Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Inside the Golden Tree House,
Su Wen exhaled deeply.
Joy filled his face.
"Finally broke through to level thirty-two. Gaining a level in just over a month… not bad at all."
With the spiritual energy of the Golden Tree, the three pet beasts strengthening themselves by consuming soul-beast flesh and blood, and the constant support of elixirs and rare herbs, his cultivation speed continued to accelerate.
When he was around level ten, it took one or two months to increase his soul power by a single level. Now, at the Soul Venerable realm, the time required was almost the same.
Although Little Jin, the Ice Emperor, and Hurricane were soul beasts and progressed much slower than humans, consuming soul-beast flesh and blood was equivalent to humans consuming precious herbs. In just half a year, their bodies had grown significantly larger.
Today also marked the end of winter break.
A batch of freshmen were advancing to their second year.
Su Wen stood up, changed his clothes, and headed toward the outer courtyard.
The Beast Fighting Area.
Tall, fortress-like gray walls separated the academy from the soul beasts within.
The usually quiet Beast Fighting Area was now packed with first-year students. They were about to undergo their second assessment—direct combat against soul beasts.
Compared to the brutal first assessment, a three-on-three elimination tournament, this test was much milder. As long as they weren't completely incompetent—choosing a hundred-year soul beast or performing decently—they would pass without issue.
"Elder Gong, today is their assessment. Why did you specifically call me over?" Su Wen asked curiously after spotting the white-haired old man from afar and greeting him.
"I called you here to take a look," Elder Gong replied, glancing sideways at Su Wen.
"How much do your soul beasts eat?!"
Su Wen: "…"
Seriously? They couldn't even last half a month?
Your Beast Fighting Arena eats up a third of the academy's income—tens of millions of gold soul coins every year—and you're telling me you can't afford to feed my three little guys?
So stingy…
Su Wen pouted slightly.
Hey, don't look so unconvinced!" Elder Gong snapped.
He dragged Su Wen toward a rockery.
Little Jin lay lazily on the ground, surrounded by a small mountain of meat. He casually grabbed a chunk with his paw and stuffed it into his mouth.
Elder Gong nearly spat blood.
"That's all flesh and blood from ten-thousand-year soul beasts! Your soul beast is extremely picky—it won't touch anything below ten thousand years! Not only that, it only eats the highest-quality raw meat! Its appetite alone rivals several thousand-year soul beasts combined!"
"In just half a month, I've spent at least one hundred thousand gold soul coins! And that doesn't even include the Wind Baboon and the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion!"
Su Wen: "…"
His lips twitched.
No wonder his cultivation speed was so terrifying—it turned out someone else was carrying this massive burden.
Thinking about it this way, Elder Gong's complaints weren't unreasonable. Maintaining three soul beasts probably cost over a million gold soul coins per year.
That was no small expense.
The purchasing power of gold soul coins was far greater than ten thousand years ago. One million gold soul coins was enough to fully equip a thousand-man heavy cavalry regiment.
Although the Beast Fighting Arena was under Elder Gong's management, the expenses were simply too great—even the old man had to dip into his own savings.
There was no helping it.
Artificial breeding was just like this. If these soul beasts were raised in the Star Dou Great Forest, it wouldn't cost a single coin—but that would likely attract the attention of Bear King, Emperor Tian, or even the Silver Dragon King.
Before his strength fully matured, keeping a low profile was the safest choice.
Still, relying solely on soul-beast flesh wasn't a long-term solution.
If only he could find treasures like Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow—something that stored enormous energy—to sustain them for a while.
"Alright, Elder Gong, I'll take them back with me," Su Wen said, waving his hand.
"Hey, what's the rush?" Elder Gong grinned. "Help me oversee this assessment and teach those arrogant little brats a lesson."
"You were just complaining that my Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear eats too much," Su Wen raised an eyebrow.
"I'll cover its food for another half month!" Elder Gong gritted his teeth.
"Deal~" Su Wen grinned back.
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