Qian Renxue's Dedication to Physical Training

After breakfast, Ling Yuan took Qian Renxue to cultivate.

There were few ways to cultivate Soul Power on the Douluo Continent to begin with. Though it was called cultivation, it was really just ordinary meditation.

The only difference was that, with Ling Yuan, a Titled Douluo, present, she could give Qian Renxue pointers on what to watch out for while meditating.

Qian Renxue had intended to agree, but then she thought of her mysterious teacher and instinctively reached out to Jiang Nian.

"Teacher, how should I cultivate? Should I just cultivate the Flame Mantra as usual?"

Jiang Nian was very pleased by what Qian Renxue had done. It showed that she really did hold him close to her heart.

Jiang Nian said, "There's no rush to cultivate the Flame Mantra. You must have already noticed that even though it hasn't evolved, it raises your Soul Power very quickly. It won't be long before you reach rank 10."

"Rather than cultivate the Flame Mantra, you should be training your body now. Since you cultivate the Flame Mantra, your First Soul Ring should come from a fire-type Soul Beast that's at least a thousand years old. That will be more helpful to your future."

Qian Renxue sucked in a breath. "Teacher, can I absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring? My body might not be able to withstand it."

Jiang Nian patiently explained, "That's why you need to start tempering your body now. As for Soul Power, with the Flame Mantra, you don't need to worry about your cultivation speed falling short."

He thought for a moment, then said, "Let's start with something simple. Begin running today, and don't stop until I tell you to."

Qian Renxue agreed. "I understand, Teacher. Xue'er won't let you down!"

When their mental conversation ended, Qian Renxue looked at Ling Yuan Douluo. "Elder Ling Yuan, I want to train my body first."

Body training?

Ling Yuan frowned. "Young miss, you should be thinking about raising your Soul Power Level as quickly as possible. As your Soul Power increases, your body will grow stronger too."

Qian Renxue shook her head. "I've decided. Body training first!"

Ling Yuan gazed at her, thinking the child was just fooling around. Body training was hardly easy, and Qian Renxue, a pampered young miss, wouldn't be able to endure the hardship.

Still, she didn't stop her. She thought that once Qian Renxue had tasted the hardship, she would naturally listen to her.

And so, Ling Yuan took Qian Renxue to run outside Suotuo City. This was, of course, Qian Renxue's own request.

Ling Yuan stood on high ground, watching Qian Renxue while keeping an eye out for danger that might appear at any moment.

Qian Renxue settled her mind, cast aside every distracting thought, and began slowly running forward on her short little legs.

Meanwhile, Jiang Nian was also giving Qian Renxue pointers from within the mental world.

"That's right. Don't breathe too rapidly. Breathe in and out at a steady pace, and keep running at that rhythm."

Qian Renxue had good comprehension and worked hard, too. Even when her legs ached from running, she kept going because Jiang Nian hadn't told her to stop.

By the time the sun hung high overhead, a full four hours had passed. Apart from a short break Jiang Nian had told her to take midway through, Qian Renxue had been running the whole time.

The look Ling Yuan gave Qian Renxue gradually changed from initial disdain to a degree of appreciation.

In her view, there was no point in a child training her body, but that persistence was enough to move her.

By now, Qian Renxue felt weak all over. Her body felt as though it had been filled with lead, and she couldn't move another step.

Jiang Nian sensed that Qian Renxue had reached her limit, and only then did he speak. "Stop. Thanks for your hard work. Go back and get a good rest."

"All right... Teacher..."

No sooner had Qian Renxue spoken than her body began to fall straight to the ground. Fortunately, Ling Yuan reached her in time and scooped her up.

Of course, even if Ling Yuan hadn't come, Jiang Nian wouldn't have let Qian Renxue fall.

Ling Yuan had intended to scold Qian Renxue for not knowing her limits, but seeing that she had already fallen into a deep sleep, she said nothing more.

She carried Qian Renxue back to the Spirit Hall branch, buying a few changes of clothes for her on the street along the way. Once back, she prepared hot water and wiped Qian Renxue clean before laying her on the bed and covering her with a quilt.

"With the young miss's perseverance, if only her Innate Soul Power were a little higher and her Martial Soul were a complete Angel Martial Soul."

As the saying went, hard work couldn't change a Soul Master's upper limit. That was set in stone.

So Ling Yuan didn't think Qian Renxue would achieve anything particularly great, but with such perseverance, she wouldn't do too badly at anything that didn't depend on talent.

After Ling Yuan left, Jiang Nian took out the pill he had received from the inheritance and used Soul Power to place it beside Qian Renxue's pillow.

He certainly hadn't made Qian Renxue run for no reason. Pills that tempered the body could only reach their full effect once the body had reached its limit.

But pills were still not as good as medicinal baths.

Jiang Nian stroked his chin. "I can't have this girl keep getting half the result for twice the effort just because it's inconvenient for me to show myself. When she wakes up, I'll teach her to buy some simple herbs and prepare medicinal baths herself."

Qian Renxue slept until evening, even missing lunch.

When she woke up, her stomach was growling with hunger.

"Awake, girl?" Jiang Nian's voice rang out in Qian Renxue's mind. "I came to see you at noon, but you were asleep, so I didn't disturb you."

"You came to see me?!" Regret appeared on Qian Renxue's face. "I've disappointed you, Teacher. I actually missed you."

"No, you did very well. Thanks for your hard work," Jiang Nian said comfortingly. "I left a bottle of pills beside your pillow. In a moment, I'll list some medicinal ingredients. Find them yourself or have someone prepare them. From now on, take a medicinal bath after body training. Only then can you strengthen your body to the greatest extent."

Qian Renxue looked down and indeed found a jade porcelain bottle beside her pillow.

She realized she had never seen the material the bottle was made of before. She had expected it to feel icy cold, but to her surprise, the jade bottle felt warm and smooth in her hand. "Thank you, Teacher!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Qian Renxue tipped her head back and swallowed the pill.

Jiang Nian instructed her, "That's a Body Tempering Pill. Sit cross-legged right now and circulate the Flame Mantra to speed up the absorption of its medicinal effects."

Qian Renxue didn't dare slack off. She hurriedly sat cross-legged on the bed and closed her eyes. To her surprise, she found that after training her body, the Flame Mantra circulated even more smoothly, and she absorbed Soul Power more quickly as well.

Teacher really didn't lie to me. Body training helps me more than the dull work of cultivating a technique!

While Qian Renxue absorbed the pill, the Seraphim Template, which only Jiang Nian could see, also began to flicker. Its progress increased from 0% to 0.5%.

The next day, Qian Renxue personally went to the apothecary and gathered all the ingredients needed to prepare a medicinal bath for body training.

Then she once again began a day of running.

Running was harder to endure today than it had been yesterday. Because she hadn't taken a medicinal bath, even though the Body Tempering Elixir had helped ease her body's fatigue, its effect was far inferior to the bath's.

Qian Renxue hadn't run for long before her body began to ache, but without a word of complaint, she gritted her teeth and kept going.

To her surprise, she ran even farther than she had yesterday, and Jiang Nian told her to stop when she was on the verge of fainting.

Qian Renxue still needed to prepare her own medicinal bath today. If she passed out, the bath would be difficult to manage.

Seeing Qian Renxue "neglecting her proper duties," Ling Yuan also felt dissatisfaction well up inside her.

As a member of the Qian Family, even if her Innate Soul Power was low, she shouldn't torture her body to numb her mind!

Yes, in Ling Yuan's eyes, Qian Renxue was frantically torturing her body to numb herself.

Her appreciation for Qian Renxue gradually faded. Someone who only knew how to run away wasn't worth her attention.

When they returned today, Ling Yuan Douluo even gave Qian Renxue only a few brief instructions before ignoring her.

Now, Ling Yuan only wanted Qian Renxue to reach Soul Grandmaster quickly so they could leave Suotuo City.

Without Ling Yuan's interference, Qian Renxue was actually happier.

Following Jiang Nian's instructions, she personally went to simmer the ingredients for her medicinal bath.

As she worked, Qian Renxue asked, "Teacher, why don't we put all these ingredients in at once?"

Jiang Nian explained, "Though the ingredients are the same, there are rules about which go in first and which go in later. Get the order wrong, and even good ingredients can turn into poison."

"You have to follow the rules. That way, the bath won't make your chest burn."

"Oh... Teacher, you're amazing. You know so much."

"When we meet, I'll have even more knowledge to teach you."

"Mm, Xue'er really wants to meet you."

On the third day, Qian Renxue still paid no heed to the cultivation method Ling Yuan had suggested and went out running early in the morning.

This made Ling Yuan furious. "Rotten wood cannot be carved! Run, then! Run however you like!"

Angrily, she wrote a letter reporting everything Qian Renxue had done to Qian Daoliu in full detail and requested permission to return early.

Just looking at Qian Renxue "giving up on herself" like this made Ling Yuan's chest burn.