Gu Han was stunned for a moment. “Ah Sha? Nine rings? Can she do that?”

Although Ah Sha’s cultivation progress was extremely fast and her aptitude was incredibly high, he faintly felt that she was still quite far from achieving nine rings.

The shadow wore a look of ridicule. “Do you even know what the Eye of Shattered Illusions bloodline represents? Believe it or not, even if you went all out, a single glance from her was all it took to kill you—provided she had no regard for soul power consumption.”

Gu Han fell silent for a moment. “Ah Sha might attack anyone, but not me! You are just talking nonsense!”

With that, he left with confident ease.

The shadow cursed, “What’s there to be so smug about! She’s my future disciple anyway!”

***

As soon as Gu Han opened his eyes, he saw Zuo Yang holding the black pot and the sharp knife, hacking and chopping at the Dao Bell.

He was dumbfounded. “What is he doing?”

Ah Sha thought for a moment. “He said that he must convince the Dao Bell that he truly is just a cook.”

Gu Han was speechless. Zuo Yang’s obsession was something he couldn’t comprehend or understand. He could only silently wish him luck.

Right at that moment, Zuo Yang put away the big black pot and stared nervously at the bell. His expression seemed to be saying, I’ve done my best, now it’s up to you.

Ah Sha’s eyes brightened slightly. “Senior Brother is amazing! The Dao Bell rang eight times!”

Gu Han sighed. “As expected, you’re really extraordinary!”

Even among a group of Holy Sons and Holy Maidens, Zuo Yang would undoubtedly be among the best of the best. He could imagine how heartbroken the Holy Master had been when Zuo Yang left years ago.

His thoughts turned to Yu Miao. He just didn’t know if she, like Zuo Yang, would travel further and further down the path of being a seamstress and never return.

***

In the Fengwu Court, Yu Miao struck the bell eight times in succession with her jade needle, causing the bell to rumble incessantly.

She held the jade needle, looking very nervous. “Give it to the needle! Don’t give it to me!”

If one got closer, they could hear her soft plea. As if hearing her prayer, the bell’s profound qi trembled, splitting apart. A trace of a Dao mark transformed into a stream of light, fusing into the jade needle.

Yu Miao, who always maintained a gentle and graceful image, now revealed a hint of a girlish demeanor.

She almost jumped for joy. “Success!”

***

At the same time, Zuo Yang’s various actions seemed to have finally taken effect. The profound qi split, and two streams of light shot into the sharp knife and the big black pot. Blessed with Dao essence, the two extraordinary treasures appeared even more divine.

Compared to before, the sharp knife gleamed with a cold, deadly light, sharper than ever. Dao patterns flickered faintly on the blade, reducing some of its ferocity while adding a touch of ancient, heavy solemnity. As for the big black pot, aside from being a bit darker than before, there wasn’t any obvious change.

Zuo Yang was so excited that his hands trembled slightly, saying incoherently, “I did it! It really succeeded!”

Gu Han was dumbfounded. That works too?

He strongly suspected that the bell deemed that Zuo Yang was more suited to being a cook than a Holy Son.

Meanwhile, the light enveloping Murong Yan and Shen Xuan gradually faded. It seemed they had completely digested the opportunity.

Ah Sha looked surprised. “Young Master, Sister Murong seems to have become prettier.”

Shen Xuan hadn’t changed much, while Murong Yan was almost unrecognizable. She had shrunk considerably compared to before. Even though she still appeared slightly buff, it was a vast improvement over her previous rough, wild appearance. Her aura also changed from its former explosiveness, gaining some softness.

Basically, she had a feminine charm now. Combined with her originally somewhat delicate and pretty features, it completely dumbfounded Shen Xuan.

Murong Yan’s eyes reddened slightly. “Senior Brother, I-I’ve become beautiful!”

Although she never mentioned it often, her appearance had always been her biggest concern. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have tried to kill the demoness just for insulting her.

Shen Xuan swallowed hard. “J-Junior Sister, your voice has become nicer too—ah!!!”

Before he could finish, Murong Yan had already wrapped him in a tight hug. A series of bone-cracking sounds rang out, causing the others’ faces to twitch.

Shen Xuan weakly pleaded, “Junior... Junior Sister... B-broken... quick... I-I can’t breathe...”

Murong Yan released Shen Xuan, instinctively looking at her own hands. “My strength seems to be several times greater than before!”

The others were speechless. Did that even need confirmation? Didn’t you see how many of his bones are broken?

Murong Yan picked up the Purple Golden Hammer with a satisfied look on her face. “It’s lighter. Way too light!”

Zuo Yang glanced at Gu Han. “Junior Brother, aren’t you going to give it a try?”

The others had figured it out. Murong Yan’s drastic change was likely due to the purification of her Giant Spirit Bloodline. As for Shen Xuan, judging from his heightened agility, his improvement was related to movement techniques.

Gu Han shook his head. “Me? I’m not in a hurry yet. There are some things I haven’t quite figured out...”

Inadvertently, he saw Yang Ying standing in the distance. The man hadn’t spoken a word since the Dao Bell appeared. No one understood Yang Ying’s situation better than him.

“Brother Yang, you—”

Yang Ying shook his head as a barely noticeable flicker of regret passed through his eyes. “There’s no need to try. It’s pointless.”

Having had all his potential drained by the Marrow-Draining Pill, he was afraid he couldn’t even achieve one ring.

Noticing that he appeared to have troubles he could not voice, the others held back their questions out of respect, even though they were curious.

Gu Han sighed softly. He made up his mind to help Yang Ying completely resolve this hidden danger in the future.

Suppressing the heaviness in his heart, he patted Ah Sha’s head. “Ah Sha, you go give it a try.”

Ah Sha was a bit confused. “Huh? Young Master, I-I’m very stupid.”

Gu Han smiled. “It’s fine. I believe in you. Just do your best.”

Amused by her innocent demeanor, the others chimed in with words of comfort.

“Go on, little girl.”

“Just give it a try, don’t take it too seriously.”

“Treat it as just playing around.”

Of course, Ah Sha wouldn’t go against Gu Han’s wish. She cautiously walked to the front of the Dao Bell and extended her fists. “Alright then.”

She had never fought before, so the others didn’t know her true capabilities. They could only make private judgments based on their usual observations. Yang Ying, Murong Yan, and Shen Xuan guessed three to four rings. Zuo Yang estimated five rings. As for Gu Tian, his remaining sliver of reason was still constantly recalling the previous route. He was neither concerned with nor aware of the events outside.

Suddenly, Ah Sha’s aura surged sharply as she swung her small fists down. “Hyaaa!”

The Dao Bell rang once.

Gu Han nodded, urging her on. “Not bad. Continue.”

Ah Sha mustered all her courage to keep striking, causing the bell to rumble incessantly. A moment later, she stopped.

She scratched her head as she blushed. “Young Master, I-I did my best.”

The others were left utterly stunned because the bell rang six times.

Murong Yan swallowed hard. “Good heavens! Ah Sha, you’re actually a prodigy on the same level as me! Amazing, truly amazing!”

Shen Xuan felt discouraged. “You’re even stronger than me.”

Zuo Yang also praised her repeatedly. “Ah Sha, well done! After we go back, I will treat you to a good meal!”

Ah Sha felt a bit happy from everyone’s praise. However, when she looked at Gu Han, he still seemed somewhat dissatisfied. “It’s not enough. It’s far from enough.”

Although six rings were not bad, it was still quite far from the nine rings the shadow mentioned.

The others clicked their tongues. Six rings still isn’t enough? It was only two rings less than the former Holy Son. What more does he want?

What they didn’t notice was that even though Ah Sha had stopped, the Dao Bell hadn’t reacted at all. The Great Dao’s reward hadn’t descended either. Clearly, the Dao Bell also believed Ah Sha’s potential was far greater than this.

Gu Han gritted his teeth. “Ah Sha, glare at it!”

Ah Sha froze. “Huh?”

She understood him, but couldn’t understand why he wanted her to use the ability he normally forbade.

The others were baffled. Glare? You could do that?

If it worked, they would stand there glaring at it for three days and three nights without blinking, alright!

Gu Han ignored the others’ reactions and just looked at her seriously. “Trust me, just glare at it.”

He knew very well that the shadow could have tricked him, but he would absolutely never trick Ah Sha.

Ah Sha glanced at the Dao Bell, appearing a bit troubled. “Young Master, but... I don’t hate it...”

Gu Han made up a reason. “Uh... It... wants to kill me!”

Instantly, Ah Sha’s aura changed. From her previous innocent, adorable self, she immediately turned murderously fierce. Two faint, almost imperceptible beams of light flashed from her eyes and struck the Dao Bell. That layer of seemingly immovable profound qi fluctuated violently as it rang three more times. Combined with before, it was a total of nine rings!

At that moment, the sky and earth briefly darkened once more. Wind rose, clouds gathered, and thunder rolled. Finally, a hazy green light that carried boundless Dao essence descended, shining upon Ah Sha.

The Dao Bell rang nine times, the Great Dao bestowed its favor!