Will Walking After Just One Year Really Not Count as Much Progress?

"That felt so good!"

Qian Renxue opened her eyes and said refreshingly, "I feel completely energized."

Lu Chen fell silent. That line, that tone... hadn't he just heard it once already?

Qian Renxue looked at Lu Chen and asked excitedly, "Lord Heavenly Dao, what kind of tea is this? It felt so good after drinking it. Can I have another cup?"

"Of course. You can drink as much as you like, but no matter how much you drink from now on, it won't feel like that first cup." Lu Chen smiled at Qian Renxue.

"Huh? Is the difference between the first and second cup really that huge?" Qian Renxue was somewhat disappointed. She had wanted to experience that feeling again. It had truly felt wonderful!

"That cup of tea just now resolved the hidden dangers left behind by your sacrificial spirit rings. The first cup dealt with them, so the second naturally won't have any effect."

"Huh? Is that how it is?" Qian Renxue was a little surprised. "Lord Heavenly Dao, can sacrifices leave hidden dangers behind?"

"In theory, no. But your circumstances are somewhat special. As an ordinary person, you consecutively accepted the sacrifices of three ten-thousand-year soul beasts. Both your body and soul power became somewhat unstable. This tea was mainly meant to strengthen your foundation." Lu Chen explained.

In plain terms, she had advanced too fast. She was too weak, and both her body and soul power were too frail!

"Oh, so that's it! Thank you, Lord Heavenly Dao!" Qian Renxue nodded her little head, finally relieved. She had thought there was some serious hidden danger!

So that was all it was!

It was merely unstable soul power. At worst, she could spend a year or so tempering it!

Trading a little over a year of cultivation for three ten-thousand-year soul rings and fifteen levels of soul power was simply an enormous profit!

Lord Heavenly Dao had even specially prepared a treasure for such a minor issue. He was making far too much of it!

"..."

Lu Chen cast Qian Renxue an unfriendly glance. She truly failed to appreciate his kindness!

He had thoughtfully prepared Spirit Tea for her, yet she saw it as making a mountain out of a molehill!

Was losing over a year really such a short time?

A year was enough for Tang Xiaosan to grow from one to two years old! It was enough for Tang Xiaosan to go from babbling nonsense to actually speaking human words!

He could even gather firewood, cook for himself, and support his own father!

She truly had no sense of urgency whatsoever!

"Do you still remember what I told you about the Outworld Evil God?" Lu Chen calmly glanced at Qian Renxue.

"I remember! How could I not?" Qian Renxue nodded, her little face immediately turning grave. She kept that Evil God, who would destroy Spirit Hall, firmly in her mind at all times!

Spirit Hall was her home, the place where she had been born and raised. Her loving grandfather was here, as was her mother, along with all the uncles who cared for her!

No matter what, she did not want the future Spirit Hall to perish at the hands of that Evil God!

"During the time you entered the Star Great Forest and broke through to Soul Elder, that Outworld Evil God also made tremendous progress!"

"What!" Qian Renxue's expression changed drastically. "How does that Evil God's rate of progress compare with mine this time?"

"They are evenly matched!" Lu Chen wore a solemn expression!

While Qian Renxue had been away in the Star Great Forest, Tang Xiaosan of distant Holy Spirit Village—the future God King Tang—had learned to walk under the careful tutelage of the Clear Sky Douluo!

That's right!

He had learned to walk!

An infant who had just been born and knew nothing had taken the first step of his life!

He had walked his first hundred meters in life!

Such a rate of progress was truly astonishing!

In Lu Chen's view, Tang Xiaosan's progress was even greater than Qian Renxue's progress this time!

He merely had to hold back a little so as not to crush Qian Renxue's confidence.

"What!"

Seeing Lu Chen's solemn expression, Qian Renxue's little face became rather unpleasant.

She had to know that during this trip into the Star Great Forest, she had advanced a full fifteen levels! She had gone from innate level twenty to level thirty-five!

She had also obtained three ten-thousand-year soul rings, the youngest of which was still fifty thousand years old!

With gains like those, with such tremendous progress!

She had only earned an assessment of being evenly matched with that Outworld Evil God!

Could that Outworld Evil God have also gained three ten-thousand-year soul rings? Or had he gained a hundred-thousand-year soul ring and a Soul Bone?!

Qian Renxue's little heart could not help pounding wildly!

The small pride she had felt from her increase in strength immediately dissipated by more than half.

She could not help asking Lu Chen, "Did that old god behind the Outworld Evil God intervene?"

Qian Renxue thought that her own immense progress had relied entirely on Lord Heavenly Dao's help, so that Outworld Evil God must have been the same...

"No!"

Lu Chen decisively shook his head. "He relied entirely on himself! No one helped him at all!"

"What!"

Little Qian Renxue was startled. The Outworld Evil God had done it all by himself?

How had he managed that?

According to the future, that Outworld Evil God became a god later than she did. Logically speaking, his current strength should be inferior to hers!

How could some weakling who might not even be a Soul Elder progress faster than her, when she had Lord Heavenly Dao's support!

And the old god behind him had not helped him either!

"Could it be that a hundred-thousand-year soul beast willingly sacrificed itself to him?"

Qian Renxue felt that seemed to be the only possibility.

Lu Chen said nothing, and the sight made little Qian Renxue's mood grow heavy as she could not help imagining all sorts of possibilities.

"I cannot tell you the specific circumstances of this Outworld Evil God for now, lest that old god with no martial honor behind him notices you. But I can tell you this: over the next year, this Outworld Evil God will make a leap in progress!"

Lu Chen thought about it. In a year's time, with Tang Xiaosan's ability, he should learn to speak and fully express his thoughts.

He might even be able to go up the mountain to gather firewood, chop it, and cook his old father a steaming bowl of plain porridge!

Compared with his current state of utter incompetence, that could indeed be called a leap in progress.

"One year!"

Qian Renxue's mood grew even heavier!

What kind of progress could qualify as a leap?

Based on her own strength, Qian Renxue guessed that one would at least have to reach Soul King to call it a leap in progress!

Jumping two major realms in a year on his own...

Qian Renxue's expression became increasingly grave. She seemed to be... unable to do that.

"Oh, right. His progress isn't in soul power, but in skills and weapons." Lu Chen suddenly felt he had exaggerated a little, so he hurriedly added, "A skill and weapon capable of defeating a Soul Saint while at the level of a Grand Soul Master!"

Yes! A Grand Soul Master fighting a Soul Saint in the Shrek entrance exam was perfectly reasonable!

"So that's it!"

Qian Renxue let out a long breath, her expression immediately becoming much more relaxed!

Skills and weapons? So it was external power! As long as it was not soul power, it was fine!

That was what she thought. In the future timeline, this Outworld Evil God became a god later than she did. How could his soul power cultivation possibly be faster than hers!

External power was good! External power was great!

External power capable of defeating a Soul Saint as a Grand Soul Master sounded intimidating, and it was certainly impressive in practice!

But in Qian Renxue's eyes, it was nothing more than that!

For someone destined to become a god like her, if her own soul power was not strong enough, everything would ultimately be empty!

Still, although she felt much more relaxed, some of Qian Renxue's thoughts had changed.

Lord Heavenly Dao truly planned far ahead!

Earlier, she had thought the Spirit Tea he had given her was making a mountain out of a molehill!

But now, how could it possibly be that!

Facing an Outworld Evil God so terrifying and monstrously talented, she truly could not afford to waste even a single second!

Spending a year building her foundation was far too extravagant and wasteful!

Lu Chen took a small sip of tea, feeling thoroughly pleased!

Not bad, not bad. Fine tea!

He would have to drink more of it in the future!