Grueling Cultivation

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Qin Ming was currently sitting cross-legged in the cultivation room, still holding the Sun Vine Core in his hand as it emitted a gentle red glow throughout the cramped room.

The aura around Qin Ming surged, clearly signaling that he was making a breakthrough. The surrounding Soul Power was being absorbed by him at a much faster rate than usual.

The Sun Vine Core in his hand was like a fish drinking water, rapidly supplying him with the Fire Attribute Soul Power he needed most at the moment.

A moment later, a soft hum sounded in the room. Qin Ming felt his entire body lighten, while the restless Soul Power around him gradually settled down once more.

"I've broken through to level nine." A glint flashed through Qin Ming's eyes. He clenched his fists and felt the feedback from his body, as well as the Soul Power within him that had grown a little stronger.

Over the past half month, aside from eating during the day, he had remained immersed in the library, continuously absorbing knowledge about all kinds of martial souls that had appeared across the continent.

He also studied all sorts of basic knowledge about Soul Beasts, such as their classifications, how to identify their ages, and the weaknesses and habits of common Soul Beasts.

It had to be said that these books truly deserved to be called Spirit Hall's treasured collection. Their records were indeed comprehensive. He had even found information about the Golden Dragon martial soul.

Qin Ming had actually wanted to see whether the library contained any records on Immortal Grade Herbs, so that when he collected Immortal Herbs in the future, he would not fail to recognize even a single one and end up like Dugu Bo in the original novel, guarding a treasure mountain while remaining ignorant of its value.

But the facts proved that Qin Ming had been overthinking it. He had probably gone through every book in the library related to medicinal herbs, yet he had not found even the slightest record of an Immortal Grade Herb.

Left with no choice, Qin Ming could only abandon that idea and leave the problem for the future.

At night, Qin Ming no longer went to bed. Instead, he meditated in the cultivation room.

He spent the days in the library and the nights cultivating, pushing himself to the limit every day. That was how Qin Ming had lived for the past half month.

Honestly, even during the most stressful days of his college entrance exams in his previous life, Qin Ming had never worked this hard. But now, he could see the rewards of his effort.

Qin Ming could feel himself improving every day. Thus, this grueling cultivation at full intensity could be called painful but joyful.

Qin Ming found himself deeply addicted to that feeling.

During that time, Nuo Si had come to see Qin Ming several times, saying he wanted to show him around Suotuo City properly. Yet Qin Ming firmly refused every time, saying they could discuss it after he obtained his First Soul Ring.

Nuo Si did not know how to judge Qin Ming's cultivation-mad behavior. He had never expected the super genius he had awakened to also be a cultivation fanatic.

According to Qin Ming's estimate, he would need about another month and a half to break through to level ten.

Breaking through two levels of Soul Power in two months—even if they were merely two levels as a Soul Scholar—would still shock countless people if word got out. That speed was simply terrifying.

If Qin Ming remembered correctly, Huo Yuhao, the protagonist of Douluo Dalu II, had taken a full five years to go from level one to level ten. That alone showed just how terrifying Qin Ming's cultivation speed was.

Qin Ming stood up and stretched his body. When he left the cultivation room and looked out the window, he realized it was already dawn.

After quickly freshening up, Qin Ming headed straight to the cafeteria for breakfast.

His room, the cafeteria, and the library formed the three points of Qin Ming's current daily routine.

Just as Qin Ming was considering what sort of materials he should read in the library today, he suddenly heard a woman calling out to him from behind.

"Little brother Qin Ming, wait for us!"

Qin Ming turned around and saw a short-haired young woman in the standard Spirit Hall teaching uniform, appearing to be in her twenties, running toward him with a broad smile as she waved.

"Sha Sha, don't run so fast! Be careful not to fall!" Nuo Si followed close behind her, looking rather disheveled.

He held a huge stack of notebooks in both arms. He wanted to catch up to the girl named Sha Sha in front of him, but also had to keep the stack piled like a small mound from falling to the ground. He kept shifting them from side to side, so he could only run in an extremely strange manner.

As for why he did not use his martial soul, there were regulations forbidding the use of martial souls in the public areas of the main hall for safety reasons.

"Morning, Sister Sha Sha, Brother Nuo Si. Are you two on duty so early today?" Qin Ming greeted the two of them with a smile once they reached him.

"Hello! Good morning, little brother Qin Ming! Today is the day Spirit Hall distributes the monthly Spirit Master Subsidy. A lot of people will be lining up outside early in the morning, so we had no choice but to get up early." The short-haired girl put on a helpless expression, then pointed at the stack of notebooks in Nuo Si's arms.

"Look, everything A Nuo is carrying is a list of people who need to collect their Spirit Master Subsidy."

This short-haired girl was named Sha Sha. She was a resident deacon of Spirit Hall, a level thirty-eight Soul Elder, and Nuo Si's fiancée. When she heard Nuo Si say that Spirit Hall had recruited someone as young as Qin Ming, she immediately dragged Nuo Si along to meet him.

"Then you two really have it hard today."

The Spirit Master Subsidy was actually funded by the Two Great Empires, Star Luo and Heaven Dou. It could only be implemented because Spirit Hall had branches throughout the entire continent.

Once a Soul Scholar broke through their first ring, they could register at Spirit Hall. From then on, they could receive a monthly Spirit Master Subsidy: one Gold Soul Coin per month for Spirit Masters, ten Gold Soul Coins for Soul Grandmasters, and one hundred Gold Soul Coins for Soul Elders.

There were no subsidies for Soul Ancestors and above, because even within the entire Spirit Master world, a Soul Ancestor could already be considered a powerhouse capable of standing on their own. They were strong enough to become the lord of a small city.

"Enough about that. Qin Ming, why do you get up so early and work yourself so hard every day? It wouldn't hurt to give yourself a day off once in a while." Nuo Si looked at Qin Ming as though he were a monster. His talent was already so good, yet he worked so hard every single day, spinning nonstop like a machine.

"That's right, little brother Qin Ming. You're only six years old. It's fine to slack off and act like a child once in a while." Sha Sha also spoke worriedly from the side. She was genuinely concerned that something might go wrong with Qin Ming's health.

"Brother Nuo Si, Sister Sha Sha, you know that my parents died when I was young and that I came from a poor family. Being blessed with such talent is already great fortune."

"Perhaps it is because of what I went through that, when I gained this chance to truly change my fate, I became so desperate to seize it."

"I'm happy that the two of you care about me like this, but I still know my own limits." There was one thing Qin Ming did not say: he did not get up early. He simply had not slept at all.

It was not that Qin Ming disregarded his health. Rather, he could not be treated as an ordinary six-year-old child at all.

An ordinary six-year-old child would have collapsed long ago if they put their body through what Qin Ming did. But Qin Ming had already opened up his Sea of Consciousness, and his Mental Power was countless times stronger than that of children his age. Meditation could also restore Mental Power, so simply meditating without sleep posed no problem.

Furthermore, Qin Ming cultivated the Angel Meditation Method, which also improved his physical constitution to a certain extent.

In the original novel, Tang San had been able to cultivate through every night thanks to the Purple Demon Eye and the Mysterious Heaven Skill.