"An Evil Soul Master's methods..."
"Won't I have to pay some enormous price to obtain Innate Soul Power?" Yu Cheng asked doubtfully.
He thought of an unparalleled sword technique.
"Heh, I'm not a real Evil Soul Master. I was framed."
Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng shook his head.
"I obtained my First Soul Ring at the age of eight. With only half a level of Innate Soul Power, reaching that point was unprecedented."
"But some people saw how quickly I cultivated and grew jealous. They reported me as a Fallen One, and then I was thrown into Slaughter City."
Hearing this, Yu Cheng froze.
So that was it!
No wonder Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng couldn't beat Tang San. He had been one ring against five!
"Which bastard reported you?"
Yu Cheng asked angrily.
"Yu Xiaogang. He held the Pope's Decree, so the Spirit Hall in Nuoding City didn't dare defy his orders."
"And the City Lord's Mansion. They put in quite a bit of effort to capture me."
"I have one final wish: revenge."
"As for Tang San, I don't actually hate him. Being inferior in skill leaves nothing to say."
Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng spoke calmly.
"Don't worry, bro. Your enemies are my enemies!" Yu Cheng declared firmly.
Yu Xiaogang had only half a level of Innate Soul Power and had suffered countless scornful looks since childhood.
Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng had possessed the same talent, yet cultivated at an astonishing pace. Yu Xiaogang must have felt terribly unbalanced.
Without a doubt, he was the mastermind!
As for those people from the City Lord's Mansion, they had likely seen the Pope's Decree and willingly become accomplices in order to curry favor with Yu Xiaogang.
As for Tang San...
Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng spoke openly, but Yu Cheng sharply caught the fleeting vicious glint in his eyes.
Yu Cheng also understood why they were not the same person, yet the other party was willing to help him.
In a sense, theirs was a cooperative relationship.
Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng simply wanted to fulfill his final wishes!
"As for my second wish..."
Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng's voice caught. "I hope you can live in the sunlight, without having to hide everywhere like a rat. Enjoy life properly, and do what you love."
"What I love..."
Yu Cheng was stunned.
What he loved was naturally obtaining Innate Soul Power, then cultivating diligently and gaining strength like a superhero's.
Happy superhero, unhappy superhero all the same.
Yu Cheng looked at him again.
Tang San had entered Slaughter City before he was even twenty.
Yet Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng looked like a weathered middle-aged man.
"Bro, you've suffered all these years."
At that moment, Yu Cheng felt somewhat relieved.
He had originally thought having no Soul Power was miserable enough. He hadn't expected Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng to have lived an even worse life.
Sure enough, happiness came from comparison.
"It was nothing more than a little hardship."
There was a hint of pride in Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng's words.
He had merely been a commoner Soul Master with half a level of Innate Soul Power.
But he had not chosen to lie flat. Even Yu Xiaogang could break through to level twenty-nine, so there was no reason he could not.
He used memories from his previous life to make money, buy resources, and cultivate. In only two or three years, he broke through level ten.
Unfortunately, a tall tree caught the wind and was plotted against.
He had been careless.
"Prepare some materials. I'll help awaken your Innate Soul Power first. But it would be best if you find somewhere deserted."
Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng looked at Yu Cheng and could not help shaking his head.
At that moment, he suddenly felt somewhat relieved.
He had always thought his life was miserable, but at least he was a Soul Master.
One above others.
He had enjoyed what he should have enjoyed.
He had never expected Yu Cheng not even to possess Innate Soul Power.
Tsk.
Time flew by, and three months quickly passed.
Early morning.
The back mountain of Holy Spirit Village.
A hexagram array drawn in blood emitted a faint red glow. Yu Cheng sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes closed in meditation.
If an outsider passed by, they would find nothing there.
Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng floated above the array. Streams of energy spread from his body, circulated through the array, and finally gathered within Yu Cheng's body.
The ritual lasted for half an hour.
Yu Cheng's figure gradually appeared, while the blood used to set up the array completely vanished.
Surging energy burst from Yu Cheng's body, stirring up a gust that bent the surrounding Blue Silver Grass in every direction.
"Flap, flap, flap."
A flock of birds took flight in alarm and quickly fled the area.
"I finally have Soul Power!"
Yu Cheng clenched his fists, feeling the surging strength within him. His eyes were filled with excitement.
"It's only one or two levels. Your aptitude is truly awful. It took you an entire three months to absorb this little Soul Power."
Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng mocked him without reservation.
"Hehe, bro, thanks!"
Yu Cheng put away his smile and spoke seriously.
He looked at Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng. The other man's body seemed to have faded somewhat.
Beast blood was merely a medium. This array was a sacrificial ritual that transferred Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng's energy into Yu Cheng's body.
"There's no need for that. Helping you is also helping myself."
Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng spoke.
"Once you obtain the blood of Soul Beasts or Soul Masters, you can use the Blood Sacrifice Array to absorb the energy within the blood and raise your Soul Power Level."
"Mm." Yu Cheng nodded.
In the original Soul Land II novel, Evil Soul Masters cultivated by devouring Soul Power, flesh and blood, spiritual power, and more.
Their cultivation speed was extremely fast, and their Soul Ring configurations were utterly outrageous.
Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng set up the Blood Sacrifice Array with practiced ease. No matter how one looked at it, he did not seem like a good person.
However...
Yu Cheng was the beneficiary.
He believed the other man must have been forced into it!
Holy Spirit Village.
From afar, Yu Cheng saw Tang San standing before his house, carrying a cloth bundle in his hand.
"Tang San, are you here to buy meat?"
"Mm."
Tang San nodded.
Seeing Yu Cheng drenched in sweat, he asked, "Did you just come back from training outside?"
"That's right. I go train in the mountains every day. Perhaps cultivating the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul deep in the mountains can produce Soul Power."
Yu Cheng flashed a brilliant smile.
Tang San's gaze sharpened at those words.
He suddenly recalled the strange resonance between his Mysterious Heaven Skill inner force and the Crystal Ball during the awakening ceremony.
Perhaps inner force and Soul Power truly had some kind of connection!
He sized Yu Cheng up from head to toe.
His aura was solid, and his body was much stronger than that of an ordinary child.
In the Tang Sect of his previous life, some disciples with poor aptitude could not cultivate inner force and could only take the body-tempering path.
Yet they did not even qualify as outer disciples and could only serve as menial workers.
"If you don't have a cultivation technique, all your efforts will ultimately be in vain." Tang San shook his head.
"Could it be that you have a cultivation technique?" Yu Cheng asked with a smile.
"How could I have something like that? Hurry up and get me the meat. I still need to go home and cook for dad."
Tang San spread his hands.
"Oh, right. This is the money I owed you before."
Tang San opened the cloth bundle, revealing more than a dozen copper coins.
"Yu Cheng, in a few days I'll be going to Nuoding City to study. We probably won't have many chances to meet again, so we're even now."
Among children their age, Yu Cheng was the only one who did not look down on Tang San's family for being poor.
But after their Martial Souls awakened, Tang San believed their friendship had come to an end.
When they met again in the future, he would already be a noble Soul Master, while Yu Cheng would still be an ordinary commoner.
Tang San did not discriminate against commoners, but a chasm lay between them.
It was difficult to cross.
Hearing this, Yu Cheng merely smiled.
He went home and brought out a strip of cured meat. Tang San did not linger and left directly.
"In Tang San's heart, only those with outstanding talent are qualified to be his friends."
"People from martial arts worlds really do have feudal mindsets!"
Watching Tang San's departing back, Yu Cheng sighed.
Had he not heard: thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—never bully the poor young man!
"Speaking of school..."
"With Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng's help, the meditation method of an elementary academy is as useless to me as chicken ribs. I don't need to waste six years at the academy like Tang San."
"However..."
Yu Cheng stroked his chin.
"Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng stayed in Slaughter City all this time, so he doesn't know much about Soul Beasts."
"Besides, Spirit Hall's records state that I have zero Innate Soul Power..."
After thinking it over, he decided to visit Spirit Hall and undergo another Soul Power test.
The reason would naturally be Martial Soul Mutation.
His current Soul Power was only level one or two. Rather than be suspected in the future, he might as well come clean from the beginning.
At the same time, he was doing it to fulfill Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng's final wish.
To enjoy life properly and live openly in the light.
Before you continue