The Martial Soul Secretly Cultivated and Was Caught in the Act

Night deepened.

Moonlight streamed through the window, falling onto the floor.

Xiao Jin had originally been lying on its cushion.

After confirming that Chu Jin's breathing had gradually steadied, it quietly opened one eye.

The room was very quiet.

Chu Jin sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes shut, seemingly already in deep meditation.

Xiao Jin waited a little longer.

Then it carefully climbed off the cushion.

It first stretched out a front paw and patted the cushion, imitating Chu Jin's usual movements.

Then it folded its two hind legs in front of itself.

A dragon's body structure was clearly unsuited to a human sitting posture.

Xiao Jin adjusted itself several times before finally managing to sit steadily on its rump, its two front paws resting atop its round belly.

It closed its eyes.

Its chest rose and fell.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Its breathing rhythm was nearly identical to Chu Jin's daily meditation.

However, Xiao Jin had no human meridians and could not complete a full circulation according to a meditation technique.

Yet the scattered light energy in the surroundings was drawn in strand by strand by the Twelve-Winged Sacred Dragon bloodline.

The faint light-attributed power contained within the moonlight flowed through its wings and scales into its heart.

When Xiao Jin first attempted this, its absorption speed had been extremely slow.

It had not given up.

With every breath, it tried its best to imitate Chu Jin.

The flow of light energy gradually became stable as well.

On the bed.

Chu Jin had never opened his eyes.

Yet his Double Pupils' spiritual vision saw everything with perfect clarity.

Xiao Jin had not begun trying this only tonight.

Judging by how practiced its movements were, it had secretly trained at least many times already.

No wonder Xiao Jin's bloodline had slowly grown over the past few months even without consuming materials.

Chu Jin had originally thought it was a change brought about by the natural development of a high-level dragon martial soul.

Now, it seemed that part of it came from Xiao Jin's independent cultivation.

Time passed bit by bit.

The light energy Xiao Jin absorbed grew increasingly abundant.

After reaching the current limit of what its body could endure, it did not force itself further.

Following the movements Chu Jin usually made when ending meditation, it slowly exhaled.

Xiao Jin opened its eyes.

It first glanced at Chu Jin on the bed.

Only after confirming that its master had not moved did it reveal a satisfied expression.

Then it lay back down on the cushion.

Its limbs sprawled out.

Its eyes shut.

It pretended to have been asleep since evening.

Chu Jin waited for more than a dozen breaths.

"How was your cultivation?"

Xiao Jin's body abruptly stiffened.

It did not open its eyes.

Instead, its breathing became even more even as it earnestly pretended to sleep.

Chu Jin got off the bed.

He walked over to the cushion.

"Xiao Jin."

There was no response.

Chu Jin reached out and grabbed one of its hind legs.

Xiao Jin still kept its eyes closed.

But as Chu Jin moved, it was lifted upside down.

"When did you start learning?"

Xiao Jin opened its eyes.

It looked at the upside-down floor, then at Chu Jin, its gaze incomparably innocent.

Chu Jin set it back on the cushion.

"Keep pretending, and tomorrow's Dragonblood Crystals will be cut in half."

Xiao Jin immediately stood up.

It pointed at Chu Jin with a front paw, then imitated a cross-legged sitting posture. After that, it waved its claws, making gestures for countless cycles of day and night.

Chu Jin watched for a while before understanding.

"You started a long time ago?"

Xiao Jin nodded.

"After the first soul ring?"

Xiao Jin continued nodding.

Chu Jin was somewhat surprised.

After Xiao Jin obtained its first soul ring, its intelligence had improved significantly.

At that time, it saw Chu Jin meditating every day and began trying to imitate him.

At first, it could only absorb a tiny amount of light energy.

Only after a year of trial and error had it gradually formed a stable cultivation rhythm.

After consuming materials in the past, Xiao Jin would usually fall asleep to digest them.

After obtaining Sacred Dragon Devouring Essence, its control over energy increased, and its independent cultivation speed rose accordingly.

[Detected that the Twelve-Winged Holy Dragon Hatchling has formed a stable independent cultivation method.]

[Martial soul independent cultivation ability officially activated.]

[There is currently a daily limit to independent absorption.]

[The limit will gradually increase with martial soul bloodline evolution, the number of soul rings, and spiritual growth.]

[Of the energy gained through independent cultivation: seventy percent is used for martial soul growth, while thirty percent is fed back to the host.]

The system notifications appeared in his mind.

Chu Jin's expression shifted slightly.

Thirty percent feedback.

That meant Xiao Jin could cultivate at the same time while he meditated.

Within the same amount of time, Chu Jin would gain far more Soul Power than before.

Moreover, Xiao Jin's independent cultivation mainly absorbed light energy, which did not conflict with Chu Jin's cultivation of ordinary Soul Power.

"Why did you keep it hidden?"

Chu Jin looked at Xiao Jin.

Xiao Jin scratched its head.

It clearly could not explain such a complicated matter through gestures.

Chu Jin could roughly guess the reason.

At first, the effects of its independent cultivation had been extremely weak.

Xiao Jin itself had not been sure whether it was succeeding.

Later, after discovering that it could absorb energy, it treated it as a game of secretly becoming stronger.

Every night, once Chu Jin began meditating, it would imitate him beside him.

Before dawn, it would lie back down again.

Xiao Jin seemed to think it had hidden things well.

In truth, Chu Jin had simply never specifically observed it, which was why he had failed to notice until now.

"You won't need to do it in secret from now on."

Chu Jin returned to the bed and sat cross-legged again.

"Keep going tonight."

Xiao Jin's eyes lit up.

It repositioned itself on the cushion.

One man and one beast closed their eyes at the same time.

Chu Jin began circulating his meditation technique.

Xiao Jin, meanwhile, relied on its Sacred Dragon instincts to absorb moonlight and the surrounding light energy.

Two cultivation auras appeared simultaneously.

Thirty percent of the energy Xiao Jin absorbed independently entered Chu Jin's meridians through their martial soul connection, noticeably increasing his meditation speed.

This time, it was no longer merely an imperceptible trace.

Chu Jin could clearly feel that his Soul Power growth rate had increased by at least twenty percent compared to before.

Xiao Jin's current independent cultivation limit was low.

As its bloodline evolved and its number of soul rings increased, this proportion would continue to rise.

The next morning.

Chu Jin told Golden Crocodile and Yue Guan about Xiao Jin's independent cultivation.

Yue Guan did not believe it at first.

"A martial soul meditates by itself?"

"Are you sure it isn't the residual energy of Sacred Dragon Devouring Essence being digested on its own?"

Chu Jin placed Xiao Jin in the center of the training ground.

"Cultivate once by yourself."

Xiao Jin no longer hid it.

It sat cross-legged, placed its two front paws on its belly, closed its eyes, and began breathing.

Light energy gathered bit by bit into its body.

Yue Guan circled Xiao Jin twice.

The expression on his face grew more and more animated.

"It really is imitating meditation?"

"It is already extremely rare for a martial soul to possess independent consciousness."

"Learning to cultivate on its own..."

For a moment, he could not even find a suitable theory to explain it.

Golden Crocodile was more concerned with the practical question.

"How much feedback?"

"Thirty percent."

"How much has your cultivation speed increased?"

"About twenty percent for now."

Golden Crocodile nodded.

"Starting today, nighttime cultivation will be extended by one shichen."

Yue Guan glared at him.

"Chu Jin's body needs rest."

"Meditation can replace part of his sleep."

"Xiao Jin also has a limit to its independent cultivation."

The two quickly began arguing over training hours.

Chu Jin did not join in.

He took Xiao Jin to the other side of the training ground and continued that day's Heavy Halberd training.

Over the following half year.

Chu Jin's cultivation rhythm changed once more.

At dawn, he meditated together with Xiao Jin.

In the morning, he attended Spirit Academy to study theory and team courses.

In the afternoon, he followed Golden Crocodile in practicing the Heavy Halberd and body refinement, or received Guang Ling's speed and long-range attack training.

At night, he cultivated together with Xiao Jin for a second time.

During the day, Xiao Jin consumed materials and absorbed residual Soul Power from the training ground.

At night, it cultivated on its own.

Its accumulation of Soul Power grew faster and faster.

When Chu Jin cultivated on his own from level twenty-three to level twenty-five, [Level Up!] triggered once again.

Level twenty-five directly rose to level twenty-six.

By the end of the half-year, he had cultivated from level twenty-six to level twenty-eight.

The system granted an additional level.

His Soul Power reached level twenty-nine.

Xiao Jin had also grown from a juvenile cheetah to nearly the size of an adult tiger. With its wings spread, it spanned nearly three meters, and the Sacred Dragon markings on its forehead had become clearer.

After reaching level twenty-nine, Chu Jin did not rush to break through to level thirty.

Golden Crocodile began having him compress his Soul Power and stabilize his meridians, while also strengthening his body in advance for his third soul ring.

At Spirit Academy, Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena had likewise made remarkable progress.

Yan had already broken through to Soul Elder.

Xie Yue and Hu Liena had begun attempting to perform the Martial Soul Fusion Skill Demon Charm more steadily.

The effects of the Holy Son Tournament gradually began to show.

More and more talented students in the academy began voluntarily taking on missions, competing for military merits and candidate qualifications.

That afternoon.

Chu Jin had just finished training and was preparing to head to the academy's Advanced Mimicry Zone.

Yet Qian Renxue did not appear at her usual time.

A familiar Six-Winged Angel aura came from the direction of the Angel Temple.

Qian Daoliu had personally summoned her there.

Before the temple doors closed, Chu Jin saw two worshippers carrying a sealed wooden box into the hall.

The box's surface bore the swan emblem of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's Xue Clan.