Chapter 4: The Lingering Shadows

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After mastering the meditation method, Su Yu spent the month sequestered in his courtyard.

At this moment, Su Yu sat cross-legged on his bed, his eyes gently closed. He manipulated his soul power, circulating it throughout his body as much as possible. The elemental energy of heaven and earth was gathered by his Blue Silver Grass martial soul, which he then absorbed and refined into his own soul power.

The soul power flowed through his body, tempering it.

Boom!

A thunderous sound echoed within him, as if a barrier had been shattered. Su Yu continued to cultivate for another half hour before slowly opening his eyes.

"In just one month, I've reached level four."

At the time of his awakening, he had around three and a half levels of soul power.

"If this continues, I'll gain a level every two months, which is a bit slow."

Though it seemed like he would advance one level every two months, this was based on his initial level of three.

As his soul power increased, the amount required for each promotion became staggering. Although the speed of absorbing and refining elemental energy had accelerated, the overall difficulty of leveling up had also increased.

It could even be said that the challenge had escalated significantly!

At this rate, leveling up every two months might only result in gaining four or five additional levels by the end of the year.

"It looks like I need to find ways to speed up my cultivation."

Outside Su Yu's residence, several vendors lingered, seemingly without any business, yet they congregated just outside his home.

Every now and then, they would glance toward Su Yu's place.

"Is that kid dead or something?"

"It's been a month, and he hasn't even stepped outside."

These vendors had been waiting here for quite some time, but they hadn't caught even a glimpse of Su Yu.

If it weren't for the occasional sight of someone delivering food or water to him, they might have thought that he had quietly slipped away.

"That brat must have money if he can hire someone to bring him meals for a gold soul coin!"

"Of course! He hires someone to deliver food every day, so he definitely has cash!"

"Right! I've seen the meals he gets a few times. They might not be delicacies, but they smell delicious."

As they spoke, a few vendors found themselves drooling.

"Don't worry; his lease is up, so he'll be out in the next couple of days."

"Is his lease really up?"

Inside, a notification from the soul guide device brought Su Yu back to his senses. He realized he had unwittingly spent a month cultivating.

"Perfect timing! It's time to change residences and try out adaptive cultivation."

Adaptive cultivation involves simulating an environment that complements one's martial soul. When the surrounding environment aligns with the martial soul, the speed at which it draws elemental energy from the heavens and absorbs it far exceeds the norm.

Under typical circumstances, adaptive cultivation can accelerate the cultivation speed by fifty to three hundred percent.

Of course, the threefold increase represents an ideal and perfectly suited adaptive cultivation environment.

For Su Yu, aiming for a fifty percent boost in cultivation speed would already be quite satisfactory.

"Let's find a place with a larger courtyard, preferably one that has seen better days, where the Blue Silver Grass grows abundantly."

If he couldn't find one that met all these criteria, just a large courtyard would suffice. With a bigger yard, he could cultivate an environment conducive to growing Blue Silver Grass. The Blue Silver Grass was the most common plant on the Douluo Continent, known for its tenacity and ability to thrive in almost any environment.

Another advantage of the Blue Silver Grass was its rapid growth.

Using his martial soul to induce the Blue Silver Grass to grow faster and create a suitable environment was not a difficult task for Su Yu.

He stored all his clothes in his storage ring and then stepped outside to look for a new residence.

The moment he left, he sensed that something was off.

"The lingering shadows!"

Su Yu had actually noticed those people on the very first day, including the tutor who, after earning a gold soul coin from him in just three days, kindly reminded Su Yu about them. Thus, Su Yu was fully aware that he was being watched.

To avoid trouble and to focus solely on his cultivation, he had refrained from going out for an entire month, relying on others to bring him food and water.

Yet, this group was still lurking outside!

Su Yu's gaze turned icy.

So, you've set your sights on me, huh? Let's see who the real prey is.

In the past month, he had spent two gold soul coins, leaving him with eight. Given his monthly expenditure, that barely sufficed to support his cultivation up to level ten, not to mention the need to hunt soul beasts.

"After a month of cultivation, my body feels rusty."

Su Yu decided it was time to stretch his limbs. This month's training had primarily been an experiential one, as well as a check to ensure that there were no obstacles between his body and his martial soul.

He didn't rush into action; first, he needed to ascertain the level of the forces behind those who were watching him.

It was time to find a new house.

Holding a silver soul coin, Qian Tong smiled, thinking this little guy had some spirit.

"You mean those people? They're backed by real soul masters.

But they're just soul masters who got lucky enough to absorb a ten-year soul ring.

Their strength is practically at the bottom rung of soul masters, but they can still bully ordinary people."

"Don't worry; we're a legitimate organization, and we have connections. As long as you stay at home, they won't dare to act recklessly."

Qian Tong had also heard that for an entire month, Su Yu hadn't stepped outside even once, and the food deliveries confirmed he was deep in cultivation.

"Such a pity. He's so talented and works so hard, yet he's just a Blue Silver Grass martial soul at innate level three."

Still, for someone with a Blue Silver Grass martial soul to awaken level three soul power was, to some extent, a sign of exceptional talent.

Qian Tong didn't dwell on Su Yu's potential; in his view, having money was what mattered.

"By the way, I want to find a place with a larger courtyard. If it meets my criteria, I might consider renting it for a year."

Qian Tong had no objections to Su Yu's request, but upon hearing the conditions, he couldn't help but be speechless.

Is this kid really planning to hide away at home for a whole year?

Cultivating alone would surely become monotonous, so he needed a larger courtyard to move around in?

That was the first thought that crossed Qian Tong's mind.

However, it was indeed a good idea for a six-year-old child to keep a low profile.

"I know of a place on the outskirts with a decent size; the courtyard is about one hundred square meters, but the rent is relatively expensive.

Considering that you're looking for a year's rental, I can give you a discount: it'll be eight gold soul coins."

Su Yu's previous residence had cost five silver soul coins per month, totaling only six gold soul coins for a year.

This new place was a thirty-three percent increase, and it was in the outskirts, where prices were typically lower.

And that was the discounted price.

Though he had no idea how the discount was calculated, Su Yu furrowed his brow. Eight gold soul coins was all he had left. Wait, he had just given Qian Tong a silver soul coin, meaning he had even less than eight gold soul coins now.

"Can you lower the price a bit?"

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(End of Chapter)