Do You Know How Many Trees You've Destroyed?

The next day, Yu Tianlin began training to improve his control over his thunder-and-lightning Soul Power.

Because the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul had always been inherited as an Assault System Martial Soul, its demands for Soul Power control were not high, so the sect had never developed a corresponding set of training methods.

Take Yu Tianlin's father, Yu Mingfeng, for example. Although his control over thunder and lightning was extremely strong, that had come slowly with the growth of his cultivation and the tempering of battle after battle.

If Yu Tianlin were willing to grind away the time, then decades later, his control over thunder and lightning would naturally be able to grow to that level too—but by then, it would be far too late.

He needed a fast and scientific method, so naturally, he chose the Tree Climbing Training and Water Treading Training from Naruto.

First was tree climbing.

During his free activity time in the afternoon, Yu Tianlin kept his right arm suspended and found a small grove that very few students passed through, then began his training.

So-called tree climbing, in Douluo Continent terms, should mean gathering Soul Power under the soles of the feet to form an adhesive force, allowing oneself to easily step on the trunk and walk up it one step at a time—even hanging upside down from the tree would be no problem.

Yu Tianlin slowly concentrated his Soul Power under his feet. Once he felt it was about right, he stepped onto the tree trunk with his right foot.

Crack!

Yet with a crisp snap, the tree trunk was directly dented under Yu Tianlin's foot.

No way. His left foot was still on the ground; strictly speaking, he had not even started climbing the tree yet and had merely placed his right foot against the trunk. Yet he had actually stomped a pit into it. How was he supposed to continue after this?

To find the reason, Yu Tianlin carefully observed the pit he had stepped out, and soon discovered the clue.

Because his Soul Power naturally carried the thunder-and-lightning attribute, it possessed a certain destructive force. When he concentrated Soul Power under his foot and stepped toward a certain place, the Power of Thunder and Lightning within that Soul Power would naturally erupt. The tree trunk had been dented by him under those circumstances.

That was a little troublesome. In Naruto, although a ninja's Chakra also carried attributes, as long as they did not actively perform nature transformation, Chakra would manifest in an attribute-less form. So when they carried out tree-climbing training, even ninjas with Fire Attribute Chakra would not encounter something like the place they stepped on being set on fire.

But he was different. The thunder-and-lightning attribute in his Soul Power was overt; as long as it was released outward, it would exist in the form of thunder and lightning.

He could only try to make it as restrained as possible, controlling the Soul Power under his feet and preventing the Power of Thunder and Lightning within it from erupting.

If he did that, he would have to restrain the thunder and lightning while also maintaining the adhesive force under his feet. With his mind split between two tasks, the difficulty would greatly increase.

But this was originally training to improve his control over thunder-and-lightning Soul Power. Even if the difficulty was a little higher, it did not matter. If he could still complete it in the end, then his control over thunder and lightning would increase by a large margin.

He just had to keep trying. As the saying went, practice made perfect. For this kind of thing, as long as he kept practicing nonstop, he would definitely be able to master it.

Thinking of this, Yu Tianlin no longer hesitated. He circulated his Soul Power until it covered the soles of his feet, then stepped onto the tree trunk again.

One week later.

In the Dean's Office, Lei Bao looked helplessly at Yu Tianlin in front of him and said, "Little Tianlin, what's going on? What have you been doing lately?"

Yu Tianlin answered honestly, "Nothing much. I've just been a little bored every afternoon, so I've been researching a Self-Created Soul Skill."

"A Self-Created Soul Skill?"

Hearing Yu Tianlin's reply, Lei Bao was speechless. You're an eight-year-old little brat, and you're already researching a Self-Created Soul Skill? Have you even figured out your own two soul skills?

"All right, I'll take it that you're researching a Self-Created Soul Skill. But what does that have to do with the small grove in the southeast corner of the academy?" Lei Bao continued. "A teacher reported to me just now that that small grove has already... Do you know how many trees you've destroyed this week?"

Uh, Uncle Lei Bao, could you not say it like that? It sounded so strange. It made him think of a certain shameless bastard and made him feel like he was a woodpecker or something.

But he was indeed in the wrong. That small grove in the southeast corner had already been more than half destroyed, and it looked like it was about to be completely wiped out...

"Ahem." Yu Tianlin gave a dry cough and said, "As for those trees, I'll compensate for them according to their value. I've really troubled you, Uncle Lei."

"I know you're not short of money," Lei Bao said irritably. "Go to the finance office as soon as possible and pay the money in full. After that, you are not allowed to mess around in that grove anymore. Do you hear me?"

Although the academy was not short of that bit of money either, rules were rules. If trees were damaged, they naturally had to be compensated for according to their value.

"Eh, Uncle Lei, don't!" Hearing Lei Bao say this, Yu Tianlin immediately grew anxious and hurriedly said, "That small grove has already ended up like that anyway. When the time comes, it'll definitely have to be reorganized. All the trees will be dug up and replaced with a new batch. Since that's the case, wouldn't it be better to let me make use of waste?"

"You still want to continue?" Lei Bao looked at Yu Tianlin in surprise and asked, "Fine. Give me a time. How long do you need?"

Yu Tianlin quickly replied, "Just give me one more week."

He had spent a week and could finally barely restrain the Power of Thunder and Lightning within his Soul Power. When he stepped on the tree trunk now, he would no longer cause such great damage. Next was maintaining the adhesive force of his Soul Power. Yu Tianlin believed that at most, with another week, he would be able to complete the Tree Climbing Training perfectly.

"Fine. That small grove is yours to deal with," Lei Bao said straightforwardly. "But remember, you only have one week. One week later, I'll arrange for people to replace the trees with a new batch. After that, you can't mess around anymore. Also, you're limited to the small grove in the southeast corner of the academy. You're not allowed to go wrecking any other places."

"Mhm, mhm!" Yu Tianlin nodded hard. "Thank you, Uncle Lei. Goodbye, Uncle Lei!"

After saying that, Yu Tianlin got up and said farewell, then went to the finance office to pay his fine.

"Sigh!" Watching Yu Tianlin close the door and leave, Lei Bao could not help sighing. "None of them give me any peace. I thought Mingfeng's son was polite and looked pretty well-behaved, but I didn't expect him to be a hidden problem child too."

"And a Self-Created Soul Skill, at that. Isn't that just nonsense? Even I'm Level Seventy and haven't created one myself." Lei Bao shook his head helplessly. "Forget it. Little Tianlin will naturally give up once he hits a setback. I'd better handle my own matters first."

Some time ago, they had just finished selecting the students who would participate in next year's Soul Master Tournament: seven formal members and four substitutes. After the selections, they still had to strengthen their individual abilities and train their team coordination.

In one week, it would be the Five Elements Academy Joint Training Event, and matters like arranging the venue were also very complicated.

When the time came for the academies to spar and exchange pointers, if the students from his academy were suppressed by students from the other academies, then they would lose a tremendous amount of face.