Chapter Eighteen: Tang San: Lu Yu, I Want to Spar with You!

After absorbing his second soul ring, Lu Yu’s soul power surged directly to the pinnacle of level twenty-five! Far beyond the usual limit of soul ring absorption, this breakthrough elevated his soul power by two whole levels. Coupled with the accumulated soul power from his cultivation at the Reverse Life third tier, he finally reached the peak of level twenty-five.

With his current cultivation, exerting full strength in his second soul skill could make the weight of the Fan Tian Seal reach five times his own body weight! To put it in perspective, once in battle, the Fan Tian Seal transforms into a one-meter cube, weighing nearly two hundred kilograms. Five times that weight amounts to one thousand kilograms—one ton! Just the sheer force of such a weight crashing down would be difficult for an ordinary three-ring Soul Master to withstand.

Three days later, Lu Yu returned to the Nottingham Junior Soul Master Academy. Upon seeing him, Director Su of the Guidance Office was visibly surprised. After all, Lu Yu had been away for nearly ten days. If he had merely gone to the Soul Hunting Forest, it wouldn’t have taken so long. Many had feared something had gone wrong, but unexpectedly, Lu Yu returned safe and sound.

It was mid-morning, and the students were all in class when Lu Yu arrived at Dormitory Seven. Seeing the room empty, he sat cross-legged on his bed and began cultivating immediately. Having obtained his second soul ring, his urgent task was to break through the second tier of Reverse Life! Reaching this level would enable his body to partially transform into qi, repairing flesh and blood rapidly from injuries—a skill considered divine on the continent of Douluo.

Not long after, the students of Dormitory Seven returned one after another from lunch. Many were surprised to see Lu Yu on his bed, but knowing he had been away to acquire a soul ring, no one thought much of it. Although the academy had privately speculated that Lu Yu might have met with misfortune, they kept the matter quiet. After all, a student’s death would reflect poorly on the academy.

With no classes in the afternoon, the students did not rush to cultivate but instead gathered in small groups to chat. Some discussed the morning’s lessons, others talked about soul cultivation, and a few shared amusing stories from the academy. Suddenly, a crisp voice rang out…

“Brother! Didn’t you say Lu Yu was probably dead? How come he’s back? Could he be a zombie or something?”

The voice was not loud but clear enough to reach everyone’s ears, instantly silencing the entire dormitory. Although Lu Yu was immersed in cultivation, he could hear the surrounding sounds. Hearing this, he twitched the corner of his mouth, withdrew from his cultivation state, and opened his eyes toward the direction of the “double bed.”

There, Xiao Wu was staring at him with curious eyes, as if witnessing something novel. Beside her, Tang San looked a little embarrassed and gave Lu Yu an apologetic smile before saying, “Lu Yu, sorry, Xiao Wu always speaks like that—no offense intended.”

Lu Yu ignored them and closed his eyes again. At that moment, Tang San suddenly said, “Lu Yu, I want to spar with you!”

Hearing this, Lu Yu opened his eyes once more and raised an eyebrow. Spar? Had he offended Tang San somehow? Xiao Wu had just spoken rudely, and he hadn’t taken offense, yet now Tang San wanted to spar?

Seeming to realize his abruptness, Tang San added, “Lu Yu, I mean no offense. You’re the first in our dormitory to break through to the second ring. I want to see how far I am from a second-ring Soul Master.”

Though spoken politely, Lu Yu, who had lived three lifetimes, immediately caught the real meaning behind Tang San’s words. Tang San was clearly unhappy seeing Lu Yu progress so fast and wanted to rely on the Tang Sect’s secret techniques to defeat him with just his first-ring strength.

Lu Yu knew that others saw him as someone who only practiced mindlessly, with no real combat experience. Tang San likely wanted to test his own strength against a “second-ring Soul Master” who supposedly lacked practical battle skills. Normally, an ordinary second-ring Soul Master would be no match for Tang San.

If Lu Yu lost, it would be no big deal. But if he won, who knew whether Tang Hao, who always lurked in the shadows, might retaliate? Lu Yu remembered clearly that after Tang San went to the Shrek Academy and suffered at Zhao Wuji’s hands, Tang Hao had taken the opportunity to beat up both Tang San and Flan in the dead of night…

Hearing Lu Yu’s refusal, Tang San frowned but said no more. Xiao Wu snorted coldly, “Hah! So what if he broke through to the second ring first? Who does he think he is?”

Lu Yu naturally heard her words but ignored them, silently resolving in his heart, “I’ll use you as a soul ring sooner or later! Then fuse your soul bone! I wonder if the meat of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit tastes better spicy or five-spice?”

Another three years passed swiftly. Lu Yu’s life remained steady and routine. His soul power rose from the peak of level twenty-five to level thirty in less than a year. The remaining two years were devoted to cultivating various techniques from his past life.

His Golden Light Incantation reached a small but near-complete mastery—almost on the verge of perfection—but without a third soul ring, he could not advance further. His Reverse Life third tier entered its second stage, but due to the rules of Douluo, he could not achieve bodily qi transformation. However, he could render his body intangible, greatly reducing damage from enemy attacks. Combined with the Golden Light Incantation, the Six Ding Heavenly Armor Talisman, and the ability to rapidly repair flesh and blood with soul power after reaching the second stage of Reverse Life, Lu Yu had become nearly indestructible.

Even without employing his martial soul or talismans, under the blessing of his nearly perfected lightning techniques, he could contend with three-ring Soul Masters. When utilizing his martial soul, he was virtually invincible at the soul master level. With talismans and external soul bones activated at full power, few could match him even within the Soul Sect.

This lifetime, Lu Yu cultivated the Yang Five Thunder technique. His past life’s experience with Yin Five Thunder served only as a reference, so his progress in lightning techniques was slower compared to Reverse Life and Golden Light Incantation, still short of full mastery.

His only regret was that he had yet to fully comprehend the fifth supreme talisman. In his past life, he had only grasped three talismans. After surviving a life-and-death calamity and transmigrating to Douluo Continent, he had gained insight into a fourth talisman through a moment of profound realization.

However, the fifth talisman was among the top three most challenging of the nine supreme talismans to understand. Once mastered, Lu Yu would possess enough power to defend himself even against the strongest warriors of Douluo Continent.

It is worth noting that during these three years, Tang San and Xiao Wu’s soul power levels also rose, both reaching level twenty and acquiring their respective second soul rings.