After cultivating at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for some twenty days, Ning Chuan successfully broke through to level twenty-six.
Dugu Yan had also finished her trip to Suotuo City. The Imperial Fighting Team had still lost to Shrek Academy.
There was little to be done about that. In the original plot, Shrek had been able to win anyway. Now that Ning Rongrong's support abilities had improved dramatically, victory would only come a little more easily.
Of course, Shrek had not won this soul fighting match easily. Their eventual victory had still relied on Tang San's external soul bone-the Eight Spider Lances.
Dugu Yan had suffered a defeat despite her team's considerable lead in soul power level, so she had been brooding ever since her return.
When she learned that Ning Chuan was cultivating at Dugu Bo's Seclusion Grounds, she hurried over as well.
The moment she saw Ning Chuan, she demanded, "Ning Chuan, that Ning Rongrong from Shrek Academy is your little sister, isn't she?"
"That's right! You met her?" Ning Chuan asked deliberately.
"More than that! We fought her team in a soul fighting match, and we lost!" Dugu Yan said indignantly.
"Victory and defeat are a soldier's common lot. Why get so angry?" Ning Chuan said.
Dugu Yan sighed. "If our soul power levels had been close, I could have accepted losing. But the Imperial Fighting Team's soul power levels were far above the Shrek Team's, and we still lost. What makes me even angrier is that fellow called Tang San wasn't afraid of my poison!"
Ning Chuan smiled at her words. "There's something I'm not sure I should say."
"Go ahead. I'm a disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect now, too. Whatever it is, just say it!" Dugu Yan replied.
"All right!" Ning Chuan nodded. "I think your understanding of poison is too shallow. You've stopped at merely using it. Senior Poison Douluo, on the other hand, studies poison, mixes it, refines it, neutralizes it, controls it... he's mastered every aspect. Only then can a poison-type martial soul reach its full potential."
"Although you have a poison-type martial soul, deep down, you have no love for poison. In battle, you rely on your martial soul's poison, yet you've never studied it in depth. Against ordinary soul masters, your poison is certainly formidable. But against soul masters who have researched poison, you'll have no advantage at all!"
Naturally, Ning Chuan said this because he wanted Dugu Yan to study the Poison Scripture as well. After all, for a poison-type soul master to limit her combat methods to merely using poison was practically the same as cutting off both her own arms.
If Ning Chuan had had no connection to Dugu Yan, he would not have bothered. But since she had already joined the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he naturally did not mind opening her eyes.
Dugu Yan immediately sank into thought. Only after considering his words for quite a while did she nod. "You're right. Since childhood, I've been afflicted by my martial soul's bloodline poison, so deep down, I've always hated poison. Yet poison is precisely the strength of the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor martial soul, and I've never faced it squarely. Even if I hadn't encountered Tang San this time, I would have suffered an even worse defeat the next time I met a stronger enemy!"
"Ning Chuan, thank you for opening my eyes!" She looked up at him, her gaze sincere.
Ning Chuan smiled and waved a hand. "No need to be so polite. As it happens, Senior Dugu Bo obtained a volume of the Poison Scripture. You can learn from it!"
"All right, I'll go find Grandpa now! I won't disturb your cultivation!" Dugu Yan was about to leave when something suddenly occurred to her. She immediately turned back and asked, "By the way, your second soul skill is 'Origin Restoration.' What's your other soul skill? Could you show me?"
After a moment's consideration, Ning Chuan nodded. "Sure!"
Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan had already seen quite a few of Ning Chuan's secrets anyway. Letting them see one more soul skill hardly mattered.
Besides, Ning Chuan wanted to test how much soul power Suppression Seal could suppress when used on the level thirty-eight Dugu Yan.
"First soul skill, Suppression Seal!"
With Ning Chuan's low shout, the Creation Glazed Tile Pagoda flew into the air.
The instant he unleashed his soul skill, a purple soul ring lit up as well.
"Your first soul ring is a thousand-year ring too?" Dugu Yan was shocked, but once she felt Suppression Seal's effects, her astonishment only deepened.
Suppression Seal directly suppressed half her soul power, and even slowed the speed at which it circulated.
Its suppressive effect was astonishing, and naturally, its consumption was immense as well. Ning Chuan estimated that if Dugu Yan circulated her soul power to resist, he could last only about twenty minutes at most before exhausting his own soul power.
The more targets Suppression Seal affected, the faster it would consume soul power.
"This soul skill is far too outrageous!" Dugu Yan exclaimed in shock. "And your first two soul rings are both purple! How on earth did you manage that? Weren't you afraid your body would explode and kill you when you absorbed them?"
Ning Chuan chuckled. "That involves a little secret of my martial soul, so..."
"Understood!" Dugu Yan nodded with complete understanding. "I won't disturb you anymore. I'll go find Grandpa!"
With that, she went to find Dugu Bo.
Ning Chuan knew that Dugu Yan's return meant Shrek's group would reach Heaven Dou City before long.
Although Ning Chuan had no use for these immortal herbs himself, he could still give the aromatic silk beauty to Ning Rongrong.
In fact, Ning Chuan had considered giving the aromatic silk beauty to Ning Fengzhi first. However, the system had told him that if Ning Fengzhi could evolve his martial soul through his own efforts, it might develop some special effects.
Ning Chuan had originally planned to give the octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot to Xiao Yun and Shui Bing'er. However, the system had stated outright that the infernal delicate apricot would be useless to Xiao Yun, because after she used the Unsealing Card, her Flame Sacred Dragon already possessed ultimate fire.
As for Shui Bing'er, consuming the octagonal mysterious ice grass directly carried some risk. The system recommended waiting until Shui Bing'er and Xiao Yun could use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, at which point taking it with Xiao Yun's help would be safer.
Then there was the narcissus jade muscle bone. Ning Chuan still intended to give it to Zhu Zhuqing, for a very simple reason: he wanted to see her beat Dai Mubai black and blue, and recruit her into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect along the way.
As for the other immortal herbs, he would simply leave them here to grow at their own pace.
While Ning Chuan cultivated at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Skywater Academy had begun gradually relocating to Glazed Azure Academy.
Two months later, Glazed Azure Academy's basic facilities were complete, the academy had fully moved to its new grounds, and Ning Chuan had successfully broken through to level thirty.
At the same time, Ning Chuan and Sword Douluo received word that Shrek Academy's group was only a day's journey from Heaven Dou City.
"Come, Xiao Chuan. Let's hunt for your third soul ring first, then return to the sect together and wait for Rongrong to come home!" Sword Douluo said.
"All right!" Ning Chuan nodded. Upon his reaching level thirty, the system mission had appeared right on schedule. Just like the previous two times, the older the soul ring, the better the reward.
Ning Chuan knew that there were no hundred-thousand-year soul beasts in Sunset Forest, but there were some around fifty thousand years old.
However, soul beasts of around fifty thousand years possessed considerable intelligence, making them rather difficult to find.
Fortunately, after comprehending the Soul Cultivation Formula, Sword Douluo's soul perception had gained a much greater range. In four hours, he found a Golden-Plumed Azure Falcon that was nearly fifty thousand years old.
A soul beast of around fifty thousand years could already rival a Soul Douluo in strength. Yet against Sword Douluo, the falcon could do nothing but flee.
The Golden-Plumed Azure Falcon was extraordinarily fast, and Sword Douluo had to expend quite some effort before capturing him alive.
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