Once Jiang Li and Qian Renxue were ready, they closed the entrance to the secret chamber and began signing the Retainer Knight Contract, with Long Haochen and Ye Hua as witnesses.
As the contract activated, Jiang Li could feel another invisible connection forming between himself and Qian Renxue, giving her an additional measure of restraint over him.
Immediately afterward, a mysterious power poured into his body, beginning to transform it at its very foundations.
This mysterious power merged with his body, rapidly spreading through his limbs and bones and bringing about a fundamental transformation.
Although his internal spiritual power only increased by a few dozen points, those points were innate internal spiritual power.
"Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen... thirty, thirty-one..."
"Fifty, fifty-one... sixty, sixty-one, sixty-two, sixty-three, sixty-four!"
Jiang Li's innate internal spiritual power rose rapidly, soaring straight to 64 points.
That was one point higher than his original estimate.
"Is this what being a genius feels like?"
Closing his eyes and attempting to meditate, Jiang Li could feel that he now absorbed spiritual power through meditation far faster than before-several times faster.
"This is..."
Just as Jiang Li was about to end his meditation and thank Qian Renxue, an even stronger, more mysterious power surged wildly into his body.
This power was purer, and the transformation it wrought was more comprehensive.
Most importantly, this power lacked that faint sense of unreality.
The innate internal spiritual power shared through the Retainer Knight Contract was ultimately not entirely his own, but this power belonged wholly to him.
"A blood pact, feeding power back to me."
Jiang Li was truly stunned.
He really had not expected a young lady like Qian Renxue to voluntarily upgrade their equal contract to a blood pact. Not only that, she was feeding power back to him through her Angel God bloodline.
Although he did not know what mental journey Qian Renxue had gone through, how could Jiang Li let such an opportunity slip by?
He immediately calmed his mind and devoted himself to meditation, absorbing and mastering this power.
Jiang Li's aura continued to climb. His innate internal spiritual power, his total internal spiritual power, and even his physique were all improving wildly.
"One thousand two hundred, one thousand two hundred ten, one thousand two hundred twenty... one thousand four hundred, one thousand six hundred, one thousand seven hundred..."
Finally, his internal spiritual power stopped at 1,720 points.
With 1,720 points of internal spiritual power, he was already at the fourth order, level eight, only 30 points away from breaking through to the fourth order, level nine.
At Jiang Li's current cultivation speed, he would only need a month to reach that level, perhaps even less.
That was not even the most important part. What mattered most was that Jiang Li could now clearly feel his innate internal spiritual power had risen all the way to 79 points.
Only those with more than 70 points of innate internal spiritual power had any possibility of activating a Divine Throne.
That was merely the minimum requirement.
Now that Jiang Li's innate internal spiritual power had shot up to 79 points, he was qualified to compete for one of the Divine Thrones.
Rising directly from 3 points of innate internal spiritual power to 79 was nothing short of astonishing.
No one would believe it if he told them.
Not only that, in just over three months, he had broken through from the third-order peak straight to the fourth order, level eight.
All of this had begun when he summoned Qian Renxue.
"Sure enough, no matter which world you're in, you need a benefactor to lend you a hand."
Murmuring softly, Jiang Li slowly opened his eyes.
Then he looked at Qian Renxue.
Ever since their contract had upgraded to a blood pact, Jiang Li could sense Qian Renxue's emotional fluctuations, as well as her current condition.
She was very weak!
"Thank you. I won't forget this kindness."
"Get some rest. I'll help you recover to your peak as soon as possible, and I absolutely guarantee that no one will hurt you."
For the first time, Jiang Li's gaze toward Qian Renxue held a heartfelt sense of closeness.
His code was simple: repay kindness with kindness, and vengeance with vengeance. No matter how notorious someone was, even if everyone saw them as an evil fiend, as long as they had shown him kindness, he would do everything he could to help them.
If someone was his enemy, even a saint who had saved the world, he would kill them if given the chance.
That was all.
"It's nothing serious. I can feel that this depletion isn't permanent. Ten days or half a month of cultivation should restore it."
Qian Renxue smiled calmly. After their equal contract became a blood pact, the connection between them had grown closer.
And that was without even mentioning the Retainer Knight Contract.
She immediately sat cross-legged and began meditating.
"Teacher, let's begin too!"
Sensing his senior brother's increase in strength and transformation in talent, Long Haochen knew it had succeeded, and he turned his gaze toward his teacher.
"Haochen, are you truly sure you won't regret this?"
Even at this point, Ye Hua still hesitated.
"Teacher, are you worried that after we sign the Retainer Knight Contract, I'll order you to do things you don't want to do?"
"Or do you no longer want to protect me?"
Rather than answering his teacher's question, Long Haochen posed questions of his own, leaving Ye Hua completely checkmated.
"All right!"
"But we need to wait. First, I have to confirm whether the innate internal spiritual power she expended can truly recover."
Even with things having reached this stage, Ye Hua remained extremely cautious.
If the innate internal spiritual power Qian Renxue had expended could not be raised again, he would never sign a Retainer Knight Contract with Long Haochen and compromise his disciple's future achievements.
"Haochen, since Teacher has said so, let's wait and put his mind at ease."
"As for you, Teacher, there's no need for concern. With the Retainer Knight Contract, you can take another step forward and break straight through to the sixth order, but that's far from the end. Everything is only just beginning."
"Within ten years, I'll be able to find you a supreme treasure that will completely improve your talent. When that happens, the seventh order, eighth order, and even ninth order will no longer be extravagant hopes."
"Not only will you not become a burden to Junior Brother, you'll be able to become his strongest guardian."
Jiang Li was not merely painting a rosy picture for his teacher. The supreme treasure he spoke of was naturally the immortal herbs on the Douluo Continent.
Now that Qian Renxue had voluntarily upgraded their contract to a blood pact, the timing was ripe. It was time to reveal certain things to her.
When the time came, if he helped his teacher obtain an immortal herb to completely improve his talent, how could his teacher's future achievements stop at merely the sixth order?
Even Yu Xiaogang had ultimately become a level-93 Titled Douluo with a single semi-immortal-grade herb. After taking an immortal herb, how could his teacher possibly lose to Yu Xiaogang?
"Teacher, since Senior Brother has said all that, what is there left to hesitate about?"
In Ye Hua's eyes, Jiang Li was painting a rosy picture and hoodwinking Long Haochen, but Long Haochen saw things entirely differently.
Since Senior Brother said it could be done, it surely could.
Yet Ye Hua still stubbornly insisted on seeing Qian Renxue recover her expended innate power with his own eyes.
They could only put things off for the time being.
Three days later, after confirming that Qian Renxue's earlier depletion was only temporary, Ye Hua finally agreed to sign the Retainer Knight Contract with Long Haochen.
They gathered in the secret chamber once more.
As the Retainer Knight Contract scroll unleashed its power, a mysterious connection formed between Ye Hua and Long Haochen.
At the same time, Ye Hua himself underwent a transformation.
His aura was rising rapidly.
Although the increase in his internal spiritual power was not especially dramatic, the transformation of his talent was very real.
"58 points of innate internal spiritual power. It actually rose to 58 points."
"This feeling..."
Ye Hua's eyes instantly filled with tears.
Previously, helping conduct Qian Renxue's Sacred Awakening had raised his innate internal spiritual power by a few points, already letting him experience the benefits of good talent.
This increase, however, was a leap to an entirely different level.
He finally experienced firsthand what it meant to be a genius.
"Haochen, get some proper rest for a while. Don't worry about the power you've expended. Next, I'll refine a batch of pills for you. Not only will they strengthen your foundations and nourish your vitality, they'll also help you improve your strength."
The pills Jiang Li spoke of were naturally ones refined using the ten-thousand-year paradise flower he had obtained from Qian Renxue as their main ingredient.
He had long been researching a pill formula for this Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Medicine, and had also been gathering the corresponding medicinal ingredients during his earlier training journey.
Originally, he had planned to refine a batch of strength-enhancing pills for himself after his training journey ended, so he could achieve a good result in the Demon Hunt Squad competition.
The Demon Hunt Squad Selection Competition on the Holy Demon Continent was nothing the Soul Master Tournament on the Douluo Continent could compare to.
Achieving a good result in this Demon Hunt Squad Selection Competition truly mattered. Choosing future teammates, earning merit through demon hunting-every single aspect was crucial.
He had never expected Qian Renxue to voluntarily upgrade their contract to a blood pact, sending his strength forward by leaps and bounds. Now, even against someone of the fifth order, Jiang Li could put up a fight and might even defeat them.
As a result, this Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Medicine could serve another purpose.
He wanted to refine it into pills to help Qian Renxue recover as soon as possible, and had spent the past three days pondering a completely new formula.
Now Long Haochen and his teacher Ye Hua had been added to the list.
"With the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Medicine as the main ingredient, supplemented by various other medicinal ingredients, there should be enough."
After making some calculations, Jiang Li felt it was feasible, and only then did he make that offer.
"Senior Brother, thank you. I'll head back and rest first."
Long Haochen was still somewhat weak. Although it did not affect him greatly, the hollow feeling of having his power suddenly drawn away made him very uncomfortable.
Fortunately, seeing his teacher's talent improve immediately lifted his spirits.
Ultimately, it was because Long Haochen's current cultivation level was still a little low. If he had broken through to the fifth order, he would not have felt this way.
"It's time to get started on refining the pills."
After his teacher also left the secret chamber, Jiang Li found Qian Renxue and told her he would be entering seclusion for a while. Only then did he begin preparing to refine the pills.
"Pill refining? I'd like to watch from the side."
Qian Renxue immediately took an interest.
Before you continue