My Arts Evolve When Perfected

"Warning! Warning! Warning!"

"The soul of Ancestral Great Demon Zhu Li has escaped its seal!"

As the storm of Fiery Flame Spirit Charm swept Zhu Li’s soul into Jiang Qiu’s eye, the speakers in the four corners of the basement began to vibrate violently. Dozens of single-lensed cameras focused on the area around the glass pod.

The patterns carved into the walls, the floor, and the base of the glass pod flared with a crimson glow.

Lin Xiao’s pupils contracted. "It was actually refined?!"

Lin Wei sucked in a sharp breath, his neck craning back. "The remnant soul of an Ancestral Great Demon, refined in an instant?!"

CLICK...

Shangguan Yue made a pressing motion in the air with her small hand. The light from the patterns, which had blazed like a crimson sun, was extinguished as if a wildfire had been hit by a tsunami. Jiang Qiu shook his head sharply, his gaze focusing.

After fusing with Zhu Li’s soul, the Dragon Spirit began to transform. Its eyelids slowly opened, revealing moss-green pupils.

[Spirit Fusion]

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THUMP THUMP THUMP...

CLANK—

The alloy door slid open, and the base commander led a group of people inside single-file. The pressure from a Dharma Realm expert and several Bright Soul Realm cultivators filled the basement, all of them wearing panicked expressions.

A quick scan revealed that Zhu Li’s soul was gone—vanished without a trace!

The commander’s face was pale as he stared at the two strongest people present. "Expert Shangguan, Commissioner Lin Xiao, where is Zhu Li’s soul?"

During the Battle of Dongqi Lake, it had taken six Dharma Realm executive commissioners from Gao Yuan City working together to destroy Zhu Li’s physical body, and all of them had been severely injured in the process.

Within the confines of Dongqi Lake, its soul was nearly immortal and indestructible; it could only be sealed with the help of the Ancient Rune Patterns.

If it had taken this opportunity to escape, the development project at Dongqi Lake would face immense difficulties, and the trouble would only grow by the day!

The commander swallowed, his brow deeply furrowed.

"My apologies, Comrade Hou Feng, but its remnant soul has already been refined by him."

Shangguan Yue offered an apologetic smile. Following the direction she pointed with her right hand, they saw Jiang Qiu slowly pulling his hand back from the glass pod, his aura as calm as a tourist visiting a scenic spot.

"Refined Zhu Li?!"

The commander, Hou Feng, along with the high-ranking Martial Artists from the development base behind him, were all dumbfounded. "This..."

Yesterday, they had received orders from above for the base to fully cooperate with Expert Shangguan Yue, the Su Fragrance specialist from Northwest Martial University. They never expected that it was all to help that young man refine Zhu Li’s soul.

’But they just entered the basement, and it’s already done in the blink of an eye?’

"Don’t worry, Comrade Hou Feng. I’ll be in Gao Yuan City for the next month, so I can help your base concoct a few Transformation-type Su Fragrances as compensation."

Shangguan Yue put her hands on her hips, beaming.

Hou Feng’s eyes lit up. He breathed a sigh of relief and politely thanked her several times.

But even after seeing Shangguan Yue and Jiang Qiu off, he and the other high-ranking officials still hadn’t fully processed what had happened. They stood at the base entrance, squinting as they watched the armored car—its engine not even cool yet—drift into motion and speed away.

"That young man must be Jiang Qiu, the top of our city’s Ten Celestial Prides this year, and the top scorer on the college entrance exams."

"But how could he possibly refine the remnant soul of an Ancestral Great Demon?"

"Perhaps this is what it means to be a top-tier Celestial Pride. Every era is bound to produce one or two like him..."

Amidst the chorus of astonished voices, Lin Wei silently got into his own armored car after bidding farewell with Lin Xiao. His gaze was vacant, his mind replaying the image of Zhu Li’s remnant soul being swallowed by the Fiery Flame Spirit Charm in a flash.

’I tried to borrow a bit of spirituality from Zhu Li’s remnant soul by offering Treasures of Heaven and Earth as a trade. It refused. Now its soul is gone completely...’

"Jiang Qiu must be the rumored Ninth Rank Jade Sinews, and he must have also awakened a special Bloodline Talent; otherwise, this would be impossible," Lin Xiao sighed, his voice heavy. "You missed out on that prime Demon Blood Fragrance, so the potential of your Jade Sinews is capped at the Seventh Rank. Once you truly step into the Spirit Body Realm, your ability to adapt to Spirit Charm will be nowhere near his level.

"Moreover, he refined the soul of an Ancestral Great Demon. If he’s also taking the path of Weapon Forging and Spirit Fusion, and he actually succeeds with his Spirit Fusion... this era is definitely about to produce another monster."

Listening to his older brother’s remarks, Lin Wei leaned back in the passenger seat, exhaled a long breath, and spoke slowly. "In the way of the Soldier Cultivator, each has their own path to glory. I have my Martial Arts Talent. Even if I can’t keep up with him, I can still carve out my own grand path.

"But now that Zhu Li’s soul is gone... Brother, do you know where any other Ancestral Great Demon souls are sealed? I want to try borrowing some spirituality again..."

...

WHOOSH—

As the sun set, the armored car tore into the Celestial Pride Villa District, coming to a stop in front of a manor with a drifting fishtail.

CLICK.

Jiang Qiu hopped out of the passenger seat and shook his head a couple of times. Inside his mind, the little Dragon Spirit swam up and down.

Ever since Zhu Li’s remnant soul had been refined, the massive amount of Fiery Flame Spirit Charm that his Dragon Eye had absorbed in the hot spring could now be channeled out, bit by bit, through the Dragon Spirit. It was no longer a sealed, isolated warehouse.

However, the Dragon Spirit was not a purely living being; it existed as an extension of the Dragon Eye...

After parting ways with Shangguan Yue, Jiang Qiu returned to his villa and entered the quiet cultivation chamber that had been specially provided for him.

"There are three major realms for a Martial Artist: Spirit Body, Bright Soul, and Dharma Aspect. The first major realm is the process of choosing one’s path." Jiang Qiu sat cross-legged, closing his eyes to review the Cultivation Method left by Luo Beixing as an ancient voice seemed to echo in his mind. "All Martial Arts paths require Spirit Fusion so that the Spirit Charm can conform to the body, making it easier to utilize. That is why the first major realm is also known as the Spirit Body Realm.

"Advancing further introduces various differences. Our path, the Soldier Cultivator’s, advocates for infusing the Spirit Charm into a weapon after Spirit Fusion. This is the crucial process of forging a Lifebound Weapon.

"The better the Spirit Fusion and the stronger the spirituality, the more attuned the resulting Lifebound Weapon will be to its wielder, and the more astonishing its offensive power will be..."

As the cultivation framework appeared in his mind, a breath of air entered Jiang Qiu’s nostrils, sank down his windpipe, and circulated through his meridians. After completing a Great Cycle, it expelled a trace of murky energy.

Faintly, a wisp of the Fiery Flame Spirit Charm hidden in his pupils was drawn out, sinking down with the new cycle.

The Dragon Spirit grew quiet, its fiery aura transforming into streams of light that coiled around it, as if being reborn from flames.

Perhaps because the foundation of his Ninth Rank Jade Sinews was too exceptional, or because his body was the Fiery Flame Dragon Body that was perfectly suited for the Fiery Flame Spirit Charm, the Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm drawn in by his cultivation soon began to flow through his meridians like a small stream.

Unobstructed and unimpeded.

[Spirit Fusion x1]

[Spirit Fusion x1]

[Spirit Fusion x1]

[...]

The sun rose and fell, and a month passed in the blink of an eye. Aside from his daily routine of eating and cultivation, he occasionally received gifts of gratitude from many high school students, thanking him for saving their lives at the Celestial Xin Hall.

Among them were the grandson of a Major General like Zhang Heng and the daughter of a Secret Realm Expert like Ye Shu—both of them Celestial Prides who ranked in the top 200 of the college entrance exams. There were also those from ordinary backgrounds, like Hu Ye’ye and Qian Cheng, who were fortunate enough to get into Northwest Martial University.

And the gifts were varied: promises to repay a life with a life, precious Cultivation Resources, a strange Hundred Machines Spiritual Treasure, a thank-you dinner at a fancy restaurant...

Jiang Qiu accepted most of them, except for the seven-night tour of Celestial Paradise that Sun Yongsheng had additionally promised.

BEEP—

[June 26, 2125, 7:55 AM]

Jiang Qiu glanced at the time on his phone, adjusted the collar of his black shirt, and strode out of the villa district.

From the armored car parked at the gate, Shangguan Yue leaned out of the driver’s side window and waved. Looking past her petite head, he caught a glimpse of Liu Zili’s profile, her lips pursed in a slight smile.

"Jiang Qiu, get in! We’re taking you to the provincial capital to register!"

"Alright."

The corners of Jiang Qiu’s lips tilted up as a panel flashed through his mind.

[Spirit Fusion (Awaiting Lifebound Weapon match)]

[100/100]