An ordinary gym is ultimately too noisy.
Xiang Lie discovered that since his "recovery" and return, coupled with his doubled enthusiasm for training, the mundane stares in the gym had become increasingly intense.
"Wow, big brother, your pecs are so big, like a D cup. Can you take me to the movies?" " A girl with meticulously applied makeup batted her eyelashes, her finger pointing at the muscular man next to her doing fly-over chest presses.
"Little brother, your arms are so strong, your biceps bulge like little hills. Can I touch them?"
"Oh my god, your abs are like chocolate. Can I... can I lick them... Oh no, can I just touch them for a moment?"
These flattering compliments echoed like background noise throughout every corner of the gym. Xiang Lie listened, but his heart was filled with sorrow.
He silently walked past these people. His majestic physique, his throne capable of bearing a soul, had not earned even a single heartfelt compliment.
Why?
Why didn't anyone come over and look at him with adoring eyes, saying, "Brother, your trapezius muscles are so handsome, like two indestructible mountains. Can I touch them?"
They didn't understand. Their sense of beauty was still stuck at the superficial level of chest, arms, and abs.
The looks they gave him were filled with strangeness, confusion, and even a hint of... fear.
Xiang Lie sighed deeply and said to his two loyal muscle companions in his heart:
"Azuo, Ayu, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. This mundane world is unworthy of your grandeur. Come, let's not endure this injustice. I'll take you to a peaceful place to cultivate!"
...
At the edge of the city, an abandoned cement factory.
This place had long been forgotten by the world, its crumbling walls whispering in the wind. Sunlight streamed through the holes in the roof, casting mottled beams of light. Dust particles danced in the air, visible in the beams, giving the place an air of solemnity and tranquility, like a temple of the wasteland.
This was the new training ground that Xiang Lie had found for himself and the "Throne."
He took off his shirt, revealing his muscles, polished shiny by sweat. Here, he no longer had to endure the stares of ordinary people and could focus solely on communicating with his Throne.
He placed the "torture device" on his head, with chains attached to a massive gear of unknown weight salvaged from a construction site.
Everything was ready.
However, just as he was about to begin today's sacred ritual, the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of a white figure that did not belong in this wasteland.
Several dozen meters away, a figure emerged silently from behind a rusty steel column.
It was a young girl.
Her silver hair shone like moonlight, and even her eyelashes were translucent silver-white, casting a soft glow in the dim factory. She wore a dusty gray dress whose original color was indistinguishable, her frail body wrapped inside it, appearing hollow and empty, like a refugee who had fled here.
At that moment, she was timidly staring at Xiang Lie.
No, more accurately, she was staring at the junction of his neck and shoulders.
Her gaze... was strange.
There was no fear, no confusion in her eyes, only an indescribable intensity. Her lips were slightly parted, and the corners of her mouth seemed to hold a faint, crystalline glow, as if she had seen the most delicious delicacy in the world.
Boom!
An invisible bolt of lightning struck Xiang Lie's crown precisely.
She... she understood?
Could it be that in this wasteland, in this corner forgotten by the world, he had encountered someone who understood his philosophy and appreciated his throne?
Xiang Lie's heart raced, and he felt A Zuo and A You trembling with excitement. He suppressed his inner excitement and forced a smile he deemed the kindest and most philosophically wise, preparing to greet her.
However, the moment his gaze fell upon her, the girl, like a startled rabbit, suddenly shrunk back and vanished behind the pillar in an instant.
"..."
Xiang Lie's smile froze on his face.
Alright, I overthought it.
He shook his head self-deprecatingly. How could a mortal comprehend the true essence of the "Throne" upon their first meeting? He had been too impatient.
He withdrew his mind, stopped thinking about it, and refocused his attention on the cultivation before him.
"Huff... huff..."
He slowly pulled up the heavy gear, and his trapezius muscles instantly filled with blood and swelled! That familiar, tearing burning sensation once again brought him into that pure and selfless world.
Once, twice...
Sweat trickled down his back, leaving small watermarks on the ground.
As he was immersed in his training, a silver-colored little head cautiously peeked out from behind the steel column.
After confirming that Xiang Lie was no longer looking at her, the girl's gaze once again locked onto his rising and falling "Throne."
This time, Xiang Lie saw it more clearly.
In those clear eyes, what shone was not simple admiration, nor curiosity, but a kind of... a kind of almost hungry desire! As if a traveler who had trekked through the desert for days had finally seen the first oasis in his life.
What shook Xiang Lie even more was—
with each shrug of his shoulders, the slender, delicate shoulders of the young girl unconsciously and clumsily mimicked his movements, rising and falling slightly.
She... she was mimicking him!
She was yearning for this power!
Xiang Lie felt it deeply! That soulful resonance transcending language and species! That most primal, most pure longing for the "throne"!
He could no longer train calmly.
He slowly removed his weights and walked toward the girl. His steps were slow and light, afraid of disturbing the elf who had descended into his sanctuary.
This time, the girl did not step back.
She simply stood there quietly, lifting her head to gaze at the majestic man approaching her, as towering as a mountain range.
As he drew closer, Xiang Lie could see clearly.
Her face was dusty, but it couldn't hide her delicate, doll-like features. However, there was an unnatural twist mark on her ankle, making her stance slightly awkward.
"Are you injured?" Xiang Lie lowered his voice, trying to sound less like a fanatical philosopher.
The girl seemed to understand. She shook her head gently, as if the injury were nothing worth mentioning.
Then, she extended a slender finger, trembling yet unwavering, pointing toward Xiang Lie's trapezius muscle.
She raised her silver eyes, brimming with stars and longing, and looked at Xiang Lie, asking in a voice as light as a feather yet filled with endless shyness and anticipation:
"May I... touch it?"
BOOM——!!!
The second bolt of lightning, ten times more intense than the first, pierced Xiang Lie's soul!
A soulmate!
She was definitely a soulmate! A pilgrim sent by the gods to affirm his path!
Xiang Lie felt as though he might faint from happiness. All his grievances, all his misunderstandings, vanished in that moment!
"Yes! Of course! Absolutely!"
He was so excited he could barely speak, quickly straightening his back and slightly turning his body to reveal his proud "throne" without reservation, offering it reverently to the young woman.