Cultivating Adamant Qi, Level Thirty-Nine

The first rays of morning sunlight fell upon the ground of the metal-attribute cultivation area, painting a beautiful scene.

If any students passed by the metal-attribute Mimicry Cultivation area or intended to cultivate there, they would surely discover a young man in the mine pit at the very center of the area, having just finished a night of meditation.

The youth had neat brown short hair and stood over eight feet tall. His golden eyes carried an awe-inspiring presence. He wore magnificent black-and-gold noble robes personally commissioned for him by the Crown Prince. At the center of the robe, a golden lion looked lifelike, poised to pounce and bite.

The youth was none other than Su He, diligently cultivating. At this moment, anyone above level eighty could tell at a glance that the Adamant Qi flowing over Su He's body could no longer merely cover his fists—it had already spread to his arms.

Su He had drawn inspiration for cultivating Adamant Qi this way from the First Spirit Skill, Purple Lightning Armor, displayed by Yu Tianhua. He had also connected it with an ability called Armament Haki from a comic in his previous life, developing this technique as a result.

The flowing Adamant Qi already contained an extremely pure Geng Metal Attribute. Its hardness was in no way inferior to genuine refined steel and might even surpass it. Such high-purity Adamant Qi provided Su He with excellent defense, while enemies who struck that defense would also be cut by the sharp Adamant Qi. It was truly killing two birds with one stone.

Su He's martial soul, the Abyssal Golden Lion, already possessed a Geng Metal Attribute extremely close to the ultimate level.

However, this technique also had a drawback: it was far too slow to cultivate.

Su He had remained in the metal-attribute Mimicry Cultivation grounds for a full two and a half months before he could barely extend the Adamant Qi from his Third Spirit Skill to cover his arms.

Yet this innovation held tremendous significance for Su He. His Third Spirit Skill was no longer a purely offensive spirit skill, but had become a versatile spirit skill capable of both attack and defense.

Rather than saying Su He needed to activate his Third Spirit Skill before using Adamant Qi to cover his body, it would be more accurate to say that the Third Spirit Skill served as a catalyst linking Su He to the Adamant Qi in nature. As his mastery over Adamant Qi continued to improve, it was entirely foreseeable that he would eventually control it without activating a spirit skill at all.

Still, even this minor change to the effect of his Third Spirit Skill was a rather impressive achievement. In the cultivation system of Douluo Continent, low-level Spirit Masters had extremely limited means of combat. The vast majority could only rely on the few spirit rings they possessed and had no other abilities.

Spirit Masters like Su He, who possessed the External Soul Bone Radiant Crystal Wings as well as multiple Self-Created Soul Skills, could be counted on one hand. Even Tang San, the protagonist of the Original Work, could not have achieved so much at level thirty-eight.

Tang San's early combat prowess mostly came from the skills he had learned in the Tang Sect, the hidden weapon sect of his previous life. Mysterious Jade Hand and Purple Demon Eye were both exceptionally powerful abilities. Furthermore, his methods of launching hidden weapons and the External Soul Bone Eight Spider Lances gave Tang San substantial help in the early stages. This was also the main reason Tang San had been able to lead his team to defeat the Spirit Hall Academy Team.

But in this life, Tang San would not be so fortunate.

The Immortal Herbs, his greatest reliance for improving his talent, had all been taken by Su He. Dugu Bo had also been brought under Su He's command, while even his formerly level ninety-five cheat-like father had lost an arm and was barely clinging to life in Holy Soul Village with only level eighty-five Soul Power.

Tang San's fate had unknowingly flowed toward Su He and Spirit Hall. He was probably still playing house with his little sister Xiao Wu at Nuoding Academy, completely unaware of it all, only vaguely sensing that he seemed to have lost something.

Su He had no intention of leading anyone to surround and kill Tang San and Tang Hao just yet. The deities behind those two, along with the world's self-correcting power over the timeline, were simply too formidable. Su He understood this deeply.

Even though he had done everything possible to change the fate of the former Pope Qian Xunji, Qian Xunji had still died at the hands of Tang Hao's hammer and Bibi Dong. Su He knew full well that now was not the time to kill them. He would not do anything without absolute certainty. Douluo Continent was already under the gaze of multiple deities, among whom there was no shortage of God King-level beings.

As for the rule that deities could not interfere in the affairs of the lower realm, anyone who had read the later installments of Douluo Continent would know it was nothing more than a complete joke.

However, the system mission had already provided a hint. Since it had issued a Side Quest, that meant Su He would have an opportunity to kill Tang Hao and Xiao Wu six years from now. That would be the day they died.

Su He slowly rose to his feet and stretched. He could feel that he was only a hair's breadth away from the level thirty-nine bottleneck. With just a little stimulation, he could break through.

But Su He pursued stability and solid foundations in cultivation. He had ample time, so naturally, he chose to condense his Soul Power further and further.

Su He arrived at the Training Ground and clasped his hands toward the three people who had already arrived. They were sparring partners Su He had hired with Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

It was worth mentioning that these sparring partners Su He had hired with Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures were not students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, but teachers from the academy.

Moreover, all three were outstanding figures among the Heavenly Grade Teachers, each with Soul Power above level fifty-five. Among them was a figure renowned among readers in his previous life: Teacher Qin Ming, a twenty-eight-year-old level fifty-seven Soul King with the mutated martial soul Blazing Wolf.

Naturally, Su He had paid a hefty price to hire Heavenly Grade Teachers as sparring partners. After all, as Soul King-level Spirit Masters, Heavenly Grade Teachers held exceptionally high status within the academy.

At Heaven Dou Royal Academy, aside from the three elder-level Committee Members and eight Heaven Dou Grade Teachers, Heavenly Grade Teachers held the highest status.

The three teachers were Qin Ming of the Blazing Wolf, Shi Qi of the Black Tortoise, and Wang Fei of the Azure Feather Eagle.

Teacher Shi Qi, whose martial soul was the Black Tortoise, was the biological uncle of the Black Tortoise brothers Shi Mo and Shi Mo, two of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's current genius Spirit Masters. He too came from the Black Tortoise Family and was an exceptionally powerful defense-type Battle Soul King.

Teacher Wang Fei, meanwhile, was an outstanding Agility-Attack Spirit Master. With Soul Power at level fifty-nine, he was on the verge of breaking through to the Soul Emperor level. Su He had paid the price of a Wind-Walking Grass to hire him.

As a first-generation graduate of Shrek Academy, Qin Ming's strength naturally spoke for itself.

The three teachers took turns sparring with Su He, pointing out the flaws in his fighting style. As a result, Su He's combat techniques and experience improved at an astonishing pace. After two months of hellish training, Su He was confident that if he faced Yu Tianhua again, he could still defeat him with ease—even though Yu Tianhua had obtained his fourth spirit ring and become a level forty-two Battle Soul Ancestor.

And today, the bottleneck that had been suppressed for so long could no longer be contained. Su He had no intention of continuing to condense his Soul Power and instead chose to break through.

Level thirty-nine! Only one more level remained before he could obtain his fourth spirit ring!