Absorbing a Soul Bone and Entering the Heaven Dou Royal Academy
Seeing how shocked Lin Chen looked, Xue Qinghe smiled and asked, "Is there anything else you need?"
"Huh?" Lin Chen came to his senses and said awkwardly, "I don't think so."
Xue Qinghe smiled and shook his head. He took a golden token from his person and handed it to Lin Chen. "This is my identity token."
"Oh... Thank you, Brother Xue." Lin Chen nodded and accepted the token and everything else.
He was truly grateful to Qian Renxue now. She was simply too generous, so generous that it all felt a little unreal to him.
This Soul Bone was so precious that even a Titled Douluo would covet it. Calling it worth a fortune hardly did it justice; no one could remain calm in the face of it.
And she had given him something so precious the very first time they met. What was he supposed to do?
Xue Qinghe smiled and nodded. "As long as you're satisfied. You're a heaven's chosen of our Heaven Dou Imperial Family. From now on, you're one of us."
"This Soul Bone is my investment in you. You can use it without worry."
Lin Chen nodded firmly. Who said Qian Renxue was no good? She was wonderful! She was beautiful and rich—who wouldn't like her?
"All right, it's getting late. Go back and absorb the Soul Bone first." Xue Qinghe clapped his hands and spoke to Cao Tian Heng outside the door. "Take Lin Chen to his room."
"Yes." Cao Tian Heng nodded, then bowed to Lin Chen. "Please follow me."
Lin Chen nodded and walked away under Xue Qinghe's gaze.
Not long after Lin Chen left, the middle-aged steward hurried over. "Your Highness, aren't you placing a little too much importance on this Lin Chen?"
Xue Qinghe shook his head. "Lin Chen's talent is far beyond that of an ordinary genius. Besides, he's only six, so he'll be easy to nurture. Giving him these things is a business deal guaranteed to turn a profit."
The middle-aged steward came to a sudden realization. "Your Highness, you're truly wise."
Afterward, Lin Chen followed Cao Tian Heng around to familiarize himself with the Crown Prince's Residence, then settled into a room in its guest courtyard.
Inside the room.
"Phew... I didn't expect Qian Renxue to be so generous. She's even got me a little tempted." Lin Chen wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead and took the Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone out of his Storage Soul Tool.
Seeing the Soul Bone, Lin Chen couldn't help feeling a little excited.
Soul Bones of different attributes could vary greatly, even if they were of the same age.
Moreover, a higher age didn't necessarily mean a better Soul Bone. Although a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone underwent a qualitative change, a suitable Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone wouldn't be much worse.
Besides improving his physique, absorbing a Soul Bone could also increase his Soul Power.
Although he hadn't reached level 20 yet, absorbing a Soul Bone wasn't restricted by Soul Power Level. He could absorb this Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone right now.
And by Lin Chen's own estimate, once he had finished absorbing it, he should be just about ready to break through to level 20 Soul Power and absorb his Second Soul Ring.
At that thought, Lin Chen rubbed his palms together and hesitated no longer. He took out the Soul Bone Xue Qinghe had given him.
The Glinting Sky-Flash Beast's Right Arm Soul Bone was pale gold all over, with extremely faint silvery-white patterns on its surface.
Lin Chen didn't hesitate for long. He pressed the Soul Bone against his right arm and guided his Soul Power into contact with it. The fusion went more smoothly than he had imagined. The Soul Bone showed no signs of rejection, and absorbing it was not only painless but even somewhat comfortable.
Time passed slowly, and before long, five days had gone by.
Absorbing a Soul Bone was a relatively lengthy process, especially one of an advanced age. Lin Chen was only level 16, after all, so it took him even longer. That was why he needed a full five days to finish absorbing it.
"Finally done."
Lin Chen opened his eyes, a flash of golden light flickering through them.
"I can only say it really was worthy of being a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone. The improvement it brought was substantial." Lin Chen felt the level 20 Soul Power within him, and a smile spread across his face.
Originally, he might have needed a month of cultivation to break through to level 20, but now he had managed it in just five days.
And when Lin Chen examined the Soul Skill in his mind, the smile on his face became impossible to hide. His newly acquired Soul Skill was called Light Holy Slash.
Its effect was to unfold an enormous formation covering a hundred meters, then continuously unleash slashes within it.
These slashes required no aiming and came with a target-seeking effect, which should have come from the spatial attribute in the Soul Bone.
Leaving aside the automatic target-seeking, the hundred-meter range of the light slashes alone made this Soul Skill worthy of being called a divine skill.
Even a Titled Douluo would covet a Soul Skill like this, let alone Lin Chen himself.
"The consumption is a little too high, though. Right now, I can only use it once before exhausting all my Soul Power." Lin Chen pursed his lips, but he wasn't disappointed.
After all, he was only level 20 and still far too weak. Once he reached the Soul Elder or Soul Ancestor stage, or even the higher Soul Emperor stage, using this Soul Skill would certainly become much easier.
Even as a Soul Elder, he would have no trouble using it a few times, and that was already enough.
Knock, knock, knock...
The sound of knocking interrupted Lin Chen's thoughts.
"Who is it?" Lin Chen opened the door in puzzlement and looked up to see Xue Qinghe standing outside with a smile on his face.
"Brother Xue, what brings you here?" Lin Chen blinked and asked, slightly surprised.
"I figured you should be about done absorbing the Soul Bone, so I thought I'd come check on you. Looks like my timing was just right." Xue Qinghe smiled. "Well? Are you satisfied with your new Soul Bone?"
"Satisfied? Of course I am." Lin Chen nodded repeatedly.
Xue Qinghe patted Lin Chen on the shoulder. "As long as you're satisfied. Besides checking on you, I came for another reason."
Lin Chen replied casually, "Go ahead, Brother Xue. As long as it's within my ability, I'll certainly do it."
Xue Qinghe smiled. "I'm here to take you to enroll."
"Huh? Enroll where? The Heaven Dou Royal Academy?" Lin Chen scratched his head and asked in confusion.
Xue Qinghe nodded. "That's right. Or would you rather attend another academy?"
Lin Chen hurriedly shook his head. "No, no, no, I was just asking. Can I join the Heaven Dou Royal Academy when I'm only six?"
Xue Qinghe smiled and explained, "The Heaven Dou Royal Academy has a junior division, so there's no need to worry about your age."
Lin Chen nodded in realization. "Since you came personally, Brother Xue, how could I possibly refuse? Let's get going."
Before long, Xue Qinghe brought Lin Chen to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy by carriage.
When the carriage came to a stop in front of the academy's main gate, Lin Chen lifted a corner of the curtain and turned to look outside.
The academy's gate was taller than it had appeared from a distance, with a stone pillar carved with winged tiger patterns standing on either side.
The lines of the winged tigers' wings and backs were clearly visible on the stone, their heads facing outward as though guarding the entrance.
Inside the gate was a broad main road paved with light gray stone bricks, with neatly trimmed silverleaf trees planted on either side.
Xue Qinghe patted Lin Chen on the shoulder and said with a smile, "I won't accompany you inside. The director of the junior division is surnamed Zhao. Just give him my name when you get there."
Lin Chen nodded. He was about to get out of the carriage when Xue Qinghe called him back. "In three days, I'll send the Heaven Dou Royal Knights to accompany you into the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts. Don't forget."
Lin Chen nodded. He had been planning to bring it up with Qian Renxue later, only for her to have already made preparations for him.
At that thought, Lin Chen couldn't help exclaiming again, "This soft rice really tastes good!"
After getting out of the carriage, Lin Chen stood at the entrance for a while. He looked up at the stone plaque above the portico, which bore the words "Heaven Dou Royal Academy," then slowly walked inside.
Lin Chen had only just entered when he saw a man standing ahead in an academy teacher's uniform.
The man looked to be in his early thirties and was rather thin. His uniform was neatly pressed, and he held nothing in his hands. He simply stood there quietly, staring straight at Lin Chen.
Seeing Lin Chen enter alone, the man's gaze lingered on him. He looked Lin Chen up and down, then asked, "Lin Chen?"
"Yes." Lin Chen nodded.
The man said nothing more and asked for no further information. He simply turned and walked farther inside, glancing back as he said, "Follow me. I'll take you to register."