After successfully refining the purple energy, Yu Yan keenly noticed that his soul power growth had slowed down.
Absorbing the same amount of purple energy, soul power increased by 4% at level seven, but only by 3.5% at level eight.
After briefly observing the internal condition, Yu Yan understood what was going on.
The total amount of soul power required to advance from level seven to level eight is not the same as the total amount required to advance from level eight to level nine; it is an increasing process.
As to how exactly it increases, Yu Yan has only just leveled up and cannot yet summarize the pattern.
Each level requires more soul power than the previous level, which is the fundamental reason why the higher the level of a soul master, the stronger their combat power.
The gap between each level gradually widens until after level 95, when each level becomes an insurmountable chasm.
After finishing his cultivation, he saw Xiao Wu, who was also cultivating nearby.
Yu Yan didn't disturb Xiao Wu. He stood up and went to the side to practice Tai Chi, which was good for his health, under the morning sun.
Xiao Wu soon stopped cultivating. The soul energy in the surrounding environment had returned to normal, and continuing to cultivate would not be of much help to her.
Opening her eyes, Xiao Wu saw Yu Yan performing a slow, deliberate set of punches.
"Yu Yan, your punches are so slow, it looks weird."
After looking closely for a while and not being able to see anything, Xiao Wu, confirming that Yu Yan wasn't doing anything important, asked her question.
"This is not a particularly powerful style of boxing. Its main purpose is to strengthen the body, stretch muscles and bones, balance the mind and body, and improve flexibility. From this perspective, my Tai Chi is still quite excellent."
While practicing Tai Chi in an orderly manner, Yu Yan answered Xiao Wu's questions.
"Really? So many benefits?"
Xiao Wu, who had thought it was just a normal set of boxing techniques, was somewhat shocked after hearing Yu Yan's answer.
"That's what the person who taught me said anyway."
He wasn't sure if these effects were real or not; that's what his teacher said.
"Then I'll practice."
Bored, Xiao Wu got up and went to Yu Yan's side, following Yu Yan's movements to practice Tai Chi.
Xiao Wu was already very strong and flexible. Even though this was her first time practicing Tai Chi with Yu Yan, apart from the lack of smooth transitions in her movements and some minor imperfections in her handling of details, there was really nothing wrong with her.
After practicing two sets of Tai Chi with Yu Yan, Xiao Wu was shocked to discover that these slow movements were actually quite effective. Putting everything else aside, she could definitely feel her body getting warmed up.
"Wow! This martial art called Tai Chi is really something. Did someone from the fishing village teach you? Can I go and pay my respects to that master?"
Yu Yan was a child who grew up in Fish Village, so Xiao Wu naturally assumed that the person who taught Yu Yan Tai Chi was from Fish Village.
In Xiao Wu's opinion, the person who created this style of boxing must be a top-tier master in terms of martial arts skills. If she could learn even a move or two from them…
"Forget about it, the person who taught me Tai Chi isn't in Fish Village."
Seeing Xiao Wu already lost in her daydream, Yu Yan ruthlessly interrupted her.
"Grandpa Yu said you've never left Fish Village. If you didn't learn Tai Chi from the people of Fish Village, then who did you learn it from?"
"I learned it in my past life."
"I'm not a three-year-old. You're kidding me. Who are you trying to fool?"
Seeing Yu Yan give such an absurd excuse, Xiao Wu was so angry that she wanted to punch him a couple of times.
"Yes, yes, you're not a three-year-old, you're a six-year-old."
Xiao Wu didn't believe the truth, so Yu Yan chose to steer the conversation elsewhere, hoping to make Xiao Wu forget about the topic.
"Aren't you a six-year-old child too?"
"I'm clearly much more mature than you."
"Then he's not a child anymore?"
"Yes, but I'm more mature than you."
Amidst their playful bickering, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu headed down the mountain together.
The furious Xiao Wu almost wanted to reveal that she was a human transformed from a 100,000-year-old soul beast, to prove to Yu Yan that she was not a six-year-old child, and that she, Xiao Wu, was much more mature than the childish Yu Yan.
This feeling vanished after eating the breakfast made by Yu Yan.
Although Yu Yan's words were a bit irritating, the food he cooked was indeed delicious.
...
In the afternoon, Xiao Wu woke up and saw Yu Yan throwing punches at the wooden dummy.
"Yu Yan, what are you doing?"
Unable to understand why, Xiao Wu chose the simplest method: asking directly.
"Practice combat skills."
To be honest, Yu Yan didn't know if punching the wooden dummy would be useful, but the problem was that he couldn't find anyone to fight with him to increase his combat experience.
He used to be able to get one or two kids from the village to fight with him, but as Yu Yan grew stronger and more capable of fighting, the kids in Yu Village realized that they couldn't gain any advantage in a fight with him, so they stopped fighting and playing with him.
Left with no other choice, Yu Yan could only create a wooden dummy based on his memory and practice in front of it every day.
Hearing Yu Yan practicing combat techniques, Xiao Wu suddenly perked up, and a good idea popped into her head.
"Hehehe." Xiao Wu approached Yu Yan with a mischievous smile: "Yu Yan, what kind of fighting skills can you use against a piece of wood that can't move? Why don't you spar with me? I'm pretty good at fighting."
Xiao Wu was still the same naive girl who wore her heart on her sleeve, and chose to be direct: "You just want to take this opportunity to hit me, right?"
"ah?"
"You...you...how did you figure that out?"
Xiao Wu, her secret exposed, screamed and looked at Yu Yan as if he were a monster.
"Your thoughts are written all over your face, do you think I wouldn't tell?"
Somewhat skeptical, Xiao Wu went to the water tank next to her and looked at her face in the water. She really couldn't see anything wrong with it.
"Stop looking. You can guess what you're thinking. It's pointless to look." After teasing Xiao Wu, Yu Yan sighed and said, "Come on, let's have some actual combat practice."
Rather than being killed in a real fight, it's better to take a few punches from Xiao Wu as tuition for learning from her.
Xiao Wu is very strong in combat. Specifically, she was able to suppress the little punk in actual combat when she first appeared. You can definitely learn a lot from sparring with her, so this is not a bad deal.
"Didn't you see through what I was thinking?"
Xiao Wu looked at Yu Yan strangely, exposing her little scheme. She had her own request, and Xiao Wu couldn't understand what Yu Yan was thinking.
"It's one thing to see it, it's another to agree or disagree. I'm being direct because I want you to go easy on me."
As he spoke, Yu Yan had already assumed a fighting stance.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely be gentle."
After a bright smile, Xiao Wu leaped forward and charged head-on at Yu Yan.