Time flew by, and two months passed quickly.
"Boom!" A loud thunderclap echoed from the horizon. Outside the seventh dormitory, the April drizzle fell gently with the evening breeze, like silk threads cascading from the sky.
Thunder rumbled.
Yang Yunhai, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed in cultivation, was suddenly awakened. He glanced around the dormitory, his roommates had also stopped cultivating and looked out the window before one by one choosing to sleep. Even Tang San and Xiao Wu pulled up their blankets.
Especially Xiao Wu, who immediately dived under her blanket and covered her head, looking quite frightened.
Yang Yunhai was used to this by now.
Once a soul beast reaches the hundred-thousand-year level, it must face a tribulation of thunder. If Xiao Wu weren't afraid, she wouldn't have chosen to rebuild her cultivation from scratch.
"I'll wait until everyone's asleep before going out." With that thought, he closed his eyes and resumed cultivating.
Since March, it had been raining more frequently at the academy. Now in April, the rainy season had arrived, and thunderstorms like today's were common, sometimes lasting several days.
This was a perfect opportunity for him to train by attracting lightning.
The only problem was that after one session, it took several days to recover. By the time he was ready for another session, the storm might already be over. This had happened to him once in late February. Still, it had its advantages, he could use the rain as an excuse to go outside without arousing suspicion.
If he went out every time it rained, that would seem suspicious.
Also, without affecting his cultivation, he could only withstand two lightning strikes at most for now.
If he tried to take a third, he'd pass out. His meridians would suffer internal damage, and his spirit would be severely strained, badly affecting his soul power cultivation.
Two bolts were quick and unnoticeable. No one would care. After all, people don't go outside during a thunderstorm.
He figured Tang Hao probably thought the same. Tang San was right here at the academy, under a closed education system, there was no way he'd sneak over in the rain just to spy on them. That would be foolish.
More importantly, this lightning training had actually shown some decent results. The minor improvement in soul power after each strike was a bonus. What surprised him most was that during recovery, his cultivation speed increased slightly. It was subtle, but over time he noticed the cumulative effect.
In addition, his physical body became a bit stronger.
Was it because the electric shocks stimulated his muscles, sped up his metabolism and blood circulation, and enhanced his physical function, thereby increasing the rate at which he absorbed and converted natural energy?
That was his theory.
It was similar to how physical labor increases appetite and eventually builds muscle.
In a novel, this would be called "body tempering by lightning" or "refining the body with thunder."
His meridians could now withstand two strikes without injury. He figured that, like the body, they had become more resistant, basically, his lightning resistance had increased. Of course, that also had to do with most of the energy being grounded and dispersed; he only absorbed a small amount of lightning energy. And because he never pushed to take a third strike, the energy absorbed never exceeded his limit.
It was like taking medicine. A little poison might build resistance, but a heavy dose could kill.
Even his spirit (martial soul) was getting stronger with the lightning strikes.
That made sense. Soul power is a special energy formed by absorbing and converting natural energy through the martial soul.
In short, the martial soul acts as a conduit or converter. Soul masters must awaken their martial soul before they can absorb natural energy and cultivate soul power. That's probably why people in this world can't start cultivating until their martial soul awakens.
Didn't Tang San convert his internal power into soul power only after awakening his martial soul?
And in this process, whether through energy accumulation or the long-term impact of refining energy, the martial soul is gradually tempered. Over time, its strength naturally increases, although it's not as quick and direct as absorbing soul rings.
The same applied to him. It was perfectly reasonable that his martial soul would gradually improve.
Furthermore, natural lightning contains concentrated, high-quality lightning energy. Compared to the ambient lightning energy in the environment, it was much stronger and purer. So when his Blue Silver Grass martial soul absorbed and converted this high-quality energy, it strengthened more effectively than it would from ordinary cultivation.
Of course, all of this was just his speculation based on recent training.
He couldn't be sure, but after each lightning strike, his soul power cultivation speed slightly increased, and his martial soul became a bit tougher. After recovery, his physical strength also improved slightly.
Unfortunately, these improvements were just too slow to bring any qualitative change.
Besides, thunderstorm days were rare and short. He could only take two strikes each time, which required days of recovery. All these practical limitations kept his expectations in check, though overall, things were heading in a positive direction.
As of now, his soul power had just barely broken through level 1. Something to celebrate?
Absolutely not!
Wasn't it said that going from level 0 to 10 should be fast? Why hadn't he felt that at all?
It seemed that even with the boost from lightning training, he had merely gone from being useless to being slightly less useless.
He was still far behind people like Tang San and Xiao Wu.
He had tried so hard, waking early to run, training his body and soul power in the afternoon, and cultivating later than anyone else at night. Yet the gains he made were painfully slow.
Talent was like being born with shackles, it held him back at every step.
Unlike Tang San, who worked in the afternoon and only cultivated at night, but still progressed rapidly.
Xiao Wu was even more ridiculous. She ate snacks and her soul power rose on its own.
Sigh. "Things will get better in the future," Yang Yunhai told himself. That was all he could do.
His martial soul was weak from the start—he had no choice but to do his best.
Notting City was located in the eastern part of the Fasno Province, surrounded by fertile land and abundant rainfall. The rainy season lasted five months, from April to September. If he could make the most of this time, he believed he could make real progress.
As for the rest of the year, that would be up to luck.
Time passed, and soon it was close to midnight.
Yang Yunhai got out of bed, put on his raincoat, walked quietly to the door, and slipped out.
Downstairs, he glanced at the dormitory lights, then circled behind the building to a small grove, found a hidden spot, and took two lightning strikes. Afterwards, he dragged his tense body back to the dorm, changed his soaked clothes in the bathroom, and went to bed.
The next day, classes and cultivation proceeded as usual. Since it was still raining, he didn't go to the back mountain in the afternoon.
Then came the third, fourth, and fifth days.
The rain stopped. The skies cleared. And he had perfectly missed three days of lightning training.
There was no helping it. His body and martial soul hadn't recovered. If he forced himself, an accident could happen. It wasn't worth the risk.
At noon, after lunch and a brief rest, he got ready to head to the back mountain to train.
"Xiao Haizi!"
As he passed the middle of the dorm, Xiao Wu, leaning against her bed, asked, "Don't you get bored training like this every day?"
Yang Yunhai stopped, scratched his head, and replied,
"Sister Xiao Wu, my talent is poor. If I want to become a soul master, hard work is my only option."
"Fair enough." Xiao Wu couldn't argue and waved her hand. "Go on, go on."
"Xiao Wu, you should spend more time cultivating too," Tang San said after Yang Yunhai left the dorm.
Xiao Wu had innate full soul power,her talent was excellent. She just played too much. Tang San felt she was wasting her potential.
"I knooow," Xiao Wu pouted, replying half-heartedly, "I'll come back and cultivate after I collect the protection fees this afternoon."
Tang San was speechless.
For some reason, Xiao Wu had a huge appetite and loved snacks. The monthly stipend from Spirit Hall was far from enough, so she came up with the idea of charging protection fees from noble students.
If they refused, she'd challenge them to a sparring match. After a few incidents, they gave in.
She collected it once a week, and it wasn't much. Those noble students were used to spending freely, so it wasn't a big deal. Besides, being put in their place by Xiao Wu helped temper their arrogance, so Tang San didn't object.
"Xiao Wu, I'm going to see the teacher," he said, shaking his head and standing up.
"Okay, go ahead," Xiao Wu replied casually.
For the past three months, Tang San had gone to see Yu Xiaogang almost every noon. Classes took up the mornings, blacksmith work the afternoons, and cultivation the evenings—noon was the only time he could study.
"Mm." Tang San nodded and left the dorm.
Soon, he reached the top floor. Looking ahead, Yu Xiaogang was standing in the hallway, enjoying the sun and breeze.
After days of rain, the clear skies were a rare pleasure.
Following Yu Xiaogang's gaze, Tang San saw Yang Yunhai running toward the back mountain.
Apparently sensing Tang San's arrival, Yu Xiaogang said thoughtfully, "That boy is very hardworking and quite clever. The back mountain is full of Blue Silver Grass. Training there really does help with cultivating the Blue Silver Grass martial soul."
He'd heard about the hardworking student from the working-student dorm.
Yang Yunhai, from Lone Grass Village—a name he recognized from his years at the academy. The current village head was said to be a retired official from Spirit Hall. Normally, if a child from such a background awakened soul power, they'd be sent straight to a spirit academy—but not in this case.
The reason was simple: innate soul power of 0.5, and a Blue Silver Grass martial soul. His aptitude was simply too poor.
Yu Xiaogang knew the admission standards of spirit academies well.
"A soul master even Spirit Hall doesn't want." That was how he viewed Yang Yunhai.
"Such a shame his talent is lacking," he said, shaking his head. "Some people's futures are set the moment they're born. Not everyone can forge their own path, like a teacher who achieves greatness through wisdom and knowledge."
"You're right, teacher," Tang San said, nodding with deep agreement.
It was the same in any world. In his past life, the Tang Sect also had strict standards for new disciples.
"But diligence is still essential." Yu Xiaogang turned and said seriously, "Xiao San, your talent is outstanding, but cultivation is a step-by-step process. You must never grow complacent or waste your potential."
"Yes, teacher." Tang San nodded solemnly.
"Come in," Yu Xiaogang said with a satisfied smile, turning to enter his room.
About half an hour later, inside the room—
"Teacher, I'm off to the blacksmith shop now," Tang San stood and said respectfully.
"Alright," Yu Xiaogang nodded slightly. "Go."
He knew Tang San was Tang Hao's son and had surely learned the Disorder Wind Hammer Technique. In his eyes, blacksmithing wasn't a waste of time.
It helped him train hammer skills, strengthened the body through hard labor, and benefitted soul power cultivation at night.
Even if it slightly delayed his schedule, it didn't matter.
When you have talent, you can afford to do more with your time.
Unlike Yang Yunhai, who, no matter how hardworking, would always be limited by his poor aptitude.
"Goodbye, teacher." Tang San bowed respectfully and left.
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