The next morning.
Daybreak had just arrived.
The autumn sunlight, veiled in a faint golden haze, streamed through the window lattice into the room.
Several slender bamboo stalks in the courtyard swayed gently in the morning breeze, casting fragmented, shifting shadows.
Li Qinglian slowly opened his eyes. The golden-white point of light deep within his gaze flickered faintly as his pupils focused.
He sat cross-legged on the bed as the Soul Power around him slowly receded like the tide, and the surging strength within his meridians gradually settled.
He lowered his head to look at his hands and gently clenched his fists.
He had broken through.
A Level Forty-Two Soul Ancestor.
The cultivation speed of the Death Divine Tree's transformed form had always far surpassed that of ordinary people. Coupled with the Eight Spider Lances constantly drawing energy from the earth and supplying his body with Source Power day and night, this breakthrough had gone even more smoothly than he had expected.
With a thought, his back grew faintly warm.
The next instant, eight dark-purple spider lances burst from either side of his spine. They stretched and unfurled in the morning light like a pair of ferocious yet magnificent wings.
A cold purple sheen flowed over their surfaces, reflecting the daylight outside and casting eight long shadows across the wall.
They had now completely fused with Li Qinglian's bones and meridians. The tip of every spider lance was incomparably sharp; the slightest movement could easily pierce hard stone tiles.
"They've completely fused with my body. Cultivating them from here on will be a slow process. There's no rushing it."
Li Qinglian murmured, sensing the strange feeling of the Eight Spider Lances being linked to his flesh and blood.
They were like eight extra fingers on his body—nimble, precise, and responsive to his will.
He gently activated the Eight Spider Lances, and all eight lances pierced into the floor tiles beneath his feet.
A stream of warm energy surged from deep within the earth into his body through the spider lances. It was not overwhelming, but it was unceasing.
"I cultivated all night."
"I'll wash up first."
Li Qinglian rose and stretched his body.
Then he took a bathtub out of the Dragon Abyss Ring.
"Even for the sake of improving my quality of life, I should find a way to speed up Soul Tool development."
Li Qinglian yawned.
Soul Tools were not only for attack and defense. There were also lighting Soul Tools, sound-amplifying Soul Tools, and Soul Tools for all kinds of special purposes.
Ten thousand years later, Huo Yuhao and the others already had showerheads when they bathed, and Soul Tools constantly controlled the water temperature. It could be said that the development of Soul Tools in the Peerless Tang Clan era was nearly on par with the technological level of Li Qinglian's previous life when he had transmigrated here.
Now that was true comfort.
This was also an important reason why Li Qinglian was confident that he could definitely advance the development of Soul Tools.
It was nothing more than transforming the electrical world of his previous life into the Soul Power world of the present. Most of the underlying logic would work in this world.
"I can make these things myself too."
"I'll use them to improve my life first."
Li Qinglian soaked comfortably in the bathtub as warm water enveloped every inch of his skin.
He closed his eyes and rested his head against the edge of the tub, while all manner of Soul Tool designs continued turning through his mind.
Heating arrays, constant-temperature arrays, water-circulation arrays...
They were not actually complicated. They could be achieved simply by linking basic arrays together. So-called Soul Tool Arrays were just circuit diagrams, weren't they?
Even the Level-Nine Soul Tool Array required by a Level-Nine Soul Tool in the Peerless Tang Clan could never compare to the cutting-edge chips from his previous life. Level-Nine Soul Tool Arrays were made by hand and could be carved with a carving knife. Try carving one of those few-nanometer chips from his previous life with a carving knife.
"When things settle down in the next few days, I should make time to draw some designs and send them back to Spirit Hall for Nana."
"The Soul Guidance Research Institute can start with these little gadgets."
"A complete Soul Tool bathroom solution—if it succeeds, it can definitely open up the market quickly. While generating profits, it can train a large number of lower-level Soul Engineers."
"As long as there are enough lower-level Soul Engineers, some geniuses will definitely emerge."
Li Qinglian felt that he had temporarily found a path for Soul Tool development in this world. Taking the route of smart homes and smart living would definitely make Soul Tools famous in a short time.
As for combat Soul Tools, there was no need to rush for the time being.
Once Spirit Hall's geniuses realized the wonders of Soul Tools, they would naturally enter the field.
If the ancient, rigid behemoth that was Spirit Hall could successfully transform, then with Soul Tools, it could absolutely extend Spirit Hall's lifespan by tens of thousands of years.
Li Qinglian was lost in thought.
Suddenly.
The door was violently pushed open.
"Li Qinglian! My grandfather is here—!"
Dugu Yan's voice was crisp and urgent. Her footsteps were hurried, and she had clearly run all the way here, her dark-green hair flying in the morning breeze.
"Where are you? Come out quickly—my grandfather, he—"
She shouted as she pushed open the door to the main room.
Then.
The entire world fell silent.
Dugu Yan froze in the doorway. Her dark-green pupils gradually widened, while her cheeks visibly shifted from fair white to crimson, then from crimson to a deep red that seemed ready to bleed.
Before her, Li Qinglian sat naked in the bathtub. The hot water reached his chest, and several unidentified flower petals floated on the surface.
His black hair was damp and clung to his forehead. Droplets slid down his jaw, gleaming softly in the morning light.
Their eyes met.
The air fell silent for an instant.
It was as though something had violently struck Dugu Yan's mind, making it buzz and explode.
She saw it.
She saw everything.
Although the water blocked the most crucial part, those broad shoulders, distinct collarbones, and the trails left by droplets sliding down his chest...
"You—!"
"Pervert!"
"Why aren't you wearing clothes? Why are you taking a bath in broad daylight?!"
Dugu Yan's scream nearly lifted the roof off the house.
She tightly covered her eyes with both hands, but the flush visible through her fingers gave away how fast her heart was beating.
"I'm bathing in my own room. Why would I need to wear clothes? Did you knock before barging in?"
"You're seriously unbelievable."
"You call me a pervert, but aren't you the pervert? Why are you secretly peeking at me through your fingers?"
Li Qinglian looked utterly speechless.
How was this any different from women in his previous life running into the men's restroom because the women's room was full, then calling the men perverts?
"You!"
"I..."
Dugu Yan's face burned as she stood there in complete disarray.
She had not expected Li Qinglian to be so blunt.
Couldn't he have put it more tactfully? He had actually called out her peeking directly.
What an insufferably straight man!
Dugu Yan hurriedly ran out of the room.
Even after she got outside, the image of Li Qinglian in the bathtub kept surfacing in her mind.
Why was Li Qinglian's thing so big and ugly?
Dugu Yan unconsciously looked at her exposed arm and compared them.
The comparison left Dugu Yan stunned once more.
Before you continue