"Have a drink," Qian Ran said, handing the tea to Ye Xishui.
Ye Xishui accepted the cup, studying it skeptically.
She couldn't see anything extraordinary about it. For a moment, she wondered if Qian Ran had drugged the tea, taking advantage of her being alone with him in this strange place.
Despite her suspicions, curiosity won. She took a sip.
The taste was unlike anything she had ever experienced. As the tea entered her mouth, a profound sensation overtook her. It felt as though she had been transported to a boundless ocean—not a literal sea, but one composed of infinite rules and laws. The chains of universal order and the threads of creation themselves flowed before her eyes.
The tea turned into gentle streams, coursing through her body, washing over her soul, and bringing a sense of tranquility and enlightenment.
In that instant, she glimpsed the essence of the world.
It was as if the universe was coded with laws and rules, like the lines of a complex program. To master these rules, to find the loopholes, was to ascend beyond the mundane and step into the realm of the divine.
Ye Xishui sank deeply into this surreal experience.
If there were a realm between Limit Douluo and true divinity, Ye Xishui was now on its threshold.
For someone like her, already at the pinnacle of human cultivation, what mattered most was direction.
Once a soul master reached the Limit Douluo level, the question became: where next? Continuing to meditate and accumulate soul power endlessly? The sheer amount required to breach the barrier into the demigod realm was insurmountable.
Humans, after all, lived only a few centuries at most, even at the Limit Douluo stage. Such a path was nearly impossible.
Achieving godhood required shortcuts, clarity of vision, and precise guidance.
Drinking the tea was like receiving a map through a labyrinth, leading her toward that elusive higher realm.
The three tiny tea leaves settled at the bottom of the cup seemed unremarkable at first, yet they radiated a unique, profound aura.
Unconsciously, Ye Xishui finished the tea.
When she opened her eyes again and looked at the leaves in the cup, they had already lost their vitality, fading into nothingness.
Still, the lingering taste and sensations captivated her. She found herself licking her lips, as though unwilling to waste even a single drop of the miraculous liquid.
She had understood.
Though her comprehension of the universe's profound rules was only superficial, it was enough.
What she had gained was direction.
After returning to meditate on her insights, Ye Xishui was confident she could take the next step forward. That step was the realm of the demigods.
Qian Ran, watching Ye Xishui delicately licking her lips and the rim of her cup, found himself momentarily stunned. The action was entirely unconscious, yet her youthful face paired with her mature, voluptuous body made it an almost unbearably seductive sight.
It wasn't the deliberate allure often employed by other women around him. This was raw, natural temptation—a fleeting glimpse of unintentional charm.
Now he truly understood why, in her youth, Ye Xishui had captivated two of the greatest talents of her time, Long Xiaoyao and Mu En. She likely had no idea how irresistible some of her unconscious gestures could be.
What he faced now, however, was the enhanced version of Ye Xishui. She had the face of a gentle, innocent girl and the body of a sultry, mature woman—a perfect blend of purity and sensuality. Her demeanor exuded elegance, but her presence radiated overwhelming allure.
Qian Ran struggled to maintain his composure as he looked at her once more, his gaze briefly lingering on her curvaceous figure before snapping himself back to focus.
Ye Xishui's reaction to the tea was exactly what Qian Ran had anticipated.
Ye Xishui was an ambitious woman. Her entire life, she had rarely encountered setbacks. Even if she couldn't achieve something on her own, there were always people like Long Xiaoyao willing to give their all to help her. This had shaped her lofty view of the world.
But her ambition was justified.
She wasn't a mere pretty face. Her talent was among the best in Douluo's history.
While Mu En and Long Xiaoyao each had a single martial soul, Ye Xishui was a twin martial soul user. This alone made her a genius far beyond the average Limit Douluo. Her cultivation had reached the same level as Mu En and Long Xiaoyao, but humanity's natural limits capped her at Level 99. Without godhood, even the most gifted soul master would remain stuck.
Moreover, Ye Xishui was the continent's premier soul engineer. By the end of the original story, she was a Level 10 soul engineer, an unprecedented accomplishment.
Her gifts were unparalleled. Compared to her, even prodigies like Huo Yuhao or Bibi Dong paled in comparison.
Ye Xishui's pride wasn't without reason.
Yet, what she desired most—the divine—eluded her.
For Ye Xishui, ascending to godhood wasn't just about immortality. It was about proving that nothing was beyond her reach.
"What kind of tea is this?" Ye Xishui asked after a long moment, her voice trembling with awe.
She knew what she had just consumed was no ordinary treasure.
Its value was immeasurable.
Compared to this tea, even the Snow Renewal Pills or Eternal Youth Elixirs were far inferior.
That single cup had unveiled the laws of the universe to her. Countless Limit Douluos had spent their lives striving for what she had just achieved in a fleeting moment.
Before drinking this tea, Ye Xishui had resigned herself to the thought that her life, like many other Limit Douluos, would end at that same peak without further progress. But now, she had taken a half-step forward, breaking into uncharted territory.
Though it was only a half-step, it was enough. Once she consolidated her newfound insights, her strength would increase by at least 30%.
This tea had achieved in an instant what a century of effort could not.
(End of Chapter)
Notes-Read advanced chapters in patreon.com/Shadow_D_X