It was stopped cold. The second barrier, the one cast by Qin Ying's amulet, held firm. The bird's majestic form slammed against the light-absorbing shield and recoiled, the barrier not even trembling. Thwarted, the phoenix's eyes blazed with fury. Unable to break past the seal and sensing the impending awakening of the mortal body that was its vessel, it could only let out one last, angry cry of frustration. It folded its immense wings and dove, a comet of azure light, plunging directly back into Mu Rou's body and merging with her essence.
The instant the phoenix vanished, the energy within Mu Rou surged. Her cultivation, which had settled at the third stage, erupted once more. With two sharp, consecutive cracks of sound from within her, she broke through the fourth and then the fifth stage of Foundation Establishment, her power finally stabilizing.
Mu Yan gawked, his mind reeling. He had just been surpassed. A girl who had been a common mortal not even a day ago now possessed a higher cultivation base than him. He felt a firm belief that with his combat experience, the Chaos Engine body technique, and his brutal sword arts, he could still overpower her. But that was not the point. The sheer, terrifying velocity of her progress was a stark reminder of his weak strength.
The strange, dark amulet, having exhausted its strength, slowly shrank. It flickered once, then fell from the air into Qin Ying's outstretched hand, now looking like a simple, unadorned piece of black stone.
Within the now-faded barrier, Mu Rou's eyelids fluttered. She slowly opened her eyes, and the world that greeted her was not the one she had left behind. It was as if a dusty veil had been ripped away, revealing a universe of breathtaking clarity. She could see the individual wood grains on the ceiling beams twenty feet above her. She could hear, with perfect fidelity, the murmur of conversations in the street below, the clatter of a dropped pot in the inn's kitchen, the distant chirp of a night bird. The sensations were overwhelming, a flood of data that she somehow processed with ease.
Surprised by the changes, she looked down at her own hands. They were the same hands, yet entirely different. The skin was luminous, flawless. She felt a boundless, inexhaustible river of strength coursing through her body, a power that was as much a part of her as her own breath. It was a new life, gifted to her in the span of a single afternoon, and she looked up at Mu Yan and Qin Ying, her heart overflowing with a gratitude too vast for words.
Mu Rou pushed herself up, her movements unsteady, not from weakness, but from an alien strength that pulsed beneath her skin. Every sensation was a revelation. She felt the gentle vibration of the floorboards under her palms, heard the faint whisper of air currents in the room, and saw the world with a crystalline sharpness that stole her breath.
"Congratulations, Rou'er," Mu Yan's voice was warm, a smile touching his lips. He saw the awe and confusion in her wide eyes.
Qin Ying moved to her side, a soft, encouraging look on her face. "You have awakened successfully."
"I… I can feel everything," Mu Rou whispered, her voice trembling with the sheer magnitude of the change. She flexed her fingers, watching the intricate play of muscles with fascination. A boundless river of icy power coursed through her, a placid but immeasurably deep current. "This strength… it's a dream."
Qin Ying's expression grew serious, a knowing light in her eyes. "It is no dream, Mu Rou. What you awakened is not some common mortal constitution." She paused, letting the weight of her words settle. "The phenomenon we witnessed, the cry of that magnificent bird… it was the manifestation of your innate physique. You possess the Ice Phoenix Celestial Body."
The name fell into the quiet room, heavy with ancient significance.
"It is ranked eighteenth on the Heavenly Body list."
Mu Yan froze. A lightning bolt of pure shock coursed through him, more jarring than any physical blow. Eighteenth? The words echoed in the chambers of his mind, rattling the foundations of his past life. His Lin Clan, a power that could shake their corner of the Ancestral World, an entity spoken of with reverence and fear, had possessed mighty cultivators. Yet, in their entire recorded history, they could boast of only a handful of Earthly constitutions. A Heavenly constitution was the stuff of legends, a divine mandate for greatness. An individual with such a body was destined to stand at the apex of the Ancestral Realm, their path paved by fate itself, so long as they were not cut down prematurely. And this girl, who he had saved from street thugs, possessed one.
Mu Rou, oblivious to the scale of this revelation, simply stared, her mind struggling to grasp the meaning. Qin Ying saw her confusion and offered a gentle explanation, outlining the basic realms of cultivation—Foundation Establishment, Core Condensation, Nascent Soul—and the immense journey that lay before her.
As she spoke, Qin Ying's gaze flickered to Mu Yan. She saw the turmoil behind his stoic facade, the burning ambition warring with the stark reality of his current weakness. A flicker of indecision crossed her features, a silent debate waged within the span of a heartbeat. She thought of her family, of her responsibilities, and of the precious, hidden cultivation technique entrusted to her mother by her dearest friend, which she had seen while her mother was away for fun. It was a treasure meant to be kept secret, a legacy entrusted to her mother to protect. But looking at Mu Yan, knowing she could not remain by his side, her resolve hardened. He needed allies. He needed someone strong to guard his back while he walked his own perilous path.
"Mu Rou," she began, her tone shifting, drawing the girl's full attention. "A supreme constitution is nothing without a supreme method to cultivate it. I will impart to you a technique. It will allow you to harness the full potential of your Ice Phoenix Body."