Half a month later, the Scorching Sun hung high in the sky.
Inside a high-level training ground of the Martial Soul Hall, Oscar was performing arm strength exercises. As he reached the final set, his hands trembled as he set down the giant boulder, and he collapsed directly onto the ground.
Yun Ming walked over, looking at the drenched and panting Oscar, and spoke up.
"Rest for ten minutes, then we continue."
Before Yun Ming could finish, Oscar spoke in a half-dead voice to stop him.
"Boss... Boss, let me rest a little longer."
He panted as he spoke; it was clear he was truly exhausted, the kind of tired that felt like death.
Regarding Oscar's plea for mercy, Yun Ming said coldly and ruthlessly.
"No, your foundation is too poor; you need to make up for it."
"If you pass out from exhaustion, you won't feel the pain anymore."
Hearing Yun Ming's devilish remark, Oscar felt his vision go dark as he looked back on the hellish life of the past half-month. Waking up before dawn every day to practice various body-tempering projects, learning the basics of spear techniques, combat basics, and studying knowledge about various martial souls, he left his bedroom standing every day only to be carried back horizontally.
He now felt that the version of himself who said "I want it all" half a month ago was simply incredibly stupid.
Now that he had grown up, he knew the severity of the consequences. Like those predecessors of his who also wanted "it all," he had ultimately paid a heavy price of total exhaustion for his momentary recklessness.
He wanted to regret it, but it was too late! Yun Ming would not give him a chance to go back on his word.
However, Yun Ming did not actually intend for Oscar to pursue both paths simultaneously. Training him this way now was only because Oscar was sixteen this year; if he wanted to catch up on the Childhood Foundation Technique, he had to train until he was half-dead.
Through these days of training, Yun Ming discovered that Oscar's combat talent was actually quite good, but if he wanted to walk the extreme path of Ji Juechen, his focus was not enough. He lacked a certain passion, so it would be more appropriate for him to follow the all-rounder path that relied on his future soul skill.
Ten minutes passed quickly, and Oscar was forced back into the endless, bitter training.
Not long after, Ya Li and Ning Rongrong arrived at the training ground, arm in arm.
Seeing her "suffering" boyfriend, Ning Rongrong let go of Ya Li and went to Oscar's side. While cheering him on, she took out various specialty snacks she had bought in Martial Soul City from her Storage Soul Tool to give Oscar some motivation. Although these things were of no benefit to his training, Yun Ming still needed to give Oscar a little hope to keep going every day.
Ya Li also walked to Yun Ming's side, glanced at the miserable-looking Oscar, and spoke up.
"I rarely see you put so much heart into teaching someone. It seems you think very highly of Oscar."
Hearing this, Yun Ming recalled those Food System Soul Masters of later generations who longed for combat power but could never attain it, and said from the bottom of his heart.
"Because his talent is truly excellent!"
With Oscar having blazed the trail, it wasn't as if Food System Soul Masters of later generations hadn't thought of hunting the Mirror Shadow Beast (the source of Oscar's future sixth soul skill, Copy Mirror Image Sausage) to gain combat power, but in twenty thousand years, the successful ones could be counted on one hand. Even Xu Lizhi, one of the Shrek Seven Devils of Tang Wulin's generation, had failed; the Destruction Explosive Pack (containing the power of destruction) he obtained after a life-and-death struggle was far inferior to the power of Oscar's ability.
Yun Ming didn't know how much of that soul skill's potential the original Oscar had unleashed, but with him in this life, Yun Ming was determined to polish Oscar, this piece of raw jade, into a top-tier gem.
Yun Ming turned his head to look at Ya Li, his eyes lighting up. Today, she was wearing a gorgeous silk long dress, colorful and vibrant, as if a rainbow had leaped into the mortal world. The hem of the dress swayed gently, as beautiful as a peacock spreading its tail. It was very different from her usual self.
Although Ya Li traveled the continent to treat the sick and save the wounded all year round and wasn't a shut-in, she had little interest in things women usually liked, such as clothes or rouge. She wore simple, light-colored plain dresses all year round, and whenever he made clothes for her, she only cared about convenience, choosing those few colors and styles to arrange and combine.
Ning Rongrong's arrival in Martial Soul City was not without other benefits; these days, she had taken Ya Li to play all over Martial Soul City, buying all sorts of things and adding many beautiful clothes of various styles to Ya Li's wardrobe, which was a feast for Yun Ming's eyes.
Seeing the heat in Yun Ming's eyes, Ya Li thought of the situation a few days ago when she stood before Yun Ming wearing the black silk mature-style outfit that Ning Rongrong had put together for her.
At that time, Yun Ming's gaze was much like it was now, and then he held her and kissed her for a long time, his hands not staying still as they explored up and down, wanting to undress her. If Ya Li hadn't regained her senses in time to stop him, they might have stayed up all night. Although they had done what old married couples do many times in their past lives and Ya Li didn't resist, their bodies hadn't fully matured yet, so it wasn't good to do it too early.
Yun Ming praised her aloud.
"The Saint Spirit is also very beautiful today."
As he spoke, he pulled Ya Li to his side. Feeling the temperature of Yun Ming's large hand on her waist, Ya Li's pretty face flushed slightly, and she patted Yun Ming's hand, whispering a reminder.
"We're still outside, be careful!"
Yun Ming nodded, holding Ya Li and whispering a reply in her ear. He indicated he understood and promised to "kiss, hug, and lift her high" when they got back.
Ya Li rolled her eyes at him, took a document bag out of the Phoenix Song Ring, and handed it to Yun Ming, saying seriously.
"Let's talk about business, take a look at this."
Yun Ming released Ya Li with some confusion and took the document bag from her hand.
"What is this?"
As he asked, Yun Ming took out the stack of paper documents inside. When he saw the information on the first page, his expression froze, and as he finished reading that page, his face became devoid of emotion.
Afterward, Yun Ming continued to read the subsequent content. It took him more than ten minutes to finish the documents, and he already knew what this was.
Seeing that Yun Ming had finished reading, Ya Li spoke up.
"Old An only gave this to me today. Now that we know the target, are you going to handle it personally? If you are, I will pass down the order for our people to cooperate with you. If not, I will just have Old An handle it directly."
Yun Ming calmed his mind slightly, exhaled a turbid breath, and said.
"Of course I have to handle this kind of thing personally."
Yun Ming paused and continued.
"In that case, I will return to Heaven Dou City later to tell my Grandfather about this."
"In the next few days, help me keep an eye on the movements of these people. When I need it, help me issue some 'appropriate' transfer orders to them so they can cooperate with me."
Ya Li nodded without objection and said.
"Do you need me to go with you?"
Yun Ming thought for a moment and nodded.
"Fine, you will come with me when we take action."
"For now, help me find a reliable Soul Master to assist Oscar with his training! I might be busy for a while this time and won't have the time to look after him."
Ya Li nodded and left to find someone.
Seeing Ya Li depart, Yun Ming looked at the information on the first page, remaining silent.
On the paper, there was a small portrait of a man with rugged features, and below the image was a name: 'Gu Li'!
(The enemy who killed Yun Ming's parents in this life)
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader