Ill Intentions

Ill Intentions

This mysterious state gave Chen Ming a deeper understanding of the essence of soul masters, but it also consumed a great deal of his energy.

Although the Life Force returned from the Dragon Pill had restored his body considerably, his Spiritual Power and Soul Power were still severely depleted. Not long after entering the rift for the first time, Chen Ming was forced back to normal.

This time, he truly did not have a drop left. Forget eating jerky to use the flavor to perk himself up—even if someone detoxified an entire Bilin Seven Absolute Flower, squeezed it into juice, and poured it down his throat, he would have no way to keep overdrawing himself.

Hugging the Dragon Pill in his arms, Chen Ming slept for a full day and night in the Quiet Room before finally waking up. Because his sleeping position had not been very good, his neck and lower back still felt slightly uncomfortable. But after using the Dragon Pill to convert Soul Power into Life Force and absorbing it, Chen Ming immediately felt like he could get fired up again.

Since he had already accepted Qian Renxue's invitation, the first thing Chen Ming did upon waking was check exactly how long he had been asleep. So, despite wanting to avoid the outside world, he still had to go somewhere nearby to ask the time.

The Dragon Pill was a treasure, but it could not be stored directly inside his body. Chen Ming would never dare simply hide it in the courtyard. If something like that were lost, even if he became a god, he would still be furious.

After thinking it over, Chen Ming rummaged through his Storage Soul Tool. Since he had recently used up many of the items inside, he merely cleared out a few less essential quilts before stuffing the box containing the Dragon Pill into the Storage Soul Tool.

Only after confirming that everything had been properly handled did Chen Ming leave his courtyard.

The first place Chen Ming went was the Poison System Mimicry Training Ground, which was very close to his courtyard. But when he arrived, he found that the training ground's cave entrance had been blocked by artificially created rock, with a notice posted on it saying it was temporarily unavailable.

Seeing this, Chen Ming was startled. He thought he might have cultivated for several days straight. He immediately picked up speed and ran toward the cafeteria.

There were many people there, and loose tongues were everywhere. You could basically learn about anything happening in the academy there. After a couple drinks, descendants of certain soul master families would occasionally let slip something shocking. It was essentially the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's internal tavern.

After running all the way to the cafeteria, Chen Ming saw a bustling crowd of all kinds inside.

But when those people saw Chen Ming, all their previous discussions abruptly stopped. The entire cafeteria fell silent.

Faced with Chen Ming, the rumored "lucky fellow," everyone wore a different expression. Some were jealous, some envious, some disdainful, and some disgusted.

Chen Ming had no mind to care about any of that. Instead, he asked one of the workers serving dishes what time it was.

Although the Soul Power-less worker did not understand why Chen Ming was asking, he still honestly gave him the time. Then, while Chen Ming was deep in thought, the worker practically flew back to the kitchen.

"I only slept for a little over a day. Good, I'm not too late. But tomorrow is the day—I need to think carefully about what to do."

Just as Chen Ming was thinking, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him and stepped forward to ram into him, making no attempt whatsoever to hide his intentions.

In the instant he faced that obviously malicious move, Chen Ming mobilized the Soul Power within his body and gathered it over his body's surface.

This was a skill as basic as eating and drinking, something virtually every soul master knew. It could block damage and strengthen the body, making it a versatile ability taught even in low-level soul master academies.

But even at the same level, the effects of gathering Soul Power differed from person to person. Chen Ming happened to have done some research in this area.

At the moment of impact, the Soul Power covering Chen Ming's body absorbed most of the force, then used the contact as an opportunity to reflect that portion of power back several times over.

The person who had charged at Chen Ming was knocked back several steps by the counterattack. Before he could steady himself, Chen Ming followed up with a string of moves, twisting his arm behind him and pinning him to the ground. His knees struck the floor with a dull thud.

"What? Didn't I make it clear? If you want to challenge me, first go get a life-and-death agreement from the Education Committee Members, then fight me in the arena. Sneaking up on someone while they're thinking isn't something a hero should do."

Chen Ming looked over the soul master he had pinned to the ground and naturally found that, having enrolled less than a week ago, he did not know the other man.

Through that brief contact, he discovered that this man's muscles were highly developed, with no obvious difference in strength between his leg and arm muscles. His hands and feet were callused, yet lacked the marks left by prolonged gripping.

Chen Ming initially judged him to be a Beast Martial Soul master skilled in attacks such as fists, palms, or claws. As for his Soul Power... it was probably around level twenty.

If he had been below level twenty, he should have rolled away rather than merely been forced back. If he had been around level thirty, Chen Ming would have felt it from the force of the impact. If he had possessed forty levels of Soul Power, then Chen Ming would have been the one taking a step back.

"You ambushed me! Let me go already!"

The soul master Chen Ming had forced to his knees flushed red. Clearly, being pinned to the ground on his knees before everyone was an extremely humiliating thing for him.

Though anyone could see that he had deliberately started the trouble, he considered himself nobly born and naturally pushed all the blame onto Chen Ming.

Although he was not a direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, he was still born into Heaven Dou nobility.

As a Soul Grandmaster, he could also be considered one of the stronger students at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. In the past, he had only ever humiliated others. When had it become someone else's turn to humiliate him?

Soul Power surged, and powerful lightning-attributed energy rose from his body. The young soul master pinned beneath Chen Ming began to undergo a dramatic transformation.

Dragon-like scales grew along his neck and wrists, the muscles throughout his body swelled enormously, and the nails on all ten fingers bulged and hardened into talons like those of a hawk. Powerful lightning-attributed Soul Power surged over his body as he tried to electrocute Chen Ming, who was holding him down.

Would Chen Ming put up with that?

The guy just thought he had some backing and figured Chen Ming would not dare lay a hand on him.

The more lice you have, the less you itch; the more debts you owe, the less you worry. Not to mention that he had Qian Renxue's invitation tomorrow, and would probably have to face Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, before long.

Even without those matters, based on the fact that the other man had struck first, Chen Ming could go straight to the three Education Committee Members. No matter what, the three Education Committee Members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy could handle a problem of this level.

Chen Ming's Martial Soul Possession was faster than his opponent's, and his Soul Power circulated even more fiercely.

Before the lightning could touch him, Chen Ming had already set up a defensive layer of Soul Power around himself. At the same time, he gathered a mass of Poison Attribute Soul Power in his palm and slammed it down hard.

"Aah!"

A sizzling sound rang out as the youth screamed. Before everyone's eyes, the young man in Martial Soul Possession was completely pinned to the ground by Chen Ming's pair of emerald-green palms. The skin and flesh where Chen Ming's hands made contact suffered severe corrosion.

The dragon scales' defenses were as brittle as paper, while the power of lightning was effortlessly extinguished by the poisonous Soul Power.

Chen Ming's hand was not merely pressing into his flesh—it had nearly gripped his bone. Under the agonizing pain, the youth pinned to the ground could no longer maintain his Martial Soul Possession. Eyes shut and mouth wide open, he let out a loud howl.

This bloody scene startled everyone else who had been preparing to watch the show.