After listening to Ye Qingyun's explanation, Ender nodded, indicating that he understood.
He clenched and unclenched his hand a few times, testing the movement of his body, then remarked in surprise:
"I didn't expect that despite the pain, my physical injuries have healed so much. That's good. Let's hurry back."
Suddenly, he stopped and looked back at the spot where the giant capybara's body had been lying.
An astonishing sight unfolded before him. Apart from the traces left by its body pressing against the ground, there was nothing else there.
"Hey, where did you throw its body?"
"Huh? You don't know? Oh, right, this isn't really important information, so no one bothers to record it. The bodies of soul beasts are entirely made of soul power. When you absorb a soul ring, you're essentially absorbing all of their soul power. With all the soul power gone, the body naturally disappears."
Ender nodded, mulling it over:
"So that's how it is. Matter and energy, according to that guy's equation, are clearly the same thing in two different states. In a sense, I just 'ate' the entire giant capybara. Wait, hold on—why did it happen so quickly?"
Without hesitation, he voiced the thought in his mind:
"Hey, why is the process of converting soul power so fast when absorbing a soul ring? If it's this quick, wouldn't absorbing soul power from soul beasts repeatedly allow one to break through levels much faster?"
Ye Qingyun glanced at him like he was an idiot, making the corners of Ender's mouth twitch.
"Hey, say something! I don't like that look you're giving me."
"Alright, you think you're the only smart one, huh? Soul cultivators have existed for tens of thousands of years, so of course people have tried that. This can be considered one of the world's rules, a benefit for those about to reach a new level. Why it works this way, who knows? Rules are rules—just follow them."
Hearing this, Ender suddenly remembered the nature of this world. Here, if God said something counted, then it counted.
While there were still fixed laws like in the universe, most of the fantastical phenomena existed simply because God had whimsically created them.
"Let's go, we should head back quickly." he said, turning to leave for the city.
But he hadn't taken more than a few steps before realizing he couldn't move forward no matter how hard he tried.
A hand, brimming with overwhelming power, clamped down on his shoulder, preventing him from advancing.
Ye Qingyun narrowed his eyes, smiling as he said:
"Did you forget something? Haven't paid the service fee yet, have you?"
Ender stared at her with an incredulous expression and said:
"My bones haven't fully healed yet, and you're asking someone with fractured ribs to carry you? Don't you know you're supposed to show compassion to the elderly?"
At this moment, he felt completely unable to decipher the expression on her face.
She patted his shoulder and, in a voice devoid of any discernible emotion, replied:
"Fine, then let me help by breaking your ribs completely so I can carry you back. After all, we should show compassion to the elderly, right? I can't possibly let you walk back by yourself."
Her tone was calm, but Ender could tell she was dead serious.
It was clear he had two choices: carry her back or let her carry him back with a few more broken bones.
"I was wrong! I'll carry you! Happy now?"
Seeing his pitiful expression, she let out a dismissive huff:
"Hmph, don't give me that. Even if your ribs are truly broken, my weight wouldn't be enough to make your injuries any worse. Now be good and carry me back."
Without waiting for his consent, she leapt onto his back. Just as she claimed, her weight was surprisingly light compared to his current strength, so it wasn't much of an issue after all.
Following the direction indicated by the compass, Ender quickly oriented himself and began the journey back to her house.
After only a few minutes, Ye Qingyun grew visibly bored and said:
"Don't you know time is more precious than gold? Why are you moving so slowly?"
Hearing this, Ender's mouth twitched, and he cursed under his breath:
"Damn it! Isn't it because you're making me carry you? I'm much slower than you! If you want to go faster, just walk on your own!"
"Huh? What did you say? I couldn't quite hear you. Are you saying your fully healed ribs feel uncomfortable and you'd like me to break them for you?" she asked, feigning ignorance with an innocent tone.
It didn't take a genius for Ender to understand her intention. Unless his brain had stopped functioning, he could tell she was only teasing him for her own amusement.
That said, walking like this really did feel like a waste of time. Taking advantage of the moment, he decided to ask her some questions about cultivation.
"Hey, is it true that human can only cultivate for 12 hours a day?"
This information was something Ender had read in a book, but he wasn't entirely sure about its accuracy.
"It's true." Ye Qingyun confirmed.
"Oh? Why is that?"
Ender genuinely couldn't understand why this specific number—12 hours—was significant.
He suspected it had something to do with some kind of rule, but since he had never cultivated before, he wasn't sure.
"It's due to the human body's limits. Twelve hours out of twenty-four is the maximum threshold. Any more than that will cause irreparable damage to one's spirit—or you could call it the soul.
The greater the damage, the lower the body's maximum threshold will become. If the damage becomes too severe, you won't be able to cultivate for the rest of your life. That's why cultivation must be balanced with rest to allow for proper recovery."
"I see, that makes sense. But from the way you describe it, cultivation sounds really exhausting." Ender remarked.
"You'll find out if you try it. Cultivation isn't much different from when you absorbed that soul ring earlier, except the pain is reduced by about 20%. Not much, really."
Hearing this, Ender was a bit taken aback. He thought to himself:
"This girl absorbed an extreme-level soul ring at just six years old, and she's been cultivating daily ever since. Her willpower must be terrifying.
At her age, I was probably still playing in the mud or trying to be a model student. If she's already this monstrous, then just how fearsome are the people at the top of this world? One thing's for sure, their willpower must equal or surpass hers."
The more he thought about it, the heavier the burden of the path ahead seemed to grow. He unconsciously let out a sigh, which Ye Qingyun immediately noticed.
"Why are you sighing?" she asked.
"Because you're truly frightening." Ender admitted.
"A little girl with such astonishing willpower and determination. At your age, I wouldn't even be worthy of your toenail."
Ye Qingyun was taken aback by his words. She wasn't sure if he was being sincere, but she hadn't expected him to openly admit that he fell short compared to her.