Life Praise of the Golden Ancient Tree

It was a three-story wooden building, brown in tone, brimming with an antique air while carrying the weathered traces of time.

A closer look revealed a warm, oily sheen glimmering across its timber.

The little three-story building stood only around ten meters tall, with nothing grand or imposing about it.

Yet directly above its first-floor entrance hung a black plaque inscribed with golden characters: Sea God Pavilion.

At the sight of those three gilded words, Huo Yuhao and Lin You both felt their hearts jolt, faint surprise appearing in their eyes. At that moment, Brother Sky Dream's voice rang out as well. "So we've already arrived at the Sea God Pavilion. No wonder I sensed an aura of life."

"Brother Sky Dream, you're awake?" Huo Yuhao tilted her head curiously.

Tian Meng, Tian Meng... Don't tell me he dreams every day?

"Ahem. What would a little girl like you know? This is called conserving my strength."

Brother Sky Dream clearly sensed Huo Yuhao's malicious speculation. His old face reddened, and he muttered in rebuttal.

"Enough, enough. You two little ones need to pay attention. Mu En is going to use the Golden Ancient Tree's origin to cleanse your Soul Power, souls, and life force. It can even improve your Innate Talent and Martial Soul quality to a certain extent. That old fellow is really sparing no expense. He didn't even observe you any further before agreeing to do something like this."

Brother Sky Dream's sharp senses instantly caught the fluctuations coming from within the Sea God Pavilion, and he immediately warned them.

Lin You silently nodded to himself. His expression remained unchanged, but when he looked at Huo Yuhao, the two had already wordlessly prepared themselves.

Yan Shaozhe stopped before the Sea God Pavilion and turned to the three with a smile. "Xiaotao, Lin You, Huo Yuhao, the three of you stand where you are and do not move. This opportunity is extremely precious. No one knows how many years it will be before the next one. Carefully feel the changes in your bodies."

As he spoke, his gaze toward Xiaotao grew more delighted. He had originally thought that Xiaotao would never have the chance to encounter such an opportunity in her lifetime. After all, what his teacher was about to do would greatly deplete the Sea God Pavilion's reserves and might even affect his teacher himself. It was incomparably precious.

But now, it seemed that because Xiaotao's Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul had a chance to evolve into Ultimate Fire under the stimulation of Lin You's Ultimate Ice, she had gained this opportunity as well.

In the past, it would have been utterly impossible for Mu En to make such a sacrifice for her.

Hearing Yan Shaozhe say this, Ma Xiaotao was stunned. Although she had already been designated as the successor to the next Martial Soul Department Dean and had always longed for this Sea God Pavilion, her teacher had originally told her that only after winning the All-Continent Elite Soul Master Competition, as team captain, would she qualify to enter this place and receive its cleansing.

But she had never imagined that such an opportunity would come so soon.

For a moment, she could not help looking at Lin You, her beautiful eyes gleaming with wonder. Was this because of him?

After explaining, Yan Shaozhe turned toward the Sea God Pavilion, bowed, and said, "Teacher, they have arrived."

At the word "teacher," Ma Xiaotao's expression changed slightly.

Yan Shaozhe was the Martial Soul Department Dean, and held an extremely lofty position in her heart. Even Xuan Zi, the publicly acknowledged foremost figure of Shrek Academy, was less important to her than this master due to the difference in their duties. Even as his last disciple, this was the first time she had learned that her grandmaster was still alive.

"Children, close your eyes and focus your minds. Calm your hearts and guard your spirits. Draw in your essence and soul, and return all things to one."

An aged voice rang out. Then, a scene that left everyone utterly stunned unfolded.

Right before them, the previously inconspicuous three-story Sea God Pavilion suddenly lit up without warning. Brilliant golden light burst forth, instantly turning the entire building gold, as though it had been constructed from pure gold.

Dense, gentle golden light drifted down, enveloping everyone. Its warm, heavy aura of light nourished each of their bodies.

The natural energy in the air clearly became much denser, and within that rich, mellow aura of light was an even more abundant power that seemed to originate from the very source of life itself.

In almost an instant, Lin You felt as though endless warm sunlight had submerged him, as if his entire body had been placed within a piping-hot furnace.

Yet this sensation was especially stimulating to someone with the Periodic Table Martial Soul!

Without realizing it, Lin You's Martial Soul appeared. It was no longer the air he spoke of, but a translucent rectangular card slightly larger than his palm.

Amid the golden-white radiance, it seemed transparent and illusory as it gently pulsed.

This was his Martial Soul: the Periodic Table, a chart card.

But just as its name implied, the so-called elements and air contained within this chart card were actually the power of the world's foundations, and life was included among them.

Enveloped by this power, Lin You's Martial Soul began resonating with the surrounding aura of light. Waves of icy and scorching power interwove within his body, making even his soul tremble.

He tried to guide this power through specific meridians. Each cycle made him feel his strength growing. Even his invisible meridians widened, emitting a faint golden glow and becoming countless times tougher than before.

His blood and qi were stirred by his life force and began circulating on their own. The oxygen content in his blood rose, increasing the oxygen supply to his cells, improving their metabolism, providing energy, and boosting his vitality. In turn, Lin You's mind became even more invigorated.

In layman's terms, it felt like skating—like flying.

With his mind invigorated, he sensed more and more. The Soul Power within him surged like floodwaters released from a dam, rapidly climbing toward a higher rank.

At the same time, Huo Yuhao also felt an unprecedented change. Her body seemed to be gently lifted by a warm yet powerful force, and all fatigue and distracting thoughts were swept away in that instant.

Her Martial Soul, those crimson eyes, began emitting a strange radiance under the nourishment of the Golden Ancient Tree's power. Her mind became utterly clear, and vaguely, she felt as though she could see through everything.

Ma Xiaotao was even more excited. She could clearly feel the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul within her stirring restlessly. Driven by this power, her Evil Fire Phoenix began undergoing subtle changes. Traces of golden light mixed into its flames, and its immense vitality rose to another level.

At her level, Soul Power improved very slowly. Raising it by even one rank was extremely difficult.

Yet in only this short time, not only did she feel her Soul Power improving, but more importantly, it felt as though her Soul Power had been cleansed, its impurities removed and made even purer. This was more important than directly increasing her cultivation.

Yan Shaozhe stood nearby, watching everything with eyes full of relief and anticipation. He knew that this Sea God Pavilion cleansing was not only a tremendous improvement for these three children, but also a deep excavation of their future potential.

As time passed, the light within the Sea God Pavilion gradually receded, but the power originating from life's source continued circulating through everyone's bodies, nourishing their souls and flesh.

When the final trace of light vanished into the air, Lin You, Huo Yuhao, and Ma Xiaotao opened their eyes at the same time.