Breakthrough to Level Ten

Ye Feng asked, looking down from above.

Aolan shuddered at these words and scrambled up from the floor. Ignoring the dust on his clothes, he bowed ninety degrees to Ye Feng, his voice loud and filled with sincerity.

"No more fighting! I'm done! I lost, and I'm convinced of my defeat!"

He looked up, gave a sheepish grin, and scratched the back of his head, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Hello, my name is Aolan! You beat me, so from now on, you're the boss of us work-study students!"

The speed of this attitude shift made even Ye Feng glance at him sideways.

It seemed he was a straightforward fellow.

"Mm, hello everyone, my name is Ye Feng."

Ye Feng scanned the surrounding youths, who were still in a state of shock, and smiled.

"Don't call me boss in the future; it sounds distant. Just call me Brother Feng."

"Understood, Brother Feng!"

Aolan was the first to respond, the title rolling off his tongue with ease.

The other youths also snapped out of it and followed suit, calling out in succession:

"Hello, Brother Feng!"

In an instant, the atmosphere in Dormitory Seven shifted from tense and hostile to warm and lively.

Aolan sidled up to Ye Feng, rubbing his hands together with a curious expression.

"Brother Feng, Brother Feng, was that move you just used your Soul Skill? It was so cool! Was it a Self-Created Soul Skill?"

With this question, everyone's curiosity was piqued, and they all stared at Ye Feng in unison, waiting for his answer.

A Self-Created Soul Skill?

Ye Feng smiled.

What kind of Self-Created Soul Skill was that?

It was merely the most basic form of energy manipulation. Theoretically, as long as any Spirit Master with a pure elemental Martial Soul had sufficient mental power and strong control, they could achieve it.

"It isn't; it's just a simple method of attack."

Ye Feng explained dismissively.

"Huh?"

Aolan's mouth hung wide open.

"Just a simple method of attack? But... but isn't that the external release of soul power that only Spirit Masters can achieve?"

"Who told you that?"

Ye Feng countered.

This question left Aolan stumped.

It seemed... it seemed like he had heard some teacher mention it in passing.

Ye Feng shook his head, too lazy to explain the complex theories behind it to them.

"As long as the Martial Soul's attribute is pure enough and your mental control is appropriate, it isn't very difficult."

The youths of Dormitory Seven were left dazed and confused by these words, but they all caught one key piece of information.

Not difficult.

The technique they viewed as godlike was, in the mouth of this new Brother Feng, merely "not difficult"?

His level of prestige instantly hit the ceiling!

Wang Sheng's eyes shone even brighter as he crowded forward, asking with a face full of worship:

"Brother Feng, what... what level is your Innate Soul Power?"

"Seven."

Ye Feng answered casually.

Level Seven?!

The entire dormitory fell into a deathly silence once again.

Innate Level Seven!

For these work-study students, who generally only had levels one, two, or three—with four being the highest—this number was practically legendary!

A genius seen once in a century in Nuoding City!

So... it was him!

The expressions on everyone's faces as they looked at Ye Feng had shifted from their earlier awe to pure worship, and even fanaticism!

"That's amazing!"

Wang Sheng said excitedly:

"With Brother Feng here from now on, the hard days for us work-study students are finally over! Let's see who dares to bully us again!"

Ye Feng shook his head helplessly, shattering his fantasy.

"I won't be fighting for you."

As he spoke, he turned around and walked back to his own bunk, beginning to make his bed in a slow and methodical manner.

The crowd:

"???"

Everyone stood stunned in place, staring at that back figure who was neatly arranging his quilt, their minds unable to process the situation.

This... what was going on?

Having just become the boss, shouldn't he be waving his arms, rallying his brothers to go out and fight to establish their prestige?

Why... why was he making his bed?

Just as the atmosphere in the dormitory turned somewhat strange, a lazy voice drifted in from the doorway.

"Who is Ye Feng?"

Ye Feng paused his movements and turned his head.

"I am."

The teacher scanned him up and down without any particular expression, simply pointing a finger at a pile of brooms in the corner outside the door.

"Oh, so you're the new work-study student. Perfect, come with me."

"From today on, the garden at Teaching Building No. 3 on the west side of the academy is yours to clean."

"Understood, teacher."

Seeing him so cooperative, the teacher saved himself a lot of breath and added a casual remark.

"Hmm, remember, tomorrow is the opening ceremony, don't be late."

With that, he turned and left on his own, as if he had only just attended to a trivial matter.

The members of Dormitory Seven looked at each other, and just as Aolan was about to say something, Ye Feng stopped him with a gesture.

"Let's go, to the cafeteria. I'm hungry."

Ye Feng brushed the dust off his clothes and walked out the door first.

Seeing this, the others had no choice but to swallow their questions, following their new boss in a grand procession toward the cafeteria.

Night fell, and the stars twinkled.

In the dormitory, snores rose and fell in succession.

Ye Feng sat cross-legged on his bunk, not sleeping, but looking up at the bright, clear moon outside the window.

His Martial Soul was Light and Shadow, and its essence was a pure light attribute.

Could he... use this vast starlight and moonlight to cultivate?

The essence of meditation was to use the Martial Soul as a medium to absorb the free energy between heaven and earth, then feed it back into oneself to convert it into Soul Power.

Since it was all light, then starlight and moonlight should, in theory, also work.

Once this thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed.

Might as well try!

Ye Feng immediately closed his eyes, sank into his consciousness, and began to sense according to the guidance of the Basic Meditation Method.

Time passed minute by minute.

One hour...

Two hours...

Three hours later, Ye Feng slowly opened his eyes and let out a long breath of stale air.

He had failed.

He hadn't sensed even a shred of energy from the starlight or moonlight.

Hiss! It seemed he had been a bit whimsical.

If this method were truly feasible, in the ten thousand years of the Douluo Continent, with so many light-attribute Soul Masters, it would never have been his turn to discover it first.

Especially the Six-Winged Angel clan of the Martial Soul Hall with their long heritage; it was impossible that they hadn't thought of this.

Was the method wrong?

Or was his Soul Power Level too low to draw upon this higher level of light energy?

Perhaps, he just hadn't found the right way yet!

Ye Feng was not discouraged.

This direction was one that must be explored further.

If this could succeed, it would be no different from a natural mimicry cultivation environment, representing a qualitative leap for his growth speed; it absolutely could not be wasted!

Time flowed like water, years passing like a shuttle.

In the blink of an eye, a year had gone by.

In just a few more days, Nuoding Academy would be welcoming its vacation.

On his dormitory bed, Ye Feng opened his eyes, a brilliant golden light flashing across his pupils before vanishing.

It was done!

After a year of bitter cultivation, he had finally broken through the bottleneck, and his soul power had officially reached level ten!

However, the joy lasted only for a moment before a new worry welled up in his heart.

Next, it was time to go and obtain his first soul ring.