"What's there to worry about?" Riven said casually, setting down his teacup.
Selene and Azhula turned to him.
Right now, he had already reigned in his aura.
One could 'feel' that he was not normal, but that would not affect his psyche or body like it did to Gongsun Qian.
As Riven's gaze lingered on Azhula, it was clear that his eyes saw her with a piercing awareness, without any desire, as if he was peeling away every layer.
Azhula stiffened. That one glance made her feel completely seen through.
"Fourth stage of Acquired Mortal training - Bone Hardening. Solid foundation," Riven said calmly.
He rose, walked to a bookshelf, and opened an exquisite wooden box, pulling out an aged ginseng root wrapped in red silk.
Azhula blinked in shock.
Wasn't that… one of the gifts Murong Fu had sent?
She opened her mouth to speak, then wisely added, "Murong Manor Master's Eastern Frost lands Mountain Ginseng?"
Riven nodded slightly.
"Selene and I are practicing a special martial art. Our energy is far too potent and unsuitable to transfer to you yet."
His voice was even, almost apologetic.
At present, his true essence was pure yang, and Selene's was pure yin—both extremes.
Transferring it to someone unprepared would cause harm. And that's the best-case scenario.
As he spoke, a wave of searing heat surged from Riven's palm.
In one instance, his palm was covered in golden fire.
The aged Ginseng root hovered over his palm, slowly burning.
The temperature in the room spiked.
The wind stopped, and the trees quieted down.
Azhula's breath caught. "So this is… Innate energy?"
Although Selene has said that she didn't reach Innate life, she didn't specifically say anything about Riven.
The misunderstanding was healthy.
It felt like she was standing before the sun itself, her skin burning.
Selene gracefully lifted her sleeve, releasing a gentle coldness that pushed back the heat.
Relief washed over Azhula.
Her eyes remained glued to Riven's hand.
Golden flames danced lightly over the old ginseng root, and under the influence of pure yang energy, the root visibly shriveled, releasing drops of glowing golden liquid.
Eventually, the ginseng's essence condensed into a small bead, gleaming faintly like a tiny sun.
With a movement in energy, Riven tossed the impurities and the shrivelled Ginseng skin aside, keeping only the golden glowing essence hovering over his palm.
"This is incredible..." Azhula whispered, heart pounding.
She hadn't expected him to refine a precious medicinal essence with nothing but his energy.
Such power… was he even human? Ah, no... he's not anymore.
"Steady your breath. Prepare to receive it," Riven instructed calmly.
"This will boost your cultivation by roughly twenty years' worth of power. It should push you into the Fetal Breathing stage."
Azhula knelt respectfully, hands on her knees.
"Thank you, your highness!"
In the Murong household, although treated kindly, she had never been so generously rewarded.
Even the thought of absorbing a two-hundred-year-old ginseng's pure essence had seemed like a fantasy.
Today, it was reality.
All her earlier unease melted away.
"Open your mouth."
Azhula parted her lips slightly.
The golden bead turned into a string that floated over and slipped into her mouth.
A warm, intense force surged down her throat, spreading instantly through her limbs, her bones, her marrow.
She shut her eyes and began circulating her energy methodically.
At the same time, Riven used a crit chance.
[Ding! You gifted Azhula a two-hundred-year-old ginseng liquid essence!]
[Thousand-fold Critical Strike triggered!]
[Reward: One lower-grade heavenly-tier medicinal pill — Purple Jade Ginseng King Pill!]
Riven's eyebrows lifted slightly.
A heavenly-tier pill?
He quickly checked the system log.
[Purple Jade Ginseng King Pill: Refined from a ten-thousand-year-old purple jade ginseng king, enhances healing dramatically. Heals mortal wounds fully within seven days of any life form below the fourth phase.]
Crazy! Fucking crazy!!
Fourth phase?? The fucks that?
Unheard of.
A hidden smile tugged at his lips.
Carrying a pill like this was like carrying an extra life.
His gaze towards Azhula turned more affectionate, like a proud father to his daughter.
'Mmm.... good good'
Not bad. Azhula truly had luck.
Selene floated to his side, frowning adorably.
"You villain," she murmured, "what are you smiling about? Are you plotting something to do with Sister Azhula?"
Riven caught her waist lightly.
"Just thinking how your cousin is such a generous man," he said with a chuckle.
"Hmm?" Selene tilted her head, confused.
"He gave me so many precious gifts. Isn't that good?"
Selene leaned against him and sighed quietly.
"No... he's changed. He doesn't feel like the cousin I used to know."
Her voice was low, touched with sadness.
Riven gently tightened his hold around her, offering silent comfort.
'Sorry, hon... Your brother is an obstacle. To you and to me,' he silently thought.
First, she needed to break free from the toxic branding that mandated her to be 'less talented' than him.
Second...
'Selene is mine.'
As simple as that.
He can't let an incestuous rat have her.
Meanwhile, invisible ripples began to ripple out of Azhula's body as she cultivated.
The bones in her body creaked softly, her tendons humming with strength.
Her foundation had been solid—now, it was being completely reforged.
Even the lingering impurities and minor injuries within her were being purged under the combined might of the ginseng's essence and Riven's pure yang energy.
One step, then another.
Marrow Cleansing
Organ Conditioning
Nerve Awakening
Fetal Breathing
Azhula broke through four primary stages consecutively.
Sweat evaporated from her skin in misty tendrils. Her meridians expanded, her spiritual sense sharpened dramatically.
Though she hadn't fully absorbed the ginseng's power yet, she had already undergone a small rebirth.
Nestled deep inside her dantian, there was an incredibly potent wisp of golden Pure Yang Divine energy that continued to quietly burn, transforming her from within by slowly absorbing and releasing her internal energy and her Primal Yin energy.
None of this was 'coincidental' and she knew it.
Such a self-sustaining strand of Pure Divine Yang does not appear out of nowhere.
It has been deliberately placed there.
Still with his right hand coiled around Selene's waist, Riven silently gazed at the girl, marveling at her inner strength spike.
Azhula looked at the couple and thought.
'Surely... this is the method the Young Master uses to control me.'
Seems we can never be truly free. But at least I'm not a slave…