whose left arm was still outstretched, his five fingers clenched into a fist, and whose eyes had closed at some point.

Not long after, Li Zhishu opened her eyes, and as she withdrew her slightly sore left arm, her eyes revealed undisguised joy.

In just the last minute, he felt that his understanding of the "Furious Horse Assaults the Pass" and "Bull Demon Great Strength" boxing stances had reached a new level!

"Old Li, that's impressive!"

Ling Yi smiled as he refilled Li Zhishu's teacup with hot water, praising, "Your strength is probably close to two thousand jin, and your bones, muscles, fascia, and meridians are all incredibly resilient, almost reaching the level of Brother Yuan when he was forty-seven or forty-eight."

Brother Yuan, also known as Jiang Yuan, is currently developing his Earl in the southwest of the [Water Wood Duchy].

"Hehe~" Li Zhishu chuckled as he rubbed his left wrist, "You know, before you came back, not counting Senior Dugu, I was the number one expert in your ' Blue Silver Territory '!"

"It's only because I listened to you and didn't show off outside, otherwise, as Food System Soul Elder, I wouldn't have been able to hold my own against those newly-broken Power Attack System Soul Ancestor Masters, and I would have been 'invited' away by certain people long ago—"

"Fortunately, ' Blue Silver Territory ' has been peaceful all along, and now that Ah Yin and the others have grown up, I don't need to lift a finger. It's quite nice for me to be a cook here with you..."

At first, Li Zhishu was somewhat puzzled as to how the "Blue Silver Territory" had been able to maintain peace for so many years. But after a conversation with Zhang Lei, she realized that before Ling Yi left, he had left behind an external environment that allowed the "Blue Silver Territory" to enjoy peace and tranquility.

It can be said that as long as Ling Yi is alive, and as long as he does not return to the [Water Wood Duchy], the ' Blue Silver Territory ' will be able to enjoy peace for a day.

Even if some people in the duchy tried to do something, Grand Duke Mu Feng and several marquises would help them "quiet down".

"Alright~" Ling Yi said, holding a teacup in his hand, "I can sense that your Soul Power is just a little bit away from breaking through. These past two days, reduce your investment in body tempering and shift your focus to Soul Power cultivation... I'm telling you, you've got things a bit backwards..."

Upon hearing Li Zhishu retorted somewhat indignantly, "Do you know how awesome it is to be a Food System Soul Master with combat power comparable to Power Attack System Soul Master?"

Ling Yi ignored Li Zhishu's explanation, because he too had once been obsessed with body training, feeling his body gradually grow stronger. He raised his hand and pointed towards his bedroom, saying, "Go to my room..."

"What?" Li Zhishu crossed his arms in front of his chest, deliberately showing a wary look on his face.

Ling Yi rolled his eyes at the still somewhat chubby man, who had lost a lot of weight, and said Ling Yi, "I have ' Blue Silver Grass ' that's between five and eight thousand years old, both mutated and original varieties. Go pick one yourself. Before your Soul Power breaks through to level forty, have a good chat and build some chemistry..."

"I've been gone for four years. Now, Ah Yin, Ah Xin, and Ah Feng have all become Three-Ring Soul Elder. I couldn't personally arrange their Soul Ring, but thankfully you were there, so they were able to hunt down thousand-year-old Third Soul Ring..."

"Now, Old Li, of course I'll prepare your Fourth Soul Ring."

"Of course, if you don't like ' Blue Silver Grass,' I'll take care of some territory matters in the next couple of days, and then I'll take you to the Soul Beast Forest..."

I'm still writing, but I won't stay up all night. Tomorrow's update will continue in the evening.