WHOOSH!
Strands of Profound Qi continuously condensed. After a quarter of an hour, the Profound Qi within Ye Xuan's Profound Vein had formed into a dense, thick mist.
But gradually, Ye Xuan noticed something was wrong. Although his Profound Qi was constantly gathering, it was also constantly draining away.
"What's going on?" Ye Xuan focused his senses to observe and was immediately stunned by what he found.
While the Profound Qi in his first Profound Vein was condensing, it was simultaneously being slowly absorbed by the black martial soul at his Dantian.
'A martial soul that can absorb Profound Qi on its own?'
Ye Xuan was inwardly startled. As an Eighth Grade Soul Emperor, he was vastly experienced and knowledgeable. He understood the classifications and levels of martial souls perfectly. Most martial souls improved as a Martial Artist's strength increased. However, some had no potential for growth, or their growth had little effect on a Martial Artist's power. These were known as trash martial souls. But there was another kind—a martial soul with the ability to grow on its own. Such martial souls were called Holy Martial Souls.
However, while trash martial souls were abundant on the Celestial Profound Continent, he had never seen a Holy Martial Soul. It was the stuff of legends in the world of martial souls. Now, seeing this black dot that could absorb Profound Qi on its own, Ye Xuan couldn't help but wonder, 'Could this be the legendary Holy Martial Soul?'
But regardless of whether it was a Holy Martial Soul, Ye Xuan's martial soul was definitely not the trash martial soul that those garbage Soul Refining masters in Blue Moon City claimed it was. A trash martial soul would never behave like this.
As an Eighth Grade Soul Emperor, Ye Xuan was very curious about what this black dot would become once it fully developed.
The only thing that troubled Ye Xuan was that more than half of the Profound Qi he worked so hard to cultivate was being absorbed by that black martial soul.
'No wonder this kid was called a good-for-nothing before. After so many years of cultivation, he'd only opened a single Profound Vein. It turns out all the Profound Qi he cultivated was absorbed by this martial soul. Anyone else in his shoes probably wouldn't have fared any better. Only the Nine-Profound Prideful World Art I cultivate is powerful enough to leave some Profound Qi behind while also feeding the martial soul.'
「Several hours later.」
CRACK!
A faint popping sound echoed from within Ye Xuan, who was sitting cross-legged on his bed. Immediately after, a subtle surge of Profound Power flashed across his body.
'Huh, I've broken through to the second Profound Vein. I'll keep going. I'll aim to open the third Profound Vein...'
In just a few hours, Ye Xuan had opened his second Profound Vein. But he didn't stop cultivating, instead burying his head and continuing his arduous training.
The night passed quietly. At dawn, the eastern sky began to brighten.
WHOOSH!
Ye Xuan exhaled a long breath of turbid air.
After a night of hard cultivation, Ye Xuan still hadn't managed to open his third Profound Vein, but he was only a single step away from the realm of the Three Veins.
'I have to say, this is really slow.' The Nine-Profound Prideful World Art was a heaven-defying Cultivation Technique, superior to almost every other technique on the Profound Celestial Continent. Yet, a whole night of cultivation had only allowed him to break through one vein. 'If my black martial soul hadn't absorbed so much Profound Qi, I probably would have opened the third Profound Vein by now.' Thinking this, Ye Xuan shook his head repeatedly.
If any other Martial Artists knew what he was thinking, they would probably be dying to strangle him. After all, even the most talented Martial Artist needed years of painstaking cultivation to break through a single Profound Vein. Ye Xuan had broken through one in a single day and was on the verge of the next. Such speed was practically unheard of in the world, enough to make the so-called geniuses of the kingdom die of shame. And Ye Xuan actually thought it was slow? What kind of monster was he?
When Ye Xuan opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of two bloodshot eyes staring at him like lanterns, a terrifying and inexplicable sight.
Ye Xuan instinctively kicked out. THUMP! A familiar, miserable cry followed as his roommate, the fatty Chen Xing, grunted and groaned while picking himself up from the floor.
"Ye Xuan, that was a vicious kick," Chen Xing said, rubbing his chest, the fat on his face contorting.
Ye Xuan retorted irritably, "Who told you to hover over me like that without moving? Don't you know you can scare someone to death?"
Chen Xing's two eyes were as red as a rabbit's, shot through with blood vessels. He clearly hadn't slept all night.
"I just saw you cultivating and got curious. Since when did you become so patient? You actually cultivated for a whole night."
The old Ye Xuan had given up on himself; Chen Xing rarely ever saw him cultivate, let alone for an entire night. It was as if he were looking at an alien, so he ended up watching Ye Xuan all night long.
"Tch, this is nothing. Back in the day, when I went into seclusion, I stayed there for three months straight without a single sip of water."
Chen Xing shot Ye Xuan a contemptuous look. "You? Haha, save it. If you can go into seclusion for three months, I can do it for three years."
Ye Xuan smiled faintly. In the entire academy, there were very few students he could get along with. His only good friend was his roommate, Chen Xing. He and the original Ye Xuan were two peas in a pod, and as a childhood friend, he had treated Ye Xuan the same way regardless of whether he was a genius or, later, labeled a good-for-nothing.
Because of this, even after being reborn, Ye Xuan still had a good impression of him.
"Your eyes are red as a rabbit's. You should get some rest."
"Rest?" Chen Xing rolled his eyes at Ye Xuan. "Ye Xuan, you haven't forgotten, have you? Today is Instructor Luo's martial skills class. If you skip his class, you're a dead man. He'd chase you to the ends of the earth and make you wish you were dead."
"Ah, Instructor Luo?" Ye Xuan remembered now. Instructor Luo was the Martial Artist instructor for their cultivation class. He'd heard that Luo was a former imperial officer who had been severely injured in a battle with a neighboring country and was forced to retire.
The man was an extremely strict teacher, known as the "cold-faced instructor." Most importantly, Instructor Luo was highly responsible. He never treated students differently because of their status or talent and was incomparably fair. If it were any other class, Ye Xuan might have just skipped it, but he couldn't be bothered to skip this cultivation class.
In any case, having just opened his second Profound Vein, he needed to consolidate his cultivation. Today's class perfectly aligned with his plans.
"I've been up all night, I'm starving! Come on, let's go get breakfast," Chen Xing said, pulling Ye Xuan towards the dining hall.
The dining hall was bustling with people. A few students spotted Ye Xuan and couldn't help but point and whisper from a distance.
At first, Chen Xing was confused, but after overhearing their conversation, his jaw dropped.
"Ye Xuan, you gave that kid Wang Yue a harsh lesson in the training hall yesterday? When did you get so strong?"
Ye Xuan pursed his lips. "It's not that I'm strong, it's that he's too weak. Trash like him... if one comes, I'll crush one. If ten come, I'll crush a dozen."
Chen Xing looked at Ye Xuan in astonishment. He felt that the Ye Xuan before him was different from the one he used to know—more domineering, confident, and proud. But... he liked it.
"Haha, that's true! A hundred pieces of trash like Wang Yue wouldn't be a match for me! As the roommate of the third young master of the Chen family, it's only natural that you could beat him."
Chen Xing didn't forget to pat himself on the back, laughing heartily. But then he couldn't help but remind Ye Xuan, "Ye Xuan, that kid Wang Yue is nothing to worry about, but I heard he has a few cousins in our academy too, and they're all in the advanced class. But don't you worry. I, your fatty, am still the third young master of the Chen family. The Wang family might be big and powerful, but the Chen family isn't to be trifled with either. If they dare to cause trouble for you, and they piss me off, I'll bring a troop of soldiers from my family's estate and wipe them out!"
Ye Xuan patted the fatty's shoulder, knowing his friend was worried about him. A smile touched his eyes as he said, "Don't worry. If that kid Wang Yue accepts his loss, then fine. But if he dares to cause trouble again, I'll make him die an even uglier death."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an all-encompassing confidence, like a divine dragon speaking of ants—utterly superior.
Hearing this, Chen Xing's heart trembled. He glanced at Ye Xuan and thought, 'My brother really is different from before.'
「After breakfast, the two of them arrived at the training classroom.」
It was a massive classroom, over a thousand square meters in size. A large group of students, about a hundred of them, had already gathered, creating a lively scene.
The students of Xingxuan Academy were divided into three grades: junior, intermediate, and advanced classes. The junior class was for Martial Artists who had opened one to four Profound Veins. The intermediate class was for those who had opened five or six. The advanced class, also known as the graduating class, was for Martial Artists who had opened seven Profound Veins. Once they condensed a Profound Sea and became a Tier One Warrior, they could graduate from Xingxuan Academy.
In addition, the maximum period of study at Xingxuan Academy was five years. After five years of enrollment, students would automatically graduate, regardless of how many Profound Veins they had opened.
However, everyone admitted to the academy was a young genius from Blue Moon City or the nearby towns; ordinary people couldn't get in at all. Therefore, even if most didn't become Tier One Warriors before graduating, they had typically opened six or seven Profound Veins. Someone like Ye Xuan—who had been at the academy for four years, was still in the junior class, and had only opened a single Profound Vein—was a sight seen once in a century.
The martial skills class was a grade-wide course, attended by students from the junior and intermediate classes.
At eight o'clock in the morning, the martial skills class began.
Over three hundred junior and intermediate class students from Xingxuan Academy stood in neat square formations. As they watched Instructor Luo walk in, the entire training classroom fell silent.
He was a middle-aged man, standing at least 1.9 meters tall, wearing a faded, light-blue old military uniform. His face was sharp and angular, and he exuded the unique, iron-willed aura of a kingdom's soldier.
Gazing at the three hundred-plus students, Luo Zhan's face darkened. "You pieces of trash from the intermediate and junior classes, is this how you stand? Take a look at yourselves, all lazy and undisciplined! Have you forgotten everything I taught you? Posture is a Martial Artist's most important bearing. If you can't even stand properly, what right will you have to become powerful Martial Artists in the future?"
"Tell me!"
Luo Zhan roared, but not a single student answered. Only a fool would speak up at a time like this; that would be asking for death.
"Given that I am very displeased with your performance today, you will do two hundred frog jumps before the martial skills class begins. If anyone's form is lacking, today I'll make them regret they were ever born."
Luo Zhan's demonic voice rang out.