More Than Worth the Price! Target: Seven Treasure Glazed Sect!

Whether it was due to his martial soul or something else, he could not tell.

The impact of the spirit ring was like a millstone, grinding away at his spirit again and again.

It was neither fast nor slow, repeating in an endless cycle.

His spirit danced back and forth between destruction and restoration.

Every time it recovered, his mental strength increased by a fraction.

But the pain was thousands upon thousands of times worse.

Gu An's teeth chattered and clicked, blood trickling down the corners of his mouth.

His body could not stop trembling.

If he had been in the state he was in when he first transmigrated, he would have stood zero chance of surviving this level of agony.

When had he ever suffered like this in an era of peace?

Yet, the hardships of these past few years had tempered his will.

Even though Gu An's breathing was rapid and ragged, his chest heaving violently, his spine remained straight—teetering on the edge of collapse, yet never falling.

Time ticked away, second by second.

The light in the forest grew dimmer and dimmer.

The black spirit ring around Gu An's body was slowly merging into his flesh.

Only when the absorption was finally complete did Leng Yaozhu let out a long sigh of relief.

A trace of irrepressible joy surfaced on her usually composed face.

"Gu An succeeded; I truly didn't misjudge him!"

After absorbing the spirit ring, Gu An kept his eyes closed.

The injuries on his body were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The power within him was so abundant that it made him feel somewhat lightheaded.

Gu An opened his eyes.

He looked at his hands, clenched his fists, and felt the surging power.

As expected, he mused to himself, power is intoxicating.

After all, in this dog-eat-dog world, weakness was the original sin.

He then raised his head to look around.

His gaze swept past the bluestone and the campfire, landing on a curvaceous figure standing with her back to him.

Leng Yaozhu stood with her back turned, seemingly fiddling with something.

She appeared to sense Gu An's gaze and turned around, a smile on her face.

"Gu An, you've finally woken up."

Gu An looked at her smiling face, and remembering the pain he had just endured, his teeth began to ache.

He spoke through gritted teeth.

"Is this what you called 'a little bit' of suffering?"

Leng Yaozhu blinked those beautiful eyes of hers, her expression the picture of innocence.

"That's right, just a tiny bit."

She held up her thumb and index finger, pinching them together to show a minuscule gap.

"You managed to hold on, didn't you?"

Having said that, she immediately changed the subject.

She pulled several skewers of roasted meat from behind her back and waved them in front of Gu An.

"Come, come, Big Sister has made you something delicious. You must be hungry, right?"

Changing the subject, are we?

Gu An rolled his eyes in his heart.

But his stomach betrayed him with a loud growl.

Gu An stood on no further ceremony.

He snatched the skewers from Leng Yaozhu's hand and began stuffing them into his mouth like a starving wolf.

The meat was roasted to perfection—crispy on the outside and tender on the inside—and sprinkled with some unknown spice that sent its aroma straight into his nose.

Gu An ate ravenously, his cheeks bulging like a hamster.

Leng Yaozhu sat down opposite him, resting her chin in one hand and tilting her head, staring at Gu An with a strange look in her eyes.

That gaze, how should one put it?

It was as if she were appraising something interesting.

Gu An felt completely uncomfortable under her scrutiny; he swallowed the meat in his mouth and looked up to glare at her.

"What are you looking at?"

Leng Yaozhu chuckled, her smile carrying a hint of mischief.

"For your age, your assets are indeed quite impressive."

"But it's still not enough, oh."

Gu An was stunned for a moment, then looked down at himself.

Everything was in full view.

The clothes on his body had been shredded into rags by the energy overflowing from within while he was absorbing the spirit ring just moments ago.

Right now, he was essentially in a state where wearing them was the same as wearing nothing at all.

Gu An's face flushed bright red in an instant.

"You could have told me sooner!"

Even a little guy like me has his pride, you know!

Leng Yaozhu suppressed her laughter and took a clean set of clothes out of her storage spirit tool, handing them over to him.

Gu An snatched them away and threw them on in a few quick motions.

While getting dressed, he noticed something.

His body had grown larger.

His original six-year-old frame now looked like that of an eight or nine-year-old.

His arms and legs had lengthened, and his shoulders had broadened as well.

Gu An understood that this was a unique trait of the Douluo Continent: increasing spirit power led to physical growth.

It was what one might call a precocious characteristic.

The infusion of life force brought about by absorbing a spirit ring caused the body's appearance to develop prematurely.

However, it was merely an external change; his bone age remained the same—six years old was still six years old.

He stood up and moved his new body around, adapting to it for a few seconds.

"Since I've obtained my martial soul, the next part of the plan can proceed as scheduled."

Gu An raised his right hand.

A miniature version of the Green Blade Falcon appeared above his palm.

It was only the size of a palm, with dark cyan feathers, a silver-gray beak, wings slightly tucked in, and eyes that looked remarkably vivid.

Leng Yaozhu's gaze fell upon the Green Blade Falcon, her expression unperturbed.

"It seems your first spirit skill has yielded quite a harvest?"

Gu An grinned.

"Let's just say it's worthy of a ten-thousand-year spirit ring!"

A satisfied smile appeared on Gu An's face.

How could there not be a significant harvest from a thirty-thousand-year spirit beast?

Otherwise, all the suffering he endured would have been for nothing.

He had no intention of hiding anything from Leng Yaozhu.

He raised his hand directly, holding the Green Blade Falcon spirit soul in his palm, and spoke.

"My first spirit skill is called Whispering Melody."

Leng Yaozhu's eyebrows arched slightly as she listened intently.

Even though she knew she wouldn't betray Gu An, and Gu An knew it too, him telling her directly still made her feel pleased.

"The melody played by this first spirit skill can transform into sharp slashes at any moment, dealing tearing damage."

"At the same time, the melody will inflict a ten percent slowing effect on all enemies within range."

"It's extremely useful for both single-target and crowd control."

Gu An paused, then added, "As my strength increases, the power and quantity of the violent slashes generated by the melody will grow, and the slowing effect will also be enhanced."

After hearing this, the expression on Leng Yaozhu's lovely face shifted from serious to joyful; the corners of her mouth curled up, and her eyes sparkled.

From this description alone, she had already determined the value of this spirit skill.

The melody played out.

This thing was impossible to guard against.

Just as an enemy was in the middle of a fight, a slash would suddenly emerge right beside them, leaving them no way to dodge.

It was too underhanded.

Not to mention the ten percent slowing effect.

An offensive martial soul, forcibly equipped with auxiliary and control capabilities.

The slowing effect could even increase in potency as one's strength grew.

How insidious could it get?

The more Leng Yaozhu thought about it, the more satisfied she felt; she crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin slightly.

"Tsk tsk, see? Big Sister didn't lead you astray, did she?"

"This was worth far more than what you paid."

Gu An rolled his eyes, but he did not deny it.

It was indeed worth far more than what he paid.

He retracted the Green Blade Falcon back into his body, felt the state of his soul power circulation, and then looked up at Leng Yaozhu.

"Right, Sister Yaozhu, do you know where the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect is located?"

Upon hearing this, the smile on Leng Yaozhu's face faded slightly, and her gaze turned serious.

She immediately understood what Gu An wanted to do.

"You want to use the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect to establish an academy?"

Gu An nodded.

"Sister Yaozhu knows me best."

"That's right."

"Although the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect isn't as influential as it was ten thousand years ago, it remains the continent's premier auxiliary martial soul."

"And they are wealthy enough to rival a nation."

"Finding them is the most suitable choice."

Gu An paused for a moment after saying this, then added nonchalantly.

"If they don't agree, then I'll just have to rob the rich to help the poor."

He said this so lightly, showing absolutely no sign of taking the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect seriously.