Not long after, everyone arrived at the dormitory.
To call it a dormitory wasn't quite accurate—it was more like a detached villa, or rather a luxury apartment. It had three floors in total. The first floor contained the living room, kitchen, dining room, and other public areas. The second and third floors were private spaces, with each student assigned their own independent suite. Each suite had a bedroom, living room, bathroom, and walk-in closet—fully equipped to meet all daily needs.
After telling the other students they were free to relax, Qin Ming led Yang Yunhai and Zhu Zhuqing upstairs to look at their rooms, explaining the layout along the way.
Perhaps noticing the two were closer than ordinary companions, he directly led them to the third floor and arranged rooms opposite each other.
The rooms were luxurious and well-designed, so naturally, the two had no reason to refuse. They both expressed their thanks and accepted.
It was worth mentioning that, according to Qin Ming, Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling also had rooms on the third floor. Qin Ming himself lived on the first floor, mainly for convenience so he could quickly call the students down for meetings.
As for the second floor, it was all the guys—Shi Mò, Shi Mó, Yu Feng, and Oslo together.
Since the team originally only had two girls, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, putting them close together made sense. Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan were also a couple—of course, they would want to live on the same floor. So, it was natural that Yang Yunhai ended up on the third floor as well.
Yang Yunhai had already guessed Qin Ming's intentions, and he was more than happy with it.
After all, living across the hall from a girl was a lot better than opening the door to bump into four burly guys every day.
While he was thinking, Qin Ming's voice came again.
"You two can take some time to settle into your rooms. Once you're done, come down to the first floor for lunch."
"Also, the rooms are fully stocked with daily necessities. There's no need for you to go out shopping."
"Alright, thank you, Teacher Qin." Yang Yunhai politely replied, watching Qin Ming leave.
Afterward, he and Zhu Zhuqing each returned to their rooms to unpack.
Before long, they had both finished and even taken a quick shower. Yang Yunhai left his room and knocked on Zhu Zhuqing's door.
Click. The door opened, and the two went downstairs together.
When they arrived in the lobby, everyone else was already seated at the dining table. Yu Tianheng had changed into a new uniform and was chatting casually with Dugu Yan. Nearby, a man and woman dressed in chef's uniforms were pushing a cart, laying out dish after dish.
Qin Ming was the first to notice the two arriving. With a warm smile, he greeted them.
"Yang Yunhai, Zhu Zhuqing, you came at the right time. Come, sit down and have lunch with everyone."
Yang Yunhai nodded, stepped forward with a smile, and said as he approached the table, "From now on, you can just call me Xiao Hai."
"You can call me Zhuqing." Zhu Zhuqing added softly.
"Alright then, Xiao Hai, Zhuqing—come, sit." Qin Ming nodded with a smile, gesturing to the empty seats.
The two nodded and sat down.
Qin Ming then turned back to the others and said,
"Xiao Hai, Zhuqing, let me introduce you to everyone."
Starting with captain Yu Tianheng, he went around introducing each member of the Heaven Dou Battle Team.
Yang Yunhai and Zhu Zhuqing greeted each one in turn.
Soon enough, introductions were complete, and the chefs finished laying out the food before quietly leaving with their cart.
Click. The front door shut behind them.
Yu Tianheng then turned, curiosity in his voice.
"Xiao Hai, earlier you mentioned your martial soul evolved. What exactly did you mean? Honestly, I've been wondering how your vines could be so strong that even my soul skills couldn't break them."
"It was really just coincidence," Yang Yunhai began to explain.
"What? Something like that actually exists!?" Yu Feng, usually more lively, couldn't hold back when he heard that Yang Yunhai's soul power had skyrocketed from rank 21 to rank 27 after drinking the bamboo shoot spring water. His eyes widened in disbelief.
The others were equally astonished.
"To be honest, I hadn't expected it either." Yang Yunhai shook his head, then added, "Thinking back, I actually feel a bit of fear."
"People always say medicine is three parts poison. With such a powerful effect, who can say it's safe for just anyone to drink? Just like with absorbing soul rings—if you take in one that conflicts with your martial soul's attribute, the consequences are dire."
"So, my guess is that I survived and even benefited because my martial soul is plant-type. If it had been an animal-type or a weapon-type like a sword, maybe there would've been an attribute clash."
"In that case, not only would my martial soul have failed to evolve, it could have worsened… maybe even killed me on the spot."
'So, if the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well really does have Black Jade Divine Bamboo, Dugu Bo, you'd better not just eat it carelessly…' Yang Yunhai thought to himself.
"That does make sense." Qin Ming nodded. "Not only martial souls—everyone's physique is different too. Taking random substances can indeed cause irreversible harm."
"Perhaps it was just fate." Yu Tianheng sighed, then asked, "So, Xiao Hai, what happened afterward?"
He hadn't yet heard about the martial soul's evolution, though he suspected it was connected to the bamboo shoot spring water.
"After that…" Yang Yunhai continued, explaining how he had pushed his body to absorb the medicine faster, breaking through to rank 30, and how his body had changed as a result. He ended with an apologetic smile.
"As for the exact method, I'm sorry. That's tied to one of my martial soul's offensive abilities. I promised the three committee members to keep it secret until the Continental Soul Master Academy Tournament."
"Fair enough." Yu Tianheng didn't press further since it involved the committee. Instead, he changed the topic. "Then, how did you get your third soul ring?"
"I went alone to hunt in the Star Dou Forest." Yang Yunhai explained, recounting the process.
"So your third skill is Parasite, and your second skill is Absorption. No wonder…" Yu Tianheng quickly pieced it together, thinking, 'It must've been that whip that spread the spores into the air, and I got caught in it.'
Realizing something, he asked, "Xiao Hai, can your vines also repair themselves by absorbing your opponent's soul power?"
"Yes." Yang Yunhai nodded. "As long as there's enough soul power, even if the vine gets torn apart, it can grow back."
"That combo is really nasty." Dugu Yan muttered under her breath.
"In other words, unless someone immediately notices the parasitic spores and drives them off, or smashes the vines apart the instant they sprout, the longer it drags on, the harder it is to break free." Oslo added, eyes wide.
"In theory, yes." Yang Yunhai agreed.
"But in practice, Xiao Hai, you could probably force the vines to grow faster by pouring in your own soul power, right? That would close the time gap. And if you absorb more soul power, the vines themselves will likely get stronger too." Qin Ming said with a smile.
"Exactly. The more soul power stored inside, the tougher they become." Yang Yunhai nodded. "I can even reallocate soul power through fine control, making different parts of the vine stronger or weaker to maximize efficiency."
"Ridiculous." Dugu Yan muttered again, unable to help herself.
"It really is ridiculous." Yu Tianheng admitted. "Xiao Hai, I have no idea how you trained your martial soul to this level. To control soul power so finely… as far as I know, only the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's Distraction Control can compare."
"Distraction Control?" Yang Yunhai asked curiously.
"It's a secret skill of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Once mastered, it lets them use different soul skills at the same time, boosting different teammates simultaneously." Yu Tianheng explained.
"That really is amazing." Yang Yunhai sighed, then said, "But my training method was actually simple. I just imagined my vines as extensions of my hands. First, I practiced making them do basic movements—twitching, then shaking repeatedly. After that, I kept raising the difficulty and slowly increased the number of vines I could control at once."
"I practiced like that for three whole years."
Yu Tianheng stared in surprise, then said with genuine respect, "Xiao Hai, just for that perseverance alone, I admire you."
"So, Xiao Hai, how many vines can you control now?" Dugu Yan asked.
"Eight." Yang Yunhai answered.
"Unbelievable!" For once, even Dugu Yan had to admit she was impressed.
"Insane!" Oslo blurted out. "Controlling that many at the same time? If it were me, I'd probably go crazy."
"Easier said than done. For Xiao Hai to reach this level, it took years of daily practice." Qin Ming said with admiration, then smiled. "In fact, this gives me an idea. I'll organize my thoughts over the next few days, and then we can explore it together as a team."
"That would be great." Yu Tianheng nodded, and the others followed suit.
With a small smile, Qin Ming concluded, "Alright, the food's getting cold. Let's all eat while it's still hot."
And so, everyone picked up their chopsticks and began eating.
While eating, the gossip-loving Dugu Yan shot a glance at Yang Yunhai and Zhu Zhuqing, then suddenly asked,
"By the way, Xiao Hai, Zhuqing—how did you two meet?"
(End of Chapter)
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