--- Chapter 4 ---
My head feels dizzy.
I woke up with an extreme headache as someone's cries awakened me from the uncomfortable sleep.
Opening my eyes, I saw my sister crying on the bed, holding my bandaged hands.
I was confused.
Huh, what happened?
"Sister?" I called her softly.
"YUAN! You're finally awake!" Han Yue's tearful appearance made my heart uncomfortable.
"Y-You..."
"How can you be so reckless!"
"Why do you want to kill yourself!"
"Do you want to leave me alone? Huhu!"
I was speechless. When did I ever want to kill myself? However, I quickly realized that Han Yue had misunderstood my "blood-bonding" ritual with the green pearl as suicide.
My mouth twitched in disbelief.
"Okay, okay, I'm fine."
"I wasn't going to kill myself, sister."
"Really?" Han Yue blinked her watery eyes at me.
"Uugh, yes," I replied weakly.
One of my weaknesses is my sister's tears.
"So, Yuan won't leave me alone, right?" She asked again.
"I won't. We will be together forever!" I raised my voice.
Han Yue wiped her tears and hugged me tightly. "Good, good."
After reassuring her that I was fine, Han Yue finally left the bedroom with a bloodied bed sheet. She was reluctant and told me she would be back in a few minutes with warm ginger tea.
I shook my head helplessly, glancing at my left palm.
[Ding! Congratulations on finishing your first task]
[Calculating the difficulty...]
[Ding! You have obtained a Mysterious Reward - True Talent Awakening Rune]
I ignored the system's reward and solely focused on the green, circular sphere mark on my left palm.
"Is this really the Sky Poison Pearl?"
"Having this is a literal cheat code, especially in a bottom-floor cultivation world like Douluo Dalu."
"Sky Poison Pearl is one of the Heavenly Profound Treasures from the World of Against the God."
"This treasure has many functions, starting from infinite inner storage space that could even store living beings, the ability to cure all poisons, even god-level poison, even the one that affects souls, the ability to purify things, the ability to harvest and refine medicine perfectly without a waste, and the ability to generate god-slaying poison!"
"Each function of the Sky Poison Pearl is nothing sort of miracle!"
"And now, the Sky Poison Pearl is mine!"
I couldn't hold my excitement because, with the Sky Poison Pearl, he was about to take off and become the strongest in Douluo Dalu. Heh, not even Asure could resist the god-slaying poison generated from this treasure as it was proven to be able to kill Gods and Demon from the Primordial Age of Gods.
Asura? Who is that?
Just one drop of god-slaying poison and he would become a melting puss.
Unfortunately, as I delved into Sky Poison Pearl's ability, I discovered this treasure was incomplete.
Yes, the Sky Poison Pearl I had is incomplete.
It can't produce god-slaying poison.
Damn it! What a shame!
I wanted to smack Asura with god-slaying poison so bad. Tch, it would be a sight to die for.
Well, I'm not too disappointed.
The other abilities of Sky Poison Pearl are still strong enough to support me to become the strongest being in Douluo Dalu.
Curious about something, I used Sky Poison Pearl's ability to purify things on myself. I can feel the "filth" in my body melting away, making me feel like dipping myself in a hot spring.
I groaned in joy, sensing my body's meridian and aperture widening and strengthening under the effect of Sky Poison Pearl. In fact, I can faintly tell that the Eight Extraordinary Meridians in my body are loosening, allowing heaven and earth's energy to be absorbed faster and more efficiently.
"Hehe, as expected of a cheat-like item."
"Unfortunately, I actually discovered another weakness of Sky Poison Pearl."
"There are limitations on how many things I can purify a day. At the moment, I can only purify three times a day."
"Can I purify Martial Soul with this? It's technically possible."
"I also wanted to try the cure poison ability, but there is no poison at home..."
"The Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo. He was 'unluckily' poisoned by his Martial Soul's venom and should be a good subject to experiment with Sky Poison Pearl."
"What about the ability to harvest and refine pills? I have become a god-level alchemist with Sky Poison Pearl."
"Yeah, I really have to make contact with Dugu Bo. He didn't only have a treasure land that can grow medicinal herbs a thousand times faster, but also several Immortal Herbs I can harvest and use..."
"There are also Fire and Water Dragon Kings' corpses beneath the Yin-Yang Ice and Fire Well."
"If I could refine them into a pill, making an Artificial Twin Martial Soul is not impossible."
"Damn it, there are many things to experiment with. My hands are shaking from thinking about it alone!" I clenched my hands hard in excitement.
Ultimately, I sighed at myself. I haven't even awakened my Martial Soul and shouldn't chew too many things because I probably couldn't finish them all.
Step by step.
I must do things step by step.
My heart calmed down.
I stared at the Sky Poison Pearl's mark fondly. "Set a small goal first."
"I should purify my body and get rid of the filth, creating a pure body suited for cultivation."
"With such qualifications, awakening a good Martial Soul with full innate soul power shouldn't be a problem."
"I have a year."
"I also need to learn more about medicine and medical technique. I can't blindly use Sky Poison Pearl."
Han Yue returned with a tray of warm ginger tea and cookies. She sat by the bed and said, "Yuan, drink it while it's hot."
"It should make your body better."
I stared at Han Yue silently. She's ten years older than me, which means she's fifteen now.
However, Han Yue's living conditions only improved about three years ago.
Her skin has become fairer.
Her long, black hair is more lustrous.
Her body also becomes healthier, gaining a bit of plumpness.
Even then, Han Yue was bound to become an ordinary villager for the rest of her life because she awakened a Martial Soul without Spirit Power.
That's what I thought at the beginning.
Without Immortal Herbs to improve her talents, Han Yue could never become Spirit Master.
But everything changed with the appearance of Sky Poison Pearl.
I still have two chances of purifying, which means I can improve Han Yue's talents and evolve her Martial Soul.
Using the chances on me would be futile.
But on Han Yue? It will change her destiny.
Han Yue tilted her head at me, "What's the matter? You don't like warm ginger tea?"
"I can make you warm milk if you want."
I looked deeply into Han Yue's brown eyes and asked, "Sister, do you want to become Spirit Master?"
"Pfft? What's this? Why all of a sudden?" Han Yue giggled.
"You should know Sister's Martial Soul is just a useless white rock with no Innate Spirit Energy."
"Becoming a Spirit Master? Sister doesn't dare to dream that high."
Even though Han Yue masked her words with smiles and giggles, I could see pain deep in her eyes. After all, our late parents died because they wanted to become Spirit Masters.
"Just answer my question, Sister." I held her hand tightly.
"If you want to become a Spirit Master, I can make it happen..."
"R-Really?" Han Yue's body trembled.
I nodded firmly, "Really!"
Han Yue jokes, "Then, I want it. I wanted to become a Spirit Master! I want to protect my dear brother~!"
I smiled mysteriously at her and said, "Close your eyes and summon your Martial Soul, Sister."
Han Yue closed her eyes and lifted her right hand, summoning a pile of white rocks. It is trash Martial Soul with no redeeming feature besides becoming a pebble on the side of the road.
No elemental power.
No mutation.
Not even a sign of Spirit Energy.
However, it will change from now on.
I grabbed Han Yue's hand and mumbled, "Purify!"
SWOOOSH!
Intense green light appeared from my left hand and invaded Han Yue's body like a burning flame. She moaned in indescribable sensation, and a blush appeared on her cheeks.
I purified Han Yue's body, Meridian, and Dantian.
Although I didn't "completely" purify her, Han Yue's Meridian is already much better than those who awakened Martial Soul with level 5-6 Innate Spirit Power. Well, this is a rough estimation.
After a couple of minutes, I lifted my hand away and grabbed Han Yue's Martial Soul this time.
"Purify!"
The pile of white rocks trembled. They slowly merged and formed a round shape brimming with white light.
A moment later, I was left stunned on my bed.
"This is..."
"My sister's rock Martial Soul evolved into Top-Tier Martial Soul, Moon!"
A bright white moon hung from my bedroom ceiling, casting a soft, ethereal glow around my sister.
My sister's appearance also underwent a magical transformation. She remade into a more beautiful version of herself, like a moon fairy with a hint of nobility.
My jaws dropped in awe. "Holy shit, this is amazing!"
"Sky Poison Pearl is OP!"