Before him lay a small soul dueling arena, about ten zhang in diameter. The ground was paved with extremely hard refined iron, each slab laid out with perfect neatness. In the center of the arena stood a metal stake, its surface covered in sword gashes, blade marks, staff dents, and the claw marks of various beasts. Clearly, these were the traces left behind by tool and beast Soul Masters alike.
"I won't be using this iron stake; I'd rather not have someone use it to deduce my strength and hidden cards."
Pulling the iron stake out, Feng Piaoling retrieved a specialized stake he had brought from the Crown Prince's Mansion from his storage soul guide and placed it into the fixing groove. This stake was something even a Soul Saint would find difficult to break in one blow—it was perfect for use as a target.
Releasing his Dark Golden Dreadclaw right palm bone, Feng Piaoling took a slow breath and struck out with a claw.
Screech!
The Dark Golden Dreadclaw transformed into blades of light, slicing through the air and carving five deep gouges into the practice stake. Since he didn't yet know the power of his other Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear external soul bone, he released his left palm bone as well. He struck with a light blade, leaving five more marks on the iron stake, though these were noticeably shallower.
Notably, the light blade from the left hand's Dark Golden Dreadclaw hit the iron stake slightly earlier than the one from the right hand.
"Hmm, the right palm bone's power is about thirty percent stronger than the left, and its raw destructive power is several times greater than the final form of the Nine Swords of the Gale, 'Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon.' However, in terms of attack speed, the left palm bone is thirty percent faster than the right. As expected of Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear external soul bones; even at only five thousand years, they are incomparable to ordinary ten-thousand-year soul skills."
Feng Piaoling was quite satisfied with the prowess of his Dark Golden Dreadclaw palm bones. However, compared to these fixed and rigid destructive moves, he still preferred flexible and ever-changing sword techniques.
"I now have a general understanding of the soul power circulation routes when these palm bones are activated. After a bit more observation, I should be able to create even more powerful sword techniques and combat skills based on them."
"But before that, it's best to fully fuse these two external soul bones with my body. This fusion process is the perfect time to thoroughly observe the soul power routes when releasing the Dreadclaws."
The mimetic cultivation field wasn't very large. Aside from the small arena, there was only a small platform manufactured by a soul guide. Sitting cross-legged on this platform could accelerate the flow of soul power within the body, indirectly boosting cultivation speed.
Feng Piaoling was long accustomed to such large-scale cultivation-boosting soul guides; the Crown Prince's Mansion had ones even better than this. The actual increase in cultivation speed wasn't particularly significant, otherwise, Shrek wouldn't have set the rent at a mere one gold soul coin per day.
His method for fusing the two Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear external soul bones was simple: multi-tasking. He channeled the Heaven-Reaching Demon Eye into his pupils, stepped into the Shadow Clone movement technique, and continuously launched Dark Golden Dreadclaws, attacking the iron stake from every tricky angle imaginable.
The benefit of this was that while improving his Heaven-Reaching Demon Eye and Shadow Clone techniques, he could observe the soul power routes of the Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear and experiment with different ways of exerting force. This was preparation for creating new sword techniques.
Not only that, but under the influence of his "Heaven Rewards the Diligent" cheat, the two external soul bones were gradually fusing completely with his body. During the fusion process, Feng Piaoling could clearly feel the strength and grip of his hands increasing at an incredible rate. It felt as though he could crush a hard pebble with his bare hands without even using soul power.
Time ticked by, second by second.
When Feng Piaoling grew tired, he sat on the soul guide platform and circulated the Green Lotus Sword Art to recover his soul power. When he grew hungry, he ate some dry rations. Afterward, he resumed his training.
This cycle continued repeatedly. By the time he finished his day of cultivation, he had destroyed three or four specialized iron stakes. Only then did he move Shrek's original iron stake back into its place.
He sat on the soul guide platform to recover his soul power. By the time it was fully restored, evening had arrived, and the sky had grown dark.
Feng Piaoling walked out of Mimetic Cultivation Field No. 36. Jiang Nannan had been waiting outside for a long time, sitting cross-legged in meditation. Hearing the door open, she immediately stood up to greet him.
"Have you been waiting long?" Feng Piaoling gave a faint smile.
Jiang Nannan shook her head. Looking at Feng Piaoling's school uniform, soaked with sweat, his slightly messy black hair, and his handsome face that even beads of sweat could not obscure, she said with some emotion:
"It's no wonder Benefactor has such strength at such a young age. In terms of sheer hard work alone, no one can compare to you."
"All of this was simply forced by reality," Feng Piaoling said, a sentence that puzzled Jiang Nannan.
"Forced by reality... Could it be that Benefactor has also encountered difficulties?" Jiang Nannan was confused. In her eyes, her benefactor was wealthy, talented, handsome, kind-hearted, gifted, and powerful. Logically, such a person should have a perfect life that everyone envies. Why would he say such a thing?
"Everyone has difficulties. It's just that the magnitude of those difficulties and the areas they focus on are different for everyone."
Feng Piaoling sighed and didn't explain further. He turned toward the Soul Dueling Arena. "Let's go. We've delayed long enough. It's time to meet that Young Master Xu of the Black Tortoise Sect."
Jiang Nannan remained silent, feeling that what Feng Piaoling said made sense, yet she was still somewhat mystified. Unable to figure it out, she hurried to catch up. While she felt a secret joy that Feng Piaoling was willing to duel Xu Sanshi for her sake, she asked out of concern:
"Benefactor, you've been practicing all day. Aren't you tired? How about resting for a few hours before going? We didn't agree on a specific time anyway; we just need to get there before the arena closes at midnight. Let that annoying Xu Sanshi just wait there for nothing."
Feng Piaoling shook his head. "No matter, I've already rested."
"I see..."
The two of them strolled along, conversing as their voices gradually faded into the twilight of the setting sun.
The Soul Dueling Arena was exceptionally lively tonight. Not only had nearly every student from the outer courtyard who could make it arrived, but many outer courtyard teachers had also come to watch. This was perhaps the non-tournament duel that had attracted the most spectators in the Shrek Academy outer courtyard in centuries.
In the first row of the spectator stands.
"Teacher Zhou, I heard your Class 1's Dai Huabin lost to our Class 9's Feng Piaoling last night. Why have you come today? Could it be that you've taken an interest in my student?"
A female teacher, looking to be about thirty years old, approached an old woman and spoke with a low laugh.
The old woman wore half-framed glasses. She had skin like withered bark and snowy hair coiled atop her head, held in place by a straight metal hairpin. She looked fierce and forbidding. She was none other than the Shrek teacher Feng Piaoling hated most—Zhou Yi. In terms of being loathsome, she was not a bit inferior to "The Grandmaster" from ten thousand years ago.
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