Zhu Ziyang composed himself, put away the World-Pacifying Scythe, and continued organizing his gains.
After the increases to his soul power and martial soul evolution, came the 100,000-year soul ring from the Silver Dragon Wolf. This soul ring granted his Celestial Frost Holy White Dragon martial soul two soul skills:
The first was one he had already used: Celestial Frost Dragon Claw, which could instantly boost his strength to three to four times his base power—a devastating increase.
The second was an even more powerful control-type soul skill.
Besides the soul ring, a 100,000-year soul beast always produces a soul bone, and the Silver Dragon Wolf had left behind a right arm bone, which Zhu Ziyang named the Silver Dragon Wolf Right Arm Bone.
This soul bone also came with two abilities:
A control-type skill called Frozen Time, which freezes time in a five-meter radius for three seconds using ice of absolute zero. It could currently only be used once every three days.
An attack-type skill called Dragon Wolf Extreme Frost Burst, which unleashes an ice beam of pure extreme cold that can freeze anything in its path. This was the Dragon Wolf's signature skill.
Thanks to integrating both the 100,000-year soul ring and soul bone, Zhu Ziyang's physical strength had greatly improved. He could now easily endure the power of a ten-thousand-year soul ring. When he reached his fourth ring, he would be able to target ten-thousand-year soul beasts directly.
Lastly, based on the memories inherited from the Silver Dragon Wolf, Zhu Ziyang had also acquired the fate she once carried.
Fate—a mysterious and elusive concept. Many scholars had studied it, but no one had reached concrete conclusions. Its origin, how to quantify it, and its laws remained a mystery. Apart from a few ancient myths passed down orally by long-standing factions, the soul master world knew almost nothing about fate.
However, Zhu Ziyang had once read a Church-era text written by a certain Pope of the Spirit Hall which discussed fate. According to this Pope, fate resides in soul beasts. Only regions with large soul beast populations could give birth to a "Rui Beast", or auspicious beast, that carried fate. All other soul beasts in that region would then receive the blessing of heaven and earth.
Though vague, this theory at least taught Zhu Ziyang one thing: Rui Beasts could share their blessing with other soul beasts.
So what exactly is the blessing of heaven and earth?
It is a special state where:
Cultivation speeds up
Bottlenecks decrease
Training becomes much more efficient
It's an extremely rare but powerful boost.
But what happens when a human inherits the fate of a Rui Beast?
Zhu Ziyang pondered this deeply, but after a while, he shook his head.
It wasn't something he could worry about now.
After finishing his reflection, he calmed his emotions and raised his right hand. A beam of light appeared in his palm. He smiled and dismissed it. Then, he conjured a thin layer of frost on his palm.
"Not bad!" he said with a grin, dispersing the frost.
As a dual-attribute martial soul user, Zhu Ziyang had reached elemental affinity levels of:
90 for Light, and
95 for Ice
An affinity of 90 is the minimum threshold for an extreme attribute. While it might not seem impressive, very few geniuses ever cross the gap from 89 to 90. That single percentage point is like a chasm.
Now that he had surpassed 90, Zhu Ziyang could control light and ice elements instinctively—as easily as eating or sleeping. This level of control was a unique gift of those who possessed extreme martial souls.
What he had just done was proof of this.
When all was said and done, Zhu Ziyang decided to go home. Only then did he realize... he was still naked.
Unfazed, he casually pulled out a set of clothes from his jade spatial bangle. As he dressed, he noticed they didn't quite fit—but didn't think much of it. He just wanted to get back home quickly. After all, he hadn't come home all night, and Liang Ying would definitely be angry.
He hurried toward Beihe Village.
When he arrived home, he had just stepped inside when Liang Ying stormed over.
"Zhu Ziyang, look at you! Staying out all night! You think becoming a Soul Elder makes you untouchable? Hmph! Just because you're the same level as me now doesn't mean I won't beat you up!"
Liang Ying had recently reached level 32 Soul Elder, so she said this only half-jokingly.
What she didn't know was that her precious son had already reached level 35.
"Heh... It's not like that! I just had a breakthrough last night and got caught up in it," Zhu Ziyang said with a sheepish grin. Then he quickly apologized,
"Sorry, Mom. I won't do it again!"
"Hmph! Good that you know!" Liang Ying huffed, satisfied. But then she stared at him quietly, a strange look in her eyes.
Zhu Ziyang was confused.
"Mom? Do I have something on my face?"
"No… I just realized—you've grown so tall... and so handsome," she murmured with a look of pride and love.
"Mom, that's a bit sudden!" Zhu Ziyang said, laughing. "You're going to make me blush!"
"It's my fault—I didn't even notice your clothes don't fit anymore," Liang Ying said, tugging at his shirt with a sigh.
"It's not your fault, Mom. I just grew too fast!" he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder with a smile.
He had grown quite a bit overnight, but didn't dwell on it.
"Yeah, yeah, you rascal!" Liang Ying said with a playful smack on his shoulder. "Come, let's get you something from your dad's closet for now. I'll sew you some new clothes today."
"Alright!" Zhu Ziyang followed behind her, beaming.
After changing, he stood in front of the mirror and was genuinely surprised.
He now stood over 1.7 meters tall, close to 1.75 meters. His once delicate features now had a refined aura—thanks to the evolution of his martial soul. He now had the kind of charm that would captivate any girl going through adolescence.
"I really am getting more handsome!" he thought to himself, admiring his reflection.
Then he decided to visit Jiang Nannan.
He found her in her backyard, practicing soft techniques—martial movements developed by Soft-Bone Rabbit soul masters over generations, originally inspired by the legendary Soft-Bone Douluo. These techniques used flexibility to overwhelm force, like redirecting strength with grace.
Even though Jiang Nannan didn't follow the traditional path of Soft-Bone Rabbit users, soft techniques still greatly benefited her combat style.
"Ziyang-ge! You're back!" Jiang Nannan called out joyfully when she saw him. Then she blinked in surprise.
"Wait… why do you seem different?"
Zhu Ziyang smiled but said nothing.
He spent half the day at her house.
That night, back in his room, Zhu Ziyang sat on his bed and began meditating.
But just as he entered a trance, a deep, ancient voice echoed in his ears:
"To grasp the sun and pluck the stars—there is none like me in this world.
To think a mere wisp of my soul would survive…"