Yin-Yang Soul Core

"But..."

Wu Guangcai wanted to say more, but Li Changqing raised a hand to stop him. "If you really feel bad about it, donate some of the money you earn to help the poor." Without waiting for Wu Guangcai's reply, he vanished.

A moment later, Li Changqing found a secluded spot in the nearby Mountain Forest.

His spiritual sense swept the area. He found no trace of humans, only stretches of woodland and Blue Silver Grass carpeting the ground.

Li Changqing found a Cave in the Mountain Forest. After confirming it was empty, he walked deep inside and sat cross-legged. He took the Golden-Eyed Demon Wolf Right Leg Bone, flickering with black light, from his ring and pressed it against his right leg. Then he circulated his Soul Power and began absorbing the Soul Bone.

About two hours later, a powerful wave of Soul Power spread from the Cave.

Li Changqing opened his eyes. His Soul Power had reached level seventy-three. Ordinarily, absorbing a Soul Bone of such an advanced age would raise a Soul Saint's Soul Power by at least two levels. But his Soul Power was so deep that he had gained only one.

Feeling the vast Soul Power in his Dantian, Li Changqing settled his mind and began condensing a Soul Core.

He circulated the Kunpeng Method. The phantoms of a Kun and a Peng appeared around him, swimming and flying in ceaseless circles.

The same scene unfolded inside his Dantian: a Kun swam while a Peng flew.

He did not know the precise method for condensing a Soul Core, but he reasoned that if his Soul Power was deep enough, he could keep compressing it inside his Dantian until it crystallized. That crystal would be a Soul Core.

With the Kunpeng Method and his vast Soul Power, this step was not difficult for him.

But his ambition went further. Drawing on the Kunpeng Method's principle of yin and yang giving rise to each other, he wanted the Kun to absorb Yin Energy and the Peng to absorb Yang Energy. Then he would compress them and condense Dual Soul Cores of yin and yang in one stroke.

Boundless Yin-Yang Qi and Soul Power surged toward Li Changqing's Dantian, forming two vortices inside it, one black and one white. Both kept shrinking under the pressure, on the verge of crystallizing.

"Condense!" Li Changqing growled. A tremendous rumble came from within his body. The black and white vortices finally condensed into two tiny beads, one black and one white. They spun faster and faster until they formed a Yin-Yang Pattern suspended at the center of his Dantian.

Soul Cores offered enormous benefits.

First, they increased a Soul Master's Soul Power Recovery Rate;

second, they made a Soul Master's Soul Power more condensed, strengthening their combat ability;

third, they improved a Soul Master's chances of a breakthrough.

Of course, the third benefit meant nothing to Li Changqing. With the Kunpeng Method, he had no bottlenecks in cultivating Soul Power.

Li Changqing opened his eyes. Black and white flashed through them before they quickly returned to normal. He let out a long breath. "I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. Those six years of Soul Power Refinement weren't wasted."

He clenched his fist. He could feel that his strength had grown by at least thirty percent.

A faint smile touched his lips. Even without using the Kunpeng Martial Soul or Yin-Yang Domain, his current strength was far beyond that of an ordinary Titled Douluo.

A Titled Douluo like Dugu Bo, whose personal combat strength was lacking, would likely fall to him within three exchanges.

If he wanted, Li Changqing could head to the Sunset Forest right now and snatch the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—the number-one entry on every Douluo's must-eat list—from Dugu Bo.

Ice and fire were outward manifestations of yin and yang. With his Kunpeng Martial Soul's sensitivity to both, finding the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in the vast Sunset Forest would not be difficult.

But Li Changqing had set himself a goal: this body's cultivation had to reach Titled Douluo. Only then could he make full use of its power and materialize the Thunderblade Sword Martial Soul.

He rose and stretched, feeling wonderfully refreshed. "Come to think of it, this body is only thirteen. If anyone heard that a thirteen-year-old boy had the strength of a Titled Douluo, who would believe it?"

Li Changqing shook his head, put the thought aside, and left the Mountain Forest.

A few days later, a murder was being plotted in the Imperial Palace of Heaven Dou City, the Heaven Dou Empire's Imperial City.

At the First Prince's Residence within the Imperial Palace, Xue Qinghe—or rather, Qian Renxue—stood on a balcony overlooking the brightly lit Imperial City. She murmured, "Just wait, Elder Sister. I'll take the entire Heaven Dou Empire without spilling a drop of blood. Then I'll return to Spirit City and take back everything that should have been mine."

The "Elder Sister" she spoke of was actually her mother, Bibi Dong. As for why she called her that, everyone knew the reason.

She had come to the Heaven Dou Empire to carry out the Nation-Stealing Plan and prove her worth to Bibi Dong.

The idea was laughable. Who knew whether Qian Renxue had ever regretted it?

Just then, a stout figure appeared. It was Porcupinefish Douluo. He knelt on one knee before Qian Renxue and said respectfully, "Young Master, as you instructed, I've poisoned the Third Prince. The poison will take effect tonight, and he'll die. Before long, Xue Ye should name you Crown Prince."

A smile flickered across Qian Renxue's lips. "Did you leave any traces that could lead back to me?"

Porcupinefish shook his head. "I handled it cleanly. Even Dugu Bo wouldn't find a trace."

"Well done." Then Qian Renxue seemed to remember something. "Have you uncovered the identity of the man we met in the Star Dou Great Forest a few days ago?"

"Snake Lance went to investigate some time ago. We should hear from him soon."

"Young Master, I've found information on the man from a few days ago." Snake Lance Douluo suddenly appeared.

Qian Renxue nodded. "Let's hear it. I want to know just what kind of person he is."

Snake Lance slowly relayed what he had learned. "His name is Li Changqing. It's as though he appeared out of nowhere. His first known appearance was six years ago in Soul Hunting Town, outside the Star Dou Great Forest. He sold Soul Beast Materials to a shop called the Hundred Beasts Hall. After that, he helped people hunt for Soul Rings around Soul Hunting Town. The only time he's ever shown his Soul Rings was also six years ago..."

Snake Lance abruptly fell silent.

Qian Renxue frowned. "Why did you stop? How strong was he six years ago? How many Soul Rings did he have?"

Snake Lance took a deep breath and continued. "Six years ago, Li Changqing had only two Soul Rings."

"Only two Soul Rings? That would make him a Soul Grandmaster. How could he reach Titled Douluo in just six years?" Qian Renxue plainly could not believe it.

"I reacted the same way when I found out. My first thought was that it couldn't be true. But I checked carefully, and the result was the same."

"However, according to his employer's account, although Li Changqing had only two Soul Rings six years ago, his strength was at least on par with a Soul Elder, perhaps even a Soul Ancestor."

"Judging by that, Li Changqing's current cultivation should be Soul Saint or Soul Douluo. His Soul Power is simply so deep that he can rival a Titled Douluo."