Vast Sea City

Ye Lan laughed heartily as he dealt with the villagers' chatter one by one, returning to Grandpa Tom's home amid their voices.

This time, as Ye Lan headed home, he walked along the spacious gravel road he had paid to build himself.

Grandpa Tom's home had also been expanded. It no longer resembled the Little Wooden Cabin of old, and now looked more like a medieval-style villa.

Ye Lan pushed open the door and finally saw Tom, whom he had not seen in a long time.

Tom lay in an Old Man's Chair, sipping tea and gently rocking back and forth in leisure.

"Grandpa, I'm back!"

"Huh? Xiao Lan? You've changed so much!"

"Grandpa, it's me! My Martial Soul evolved, so my appearance changed a little," Ye Lan explained.

Tom looked Ye Lan over and nodded repeatedly.

With satisfaction, he said, "Not bad, you've grown quite a bit. Xiao Lan, summer break hasn't even started yet—why did you take the time to come back and visit this old man?"

"Grandpa, I've already graduated. I'm now a proper Soul Master." Ye Lan took out his Golden Soul Master Badge from his clothes.

Tom accepted the Soul Master Badge. It gleamed with golden light, with the words Ye Lan engraved on its back.

"Good, good, good! Xiao Lan has made something of himself!" Tom began worrying about Ye Lan. "Are you going to an intermediate Soul Master academy to cultivate next? I still have quite a bit of savings. I'll get it for you to use as tuition."

"Grandpa, there's no need! I'll be going to Vast Sea City to cultivate before long. It'll help me greatly! Keep your savings for your retirement. Besides, I'm already a Soul Master, so I'm not short on money." Ye Lan told Tom about his plans.

"You really have grown up. You don't need Grandpa to take care of you anymore." Looking at the independent Ye Lan, Tom's heart was filled with pride.

Over the next few days, Ye Lan kept Old Man Tom company, chatting and playing chess with him.

Harvest Village also held a banquet to celebrate Ye Lan becoming a Soul Master.

Over those days, Ye Lan completely relaxed, enjoying the peace and quiet.

After a week of travel, Ye Lan felt as though his entire body were falling apart.

He had finally arrived at his destination: Vast Sea City, the Heaven Dou Empire's foremost coastal city.

Ignoring the soreness in his body, Ye Lan was drawn to the boundless sea the moment he stepped out of the carriage.

The sea was vast and magnificent. It was impossible to tell whether the sky had been dyed azure by the sea, or the sea dyed deep blue by the sky.

They were like two enormous mirrors reflecting one another.

White clouds stretched for miles, and the sea breeze drifted softly. Standing by the shore, Ye Lan caught a trace of salty sea air at the tip of his nose.

Before long, Ye Lan had grown accustomed to it.

Aside from the scenery, what made Ye Lan feel most comfortable was the sunlight here.

Ye Lan did not head directly into Vast Sea City. Instead, he went to Golden Beach south of the city and began his first Sunbath.

Without minding the sand and dust, Ye Lan spread his arms and lay directly on the soft beach.

With his eyes tightly shut, he felt as though he were soaking in a Hot Spring, his whole body enveloped by warm sand.

His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul began absorbing sunlight on its own, swaying as it radiated an aura of joy.

The passive effect of I Want to Grow Up began to operate, and Ye Lan's talent and the Blue Silver Grass's vitality slowly increased.

Beyond the warmth outside his body, a warm current also appeared in the meridians within him.

Unlike when cultivating with the Meditation Method, where he could only sense the main pathways within his body while the branch meridians remained extremely vague.

Now, Ye Lan could sense the warm current within his body far more clearly!

The branches off the main pathways, the ends of those branches, and the capillaries at their ends.

Every meridian in his body—the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, as well as the unnamed terminal meridians—was smoothly sensed by Ye Lan through the warm current, one by one.

Ye Lan sensed that the warm current produced by absorbing sunlight was gradually improving his meridians.

Within his Spirit Sea, the Blue Silver Grass also seemed to be bathing in sunlight, striving to grow toward the sky.

The Blue Silver Grass was now somewhat larger than when Ye Lan had awakened it. Its Life bonus was roughly eight percent.

Aside from improving his Martial Soul and meridians, Ye Lan also discovered the hidden value behind this warm current.

With the help of the I Want to Grow Up Soul Skill, Ye Lan could perceive a complete map of every meridian route within his body.

Unlike before, when Ye Lan could only vaguely sense the general direction in which soul power flowed through his meridians, he could now clearly understand every meridian in his body, as though he possessed inner vision.

Ye Lan could improve his Meditation Method and the Limit Soul Power Attachment Method according to these meridian pathways.

The Soul Power Limit Addition Method Ye Lan had created previously was primarily meant to teach him how to control soul power.

Its use of soul power was comparatively crude.

To fully bring out the effects of soul power attachment, Ye Lan had to improve it and create more powerful Soul Skills.

Ye Lan's current soul power attachment was like flood irrigation. Soul power was like a great flood, rushing directly into his meridians, which were like dry riverbeds with countless branches.

For example, when Ye Lan attached soul power to his legs.

He did not need to know the route of the meridians in his legs. He only needed to guide soul power toward them, and it would naturally fill every meridian there.

Now that Ye Lan knew all the meridian pathways, he could begin improving this crude method of use and further develop Self-Created Soul Skills.

Moreover, Ye Lan could not only create Soul Skills based on the meridian map, but also determine the optimal Soul Power circulation route within his body from the meridians.

This would allow him to improve Spirit Hall's standard Meditation Method and transform it into one best suited to himself.

Time seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and Ye Lan woke from his languid state.

Ye Lan had not expected basking in the sunlight on the beach to feel so comfortable. In the blink of an eye, an entire afternoon had passed.

Unfortunately, Ye Lan could not cultivate Soul Power while basking in the sun.

The moment he cultivated Soul Power, it would disrupt the warm currents within his body, making the loss outweigh the gain.

The only fortunate thing was that in Vast Sea City, he did not need to spend a full eight hours in the sun every day. Five hours was enough.

This gave Ye Lan time to do other things.

After sensing the changes in his body, Ye Lan brushed the dust from himself and prepared to head for Vast Sea City.

Vast Sea City lay on the other side of the sunlit beach. That side faced the prevailing sea winds, while this side of the beach was a windless area.

Vast Sea City was built atop cliffs, with the terrain sloping from high in the west to low in the east. Ye Lan needed to climb up from the east and make his way to Vast Sea City on the cliffs.

After only a moment to catch his breath, Vast Sea City gradually came into Ye Lan's view.

Ye Lan surveyed this city, one of Heaven Dou's main cities, the Heaven Dou Empire's foremost port city and premier coastal city.

Majestic city walls stood along the cliffside passage, built from massive dark-blue stones and carved with countless wave patterns.

It was clear that Vast Sea City's terrain made it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

After being questioned by the guards, Ye Lan entered Vast Sea City without trouble.

The people of Vast Sea City were somewhat different from those of Nuoding City. The people here were about half a head shorter.

Most of their skin had been tanned wheat-colored by the sun. Ye Lan's fair skin and golden hair made him stand out conspicuously here.

As Vast Sea City approached nightfall, the temperature dropped only slightly, and many young women were still dressed in swimsuits.

A few especially bold girls even cast flirtatious looks at Ye Lan.

Ye Lan had never encountered such a scene before. All he could do was silently recite, See no evil, and turn his attention to the sights within Vast Sea City.