Dong Jian Reached Level Ten

In the gravity training room.

Dong Jian had already been standing for four hours straight.

Twice the normal gravity bore down on his body.

An ordinary level-nine Soul Scholar would approach their limit after lasting an hour here.

Dong Jian, however, deliberately increased the weight of his legs.

The gravity around him and the weight of his Martial Soul acted on him at the same time.

His bones made faint grinding sounds.

Sweat kept dripping down his forehead.

"Just a little more."

His level-nine Soul Power had long since reached its peak.

He had also taken the Soul-Concentrating Medicinal Liquid.

Yet the final barrier still would not break.

Dong Jian did not rush to force a breakthrough.

He shifted his body weight from his legs to his waist.

Then from his waist to his shoulders.

Every change required his black and white Soul Power to circulate anew.

Light-Heavy Conversion grew smoother and smoother.

At first, it had taken three breaths.

Now it took only one.

But if he wanted to use it in a real fight, that was still too slow.

"Faster."

Dong Jian made his right arm heavier.

The next instant, he immediately restored it.

His left leg grew lighter.

His shoulders grew heavier.

His waist remained steady.

After ten consecutive switches, his Soul Power began to fall into disorder.

Too much black power accumulated in his right shoulder.

The white power all surged into his legs.

Dong Jian's body pitched forward.

He braced himself against the ground with both hands.

Twice the normal gravity immediately pressed down on his back.

"I can't fall."

He gritted his teeth.

If he ended Martial Soul Possession now, his training would be interrupted.

Dong Jian did not suppress the black Soul Power.

Instead, he guided the white power back along his waist.

The black and white Qi formed a cycle once more.

It was as though a thin membrane inside his body was being struck again and again.

Once.

Twice.

When the third cycle was complete-

Boom!

The Soul Power barrier shattered completely.

Level ten!

The Panda Martial Soul threw back its head and roared in the gravity training room.

Black and white Soul Power spread outward at the same time.

The dust on the floor was blasted outward in a circle.

Dong Jian stood up.

The doubled gravity, which had felt so heavy before, seemed easier to bear.

He had succeeded.

A level-ten Soul Scholar.

He was now qualified to absorb his First Soul Ring.

After he left the training room, the teacher in charge of registration immediately confirmed his Soul Power Level.

"The academy can arrange for a Soul Hunting teacher within the next two days."

"Your Martial Soul is unusual. It would be best to have Grandmaster come along."

"There's one more issue."

The teacher looked at the registration form.

"Li Man is still at level nine."

"Although you two took first place in the paired assessment, your Soul Hunting arrangements can be made separately."

"You don't need to wait for her."

Dong Jian did not answer immediately.

He went to the bamboo grove.

Li Man was controlling three illusory images of Green Jade Bamboo at once.

This was not a Soul Skill.

She was trying to use Soul Power to create brief afterimages, simulating a way to control multiple anchor points in the future.

The Green Jade Bamboo struck three wooden stakes in succession.

On the fourth rebound, her Soul Power suddenly cut out.

The bamboo returned to its original form.

Li Man's right hand trembled slightly.

"You reached level ten?"

She did not turn around.

"I just broke through."

"Congratulations."

Li Man planted the Green Jade Bamboo back into the ground.

Her tone was as calm as ever.

But her movements were faster than before.

"The academy can arrange a Soul Hunt,"

Dong Jian said.

"You go first."

"I'll wait for you."

The Green Jade Bamboo came to an abrupt stop.

Li Man turned around.

"Your First Soul Ring affects your future cultivation."

"The sooner you get it, the sooner you can become a Soul Master."

"There's no need to waste time waiting for me."

"We earned a recommendation to go Soul Hunting as a pair."

Dong Jian walked up to her.

"Our first real Soul Hunting battle should be together too."

"That's not a reason."

"Then here's another."

Dong Jian looked at the Green Jade Bamboo in her hand.

"My Martial Soul is prone to losing balance."

"When I absorb a Soul Ring, I need the person who understands the changes in my Soul Power best at my side."

Li Man frowned.

"The Soul Hunting teacher can observe you too."

"They don't understand black and white Soul Power."

Dong Jian said:

"Yu Xiaogang has his theories."

"But you're the only one who has actually seen me lose control and recover every time."

This time, Li Man did not immediately retort.

From Iron Bamboo Village to Nuoding Academy.

Every time Dong Jian's Soul Power lost its balance, she had indeed been there to record and assess it.

But that did not mean she was willing to be someone else's reason for waiting.

"Seven days at most."

Li Man said.

"If I haven't broken through within seven days, you go Soul Hunting first."

"All right."

Dong Jian held out his hand.

"I'll train with you for those seven days."

"Not train with me."

Li Man corrected him.

"Spar."

For the next five days.

The two fought in the bamboo grove almost every day.

Dong Jian was already at level ten, but he did not simply use his level advantage to overpower her.

He kept changing the way he attacked.

A frontal charge.

A roll to the side.

Light-Heavy Conversion.

Listening to the Wind to Discern Position.

Li Man, meanwhile, used her Green Jade Bamboo to create anchor points in succession.

She no longer trained solely in how to control others.

She also trained in how to maintain her distance in close combat.

On the fifth night.

An alarm suddenly sounded from the academy's medicinal herb garden.

A Hundred-Year Wind Blade Bamboo Weasel used for teaching and observation had burst through its cage door.

Several lower-year students were trapped deep in the medicinal herb garden.

The teacher in charge of the garden happened to be away.

It would take time for the guards to arrive.

Li Man gripped her Green Jade Bamboo and rushed out of the bamboo grove.

Dong Jian followed close behind.

"You don't have a Soul Ring yet."

"I know."

Li Man did not stop.

"That's all the more reason to make sure I'm qualified to enter the Soul Hunting Forest before I get a Soul Ring."

In the medicinal herb garden.

A crescent-shaped wind blade sliced through a wooden rack.

A child was curled up in a corner.

The Wind Blade Bamboo Weasel arched its body again.

Li Man charged straight in.

The final step between her and level ten-

Lay with the Hundred-Year Soul Beast before her.