Xiaogang rushed to an empty room.
He was somewhat excited; this was his second time performing the Blood Demon Ritual. The first time, he had been guided by that mysterious being.
That time, Yu Xiaogang hadn't felt much of a reality; it all seemed like a mirage.
Entering the abandoned room, Yu Xiaogang carefully closed the door and took out the sack containing Dai Mubai's corpse from his soul-guided device.
The Blood Demon Ritual required a corpse to have been dead for no more than 24 hours, and Dai Mubai's body was still within the sacrificial range.
Recalling his experience from the previous ritual, Yu Xiaogang pulled out a wooden stick wrapped in burlap.
Holding the stick, he directly stabbed it into Dai Mubai's mangled neck.
He stirred it vigorously until the burlap was completely soaked, then pulled out the stick and drew a magic circle on the ground.
Soon, a bright red circular magic circle was completed.
Having done all this, Yu Xiaogang threw down the stick and dragged Dai Mubai's corpse into the magic circle.
He walked to the center of the magic circle, released his soul power, and began chanting the incantation for the Blood Demon Ritual.
"
O Primordial God, please accept my offering."
His voice echoed in the deathly silent room, and the magic circle beneath his feet emitted an eerie light.
Under that eerie red light, Dai Mubai's corpse slowly turned into blood.
Gradually, specks of blood-red light appeared in the air, along with a phantom resembling Dai Mubai.
Yu Xiaogang remained unmoved, continuing to chant the incantation.
The red light in the air slowly merged into Yu Xiaogang's body, and Dai Mubai's phantom gradually dissipated.
On the rooftop, a jet-black raven witnessed everything.
In the boys' dormitory, Luo Ling watched this scene, suddenly feeling a slight tremor in his soul, a strange power appearing out of thin air within him.
His spiritual power and soul power both increased slightly.
Luo Ling narrowed his eyes. Once could be considered a coincidence, but twice?
The Blood Demon Ritual performed by Yu Xiaogang was inexplicably enhancing his strength.
Why?
Luo Ling lowered his eyes.
...
In the abandoned house, Yu Xiaogang slowly opened his eyes.
A look of extreme joy appeared on his face. He clearly felt his soul power had increased, reaching level 33, an increase of two levels.
Not only that, but the pain in his previously aching anus had also subsided.
The Blood Demon Ritual had not only increased his strength but also healed his physical injuries.
Feeling the changes in his body, Yu Xiaogang once again felt a sense of awe towards the mysterious Primordial God.
It could increase soul power and heal injuries...
He suddenly excitedly pulled down his pants, but his expression quickly darkened.
It was still the same, without any change.
"Perhaps if I offer more and stronger sacrifices, the Primordial God will repair my body..." Yu Xiaogang suddenly muttered to himself, as if possessed.
...
Time passed slowly.
The Shrek Seven Devils trained as usual.
However, because of Dai Mubai's matter, the atmosphere during training was somewhat heavy.
Tang San also learned that Dai Mubai had ambushed him to steal his soul bone.
Flander didn't hide the fact that he had buried Dai Mubai's body in the back mountain, but apart from Luo Ling, no one knew that Dai Mubai's body had been sacrificed by Yu Xiaogang.
The future God of War, his ambitions unfulfilled, perished without a trace.
Two months passed, and Yu Xiaogang brought his second phase of training.
The group arrived at the Great Soul Arena in Soto City.
"Your second phase of training will be at the Great Soul Arena."
"This training has no time limit. Training will end when you obtain the Silver Soul Badge."
Yu Xiaogang said proudly, his confidence growing ever since he verified that the Blood Demon Ritual could further enhance his soul power.
As long as the Blood Demon Ritual could continuously increase his soul power, he could keep getting stronger and finally shed his "trash" reputation.
"You can freely form groups, one-on-one, two-on-two, and team battles. The most important is the team battle; you must participate in one every day."
Yu Xiaogang continued, but then saw Ma Hongjun raise his hand.
"Master, we only have six people now, we can't participate in the team battle in the Great Soul Arena."
Yu Xiaogang was stunned upon hearing this, and he glanced at everyone.
Excluding Luo Ling, there were indeed only four people. Dai Mubai was dead, and the Shrek Seven Devils couldn't even form a team.
Finally, Yu Xiaogang's gaze fell on Luo Ling.
"I'm a level 46 Soul Master, their highest is only a little over level 30, and there are two Great Soul Masters among them. They can't be matched for a Soul Battle." Luo Ling waved his hand.
"If they fight me, they'll be matched with a Soul Master team, and they won't get any training benefits."
Luo Ling glanced at the Shrek Six Devils beside him.
Except for Tang San, no one questioned Luo Ling's words.
When Dai Mubai tried to assassinate Luo Ling and Tang San, the strength Luo Ling displayed was truly terrifying.
A Soul King was killed effortlessly, like crushing an ant, and judging from the situation, Luo Ling hadn't even used his full strength.
Ma Hongjun carefully observed Luo Ling.
In his mind, he even felt that Luo Ling's strength was comparable to the Trickster who appeared a few months ago.
Yu Xiaogang was speechless and could only sigh. "Alright then, you guys can start with one-on-one and two-on-two Soul Battles. I'll figure out the team battle."
Luo Ling shrugged indifferently. The Shrek Seven Devils were short one person, and he wondered where Yu Xiaogang would find a replacement.
He still wanted to fight the Shrek Seven Devils and get Tang San's Xuan Tian Treasure Record.
"Master, Rongrong and I are support-type Soul Masters, do we also need to get the Silver Soul Battle Badge?" Oscar suddenly asked.
"You can find someone to do two-on-two Soul Battles, but you must get the Silver Soul Battle Badge," Yu Xiaogang said calmly.
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up instantly, and she quickly ran to Luo Ling's side, hugging his arm tightly.
"Brother Ling, you're my cousin, you wouldn't just watch your sister suffer, would you?" Ning Rongrong said, feigning pitifulness.
Yu Xiaogang didn't say anything. He didn't object to Ning Rongrong and Luo Ling teaming up. If he could get Luo Ling into the Shrek Seven Devils later, that would be even better.
He was also very interested in Luo Ling's strength. Everyone else said he was very strong, but Yu Xiaogang had only witnessed Luo Ling's battle with Tang San.
Perhaps that battle wasn't even a real fight, but rather a one-sided instructional battle
by Luo Ling. If Luo Ling and Ning Rongrong were to team up against a combination of two Soul Masters, it would be a perfect opportunity for him to observe Luo Ling's strength closely.
Oscar, seeing Ning Rongrong clinging to a powerful figure, was filled with envy. Luo Ling's strength could easily kill even Soul Kings, let alone a mere combination of two Soul Masters.
He could only look helplessly at the rest of the group.