The ink hasn't dried!
Hearing Ye Changyun's words, Ye Qingchen's eyelids twitched violently. I was too hasty! I didn't even have time to let the ink dry completely!
"Ahem, perhaps it's because the weather is getting humid," Ye Qingchen said with a dry cough.
Ye Changyun nodded. "Indeed! The seasons are changing, and so is the weather. The skies over Qingyun Town are about to change as well!"
「...」
Ye Qingchen and Xiao Xiao returned to their small courtyard.
Ye Qingchen had mostly suffered external injuries, but after several days of rest, he had almost fully recovered.
He had cultivated continuously over the past few days, consuming a total of seven Spirit Gathering Pills. As a result, his cultivation broke through from the Martial Apprentice Sixth Layer to the Martial Apprentice Seventh Layer!
The two-layer increase overnight had been due to ten years of accumulation and the spiritual power he had obtained from Li Susu working in tandem.
Once those two sources of power were depleted, Ye Qingchen's cultivation speed slowed down.
His current pace was his true cultivation speed.
But to break through from the Martial Apprentice Sixth Layer to the Martial Apprentice Seventh Layer in just a few days was something Ye Qingchen would never have dared to imagine before.
As far as he knew, even Wang Teng, the top genius of the Northern Desolate Country where Qingyun Town was located, had taken ten days to make the same breakthrough. That was twice as long as him.
Over the past few days, members of the Third Elder's branch had been mysteriously disappearing from the clan. Ye Qingchen knew in his heart this was surely the work of the Clan Head, Ye Changyun.
His gaze fell upon the courtyard.
Xiao Xiao was counting the roosters in their cage, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth as he fretted over which one to butcher first.
To help them recover, Ye Changyun had sent people to deliver lavish meals of fish and meat every day. Not only had Xiao Xiao not grown tired of it, but he had also become addicted.
In just a few short days, he had put on a whole size, his face growing plump and chubby.
Now, his daily struggle was deciding which chicken to kill.
What a little glutton!
Ye Qingchen smiled and pulled a key from his robes.
This was the key to the Martial Soul testing chamber that Ye Changyun had given him.
Now that the Li Family spies were gone from the clan, Ye Qingchen no longer needed to worry about Xiao Xiao's safety and planned to make a trip to the Martial Soul testing chamber. My Dual Pupil Martial Soul awakened later and has such heaven-defying abilities. I wonder what Star Level it is.
The Martial Soul testing chamber wasn't far from Ye Qingchen's courtyard, and he arrived within a few minutes.
As one of the three major families in Qingyun Town, the Ye Family had several Martial Soul testing chambers for its members.
When Ye Qingchen arrived, the place was empty. He used the key to open one of the chambers and stepped inside.
The room was not large, only thirty or forty square meters. In the very center was a Bagua Formation, and floating above it were ten fist-sized Crystal Balls.
When a person entered the formation to have their Martial Soul tested, the formation would activate automatically. Once the Martial Artist manifested their Martial Soul, the test of its Martial Soul Star Level would begin. The number of Crystal Balls that lit up would indicate the Martial Soul's Star Level.
One, two, and three-star Martial Souls were considered common. Most Martial Artists awakened one of these.
Four and five-star Martial Souls were medium-grade. Those who awakened them were usually formidable in combat and could become powerful figures in smaller regions.
Six and seven-star Martial Souls were high-grade. Martial Artists possessing them were considered geniuses with limitless potential.
Eight and nine-star Martial Souls were top-grade. Anyone who awakened one was an exceptional talent. As long as they didn't perish prematurely, they were destined to become powerhouses on the Heaven Desolate Continent.
As for ten-star Martial Souls, they were known as Holy Souls! It was rumored that only one in a hundred million people possessed a Holy Soul. A Martial Artist with a Holy Soul was almost guaranteed to become a supreme being on the Heaven Desolate Continent, revered and admired by all.
Locking the door behind him, Ye Qingchen stepped directly into the Bagua Formation. With a single thought, he activated his Willow Wood Martial Soul. A piece of willow wood the size of an adult's arm quietly floated above his head.
HUM!
Sensing the aura of the Martial Soul, the Bagua Formation trembled. Eight different streams of energy rose from the eight directions around Ye Qingchen, enveloping both him and his Willow Wood Martial Soul.
Instantly, the formation flared with a brilliant light, and the ten Crystal Balls suspended above lit up one by one.
One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven!
Seven stars! That's the exact rank of my Willow Wood Martial Soul!
Retracting his Willow Wood Martial Soul, Ye Qingchen's heart filled with anticipation. With another thought, the Dual Pupil Martial Soul deep within his sea of consciousness trembled and then appeared above his head.
HUM!
The Bagua Formation, which had just fallen silent, trembled once more. Eight streams of energy enveloped Ye Qingchen and his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, and the light within the formation surged.
The Crystal Balls floating above lit up in succession.
One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten!
In the blink of an eye, all ten Crystal Balls were ablaze, their dazzling light illuminating the entire Martial Soul testing chamber as if it were day.
A Ten-Star Holy Soul!
Even though Ye Qingchen knew his Dual Pupil Martial Soul was extraordinary, seeing the test results with his own eyes made his throat go dry, and he couldn't help but swallow hard.
In the next moment, an expression of wild elation appeared on Ye Qingchen's face.
The Dual Pupil Martial Soul is a Ten-Star Holy Soul! Doesn't this mean I'm destined to become a supreme powerhouse on the Heaven Desolate Continent?
Just as Ye Qingchen was celebrating, the Dual Pupil Martial Soul trembled slightly and opened its eye.
BOOM!
A powerful force instantly swept through the room like a violent gale, blasting the locked door to smithereens.
The Bagua Formation became extremely unstable, swaying back and forth. The ten Crystal Balls above flickered out one by one until only two remained lit.
What happened? What just happened?
Ye Qingchen quickly retracted his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, completely dumbfounded. I got overexcited and tried to use the Dual Pupil Martial Soul's power. Did I just destroy the testing chamber?
"Haha, only a two-star Martial Soul! No wonder a piece of trash like you cultivated for ten years and never got past the Martial Apprentice First Layer!"
At that moment, a mocking voice came from outside. Ye Qingchen turned. His gaze passed through the shattered remnants of the door to a tall teenager standing there, looking with disdain at him and the two glowing Crystal Balls.
Ye Xiao? Ye Qingchen frowned.
Ye Xiao was the son of the Clan Head, Ye Changyun. He was seventeen, the same age as Ye Qingchen.
Back then, Ye Qingchen had awakened a seven-star Willow Wood Martial Soul, while Ye Xiao had awakened a six-star Sword Soul, making him the Ye Family's second-greatest genius.
But in the last ten years, while Ye Qingchen's cultivation stagnated, Ye Xiao had advanced by leaps and bounds, reaching the peak of the Martial Apprentice Seventh Layer and becoming the undisputed number one genius of the Ye Family's younger generation.
"To think I once considered you my rival. Now it seems the seven-star Willow Wood Martial Soul you tested back then was a complete fake!
"You're clearly trash, yet you insist on parading around with the title of a Ye Family prodigy. Ye Qingchen, don't you think your life is pathetic?"
Ye Xiao's face was filled with pity and mockery as he shook his head with a cold laugh.