Translator: Larbre Studio
Editor: Larbre Studio
Within the bedroom, Lin Qian was snuggled comfortably on the soft, cosy bed. With a face of bliss, he reflected deeply, “What a nostalgic scent. Maybe I should bring this bed along when I return to the Universal Phenomenon Sect.”
In his past life, a proverb encompassed this comfort perfectly. East, West, still your own home is the best.
In this courtyard, Lin Qian spent twelve years of his childhood.
“Oh man, my future Father-in-law treats me so well. They always say, a son-in-law is half a son. But I think he treats me better than his own son.” Flipping sideways, Lin Qian sat up straight and looked at his neatly tidied and well-maintained bedroom.
This courtyard’s bedrooms were not open to anyone else. In the past years, no one slept in this room even once. Yet, it was still adequately maintained. Evidently, Ye Nanxin had instructed for it to be cleaned regularly, ensuring that it was ready for his return any time.
Crossing his legs together, Lin Qian adopted his cultivation posture. With a flick of his hand, a crystal bottle morphed in thin air, falling lightly onto his palm. The crystalline bottle was transparent, narrow on the top with a generously broad base. On its surface, majestic golden stripes were intricately carved.
Within it, a transparent, pale-purple liquid gently swayed. This mysterious purple liquid was none other than the coveted EXP Pots.
Pulling out the plug, Lin Qian downed the entire bottle in one clean motion. Within instants, a mysterious warm built up within his body, rushing through his veins and engulfing his entirety.
Having drunk the potion, Lin Qian could clearly feel it. His Soul Energy was pumped and brimming with adrenaline. They were gushing through his body at a much higher pace.
Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind of all thoughts, meditating and pushing his Energy in an exclusive method passed down by his teacher.
Heaven and Earth’s Energy flocked towards him, forming a tornado, gushing towards him and disappearing into his pores. Within his body, they were quickly transformed into pure Soul Energy, circulating through his body non-stop.
At the same time within Lin Qian the pure white whirlpool swirled, spewing an endless flood of pure Heaven and Earth Energy. The stream of Energy was pumped forward as Lin Qian breathed in the unique method taught to him, refining them further into Soul Energy.
From the depths of the whirlpool, the Heaven and Earth’s Energy flooded out in volumes at least ten fold larger than what in Qian could absorb by himself.
This pure white whirlpool, it was Lin Qian’s unique Martial Soul.
Indeed, all Martial Soul had to be a weapon. It was true, all of them had to be a weapon, except for Lin Qian’s.
Initially, he too, was doubtful if it was a martial soul. Yet, he had to acknowledge it as one, if not, there was no means for cultivation.
Not only that, Heaven and Earth’s Energy never ceased to seep out from the whirlpool, even when Lin Qian was not training. Drop by drop, pure Energy passes through his body continuously refining his physical body.
Literally, every second of his life, be it awake or asleep, his body was being trained and enhanced. All night and day, Lin Qian’s physique was honed by the Spiritual Energy. As a result, his body’s toughness was peerless within Soul Practitioners of the same stage of cultivation.
Moreover, within the pure white whirlpool, there was practically infinite storage and EXP Pots from his past life’s war simulator game.
Previously, Lin Qian dove into the whirlpool with his subconsciousness for some investigation. However, all he could find was just a familiar azure blue sky. Within this vast space, he could sense nothing else, not a single object that he had previously stored was to be found.
Yet, a simple command was all he had to think for the objects he had stored to be ejected, instantly materialising before him.
Even more mysteriously, the potions he wanted could be ejected by the whirlpool under the same conditions within having stored them within prior.
All sorts of potions were readily available. If Lin Qian wanted health-restoring potions, rejuvenating medication would be ejected. If he wanted to restore Soul Energy, Energy restoring medication would be discharged. These rejuvenating medicine and Energy restoring medication were also commonly known to gamers as, Red and Blue Potions.
When he discovered his freakish Martial Soul, Lin Qian was bound within the nightmarish cell by his captors. The gloomy, perilous conditions kept him on his toes every single moment. Yet, when he discovered his awesome capabilities, Lin Qian was astounded and left in a daze.
This limitless number of Red Potions was the very item that restored his teacher’s Vitality, helping them break out of the hell on Earth they were in.
Alas, nothing comes free. The Martial Soul was a double-edged sword. Till now, Lin Qian could not achieve the Vitality Equipment Infusion.
“Hmph, even so, I can confidently breeze through this world.” With an extraordinarily confident expression, Lin Qian sunk back into his cultivation.
As time trickled along, Soul Energy pumped through Lin Qian’s body, tempering his physique and raising his class standards.
There were different stages within the hierarchy of Soul Practitioners, with the primary stage being the 3 Vitality Stages; Entrance, Condensation and Materialisation stage.
Absorbing the Heaven and Earth’s Energy into the body, refining it into Soul Energy and allowing it to flow within and strengthen the body. That was the first stage of Vitality, the Entrance stage. Once a practitioner could achieve this, they could be considered a Soul Practitioner.
To enter the Condensed Vitality Stage, the practitioner must be able to circle the Soul Energy within their Dantian, enveloping their bodies. By doing so, their battle prowess would increase by leaps and bounds.
Once they enter the Materialised Vitality Stages, their Soul Energy could take form as matter. At this stage, the Energy from within could be released outside, where they would come together as one, making all sorts of shapes and forms, bringing unimaginable destructive power.
Within each primary stage, there were 9 smaller tiers. Within Mt. Ba City, there were 3 top Soul Practitioners, all being at the Materialised Vitality Stage. They were Ye Family Head, Ye Nanxin, the Governor’s Bai Family Head and the Li Family Head.
At this moment, Lin Qian’s skills were not only also at the Materialised VItality Stage, but at the high fifth-tier!
Should Lin Qian’s true abilities be leaked, the entire Mt. Ba City would probably be stupefied and struck by disbelief.
The very fact that Lin Qian only trained his cultivation for a short span of one and a half years could be probably sufficient to bat the consciousness out of aspiring Soul Practitioners.
Suddenly, Lin Qian’s eyelids flew open, his eyes jumping straight into attention, out from the deep concentration of cultivation. A dominating presence was approaching him.
The owner was not hiding his presence at all. Without a doubt, it was his future Father-in-law.
Turning towards the window, he found himself engulfed in darkness. The sun had long set, without a single candle, the room was dark and gloomy. The only light came from the soft, crystalline moonlight seeping through the windows.
“Lin Qian?” Ye Nanxin’s concerned voice echoed from outside the door.
Hearing his arrival, Lin Qian jumped out of bed, quickly lighting the candles before welcoming his future Father-in-law in. Upon opening the door, he could see Ye Nanxin’s concerned expressions. Yet, with the sight of Lin Qian, the deep ridges on this forehead instantly flattened.
“Uncle Ye! It’s so late already, what brings you here?” Courteous, Lin Qian ushered Ye Nanxin into the room, smilingly asking.
Sitting beside the small table by the bed, Ye Nanxin shooked his head as he smiled disapprovingly, “I passed by and saw that your courtyard was in pitch-darkness. I thought something happened to you and quickly rushed over!”
“Haha! This is the mansion Mount Ba City’s top three families, The Ye Family! I even have you protecting this place. What could possibly happen?” Scoffing at the impossible excuse, Lin Qian’s eyes narrowed onto his future Father-in-law, “Uncle Ye, I think, this is not your reason for your visit?”
“What a rascal, smart since birth… maybe a bit too smart.” Seeing that Lin Qian had read through him easily, Ye Nanxin could only laugh awkwardly, “Indeed, Uncle Ye came with a purpose. It’s about my little girl.”
“Xin’er?” Hearing Ye Nanxin’s words, the rosy cheeks and gentle smile of a beautiful girl surfaced within Lin Qian’s mind.
“Returning after so many years, I’m sure many Ye Clansmen had welcomed you with numerous sharp-tongued insults. But, now, let me tell you firmly.” Shifting towards Lin Qian, Ye Nanxin’s words echoed firmly as he patted Lin Qian’s shoulders, “The engagement still stands, stronger than ever. I will not cancel and neither would Xin’er. You two have been close since they were young, and you have never left her heart.”
“With that said, you are still a pretty amazing fella! Can’t believe that you have already forged such strong bonds with the Universal Phenomenon Sect Disciples! They actually called me Uncle Ye, can you believe it? Could be…your refined, handsome looks have caught their hearts… or maybe…”
“…”
Hearing the wild fantasies, Lin Qian was dumbstruck.
Burning through all his methods, Lin Qian finally eased all the blind guesses from Ye Nanxin’s mind and showed him out of the courtyard.
Returning to his room, Lin Qian sat at the table, his eyes cloudy and dazed. On the table, a stack of unopened letters was dimly lit by the warm, golden candle flames.
All of the letters were addressed to him by his fiancee, Ye Xin. A letter for every month. Having left the Ye Mansion for 4 years, he found 48 letters, unread and unopened from her.
Following the dates written, Lin Qian opened the first letter, written soon after this capture to the nightmarish place.
Opening the envelope, a set of beautiful and elegant handwriting welcomed his eyes.
“Little Qian, I got into the Holy Sword Sect. The teacher may be aged, but she is terrific. I think, from now on, with me around, no one would dare to bully you ever again. From this letter, Ye Xin’s joy and excitement were easily felt. She rambled on about the places she had been to for training and several other exciting things with the Sect.
“Little Qian, why aren’t you back yet? Didn’t you promise to be by my side till eternity? How could you leave without a single word…” On this heartfelt letter, the tear stains drew a pained sigh from Lin Qian.
The 3rd letter then the 4th…
Reading letter by letter, the ridges on Lin Qian’s forehead grew deeper and deeper, and his breath steadily got heavier. Within each brush and stroke, Lin Qian could feel Ye Xin’s immense love and concern for him.
By their ages, Ye Xin was a year his senior. At 13, Ye Xin became of age. She was enchanted by the many stories and jokes Lin Qian knew from his past life on Earth. Ever since then, they were always together, like fish and water,
In this world, engagement and marriages were fixed and executed early. His parents of this life even had him by the tender age of 18.
From the letters, Lin Qian could feel Ye Xin’s fatigue and desperate to find him. Even since she entered the Holy Sword Sect, she had not received any good news of his whereabouts.
Alas, despite her burning will search every location for her lover, her teacher rejected her tearful pleas. Only when she successfully breaks through the 3 primary Vitality stages and enter the Nirvana Stage, could she leave and search for Lin Qian
Lin Qian knew how much Ye Xin hated cultivation and training. Yet, from the Blade’s Aura infused within the letters, Ye Xin underwent lightning-speed improvements.
How much effort had she been putting in for me…
In her latest letter, the writings weren’t as elegant as before, even slightly slip-shot. Her Blade’s Aura was also messy and frantic. Only 4 words were written.
I really miss you.
Previously, Ye Nanxin had broken some alarming news from Ye Xin’s teacher at the Holy Sword Sect.
Desperate for progress, Ye Xin had thrown herself, without permission, into a dangerous training ground. Her rash act had almost cost her life.
Quoting Ye Nanxin, “Xin’er’s teacher had asked for me to tell her a white lie. Telling her that you have returned, or else, this girl would go maniacal and throw her life away at this rate.”
“Stupid girl….” Lin Qian muttered in a pained voice, as he stared wistfully at the letters, before putting them away.
“I am no longer that worthless man that can’t cultivate anymore, wait for me, we will meet very soon!” Storing the letters carefully into his Whirlpool Martial Soul, his lips curled as he stared into the darkness outside of the windows, “Xin’er, when that time comes, how surprised would you be?”