Yu Hengqing knew Dugu Yan wouldn't do anything out of line. Besides, he really did need medicinal herbs to speed up his cultivation.
"Sure, Senior Sister! Since you think I'm capable of it, it wouldn't be right for me to keep refusing."
At Yu Hengqing's reply, delight filled Dugu Yan's eyes. She pushed the box containing the purple vein ginseng into his arms.
"Then I'll wait for you at No. 3 Training Ground tomorrow at three in the afternoon, junior!"
After telling Yu Hengqing when and where to meet, Dugu Yan turned and left.
"Okay, Senior Sister Dugu Yan. I'll be there on time."
Yu Hengqing called after her. Dugu Yan, pleased that her plan had worked, responded instinctively.
It wasn't until she had walked a long way that Dugu Yan realized she hadn't told Yu Hengqing her name, had she?
Oh no, now could my plan fail?
Dugu Yan's mood instantly shifted from joy to sorrow. She grew anxious, worrying about her plan.
After accepting the Century-Old Purple Vein Ginseng, Yu Hengqing headed to the cafeteria with a spring in his step.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy's buildings were luxurious, and naturally, its cafeteria was no exception. It used only top-quality medicinal herbs and Soul Beast meat.
The cafeteria had many serving windows, offering all kinds of dishes to suit the tastes of the young noblemen and ladies.
But Yu Hengqing didn't mind. He wasn't a picky eater, so he simply chose a few dishes.
After paying, Yu Hengqing carried his food away from the serving window, marveling at the cost. Who would have thought that two meat dishes and one vegetable dish would cost several hundred Gold Soul Coins?
Fortunately, the food tasted good. After eating, Yu Hengqing felt warm all over.
Now that he'd sampled Heaven Dou Royal Academy's cafeteria, it was time to check out the Mimicry Training Area.
Yu Hengqing's cultivation was slow at the moment, but with the Mimicry Training Area to assist him, he could improve his cultivation speed and avoid falling too far behind everyone else.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy's lightning-attribute Mimicry Training Area was called Thunder-Fire Hall. It was a place where lightning- and fire-attribute cultivators trained together.
His father had told him that Thunder-Fire Hall had been built using the ley lines and the left leg bone of a thousand-year Soul Beast with both lightning and fire attributes.
The royal family had spent a fortune transforming that left leg bone into a device that absorbed energy from the ley lines and converted it into lightning- and fire-attribute Soul Power.
Yu Hengqing was quite curious about how the conversion worked, but Yu Yuanzhen had said he didn't know either. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had no such technique.
It was clear that the Heaven Dou Empire had deep foundations. That was how it had survived to this day and stood as an equal to the Star Luo Empire.
Since Heaven Dou Royal Academy had built its Mimicry Training Area so far away, Yu Hengqing had to walk for nearly an hour from the cafeteria before reaching the foot of the mountain.
There was a huge cave halfway up the mountain. Thunder-Fire Hall was inside it, absorbing energy from the ley lines.
As Yu Hengqing climbed the stone steps, he passed a group of chattering noble youths. They were discussing nothing but extravagant parties and carousing.
But once Yu Hengqing had gone far enough, the group suddenly stopped and changed the subject to him.
"Did you see that? Another clueless junior's come to train at Thunder-Fire Hall! How long do you think he'll last?"
"I'm guessing half an hour. You know, even that genius Yu Tianheng of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan only lasted sixty-five minutes the first time he came."
"Really? That long? I only lasted a quarter of an hour my first time. The difference between people really is greater than the difference between people and Soul Beasts!"
"Come on, can you compare your innate third-level Soul Power to a genius with innate ninth-level Soul Power? Besides, if the junior dared to come here, he must already be a One-Ring Soul Master!"
"By the way, didn't I hear that the third young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan was coming to study at Heaven Dou Royal Academy? How come I've never seen or heard anything about him?"
"Who knows? My second uncle in the Academic Affairs Office said he took half a year off. He should be back soon."
"Then there'll be a good show. I'd love to see an uncle and nephew battle it out. The position of sect master of one of the Upper Three Sects is a real prize, after all."
"No kidding. I just wonder what Yu Hengqing's talent is like..."
For these noble youths, cultivation wasn't their priority. Watching a good show was.
They weren't going to inherit their families' positions anyway. Working hard at cultivation would only make the heirs suspicious of them, with no other benefit.
They were better off finding ways to amuse themselves and enjoying each day as it came.
Yu Hengqing, already far away, hadn't heard the noble youths' conversation. But even if he had, he wouldn't have thought much of it.
He wasn't interested in becoming sect master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. One day, he would ascend to godhood and the Divine Realm; taking on another position would only bring more trouble.
Rather than waste his time on that, he'd be better off figuring out how to reach level 100 Soul Power as soon as possible and how to obtain a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone.
As soon as he reached the entrance to Thunder-Fire Hall, waves of heat washed over him. The air was thick with the smell of burnt feathers.
"Looks like Thunder-Fire Hall really is effective! I haven't even gone inside, and the fire-attribute energy is already so active."
Yu Hengqing looked up at the plaque, where the three gilded characters for Thunder-Fire Hall were inscribed, and eagerly anticipated how well he'd be able to cultivate inside.
He pushed open the door. A training ground the size of a soccer field appeared before him, with the Soul Masters who had come to train gathered in groups across it.
Yu Hengqing took a closer look and realized that the lightning-attribute Soul Masters and fire-attribute Soul Masters were actually sitting together.
Before entering, he'd assumed they would be clearly divided from each other. It seemed he'd been mistaken.
If the people there knew what Yu Hengqing was thinking, they would surely have thought he was an idiot.
The lightning- and fire-attribute energies in Thunder-Fire Hall were extremely active. Absorbing only one type of energy could easily cause the other to build up too much around you and injure you.
To prevent that, lightning- and fire-attribute Soul Masters tried to sit close together, keeping the energy concentration within a safe range.
Even so, people were occasionally injured by overly concentrated energy. Otherwise, why would the air outside Thunder-Fire Hall smell like burnt feathers?
Yu Hengqing didn't know any of this. All he knew was that the lightning- and fire-attribute energies in Thunder-Fire Hall were both very active.
Of course, the well-informed Leiyi had noticed the problem. She immediately spoke to Yu Hengqing in a stern voice:
"Xiao Qing, the lightning and fire energies in this hall are a little too active! When you cultivate, remember to circulate the Cangming Lightning inside you. The water-attribute energy it carries can neutralize that active fire-attribute energy."
After hearing Leiyi's warning, Yu Hengqing grew serious. As expected, anything in excess could have harmful effects.
"Go to that empty corner on the left. The energy concentration is lower there. Let's first see how much fire-attribute energy the Cangming Lightning can resist."
Since Yu Hengqing had only refined a third of the Cangming Lightning so far, Leiyi wanted him to test its effects first and make sure it could withstand the fire-attribute energy.
Following Leiyi's directions, Yu Hengqing went to the corner and sat cross-legged. He summoned his Martial Soul and tried to resonate with his surroundings.
As soon as Yu Hengqing sat down, several curious gazes fell on him.
They were all curious whether this junior didn't know how dangerous Thunder-Fire Hall was or was simply too stubborn to listen. Otherwise, why would he sit alone in a corner to cultivate?
At that moment, a girl saw Yu Hengqing cultivating by himself and was about to get up to warn him, but one of her companions held her back.
"Wait a little. Let him suffer a bit and learn his lesson. Otherwise, he'll end up like that junior we met last time. You spent ages trying to talk him out of it, and he thought you were meddling."
Hearing her companion's words, the girl let out a helpless sigh. She sat back down and continued cultivating.
Before you continue