Level Seven Soul Power

Lin Chen strode away from the trouble at the academy gates and followed Notting Academy's orderly bluestone paths, avoiding the new students and teachers coming and going. His thoughts gradually settled.

The bone-piercing chill that had suddenly struck him from behind left him intensely alert, making him fully recognize Tang San's restrained yet obsessive nature.

The protagonist of the original story had never been a gentle, kindly soul. Two lifetimes of experience had made him calculating and determined to avenge even the slightest grievance. A single passing clash over an opportunity had already been enough for him to mark Lin Chen as a mortal enemy.

Lin Chen stopped dwelling on it. His immediate priority was to finish enrolling, settle in, and steadily improve his strength.

On the Douluo Continent, where the weak were prey to the strong, strength ultimately decided every grudge and conflict.

Only by becoming powerful enough could he remain unafraid of anyone plotting against him in the shadows—even Tang San, who possessed the protagonist halo.

Following the academy's signs, Lin Chen soon reached the quaint, elegant Academic Affairs Office.

As a junior soul master academy with a considerable reputation along the Heaven Dou Empire's border, Notting Academy had an orderly layout. Its teaching area, dormitories, cafeteria, and cultivation grounds were clearly separated. Though small, every corner reflected the rigorous planning of a proper soul master academy.

With his official enrollment certificate from Spirit Hall, Lin Chen smoothly completed his student registration, information entry, and class assignment.

Since he was an ordinary new student paying his own tuition, he was assigned to the Self-Funded Student Dormitory.

Leaving the Academic Affairs Office, Lin Chen followed the dormitory signs and soon arrived at his destination.

Compared with Dorm Seven in the original story, which housed a motley crowd of dozens in cramped, noisy quarters, the Self-Funded Student Dormitory was a world apart.

The entire room was spacious and bright, with excellent ventilation and natural light. The floor was clean and tidy, and ten wooden beds stood inside, facing one another in pairs. There was ample space without the slightest sense of crowding. Its comfort far surpassed that of the Work-Study Student Dormitory.

What put Lin Chen most at ease was that he had grown up in Nuoding City and knew most of the soul masters' children his age there. Of the ten self-funded students in this room, more than half were playmates and classmates he already knew well.

Seeing Lin Chen move in, everyone warmly rose to greet him. Their words were familiar and friendly, without a trace of awkward distance. After a few greetings and an exchange of pleasantries, the atmosphere in the dormitory immediately became harmonious.

Lin Chen nodded in response, easygoing and composed, then reached down and brushed his hand over a small silver Soul Tool at his waist.

It was an entry-level Storage Soul Tool his father, Lin Mo, had given him. With a capacity of one cubic meter, it was compact and easy to conceal, intended specifically for storing his personal belongings.

With a slight movement of his thoughts, clean, soft bedding, a sheet, and a pillowcase slowly appeared and landed on the bed frame.

He worked briskly, arranging everything in just a few motions. His clean, tidy bed stood out among all the beds that had yet to be made.

Once everything was settled, the dormmates chatted for a while. The sun outside gradually shifted, and as noon approached, midday sunlight spilled across the courtyard while a faint aroma of food drifted through the air.

One dormmate suggested heading to the cafeteria first, and everyone agreed. Lin Chen rose as well, joining his familiar dormmates as they walked to the academy cafeteria together.

They entered through the cafeteria doors, and the moment they stepped into the first-floor hall, a clamor of voices washed over them.

Lin Chen casually swept his gaze across the crowd, only for it to settle instantly on two familiar figures.

They were Tang San, who had just enrolled, and Xiao Wu beside him, a lively, childish girl wearing twin ponytails.

At a table in a corner of the first floor, Tang San rejected Wang Sheng's offer to treat him because of something Wang Sheng had said, then turned and left.

Taking in the entire scene, Lin Chen silently grumbled, He was only telling the truth. Serves you right if you go hungry.

Putting Tang San out of his mind, Lin Chen's gaze unconsciously fell on Xiao Wu nearby. The girl was petite, with lively, adorable features, large, clear eyes, and fair, rosy skin. Her playful single ponytail and innocent, harmless childish air made her look like an ordinary, cute little girl.

But Lin Chen knew perfectly well that beneath this innocent exterior hid an overlord among soul beasts with a hundred thousand years of cultivation. She was a transformed Soft Bone Rabbit born deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, with fathomless reserves and a temperament far beyond what her appearance suggested.

Soul beasts that had reached a hundred thousand years of cultivation and taken human form were exceedingly rare on the continent. Seeing one appear so unguarded in a junior academy's cafeteria felt utterly fantastical.

To Lin Chen's surprise, Xiao Wu's perception far exceeded his expectations. He had looked at her for only an instant, yet the girl who had transformed from a hundred-thousand-year soul beast keenly caught his gaze. Her lively eyes shifted slightly, finding him precisely through the crowd and looking straight toward him with a faint trace of puzzlement.

Lin Chen neither startled nor panicked. His expression remained open, without the slightest hint of prying, and he gave Xiao Wu a gentle, polite nod, his manner natural and appropriate.

Then he calmly withdrew his gaze without looking any longer, as though he had merely glanced through the crowd by chance rather than paid her particular attention.

He knew that Xiao Wu had keen senses and a perceptive mind. Excessive attention would only stir up trouble and invite unnecessary suspicion. Keeping his edge sheathed and maintaining his distance was the wisest choice.

"What are you standing around for? Come upstairs and eat. There's meat today!" A dormmate's voice interrupted Lin Chen's thoughts.

He nodded in acknowledgment and lingered no longer, following his dormmates up the stairs into the quiet dining area on the second floor.

The second floor offered carefully prepared dishes and clean tables and chairs, far removed from the noise below. Everyone chose their seats and enjoyed their meal in comfort from beginning to end.

After a thoroughly pleasant lunch, they returned to the dormitory together and chatted briefly. Some dormmates closed their eyes to rest, while others sparred to practice basic soul power control. The atmosphere was relaxed and leisurely.

Lin Chen sat cross-legged against the head of his bed, rapidly reviewing the original story in his mind and sorting out the coming timeline.

According to the original course of events, Yu Xiaogang would personally take Tang San into a forest outside the city early the next morning to hunt for his first hundred-year Soul Ring—the iconic Mandala Snake Soul Ring. With his foundation of innate full soul power and Yu Xiaogang's precise guidance, Tang San would undoubtedly absorb the hundred-year Soul Ring without trouble, break past level ten, and successfully become a soul master, leaving ordinary new students far behind.

By contrast, he currently had only level six soul power. The gap between him and Tang San, who was about to break past level ten, was plain to see.

If he let that gap widen, catching up later would only become harder than ever.

I have to raise my soul power as quickly as possible. I can't let Tang San leave me too far behind!

Silently making up his mind, Lin Chen banished every stray thought, straightened his posture, and turned his palms, soles, and crown toward the sky, beginning his soul power meditation with absolute focus.

Pure soul power from heaven and earth poured continuously into his body through his pores, circulated through his meridians, gently tempered his limbs and bones, and strengthened his soul power foundation bit by bit.

Others might slacken or become distracted during meditation, but Lin Chen possessed an adult's resilient mind and could endure boredom and solitude. He cultivated diligently day and night, devoting nearly every moment to meditation apart from brief breaks to eat and rest.

His cultivation talent was far more exceptional than he had expected, allowing him to absorb the soul power of heaven and earth far more efficiently than ordinary soul masters. His cultivation advanced a thousand miles a day.

In just a few days of arduous cultivation, his accumulated soul power rose layer by layer, advancing steadily without encountering the slightest bottleneck.

After several consecutive days of intense cultivation, so absorbed that he forgot food and sleep, a faint soul power barrier quietly shattered. A richer, purer surge of soul power instantly filled his entire body.

Breakthrough! Level seven! Firmly at the peak of level seven!

In just a few days, Lin Chen had forced his way from level six soul power to the peak of level seven. His cultivation progress was downright terrifying.

The rich, solid soul power rooted within his body greatly bolstered his confidence, significantly narrowing the initial gap between him and Tang San.

Such intense cultivation could easily leave a person exhausted. After his breakthrough, Lin Chen relaxed a little, and the mind he had kept taut for days gradually loosened. Before he knew it, he slipped into a groggy state, his awareness hazy between sleep and wakefulness.

"Lin Chen! Stop sleeping! Hurry up and get up! Things are heating up on the Back Hill! The work-study students are facing off against us self-funded students, and they're going to fight! Come watch!"

A dormmate's urgent calls rang in his ears, accompanied by a gentle shaking that instantly roused the drowsy Lin Chen.

He rubbed his sore eyes and gathered his wits. Before he had time to recover properly, his dormmates crowded around him and ushered him out, hurrying all the way toward the academy's Back Hill.

The moment he stepped into the cultivation clearing on the Back Hill, noisy shouts and jeers washed over him. At the center of the clearing, two groups of new students stood in stark opposition: the work-study students from Dorm Seven on one side and the self-funded students on the other. The atmosphere was taut, swords drawn and bows bent, with a showdown between the new students ready to erupt.

Lin Chen looked up, his gaze instantly locking onto Tang San at the center of the clearing.

Tang San's aura was now steady and restrained, with faint fluctuations of soul power lingering around him after his breakthrough. He had successfully broken past level ten and become a full-fledged soul master.

A bright yellow Soul Ring encircled Tang San, moving up and down around his body.

Just as expected, Yu Xiaogang had indeed helped Tang San obtain that hundred-year Mandala Snake Soul Ring, an opportunity rich with promise.