The heavy metal door of the cultivation room closed behind him.
Lu Ren stood in the corridor and flexed his somewhat stiff fingers.
Faint gray mist lingered on his fingertips, traces of Necromancy slowly dissipating with his breathing.
In just a few days, he had already become capable of opening the Gate of the Undead and summoning the lowest-ranked undead creatures.
"Little fellow, your talent is even better than I imagined."
Electrolux's voice sounded in his mind, aged and gentle, with a trace of undisguised admiration.
"Necromancy is fundamentally incompatible with the rules of this world. I thought you would need at least a month to reach the threshold. To think you could open the Gate of the Undead in just a few days."
"You flatter me, Elder Yi," Lu Ren replied inwardly, his tone modest. "It's because you taught me well."
Within his Sea of Consciousness, the gray bead pulsed gently and let out a meaningful chuckle.
"I've met all kinds of people. You may be the first to possess such a disposition at this age."
Lu Ren did not reply.
Cursed Energy and Necromancy were both, in essence, applications of negative energy.
With Cursed Energy as his foundation, learning Necromancy naturally brought twice the results for half the effort.
Lu Ren gathered his thoughts, ended his cultivation, then left his dormitory and headed toward the Illustrious Virtue Hall.
It was time to head out.
The Illustrious Virtue Hall, Jing Hongchen's office.
As the metal door swung open, Jing Hongchen was sitting behind his desk, examining a Soul Tool blueprint.
He looked up, saw Lu Ren walk in, and involuntarily frowned.
Nothing good ever came of this brat seeking him out.
"Hall Master." Lu Ren sat down across from him and got straight to the point. "I need to go out. I'll be back in a few days."
"No."
Jing Hongchen refused flatly, without even putting down the blueprint.
"You're now the academy's top priority for protection. The people from Shrek could return at any time. Going out would be handing them an opportunity."
"This is actually the safest time."
Lu Ren spoke unhurriedly, as though stating a conclusion that had already been verified repeatedly.
"Xuan Zi has to return to Shrek to report on the situation, and he also has to start making preparations to deal with me. Besides, there's the tournament in a few months. Taking all that into account, however badly he wants to capture me, traveling from Mingdu to Shrek and then rushing back will take at least a few days. During that time, Shrek's people won't appear in Mingdu."
He paused, looking calmly at Jing Hongchen.
"But if I wait any longer to go out, until he's finished reporting and returned with reinforcements, that won't necessarily be the case."
Jing Hongchen put down the blueprint and stared at Lu Ren for several seconds.
This brat had even factored in his opponent's itinerary?
"What are you going out for?"
"Cultivation." Lu Ren's answer was excessively concise. "The environment in the academy isn't enough for me to break through."
That was indeed the truth.
His Cursed Energy came from negative emotions. The academy was full of youthful vigor and vitality, and its concentration of Cursed Energy was far below that of a large city like Mingdu.
To improve quickly, he had to go somewhere crowded.
And it had to be somewhere with a large concentration of negative emotions.
After turning it over in his mind, wasn't Mingdu the best choice?
Jing Hongchen fell silent for a moment.
He realized that he actually could not find a reason to argue.
"...Fine." In the end, he nodded, but immediately added, "But someone has to go with you. If anything happens, at least there'll be someone to bring word."
"All right." Lu Ren agreed with unusual readiness. "Then I'll have Ji Juechen come with me. With him there, you should be reassured."
The corner of Jing Hongchen's mouth twitched violently.
"He'll protect you?"
His voice rose a notch, as though he had heard an utterly absurd joke.
"With your strength, you'd be the one protecting him!"
Lu Ren shrugged, his expression plainly saying, So what?
Jing Hongchen stared at him for a long time. In the end, utterly unable to do anything about him, he waved impatiently.
"Get out of here. Remember, come back as soon as possible."
"Will do."
Lu Ren stood and headed toward the door.
"Lu Ren."
Jing Hongchen's voice came from behind him.
Lu Ren stopped and turned his head.
"Don't cause trouble." Jing Hongchen's voice was low, carrying a trace of helplessness as well as concern. "The waters of Mingdu run deeper than you imagine."
"I know."
Lu Ren nodded, pushed open the door, and left.
Ji Juechen's room was always the quietest one.
When Lu Ren knocked and the door opened, the sword fanatic was sitting cross-legged on his bed, the Silver-White Long Sword resting across his knees, faint sword intent lingering around him. His eyes were still that same dull, lusterless gray, and he resembled a sword yet to leave its sheath.
"Pack your things. You're coming out with me," Lu Ren said.
Ji Juechen raised his eyes.
"Where?"
"Out to have some fun. I imagine you don't want to stay cooped up in the academy all day either?"
At last, a flicker stirred in Ji Juechen's eyes.
"Will there be strong opponents to challenge?"
Watching the fervor gradually ignite in his gaze, Lu Ren could not help laughing.
"Just follow me. Since we're going out, there'll be no shortage of strong opponents for you to challenge."
Ji Juechen asked nothing more. He stood, put away his Silver-White Long Sword, and walked to Lu Ren's side.
His movements were crisp and decisive, like a sword waiting to be drawn that had finally found someone to wield it.
"Let's go."
His voice was calm, yet carried an anticipation he could not suppress.
Lu Ren glanced at him.
When this sword fanatic behaved himself, he was even less trouble than Meng Hongchen.
Mingdu.
The capital of the Sun Moon Empire, also known as Sun Moon City.
As the most prosperous city in the entire empire, and even the whole continent, this vast city without walls was just beginning to light up for the evening.
Soul Tool streetlamps stretched into the distance along broad streets, their orange-yellow glow illuminating the entire city as brightly as day.
On either side of the streets, tall buildings rarely seen in other countries stood packed together like the teeth of a comb and the scales of a fish.
Thanks to the widespread application of Soul Tool technology, the Sun Moon Empire's architectural standards far surpassed those of the Original Douluo Continent Three Kingdoms. Buildings dozens of meters tall were everywhere, metal and stone interweaving into a stark yet magnificent city skyline.
Streams of people wove through the streets. Vendors' cries and pedestrians' conversations intertwined, gathering into a noisy urban symphony brimming with life.
Lu Ren stood at the street entrance and took a deep breath.
The air was filled with the city's distinctive scent.
Metal, energy, the bustle of everyday life, and those negative emotions hidden beneath the surface prosperity, so intense they almost condensed into something tangible.
Fear, greed, resentment, jealousy, despair.
The negative emotions of countless people drifted above the city like an invisible haze, shrouding this city that never slept.
The instant he stepped into that haze, the drifting Cursed Energy seemed to find its sole destination and surged toward him like mad.
It passed through his skin, seeped into his meridians, and merged with the Cursed Energy already within him, compressing and settling.
It felt like a parched riverbed finally receiving the first rain of the rainy season, every inch of his meridians greedily absorbing this hard-won energy.
"That feels good."
Lu Ren could not help narrowing his eyes.
Throughout the entire Douluo Continent, he was probably the only person who could perceive these negative emotions, and the only one who could convert them into Cursed Energy.
In everyone else's eyes, Mingdu was a prosperous capital.
In his eyes, it was an inexhaustible gold mine.
Ji Juechen stood half a step behind him, his gaze fixed on Lu Ren the entire time.
In his perception, the young man before him had entered a profoundly mysterious state the moment he stepped into Mingdu.
Soul Power and Spiritual Power blended perfectly within him, indistinguishable from one another, like two intertwined rivers flowing into the same ocean.
It was not a simple addition, but a fusion on a higher level, a realm he had sought desperately for years without ever finding its entrance.
Ji Juechen's gaze grew incomparably fervent.
The perfect fusion of Soul Power and Spiritual Power. When would he be able to reach such a realm?
Before you continue