Early the next morning,
Dongfang Jing woke up from his sleep.
What greeted his eyes was a spotless white ceiling and an ornate chandelier. Even now, he still hadn't fully gotten used to this unfamiliar environment.
More importantly, he felt short of breath.
Lifting the blanket, he realized Dongfang Yao was sleeping face-down on his chest and stomach.
No wonder he'd dreamed last night that instead of dying under a leopard's fangs, he was being crushed by a small mountain, unable to breathe.
"Ha…"
Letting out a soft sigh, he gently picked up his sister and carefully placed her back on the pillow.
After washing up, Dongfang Jing prepared to go out for his usual morning exercise. It was a habit he had maintained for many years.
Thanks to this habit, his physical condition far surpassed that of others his age.
'Wait… I almost forgot.'
While changing his shoes, a thought suddenly crossed his mind—why not make full use of that place?
Inside the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors.
Dongfang Jing finished his routine physical training.
The space here was endless, with no visible boundary. Since that was the case, he simply chose to train here.
As his breathing gradually steadied, he looked around and pressed his fingers against his temples.
To his surprise, the overwhelming drain on his mental strength from before had eased significantly. The sensation of his body being torn apart by countless shattered mirrors was gone as well.
After a moment of thought, Dongfang Jing quickly figured out the reason.
"Is it because I absorbed a soul ring and my soul power increased?"
With the rise in soul power, his overall abilities had improved in every aspect.
Not to mention, it was a thousand-year first soul ring.
Dongfang Jing discovered that he could now use his consciousness to adjust everything inside the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors.
He immediately began to experiment.
"Double gravity."
The moment the words fell, the gravity inside the hall doubled.
Dongfang Jing's knees bent slightly as he felt the pressure.
'Zero gravity.'
With a single thought, the gravity vanished, returning the space to a state similar to the outside world.
He continued testing.
Sure enough—whether it was gravity, anti-gravity, mental energy consumption, or even the pain caused by mirror fragments slicing his body—he could freely adjust all of it.
Only the flow of time remained unchanged, still fixed at a 1:2 ratio.
"Figures. If I could control time too, that would be ridiculously overpowered."
At this point, Dongfang Jing finally understood.
As his martial soul and soul power grew stronger, his control over the mysterious Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors also increased.
Perhaps one day, he could truly turn this place into a world of his own.
With this figured out, Dongfang Jing began thinking about his future plans.
The top priority was improving his strength. The second was making money.
After all, even though his parents had left behind some assets, they would eventually run out.
Of course, he could register as a soul master at the Spirit Hall and obtain a Soul Master Handbook.
That would allow him to receive a monthly government subsidy.
The handbook was somewhat like an ID card from his previous life.
But only somewhat—the nature of the two was completely different.
In his previous life, without an ID card, you couldn't do anything.
On the Douluo Continent, the handbook merely proved your identity.
But if you possessed overwhelming strength, did you really need proof?
Strength itself was identity.
As for that handbook—was it really worth exposing his martial soul and soul ring information just for a few gold soul coins each month?
Placing himself directly under the watchful eye of such a dangerous organization?
That would be irrational.
Completely unnecessary.
Dongfang Jing had no intention of joining the Spirit Hall, nor would he act too flamboyantly.
This wasn't about hiding his abilities.
He was confident—confident that among his generation, he could definitely rank near the top.
His brilliance would eventually shine.
But revealing himself too early would only bring danger to both him and his sister.
With the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors as support and a top-tier cultivation environment at his disposal, there was no need for him to join any other faction.
With this settled, the road ahead suddenly felt much clearer.
"Cultivation is taken care of… but how do I make up for real combat experience?" the muttered.
The Soul Fighting Arena?
He would definitely go.
After all, battles with soul masters were unavoidable in the future, and the arena was also a way to earn money.
However, based on his understanding, the Soul Fighting Arena was ultimately just sparring between people. It lacked the true life-and-death tension of fighting soul beasts.
Only by standing infinitely close to death could one truly understand survival.
Only then could one force out every last bit of potential.
Just as this thought formed, Dongfang Jing suddenly sensed something unusual.
The Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors… had changed.
His gaze locked onto a mirror not far away.
That mirror gave off an eerie feeling.
His brows slowly knitted together.
Then, his eyes widened in disbelief.
The reflection of "Dongfang Jing" in the mirror began to twist, break apart, and reform.
In the end, it transformed into a massive leopard over three meters long.
Dark gray fur, bone plates covering its back, and two curved fangs protruding from its upper jaw.
"This—"
A bad feeling surged through Dongfang Jing as he cautiously retreated.
Because this leopard was none other than the thousand-year Iron-Armored Saber-Toothed Leopard.
The next second, the beast slowly stepped out of the mirror.
'I'm done for!'
The distance between them was far too close—there was no way to dodge in time.
But two seconds passed.
Three seconds.
Four seconds.
The expected attack and pain never came.
The saber-toothed leopard simply stood there quietly.
By now, Dongfang Jing had calmed down.
Combining everything he had observed, a bold guess formed in his mind.
'Could it be…'
To be safe, he retreated another hundred meters, then focused his thoughts.
'Full-power attack?'
'Wait—STOP!!!'
"Gulp."
The sound of swallowing echoed clearly through the vast, silent hall.
Staring at the razor-sharp claw suspended just millimeters from his face, Dongfang Jing broke out in a cold sweat.
Luckily, his reaction speed was near bullet-level—otherwise, he'd be dead already.
"As expected of a leopard-type soul beast… crossing a hundred meters in an instant," he muttered, still shaken.
Yet at the same time, joy surged in his heart.
He hadn't expected the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors to be able to simulate enemies—and he could even adjust their strength at will.
Didn't this perfectly solve the problem of combat experience?
"Come to think of it… is this because I dragged that leopard into this place before?"
Dongfang Jing wasn't sure yet.
Was it only enemies that entered the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors that could be copied?
Or anyone he had fought before?
That would require further testing.
For now, though, he would practice with this leopard first.
Leaving the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors,
Dongfang Jing exited through the bathroom mirror.
His clothes were badly damaged, and exhaustion showed on his face.
Although the mental strain of entering this place was far less than before, it still wasn't zero.
He took off his damaged clothes so his sister wouldn't worry.
When he opened the door, he found Dongfang Yao already awake.
She wasn't on the bed, but squatting on the floor, doing exercises.
"Yao'er, what are you doing?" Dongfang Jing asked.
"Fifteen… sixteen… s-squats," she replied, her small face flushed red from the effort.
"Brother, didn't you say that how many years of a soul ring someone can absorb depends on their physical condition?"
"Seventeen… So I want to train my body early, just like you. Then in the future, I can absorb a thousand-year soul ring too—just like my brother."
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(End of Chapter)