Six Years Later

Han Bing watched Guang Ling Douluo as he held his breath and focused on cultivating his Soul Power.

He also sensed that Guang Ling Douluo's ice attribute seemed to resonate with his Six-Pointed Ice Star.

But he was the source, while Guang Ling Douluo seemed to be begging for more of that ice attribute.

Han Bing suddenly realized that he was a Freeze-Freeze Fruit user.

He could create ice and control it.

Guang Ling Douluo had been stuck at level ninety-six for a long time. He needed a pure source of ice like Han Bing.

This was extremely effective for him. Even simply meditating beside Han Bing could greatly enhance his cultivation.

If that's the case, could I enhance every ice-attribute Martial Soul on the continent?

Han Bing tried using his Devil Fruit ability, creating a watermelon-sized Ice Orb in his hand that radiated a chill.

He placed it beside Guang Ling Douluo.

As soon as Guang Ling Douluo sensed the intensely cold ice, he greedily absorbed it.

Before long, the watermelon-sized Ice Orb had been completely drained.

He slowly opened his eyes, a chill escaping his mouth.

"Refreshing! After all these years, this is the first time I've felt my Soul Power increase. If this keeps up, I'll break through to level ninety-seven in a few years! Hahaha!"

Han Bing hadn't developed his Devil Fruit ability much yet. Creating that Ice Orb had taken a great deal of his stamina.

Seeing this, Guang Ling Douluo thought Han Bing had been hurt because he'd absorbed the icy aura of his Martial Soul. He hurriedly helped Han Bing up and asked with concern,

"Disciple, are you all right? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Han Bing shook his head. "I just used up some stamina making an Ice Orb. I'll be fine after resting for a while!"

After hearing that, Guang Ling Douluo paused. An Ice Orb?

He had indeed just felt an extremely cold energy and absorbed it, so he asked,

"An Ice Orb? What Ice Orb?"

At that, Han Bing made another tiny Ice Orb in his palm. He didn't have the stamina to make one as large as before.

Guang Ling stared in amazement at the cherry-sized Ice Orb. It had the same icy aura as the one from earlier, so he asked,

"You can create ice too? This Ice Ball of yours seems to come from the same source as your Martial Soul!"

Han Bing smiled. Of course it did. Both were abilities of the Freeze-Freeze Fruit, so they naturally came from the same source. He nodded.

"But my stamina is limited. For now, I can only make one Ice Orb. I need to rest before I can make another."

Guang Ling listened in astonishment and hurriedly asked,

"Does making them hurt your body, Soul Power, or Martial Soul?"

Han Bing shook his head. How could it hurt him? He could even develop stronger powers, enhance the fruit's strength, and train himself in the process.

He'd simply been practicing Haki this whole time, so he hadn't done much to develop his Devil Fruit abilities.

"It doesn't. As long as I have enough stamina, I can keep making them. If you like them, Master, I can make you an Ice Orb every day!"

Guang Ling was overjoyed. "Disciple, you really are a genius. You never cease to amaze me. This Martial Soul is downright heaven-defying! Don't worry. Whatever you need, I'll make sure you get it!"

Han Bing smiled and said,

"Master, I don't need anything. I just want to rest now!"

"All right, all right. I got carried away and forgot you must be tired. Go get some rest."

Guang Ling Douluo treasured him like a rare gem.

A year passed just like that!

Han Bing reached level twenty.

Guang Ling Douluo took him to hunt Soul Beasts in Star Dou Forest. By then, Han Bing's Haki training had greatly strengthened his body.

Guang Ling Douluo wanted to find him a Soul Beast that was over seven hundred years old to absorb, but Han Bing shook his head.

"What's wrong, disciple? Are seven hundred years not enough for you? That's already the maximum age you can absorb!"

Han Bing shook his head again. His body was now strong enough to handle a thousand-year Soul Ring without any trouble, so he told Guang Ling Douluo,

"Master, I want to absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring. With my body as strong as it is now, it won't be a problem!"

Seeing how determined Han Bing was, Guang Ling Douluo nodded. Han Bing had already defied too many conventions for Guang Ling Douluo to find his confidence surprising.

So the two of them searched for a 1,200-year-old Diamond Beast, then hunted it and absorbed its Soul Ring.

Han Bing's Candy Spirit now had a Second Soul Ring: a thousand-year purple Soul Ring.

His second Soul Skill was Strength Candy, which increased strength by three hundred percent. It was terrifyingly powerful.

Two more years passed!

Han Bing reached level thirty.

His cultivation speed left even Teacher Gao Lan of Spirit Hall's Advanced Academy stunned.

Guang Ling Douluo once again went with Han Bing to hunt Soul Beasts in Star Dou Forest.

This time, Han Bing chose a five-thousand-year-old Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent. They hunted it, and he absorbed its Soul Ring.

He gained the third Soul Skill of his Candy Spirit: Super Speed Flight Candy.

Its effect lasted much longer than Oscar's—three whole minutes.

Another three years passed.

Six years had passed in all.

Throughout those six years, Han Bing practiced the Three Types of Haki at the academy every day and developed his Devil Fruit abilities at home.

He made one Ice Orb for Guang Ling Douluo every day.

At first, he made one a month. Later, he was making two a day.

Six years later, making dozens at a time was no problem for him.

His Three Types of Haki had reached the intermediate level.

His Soul Power had also reached the terrifying height of level thirty-six.

At twelve years old, he was level thirty-nine. He was probably the only one on the continent to reach that level.

During those six years, he discovered that improving his Haki also strengthened his Soul Power. And every time he used stamina to make Ice Orbs for Guang Ling Douluo, the recovery afterward brought another huge improvement.

That was why his Soul Power had risen so terrifyingly fast.

Even Tang San, with the help of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, was only level twenty-nine at twelve, right?

At this rate, breaking through to level fifty before the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament wasn't impossible.

Over those six years, Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan had also reached level forty-three in Soul Power.

Their cultivation speed made them some of the most outstanding Soul Masters on the continent.

The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament was still two and a half years away. It was normal for them to break through to level fifty by then.

And Han Bing had no problem reaching level fifty in just over two years.

After all, he hadn't even touched the Immortal Herbs yet.

Of course he had to get his hands on such precious treasures first.

He was six years younger than the Golden Generation, yet he'd already come close to their level. That was impressive enough. In a few more years, he'd catch up with them.

One day, Teacher Gao Lan stood in the classroom with a solemn expression and announced,

"Everyone, the two great empires and Spirit Hall have decided that we'll hold the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament in two and a half years. Spirit Hall will select seven students from our three classes as the Golden Generation. They'll be sent straight to the finals."

"So the Pope has decided that, two years from now, our advanced students will hold a selection tournament. We'll choose the seven most outstanding students to represent Spirit Hall in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament."

"The rewards this time are three Spirit Bones, so you'd all better take this seriously! I hope all seven are chosen from our class."

Teacher Gao Lan spoke with great confidence. She was certain that at least Han Bing, Xie Yue, Yan, and Hu Liena would make the cut.

At the mention of Spirit Bones, everyone's eyes lit up. They nodded, brimming with fighting spirit!