Xiao Lie Wanted to Become Stronger

Over the next few days, no noble dared cause trouble for Dormitory Three. Ye Wen had proven with his strength that even if his Martial Soul was not an offensive type, these noble trash who had yet to obtain Soul Rings were absolutely no match for him.

After that defeat, Xiao Lie became much more composed than before, no longer so carefree, arrogant, and overbearing. His eyes were always filled with thought.

"In another year, I'll be twelve, but by then, my Soul Power probably won't even reach Level 15. Why is that kid so much stronger than me? Our Innate Soul Power is both around Level Four. And my Martial Soul is such a powerful offensive Beast Martial Soul."

After pondering for a long time, Ye Wen's calm decisiveness during battle kept resurfacing in his mind.

Then, looking at his own weak cultivation, Xiao Lie found it almost laughable. He understood that he was such trash purely because of his own doing. He was also a poor student who had never listened properly in class. He wanted to grow stronger, yet had no idea how, and anxiety began to build within him.

"No, I have to become stronger. Even if I can't obtain a noble title, I can't keep wallowing in degradation if I want Mother to live the life of a true upper-class person.

"I'm different from Mother. I'm a real Soul Master. As long as I cultivate seriously, Father said that with my talent, even at my worst, I can become a Soul Elder. Even if I can't compare to Father, I can still give Mother a good life. She won't have to suffer people's scorn anymore."

As though he had made up his mind, Xiao Lie's gaze turned fierce, and his resolve hardened.

"Boss, I heard Cuiying Tower got two new girls. Their skin is so tender. Why don't we go have some fun?"

Xiao Lie's lackey strategist saw that his boss had been gloomy these past few days and knew it was time for him to be useful. He hurried over to flatter him.

But Xiao Lie was unmoved. He glanced at him and said, "Go by yourself if you want. Don't follow me anymore. I'm going to cultivate seriously."

With that, Xiao Lie turned and walked toward Dormitory Three.

The lackey froze on the spot. But seeing Xiao Lie's resolute expression, he did not dare continue trying to ingratiate himself.

"Damn it, ptooey! All that effort was wasted!" the lackey muttered gloomily.

The so-called noble circle at Nuoding Academy was actually only a small group. Most students were self-funded students from the city. Though they did not have noble status, their families were fairly well-off. However, if their families wanted to climb higher, they needed to curry favor with nobles who possessed large amounts of precious resources.

The lackey was clearly one of those people. He could not ingratiate himself with the top nobles, but someone like Xiao Lie, while not a noble in the strict sense, could still put in a good word with the City Lord and bring some convenience to their family. Unfortunately, his plan had fallen apart before it could even begin, leaving him thoroughly enraged.

Still, he was only a child. If he had been an adult, he would have continued clinging to Xiao Lie and declaring his loyalty, even if he had to discard all dignity. Although a Soul Elder was nothing special in larger cities, in this remote little city, talent sufficient to cultivate to Soul Elder was exceedingly rare.

Xiao Lie returned to Dormitory Three, but he was somewhat surprised to find it empty.

It was afternoon cultivation time. Most people would return to their dormitories to cultivate quietly.

But could someone tell him where such a huge group of people had gone?

Still, he had once been the kingpin of Nuoding Academy. Xiao Lie casually stopped a Work-Study Student from a neighboring dormitory who had come out for water.

"Where are the people from Dormitory Three?"

The Work-Study Student before him nervously swallowed and pointed toward the back mountain as he whispered.

"The big brothers from Dormitory Three are all cultivating there. I heard it's a cultivation method created by their boss."

At the mention of a unique cultivation method, Xiao Lie's eyes lit up. Hadn't he come here to find Ye Wen so that he could become stronger? Hearing that Ye Wen and the others truly had their own unique cultivation method, his heart immediately burned with excitement. Curious, he asked, "What cultivation method is it? Do you know?"

The Work-Study Student did not answer right away. After all, prying into the secrets of another person's cultivation was a great taboo in the world of Soul Masters. Even students like them who had yet to become Soul Masters knew that. Yet he had happened to peek before. Or rather, nearly every Work-Study Student who longed to become stronger had gone to take a look.

Seeing the Work-Study Student hemming and hawing, Xiao Lie impatiently urged, "Speak!"

"I don't know the specifics. When I peeked, they were constantly lifting heavy things, then sparring with each other."

"Weightlifting? Sparring?" Xiao Lie muttered.

He immediately left the Work-Study Student behind and headed in Ye Wen's direction.

"Hey!"

"Ha!"

"Ugh—"

"Ah!"

Even before he approached, Xiao Lie could clearly hear all sorts of labored, pained breathing.

After passing through a small patch of woods, the training of Dormitory Three was finally revealed before Xiao Lie.

The boys were bare-chested, doing handstands, horse stances, push-ups, sprints, and all manner of other exercises.

As for Ye Wen, Xiao Lie's target, he was holding a massive barbell as he repeatedly squatted and stood. Sweat poured from his entire body, soaking a patch of ground beneath him.

"Hiss!" Seeing this scene, Xiao Lie could not help contributing to global warming.

He was not particularly surprised by the training the ordinary Dormitory Three students were doing, because his father often exercised his body like this. When Xiao Lie was young, his father had also warned him that Soul Masters needed to cultivate not only their Soul Power, but their bodies as well.

Otherwise, they would only become third-rate Soul Masters. Unfortunately, Xiao Lie had been young then and quickly forgotten those words.

What truly astonished him was the barbell Ye Wen carried.

If his eyes were not deceiving him, the barbell was forged from pure iron, the same material used in the weapons carried by the guards standing watch outside his home.

Ordinary weapons were one thing, since they did not use much iron. A spearhead weighed only three or four jin.

But Xiao Lie estimated that Ye Wen's barbell weighed at least eight hundred jin.

Even with Martial Soul Possession, he might not be able to lift such a weight. Yet Ye Wen's muscles were tense all over, and even Xiao Lie's appearance did not affect the speed of his squats.

When he moved closer and saw the "100 jin" marking on the barbell's iron plates, Xiao Lie carefully counted them. There were exactly eight plates. Eight hundred jin. His heart trembled in horror.

"He has this kind of strength without even having a Beast Martial Soul. How did this guy train his body? Even if he hadn't used Martial Soul Possession that day, I probably wouldn't have been able to take a single punch from him."

At that moment, Ye Wen also ended his physical training. It was not because Xiao Lie had disturbed him, but because he had reached the standard he had set for himself.

Too much was as bad as too little.