Sincere in Heart, Extreme in Feeling

"Teacher, you said he only has 0.5 innate soul power?"

Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang beside him in astonishment.

It was already his second day at the academy. The two were on their way from the academy to the Soul Hunting Forest, preparing to obtain Tang San's First Soul Ring and advance him to Soul Master.

"Yes. I checked Su Cheng's records with Director Su. He indeed has only 0.5 innate soul power."

No expression could be seen on Yu Xiaogang's stiff face. He still wore that look of complete confidence.

"Your roommate probably used some special method. Don't worry. Once you advance, you'll be able to suppress him easily. Though there's no need for that either. As you continue cultivating, the gap between you will only grow wider."

He reached out and rubbed Tang San's hair. "You two were never from the same world. Don't lose heart over something so trivial."

Only then did Tang San relax. He had immense faith in his teacher.

At his core, Tang San was also an extremely stubborn person.

The people he acknowledged, the things he acknowledged, the principles he acknowledged—he would carry them through without wavering.

Since he had recognized Yu Xiaogang's extraordinary nature from the beginning, he naturally would not harbor any doubts now.

What was more, Yu Xiaogang's words truly did improve his mood considerably.

Tang San had once believed that, with a soul from another world, he was a rare genius in hidden weapons even within the Tang Sect. He had developed methods for crafting top-tier hidden weapons through his own efforts, so naturally he possessed his own pride.

Not to mention that now, having learned of his extraordinary talent, he looked down on those his age.

That included his fight with Xiao Wu. It was only because he had not used his trump card.

Besides, that girl was different to him. From the moment he first saw her, she had given him a peculiar feeling.

Yet afterward, he had actually been frightened by a single look from Su Cheng. It was truly difficult for him to accept.

A hint of Yu Xiaogang's signature ugly smile appeared on his stiff face. "Ignore everyone else. Your path is destined to be different from theirs."

Su Cheng had no idea about the conversation taking place at the academy gates.

He was sitting cross-legged in a patch of wasteland behind the academy, his eyes closed as he sensed the Sword Intent within his sea of consciousness.

His original plan had been to make some money over the next couple of days, obtain a Soul Hunting Token to advance himself, and then find better accommodations.

However, what had happened in the Seventh Dorm yesterday had given him a deeper understanding of the sword path, so he temporarily set aside the matter of hunting soul beasts.

His martial soul, the Longevity Sword, floated above his palm.

"The sword was created by man. It is a tool that aids attack, an extension of one's own strength."

Under his control, the Longevity Sword spun and slashed through the air with exceptional agility.

"The path of the sword is, in truth, the path of man. Be sincere in heart, extreme in feeling. Nurture the sword with intent, and let it move with the heart."

The sharpness surrounding Su Cheng gradually faded, and he no longer seemed as dazzlingly keen as before.

"What is the deepest, most primal, and most enduring emotion of sentient beings? Love?"

Blazing, violent flames erupted across the Longevity Sword.

"Nothing but a fiery, fleeting illusion." Su Cheng shook his head.

The flames quickly burned out, leaving behind only scattered sparks.

"Family and friends?"

Azure ripples spread over the Longevity Sword, its momentum vast and majestic like an endless surging river.

"Once ties are severed and favors cast aside, strangers meet as strangers."

The stream was cut apart, and droplets scattered in every direction.

"Hatred?"

A cold gleam suddenly burst from the blade edge, like a white rainbow piercing the sun.

"A false thing, destined to be worn away by time."

Specks of rust appeared bit by bit along the edge of the silver-white blade, gradually corroding it into nothingness.

"...Fear!"

Su Cheng said with certainty.

"Fear of failure, fear of loss, fear of death, fear of the unknown..."

As his words fell, the sword shadow in his sea of consciousness underwent subtle changes.

A thin black line appeared along the spine of the sword-like manifestation of Sword Intent, which had once seemed like an illusion, running through its entire body.

In that instant, the sharp aura constantly dispersing through his sea of consciousness seemed to find a core and gathered together, rather than existing solely by virtue of that trace of insight into the sword path.

The pressure in Su Cheng's sea of consciousness was instantly halved.

He let out a long breath of turbid air.

"I should thank Xiao Wu."

In the Simulated World, he had ceased making progress after achieving the Sword Dao Domain.

The Sword Intent Entity he had eventually forged had also been painstakingly built up through the nourishment of Spiritual Power and relentless day-and-night refinement.

In truth, having reached this stage, the only way for his sword path to improve further was through insight.

The accumulation from ordinary cultivation was indispensable, but the most crucial thing was that final flash of inspiration.

"It's time to hunt soul beasts and add a soul ring."

Notting City market.

A plainly dressed youth made his way into a shop with practiced ease. He lightly tapped on the counter, waking the clerk who had been dozing behind it.

"Go call Sol."

Hearing the voice, the clerk jolted awake and looked at the youth before him with surprise and suspicion.

Of course, he knew who Sol was.

In fact, he was one of Sol's employees, and this shop was merely a front.

Behind it stood Sol, one of the people in charge of the Notting City Black Market.

The clerk examined Su Cheng from head to toe.

Though the child before him was young and dressed very poorly, his commanding demeanor and the way he had directly named Sol made the clerk unwilling to underestimate him.

After all, Sol was a Soul Grandmaster, one of the top experts in the Notting City Black Market.

"May I ask what business you have with Boss Sol?"

"I want to discuss a deal worth over a hundred Gold Soul Coins."

Seeing that the youth before him was dressed so poorly that he probably could not scrape together even two copper coins, the clerk's eye twitched slightly, and he could not help hesitating.

Su Cheng did not make things difficult for him. He took a bottle of potion from within his clothes and handed it over.

"Show him this. He'll come out to see me."

That was right. Su Cheng intended to make money by selling potions.

The one he had brought out was a medicine capable of greatly increasing the explosive power of Soul Power for a short time, though its side effects were considerable and it was only effective at lower levels.

This medicine was useful and inexpensive to produce, yet not valuable enough to make people covet it.

It was perfect for the black market.

Besides, at his current level, even if he could not defeat a Soul Grandmaster, he could still retreat unscathed.

Among low-level Soul Masters, the difference in combat strength between ranks was not too great. Holding out until he attracted attention would not be difficult for him.

As for how much this kind of medicine could sell for, Su Cheng did not care much. He had no time to earn hard money from this stuff. What he wanted to sell was the formula.

The several hundred Gold Soul Coins had merely been something he said casually. Even a few dozen would be enough. The most important thing was using the opportunity to obtain a Soul Hunting Token.

The recommendation made it to the second round. This book's performance is quite good, so thank you all very much for your support. I bow to you, Reader Lords, and please continue following along. As for word count, it's currently the recommendation period for a new book, so I truly don't have the energy to explode with updates. Please forgive me. You can definitely tell that I never pad my writing; where things can be written briefly, I won't add needless nonsense. I've thought it over, and from now on I'll post both chapters in the afternoon. Although the follow-rate data will probably drop if I do that, it should make things smoother for everyone to read, since each chapter really isn't very long.

Also, I don't know why, but every few days someone comments that this book will fall apart later on. The emotional arcs for Qian Renxue, Zhu Zhuqing, and the others, the main plot in the real world, and the later Simulated Worlds—even if it does fall apart, wouldn't that only happen after the main plot is finished and the book is close to ending? Could those people please tell me why they think it will fall apart, so I can reflect on it? Don't just jump in and state the conclusion.