Xiao Wu's Toy, Another Year

"Even so, it's already very strong."

Xiao Wu said with a serious expression:

"This kind of skill is impossible to guard against. As long as the enemy is slightly careless, they might lose a massive amount of longevity."

"And this is also an area-of-effect skill, capable of launching attacks against multiple targets simultaneously."

She raised her head, looked into Zhao Linchuan's eyes, and continued:

"Plus, your Martial Soul possesses formidable vitality. In future spirit fights, you won't even need to use your brains. You just have to stand there and wear them down, and you can grind the enemy to death."

"How passive is it just standing there to take a beating?" Zhao Linchuan took Xiao Wu's hand, their fingers intertwining. "I still prefer to take the initiative and launch attacks on the enemy."

He pulled her along, walking toward the outside of the forest.

"Come on, let's go home with big brother. Big brother will buy you your favorite carrot cake to eat."

"Mm-mm!"

Xiao Wu happily linked her arm through Zhao Linchuan's, half her body practically hanging onto him as she tilted her head up to look at him while they walked.

"Big brother, you grew a lot taller after absorbing your spirit ring."

"I used to have to stand on tiptoe just to see the top of your head, but now I only reach your chin..."

The path through the forest was difficult to traverse, the two of them walking with uneven steps.

A long while later.

When the two returned home and finished dinner, it was already close to midnight.

The fire on the stove had gone out, the bowls and chopsticks had been washed, and the courtyard was quiet.

Inside the bedroom.

Zhao Linchuan and Xiao Wu were lying on the bed preparing to sleep.

Xiao Wu glanced sideways at Zhao Linchuan, a foolish grin appearing on her face.

Heh-heh...

She quietly reached out her hand, feeling toward her beloved "toy."

Although Zhao Linchuan hadn't agreed to let her play with the "toy," he hadn't explicitly refused either, had he?

In her view, no refusal meant tacit consent, tacit consent meant agreement, and agreement meant encouragement.

Yes, absolutely, that was just how it was!

So soft.

Xiao Wu successfully achieved her goal, her fingertips playfully toying with it a couple of times, feeling wonderful inside.

Yet immediately, her movements paused slightly, her palms tightening together involuntarily.

No... My toy seems to have gotten quite a bit bigger than before...

Her fingers confirmed it once more; it wasn't an illusion, it really had grown.

Following that, Xiao Wu suddenly froze, her palm relaxing involuntarily as if she had been scalded, or perhaps startled by something.

She turned her head sideways with a blank expression, looking toward Zhao Linchuan, her gaze filled with innocence and confusion as she asked in a crisp voice.

"Big brother, what's wrong with you?"

Zhao Linchuan gave her a speechless look. He truly didn't know whether she really didn't understand or was just pretending not to know.

He reached his hand under the quilt, very cautiously grasping Xiao Wu's hand to remove that well-behaved yet misbehaving paw from the "transformed toy," and then let out a long sigh.

"No playing today. Go to sleep early."

"Oh."

Unusually, Xiao Wu agreed in a very well-behaved manner without bargaining, obediently pulling the quilt up all the way to her chin, revealing only a pair of bright, sparkling eyes.

She quieted down for a moment, those sparkling eyes blinking twice over the edge of the quilt before she asked with some anticipation:

"Big brother, can you let me play with it again tomorrow?"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow." Zhao Linchuan closed his eyes and said in a muffled voice. "Once I teach you some human knowledge tomorrow, you can decide whether you still want to play with it after that."

Xiao Wu blinked, giving a half-understanding "mm" sound. Curled up inside the quilt like a little rabbit that had found its nest, she slowly closed her eyes.

The alternation of the four seasons, autumn harvests and winter storage.

The second year in winter.

A vast expanse of white snow decorated the world cleanly.

Ox Fence Mountain in the distance also had a white head, standing in silence under the lead-gray sky like a crouching giant beast.

Zhao Linchuan had already successfully developed "Hometown-Made" and named it the "Soul-Extinguishing Gun."

He had put a lot of thought into this Soul-Extinguishing Gun.

It wasn't just the structure of the firearm itself and the gunpowder ratio; throughout the entire process, the most crucial part was actually the self-destruct mechanism.

There was no helping it—something like "Hometown-Made" was simply too easy for people to copy.

Craftsmen of this world lacked no skill, and Spirit Masters lacked no strength. As long as you gave them a completed gun, they could dismantle, copy, and mass-produce it in minutes. He couldn't afford not to guard against that.

Moreover, this thing was practically tailor-made for Spirit Masters. For ordinary people to use a handgun, they still needed to consider the recoil; their wrists would ache, the web between their thumb and forefinger would split, or they might even dislocate joints and so forth.

Yet Spirit Masters could completely ignore such issues. You only needed to load the bullets with medicine, and leave the rest to Great Strength.

Merely the strength of a 1st-ring Spirit Master was enough to suppress any recoil.

In the backyard.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Xiao Wu held the Soul-Extinguishing Gun in her right hand, her feet set apart shoulder-width, her body leaning slightly forward, and fired three consecutive shots at the bullseye behind the vegetable patch.

"Yay! I hit it!"

Three bullet holes were distributed in a plum-blossom pattern around the bullseye area. Although it wasn't ten rings, for a beginner who had only practiced for two days, it could already be considered quite good.

"Hoo—"

Xiao Wu blew on the still-smoking muzzle, her face flushed with excitement and her eyes full of light.

"This thing is too useful! It's simply even easier to use than my spirit skills!"

"I'll take it to fight that Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard—one shot for each!"

"Xiao Wu, cultivation matters must never be neglected."

Zhao Linchuan spoke up from the side, somewhat ruining the mood with his hands tucked into his sleeves like a worried little old man.

"Also, that combat style of mine that I told you to change before—did you change it or not?"

"I changed it a little bit..."

Xiao Wu said with somewhat lacking confidence, her gaze drifting and not daring to look into Zhao Linchuan's eyes.

"I only created a new skill named 'Invincible Mad Rabbit Fist,' which hasn't improved my current combat style all that much."

"Progress is fine as long as there is some." Zhao Linchuan's tone carried praise as he didn't pursue the matter further. "Right, you've already reached level twenty. Are you confident about condensing a thousand-year spirit ring for yourself?"

"I am, but..." Xiao Wu hesitated for a moment, lingering in doubt as she said, "This might have an impact on my future spirit ring condensations."

"For instance, I could originally have used my origin to condense six spirit rings, but if I overdraw like this, it will only be enough to condense five."

"It doesn't matter. When the time comes, big brother will help you hunt for a spirit ring, and I guarantee to get you a suitable sixth spirit ring."

Zhao Linchuan patted his chest and said with a smile:

"I've been researching some medicinal powders recently, and I'm preparing to make a huge fortune."

"When we earn enough money, we'll hire ten or eight spirit-hunting teams to scout the path for us. I refuse to believe we won't find a spirit ring that suits you."

"Big brother!"

Xiao Wu looked at him quite speechlessly, her tone carrying the implication of are you doing this on purpose?

"The sixth spirit ring most suitable for me must be one produced by a spirit beast of the same origin as me."

"I really want to thank you so much!"