Ten Months, Heart of the Angel

Blazing Sun Valley, Outer Ring.

Qin Ming sat cross-legged in his stronghold cave. His eyes were tightly shut, his aura steady, and a round bead glowing with green light hung around his neck.

Ten months had passed since he first arrived at Blazing Sun Valley. During those ten months, he had constantly battled Soul Beasts while diligently cultivating his Soul Power Level.

A few days ago, he had finally broken through to level twenty-nine. Advancing seven levels in ten months was an utterly terrifying pace, made possible entirely by Blazing Sun Valley's uniquely favorable cultivation environment.

The ultimate Mimicry Cultivation Environment for Fire Attribute Soul Masters was no mere boast.

As for Spirit Hall Academy, Qin Ming had followed the agreement he had previously made with Ling Yuan. For twenty-five days each month, he cultivated in Blazing Sun Valley, then returned to the academy for the final five days to climb the Genius Ranking.

As long as he challenged everyone near the top of the rankings, Qin Ming's points would remain firmly in first place. Eventually, all the students except Qi had become numb to it. Whenever Qin Ming challenged them, they simply surrendered outright.

It spared them a needless beating. After all, they certainly could not defeat him, especially considering Qin Ming's terrifying rate of Soul Power growth after entering Blazing Sun Valley.

They no longer had even the slightest desire to catch up to him.

Furthermore, half a year ago, Qi had broken through level thirty and become a Soul Elder, automatically entering the Soul Elder Genius Class.

Without Qi holding him back, Qin Ming had completely become the king of the Soul Grand Master Genius Class.

Three months ago, Qin Ming had also accumulated enough Exchange Points to redeem the Heart of the Angel, exchanging for this Mental Power Cultivation Method.

After carefully studying it, Qin Ming finally understood why his Mental Power was clearly quite immense, yet he had been unable to use it to attack a Spirit Master's Sea of Consciousness.

The answer provided by the Heart of the Angel was to construct a special circuit within the Sea of Consciousness using Mental Power and condense a Spiritual Mark.

This would cause Mental Power to circulate through the Sea of Consciousness along a special route.

Simply put, the Mental Power in Qin Ming's Sea of Consciousness was currently scattered. Once he condensed a Spiritual Mark, however, it would have a unified core capable of powerfully mobilizing the Mental Power within his Sea of Consciousness.

Over the three months since obtaining the Heart of the Angel, Qin Ming had attempted several times to condense a Spiritual Mark in his Sea of Consciousness, but every attempt had ended in failure.

Now, Qin Ming was preparing for another attempt. To ensure success this time, he had specifically spent more than fifty Exchange Points to obtain a Ten Thousand Year Clear Spirit Tree Soul Core and a Spirit Boosting Pill.

The Clear Spirit Tree was a Plant-type Soul Beast. As its name suggested, when Soul Beasts and humans approached it, their minds would become calm and peaceful, allowing them to cast aside distracting thoughts. The Clear Spirit Tree's Soul Core was an essential item for many high-level Spirit Masters seeking to break through bottlenecks.

A Ten Thousand Year Clear Spirit Tree Soul Core was even capable of stabilizing a Spirit Master's Sea of Consciousness. It had cost Qin Ming thirty Exchange Points and now hung around his neck.

As for the Spirit Boosting Pill, it was a medicinal pill that could temporarily cause a Spirit Master's Mental Power to surge dramatically. It was generally used by Quasi-Soul Kings when absorbing their fifth Soul Ring.

In truth, many Quasi-Soul Kings were unable to absorb Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings not because they could not hunt Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts, but because of their own limitations.

Some Quasi-Soul Kings met the physical requirements, but their Mental Power fell short. They could not withstand the Soul Shock of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast, which was why the Soul Boosting Pill had been invented.

The Soul Boosting Pill could temporarily increase a Spirit Master's Mental Power, allowing a Quasi-Soul King to endure a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast's Soul Shock and successfully absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.

This type of pill was also exceptionally precious. A single one had cost Qin Ming twenty Exchange Points.

Qin Ming took a deep breath. To successfully condense the Spiritual Mark this time, he had stopped cultivating his Soul Power and rested in the stronghold cave for several days.

The next moment, Qin Ming turned his consciousness inward and looked into his Sea of Consciousness.

At that moment, his Sea of Consciousness was a chaotic space shrouded in pale red mist. Its edges were hazy and indistinct. At the center of the space lay a pool of transparent water, above which scattered points of glimmering light formed from Mental Power drifted aimlessly.

Qin Ming steadied himself and silently recited the formula recorded in the Heart of the Angel. "Use the mind as a brush, the sea as a scroll; draw the form of the divine soul, imprint the core of the divine soul."

Then, he began guiding the Mental Power in his Sea of Consciousness, sketching the mark depicted in the Heart of the Angel above the pool. It was the image of a Six-Winged Angel.

With the experience of his previous failures, Qin Ming's drawing process was noticeably smoother this time.

He controlled threads of Mental Power, tracing the design stroke by stroke. Before long, the outline of an Angel appeared above his Sea of Consciousness.

Yet after every arc was drawn, tiny points of light continuously fell from the threads of Mental Power and dissipated.

This had been the reason for Qin Ming's previous failures. As he drew, the threads of Mental Power would disperse, draining all of his Mental Power before he could finish.

By the time he had completed only half of the Angel's wings, more than half of Qin Ming's mental strength had already been consumed. The mist around the Sea of Consciousness began to tremble, and the completed half of the pattern swayed as though it might collapse at any moment.

Based on Qin Ming's past experience, this was the most critical and dangerous moment for condensing the mark. One mistake, and all his efforts would be wasted.

At that critical moment, Qin Ming did not panic in the slightest. He raised his hand and placed the prepared Spirit Boosting Pill into his mouth, swallowing it in one gulp.

The smooth, pearly-white pill melted the instant it entered his mouth. A vast, incomparably pure surge of medicinal power rushed through his throat and straight to his mind, pouring into Qin Ming's Sea of Consciousness without the slightest obstruction.

The immense Mental Power that suddenly flooded into his Sea of Consciousness was like timely rain after a long drought, resolving Qin Ming's urgent predicament.

With the Spirit Boosting Pill's help, Qin Ming completed the remaining portion of the pattern.

The originally illusory lines gradually solidified, and a lustrous, wing-shaped mark hovered steadily at the very center of his Sea of Consciousness.

The wing patterns on the mark were clear and vivid, its edges wrapped in sacred golden radiance, while its core consisted of the pale red Mental Power Qin Ming had condensed himself.

The instant the mark took shape, the Sea of Consciousness abruptly calmed. All scattered Mental Power was drawn toward the mark, becoming orderly and condensed. Even the pool of Mental Power beneath the mark expanded somewhat, now resembling a small lake.

"My Mental Power actually grew stronger!" Qin Ming opened his eyes excitedly. The sensation of his Mental Power increasing felt even better than an increase in Soul Power.

Qin Ming carefully sensed the changes within himself and discovered that even without releasing his Mental Power, he could perceive everything within several dozen meters around him.

According to the classification of Mental Power realms in Soul Land 3, Qin Ming's Mental Power should now be at the peak of the Spirit Connection Realm.

More importantly, after condensing the Spiritual Mark, Qin Ming could directly use Spiritual Attacks against his opponents in battle, greatly enriching his combat methods.

This was undoubtedly an enormous improvement to Qin Ming's strength.

Take the simplest Spiritual Pierce, for example. He could compress his Mental Power into a needle and shoot it directly into an enemy's Sea of Consciousness, causing them to feel as though their head were splitting apart.

It was similar to Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Shock.