Chapter 24: Rank Ten Soul Power
Tang San was a light sleeper.
He was instantly awakened by the faint pulse of soul power radiating from Qi Tian's body.
"He broke through… again?"
Tang San sat up in disbelief.
He clearly remembered that Qi Tian had just broken through a few days ago. Yet now, his soul power was surging once more. Such speed—this was already faster than his own cultivation rate!
"But his Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, isn't it? The teacher said before that Blue Silver Grass users usually have an innate soul power of only 0.5 or 1 rank at most. With such a low starting point, how could his cultivation speed be this fast? No, I have to ask the teacher about this."
—
Later that morning, after the theory class ended, Tang San went straight to Yu Xiaogang's residence.
"Tang San, you came just in time! I stewed some meat and vegetables. Come, eat with me—it'll help you replenish your strength," Yu Xiaogang said warmly.
"Thank you, Teacher."
Tang San quickly set out bowls and chopsticks, his movements neat and respectful.
Yu Xiaogang nodded in satisfaction.
"Tang San, how's your cultivation lately? Any difficulties?"
"Teacher, I haven't encountered any problems."
After all, in his previous life, he had already refined the Mysterious Heaven Skill to an extremely profound level. In this life, he was merely retracing his old path—how could there be any difficulties?
"But…" Tang San hesitated before continuing, "There's someone in our dormitory who managed to break through twice in just a few days. Teacher, do you know what might cause that?"
Yu Xiaogang frowned.
"That friend of yours with innate full soul power—the girl named Xiao Wu?"
Tang San shook his head.
"No, Teacher. It's another person."
"What's his Martial Soul?"
"His Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass. But I don't know how much innate soul power he has."
Yu Xiaogang's brows furrowed deeply.
"Blue Silver Grass? That's impossible! Didn't I tell you before? The chance of a Blue Silver Grass user having any innate soul power at all is less than three percent. Even if they do, it won't exceed one rank."
This wasn't just guesswork—it was based on official data recorded in the Spirit Hall archives, information Yu Xiaogang regarded as absolute truth.
He knew better than anyone how difficult cultivation was for such a weak Martial Soul.
In his own youth, it had taken the full support of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, plus his so-called 'genius-level talent,' just to reach Rank 29.
"Under normal circumstances, a Blue Silver Grass soul master with only 0.5 innate soul power would be lucky to gain one rank per year."
"So there's only one explanation: your classmate must have consumed some kind of heavenly treasure that boosts soul power—or perhaps he absorbed a soul bone."
"A soul bone?" Tang San was startled.
He had grown up in the Tang Sect, highly sensitive to herbs and medicinal scents. He was sure Qi Tian hadn't consumed any kind of rare medicine.
So if not that… then the answer could only be what his teacher had just mentioned.
Yu Xiaogang explained slowly, his tone carrying an air of authority:
"When a soul beast dies, it leaves behind a soul ring—and in one out of ten thousand cases, it also produces a soul bone."
"When a soul master absorbs a soul ring, their soul power increases, their bottleneck breaks, and they gain a new soul skill."
"A soul bone works similarly, but its value… far surpasses that of a soul ring. A single soul bone is worth more than ten thousand soul rings."
Tang San listened carefully, eyes narrowing in thought.
The more Yu Xiaogang explained, the more convinced he became—Qi Tian must have absorbed a soul bone.
He remembered the battle behind the dormitory—Qi Tian hadn't possessed any soul rings, yet he'd unleashed a skill almost identical to his own Blue Silver Bind.
'If that skill was a soul bone ability… everything makes sense.'
Tang San silently calculated.
'By that logic, Qi Tian must have absorbed at least three soul bones already. But where did he get so many?'
Still, he soon dismissed the thought.
'Teacher said a soul bone's power depends on the age of the beast it came from. Qi Tian's Blue Silver Bind is weaker than my own soul skill, meaning his soul bone should've come from a beast under four hundred years old.'
A soul bone of that level wasn't worth worrying about.
After thinking it through, Tang San no longer dwelt on Qi Tian's cultivation speed.
After all, with less than one rank of innate soul power, Qi Tian would never be able to catch up to him in the future anyway.
---
Meanwhile, after Qi Tian's soul power had broken through from Rank 2 to Rank 8, his cultivation entered a slower, steadier phase.
Since Xiao Wu had subdued those senior students, no one came to trouble the work-study students anymore.
In fact, some even helped Qi Tian with his assigned chores, giving him more time to focus on cultivation.
Though his personal cultivation speed wasn't particularly fast, with Liu Erlong and Bibi Dong's dual assistance, his progress was anything but slow.
Before he knew it, an entire semester had passed—and Qi Tian's soul power had successfully reached Rank 10.
However, he didn't break through in the dormitory this time, so Tang San and the others had no idea that he had already reached the level required to absorb his first soul ring.
Yet at this moment, Qi Tian's mind wasn't focused on obtaining a soul ring at all.
What truly occupied his thoughts was Bibi Dong, who was about to become a Death God.
---
City of Slaughter — Hell Arena.
Bibi Dong's final match in the killing field.
"Qi Tian, are you sure about this? Maybe I should fight alone today," Bibi Dong said softly.
Qi Tian smiled faintly.
"Don't worry. You have to trust me. Haven't I already fought several matches using your body?"
"…Alright then," she sighed after a pause. "Be careful. Once we win this match, we'll enter the Hell Road."
"I will," Qi Tian replied firmly.
Bibi Dong had already been in the City of Slaughter for over a year.
During that time, her victory count had reached ninety-nine, and the number of fallen degenerates she'd slain numbered in the thousands.
Her soul power had astonishingly risen to Rank 60.
Qi Tian suspected that while he wasn't in control, she had secretly used her Soul-Eating Spider Emperor martial soul to devour the soul power of those degenerates—otherwise, such rapid advancement would've been impossible.
Still, as long as her mind remained stable, Qi Tian didn't interfere too much.
Outside the Hell Arena, Qi Tian casually impaled a frenzied degenerate with a single thrust of his sword. Then he filled a goblet with the man's blood—his ticket into the arena—and stepped through the crimson gates.
"Let us welcome contestant No. 10086, the Hell Reaper! She stands on the brink of her hundredth victory!"
The scantily clad female host's sultry voice instantly ignited the crowd's bloodlust.
"Reaper! Reaper! Reaper!" the audience roared in unison.
10086—that was Bibi Dong's number in the City of Slaughter. And Hell Reaper—that was the title she had earned through endless carnage.
None of the frenzied degenerates in the stands realized that once a new Death God was born, they themselves would become the sacrifices needed to open the Hell Road.
Qi Tian stepped into the blood-soaked arena, his eyes calm yet vigilant.
Although he had used Bibi Dong's body to participate in many of these battles, he would never underestimate any opponent brave enough to enter this final match.
Fortunately, the City of Slaughter's management understood the unspoken rules of survival—they knew of Bibi Dong's identity and background, and thus dared not deliberately make things difficult for her.
Even so, every degenerate who entered the arena today was no weakling—many had victory counts close to Bibi Dong's own.
"Behind you!" Bibi Dong's voice echoed in Qi Tian's mind.
As the slaughter began, Bibi Dong used her spiritual perception, far superior to others of the same rank, to guide Qi Tian mid-battle.
Qi Tian moved like a storm—wielding Bibi Dong's top-tier martial soul and her powerful physique, he carved through the arena with ruthless precision, cutting down the degenerates one by one.
The stench of blood filled the air—
The birth of a new Death God was drawing near.
—
End of Chapter