Chapter 042: Consolidating Strength

Shen Duo touched her nose, wearing an innocent expression. "I really leveled up."

Lina felt an urge to blast her heart with a spirit energy orb. Everyone knew how difficult it was to advance as a spirit master or a swordsman; some failed to progress even once in their lifetime, forever stagnating. That's why those auxiliary advancement herbs were so coveted. Yet this girl leveled up just from a brawl, still looking utterly innocent—it made her want to slap her.

Lina rolled her eyes at Shen Duo, then her expression grew serious. "Shen Duo, you've just advanced. Your priority now is to stabilize your strength. Any cultivation must be built on a solid foundation; never pursue success too hastily."

Lina's advice made perfect sense. Spirit masters, upon reaching the rank of Grand Spirit Master, should avoid relying too much on external forces like rare treasures to advance, because at the start of cultivation, the meridians are the most fragile and malleable. Every step should be steady and gradual. The same applied to swordsmen: at first, focus on physical training and the gathering of sword energy. Shen Duo, with her unusual fortune, had skipped straight from swordsman to sword spirit in a short time, bypassing sword master entirely, but she needed to pay even more attention to fundamental training.

Shen Duo nodded. "Lina, thank you for the reminder! I'll keep it in mind."

Yusha leaped onto Shen Duo's shoulder, sending congratulatory thoughts through their psychic link, its fluffy white tiger head nuzzling against her neck.

Lina, seeing Yusha's adorable gesture, laughed sweetly. "Shen Duo, your pet is so cute." She reached out and rubbed Yusha's head.

Shen Duo nearly burst out laughing. Yusha was so frustrated it wanted to explode—an ancient, mysterious high-level magical beast of noble lineage, possibly stronger than divine beasts, was being treated as a mere pet. It was humiliating! If Lina weren't Shen Duo's good friend, it would have breathed fire already.

"Shen Duo, I know a place that's perfect for sword training," Lina's eyes gleamed with a mysterious light.

Shen Duo smiled, "Lina, don’t keep me guessing. Tell me already."

"Haha, I didn't expect you to be so impatient." Lina looked at Shen Duo with satisfaction, then stopped teasing her. "Come with me, I’ll take you there."

Just as they were about to leave the Butto Tavern, they saw the owner, Lido, sitting on the floor in despair, heartbreak written all over his face. Shen Duo frowned, glancing back at the tavern's first floor—all the walls and furniture were ruined beyond recognition. No wonder he was upset. She took a pouch of gold coins from her storage ring and placed it before Lido. "Take these to repair the tavern."

Lido's eyes lit up instantly. He looked up at Shen Duo. "Miss Nine!"

He hurriedly took the bag of coins, tears of gratitude welling up in his eyes. "Thank you for your support, Miss Nine. Otherwise, my father's tavern would have shut down for good."

Shen Duo said nothing more and followed Lina out.

"Why bother helping a guy like that? Lido's just a swindler," Lina scoffed.

Shen Duo only smiled, offering no explanation. She had her reasons for giving Lido money—he loved to take advantage of customers and often tampered with their drinks, but the destruction of the tavern was partly her responsibility. Besides, Yusha was fond of their nectar.

Soon, they arrived at the place Lina had mentioned.

Ahead lay a lush forest, located on the western side of Loche City, not far from the auction house. Following Lina into the woods, Shen Duo saw a small deep pool. Strangely, there were no water plants growing around the pool, only bare ground.

"Shen Duo, do you notice anything unusual here?" Lina asked.

"It's winter now, and Loche City is in the northwest of the Saint Light Continent, so the season is particularly cold. Normally, all the leaves should have fallen, yet these trees remain green."

Lina nodded. "Exactly. I found this place odd at first too—same species of trees, but here they’re evergreen all year. Shen Duo, try touching the water in this pool."

Shen Duo reached into the pool, and an icy chill stabbed through her instantly. She looked up at Lina, puzzled. "The water is so cold—why isn't it frozen?"

"I don't know either. When I first discovered this place, I tried to figure it out. I took some pool water for experiments—it’s definitely water, not some other substance. Relocating the trees elsewhere still caused them to shed leaves in winter. So, it’s probably not the water or the trees, but something about the soil or a mysterious element within the pool. But that doesn’t matter. Shen Duo, don’t you think this pool is perfect for you?"

Lina smiled.

A swordsman must focus on physical training; the Emperor of Swords could even become impervious to blades and arrows, and the energy orb of a Sky Spirit Master could not harm them, as if possessing a natural, indestructible magical beast armor. This icy pool was perfectly suited for Shen Duo’s physical cultivation.

"Thank you for your help, Lina." Shen Duo bowed to Lina, exchanging a knowing smile.

"If this cold pool were of any use to spirit masters, I wouldn't hand it over," Lina joked. She had practiced as a spirit master since childhood and knew very little about sword training, having only heard bits and pieces from her teachers at the academy, so this was the most she could do for Shen Duo.

"But Shen Duo, your method isn't ideal. Although your talent is exceptional, without a complete and systematic cultivation technique, you'll end up taking many detours. I’ve heard some academies have specialized sword instructors, and Jocelyn Academy has Master Wei Lan overseeing things. If you want to study at an academy or gather information, you can ask me anytime." Lina offered her advice sincerely.

Lina’s suggestion was a good one. Shen Duo couldn’t stay in Loche City forever; the Saint Light Continent was vast, full of powerful figures, and she now needed experience and training more than ever.

After Lina finished, she left. Shen Duo looked around the deep pool. Lina was right—the most urgent task was to stabilize her newly advanced strength.

She took materials from her storage ring and set up a simple tent. Her previous life in the military had taught her to camp outdoors, so she was quite adept at these things.

She let Ben Yi and Yusha guard nearby, and began her cultivation in the cold pool, feeling safe—even low-level magical beasts dared not approach. Without hesitation, Shen Duo shed her outer clothes, leaving only a thin garment as she submerged herself in the water. Instantly, the bone-chilling cold seemed to penetrate her to the marrow, making her entire body tremble; at such low temperatures, she nearly lost consciousness.

At that moment, the scroll in her dantian suddenly radiated a brilliant white light, spinning rapidly, gathering more and more energy. Some of it even dispersed, flowing into her meridians. This white stream seemed to bring warmth, greatly easing the cold’s attack on her body.

Delighted, Shen Duo focused on her dantian, circulating the invisible energy faster through her meridians. After an unknown period, the initial piercing cold gradually faded, and the energy in her dantian began to shift in color—a faint green emerged, slowly spreading until the milky white stream was completely dyed green.