Chapter 44: Unfriendly Visitors

This mystical state granted Chen Ming a deeper understanding of the true essence of a Soul Master, but it also heavily depleted his personal energy.

Although his body had recovered quite a bit thanks to the nourishment of the life force returned from the dragon pearl just moments ago, his mental strength and soul power remained in a state of severe exhaustion. Therefore, not long after entering the rift for the first time, Chen Ming was forced back to his original condition.

This time, he was truly completely tapped out. Forget about chewing on dried meat to perk himself up with the flavor; even if he were to detoxify an entire whole plant of the Jade Phosphorus Seven-Absolute Flower, squeeze it into juice, and force it down his throat, he still had no way to overdraw his strength any further.

Clutching the dragon pearl in his arms, Chen Ming slept in the quiet room for a full day and night before finally waking up. Because of his poor sleeping posture, his neck and lumbar spine felt slightly uncomfortable, but after converting his soul power into life force using the dragon pearl and absorbing it, Chen Ming immediately felt as though he could get high-spirited all over again.

Since he had already accepted Qian Renxue’s invitation, Chen Ming’s first priority upon waking up was to quickly check just how long he had been asleep. Therefore, despite his desire to avoid the outside world, he had no choice but to rush to the nearest place to inquire about the time.

The dragon pearl was a fine treasure, but there was no way to store it directly inside his body. To leave it hidden so simply in his courtyard was something Chen Ming would never dare to do. If such a treasure were lost, he estimated he would harbor bitter resentment even if he were to eventually attain godhood.

After pondering for a moment, Chen Ming rummaged through his storage soul tool. Because he had consumed a vast number of items from it recently, Chen Ming simply cleared out a few non-essential bedding quilts and stuffed the box containing the dragon pearl directly into the storage soul tool.

Confirming that everything was properly handled, Chen Ming finally left his courtyard.

The first place Chen Ming went to was the poison-attribute simulated training ground, which was very close to his courtyard. However, upon arrival, he discovered that the cave entrance of the training ground had been blocked with artificially created rocks, and a notice stating it was temporarily out of use was posted on it.

Seeing this, Chen Ming was startled, fearing that he had cultivated continuously for several days straight. Thus, operating at full throttle, he immediately sprinted toward the direction of the dining hall.

There were many people there, and tongues wagged freely. Basically, he could find out clearly about anything happening in the academy. The descendants of some soul master families would occasionally spit out some shocking information after drinking a couple of cups of wine. It essentially functioned as the internal tavern of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.

Sprinting all the way to the dining hall, Chen Ming caught sight of the bustling and diverse crowd inside.

Yet the moment those people saw Chen Ming, even the various topics they had been discussing abruptly ceased, leaving the entire dining hall in complete silence.

Facing Chen Ming, the rumored "lucky dog," these people wore a variety of expressions: some were jealous, some envious, some disdainful, and some disgusted.

Chen Ming had no mind to pay attention to any of that; instead, he went to ask the errand boy responsible for serving dishes about the time.

Although this errand boy without soul power did not understand what Chen Ming was getting at, he still honestly stated the time, and then, taking advantage of the moment Chen Ming was lost in thought, bolted back to the kitchen as if his feet were on fire.

"I only slept for a little over a day? Good thing I haven't missed the date, but tomorrow is the day, so I need to carefully consider what to do."

Just as Chen Ming was deep in thought, a figure suddenly appeared right in front of him, striding forward to slam directly into him without the slightest concealment in movement.

Facing this action, which was clearly laced with malice, Chen Ming mobilized the soul power within his body in a split second, gathering it on the surface of his skin.

This was like eating and drinking—basically a skill known to all soul masters. It could both deflect damage and reinforce the body, a jack-of-all-trades ability taught in every low-level soul master academy.

However, even at the same rank, the effects produced by different individuals gathering soul power varied, and Chen Ming happened to be someone who had researched this aspect quite a bit.

At the moment of the collision, the soul power coating the surface of Chen Ming's body absorbed the majority of the impact force and, upon contact, rebounded a portion of that power manifold.

The person who had originally charged at Chen Ming was sent stumbling back several steps by this counter-force. Before he could even steady his stance, Chen Ming followed up with a combo, directly pinning him backward onto the ground with a dull thud as his knees made contact with the floor.

"What is this? Didn't we agree that if you want to challenge me, you should first go to the Education Committee for a life-or-death pact and then fight in the arena? Launching a sneak attack while someone is deep in thought is hardly the behavior of a hero and a gentleman."

Chen Ming sized up the soul master he had pinned to the floor, naturally realizing that having only enrolled less than a week ago, he did not recognize this opponent.

Through simple contact, he found that this person possessed highly developed muscles, with no obvious difference in strength between the leg and arm muscles. There were calluses on his hands and feet, yet no traces left behind by long-term grasping.

Chen Ming made a preliminary judgment that this should be a beast soul master skilled in attacks such as fists, palms, or claws. As for his soul power... it should roughly be around the level of rank twenty.

If he were below rank twenty, he would have rolled backward rather than stepped back. If he were around rank thirty, Chen Ming would have felt it from the force of the blow. If he possessed rank forty soul power, it would have been Chen Ming retreating instead.

"You bastard, you ambushed me! Let me go this instant!"

The soul master pinned to the ground by Chen Ming flushed beet red. Evidently, being forced to his knees by someone in full view of a crowd was a rather humiliating affair for him.

Although anyone could tell that he was the one who had deliberately picked a fight first, he, who considered himself of noble birth, naturally shifted all the blame entirely onto Chen Ming.

Although he was not a direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, he was nonetheless of Heaven Dou nobility.

His cultivation as a Greater Soul Master could be considered that of an expert among the student body of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. In the past, it was only his place to humiliate others; when had it ever been anyone else's turn to humiliate him?

Soul power surged, and a potent lightning attribute rose from his body. The young soul master pinned to the ground by Chen Ming began to undergo dramatic changes.

Scales resembling those of a dragon grew along his neck and wrists, his muscles expanded massively, and the nails on his ten fingers protruded and hardened, transforming into talons akin to those of a falcon. Powerful lightning-attribute soul power flared across his body, attempting to electrocute Chen Ming, who was holding him down.

Could Chen Ming tolerate such behavior?

Was it not merely because this person thought he had some backing behind him that he assumed Chen Ming would not dare to strike back?

A man with many lice does not itch; a man in too much debt no longer worries. Setting aside the fact that he had Qian Renxue's invitation tomorrow, he would likely have to face Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, before long.

Even without these matters, based solely on the fact that the opponent had struck first, Chen Ming could march right up to the three members of the Education Committee. No matter what, the three members of the Education Committee of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy would surely be able to suppress a problem of this magnitude.

The speed of Chen Ming's martial soul avatar activation was even faster than his opponent's, and the circulation of his soul power was even more ferocious.

Before the lightning could make contact with him, Chen Ming had already laid down defensive soul power across his body and gathered a strand of poison-attribute soul power into his palm, pressing down fiercely.

"Ah!"

A sizzling sound rang out, and the youth let out a miserable scream. In plain sight of everyone, the youth with his martial soul activated was completely pinned to the ground by Chen Ming's emerald-green palms. The skin and flesh on the parts in contact with Chen Ming's hands suffered severe corrosion.

The defense of the dragon scales was as fragile as a sheet of paper, and the power of the lightning was easily obliterated by the highly toxic soul power.

Chen Ming's hand did not merely press against his flesh; it came within a hair's breadth of grasping his bones. Overwhelmed by excruciating pain, the youth pinned to the ground could no longer maintain his martial soul avatar, opening and closing his mouth as he let out a loud roar.

This bloody scene startled all the others who had been standing by to watch the commotion.