Several months had passed since Tianyu began his training with Qian Renxue. By now, he had gained a much deeper understanding of his unique Martial Soul, the Eclipsed Seraph, which possessed three distinct forms with special characteristics.
The first form was a twelve-winged Seraphim that radiated an extraordinary aura of purification, allowing him to heal wounds and manipulate holy light. However, when using this form, Tianyu lost access to his darkness attribute and functioned more as a support rather than a direct combatant.
The second, more offensive form was the twelve-winged Fallen Angel, transforming Tianyu into an emotionless entity wielding pure darkness. This form granted significantly stronger combat abilities than the Seraphim form, but came with the risk of emotional detachment and the potential to harm allies. As such, Tianyu only used this form in emergencies.
The third form was a perfect balance—six white wings and six black wings—harmoniously combining the powers of light and darkness.
Despite being his most powerful state, the third form had serious limitations. Tianyu could only maintain it while his inner balance was perfect, with equal dominance of light and darkness in his heart. Even under ideal conditions, using this form rapidly drained his spiritual energy, limiting its duration.
At the moment, Tianyu was sitting cross-legged on a wide grassy field, enjoying the fresh air and gentle breeze while attempting to unite two opposing elements within him—fire and ice.
Taking a deep breath, he raised both hands. His right hand emitted scorching, bubbling fire energy, while his left hand released cool, calming ice energy. With his eyes closed and full focus on his breathing, Tianyu tried to merge the two opposing forces.
"This is it!" he exclaimed with determination as he opened his eyes and made a true attempt to fuse the conflicting elements.
Slowly, Tianyu brought his hands closer together. The blazing fire and freezing ice struggled against each other under his control, creating an unstable vortex between his palms.
Beads of sweat rolled down his temples as he fought to maintain balance between them.
But just as the two elements were on the verge of uniting, the vortex between Tianyu's hands began to tremble violently. Fire and ice, two forces that naturally repelled each other, suddenly burst out of control.
"No…!" Tianyu muttered, eyes wide as the vortex exploded in a surge of wild energy.
A small explosion occurred, flinging Tianyu several meters backward. He crashed into the grass with a thud, as waves of heat and cold spread outward in all directions, leaving behind scorched circles and a thin layer of frost around the training area.
Tianyu coughed softly, then sat up, breathing heavily.
Shaking his head as he brushed dust from his clothes, Tianyu muttered, "Well, failed again," in a casual tone, even though his face was still flushed from exhaustion.
He stretched out his arms, observing his right arm, slightly reddened by the heat, and his left arm, still damp with cold. "At least I lasted five seconds longer than yesterday's attempt," he added with a wry smile to himself.
Qian Renxue, who appeared beside him, couldn't help but let out a small smile at her disciple's attitude. "You're too stubborn," she commented as she gracefully sat down next to Tianyu, crossing her legs.
Tianyu glanced at her briefly, then let his body fall backward, lying on the grass with a long sigh. "What else can I do? I've been training him for days and the progress is minimal."
Qian Renxue fell silent. Tianyu was lucky she didn't have a physical form anymore—if she did, she would've smacked him for saying something like that.
"Are you trying to annoy me? You call this progress minimal?" Qian Renxue asked.
Tianyu raised his hand in a gesture of surrender, still lying on the grass. "I'm just joking, Sister Xue," he said with a tired smile. "But seriously, five seconds is a big achievement for me. Yesterday it was only three seconds before everything blew up."
"Besides, you always say this, don't you? — The process is what matters," Tianyu added.
Qian Renxue let out a small snort, but there was a faint smile on her face. "Good, at least you remember."
After a short pause, she asked, "By the way, how's your second form? Can you use it stably now?"
Tianyu slowly shook his head. "Not yet. Even though I don't lose consciousness anymore… it still feels strange."
"Strange how?"
"I don't know," Tianyu closed his eyes for a moment. "When I use that form, I feel powerful. Focused. But also… empty. Like a part of me disappears. Maybe it's my emotions."
Qian Renxue went quiet, staring at Tianyu who was lying there deep in thought. "Then don't force it. Even though that form is powerful, your Golden Dragon King Martial Soul is no less remarkable than the third form of the Eclipsed Seraph."
Tianyu nodded slightly. "I understand, Sister Xue."
Qian Renxue gave a faint smile, then asked with a curious tone, "Oh right, speaking of the Golden Dragon King, how's your progress on condensing your second spirit ring?"
"I'm almost there," Tianyu replied seriously. "Most of my bones have already undergone transformation. Maybe just a few more months until the process is complete and I can condense my second spirit ring."
Qian Renxue nodded in satisfaction. "Good. But I'm curious—did the Golden Dragon King leave any memory or explanation about why he reshaped your body like this?"
"The Golden Dragon King once faced five God Kings at the same time. They used a combined formation so powerful that the wounds he suffered couldn't heal, not even with his incredible regenerative abilities. He didn't want that to happen to me."
"That's why," Tianyu continued, "he created this body with various limitations, so that every time I break through one of them, my body evolves—little by little. The goal is for me to have a much more solid foundation than he ever had."
"It's also a form of precaution," Tianyu added. "If one day the gods discover my identity, I won't have to become a god first to stand against them. You know this well, Sister Xue—gods and mortals don't exist on the same level of life. But with this body, once my cultivation reaches the Titled Douluo level, I'll already be able to fight them."
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