Chapter 3 The Origin of Soul Seeing that it was time for dinner, Ling Changqing finally finished his practice, got up, opened the door, and planned to go to the dining room on the ship to eat. He still carefully locked the door, left a secret mark, and made sure that no one was around peeping, then Ling Changqing slowly left along the corridor. Occasionally, servants and maids could be seen hurrying by along the way. When Ling Changqing met a familiar face, he would smile and say hello. Being at the bottom of the Ling family, it was not easy for everyone. However, as a distant branch descendant with some cultivation, Ling Changqing's status was still slightly higher. At least on the surface, these people don't give him a hard time, but as for what they do behind the scenes, that's hard to say. The light aroma of meat filled the dining room. At this moment, many pearl divers had gathered there, each holding a large food bowl, and gathered in groups of three or five around wooden tables to eat and chat. Since the job of pearl divers is quite dangerous and requires huge physical exertion, the dietary treatment arranged by the Ling family steward is quite acceptable. Two pounds of low-quality spiritual rice, a bowl of inferior monster meat, and a pot of ordinary liquor can fill the pearl diver's stomach. But such treatment is only available when you are at sea, and you don’t have to think about daily labor. Of course, the Ling family steward would still be a little more generous to those pearl divers who performed well when going out to sea.
For example, those pearl divers who brought back the Jade Crystal Donghua Pearls today would be able to get two kilograms of slightly better monster meat, plenty of low-quality spiritual rice, and half a pot of low-quality spiritual wine. This was a rare and sumptuous feast for the poor pearl divers. They usually didn't have the chance to eat so much spiritual rice, let alone monster meat and spiritual wine. At this time, Ling Changqing was holding an iron basin and received his food from the fat-faced chef. Then he chose an empty table, sat down and chewed in silence. The spiritual rice was fairly soft and had a bit of spiritual energy, while the monster meat was a bit woody and not cooked with much care, so the taste wasn't very good. There are many arable fields on Chanxin Island, but the area of spiritual fields with excellent feng shui and nourished by the earth's spiritual veins is limited, so it is impossible to produce too much spiritual rice and wheat. The low-quality spiritual rice that Ling Changqing was eating was usually produced in the grain fields on the edge of the spiritual veins. It only had a little spiritual energy, and the seeds were not very good. Strictly speaking, it did not meet the standards of spiritual rice. However, for the majority of low-level monks, such meals are not available whenever they want. If you can have such food on your table every day, you are already a successful person who has made a good living. As for the senior elders of the Ling family, and the favored direct descendants, they all take various elixirs for their daily practice, and the spiritual rice and beast meat are all of the best varieties. As more and more pearl divers came to eat, envious eyes would occasionally glance at Ling Changqing's figure, with undisguised jealousy, unwillingness, and a hint of imperceptible malice. Of course, there are also some people who look at you with envy and flattery. Human nature is inherently complex and changeable. Ling Changqing looked normal, and he dealt with the food in front of him calmly. Thanks to the continuous growth of his soul, he was extremely sensitive to the emotional reactions and perceptions of the people around him. Hate others, but laugh others. This is also human nature, and it will not change with changes in the world of time and space. "...Well, after this voyage, let's try to find a better skill to practice. This crude water control technique alone cannot guarantee our safety underwater..." Ling Changqing secretly calculated that he had struggled to survive for the past ten years and had no extra money at all. Only after his twelfth birthday, when the Star Palace of the Era of Strange Treasures awakened, did his situation improve over the past six months. He had saved up a few low-grade spirit stones and some family merits, but he didn't know if they were enough to exchange for a new skill or supernatural power. This Water Control Technique is a simple martial art handed down by the steward of the Ling Family. It is mainly used to allow pearl divers to move more easily in the water and stay there longer, but it does not have much attack power. Anyway, for the top leaders of the Ling family, these pearl divers raised by the family are just tools. They can be used as consumables when necessary. If a batch dies, another batch will be recruited from outside. Naturally, they will not be given any excellent skills or supernatural powers. In fact, there is no shortage of various books on martial arts and magical powers in the market, ranging from common junk to the signature martial arts of some sects and families, provided that you can afford the price.
Given Ling Changqing's current conditions, he couldn't ask for too much and could only take things one step at a time. "Little Brother Ling..." A familiar voice was heard. Ling Changqing looked up and found that it was a thin young man with a slightly feminine face. He walked over with a rice bowl and sat opposite him with a smile on his face. "Brother Chen." Ling Changqing nodded slightly and responded in a flat tone. This man named Chen Tong is cunning and a bit greedy. He has been in the pearl diving team for five or six years. Since he had talked more with Ling Changqing in the past, Chen Tong always consciously or unconsciously regarded himself as his guide, and told everyone he met that Ling Changqing was brought up by him. Ling Changqing was very disgusted with this guy's behavior, and now he was just maintaining a superficial harmonious relationship to avoid a fall-out. Chen Tong looked at the large piece of monster meat in Ling Changqing's rice bowl with some envy, and then looked at the rice bowl in front of him, and his mentality was inevitably a little unbalanced. This guy has not been able to find the Jade Crystal Winter Pearl for several days in a row. Today, he was not only scolded by Deacon Ling Changfeng, but also whipped. His back still hurts. "Brother Ling, let me tell you something," Chen Tong thought about it and put on an eager smile on his face: "I am not far from the fourth level of Qi training, but I still lack some medicinal resources. Can you lend me some spirit stones now? I will return them to you as soon as I break through!" "..." Ling Changqing paused slightly, raised his eyes to look at the other person for a moment, then buried his head and continued eating. "How is it? Based on our past friendship, you should be able to trust my character, right?" Chen Tong smiled as he spoke. In his eyes, this handsome boy had been very lucky recently. He almost never returned empty-handed when he went out to sea every day. He must have saved some money. Anyway, I am an experienced pearl diver and I have taken good care of this kid in the past. It is only right for him to give me some resources as a reward. As long as I can successfully break through to the fourth level of Qi training in the future, my status in the pearl divers' team will only be higher. Wouldn't Ling Changqing try his best to curry favor with me? Across the table, Ling Changqing slowly swallowed the rice in his mouth, his voice calm and calm: "I'm sorry, I'm a little short on money lately, so I'm afraid I can't help Brother Chen." His experience in his previous life taught him that there were many examples of people lending money and becoming enemies, no matter how good the relationship was with friends or even relatives, not to mention that he had no relationship with this guy at all. With this guy's character, if he can pay back the money on time in the future, Ling Changqing will dare to write his name backwards. "you……" The expression on Chen Tong's face froze, and he looked at the handsome boy in front of him with some disbelief. He never thought that with his reputation as a leader, he would make such a small request to the other party, but this guy would actually refuse? Did he forget how he had brought him up in the first place? How dare he?! Seeing the other person's face turning pale and blue, Ling Changqing sneered in his heart. "Brother Chen, you should go find someone else for this matter!" Ling Changqing said this indifferently, and continued to eat without even looking at the other person. "Ling Changqing, you...you are very good...I will remember it!" Chen Tong gritted his teeth and glared at him fiercely, then picked up the rice bowl and left angrily. Ling Changqing chuckled, knowing that he and this guy had become enemies.
This kind of people are born mean people, and will be jealous of trivial matters for their whole life. In the future, if they have the chance, they will pounce on you like a mad dog and bite you in revenge. However, Ling Changqing didn't need to be afraid of anything. Just now, the Epoch Star Palace in his body shook slightly, and another subtle spiritual power quietly gathered. Ling Changqing now knows that anyone who harbors ill will towards him, whether it is a human or a monster, will mysteriously lose a small portion of their soul essence, which will be absorbed and transformed by the Epoch Star Palace and become nourishment for the growth and development of his soul. This is the reason why Ling Changqing's spiritual power continues to increase, and his comprehension has also been significantly improved. Although the souls of these low-level monks were not strong, and the amount of soul essence they lost was very small, perhaps less than one thousandth, but small amounts add up to a lot, and small amounts add up to a tower. Over time, Ling Changqing believed that his soul would become so powerful that even the Foundation Establishment or even Golden Core cultivators would find it difficult to match, including his comprehension. With a strong soul and outstanding comprehension, practicing various skills and supernatural powers will naturally be twice the result with half the effort, and breaking through bottlenecks will also be exceptionally easy. After understanding the magical power of the Era Star Palace, Ling Changqing's first reaction was mixed joy and worry. The good news is that he has a way to continue to become stronger, but the bad news is that if he wants to quickly strengthen his soul and enhance his understanding, he must constantly stir up trouble and make enemies with as many people as possible. It's very simple. As more people envy and resent Ling Changqing, and more people harbor ill will towards him, the more soul origins the Epoch Star Palace will be able to passively harvest. However, this does not conform to Ling Changqing's principle of being low-key, cautious, and modest. With low cultivation level and no other means to protect himself, if too many people are targeting him and resent him, he will be killed sooner or later without leaving any trace. Ling Changqing felt that he could not give up the origin of his soul, but he also could not deliberately provoke too many enemies, so this became an almost unsolvable problem. Therefore, I have to figure out a way to have the best of both worlds. (End of this chapter)