Late at night, the Duke's Mansion was utterly silent, with only the faint rustling of wind through the treetops breaking the stillness.
With a harsh grinding sound, the heavy iron door of the secret cultivation chamber slowly slid open. Liu Yuan stepped out, his face pale, his once-neat academy uniform mottled with white stains of dried sweat.
From day until night, he had spent hours mobilizing all of his mental force, forcibly suppressing the restless solidified spirit power crystals within his dantian.
Lowering his head, Liu Yuan glanced at his hands.
Although the situation had been temporarily stabilized, he could clearly sense that the crystals had merely been forced into the corners of his meridians. The root of the problem remained unsolved.
If he failed to find the correct path to condense a Soul Core, this loss of control would recur every few days—and each time, it would be more severe than the last.
"If this keeps up, something really bad is going to happen…" Liu Yuan rubbed his brow, a dull headache throbbing as the ever-present sense of crisis left him exhausted.
At that moment, an ice-blue figure flashed past. The Snow Empress appeared at the end of the corridor, quickly stepping forward. Her gaze swept over Liu Yuan with care, and only after sensing that the violent fluctuations had subsided did she ask softly, "Is it under control?"
"Barely," Liu Yuan sighed. "I've suppressed it for now, but this is just treating the symptoms, not the cause."
The Snow Empress nodded. Then, as if recalling something, she pointed toward the front gate of the Duke's Mansion. "Someone is waiting for you outside. She says her name is Wang Qiuer. She's been there since the afternoon."
"Wang Qiuer?" Liu Yuan froze slightly, surprise flashing in his eyes.
He hadn't expected the blonde girl he'd only met earlier that day to actually follow him here—and to wait outside the gates for so long.
"Why is she here…?" Liu Yuan muttered. He waved a hand toward the Snow Empress. "I'll go see what she wants."
…
Outside the gates of the Duke's Mansion, Wang Qiuer was still sitting on the stone steps.
The Bright Capital carried a faint nighttime chill, but she seemed oblivious to it, her gaze fixed intently on the depths of the manor.
When the gates opened again and Liu Yuan's familiar figure emerged, her heterochromatic eyes lit up at once.
She jumped to her feet, rushed over in a few quick steps, and asked anxiously, "Are you alright? I felt the aura inside become extremely chaotic just now."
Seeing the worry written plainly on her face, Liu Yuan felt his guarded heart soften slightly. "I'm fine for now," he said gently. "It hasn't reached the point where my body explodes yet."
Then he asked, "But what about you? Why are you still here so late instead of returning to the academy?"
Hearing that he could still joke, Wang Qiuer finally let out a breath of relief. Her expression soon turned serious as she lowered her voice. "I came because of you."
"Liu Yuan, the trouble you're facing is related to condensing a Soul Core ahead of time, isn't it? I have a way to help you."
Standing behind Liu Yuan, the Snow Empress frowned slightly. As a spirit beast, she instinctively distrusted outsiders of unknown origin.
In her view, if even someone of her level couldn't resolve Liu Yuan's condition, how could a teenage girl manage it?
"Little girl, don't speak so lightly," the Snow Empress said coolly. "The method of condensing a Soul Core is incredibly profound. Liu Yuan's internal condition is so complex that even a Titled Douluo would be helpless. How could you help him?"
Wang Qiuer ignored the Snow Empress entirely, her gaze fixed on Liu Yuan alone.
Liu Yuan remained silent for a moment. His perception told him clearly that the girl before him harbored no ill intent. Moreover, he had already seen through her true identity.
"Come in and talk," he said at last, stepping aside to let her enter.
The Snow Empress looked at him in surprise but didn't stop them, simply following in silence.
The three of them arrived at an inner hall of the Duke's Mansion.
Without hesitation, Wang Qiuer explained everything she had learned—from the "liquid-to-solid" processing method, to constructing vortex guidance compatible with dual martial soul attributes, to the fine control of mental force required for a proto-form of yin-yang complementarity.
Her tone was earnest and focused, and she even laid out extremely subtle patterns in spirit power distribution with remarkable clarity.
As Liu Yuan listened, the shock in his heart deepened.
The theory was rigorous, precise, and perfectly suited to his current predicament. This was no fabrication—it was genuinely the highest-level method for condensing a Soul Core.
By the time Wang Qiuer finished, the night had grown deep.
"That's everything I know," she said, standing up. She looked slightly tired, yet her expression was relaxed. "You must try following the vortex guidance method—don't force it. I'll head back now. Be careful."
Liu Yuan escorted her out of the manor. Watching her slender figure disappear into the night, he stood there in silence for a long time.
When he returned to the inner hall, the Snow Empress finally asked, "Liu Yuan, do you really trust her?"
"What she said sounds orderly and convincing, but her origins are unknown. If she hid some trap at a critical turning point, once you begin, there will be no way back."
Liu Yuan turned to her calmly. "She is the Auspicious Beast—the Three-Eyed Golden Lion of the Star Dou Great Forest."
"The Auspicious Beast?!" the Snow Empress exclaimed in disbelief. "You're saying that girl was the Auspicious Beast in human form? But… I didn't sense even a trace of a spirit beast's aura from her."
"She used a special secret technique," Liu Yuan explained. "It's related to the Power of Fate. Combined with her unique method of taking human form, even an ordinary Limit Douluo might not be able to see through her."
The Snow Empress frowned. "Then how did you see through it?"
Liu Yuan only smiled faintly and didn't elaborate.
Seeing this, the Snow Empress let the matter drop. Her concern lay elsewhere. "The knowledge she gave you clearly came from Di Tian."
"He's the king of spirit beasts. If there's a hidden scheme in what he taught her, what will you do?"
The room fell silent. Candlelight flickered faintly.
After a long while, Liu Yuan lifted his head, determination flashing in his eyes.
"I don't have another choice," he said softly. "If I keep suppressing it like this, I don't know how much longer I can last. Eventually, the solid spirit power will spiral out of control and kill me. Rather than waiting for death, I'd rather take a gamble."
He stood and looked toward the cultivation chamber. "Besides, Di Tian may be hostile to humans, but he is absolutely loyal to the Auspicious Beast. Since this knowledge came through Wang Qiuer, he has no reason to set a lethal trap."
He paused, his tone cautious. "At worst, I'll proceed carefully. I'll extract only a small amount of solid spirit power first and simulate the vortex. If I sense any danger, I'll stop immediately."
"I can't leave a problem that could explode at any moment unresolved just because I'm afraid of being plotted against."
Seeing the resolve in his eyes, the Snow Empress sighed. "Since you've decided, I'll guard you the entire time. If your aura becomes unstable, I'll immediately use Extreme Ice to forcibly freeze your dantian—even if it damages my own foundation."
Liu Yuan smiled faintly. "That's not what we agreed on, is it? Didn't you say that if I died or became a god, you'd be free? You should be looking forward to my death."
The Snow Empress snorted. "You still have time to joke? Go cultivate!"
Laughing, Liu Yuan turned and left.
Left alone, the Snow Empress let out a helpless sigh. "It seems… I've changed quite a bit too."
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