Easy to Know, Hard to Do

Before long, everyone arrived at the dormitory.

Calling it a dormitory would be less accurate than calling it a standalone villa—or perhaps a luxurious apartment. It had three floors in total. The first floor contained shared spaces such as the living room, kitchen, and dining room. The second and third floors were private areas for the students. Everyone had been assigned an individual room, each one a spacious suite with a bedroom, living room, bathroom, and walk-in closet. It fully catered to everyone's daily needs.

After telling the other students to spend some time freely, Qin Ming led Yang Yunhai and Zhu Zhuqing upstairs to inspect their rooms while introducing the dormitory's layout.

Perhaps because he felt their relationship was unusual, he took them directly to the third floor and assigned them rooms across the hall from each other.

Every room was luxurious and sensibly laid out, so neither of them had any reason to refuse. Both thanked him and accepted.

It was worth mentioning that, according to Qin Ming, Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling also had rooms on the third floor. Qin Ming's own room was on the first floor, mainly so he could conveniently gather the students downstairs at any time to discuss team matters.

As for the second floor, it was entirely occupied by burly men. Shi Mo, Shi Mo, Yu Feng, and Osler—the four young men—were all gathered there.

Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling had originally been the only two girls on the team, so it was understandable for them to live close by and chat whenever they wanted. Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan were also a couple—surely they needed time to talk now and then? So, it was understandable for him to move to the third floor as well. By the same logic, it was quite fitting for Yang Yunhai to live there too.

Yang Yunhai had guessed Qin Ming's intentions, and he was more than happy to go along with them.

After all, living across the hall from girls was better than opening his door on the second floor and running into four burly men.

As he was thinking, Qin Ming spoke again. "You two can stay in your rooms and unpack first. Once you're done, come down to the first floor for lunch."

"Also, the rooms are stocked with all sorts of daily necessities, so you won't need to go out and buy anything later."

"Alright, thank you for the trouble, Instructor Qin Ming," Yang Yunhai replied politely, watching Qin Ming leave.

After that, he and Zhu Zhuqing returned to their respective rooms and began unpacking.

Before long, after putting everything away and taking a shower, Yang Yunhai stepped out of his room and knocked on Zhu Zhuqing's door.

With a creak, the door opened, and the two headed downstairs together.

When they arrived in the first-floor hall, everyone was already seated at the dining table. Yu Tianheng had changed into his new school uniform and was chatting with Dugu Yan. Not far away, a middle-aged man and woman in chef uniforms were gently pushing dining carts, placing dishes onto the table one by one.

Qin Ming was the first to notice the two coming downstairs. Smiling, he greeted them, "Student Yang, Student Zhuqing, you've come down at just the right time. Come sit and have lunch with us."

Yang Yunhai nodded and strode forward. As he approached the table, he smiled and said, "You can all just call me Xiao Hai from now on."

"You can call me Zhuqing," Zhu Zhuqing added softly.

"Alright, Xiao Hai, Zhuqing, sit down," Qin Ming said with a smile and a nod, gesturing toward the empty seats.

Yang Yunhai nodded and walked over with Zhu Zhuqing to take their seats.

Only then did Qin Ming turn back and say with a smile, "Xiao Hai, Zhuqing, let me introduce everyone first."

Starting with the captain, Yu Tianheng, he introduced the team members to the two of them one by one.

Yang Yunhai and Zhu Zhuqing responded to each in turn.

Before long, the introductions were finished, and all the dishes had been set out. The two chefs pushed their carts away.

With a creak, the front door closed.

Yu Tianheng then turned and took the initiative to ask, "Junior Xiao Hai, what did you mean when you said your Martial Soul had evolved? To be honest, I'm quite curious too. How could the vines created by your Martial Soul be so strong that even my Soul Skill couldn't destroy them?"

"It was a fortunate coincidence," Yang Yunhai began to explain.

"Damn, something like that actually exists in this world!?" When he heard that Yang Yunhai's Soul Power had jumped directly from level 21 to level 27 after drinking Bamboo Shoot Essence, the somewhat livelier Yu Feng finally couldn't hold back. His expression went blank with disbelief.

The others were equally astonished.

"To be honest, I never expected it either." Yang Yunhai shook his head. As though recalling something, he continued, "Thinking about it now, I'm even a little frightened."

"They say every medicine has some toxicity. The Bamboo Shoot Essence's effects were so powerful—could just anyone really drink it?"

"It's like a Soul Master absorbing a Soul Ring. If they absorb one whose attribute conflicts with their own Martial Soul, that can cause a serious problem."

"So I guess that the reason I was fine after drinking it—and even benefited from it—was because my Martial Soul is a plant. If my Martial Soul had been an animal, or a Tool Martial Soul like a sword or blade, the attributes might have conflicted."

"In that case, not only might my Martial Soul have failed to evolve, it could have become even worse."

"I might even have died on the spot."

So, if there really is something like Ink Jade Divine Bamboo in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Dugu Bo, you'd better not eat it carelessly... he thought to himself.

"That is indeed possible." Qin Ming nodded slightly. "It's not just Martial Souls—everyone's physique differs as well. Taking medicine recklessly can indeed cause irreversible harm to the body."

"Perhaps that was fate," Yu Tianheng said with a sigh. Then he asked, "Xiao Hai, what happened after that?"

Yang Yunhai had not yet gotten to the matter of his Martial Soul Evolution. Although Yu Tianheng could guess that it was related to the Bamboo Shoot Essence Yang Yunhai had consumed, he still wanted to hear the rest.

"After that..." Yang Yunhai continued.

When he spoke of using a certain method to stimulate his body and accelerate its absorption of the medicine's effects, causing his Soul Power to rise to level 30 and leading to a series of subsequent physical changes, he said apologetically, "As for the exact method, I'm sorry, but it involves one of my Martial Soul's offensive abilities. I promised the three members of the Education Committee to keep it confidential for now. They said I should reveal it unexpectedly during the All-Continent Soul Master Competition."

"Alright, then." Hearing that it had been ordered by the three members of the Education Committee, Yu Tianheng did not press the issue and immediately changed the subject. "Junior Yang, then how did you obtain your Third Soul Ring?"

"I went alone to the Star Dou Great Forest and hunted it," Yang Yunhai continued, recounting the process.

"Third Soul Skill Parasitic Spores, Second Soul Skill Drain—no wonder." After hearing the process and learning of Yang Yunhai's Third Soul Skill, Yu Tianheng immediately understood the key point. So that whip strike scattered the Parasitic Spores into the air, and I got them all over myself.

As though thinking of something, he asked again, "Xiao Hai, can your vines repair themselves by Draining your opponent's Soul Power?"

"Yes." Yang Yunhai nodded. "As long as there's enough Soul Power, they can grow back even if they're torn apart."

"That combo is really disgusting," Dugu Yan immediately understood the implication and couldn't help complaining.

"In other words, unless you notice the Parasitic Spores immediately and disperse them, or violently shatter the Blue Silver Grass and get away while it's just beginning to grow, the longer the fight drags on, the less chance there is of breaking free." At the side, Osler couldn't help staring wide-eyed as he added.

"Theoretically, yes." Yang Yunhai nodded.

"But in practice, if necessary, Xiao Hai, you can expend your own Soul Power to prematurely stimulate the vines and make up for that time gap, right?" Qin Ming said with a smile. "Also, as the amount of absorbed Soul Power increases, the vines' strength will likely improve as well."

"That's right. As the Soul Power contained within the vines increases, their strength does improve." Yang Yunhai nodded. "I can even use precise control to redistribute the Soul Power, giving different parts of the vines different levels of strength and improving energy efficiency."

"That's ridiculous," Dugu Yan muttered instinctively.

"It really is pretty ridiculous." Yu Tianheng sighed. "Xiao Hai, I really don't know how you trained your martial soul to control Soul Power to this extent."

"As far as I know, only the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Heart Separation Control can achieve something like this."

"Heart Separation Control?" Yang Yunhai looked puzzled.

"It's a secret technique of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Once mastered, it allows one to use different soul skills simultaneously and provide enhancement support to different teammates," Yu Tianheng explained.

"That does sound impressive." Yang Yunhai sighed, then continued, "My method for training my martial soul was actually quite simple. I imagined the vines I created as my own hands, first controlling them to perform simple movements—from moving once to shaking continuously—then gradually increasing the difficulty and constantly increasing the number of vines I could control."

"I practiced that for a full three years."

Hearing this, Yu Tianheng was wide-eyed as well. He said with feeling, "Xiao Hai, I truly admire your perseverance."

"So, Xiao Hai, how many vines can you control now?" Dugu Yan couldn't help asking.

"Eight," Yang Yunhai replied.

"That's absurd!" At that moment, even Dugu Yan had to admit that she was a little impressed by Yang Yunhai.

"Damn!" Osler blurted out. "Controlling that many vines at once? If it were me, I'd probably end up schizophrenic."

"Knowing is easy; doing is hard. For Xiao Hai to reach his current level, he must have relied on years of accumulated practice," Qin Ming said with a sigh. Then he smiled. "Xiao Hai being able to control so many vines at once has suddenly given me a few ideas. I'll sort through them over the next couple of days, and then we can discuss them together."

"Then we'll have to trouble Instructor Qin." Yu Tianheng nodded slightly, and the other teammates nodded in agreement as well.

Qin Ming smiled faintly and continued, "Alright, the food is starting to get cold. Everyone, hurry and eat while it's hot."

Thus, everyone picked up their bowls and chopsticks and began eating.

As they ate, Dugu Yan, who loved gossip, glanced at Yang Yunhai and Zhu Zhuqing before suddenly asking.

"By the way, Xiao Hai, Zhuqing, how did you two meet?"