Level 20 Soul Power

Notting Academy's annual end-of-term bell slowly rang across the campus. Its clear, lingering peal echoed between the teaching buildings, the training grounds, and the wooded corridors, announcing the close of an entire year of classes.

Noisy streams of students poured from the classrooms like a rising tide. Countless boys and girls wore smiles of relief and anticipation for the holidays as they packed their belongings and said goodbye to their friends, instantly filling the academy with a lively clamor.

With a simple pack on his back, Lin Chen walked slowly out of the teaching building amid the crowd, his calm gaze sweeping over the bustling students.

A year of days and nights had passed in a blink. From level eight soul power when he first entered the academy, he had risen to a formidable cultivation firmly at the peak of level nineteen. What others saw as dull classes repeated day after day had become the perfect cradle for his quiet accumulation and gradual transformation.

Countless days and nights of grueling cultivation, the special cultivation method that circulated power between human and spirit, the perfect physical foundation forged by whale rubber, and the exceptional starting foundation laid by his five-hundred-year Azure Water Fox soul ring—all these advantages had piled upon one another, leaving every student in his year far behind. Even Tang San, who bore the original story's protagonist halo, was now firmly a step beneath him.

He strolled up to the academy's imposing gates, where students came and went in an endless stream, their farewells, laughter, and footsteps mingling together.

Just then, two familiar figures entered Lin Chen's sight.

Tang San and Xiao Wu stood side by side, each carrying a simple pack and wearing plain clothes, clearly ready to leave the academy.

Over the past year, both had grown a little taller, and their distinctive temperaments had become more pronounced.

Tang San remained quiet and reserved, his gaze steady and restrained, his aura carefully contained. His eyes held a maturity and resilience far beyond his years, yet the stubbornness and unwillingness to concede between his brows had never faded.

Beside him, Xiao Wu was as lively and playful as ever. Her twin ponytails swayed gently in the breeze, her skin was fair and luminous, and her large eyes were clear and pure. She appeared innocent and carefree, and no one knew that beneath this young body lay a supreme soul beast who had lived for a hundred thousand years.

Without needing to think much about it, Lin Chen understood that the two must be taking advantage of the academy holiday to return to Holy Soul Village together and visit Tang Hao, who lived there in seclusion.

After briefly saying goodbye to the work-study students they knew, the pair lingered no longer. They turned together and walked slowly down the path leading out of the city, their retreating figures gradually disappearing at the end of the road.

Lin Chen withdrew his gaze, without the slightest ripple in his heart.

After a year of watching with cool detachment, he had long since grown accustomed to Tang San's secret competitiveness and constant comparisons.

After a brief pause, Lin Chen likewise stayed no longer. He turned and left Notting Academy, walking slowly toward his family's residence.

An entire year of intense cultivation might have looked like nothing more than sitting in meditation and steadily training each day, but in truth, it had taken an enormous toll on both his mind and body.

To keep Tang San from catching up, to consolidate every level of cultivation, and to hone a perfect foundation, Lin Chen had kept himself stretched to the limit, never truly relaxing for even a day.

While others joked between classes, played after lessons, or rested during holidays, he remained seated in meditation, repeating the cycle day and night without leaving a single gap.

The price of such prolonged, uncompromising discipline was the physical and mental exhaustion that accumulated day after day.

This weariness was not the ache of an overworked body. It sank deep into his soul and seeped through his meridians, the mental depletion of remaining tightly wound for so long, never daring to let up.

Now that the term had ended and he could relax, the heartstrings stretched taut for an entire year suddenly loosened. An indescribable exhaustion swept through him, weighing down every limb and bone until even his steps unconsciously slowed.

He arrived home without incident, greeted by the familiar courtyard and elegant buildings.

His parents had long been waiting at home. Seeing him return, they hurried forward to take his pack and fuss over his well-being.

After a year apart, their son's bearing had become even steadier and more distinguished, his aura condensed and pure. Even with his strength concealed, he could not hide his exceptional presence, filling Lin Tianyu and Li Su with pride and relief.

At dinner, the family sat around the table in a warm, harmonious atmosphere. A lavish spread of nourishing dishes covered the table, with meat and vegetables in balanced abundance.

His parents kept placing food in Lin Chen's bowl, asking about every detail of his studies, cultivation, and life at the academy, their words brimming with love and hope.

Lin Chen answered patiently and slowly described his daily life at the academy, but he said nothing about reaching the peak of level nineteen through a year of arduous cultivation. He deliberately remained low-key and restrained, unwilling to reveal his edge too soon.

The warm family dinner came to an end. After chatting with his parents for a little while, crushing exhaustion surged up again, and his drowsiness deepened. Lin Chen wished them good night and returned to his room alone.

He closed the door, shutting out the sounds outside and leaving the room peaceful and quiet.

With a slight shift of Lin Chen's will, his martial soul space trembled gently. An agile, snow-white figure drifted to the floor—Liuli, the White Fox martial soul who had accompanied him throughout his cultivation.

Liuli was no longer the tiny creature who had first appeared. Its snow-white fur glowed like lustrous jade, its tail was a translucent glassy blue, and it brimmed with spiritual vitality. Its clear, bright fox eyes gazed docilely at its master.

Nourished by a year of human-spirit symbiosis, its bloodline had grown increasingly pure, and the latent power of its nine-tails bloodline continued to awaken. Its bond with its human companion had long become inseparable, their minds attuned and their auras linked.

"Liuli, thank you for staying by my side this past year. You don't need to cultivate with me tonight. You can do as you please."

Lin Chen spoke softly, giving the gentle instruction with a trace of weariness in his voice.

Liuli seemed to understand its master's words. It affectionately rubbed against the back of Lin Chen's hand, then obediently padded to the bed and curled up on one side, its snow-white body tucked into a ball as it quietly kept watch.

Exhausted in body and mind, Lin Chen stopped thinking about cultivation, schemes, or the struggles that lay ahead. He lay down on the bed fully clothed and emptied his thoughts, allowing the mind he had kept taut for a year to relax completely.

Within moments, heavy drowsiness swept over him. His eyes gently closed, and he fell into a deep sleep, his breathing gradually becoming slow and even as he sank into sweet dreams.

The night deepened, and a bright moon hung overhead. Clear moonlight flowed like water through the carved window lattice, spilling softly into the room, spreading across the bed, and falling upon Liuli's snow-white body.

The cool, gentle moonlight flowed through Liuli's lustrous fur, coating its snowy body in a faint silver sheen.

Its fur was spotless and luminous. Together with its quiet, docile posture, it looked like a spirit fox beneath the moon, holy and ethereal, untouched by worldly dust. An innate, transcendent sanctity surrounded it, serene and exquisitely beautiful.

The night passed without dreams, peaceful and still.

The next morning, dawn broke and the first light appeared. Warm sunlight filtered through the gauzy curtains, spilling gently into the room and dispelling the lingering chill of night.

Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes. A night of deep sleep had completely soothed the physical and mental exhaustion of the entire year.

His whole body felt light and clear, his mind refreshed. Every limb and bone felt wonderfully at ease, his meridians were open and gently warm, and his soul was clear and bright. His entire spirit had been renewed.

But in the next instant, an aura of soul power far richer, vaster, and purer than before quietly swept through his body. His eyes immediately brightened, and his heart shook.

The shackles at the peak of level nineteen had actually shattered and collapsed without him even noticing!

Last night, while he slept deeply with his body and mind completely relaxed, his cultivation had quietly undergone a perfect transformation. Like water flowing into a channel, it had naturally broken through the barrier and carried him firmly across the threshold of a level twenty soul master!

Lin Chen immediately understood the key.

During his previous arduous cultivation, he had always kept his mind taut, deliberately forcing progress. The harder he pushed toward the bottleneck, the more cautious and restrained he became, leaving him just short of the clarity that came from letting nature take its course.

Last night, however, he had emptied himself completely and relaxed his mind. With Liuli steadfastly accompanying and nourishing him at his side, the wondrous circulation of soul power between human and martial soul had continued even as he slept, quietly refining his soul power, warming his meridians, and washing against the barrier.

Complete relaxation after extreme tension, combined with his martial soul's tireless support and nourishment day and night, had quietly dissolved his bottleneck. Without the slightest hitch, backlash, or danger, he had effortlessly broken through to level twenty.

Such a silent breakthrough was far more perfect than one achieved by deliberately forcing his way forward through arduous cultivation. His foundation was stable, his soul power pure, and not the slightest flaw remained—it could truly be called a breakthrough of absolute perfection.