Three Years of Growth, Unity of Heaven and Man

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

Over those three years, Ye An lived an exceptionally disciplined life. Every morning, when the sky had barely begun to brighten, he and Zhang Lexuan would head to the Sect Master's Hall to train their spiritual power. Once the sun was high in the sky, they would go to Hurricane Cave to temper their bodies. In the evening, they continued studying various theoretical subjects, while at night, they meditated to cultivate their soul power.

It was grueling and tedious, but Ye An persevered through rain and shine, never relaxing for even a single day.

The violent Astral Wind was like countless invisible blades, sweeping in from every direction as piercing howls filled the air.

At Ye An's current location, the wind was already dozens of times stronger than at the entrance. Even Soul Kings or stronger experts would be torn to pieces in an instant if they entered this place without sufficiently powerful bodies.

Yet at the heart of this terrifying storm, Ye An sat cross-legged like an immovable boulder, completely still.

Ye An's bare upper body was covered in clearly defined muscles, while the surface of his skin glowed with a faint crimson sheen. Countless wind blades formed by the Astral Wind slashed across him, yet they could not leave even the slightest pale mark.

His breathing was deep and steady, but the heart in his chest pounded rapidly. With every beat, it continuously delivered vigorous energy that nourished his body. And as this constantly nourished and strengthened body was cut by the Astral Wind, it became ever tougher and more powerful.

After three years, the gap in physical strength between Ye An and Zhang Lexuan had long since vanished.

Zhang Lexuan sat cross-legged several steps behind Ye An. She wore tight-fitting clothes, and her long hair was swept up by the Astral Wind, yet her expression remained tranquil as water.

She had more or less adapted to the winds here. If she wanted to temper her body further... she would have to take a few more steps forward.

However, Zhang Lexuan opened her eyes but did not choose to move onward. Instead, she quietly watched Ye An.

Only after Ye An finished cultivating as well and opened his eyes did the corners of her lips rise slightly into a faint smile.

"Let's go, Sister Lexuan. Don't keep Teacher waiting too long."

Ye An let out a long breath and returned to Zhang Lexuan's side with a smile.

Zhang Lexuan said nothing. She merely took Ye An's hand out of habit.

Three years of living together day and night had long since made Zhang Lexuan accustomed to Ye An. She had come to regard him as the most important person in her life.

The habit from three years ago had continued to this day.

After leaving Hurricane Cave, the two first returned to their residence to wash up. Only after changing into clean clothes did they head to Du Busi's Sect Master's Hall.

Seeing the two figures arrive side by side, Du Busi's gaze turned momentarily unfocused.

Ye An had changed greatly over the past three years. He had grown much taller and more handsome. Though he was still slightly shorter than Zhang Lexuan, who was nearly fifteen, he already possessed the bearing of a young man.

Moreover, Ye An and Zhang Lexuan had both improved tremendously over the past three years.

Ye An had broken through Rank 30 several months ago, but had yet to obtain a Soul Ring. Zhang Lexuan, meanwhile, had reached Rank 40 Soul Ancestor half a year earlier and had even acquired her first Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

Whenever Du Busi thought of that Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, a lingering fear rose within him.

Fortunately, Zhang Lexuan's spiritual power had improved considerably. Otherwise, the Soul Shock from a ten-thousand-year fourth ring alone would have been enough to make her wish she were dead.

At that thought, Du Busi's gaze gradually settled on Ye An. "Xiao An, it's time to hunt for your third Soul Ring. Although I know you want to challenge a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, you're only nine years old. Even if you've cultivated the Body Sect's spiritual power cultivation method, it will still be difficult for you to withstand the impact of Soul Shock."

As soon as he finished speaking, several Titled Douluo inside the Sect Master's Hall turned to look at Ye An, their eyes filled with undisguised amazement.

Ye An was undoubtedly the most hardworking genius they had ever seen.

He possessed the incredible talent of Twin Body Martial Souls, yet he cultivated more diligently than anyone else. His first Soul Ring had been a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, his second had been 6,500 years, and now he wanted to challenge a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring for his third!

One had to know that even Tang San, who had become a god ten thousand years ago, had only attempted to absorb a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring for his fourth ring!

Noticing Ye An's expression, Du Busi could not help but sigh.

Recently, the Body Sect had been trying to acquire a 100,000-Year Skull. However, such skulls were incredibly precious, and no auction house could possibly possess such a treasure. Furthermore, the beast tide in Star Dou Great Forest many years ago had made them hesitant to slaughter 100,000-year soul beasts on a large scale again.

Absorbing a skull over seventy thousand years old would also have a good chance of resolving the issue of Soul Shock, and the Body Sect had such skulls in its treasury. But Du Busi remained unwilling to let Xiao An settle for merely a ten-thousand-year skull.

Hearing this, Ye An sighed inwardly as well.

There was one method that could further improve his spiritual power, allowing him to no longer fear Soul Shock and successfully absorb a ten-thousand-year third ring.

He could travel to the Icefire Yin Yang Well in Sunset Forest and obtain that stalk of Autumn Dew.

Although he had not cultivated the Purple Demon Eyes, nor did he possess a Spirit Eyes Martial Soul like Huo Yuhao, the second effect of Autumn Dew was to cause a qualitative leap in one's spiritual power.

But the problem was that the Icefire Yin Yang Well had now completely become Tang God-King's private garden.

Not to mention whether he could find the entrance to the Icefire Yin Yang Well, even if he did, it would be difficult to absorb the Autumn Dew successfully under Tang God-King's watch.

Could it be that even if he deliberately slowed down his pace of absorbing Soul Rings, he would ultimately still have no choice but to absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring?

Ye An frowned slightly.

Seeing this, Du Busi took a deep breath and finally made up his mind. "Jin Peng, you may all leave first. Xiao Xuan, you should leave as well."

Although Zhang Lexuan did not understand Du Busi's intentions, she still cast Ye An a questioning glance.

Only after seeing Ye An nod lightly did Zhang Lexuan purse her lips and turn to leave.

Very soon, only Ye An and Du Busi remained in the Sect Master's Hall. Ye An raised his head to look at Du Busi, his eyes filled with confusion—he did not know what Du Busi wished to tell him that required such a grand dismissal of everyone else.

Du Busi did not speak immediately either. He remained silent for a moment before finally saying,

"Besides the Body Tempering Method and methods for cultivating spiritual power, my Body Sect actually possesses another unique secret technique: Unity of Heaven and Man."

"This is also the core secret art of my Body Sect. It can completely unleash a cultivator's potential. This potential is stimulated in every aspect, naturally including breakthroughs on the spiritual level."