A day later.
After a wonderful dream, Gu Chen reluctantly rose from the soft bed, wishing he could go back to sleep.
If only he could finish his wonderful dream from last night, in which he conquered Douluo Star, became its sole emperor, and flipped the name tablets to summon the consorts of his three palaces and six courtyards to attend him in bed!
Forget it, forget it!
He couldn't be greedy!
He would save that dream for next time.
After a hearty meal, he and Xiao Wu went to Nuoding Academy for school. They still had only one class today, and as usual, it was devoted to teaching the students to cultivate. Cultivation was a matter of the utmost importance; some people learned slowly, while others learned quickly.
The teacher's duty was to keep teaching until every student had learned.
Only then.
Would other classes begin.
Those like Gu Chen, who had already learned, could decide what to do for themselves.
However.
Gu Chen naturally didn't waste his time. Before coming, he had read through the Intermediate Life Meditation Method once. Having lived two lives, he had a remarkably good memory and had committed it to memory in a single reading.
He began attempting to cultivate it.
In just a few minutes, he successfully grasped the basics. This Intermediate Meditation Method truly was a fine thing upgraded by his cheat; it suited him perfectly. After learning it, he could clearly feel that his cultivation speed had increased considerably.
With my level seven Innate Soul Power talent, combined with this Intermediate Meditation Method, I should already be a match for those geniuses with level eight or nine Innate Soul Power, right?
Gu Chen thought to himself.
This was no idle fantasy. The meditation method suited him so well that every time he circulated it, he could feel not only his Soul Power increasing slightly, but also his vitality seemingly improving.
It appeared to be only an Intermediate Meditation Method.
But its actual effects might already rival some of the Advanced Meditation Methods held by major powers.
That was perfectly natural, though.
After all, this Life Meditation Method had clearly been tailored to him by his cheat. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was a hundred percent compatible with him.
I need to find a way to upgrade the Intermediate Life Meditation Method to the advanced level. Only then can I cultivate even faster.
How could Gu Chen be satisfied with an Intermediate Life Meditation Method? With his cheat, he had to upgrade his meditation method to a higher level, no matter what.
Besides, on his way here, he had checked the Intermediate Life Meditation Method's upgrade panel.
[Item: Intermediate Life Meditation Method] [Effect: A life-attribute cultivation method. Whether Soul Master or Soul Beast, anyone suited to this method can achieve twice the result with half the effort by cultivating it] [Upgrade result: Advanced Life Meditation Method] [Effect: A life-attribute cultivation method. Those suited to it can achieve twice the result with half the effort by cultivating it, while slightly increasing their own vitality] [Upgrade requirements: One Intermediate Meditation Method, one Hundred-Year life-attribute Soul Beast corpse, one Hundred-Year life-attribute Soul Beast Soul Ring]
It was clear that the Advanced Life Meditation Method's effects were far more powerful. Vitality represented the foundation of a person's life; without it, one was essentially dead. Conversely, the stronger one's vitality, the longer one could live. With enough vitality, living for several hundred or even a thousand years was no problem.
Unfortunately.
The last two upgrade requirements weren't difficult for him in the slightest.
But an Intermediate Meditation Method was far too difficult for him to obtain.
The Basic Meditation Method was, when all was said and done, a common thing. People who hadn't awakened Innate Soul Power couldn't cultivate it, while those who had could hardly find it easier to obtain a copy. They could simply enroll in any academy and get one.
But anything above that wasn't so easy to obtain.
At least for him as he was now.
It wasn't that easy.
But he didn't just sit and wait for death. Instead, he sought another way.
After class.
Gu Chen came to the Seven Treasure Pavilion.
"Young master, you've come at just the right time. The thing you bought from me has arrived, and I was just about to send someone to find you!"
Before he could speak, the shopkeeper across from him spoke first.
"Really?!"
Gu Chen's eyes lit up, and he grew a little excited.
He had kept the matter of upgrading the Space Soul Tool on his mind, because he knew that once he upgraded it, he would have a trump card. With that trump card, even if Tang Hao returned and tried to kill him, he was confident he could escape from him.
Still, Tang Hao was a Titled Douluo, after all. Surely he wouldn't be shameless enough to attack him.
"Of course."
The shopkeeper nodded, then turned and fetched something.
"This is the corpse of a Ten-Year Hollow Wood Parasol Tree. Soul Beasts of this kind possess the spatial attribute, but it only manifests when their cultivation reaches a thousand years. Finding this Ten-Year Hollow Wood Parasol Tree was sheer luck!"
He opened the wooden box, revealing the corpse of a Hollow Wood Parasol Tree roughly half a meter tall, and began introducing it.
"Good, I'm very satisfied!"
Gu Chen accepted the Hollow Wood Parasol Tree with satisfaction, but he hadn't forgotten his purpose in coming.
"Shopkeeper, I also need two Hundred-Year spatial-attribute Soul Beasts, alive, and a copy of an Intermediate Meditation Method. Can you get them?"
He asked.
"Hundred-Year spatial-attribute Soul Beasts, and alive? I'm afraid the price will be rather high. After all, the value of a corpse and a living Soul Beast are two entirely different things."
The shopkeeper frowned as he spoke.
"Money isn't a problem."
Gu Chen looked every bit the big spender. Did he look like someone short of money?!
"There aren't many Soul Beasts with the spatial attribute, and you want Hundred-Year ones captured alive. Three thousand Gold Soul Coins! Would that be acceptable, young master?"
The shopkeeper named his price.
"That works."
Gu Chen readily agreed.
"As for the Intermediate Meditation Method you need, young master, I happen to have one right now. But it's a little expensive: ten thousand Gold Soul Coins."
The shopkeeper rubbed his chin and named the price.
"Money isn't a problem."
With that, Gu Chen pulled out a black card and three purple cards and paid the bill. As for paying only a deposit, there was no need at all. This wasn't a shop run by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had made its business the largest on the entire continent, so its reputation was absolutely reliable. If its reputation were poor, it couldn't have built its business to such heights.
"Shopkeeper, since you have Intermediate Meditation Methods, do you also sell Advanced Meditation Methods?"
After upgrading the Intermediate Life Meditation Method to the advanced level, there was an eighty percent chance that an Advanced Meditation Method would be needed for the next upgrade. So Gu Chen wanted to prepare in advance. Above all, he felt that, during this period, he had already figured out the rules of his Leveling Cheat.
The higher an item was upgraded, the more its requirements increased, little by little.
His Martial Soul was one example. It had started with the corpse and Soul Ring of a Hundred-Year Soul Beast, and later required the corpse and Soul Ring of a Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
For that very reason.
He had ordered two Hundred-Year spatial-attribute Soul Beasts from the Seven Treasure Pavilion. Aside from what was needed to upgrade Xiao Wu's Martial Soul, the other was to prepare for upgrading the Space Soul Tool again after its first upgrade.
"Don't even think about it, kid. Intermediate Meditation Methods are sold because, although they aren't as common as Basic Meditation Methods, they're taught for free to everyone who enrolls in an advanced Soul Master Academy."
"The reason they aren't outrageously expensive is that they can be copied over and over, which is why I'm selling one to you for ten thousand Gold Soul Coins."
"Forget about an Advanced Meditation Method. Every family treasures those things, and generally nobody puts one up for sale. But if you really want one, you can try your luck at an auction house. Someone short of money might just put one up for auction!"
After taking the money, the shopkeeper took out an Intermediate Meditation Method and handed it to Gu Chen. But when he heard Gu Chen's question, he smiled and shook his head.
Hearing this.
Gu Chen nodded thoughtfully and accepted the Intermediate Meditation Method the shopkeeper handed him. After chatting for a while, he took his leave.
Afterward.
He also made a trip to the blacksmith's shop.
He had found what he needed at the Seven Treasure Pavilion, so perhaps the blacksmith's shop would have something for him too.
Sure enough.
When he arrived, the owner welcomed him warmly and told him that the Ten Refinement void metal he needed had been made. Gu Chen inspected it to his satisfaction, paid the remaining balance, and took it. Then he placed two more orders with the owner for Ten Refinement void metal.
Then.
He returned to the Rose Hotel with everything he had acquired.
In the room.
Gu Chen placed the Space Soul Tool in the middle, with the Ten-Year spatial-attribute Soul Beast corpse and the Ten Refinement void metal beside it.
"Upgrade requirements met. Upgrade?"
"Upgrade!"
He gave his answer without hesitation.
Golden light enveloped the Space Soul Tool, then faded moments later, revealing the upgraded Space Ring. Compared to its previous appearance, the upgraded Space Ring was engraved with ancient-looking patterns that gave it a sense of age.
Gu Chen gently picked it up and couldn't help bursting into laughter.
He had his trump card!
Even if Tang Hao came, what did he have to fear!!!