Ten levels in ten days!
Was that possible?
Absolutely impossible!
Yu Tianheng considered himself a genius.
It had taken him more than a year to go from level 15 to level 25.
And the Ji Feng before him needed their help just to absorb a Soul Ring.
How could he possibly have that kind of talent?
Besides, he himself had reached level 39 at such a young age.
So, when it came to Ji Feng, he had never been able to swallow his pride, with old and new grudges piled together!
"All right."
"Ji Feng, were you hiding your Soul Power before?"
Qin Ming asked.
At that, Ji Feng looked at everyone.
He hadn't spoken yet when Qin Ming assumed he didn't want to answer.
"Let's head back first," he continued. "In half a month, we'll go to the Soto Great Soul Arena to test our combat skills. So, in the meantime, we can work on our teamwork and coordination."
This hunt for Soul Beasts had come to an end because of Ji Feng's unusual behavior—and because of Qin Ming.
Afterward.
South of Suotuo City.
The Imperial Battle team's base.
In the rear courtyard.
"Teacher."
"Teacher Qin Ming."
Qin Ming had arrived.
Seeing that Ji Feng wasn't there, he asked, "Where's Ji Feng?"
"Him? Maybe he's too weak and feels embarrassed. He hasn't shown up for training several times now."
Yu Tianheng sneered from nearby.
Then he clasped his hands and spoke with a serious expression.
Qin Ming frowned. "Is that so?"
He still wasn't entirely convinced.
After all, he knew that Yu Tianheng and that fellow Ji Feng had a serious grudge between them.
These past few days, Ji Feng had indeed been busy.
But he hadn't been leveling up.
He'd been mining.
"Open the status panel."
The mountain behind the city.
A private mine belonging to a noble of Suotuo City.
Count Zuoshan's private mine.
Name: Ji Feng Martial Soul: Hou Yi Soul Power: Level 30 Soul Grandmaster (0/47000)
He'd been sneaking into this private mine for quite some time.
He hadn't set out to grind monsters, but he'd taken the opportunity to harvest Soul Beasts along the way.
That had sent his experience bar soaring all the way to level 30.
"I'm only one Third Soul Ring away from becoming a Soul Elder."
[Ding] [Mining successful!] [You obtained 1x Low-grade Iron Ore] [Mining successful!] [You obtained 5x Low-grade Black Iron]
Notifications flooded the panel.
Ji Feng was a farmer now.
He spent his days doing nothing. The moment he opened his eyes, he'd sneak off to the mountain behind the city and mine iron.
As the backyard of a Balak Kingdom earl, the place was heavily guarded.
But for Ji Feng, slipping into the mine was just a small matter.
His mining skill was still at the beginner level.
He could only mine low-grade ore.
"At Mining Level 1, I can only mine ordinary iron. That's enough to grind my blacksmithing proficiency."
"But I'm still a long way from forging divine-tier gear from Honor of Kings."
"At the very least, I need to be able to mine deep-sea ore and divine-grade ore."
Ji Feng considered his options.
"I hear Shrek Academy is holding admissions today. Come on, let's go take a look."
"Shrek Academy?"
"The academy that only takes in monsters."
Ji Feng heard passersby chatting by the roadside.
His ears immediately perked up.
He wore a strange expression. "Shrek Academy? Looks like Tang San's about to arrive too."
At the thought, he paused.
He didn't linger.
Pulling on his cloak, he quietly slipped back into the mine.
And kept stealing ore.
In the uninhabited area behind the mountain.
The sound of a pickaxe striking stone rang out.
But unlike ordinary miners, Ji Feng only had to wait for the system to count down, no matter what kind of ore he found.
Three seconds later, he'd mined it successfully.
He didn't lose a bit of stamina.
[Mining successful!] [Mining successful!]
With each system notification, Ji Feng's mining level rose as well.
Southwest of the city outskirts.
Shrek Academy.
It was the day after the academy had finished accepting its final batch of new students.
Under Yu Xiaogang's leadership, several of this year's students began running.
Soul Master training.
By running.
Only Gangzi could come up with something like that.
"Third Brother, look over there..."
Suddenly, Ma Hongjun's eyesight picked something out.
He pointed toward a spot deep in the plains.
Tang San froze.
He stopped in his tracks.
"Purple Demon Eye."
His gaze flashed.
At once, he recognized the person.
"Ji Feng!"
"It's him!"
At the mention of Ji Feng, his teeth ground together with hatred. "You're quite the slippery one, Ji Feng. I can't believe I ran into you here."
"You never saw it coming, did you? You stole my Datura Snake, but afterward I still managed to absorb a Datura Snake Soul Ring!"
At the thought, his eyes nearly spat fire.
Hatred glimmered in his gaze.
"Third Brother? What are you going to do?"
Ma Hongjun doubled back.
Seeing Tang San standing still, he looked puzzled.
Tang San shook his head. "Carry me."
"Damn, Third Brother, this is so heavy. I can't carry it!"
Ma Hongjun's eyes nearly rolled back.
Tang San didn't even glance at him.
"Hmph."
Following what his Purple Demon Eye had sensed, he soon found Ji Feng stealing ore in the mine.
"You've got some nerve, Ji Feng, trespassing in an earl's mine to do something like this!"
"Fine. You picked a fight with me, so now I'll show you what I can do!"
He seemed to have thought up a plan.
He laughed coldly again and again.
The next second.
His foot came down with a crunch.
Something beneath it shifted, making a noise.
As the owner of the Hou Yi Martial Soul, Ji Feng had keen senses.
He spotted Tang San at once.
Ji Feng's eyes narrowed. "Tang San!"
Tang San jumped.
Get your Martial Souls ready.
Because of their previous encounter,
Ji Feng's methods had left quite a few shadows in his mind.
"Hmph, I'm a Level 30 Soul Elder now! You might not be a match for me today!"
However, just as Tang San was preparing to fight Ji Feng,
Ji Feng himself showed little interest.
He merely glanced at Tang San,
then took his manuscript and went around the back road into the mine.
Tang San was left behind, still braced for battle.
His face flushed with anger.
"Ji Feng! You don't want to fight me?"
"Fine. That saves me the trouble of making a move!"
He was already a Level 30 Soul Elder.
He believed Ji Feng's strength now
was nowhere near his own.
At the thought,
his contempt for Ji Feng
grew stronger and stronger.
The next day.
Early in the morning.
Ji Feng woke up at the Imperial Fighting Team's headquarters.
He didn't plan to go mining today.
Instead, he would practice combat formations with the others at the academy.
But as soon as he left the hotel,
he realized something was wrong.
Outside the hotel,
soldiers were packed in shoulder to shoulder.
In the lobby,
the members of the Imperial Fighting Team stood with Yu Tianheng at their head,
all sneering at him.
"What's going on? Aren't you training today?"
Ji Feng was still completely confused.
He thought Yu Tianheng was looking for trouble with him again.
"Training? We'll get to that. But first, on behalf of Teacher Qin Ming, I have to purge this team of its rotten members!"
Ji Feng had guessed right.
But things weren't as simple as he thought.
Yu Tianheng sneered.
He pointed at Ji Feng. "Ji Feng, you've got some nerve, coming and going from the Earl's private mine whenever you please! Tell me, do you still deserve to remain in the Imperial Fighting Team?"
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