Royal Forest, Breaking Through Level Twenty

The battle ended quickly.

It wasn't that Osler was defeated by Yu Cheng, but that Yu Tianheng couldn't withstand Dugu Yan's snake venom.

Dugu Yan's second Soul Skill could erode Soul Power and weaken the effects of Soul Skills.

After Yu Cheng's amplification, this move directly shattered Yu Tianheng's Wrath of Thunder, causing him internal injuries.

Attrition battles had always been Dugu Yan's strong suit.

It was worth mentioning that after half an hour, Dugu Yan showed no signs of weakness.

"Just as I thought, Ye Lingling's Soul Skill can compensate for the life force stolen by the Frenzied Seed."

Yu Cheng thought to himself.

His expression was calm as he silently absorbed the Soul Power converted by the seed.

This battle was equivalent to about a day of his arduous cultivation.

"Eh?"

Suddenly, Yu Cheng's eyes sharpened.

A surge of Soul Power erupted from his body, and in an instant, all eyes turned to him.

"This is a Soul Power breakthrough!"

Osler exclaimed.

He had seen stories in theaters where the protagonist broke through during a battle or had a sudden enlightenment after a fight.

"Am I just a minor character in a story, a stepping stone for the protagonist?"

Osler cried out in surprise.

"Idiot!"

Yufeng shot him a disdainful look.

An Agility Attack Type Soul Master couldn't even handle two support types? If not for the Ghost Leopard Martial Soul's speed, Osler would have been beaten down by Yu Cheng.

How embarrassing!

"Enough messing around, I have an announcement to make."

Dugu Yan clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"After discussing with Teacher Qin, we've decided to invite Yu Cheng to join the Imperial Dou Team's main squad. Let's give him a warm welcome!"

Initially, she had only intended for Yu Cheng to serve as a theoretical advisor, especially since his Soul Power was only at level ten-something.

However, after this battle, everyone had witnessed Yu Cheng's true strength.

Clap clap clap...

The crowd applauded enthusiastically, Yu Tianheng included.

Yu Tianheng, after his fight with Dugu Yan, had deeply understood how terrifying Yu Cheng's Soul Skills were.

He even felt somewhat fortunate that Yu Cheng was his teammate and not his enemy.

A month later.

Knock knock knock~

Yu Cheng knocked on the door and entered the office.

"Yu Cheng, what brings you here?"

Qin Ming asked with a smile.

"Teacher Qin, I wish to enter the Royal Forest to cultivate and have come to seek your approval."

Yu Cheng stated his purpose directly.

According to his original plan, with Ye Lingling restoring his life force, he could have shamelessly "fleeced" others.

He hadn't expected Qin Ming to betray him!

For the past month, the Imperial Dou Team had spent most of their time training in the Great Soul Arena, while Yu Cheng could only cultivate at the academy.

In Qin Ming's words, his Soul Power was too low, and his main task was to cultivate. Only after reaching level twenty could he participate in Soul Duels with the team.

This arrangement itself was not problematic.

However...

He couldn't steal life force and had to cultivate honestly. Who knew when he would break through?

Therefore, he had to find another way.

"Royal Forest?"

Qin Ming pondered for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I'll arrange for a teacher to specifically protect you."

He smiled apologetically.

"I've been busy arranging things at the Soul Fighting Arena, and I've been a bit neglectful of you. The Soul Beast Forest is the best environment for your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul to practice mimicry."

Yu Cheng shook his head, "Teacher, I want to enter the forest alone."

He wasn't just going to the forest for mimicry; more importantly, he wanted to kill Soul Beasts and perform the Blood Sacrifice Array.

Bringing a teacher along would surely expose his secret.

"Absolutely not."

Qin Ming directly refused, "Your combat ability is good, but the Soul Beast Forest is too dangerous. I don't want you to be in any danger whatsoever!"

Yu Cheng smiled; he had already guessed that Qin Ming wouldn't agree.

"Teacher Qin, look at this."

Yu Cheng took out the Godly Zhuge Crossbow from his Soul Tool.

"This is a weapon I crafted. With it, I can protect myself."

Yu Cheng said confidently.

"A crossbow?"

A hint of doubt flickered in Qin Ming's eyes, but he didn't dampen Yu Cheng's confidence and said, "Demonstrate it."

"Alright."

Yu Cheng disengaged the safety, aimed at the large door, and pulled the trigger.

"Swoosh swoosh swoosh!"

The sharp arrows shot out, piercing deeply into the door.

Qin Ming walked to the door in a few steps. He saw that the arrowheads had penetrated about half a foot into the door, and the tails were vibrating violently, still not stopping after a long time.

"What a powerful weapon!"

A sharp glint flashed in Qin Ming's eyes.

Suddenly, he thought of something and heavily smacked his palm against his other hand.

"It's a shame that this type of Martial Soul is not allowed in official matches. Otherwise, the Imperial Dou Team might have a chance to contend for the championship in the next Soul Master Competition!"

Qin Ming composed himself and patted Yu Cheng's shoulder.

"I approve this matter, but you must promise me you won't spend the night in the forest."

"Yes!"

Time flew by, and a year passed.

Royal Forest.

Yu Cheng sat cross-legged on the ground. Beside him lay the corpse of a giant grey wolf.

Blood flowed down, soaking into the grass.

If one were to lift the turf, they would discover the six-pointed star array Yu Cheng had set up underground.

This was his improved Blood Sacrifice Array.

He soaked the blood into the ground, then attached the Frenzied Seed to the Blue Silver Grass, controlling the Blue Silver Grass to absorb the blood from the soil, and finally, he carved the array.

If an outsider were here, they would hardly notice anything unusual, only thinking that these Blue Silver Grass plants were exceptionally lush.

"Hoo~"

Yu Cheng slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

He felt his Soul Power surging within his body, flowing through his meridians and converging in his dantian.

It was like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

Smooth and natural.

"Level twenty, I've done it!"

A smile curved Yu Cheng's lips.

"In one year, I've advanced four Soul Power levels. Old Tie's Blood Sacrifice Array is truly effective!"

The Blood Sacrifice Array converted blood from its physical form into energy.

The Frenzied Seed absorbed life energy and converted it into Soul Power.

Both were indispensable.

Without the Blood Sacrifice Array, Yu Cheng would essentially just be eating beast meat and drinking beast blood.

While it could strengthen his physique, his Soul Power would improve only marginally.

Without the transformation provided by the Frenzied Seed, the energy in the blood would be very mixed and could easily conflict with Yu Cheng's own Soul Power.

With the combination of the two, he was able to advance four Soul Power levels within a year!

"I wonder how many levels Tang San and Xiao Wu are at now?"

Yu Cheng lay on the grass, thinking quietly.

"I'm exactly eleven years old now. In the original story, Tang San broke through level thirty at twelve years and seven months old."

"In a year and a half, I need to increase my Soul Power by ten levels to catch up to him."

"Difficult, difficult, difficult!"

"I estimate I can only reach level twenty-seven."

Yu Cheng stood up, the joy of breaking through the bottleneck significantly diminished.

"Sigh, it's already good."

"I didn't even have Innate Soul Power originally."

"What more could I ask for?"

Yu Cheng's first Soul Ring flashed, and countless red light spots flew out, covering the gray wolf's corpse.

In a short while, the grave grass of the gray wolf grew to over a foot tall.

Just as he was about to leave, a synthesized electronic voice suddenly sounded in his mind:

[My name is Yu Cheng.]

[When you see this sentence, I am already dead.]

[Please accept the urn and properly bury my belongings.]