Seeing what was on Yan's mind, Xie Yue didn't expose him, instead speaking with hidden meaning.
"In that final moment, it was clear that his first soul skill was exceptional. In terms of raw power, it might even be stronger than your Flame Savage Assault."
"Not necessarily!"
Yan shot a glance at Xie Yue and countered, "Though he is indeed a good opponent. Once his cultivation is a bit higher, perhaps I can have a proper contest with him."
"But for me, the most important thing right now is still defeating you, Xie Yue."
"Is that so?" Xie Yue chuckled playfully.
In his view, Yan was likely about to gain another rival—and this one might prove even more troublesome than himself.
In the eastern dormitory district of Spirit Hall Academy, it took about half an hour for Hu Liena to finish helping Ling Xiao with the tedious paperwork before finally leading him to the entrance of the boys' dormitory.
Looking at Ling Xiao, who was now clutching a pile of supplies, Hu Liena said, "We're here. This is the boys' dormitory building. Number 1 is your building. Just go in and find your room number. I'm heading out now."
With that, Hu Liena turned to walk in the opposite direction.
The male and female dormitories were separated, one on the east side and one on the west.
"Mn, thank you. See you another day," Ling Xiao thanked her, feeling a sense of relief.
He was finally settled in and could focus on his cultivation.
Now he just had to wait three days before classes officially started. While new students currently only had Martial Soul theory on the first day of the week and general cultural studies for the rest, he still found it quite interesting.
"Hmph." Hu Liena let out a soft huff and walked toward the girls' dormitory.
Ling Xiao watched her go, feeling a bit bewildered. He didn't know why she seemed slightly annoyed; hadn't he just finished cheering her up?
He had no idea that the young girl was muttering to herself as she walked: That guy Ling Xiao didn't even bother to ask which class I'm in before saying 'see you another day.' How is he supposed to find me? I was planning on telling him, too. Fine, he'll find out for himself next time we meet.
Ignoring Hu Liena's complaints about his carelessness, Ling Xiao carried his things into Building No. 1. Rows of dormitory doors lined the long corridor. Following his room number, he quickly found his assigned room on the third floor.
Unlocking the door, he found the room was quite spacious.
Aside from two beds and the corresponding desks, chairs, and wardrobes, there was plenty of room to move around. The bathroom was decent, the interior was bright, and there were even lamps powered by Soul Tool technology.
The conditions were quite good.
Ling Xiao nodded in satisfaction.
After putting his things away, he opened the window to let in some fresh air.
He headed down to the first floor of the cafeteria for a free lunch and picked up some daily necessities at a nearby shop on his way back. Once everything was finished, he returned to his room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began to meditate and cultivate in earnest.
Back when Bishop Ralph was bringing him to Spirit Hall, he had been taught how to coordinate his meditation with his Martial Soul. However, his previous sessions had been intermittent. This was his first time engaging in a long, serious session.
As Ling Xiao meditated, his consciousness gradually sank into the Martial Soul within his body.
His mind suddenly entered a vast, dark space. At the center of this immense void, eleven diamond-shaped glowing crystals flickered with a blackish-red light. They looked like stars in the night sky, arranged in two layers: ten on the bottom and one on the top.
A yellow ring circled the ten crystals on the bottom layer. Even more amazing was that at the very top of the soul crystals, a large number of dark red light specks appeared out of thin air, drifting and hovering.
Ling Xiao knew that the diamond crystals represented his current rank—his soul crystals—while the ring represented his first soul ring. According to Bishop Ralph, before Rank 10, a soul master on the Douluo Continent had to rely on testing crystals to determine their soul power.
However, once one cultivated to Rank 10 soul power, they gained the ability of internal vision. Not only could they sense the flow of soul power within their bodies, but they could also check the number of soul crystals within their Martial Soul during meditation.
Each additional soul crystal represented an increase of one rank in cultivation. He remembered that when he first checked via meditation on his way to Spirit Hall, there were only ten crystals and no yellow ring.
Now, after absorbing his first soul ring and utilizing its power, his cultivation had reached Rank 11, resulting in the extra soul crystal and the ring.
The dark red light specks above the crystals represented the condensation process.
During meditation, a soul master's body automatically absorbs the energy of heaven and earth through the Martial Soul, converting it into soul power.
Within the Martial Soul, this was reflected by the increase and refinement of these light specks. When a soul master's meditation reached a certain point and they cultivated one rank of soul power, a new soul crystal would condense, marking a breakthrough in cultivation.
In this world, there were no shortcuts to becoming strong.
Every bit of strength required one's own effort.
To him, only power gained through one's own cultivation truly belonged to oneself. Using methods like consuming Immortal Herbs to gain several ranks in a short time felt like a shortcut—one that couldn't produce a truly top-tier powerhouse.
Time trickled by as Ling Xiao cultivated diligently in his room.
In the Spirit Hall Academy cafeteria, the second floor was smaller than the first but boasted a far better environment.
While the first floor provided free ordinary food, the second floor offered dishes made from the meat of Hundred Year Soul Beasts and even Thousand Year Soul Beasts, which provided great benefits to low-ranking soul masters.
After a Soul Beast dies, its body still retains a portion of soul power.
When cooked and consumed, it helps increase soul power and improve physical fitness. Of course, food made from Soul Beast meat wasn't free. Even meat from a Hundred Year Soul Beast was quite expensive.
However, since Bibi Dong became the Pope and took control of the Pope Hall, she had implemented certain changes regarding the cultivation of soul masters at the academy.
At this moment, Hu Liena was enjoying a plate of braised rabbit meat, her expression and eyes full of satisfaction.
One could imagine the deliciousness of the dish.
This rabbit meat didn't come from an ordinary rabbit, but from a Hundred Year Soft Bone Rabbit. Furthermore, this meal was free. It wasn't because of her status as the Pope's disciple, but because of a Spirit Hall Academy regulation.
If a student possessed exceptional talent—specifically an innate soul power of Rank 8 or higher—and had no elders in their family above the rank of Soul Saint, they were entitled to free meals on the second floor during their time at the academy.
Others were given a set number of free meals every seven days depending on their specific circumstances. Once those were used up, they had to pay out of pocket if they wished to eat there.
This was Spirit Hall's way of heavily cultivating those with immense talent.
By consuming the meat of even Hundred Year Soul Beasts while their cultivation was low, they could strengthen their physical constitution, making it easier to absorb future soul rings and creating a virtuous cycle of growth.
Suddenly, as she was eating, Hu Liena seemed to remember something. She jerked her head up and blurted out a sentence that startled the quiet young girl sitting across from her.
"Oh no! I forgot to tell Ling Xiao he can eat the good food on the second floor for free!"