Time flew by, and another year had passed since the awakening of the Qilin Phantom.
He still signed in every morning without fail.
As the system’s consecutive sign-in days surpassed the seven-hundred mark, the level of rewards quietly improved.
They were no longer just Body Tempering Pills or daily necessities but began to include resources that truly benefited cultivation.
[Ding! Today’s sign-in successful.]
[Reward obtained: Innate Soul Power Elixir × 2.]
[Reward description: Can slightly enhance the user’s innate soul power foundation, increasing innate soul power by up to 2 levels.]
Yan Zu held the two crystal-clear, pale golden elixirs in his hand and fell into deep thought.
This reward was clearly prepared by the system for his parents.
His father, Yan Hu, was thirty-eight years old with level 3 innate soul power, while his mother, Su Qing, was thirty-five with level 2 innate soul power.
Although their innate soul power was not ideal, for commoners, being able to awaken innate soul power was already a great fortune.
Having cultivated the Nine Yin Manual to this point, he had come to understand a principle—so-called “innate” was not entirely immutable.
This peerless technique from Blue Star emphasized “defying fate and changing destiny,” and the system’s rewards turned the impossible into reality.
“Perhaps it can improve my parents’ cultivation talent,” Yan Zu thought to himself.
He did not immediately give the elixirs to his parents but first tried a drop himself.
As the elixir entered his mouth, it transformed into a gentle energy that sank into his dantian, perfectly merging with his own Nine Yin Soul Power without any rejection.
“Indeed harmless,” he reassured himself.
That night, under their son’s watchful gaze, Yan Hu and Su Qing each consumed an Innate Soul Power Elixir.
At first, there was no noticeable change, but after midnight, both of them almost simultaneously felt a surge of soul power within their bodies.
Yan Hu’s Iron Axe Martial Soul automatically manifested, and two spirit rings rose above the axe—the first white, the second yellow.
This was the plight of commoner Soul Masters; due to his weak strength back then, he could only hunt a seventy-year spirit beast for his first spirit ring.
Now, under the influence of the elixir, his long-stagnant soul power began to impact the bottleneck of level thirty!
Su Qing was equally delighted.
On her Green Sprout Martial Soul, faint golden patterns appeared along the veins of the leaves—a sign of strengthened origin.
She could feel that her healing ability had improved significantly.
The next morning, Yan Hu opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing in his tiger-like gaze.
“I… I’ve broken through to level thirty!”
The Innate Soul Power Elixir not only altered his predetermined innate soul power level but also thoroughly consolidated the foundation of his years of cultivation, repairing all the hidden injuries and flaws left behind by the lack of resources common to commoner Soul Masters, allowing him to cross that threshold.
But level thirty was only the bottleneck.
To become a true Soul Venerable, he still needed to hunt a spirit beast and obtain his third spirit ring. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“Father, don’t rush,” Yan Zu said calmly.
“The third spirit ring is crucial and cannot be taken lightly. Your current physical condition is better than ever, fully capable of withstanding a spirit ring of higher age.”
“Higher age?” Yan Hu smiled bitterly.
“Your father would be lucky to hunt a three-hundred-year spirit beast. How could I dare hope for more?”
“Hire a Soul Hunting Team,” Yan Zu stated directly, taking out a small pouch from his storage bracelet and pouring out a hundred Gold Soul Coins.
“I’ve saved these.”
Of course, this was all accumulated from his daily check-ins over the past year.
To avoid arousing his parents’ suspicions, he had long prepared an explanation.
Yan Hu and his wife exchanged glances; a hundred Gold Soul Coins was no small sum to them.
“A’zu, where did this money come from…?” Su Qing hesitated.
“It was left by White-Bearded Grandpa,” Yan Zu lied without batting an eye.
“He said that once you both reach level thirty, you should hire a good Soul Hunting Team and not take risks yourselves.”
Yan Hu fell silent for a moment before nodding heavily.
“Alright, we’ll listen to you.”
Their son had such thoughtful intentions; if he refused again, he would only let the child down.
A few days later, Yan Hu and his wife went to Nuoding City and spent eighty Gold Soul Coins to hire an experienced Soul Hunting Team.
Led by a Soul Ancestor, the team worked seamlessly together and specialized in hunting spirit beasts below a thousand years in the outer regions of the forest.
Yan Zu did not follow them.
He stayed in the village to continue his cultivation.
He could feel that the density of his bones was now comparable to refined iron, and the explosive power contained within his muscle fibers was enough to shatter a hundred-year-old tree with a single punch.
Most importantly, his communication with the Qilin Phantom was becoming increasingly smooth.
“Little one, release a bit of vitality,” Yan Zu commanded in his mind.
In his spiritual world, the jade-colored Qilin raised its small head and opened its mouth, exhaling a wisp of pale green energy.
The energy passed through Yan Zu’s body and landed on a withered orchid on the windowsill.
A miracle occurred.
The orchid visibly regained its vitality, sprouting new buds and blooming into flower buds.
Yan Zu nodded in satisfaction.
Although the Qilin had not truly awakened, this wisp of vitality alone was enough for him to handle many situations.
On this day, Yan Zu practiced the Basic Sword Control Technique in the courtyard as usual.
This was the reward he received after completing a year and a half of consecutive check-ins—a low-level sword technique that appeared ordinary but contained the fundamentals of the sword path. Visit NovelPing for the full chapter.
Yan Zu knew that even the most powerful martial skills required a solid foundation to support them.
He pressed his fingertips together, using them as a sword, and traced a mysterious trajectory in the air.
There was no fluctuation of soul power, no sweeping sword energy, but the air emitted a faint tearing sound.
“Excellent swordsmanship!” Yan Hu’s praise came from behind.
Yan Zu withdrew his stance and turned around with a smile.
“Father, you’re back? Was the soul hunt successful?”
Yan Hu laughed heartily, his tiger-like eyes brimming with excitement.
“Successful! Too successful! Thanks to the Soul Hunting Team we hired, I obtained an eight-hundred-year spirit ring this time!”
“Eight hundred years?” Yan Zu was surprised.
Given his father’s strength, absorbing an eight-hundred-year spirit ring was indeed possible, but being able to absorb it didn’t mean he could hunt it.
After all, eighty Gold Soul Coins wasn’t an enormous sum.
He had originally thought the Soul Hunting Team would only help hunt spirit beasts around five to six hundred years old, never expecting they could surpass that level.
“Coincidentally,” Yan Hu recounted enthusiastically, “we were originally looking for an Ironback Bear around five hundred years old, but we encountered an injured Mighty Vajra Bear with a cultivation of eight hundred and eighty years. That beast was severely wounded by the Soul Ancestor senior, and I took the opportunity to strike it with my axe, managing to kill it smoothly.”
“Mighty Vajra Bear…” Yan Zu pondered thoughtfully.
This was a top-tier earth-attribute spirit beast, renowned for its defense and strength, perfectly suited for his father’s Iron Axe Martial Soul.
“Father, what is your third soul skill?” he asked, his gaze falling on Yan Hu’s martial soul.
Yan Hu grinned, fully releasing his Iron Axe Martial Soul.
White, yellow, and yellow spirit rings rhythmically circled the axe.
The third spirit ring was precisely that deep yellow eight-hundred-year ring.
He swung the iron axe and let out a low shout, “Third Soul Skill—Immovable Vajra!”
A thick layer of earthy yellow light erupted from the axe blade.
Yan Hu’s muscles instantly bulged, his skin taking on a metallic sheen, making him resemble a Vajra Arhat.
“Is this a defensive soul skill?” Yan Zu keenly sensed the fluctuations of soul power.
“Both offense and defense!” Yan Hu laughed heartily.
“Once activated, my strength and defense increase by fifty percent, lasting for three minutes. And…” He suddenly swung his axe toward a stone block in the courtyard.
Before the blade even made contact, an earthy yellow axe aura shot out, splitting the stone block in two.
“It can also release an axe aura, extending the attack range by five meters!” Yan Hu was as excited as a child.
“This soul skill is practically tailor-made for me!”
Yan Zu silently praised it in his heart.
“Congratulations, Father,” Yan Zu said sincerely.
“A’zu, remember this—no matter what happens, your mother and I will always be with you,” Yan Hu said, looking at Yan Zu with earnestness.