Third Soul Skill, The First University Student Qin Ming

Han Yu stood tall, his breathing slightly ragged and his lips pale; forcing his sword intent to manifest at his current cultivation level consumed a massive amount of energy.

Chen Xin watched him with a look of gratification, nodding in satisfaction.

Beside them, Dugu Bo's lips parted as if he wanted to speak, but the words caught in his throat, his hands trembling.

"Your Excellency Chen Xin, is this... sword intent?!"

A smile Chen Xin could not suppress tugged at the corners of his mouth as he said with gratification, "Yes, Han Yu has already cultivated a sword intent that belongs to him alone."

Dugu Bo cast a deep look at Han Yu, swallowing hard, his face filled with disbelief.

To earn praise from Chen Xin, a sword genius who rarely spoke, required a talent that defied the heavens.

Han Yu turned back to nod at the two men, then sat cross-legged on the spot, drawing in the concentrated soul power to recover quickly.

Once he had adjusted himself, he summoned his soul ring with a wave of his hand and closed his eyes to focus.

As the deep purple soul ring descended from above his head and enveloped him, a terrifying surge of energy rushed into his body, crashing against the inner walls of his meridians like surging ocean waves.

Tempered by the two immortal herbs, his meridians had become incredibly resilient, easily neutralizing the turbulent soul power.

A nearly transparent phantom drifted out from the soul ring, letting out a few roars before dissolving into nothingness.

Han Yu did not even need to use the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder; he had passed the most difficult stage easily with his own formidable physique. It was over before he had even begun to take it seriously.

Time slipped away quietly.

Half an hour later, an aura erupted from Han Yu's body.

He smiled and said, "Teacher, I succeeded. My soul power has reached level thirty-two."

"Level thirty-two? You consumed two immortal herbs; why has your soul power increased so little?" Chen Xin asked, puzzled.

Others who consumed immortal herbs had seen massive gains: he had broken through his level ninety-six bottleneck, Gu Rong's martial soul had evolved and broken through to level ninety-six, and Ning Rongrong had even gained six full levels.

Yet Han Yu, who had consumed a total of three immortal herbs, showed no significant increase in soul power.

Han Yu laughed, rubbing the back of his head as he replied, "Teacher, I have already gained a great deal. Those two immortal herbs primarily strengthened my meridians and physical constitution, giving me greater potential, and they also granted me immunity to ice and fire elements."

He considered his gains immense; these two herbs were the most precious treasures of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. A little soul power was nothing; he could earn that back with time and cultivation.

Chen Xin's eyes flickered, and he nodded gently.

In that case, with the golden lightning protecting his meridians, Han Yu certainly had the foundation to challenge a ten-thousand-year soul ring.

Han Yu's face was full of smiles as he said excitedly, "My third soul skill is called Thousand-Faced. It is similar to the Thousand-Faced Stone Ghoul's ability to distort space; it can manipulate light, sound, and space within the array's range at will."

As he spoke, he swiped his hand across his martial soul, the Mystic Array Disk.

His body began to levitate, stepping through the void, and in an instant, he split into dozens of figures, making it impossible to distinguish the real from the false.

This soul skill of Han Yu's was not an illusion; it was a layer of reality overlaid upon the world, fundamentally distorting the way the world operated within that copy, allowing him to reshape it according to his will.

Chen Xin's eyes lit up, and he nodded with a smile, "Interesting, but you still need more practice."

He flicked his finger, and a condensed bolt of soul power struck the real Han Yu on the head.

The scene shattered, and Han Yu clutched his head in pain, laughing awkwardly.

No matter how powerful a soul skill was, it ultimately depended on the gap in strength between the two parties. If the gap was too large, one would end up like Chen Xin, who could easily spot the real Han Yu hiding nearby with his powerful spiritual sense.

A soul skill that could ignore such gaps in cultivation would have to be at least a hundred-thousand-year-level ability.

"Congratulations, Holy Son." Dugu Bo approached with a face full of smiles, his entire demeanor radiating sycophancy.

"Alright, let us continue deeper. We shall aim for a higher age for the next soul ring." Chen Xin cast his gaze toward the core of the region.

The nine-thousand-year soul ring from before was nothing to Han Yu; now, he could boldly select a soul beast for him. When he had hunted for his own soul rings, he had scouted all the ten-thousand-year soul beasts in this area, and now it was finally his turn to show his worth.

Han Yu and Dugu Bo nodded in agreement.

The three of them set off immediately, heading toward the depths of the core region.

They had barely reached the outskirts of the deep region when they heard the sounds of battle ahead.

Chen Xin and Dugu Bo exchanged a glance, nodding in silent agreement as they moved to shield Han Yu between them and pressed forward.

Peering through the layers of tree trunks, they saw a chaotic patch of grass ahead.

A black-haired youth, wreathed in yellow flames with five soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple—rotating beneath his feet, was locked in a fierce battle with a soul beast.

The beast was nearly four meters long, covered in a hard shell, with two powerful, formidable tusks.

It was a Rock-Armored Pig, and judging by its size and strength, its age had already reached fifteen thousand years.

The youth wore a dark blue instructor's uniform with gold trim, showing clear signs of wear and repair at the elbows and knees. Facing the ferocious attacks of the Rock-Armored Pig, his eyes showed no trace of fear as he precisely adjusted his footwork to find an angle for a counterattack, demonstrating extensive combat experience.

A trace of admiration appeared in Chen Xin's eyes as he remarked, "Not bad. He is about thirty years old, his combat techniques are very solid, and he handles crises with great maturity. His soul power level is just a bit lacking."

Han Yu looked at the man's face, a look of surprise appearing on his own.

Qin Ming, the first person to manage to escape from Shrek Academy, a man of extraordinary talent and one of the youngest Soul Emperors on the continent.

It was a pity that such a rare genius had his future ruined by a "wild chicken" academy that lacked all cultivation resources, relied entirely on soul beast combat for teaching, and couldn't even provide a ten-thousand-year soul ring for his fifth ring.

As the first university student of Shrek Academy, he was still being used as a signboard to swindle others long after graduation, and even had to pay back the academy under the guise of "funding." It was truly pathetic, truly lamentable.

A trace of pity flashed in Han Yu's eyes, and he shook his head gently.

"Your Excellency Chen Xin, Holy Son, this man is my granddaughter's teacher and a person of integrity. Could you please intervene and save him?" Dugu Bo said slowly, cupping his hands in a salute.

Chen Xin and Han Yu nodded.

Dugu Bo's figure vanished, reappearing before Qin Ming. He grabbed the Rock-Armored Pig with one hand and flung it away with immense force, turning it into an angry little pig soaring through the air.

Qin Ming gritted his teeth, ignoring the wounds on his body, and bowed deeply. "Qin Ming pays his respects to Poison Douluo. Thank you, Your Excellency, for saving my life."

"We are already nearing the core depths. Leave quickly," Dugu Bo said, waving his hand with a cold tone.

"Your Excellency, Dugu Yan has gone missing. It is all my fault; please punish me." Qin Ming pressed his lips together, closed his eyes, and lowered his head, his voice trembling.

"Eh? Did I not tell you? Yanyan has joined the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and has already returned to the sect," Dugu Bo said, taken aback.

Qin Ming opened his eyes, his mouth agape as he struggled for words. He let out a long sigh of relief; far from feeling any resentment, the look of worry on his face faded significantly.