Five Years!

Water imbued with mysterious ripples struck the giant wolf's head. The recoil made Haiming's chest tremble, but he soon let out a soft breath and looked at the dark yellow Soul Ring gradually condensing and floating before him.

He reached out and touched it, immediately feeling the rejection of the Soul Power within his body.

"How did it feel to defeat a Soul Beast for the first time?"

Bo Saixi walked over. With a light tap of her staff against the ground, the earth surged like rolling waves and swallowed the giant wolf. Then a bulge moved toward the sea before finally spitting the wolf into the Ring Sea.

"It didn't feel like much. I used to catch fish and kill rabbits in the forest. Soul Beasts are just stronger than them, that's all." Haiming chuckled and shook his head. He understood that Bo Saixi was asking about his state of mind.

When young soul masters killed Soul Beasts for the first time, they would more or less struggle to adapt. But Haiming did not have that problem.

If he had been asked to kill a person, he might have hesitated. But Soul Beasts... those not of our kind are bound to harbor different intentions. What was wrong with eliminating future enemies?

"High Priest, shouldn't we check whether that wolf has a Soul Bone?" After standing there for a while, Haiming suddenly smacked his forehead, feeling that he had taken a loss.

He had killed the giant wolf but had not dissected it. If it had possessed a Soul Bone, that would have been a huge loss!

Bo Saixi's gaze flickered, and the hand holding her staff tightened slightly.

"At the foot of Sea God's Temple, land Soul Beasts are not qualified to shed blood. Besides, that Hundred-Year Soul Beast did not have a Soul Bone."

Haiming met Bo Saixi's gaze. For some reason, he felt that his days ahead would definitely not be easy...

In the blink of an eye, five years had passed!

Haiming had spent six years on Sea God's Mountain. He had grown from a little runt into a strapping young man standing over six feet tall!

Bang!

Azure Soul Power gathered around his lower leg. Like a footballer taking a shot, Haiming kicked the giant turtle curled up at his feet. The turtle flew dozens of meters away, finally carving a deep trail into the ground!

"Third Soul Skill: Aura Sphere!"

A sphere of azure Soul Power spun in his hand. Haiming chuckled and threw it toward the giant turtle sprawled on the ground!

Hiss!

The giant turtle stretched out its head and fired a blue breath filled with bone-piercing cold at the Soul Power sphere. The two clashed in midair before exploding!

"Alright, stop."

Blue light scattered the chaotic energy. The ground damaged by Haiming and the giant turtle's battle returned to normal in an instant. The giant turtle in the distance let out a deep sigh before lazily collapsing onto the ground.

"Teacher, is today's training over?"

Seeing Bo Saixi walking toward him, Haiming asked respectfully.

Over the past five years, Haiming had learned a great deal of useful knowledge under Bo Saixi's guidance. At the same time, Bo Saixi had been extremely strict with him in combat.

Not only did he have to study extensive knowledge about Soul Beasts, soul masters, Martial Souls, Soul Skills, and Soul Bones during the day, but Bo Saixi also assigned him plenty of homework at night.

It made Haiming feel as though he had returned to the grueling days of preparing for the college entrance exams!

Aside from theoretical studies, Bo Saixi also placed great importance on Haiming's actual combat experience.

From the eight-hundred-year Blazing Fire Wolf at the beginning to the current thirty-thousand-year Sea Soul Beast, the Mystic Thorn Turtle, Haiming had to engage in life-or-death battles with Soul Beasts every month.

Because Haiming's Martial Soul and Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Skills were too powerful, he could easily become reliant on his Soul Skills' ability to instantly kill opponents. Therefore, Bo Saixi often restricted his use of Soul Skills, or rather, restricted his use of Soul Power, ensuring that he could make the most perfect response in any situation.

Of course, because battle and study took up so much of his time, he had less time to cultivate.

Over five years, Haiming had only reached level forty-three in Soul Power, barely advancing seven levels. It was a stark contrast to his previous breakthrough of fifteen levels in a single year.

During these five years of cultivation, Haiming had clearly noticed that increasing his Soul Power had become much more difficult. In the past, a day of cultivation could raise him by one level. Now, even with the aid of Sea God's Light, it took an entire month.

This puzzled him greatly. For a time, he thought there was something wrong with his body. Back when his physical constitution had not met the standard and he could meditate only a short time each day, his progress had still been so fast. There was no reason for his Soul Power to slow down now.

However, after Bo Saixi examined him, she found Haiming's body exceptionally healthy. By her assessment, even the Soul Power circulating within his body moved much faster than that of ordinary people.

Haiming had also asked Kyogre about it. Kyogre's answer was simply that he should cultivate seriously and not worry about so much.

The prideful Kyogre would never tell Haiming that it had used the power of Sea God's Light to help widen his meridians and purify his Soul Power.

Although this slowed Haiming's increase in Soul Power, it allowed his current Soul Power quality to rival that of an ordinary Soul Saint!

Quantity was easy to increase, but quality was difficult to improve.

The drastic slowing of his cultivation speed left Haiming rather helpless. But no matter how slow it was, he remained an unrivaled genius among those his age!

"Training is over. Mystic Thorn Turtle, you may return first."

Bo Saixi nodded at the Mystic Thorn Turtle sprawled on the ground. Ten-Thousand-Year land Soul Beasts were extremely difficult to capture, and Bo Saixi would not ask the warriors of Sea God Island to do something beyond their abilities.

So whenever Haiming needed a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast as a sparring partner, Bo Saixi had the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts living around Sea God Island serve as his opponents. All the Soul Beasts were more than willing to be Haiming's sparring partners, and some had even fought over the opportunity.

The Mystic Thorn Turtle had been chosen by Bo Saixi thanks to its thick hide and sturdy shell. It had accompanied Haiming in battle for three months already!

From Haiming initially being helpless against the Mystic Thorn Turtle to now being able to fight it to a draw even after sealing his fourth Soul Ring skill, Haiming's performance greatly satisfied Bo Saixi.

After receiving Bo Saixi's order, the Mystic Thorn Turtle looked pitifully at Haiming before slowly crawling into the Ring Sea and disappearing.

"How is your progress with Sea God's Light?" At the foot of Sea God's Mountain, Bo Saixi raised her head toward Sea God's Temple above. Her eyes were filled with tenderness as she turned to Haiming and asked.

"I'm stuck at the hundredth step. The first trial is a little too difficult." Haiming shook his head, his expression somewhat grim.

More than a year ago, he had used Sacred Barrier along with Meditation to reach the hundredth step. The pressure there, as well as the Soul Power consumption, required at least a Soul Emperor to endure steadily. No matter how strong Haiming was, he was only a Soul Ancestor.

The hundred and first step had completely stopped him. He felt that unless he broke through, he would never be able to reach it!

Half the assessment period had already passed. Haiming was still uneasy about the remaining nine hundred-plus steps. Would he really fall at the first trial?

"Sea God's Light is a mandatory trial in a Black-level Assessment. Yet over these six years, none of the Black-level Assessment participants on Sea God Island have received this trial. That is because Lord Sea God cleared every obstacle for you, allowing you to complete the assessment without distractions."

Bo Saixi lightly tapped Haiming's head with her staff. The exhaustion from his battle with the Mystic Thorn Turtle was replenished in an instant.

"Go rest first. Later, I'll introduce you to a friend."

Watching Bo Saixi leave with graceful steps, Haiming's lips twitched. He lay down on the ground and looked at Sea God's Mountain, which towered into the clouds, unable to help sinking into thought.

Sea God's Nine Trials—this was the inheritance assessment granted to him by Sea God Poseidon. Poseidon had surely considered his limits.

Over six years, he had risen from an innate level twenty to level forty-three. Because of Kyogre, he had gained four Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings. The growth of his strength and Soul Power had been steady and orderly; this must have been within Poseidon's calculations.

Yet he was still stuck on the hundredth step. Where exactly had the problem arisen...

Haiming plucked a blade of grass and put it between his teeth, silently calculating the difference between himself and Tang San, who would one day reach the summit of Sea God's Light.

Tang San had Soul Power above level sixty, while Haiming only had level forty-three. However, unrestricted Meditation could narrow that gap.

Then there was the domain. He did not have a domain that could continuously provide him with recovery.

And then there was...

"Soul Bones!"

Haiming abruptly sat up, his mind racing wildly!

When Tang San arrived at Sea God Island, how many Soul Bones did he have?

Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone!

Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit Right Arm Bone!

External Soul Bone!

Ten-Thousand-Year Head Soul Bone!

That was it!

"What I lack is Soul Bones—Soul Bones that can completely transform my body!"

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