Soon, the day's cultivation came to an end.
The clan's young disciples, Yu Tianxin among them, were drenched in sweat, their limbs weak and their bodies aching all over, as though they had been completely hollowed out.
Apart from breaks for meals, they spent all their time training.
They were tired to death.
And this was not just for one day; it would go on for years, or even longer.
Yu Tianheng, by contrast, had taken it easy and was not tired in the slightest.
That left many of them feeling deeply aggrieved.
They planned to challenge Yu Tianheng during the monthly competition and give him a sound beating to vent their anger.
Yu Shizhong did not dare conceal the slightest detail of what had happened that day. He immediately went to report it to the clan leader, Yu Yuanzhen, to see how he would handle it.
After learning of the matter, Yu Yuanzhen merely said calmly that he knew, and said nothing more.
That did not mean Yu Yuanzhen did not value Yu Tianheng and could not be bothered to interfere. Rather, he wanted to see what gave Yu Tianheng such confidence.
There was only a month in all, so he would see how much Yu Tianheng could raise his Soul Power Level.
In the days that followed, Yu Tianheng cultivated alone.
Everyone else practiced either "cultivating Qi while carrying stones" or the "Tyrant Dragon Body Refining Art," repeating the dull, tedious exercises over and over.
But the increase in their Soul Power Levels was hardly noticeable.
Breaking through a single level in a few months was already exceedingly difficult. Some had cultivated for a full six months without necessarily raising their Soul Power by a single level.
It was truly rather miserable.
Generally speaking, a so-called cultivation genius had a Soul Power Level twice their age. For example, a twelve-year-old Soul Master with a Soul Power Level of twenty-four, a fifteen-year-old at level thirty, or a twenty-year-old at level forty would be considered a genius among cultivating Soul Masters.
Of course, reaching that point was exceedingly rare.
Even among the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, one of the Upper Three Sects, only a handful of people could do it.
But these were merely ordinary geniuses, utterly unable to compare with the protagonist's group.
If Yu Tianheng remembered correctly, the members of the protagonist's group had reached Soul Power Level forty at around fifteen years old, becoming Soul Ancestor-level powerhouses.
At the very least, he had to match them.
Soon, a month had passed.
Throughout that month, Yu Tianheng sat in meditation, cultivating the Innate Skill. Once his cultivation for the day was done, he would leave straight away, though sometimes he would visit Yu Xiaogang's residence and talk with him.
Although the Innate Skill he cultivated was only a profound-grade cultivation technique, on the Douluo Continent, where cultivation techniques did not exist, it counted as an exceptionally rare divine manual.
That month, he immersed himself in studying and cultivating the Innate Skill.
Every day at dawn, when the first ray of sunlight fell, Yu Tianheng was already cultivating with his five centers facing the heavens. The pores all over his body slowly opened like greedy little mouths, ceaselessly devouring the primal Qi drifting between heaven and earth.
After passing through the Innate Skill, those wisps of primal Qi transformed into purer Innate Qi. As though alive, it circled and danced around his body, gradually gathering into a trickling stream that surged along his meridians and into his dantian.
As Innate Qi accumulated within him, Yu Tianheng felt a fullness unlike anything he had ever known.
The refining process was not easy. Every wisp of Innate Qi was like a double-edged sword, bringing tremendous power while also battering his meridians with searing pain. Yu Tianheng clenched his teeth and endured through sheer tenacity, continuously compressing and merging the Innate Qi.
At last, on the final day of the month, Yu Tianheng successfully refined all the Innate Qi he had accumulated. In an instant, his body seemed to be enveloped in a brilliant light as powerful Soul Power fluctuations surged out of him. His Soul Power, originally at level twelve, was propelled by this force and shot up two levels like a rocket, reaching a stable cultivation level of fourteen.
Yu Tianheng slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of surprise and excitement passing through them. He clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within him, and the corners of his mouth rose involuntarily. A month of arduous cultivation had finally brought a satisfying reward.
Fortunately, he had also had the foresight not to cultivate alongside the others. Otherwise, the month would have been wasted.
During his cultivation, he had also been surprised to discover that the Innate Power obtained from cultivating the Innate Skill could be used to cultivate both his Martial Soul and the martial path.
Simply put, if the Innate Power was converted into Soul Power, it could raise his Soul Power Level. If it was kept to temper his body, it could improve his martial path cultivation.
If he used half for each, he could cultivate both at the same time.
But Yu Tianheng had used all the Innate Power he cultivated over the month to raise his Soul Power.
The next day, the monthly competition began.
Everyone gathered at the training ground.
Yu Tianheng arrived early as well.
At the same time, the system chimed: "Ding, side quest activated. The host is about to participate in the monthly competition. Each opponent defeated will earn a reward of 10 Heavenly Mandate Points. Host, please do your best."
"10 Heavenly Mandate Points as a reward!" Yu Tianheng was overjoyed to hear this. He had been troubled over how to earn Heavenly Mandate Points to buy things from the System Shop. He had not expected someone to bring him a pillow just as he was getting sleepy. How thoughtful.
Today, he would fight ten of them. No! He would fight them all!
"I now declare the monthly competition open. Any Soul Master whose Soul Power is below level twenty may participate."
Instructor Yu Shizhong stood below the arena, watching everything that happened on it, ready to intervene at any moment to prevent unnecessary injuries or deaths.
At Yu Shizhong's command, a Soul Master soon stepped onto the arena.
He was Yu Feng, a disciple from a collateral branch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, a little over ten years old. Although he was from a collateral branch, he was not weak. His Soul Power was level sixteen, giving him the cultivation of a One-Ring Soul Master. His First Soul Ring was yellow, a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
"I am Yu Feng. Does anyone dare challenge me?"
Yu Feng looked down at the crowd and asked.
Yu Tianxin gave a soft snort and prepared to step forward.
But Yu Tianheng beat him to it.
He leaped onto the arena. "I'll challenge you."
"You?" Yu Feng frowned. He knew who Yu Tianheng was: a direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the clan leader's own grandson, and a genius with Innate Full Soul Power.
He had not expected Yu Tianheng to be the first to challenge him.
It was somewhat unexpected.
It was not that he was afraid of Yu Tianheng. Though Yu Tianheng was exceptionally gifted, he was young and had spent too little time cultivating.
No matter how gifted he was, he could not possibly reach the cultivation of a Soul Grandmaster all at once.
After just one month of cultivation, how many levels could he have reached? If Yu Feng failed to hold back and hurt him, things would not end well for him.
After all, Yu Tianheng was a direct descendant, while he himself was only from a collateral branch.
While Yu Feng was lost in thought, Yu Tianheng spoke. "Yu Tianheng, level fourteen Power Attack System Battle Soul Master. My Martial Soul is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Please instruct me, clan brother!"