The morning sun fell across Yu Hengqing's face.
"Hm? It's already the next morning?!"
Yu Hengqing raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight.
"Xiao Qing, your cultivation speed has recovered to one-fifth of an ordinary person's."
Leiyi's voice rang out in Yu Hengqing's mind. Yu Hengqing sprang to his feet, thrilled.
He was happy not only because some of his cultivation speed had returned, but also because Leiyi had awakened, giving him the chance to try creating a Self-Created Soul Skill.
With Leiyi's guidance, Yu Hengqing could completely use his Martial Soul to simulate Leiyi's skills.
Curious, Yu Hengqing asked whether, if that were truly possible, the rewards from future God Trials could help him recover his normal cultivation speed.
"Leiyi, have you completely refined the Cangming Lightning? My strength isn't enough yet, so I can only refine one-third of it."
"Yes. With the fully refined Cangming Lightning helping me, I can keep refining the Seven-Colored Lightning now without falling asleep."
Just as Yu Hengqing was about to tell Leiyi he wanted to copy his skills, Yu Yuanzhen's voice came from outside the door.
"Xiao Qing, time to get up and eat! I'm taking you to Heaven Dou Royal Academy today. You took half a year off to temper your body by taking Whale Rubber, so it's time to go back."
"All right, Dad! I'll be right out."
Yu Hengqing hopped out of bed, got dressed, and opened the door, meeting Yu Yuanzhen's gaze.
Half a year ago, Yu Yuanzhen had considered that Yu Hengqing's Leiyi Martial Soul was one he had never seen before.
Rather than keep him in the clan, where no one had experience nurturing such a Martial Soul, it was better to send him to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. The students there had all kinds of unusual Martial Souls, so surely they would have a method that suited Yu Hengqing.
After breakfast, Yu Hengqing packed the things he needed for school into his Storage Soul Tool and climbed into the carriage bound for Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
When he arrived at the academy gates, Yu Hengqing couldn't help drawing a sharp breath. He went up and patted the enormous doors carved from white marble.
As expected of the Imperial Academy. Even its gates are more luxurious than the ones at our clan!
Yu Hengqing stepped inside. Everywhere he looked, the decorations were extravagantly luxurious, from the costly flowers in the beds to the exquisite Soul Beast statues lining the paths.
He didn't have time to admire them for long. He still had to report to a teacher in the academic affairs office and pick up the schedule of classes available to Heavenly Micro Grade students this term.
Students at Heaven Dou Royal Academy could freely choose whether to attend lectures or cultivate, but attendance was required for practical classes and scheduled cultivation sessions.
Yu Hengqing would have to consult the timetable and find the classrooms where teachers were giving lessons.
Before he could knock on the academic affairs office door, he heard people chatting inside.
"I heard the academy won't be accepting talented commoners from the capital and its surrounding areas anymore. Is it because we've been spending too much every year?"
"I think the First Prince suggested it. He recently discovered that a minister had embezzled a large sum of money through the program, so he advised His Majesty to end it."
"The three members of the Education Committee didn't object? If this continues, the academy's overall strength is bound to decline!"
"What good would objecting do? Too many people support the First Prince. They say the empire already gives Spirit Hall money every year to subsidize low-level Soul Masters. That's a great enough favor; there's no need to open the academy's doors to commoners at the bottom as well."
After hearing their conversation, Yu Hengqing was rather surprised. He hadn't expected Qian Renxue to start building her own political faction so soon!
Only after the voices inside had completely died down did Yu Hengqing knock on the academic affairs office door.
Holding the timetable in his hand, Yu Hengqing thought back to what he had just heard and suddenly came up with a good idea.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy might not accept talented commoners, but Blue Tyrant Academy did!
He didn't believe his second uncle hadn't secretly supported his illegitimate daughter, who was a Soul Douluo. Otherwise, Blue Tyrant Academy couldn't possibly have been established in the capital.
If they recruited more talented students, then even if the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was crippled by Spirit Hall one day, they could use those commoner geniuses to rebuild.
But Yu Hengqing would have to go home and discuss how to put the plan into practice with his father.
Yu Hengqing checked his timetable and saw that he had a lesson on Soul Beast species coming up, so he hurried off to find the classroom.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was time to eat.
Just as Yu Hengqing started toward the cafeteria, a woman with dark green hair suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his way.
Looking at the person in his path, Yu Hengqing wondered if he had done something to offend her.
"Senior, may I ask what you need? If it's nothing, please let me through. I'm in a hurry to eat."
Yu Hengqing was about to leave when Dugu Yan smiled and said, "Junior, could I trouble you with something?"
Yu Hengqing was full of questions. Was something wrong with Dugu Yan? It was his first day at school, and she was already coming to find him.
Still, out of consideration for how Yu Tianheng had once looked after him, Yu Hengqing patiently decided to hear what Dugu Yan wanted.
"Junior, I want to work on my combat skills, and I need a sparring partner. Would you be willing to train with me?"
Yu Hengqing was even more confused.
Wasn't Yu Tianheng already Dugu Yan's teammate? Why was she asking him to help her train?
"Senior, I'm definitely not as strong as you. Wouldn't I be an unsuitable partner for improving your combat skills?"
Seeing that Yu Hengqing was reluctant, Dugu Yan immediately took a wooden box from the Storage Soul Tool at her waist.
"There's nothing unsuitable about it, and I won't let you do it for nothing. This box contains a Century-Old Purple Vein Ginseng. It should be enough to help you cultivate for a while!"
Glancing at the Century-Old Purple Vein Ginseng in Dugu Yan's hand, Yu Hengqing understood that she had him cornered.
A Century-Old Purple Vein Ginseng was a rare treasure, whether used to cultivate and increase Soul Power or to heal the sick and save lives.
What was more, Yu Hengqing's cultivation speed was currently only one-fifth that of an ordinary person. To keep from falling behind, he definitely needed a great deal of cultivation resources.
Deep inside Star Dou Forest, at Life Lake.
Ever since Di Tian had been awakened by the Silver Dragon King, the other Ferocious Beasts had also gradually stirred from their slumber.
So when Bi Ji said that the Thunder God's divine artifact had fallen into the hands of two Soul Masters, the Ferocious Beasts who had awakened—especially Xiong Jun—reacted with exceptional vehemence.
"Di Tian, let's go out and kill those two Soul Masters right now! The Thunder God's divine artifact must never fall into human hands!"
"I don't think that's wise. We still can't confirm whether either of them has inherited the Thunder God's divine position."
Bi Ji disliked needless killing, especially when they hadn't even figured out the situation.
Seeing that Bi Ji disagreed, Xiong Jun, whose temper was already fiery, glared at her in displeasure.
"You and I both know that Asura God shattered the Thunder God's divine position. Without a divine position, how could anyone inherit it?"
"Xiong Jun, a divine position can be repaired! Besides, we're all injured right now. Going out would be too risky."
Bi Ji met Xiong Jun's gaze and argued back.
"And what if it is repaired? Soul Masters won't take our side. Better to reclaim the divine artifact now than let the Divine Realm gain another god to fight us!"
Di Tian, who had remained silent until then, spoke up, cutting off the discussion as it started to stray from the point.
"Xiong Jun, calm down. The Silver Dragon King has already told us to invite them back politely. We only need to do as she said."
"Back then, the Thunder God killed several First-Level Gods and Second-Level Gods by himself. The gods of the Divine Realm certainly won't want another Thunder God to appear!"
"If the designated inheritor is the god's disciple, then no one will be able to bear the grudge of having their divine position destroyed."
Before you continue