As Shen Bai gestured, the half-full vat of water began to vibrate violently.

Droplets of water continuously flew up from the vat, propelled by the vibrations.

From the outside, it looked as if something inside the vat was shaking it.

[Water Transformation Technique +1]

Before his eyes, the Skill Level began to rise.

Shen Bai watched the Skill Level steadily rise, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

’It’s been a long time since I’ve grinded a new Divine Power. To suddenly be grinding like this is actually pretty exciting.’

With that thought, the night quickly passed in a flurry of Shen Bai’s frenzied grinding.

...

「The next day.」

As the first ray of sunlight streamed through the window, Shen Bai wiped his hands with a nearby white cloth.

The water vat in the kitchen went from vibrating to still, and a familiar line of smoke appeared before Shen Bai’s eyes.

The smoke gradually condensed into words.

[Water Transformation Technique Level 2 (Water Attribute +2, Water Speed +2): 1000/1000]

Once the smoke appeared, it quickly transformed into lines of information that bored into Shen Bai’s mind.

The Level 2 Water Transformation Technique now had two Attributes.

The first, Water Attribute, was just what it sounded like: it increased Shen Bai’s flexibility and control while in water.

Water Speed, on the other hand, increased the speed at which Shen Bai could swim.

Both of these Attributes pertained to his abilities in water.

Now that he had mastered this, he had once again shored up one of his weaknesses.

But he didn’t have time to get excited, because something even more thrilling awaited him.

Because it was a Low Level Divine Power, grinding its Skill Level was fast. In a single night, it had reached the threshold for its first qualitative change.

Shen Bai had ten unused wisps of Evil Qi remaining. Without hesitation, he swiftly used one.

After the smoke before him vanished, Shen Bai immediately initiated the first qualitative change.

The smoke vanished only to re-condense, finally forming a new line of text before Shen Bai’s eyes.

[Water Control Technique Level 3 (Water Attribute +4, Water Speed +4, Water Control +4): 0/5000]

Water Transformation Technique had become Water Control Technique. As soon as the words appeared, they instantly shattered and poured into Shen Bai’s mind, forming a flood of information.

In just a moment, Shen Bai absorbed all of this information.

Then, within his mind, that familiar illusory figure appeared.

This time, the illusory figure appeared in a dry desert.

A different setting wouldn’t normally have caught Shen Bai’s attention, but the one that appeared this time was rather dire.

It was, in fact, the complete opposite of what the name "Water Control Technique" implied.

’Water Control Technique is related to water, but this time it appeared in a desert without a single drop. There must be some deeper meaning to this.’

Thinking this, he continued to watch patiently.

Just as Shen Bai was observing, the illusory figure standing upon the desert finally stirred.

The sun hung high over the scorching desert. Under the terrifying heat, the landscape was deathly still, without a single soul in sight.

There wasn’t even a single white cloud in the sky.

The blazing sun beat down from the azure sky, baking the desert below.

In this unbearable heat, the illusory figure slowly raised its right hand, extended its index finger, and pointed into the empty air before it.

With this motion, a stark contrast appeared in the scorching surroundings.

In the midst of the terrifying heat, water vapor materialized from nothing, appearing in the blazing desert.

As the water vapor emerged, great rivers formed from flowing currents, swiftly sweeping away all the surrounding heat.

The great rivers surged, the desert receded, and in its place, a small river appeared.

The small river flowed and turned into a lake, and the lake in turn swelled and surged, transforming the entire desert into a vast ocean.

The illusory figure stood upon the surface of the ocean, hands clasped behind its back, as Immovable as a great mountain rising from the sea.

The entire scene vanished, and Shen Bai found himself back in his room.

’Water Control King. No water is beyond control.’

Shen Bai opened his eyes, feeling the power of his newly acquired Divine Power. The Qi inside him spread further across his lungs; he wasn’t far from the next level.

’Water Control Technique isn’t half bad.’

With a thought, Shen Bai raised his palm, and a fist-sized ball of water materialized out of thin air.

He swung his arm, and the ball of water transformed into a Water Arrow that shot forward.

However, just before it could hit anything, Shen Bai subtly controlled the Water Arrow, causing it to dissipate into nothing.

’The previous Attributes didn’t change, they just doubled.’

’The new Water Control Attribute, however, gives me a pretty significant boost.’

’I can conjure a Water Flow out of thin air, which can be used for both offense and defense. It’s another offensive Divine Power in my arsenal, besides Anti-Demon Blood Sword Dance and Vajra Dharma Form Fist.’

’It’s just that the Divine Power’s Level is a bit low, so its attacks are weaker.’

’The first two Attributes, though, will have miraculous uses in certain situations.’

Pushing his thoughts aside, Shen Bai momentarily pulled himself from the joy of acquiring a new Divine Power and remembered something else.

’But what does this have to do with the restriction on the Celestial Purity Daoist Temple?’

The former Temple Master of the Celestial Purity Daoist Temple had left a final message, saying this Copper Mirror was the key to solving their inability to accept new disciples.

But now that Shen Bai had identified the Divine Power within the Copper Mirror, he had ended up with the Water Control Technique—something completely unrelated to the temple.

The Water Control Technique was related to water; it had absolutely nothing to do with a Daoist temple.

Shen Bai found this very strange.

"Meow."

Amber let out a soft cry and jumped onto the table, interrupting Shen Bai’s thoughts.

A human-like expression of horror was forming on Amber’s little face.

’It couldn’t understand. It was a mighty Deceitful Beast, and yet its own master had just made its brain short-circuit.’