The early morning sunlight high in the sky was particularly dazzling, streaming through the window onto Lin Gu's face.
Lin Gu woke up, and his daily quests refreshed. [Visit your master. Reward: 100 gold coins!]
The daily quests were all very simple and generally easy to complete.
Lin Gu stretched and found himself sleeping alone in bed. Where had Qian Renxue gone?
He got up in his thin pajamas, planning to get dressed and attend to business first: his daily quest, as well as the ninety-two [Heartsteel] procs he had accumulated overnight.
Yesterday, he had "steeled" ten times in one final stretch.
Lin Gu's HP had now reached 21,700,186,000. With such terrifying HP, he could practically swagger around unchallenged, but it still was not enough.
He had to "steel" all ninety-two remaining procs.
Lin Gu planned to reach a trillion HP first. Staying by Qian Daoliu's side, he would surpass a trillion HP in just over a month.
When the time came and he brought out his weapon, it would deal damage equal to thirty percent of his HP. Who could withstand hundreds of billions of damage in a single slash?
Lin Gu smiled, but after searching for ages, he still could not find his clothes!
"Strange. I clearly put them here yesterday. Where did they go?"
As Lin Gu puzzled over this, the door suddenly opened. Qian Renxue walked in cheerfully, carrying a set of clothes. Seeing that Lin Gu was awake, she said:
"Xiao Gu, hurry and put these on. Your clothes looked too old, so I bought you a new set. Come on, try them on!"
Lin Gu froze. Before he could react, Qian Renxue had already dressed him. He watched as she thoughtfully put his clothes on for him, continually admiring her own taste.
"Mm, not bad. You look much more handsome now!"
Lin Gu now wore a pale white long robe and looked very refined.
Then Qian Renxue took a snowflake-shaped sash from her bosom, fastened it around Lin Gu's waist, and said:
"This is your big sister's surprise for you. It's a Storage Soul Tool called the Six-Snow Sky-Congealing Sash. It can store items, and it's a pair with my Seven-Heavens Firmament-Embracing Sash. It's yours."
Lin Gu looked at the Six-Snow Sky-Congealing Sash around his waist, then at the equally beautiful sash around Qian Renxue's waist. He happened to need one himself, so he said:
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Let's go see Grandpa together. It's time to start cultivating."
Like someone looking after her own little brother, Qian Renxue took Lin Gu by the hand and went to find her grandfather.
At the very center of the hall stood a magnificent golden throne, the throne of the Great Enshrined, Qian Daoliu. This was where he usually looked down upon the world!
"Grandpa, we're here!"
Seeing Qian Renxue arrive with Lin Gu, Qian Daoliu beamed. "Xiao Xue, Xiao Gu, you're here. Let's begin cultivating!"
He spoke dotingly, seemingly treating Lin Gu as his own grandson as well.
Naturally, Lin Gu would not let this opportunity slip away. He immediately cupped his hands and bowed.
"Your disciple pays his respects, Master!"
His daily quest was complete, and a hundred gold coins arrived.
Qian Daoliu nodded, thinking that this Xiao Gu was quite polite. Seeing this, Lin Gu seized the opportunity to make physical contact and trigger [Heartsteel]'s effect. He hurried forward and continued:
"Master, let me massage your shoulders first and help you relax!"
Seeing his sincerity, Qian Daoliu nodded.
And so, Lin Gu stepped forward and massaged Qian Daoliu's shoulders, activating [Heartsteel] with a thought.
"How is it, Master? Does that feel good?"
Qian Daoliu nodded. As a rank ninety-nine Peerless Douluo, he naturally had no need for this, but he still indulged Lin Gu's filial intentions.
Meanwhile, Lin Gu felt his HP soar.
Each proc gave him 1.5 billion. During those ten minutes of shoulder massage, he used up all ninety-two "steel" procs he had saved over the past few days.
His HP increased by 138 billion.
His total HP directly reached 159,700,186,000.
Lin Gu secretly rejoiced. My vitality is on a whole different level now. Even if Titled Douluo joined forces, my shield could probably withstand them with ease.
"All right, Xiao Gu. Your master appreciates the thought. Go cultivate!"
Lin Gu nodded and continued saving up [Heartsteel] procs for his next round of "steeling"!
Qian Renxue watched from the side with her arms folded, thinking, This Xiao Gu really knows how to win people over.
And so, the two cultivated together under Qian Daoliu's guidance.
Soon, the days passed one after another. Xiao Gu massaged Qian Daoliu's shoulders almost every day, for only a few minutes each time, but his gains were swift. Almost every day, more than twenty billion HP came pouring in.
Thus, a year passed!
Lin Gu had grown familiar with the place. Spending day and night with Qian Renxue, the two had also developed quite an understanding.
By now, Lin Gu's Soul Power had broken through to rank twenty.
Qian Renxue had also reached rank seventy. Once she obtained a Soul Ring, she could break through to Soul Saint.
And she was only sixteen. Her talent was simply terrifying, and this was with her waiting for Lin Gu. In fact, she had reached rank seventy half a year ago.
But she wanted to hunt Soul Beasts with Lin Gu, so she had kept waiting.
Over the course of that year, Lin Gu completed his daily quests every day and increased his HP. He had also purchased his second Weapon Slot item at the ten-month mark.
At the time, Qian Renxue had asked in great puzzlement:
"Xiao Gu, how did your little knife turn into a greatsword? Didn't you say you had to break through to the next realm before you could get equipment?"
Lin Gu merely smiled faintly.
"Yes. Who said this wasn't the equipment I got for obtaining my First Soul Ring?"
Qian Renxue was astonished!
"So that's it! You could get your breastplate as soon as you awakened your Martial Soul, but the equipment from your First Soul Ring, that Thousand-Year Soul Ring, only became available now?"
Lin Gu nodded and explained, "That's right. Equipment takes some time, so I've finally obtained my second piece, the [Blade of the Bloodbath]."
The two chatted under Qian Daoliu's tutelage.
Lin Gu held the [Blade of the Bloodbath]. It was a greatsword, its blade a full two meters tall, more than twice Lin Gu's current height.
The sword was broad, and its hilt shone with purple light, wreathed in dark purple flames.
A dark red aura surrounded the blade, whose center spread out red as fresh blood.
The sword was imposing, but it looked like a demonic sword brimming with Demonic Qi.
Qian Daoliu examined the sword carefully. Just looking at it, he could feel the baleful aura emanating from it, a power that chilled the heart.
As Lin Gu held the sword, it constantly drank his HP and gradually grew larger. It even absorbed his HP by percentage. Although Lin Gu now had over a trillion HP, he still could not endure the sword's erosion.
However, the more HP it consumed, the larger and more powerful the sword became.
Lin Gu hurriedly put it away. If he let it keep absorbing his HP, he feared his reserves would not hold out.
Lin Gu shook his head. This sword was truly overbearing, but its damage was proportional as well.
Naturally, Qian Daoliu noticed Lin Gu's discomfort and hurriedly said:
"This equipment of yours is powerful, certainly, but don't use it unless you have absolutely no other choice. It seems to place a great burden on you."
Lin Gu nodded. He naturally knew that, but once this sword strikes, paired with my trillion HP, it's enough to insta-kill anything.
Over the past year, Lin Gu had not used all his [Heartsteel] procs on Qian Daoliu.
His current HP still stood at 1,200,000,186,000.
He also had five hundred [Heartsteel] procs remaining, which Lin Gu had saved in preparation for a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Seeing this, Qian Daoliu clapped his hands, summoned Jiang Mo and Qian Jun Douluo, and told them:
"You two, accompany Xiao Xue and Xiao Gu to hunt Soul Beasts!"
"Yes, Lord Great Enshrined!"