Chapter 26: Mimicry Training Ground

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Before sunrise the following morning, Chen Ming emerged from his room according to the body clock he had maintained over the years.

After walking once around the courtyard and finding a suitable spot, he took a mat from his storage soul tool, spread it on the ground, and sat cross-legged to await the sunrise.

At first, Chen Ming had begun watching the sunrise simply to see whether he could imitate Tang San’s Purple Demon Eyes. After awakening his martial soul and gradually developing his abilities, however, he had slowly gained something from the practice.

Each morning, as the sun rose, the yin and yang energies between heaven and earth would shift. If he cultivated at that moment, he could draw upon the transformation of those energies to obtain a trace of a special kind of soul power.

Once this trace of soul power merged into his body, it could slightly strengthen his spiritual power, regulate the balance between yin and yang and the five elements within him, and, to a certain extent, improve the quality of his soul power.

Although it appeared similar to the cultivation method of the Purple Demon Eyes, the underlying principles were entirely different. The Purple Demon Eyes gathered the rosy dawn aura scattered when the sun first rose, whereas Chen Ming absorbed the chaotic energy produced by the turning of the sun and moon.

Though this chaotic energy was extremely weak in both quality and quantity, and his method of using it was still immature, its effects and potential far surpassed those of the Purple Demon Eyes.

Moreover, as time passed and the seasons changed, Chen Ming could sense slight variations in the chaotic energy he obtained each day.

If he could comprehend the essence of the convergence of life and death, the alternation of purity and turbidity, and the fusion of yin and yang, Chen Ming felt that he would experience an enormous breakthrough. In the terms of a martial-arts world, he would at least be able to comprehend a Twenty-Four Solar Terms Divine Art, with each individual section being equivalent to the complete Xuantian Art.

Over the years, whenever Chen Ming could sit in meditation and cultivate at this hour, he never missed the precious opportunity. Even the smallest gain was still a gain—and this tiny mouthful of chaotic energy was far more precious than ordinary soul power.

Only after Chen Ming had recorded the changes in the chaotic energy and absorbed it into his body did movement finally come from the nearby doorway.

Bleary-eyed, Qin Ming emerged from his room while stretching, with a trace of tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes.

When he saw Chen Ming sitting on the mat, apparently already finished with a round of cultivation, Qin Ming’s movements froze. Awkwardly lowering his arms, he wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes and gave Chen Ming an embarrassed yet courteous smile.

“Ahaha, Xiao Ming, you’re up early. Are you having trouble adjusting to the academy?”

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“Good morning, Teacher Qin Ming. I’m somewhat unaccustomed to the environment, but I still managed to rest well last night. When I was at home, I would get up at this hour and begin my daily cultivation.”

Perhaps it was only his imagination, but after saying this, Chen Ming felt that the stiffness in Qin Ming’s body had somehow grown even more pronounced.

To be honest, Qin Ming getting up at this hour was perfectly normal. Although he had come from the carefree place known as Shrek, he was still very strict with his own cultivation and had never squandered his talent.

It was just that being struck by a student’s soul skill and losing the ability to fight had already made Qin Ming feel deeply humiliated. He had assumed that a night’s rest would ease the embarrassment somewhat, only to wake up and immediately see that his student had already completed a round of cultivation…

How could Qin Ming not feel awkward?

Although Chen Ming had spent a long time navigating the workplace in his previous life, after awakening his martial soul in this life, he had rarely interacted with outsiders. As a result, his communication skills had deteriorated somewhat.

Seeing Qin Ming’s embarrassment, Chen Ming rose from the ground and put away the mat. After a moment of silence, he took out a strip of dried meat from his storage soul tool and handed half of it to Qin Ming.

“Teacher Qin Ming, have something to eat first.”

“That’s true.” Qin Ming smiled awkwardly and accepted the dried meat. He had intended to take a bite to ease the awkwardness, but the instant he did, his eyes lit up.

“Is this dried soul-beast meat prepared with medicinal herbs? Not only is its effect impressive, but the flavor… It’s countless times better than what the academy provides!”

“Xiao Ming, what kind of meat is this?”

Qin Ming was not particularly fussy about food, but although the dried meat provided by Heaven Dou Royal Academy was highly nutritious, it was truly awful. Given even a steamed bun, practically no one would choose to eat the academy’s dried meat.

And this was already top-grade merchandise unavailable on the open market. The stuff sold outside was not only even more unpleasant to eat, but also less effective.

“This dried meat is made from the legs of a thousand-year Human-Faced Demon Spider. It was prepared with more than a dozen medicinal herbs and black mamba venom… Don’t worry, Teacher. The venom has already been neutralized. Even an ordinary soul master can eat it.”

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“Ahaha.”

Qin Ming laughed awkwardly, but he still circulated his soul power several times in secret.

It was not that he had never eaten soul-beast meat, but he had never heard of anyone in their right mind eating the legs of a Human-Faced Demon Spider.

And in his impression, even if black mamba venom were used, it should be for producing medicine or poison. How could it possibly be added to food as an ingredient? Was Chen Ming not afraid of poisoning himself?

Then again, when Qin Ming remembered that Chen Ming came from Azurefall City—a city described in the records as “built between barren mountains, harsh waters, and poisonous soul beasts”—he felt that there was probably nothing he could say.

After awkwardly finishing the dried meat in his hand, Qin Ming used his soul power to clean the residue from his fingers, then stepped forward and patted Chen Ming on the shoulder with a sigh.

He said nothing, but his gaze seemed to express everything.

Since they had hastily eaten some Human-Faced Demon Spider leg meat, Qin Ming decided not to wait for breakfast at the academy. After tidying their clothes, the two left the courtyard and headed into the distance.

After walking for roughly three to five minutes, a secluded cave appeared before them. Just as Qin Ming led Chen Ming one step inside, a soul master whose appearance readily brought a helicopter to mind appeared before them, looking thoroughly displeased.

“Old Qin, is this the new student? The mimicry training ground is important, but surely it isn’t so urgent that you have to come running here without breakfast… At the very least, you could have let the boy get out of bed first, couldn’t you?”

The dark, burly soul master rubbed his eyes and complained. Only then did he straighten himself slightly and introduce himself to Chen Ming.

“My name is Niu Dali. You can just call me Teacher Niu. Are you a poison-type soul master as well, or did you merely come along for the excitement? This is no place for fooling around. For the sake of mimicry training, they’ve raised all kinds of poisonous creatures inside. They’re no problem for a poison-type soul master, but they’re far too dangerous for ordinary soul masters. If you haven’t thought it through, you’d better not wander in here.”