Chapter 10: Two Years Later, the Blue Silver Emperor Awakens.
Ye Xuanming did not enter the city. After greeting the uncle, he headed alone towards the Sunset Forest in the east.
On the outskirts of the forest, there lies a sizable town.
Sunset Town.
Sunset Town is not as bleak as its name suggests.
It is located right next to the Heavenly Dou Imperial City, and is more like a satellite town of the imperial city, bustling and orderly.
The town's cobblestone streets were worn smooth by the constant flow of people, and shops lined both sides of the street, including taverns, blacksmith shops, and pharmacies.
The air was filled with the aroma of food, occasionally mixed with the bitter scent of herbs.
Ye Xuanming walked down the street without attracting much attention.
What this place has no shortage of is Soul Masters.
They either gathered in small groups, carrying their packs, preparing to enter the nearby Sunset Forest; or they went alone, polishing their weapons in a corner of a tavern.
Ye Xuanming quickly found a small, clean and tidy hotel in a remote location and booked a room for an extended stay for one silver soul coin.
Closing the door shut out the noise from the outside world.
Ye Xuanming looked around. The room was small, with just a bed, a table, and a chair.
But he was very satisfied.
This will be his place of seclusion for a long time to come.
...
Time is the most fleeting thing.
Spring passes and autumn comes, cold comes and summer comes.
The old locust tree outside the window, its leaves turn green and then yellow, then fall, in an endless cycle.
Two years have passed quietly.
Inside the room, the figure of an eight-year-old boy was engaged in some kind of strange exercise.
He didn't use any equipment; he just kept repeating simple movements: pushing, pulling, squatting, and standing up.
Sweat had already soaked through his thin clothes, clinging tightly to his body and outlining his strong muscles, which were far beyond those of his peers.
With each exertion of force, a slight popping sound could be heard coming from between the muscles and bones.
Two years later, although he did not undergo the Whale Glue Body Refinement, Ye Xuanming began high-intensity physical training.
Thanks to the soul skill of the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone, which has the effect of "wildfire cannot burn it out and spring breeze blows it back to life", he can recover through this skill every time he reaches his physical limit.
When the last bit of strength in his body was exhausted, Ye Xuanming finally stopped, collapsing to the ground, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for breath.
He did not immediately enter meditation, but allowed the tingling and numb sensation of exhaustion to spread throughout his body.
Only in this way can you truly feel every bit of your body's growth.
After resting for a while, he struggled to sit up cross-legged and entered a meditative state.
After two years of arduous training, his soul power was no longer at level thirteen.
Within his dantian, the blue aura of soul power had grown to a critical point, radiating a harmonious and full glow.
Level 20!
They were just one step away from a complete breakthrough.
...
In Ye Xuanming's spiritual sea, which was inaccessible to outsiders, a blue-haired phantom quietly floated.
Ah Yin has been awake for a long time.
A year and a half ago, she finally woke up from that dazed state.
She figured out her situation.
Her original Blue Silver Emperor form was devoured by the young man before her using a strange Blue Silver Grass martial soul, and all her essence was used to make a wedding dress for him.
That Blue Silver Grass must be a heretic of the Blue Silver Grass clan, the Dark Blue Silver Grass.
As for himself, because of the 100,000-year-old soul bone, he became a wisp of remnant soul, residing in his spiritual world and becoming a spirit.
She was angry, she was sad, and she was desperate.
But when Ah Yin began to observe the boy who had taken everything from her, all her emotions were gradually replaced by an indescribable shock.
Cultivation.
The practice is endless.
This child, who looks only eight years old, spends his life nothing but cultivating himself.
He had no friends, no entertainment, and not even a trace of the liveliness that comes with childhood.
Every morning, I begin my meditation before dawn.
In the afternoon, I underwent rigorous, even self-destructive, physical training.
At night, he would try again and again to fuse those two completely opposite martial soul skills.
Ah Yin watched as he transformed the two spears, representing life and destruction, from initial fierce repulsion to a point where they could now barely maintain a momentary fusion.
Although it lasted only a moment, the grayish energy produced after the fusion, and the terrifying aura contained within it, even made her feel frightened.
What terrifying control and mental strength does this require?
What she found even more incomprehensible was his composure and self-discipline, which were completely out of character for his age.
For two years, it was the same routine day after day, so monotonous it was maddening.
But he enjoyed it and never slacked off in the slightest.
"Who exactly is he?"
Ah Yin asked herself this question more than once.
"How did he know I was in the cave? And why did he say those things?"
Once the seed of curiosity is planted, it will grow wildly.
She wanted to know all the secrets about this boy.
...
It's another morning.
Ye Xuanming sat cross-legged on the bed, his mind sinking into his dantian.
Inside the Qi Sea, the aura of soul power had expanded to its limit, and even tiny cracks appeared on its surface.
He knew the time had come.
He stopped suppressing himself, focused all his mind, and guided all the soul power in his body to launch a final assault on that invisible barrier!
"boom!"
A muffled thunderclap seemed to resound in my mental world.
That solid barrier shattered under the onslaught of immense soul power.
A more refined and massive torrent of energy surged into his limbs and bones in an instant.
The meridians were widened, the bones resounded with joy, and even the sea of spirit stirred up a monstrous wave at this moment, its range suddenly expanding outward.
Level 20! You did it!
Ye Xuanming was overjoyed and was about to carefully experience the changes after the breakthrough.
But at that moment, he "saw" it.
As the Sea of Spirit expands, much of the mist that once shrouded it has dissipated.
In the center of his mental world, a figure floated silently.
She was an extremely beautiful woman, with long, azure hair cascading down her back like a waterfall, and a magnificent blue and gold dress that hugged her slender figure.
Her face was gentle and graceful, and her azure eyes were so pure that they were without a trace of impurity. At this moment, she was staring at him with a look of astonishment.
Within the sea of their spirits, the two locked eyes.
Ah Yin never expected that the other party would discover her at this time and in this way.
Her heart leaped into her throat, wondering how this boy who had taken everything from her would treat her, a remnant soul.
However, Ye Xuanming's reaction once again surprised her.
There was no surprise, no doubt, and not even the slightest emotional fluctuation.
He simply "watched" her calmly, as if he were looking at an old friend whose existence he had known for a long time but had only just met.
The next moment, a calm voice rang out directly in the depths of Ah Yin's consciousness.
"You're awake?"
(End of this Chapter)