99: Zhu Zhuqing: A blockhead!

Plop—!

Su Ye felt comfortable, not knowing how many times he had been struck and immersed in his Sea of Consciousness.

It wasn't the feeling of drowning, but more like a fish... like a fish in water.

As time passed, that Black Shadow gradually transformed into a pitch-black monument, standing tall on the Sea of Spirit.

As long as Su Ye needed, he could summon "him" at any time to experience that feeling of being lectured again.

The surface of the sea was calm like a mirror, without the slightest ripple.

"Su Ye" stood on the surface of the sea; seeing him gently wave his arm, as if a great wind swept by, the Sea of Spirit immediately churned with huge waves.

What was strange was that the waves did not spread out like rolling waves, but more like a piece of jelly swaying.

This scene was completely different from when the Black Shadow used spiritual power.

Spirit transforming into a sword, spirit transforming into a palm...

The two had already detached from the Sea of Spirit, becoming independent entities.

When Su Ye used his spiritual power to probe, it also spread out like seawater, never breaking the spiritual power connection.

"'Spiritual power belongs to will. If it's cut off in the middle...'

'...Can spiritual power without a connection still be controlled by oneself?'"

Based on Su Ye's previous understanding, this should be impossible; this wasn't like the Nascent Soul or Soul Avatar in cultivation.

However, the Black Shadow's previous demonstration completely shattered Su Ye's understanding.

Shouldn't spiritual power be like a spider web, linked piece by piece, where a signal of activity in one spot transmitted back to the central body (the spider) allows it to sense prey?

But the first level of the Great Evolution Divine Art was completely different.

If a damaged piece of spider web fell to the ground and an animal crawled on it, the spider that had spun a new web could still know the information on the ground through the old web.

"'What if the spirit becomes an independent entity?'"

"'Then what does this consciousness body of mine count as?'"

Su Ye looked at the hands of his current consciousness body in confusion.

This consciousness body originated from the Sea of Spirit, a product of the projection of self-will combined with the Sea of Spirit.

If every piece of spiritual power could be independent of the Sea of Spirit, shouldn't there be countless consciousness bodies?

But there is only one consciousness body!

"'Wait!!'"

"'Will and spirit combined?'"

After a long time, Su Ye suddenly thought of something, vaguely feeling like the clouds were parting to reveal the sun.

Since spirit exists in the form of a "sea," it means it is an accumulation.

Just like the Soul Sea stores soul power, soul power can extend out of the body but cannot form powerful damage.

For soul power to exert its effect, Soul Rings are needed!

For spiritual power to release special effects, a medium is certainly needed!

"'The medium can be the eyes...'

'...or Soul Bones...'

'If neither exists, could it be the consciousness body?'"

Could it be that the Black Shadow wanted me to understand the relationship between the consciousness body and spiritual power?!

"'...Most likely, yes!'"

His gaze returned to his hands, and Su Ye's thoughts began to twist.

As expected!!

Ripples appeared on his hands, his five fingers began to blur, as if they would turn into paste in the next second.

A stick!!

Turn into a stick!!

Su Ye's thoughts kept striving in this direction, but his right hand just swayed like a noodle, showing no sign of reshaping at all.

"'No, no.'"

"'Can't keep messing around like this!'"

His consciousness body showed signs of collapsing, and Su Ye quickly stopped. If his consciousness body was injured, he would also suffer a backlash.

Watching his palm return to normal, Su Ye was thoughtful.

"'The existence of this consciousness body is for introspecting the body's condition.'"

"'In my core consciousness, its birth has already been given a specific function; it is the materialization of 'I am in the Sea of Consciousness'.'

"'In other words, this consciousness body is my ego, and it won't undergo significant changes.'"

"'Unless... I give him stronger abilities, otherwise he cannot be reshaped!'"

Simply put, Su Ye's self-identification is human.

—As the master of the body observing his own physical condition, this consciousness body exists in human form.

Human!

This is the most core way of thinking!

To change the form of the consciousness body, unless Su Ye's main consciousness has abandoned the logic of "being human."

Or, give birth to another powerful will approaching the same level!

"'Wait!! Another type??'"

Swish, as if thinking of something, Su Ye's consciousness body instantly disappeared within the Sea of Consciousness.

His dilated pupils refocused, and Su Ye's attention returned to the room.

On the table nearby, there were still a few booklets on the method of distraction control left, and Su Ye could already recite the contents from memory.

"'This...'"

Su Ye was somewhat dumbfounded.

"'Going in circles, I didn't expect to end up back where I started~'"

It is perfectly normal for the 『Great Evolution Divine Art』 to be synthesized from the 『Method of Distraction Control』, implying a certain sequential logic.

The complete version of the 『Method of Distraction Control』 primarily discusses distraction: using one mind for two tasks, one mind for seven tasks, and one mind for ten thousand tasks.

Since it is distraction, the "consciousness body" can naturally also be... divided!! using the method of distraction.

Such as—

First Main Consciousness Body: Is human, dominates the self.

Second Subordinate Consciousness Body: Is a Soul Master, dealing with the Soul Master World.

Third Subordinate Consciousness Body: Martial artist, martial arts will.

Fourth Subordinate Consciousness Body: Spear path cultivator, spear path will.

......

Spiritual will, if diverse but not focused, is useless.

It's better to categorize them, maintain consistency, refine and strive for strength!

Su Ye couldn't help but think of a certain ghost story, where Commander Zuo relied purely on martial arts will to resist the demonic chants, basically making him immune to the demons' spiritual attacks.

"'Haste makes waste.'"

"'Let's first focus on the most basic cultivation.'"

Since he found the right direction, Su Ye began to study the 『Method of Distraction Control』.

Although the 『Method of Distraction Control』 is basic, it is not that easy to cultivate.

That girl Rongrong has only cultivated to the Three Aperture Control of the Heart, and Su Ye also understood the difficulty involved.

A person's main consciousness is singular, like "drawing a circle with the right hand and a square with the left"; one consciousness usually triggers the same behavior, making it too difficult to use one mind for two tasks.

Su Ye cultivated for several days, yet still made no obvious progress.

Spiritual power cultivation was even more difficult than Heavenly Dipper Divine Fist. Excessive mental splitting made Su Ye a bit overwhelmed, so he had to give up.

At night, the Milky Way stretched far.

The stars twinkled, like the eyes of a lover.

On the grass, two figures nestled against each other. Knowing that Su Ye would soon leave to hunt Soul Beasts, Zhu Zhuqing also stopped refining medicine.

With the supply of medicinal ingredients, she was currently trying to refine a basic healing pill, but had failed many times already.

The difficulty of refining medicine is no less than cultivation; otherwise, pills on the continent wouldn't be so scarce today. Undeniably, this is partly due to the lack of support-type Soul Masters.

However, since clans like the Breaking Clan still research it, it shows that pills are indeed useful at times, at least you don't have to bring a support-type Soul Master on the road.

"'With your current strength, there's no need to rush to improve. Thinking too much is a burden; it's better to relax a bit. Some things are good when they happen naturally.'"

"'Do you remember when we first met? Your strength couldn't even defeat a thousand-year Soul Beast. Now you can crush a Soul Douluo. How long has it been?'"

The girl's clothes and hair carried a hint of medicinal fragrance, which was refreshing and pleasant. Her voice was also gentle and soft, like a docile Little Cat.

With his chin resting on Zhu Zhuqing's head, Su Ye looked relaxed and didn't reply.

In less than half a year, from being unable to cultivate to reaching the strength of a Title Douluo, this speed was indeed astonishingly fast.

Who wouldn't want to control their own destiny...

The World is vast, free to roam as one pleases!

Seeing a certain someone not speaking, she slightly tilted her head up, gazing at Su Ye's tired yet spirited eyes. Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but feel a little heartache.

Although there's no need to distinguish between lovers, she liked leaning by his side. Even if she did nothing, being a vase was fine.

But on the other hand, she also wished she had such astonishing cultivation talent, so she wouldn't have to rely on him and could protect him too.

Although this guy always looked smiling and carefree on the outside...

Only she knew that he and she were the same kind of people, longing for companionship and warmth.

"'Why are you staring at me like that?'"

Seeing Zhu Zhuqing staring intently, Su Ye raised an eyebrow, his eyes showing vigilance.

Zhu Zhuqing: "No... nothing."

Su Ye naturally didn't believe her, and suddenly seemed to understand something.

Alas, it's all this damned handsome face!

He didn't want to be so ostentatious, but alas... his strength wouldn't allow it.

Su Ye reminded with a "serious" expression:

"'Some things are just for thinking about, don't let your mind wander.'"

"'Although I admit I'm indeed a tiny bit handsome right now, I'm not that kind of casual guy. You can crave my face, but not my body.'"

"'You...!' Zhu Zhuqing was filled with shame and annoyance. How could he say that to her? Didn't he know what he was doing right now?

"'Let go!' Zhu Zhuqing grumbled.

......

His arm stiffened, Su Ye seemed not to have heard, and continued exploring under her collar.

"'Um, it's all swollen~'

"'Let me massage it for you again~'"

The young man pouted his small face, his eyes sparkling, innocent and pure, just like a good baby. Yet he was also so handsome and enchanting that Zhu Zhuqing wished she could smash his dog head.

Su Ye turned a blind eye to this.

The most beautiful thing in the World must be holding the girl he likes and finding different ways to take advantage of her...

Even he felt a bit reluctant to leave, wishing he could hold her every day.

Little Cat's figure was so good, she was simply the perfect choice for a pillow.

Thinking of something, Su Ye slowly pulled Zhu Zhuqing's hand over, a flash of silver light streaked across and landed in the latter's hand.

It was a diamond ring, quite large, sparkling with brilliance, now firmly placed on her index finger.

"'This...'"

The ring. Zhu Zhuqing's delicate face was like fire, her heart felt like fireworks exploding, completely unable to calm down.

Although Su Ye had given her many things, most were for cultivation. This was the first time she had received a gift like this.

Furthermore, the meaning of this ring couldn't be more obvious.

Girls usually only wear three types of rings: one for decoration, and the others are engagement rings and wedding rings.

For decoration, she already had a storage ring, so this ring was naturally an engagement ring or a wedding ring.

The Zhu Family, she didn't need to bother with at all.

Su Ye's parents weren't around, so there was no need to explain anything to others.

Naturally, there was no process of getting engaged to explain to both families.

Therefore...

This was almost equivalent to a wedding ring!

Zhu Zhuqing's heart warmed, and her breathing quickened slightly.

"'I haven't seen you go out recently, where did you buy this?'"

She asked sweetly, Zhu Zhuqing was so happy she was almost melting. Her fixed little eyes were clear and revealed a hint of adorable foolishness, IQ -1-1-1-1-1...

Su Ye said, "Oh," "On the way to Heavenly Dou City, I happened to pass by a jewelry store, so I bought it."

"'If you don't like it, then forget it. This thing is indeed hard to choose. I'll go look again another day.'"

Saying this, Su Ye was about to take the ring.

"'No! I didn't say I don't like it!'"

As if her tail had been stepped on, Zhu Zhuqing completely refused, quickly clenching her right hand.

The girl tilted her head, her eyes cute yet fierce, as if afraid of being snatched away, which was particularly interesting.

"'Okay, as long as you like it.'"

Su Ye chuckled foolishly and stroked her head, looking like he was doting on his pet.

The originally cold Little Cat, now looking so gentle, soft, and adorable, made him feel a sense of accomplishment.

Suddenly, Zhu Zhuqing took off the ring.

Su Ye's eyes narrowed, "'What's wrong?'"

"'Don't you know... rings can't be worn casually?'"

Zhu Zhuqing's expression was reproachful. Seeing that he really didn't seem to understand, she could only kindly give him a little lesson.

"'You put the ring on my index finger, meaning I'm single. Am I single now?'"

"'Wearing it on the middle finger means being in a passionate relationship, already having a partner.'"

"'Wearing it on the ring finger means being married, a husband-and-wife relationship.'"

Awkwardly scratching his head, Su Ye grumbled, "'It's just wearing a ring, isn't it enough that the intention is there? Why make it so troublesome?'"

Swish, Zhu Zhuqing gave him a glare, calling him a blockhead who didn't understand girls' thoughts. Didn't he know that girls needed proper ceremonies and pursued perfection?

Looking at the ring in her hand, Zhu Zhuqing liked it more and more the more she looked at it. In the Star Luo Empire, she had never imagined being able to choose her own marriage.

The Zhu Family and the Dai Family had been intermarrying for generations. Even if they disliked each other, they could only advance and retreat together.

If she hadn't met Su Ye, her fate would most likely still be facing destiny with that scoundrel Dai Mubai, ultimately welcoming death.

Now, it was completely different.

With Su Ye's strength, she could confidently fight against fate, no longer needing to worry about the threat from the Star Luo imperial family.

Furthermore, this guy was really good, almost impossible to find any fault with.

No matter how she looked at it, she felt she had received favor from heaven.

"'Here, put it on for me.'" Zhu Zhuqing's eyes were full of tenderness and sweetness, her lover's gaze like a vast ocean.

"'Oh.'"

"'Um... put it on the ring finger.'"

Zhu Zhuqing lightly bit her hot thin lip, blushing uncontrollably.

Ring finger?

The ring finger, isn't that for husband and wife...

His gaze fell on Zhu Zhuqing's delicate, shy, and blushing face, which was like the red leaves of Fragrant Mountain. Su Ye's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"'Haha, Qing'er, um, you just said the ring finger is for husband and wife, right?'"

"'Isn't that a bit inappropriate?'"

What?

Inappropriate?

Zhu Zhuqing glared at Su Ye, who was taking advantage and still acting innocent, as if her fur had stood on end. Then her gaze slowly moved down, landing on the latter's restless hand, blushing uncontrollably.

"'Now you know it's inappropriate?'"

"'When you were seriously injured and I was helping you bathe and wipe your body, why didn't you say it was inappropriate??'"

"'Now you're taking advantage of me, how come you don't know it's inappropriate?'"

"'Who snuck into my room at night, insisted on sleeping while hugging me, and took advantage...'

"'Enough, enough.'" Su Ye quickly made a stopping gesture and smoothly put the ring on Zhu Zhuqing's ring finger.

Can't provoke, can't provoke. This girl could really ruin his reputation in the Soul Master World.

......

With the ring on her finger, seeing Su Ye silently continue to hug her like a pillow, Zhu Zhuqing gritted her teeth, so angry her nose was crooked. She really didn't know if this guy genuinely didn't understand or was pretending not to.

The hint was so obvious, did he still not understand what it meant?

Zhu Zhuqing huffed angrily: "'Blockhead!'"

Su Ye: "???"

There's an outline, it's too tangled. Writing some daily life feels like padding, not writing it feels abrupt. It also seems long-winded, not focusing on improving strength...