Dugu Yan's eyes curved as she reached out and linked her arm through Yu Tianheng's.
"You're going to fight all by yourself? Can you manage that?"
Ever since Dugu Yan's Martial Soul Evolution, there might truly have been few in the younger generation who could stand on equal footing with her.
But taking on seven opponents alone would still be somewhat difficult.
After all, the contestants from the other teams weren't all show and no substance. They had some strength of their own.
"Of course! When Rongrong, Lingling, and I cultivate together, we practice coordinating with each other. As long as those two support me, never mind seven opponents-even if another seven showed up, I'd definitely be fine."
Hearing that, Yu Tianheng finally understood why Dugu Yan was so confident.
The Nine Heart Begonia and the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda were the two strongest support-type Martial Souls on the continent.
With those two helping her, it would have been strange if Dugu Yan weren't formidable.
"All right, then we'll let you show what you can do when the time comes. But I should warn you first: there's still some time before the Soul Master Tournament, so you can't neglect your cultivation. Otherwise, someone else might overtake you by then."
To keep Dugu Yan from growing too spoiled and arrogant, Yu Tianheng deliberately added that last reminder.
"Don't worry, Brother Tian Heng, I'll definitely do my best!"
Ning Rongrong wrinkled her delicate little nose as she spoke, her small face brimming with fighting spirit.
A year and a half passed in the blink of an eye, and as his thirteenth birthday approached, Yu Tianheng had broken through to level 49.
Compared to before, his cultivation speed seemed to be slowing down.
No one knew that Yu Tianheng had done this deliberately.
During this time, he had devoted most of his efforts to familiarizing himself with the Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King Martial Souls, rather than focusing solely on raising his Soul Power Level.
Now, Yu Tianheng could bring the advantage of his Triple Martial Souls to its fullest.
Under certain circumstances, he could even fuse three Ultimate Attributes.
And unleash even more terrifying power.
As for just how far that power went and what level of existence he could contend with,
Yu Tianheng had yet to test it. He had Triple Martial Souls, and all of them were Dragon King Martial Souls.
Once exposed to the outside world, they would undoubtedly change the face of the entire continent.
The time had not yet come.
During this period, the three women had also made tremendous progress in their cultivation.
Dugu Yan had reached level 38, just eleven levels behind Yu Tianheng.
Besides her own talent, the main reason she had improved so quickly was the drop of essence blood Yu Tianheng had given her before.
Ye Lingling was no less impressive. Despite having a support-type Martial Soul, she had still reached level 36.
Her bearing was cold and restrained, making her the very image of a goddess of ice and snow.
Ning Rongrong was still young and had cultivated for several years less than the others, so her level lagged a little behind at only 29.
But anywhere else, she was unquestionably a genius.
"Let's go. It's time to show those frogs at the bottom of the well from the other academies that there are always people beyond people and heavens beyond the heavens!"
Yu Tianheng stretched, as though this were just a small matter he could handle with a wave of his hand.
Escorted by four Soul Douluo-level experts from the family, the four of them arrived safely at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
The tournament wasn't starting tomorrow anyway, and Yu Tianheng had something he wanted to discuss with Qin Ming, so he simply chose the academy as their meeting place.
Shi Mo and the other two were standing behind Qin Ming. When they saw Yu Tianheng, all three couldn't help freezing in surprise.
Ever since Yu Tianheng left the academy, they had not seen each other for five or six years.
They had never expected Yu Tianheng to have changed so much.
In the past, Yu Tianheng had simply won their admiration, making them willing to call him boss.
Now, he made others unable to resist the urge to kneel and bow their heads in submission.
It was the indescribable presence of a superior!
"Long time no see!"
To their surprise, Yu Tianheng put on no airs whatsoever. Smiling, he waved to the three of them.
That small gesture was enough to bring tears streaming down Shi Mo's face.
"Boss, we thought you didn't want the three of us anymore."
In all fairness, whether in talent, strength, or status, Yu Tianheng was now beyond the reach of the three of them.
In fact, barring some unexpected turn of events, they might never have had another chance to see Yu Tianheng in their lives.
Seeing the burly Shi Mo sobbing and wiping away tears beside him,
Yu Tianheng couldn't resist giving him a smack on the head.
"That's enough. You're a grown man, yet you fuss like this all day. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if word got out? Have you absorbed the Immortal Herbs I gave you?"
Seeing that there was no distance at all between their boss and them,
Shi Mo hurriedly sniffled twice before speaking.
"Don't worry, Boss, we've finished absorbing them. I'm already level 33, and Shi Mo and Yu Feng have both reached level 32."
Yu Tianheng nodded lightly at that.
It was about what he had expected.
Without the help of the Immortal Herbs, if things had followed the original timeline,
Shi Mo and his two brothers, and even Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, would have been no higher than level 27 or 28 at this age.
"Boss, what level are you now?"
After hesitating for a moment, Shi Mo asked the question he most wanted answered.
When they first entered the academy, their boss's Soul Power Level had been a few levels higher than theirs. Surely the gap wouldn't be much bigger now?
"I'm level 49. Oh, right, Teacher Qin Ming, there's something I wanted to discuss with you."
"All right, let's talk in my office."
Qin Ming nodded. Something Yu Tianheng approached in this manner surely couldn't be a small matter.
"Sister Yan, what level are you now?"
Seeing Yu Tianheng leave, Shi Mo seemed to remember something and turned to look at Dugu Yan.
He clearly wanted someone to compare himself with, to give himself a sense of presence.
"Oh, give it a rest, Little Fatty. I'm already level 38, and Lingling is level 36. This little girl is Ning Rongrong. She's three years younger than you, and she's already level 29."
When she finished speaking, the three wore remarkably identical expressions, their mouths hanging wide open and disbelief written all over their eyes.
It was one thing for Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling to be higher level than them, but-
How was this little girl, barely ten years old, already level 29?
At her age, they had only just reached level 20.
Sure enough, comparing people really could infuriate one to death!
"Tian Heng, whatever it is, just tell me. I'll do my best to help you take care of it."
"Teacher Qin, you don't need to be so nervous. I know that the Soul Master Tournament this time isn't about representing ourselves as individuals, and the Heaven Dou Royal Academy has more than one team, doesn't it?"
If Yu Tianheng remembered correctly, his older male cousin would also be taking part in this Soul Master Tournament.
The Heaven Dou Royal Academy couldn't send both teams onto the field.
"That's certainly the situation, but I've already discussed it with the academy's higher-ups. We'll have your teams spar first."