Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Part One

After completing the transaction, the Shui Family head took a liking to Xia Liang's ability to find Soul Beasts and intended to invite him into the Shui Family.

Xia Liang said that he could join the Shui Family, but they would have to provide him with the best Cultivation Resources.

After weighing the matter, the Shui Family head gave up on recruiting him, and the two sides parted ways.

After leaving Silvis City, Xia Liang returned to the small forest outside the city and reunited with the members of the Speed Reach Mercenary Group.

"A Liang. You're finally back!"

Hearing Teacher Mo's cry, Liu Shu and Aunt Liu ran out of the tent.

Seeing the worry on all three of their faces, Xia Liang smiled and took out a Gold Card from his Silver Bracelet. The amount of Gold Soul Coins stored within was exactly the reward the Shui Family had given for this mission.

"You brat." Teacher Mo walked up to Xia Liang, patted him on the shoulder, and sighed in relief. "It's good that you came back safely. If something had happened to you, how could I ever live with myself?"

"Teacher Mo, Sister Shu, Aunt Liu. I made you worry."

As he spoke, Xia Liang handed the Gold Card to the three of them as they approached. "This is the reward for the mission. It was originally one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. I took seventy thousand, leaving thirty thousand on the card. You can split it among yourselves."

The three exchanged looks. After a moment of silence, Teacher Mo pushed the Gold Card back, saying somewhat sheepishly, "None of us took part in this mission. How could we have the nerve to accept a reward? A Liang, you don't need to share it with us. You earned all of this."

Knowing Teacher Mo would refuse, Xia Liang put the Gold Card back into his Silver Bracelet, then took out a Silver Card he had prepared beforehand. "This Silver Card contains fifteen thousand Gold Soul Coins. They're all the savings I've accumulated over the past three years. Teacher Mo, Sister Shu, Aunt Liu, thank you for taking care of me these past three years. Please accept these Gold Soul Coins. Otherwise, I won't be able to live with myself."

After hearing this, Teacher Mo and the other two looked utterly confused.

"A Liang. Are you leaving us?" Liu Shu asked.

"Yes. These three years of training in the Speed Reach Mercenary Group have helped me grow a great deal. If I want to grow further, I can only change to a new environment. Sister Shu, if possible, I'd like to continue adventuring with you. Unfortunately, I can't stay in the Mercenary Group forever."

Teacher Mo smiled knowingly. "A Liang, when I helped you obtain your First Soul Ring, I could already tell that you were an ambitious child. With your determination and perseverance, your future accomplishments will surely surpass ours. I understand why you want to leave us and find a new environment to grow in."

"Since you've already made up your mind, we won't try to keep you. Thank you for bringing so many wonderful memories and so much help to the Speed Reach Mercenary Group. You really don't need to give us any money. Keep it to buy Cultivation Resources for yourself."

As he spoke, Teacher Mo pushed the Silver Card back again.

With them refusing so firmly, Xia Liang could not say anything more and simply put the Silver Card back into his Silver Bracelet.

Looking at Xia Liang, who was now half a head taller than Teacher Mo, Liu Shu and Aunt Liu exchanged smiles. The tacit understanding and trust they had forged over three years in the Mercenary Group might fade with their separation.

But the three years they had spent living together would surely remain beautiful memories they could never forget.

"A Liang. Sister Shu looks forward to the day you become a true powerhouse." Liu Shu's eyes were filled with certainty. "I believe it won't be long before you become someone renowned across the continent! Then I'll be able to tell people that I once fought alongside a great figure."

"I'll gladly take those words. Sister Shu, Aunt Liu, Teacher Mo, this is farewell. May we meet again if fate allows."

Xia Liang cupped his fists toward the three of them and bowed slightly in courtesy before turning and leaving.

During his time following the Shui Family into the Extreme North Land to hunt Soul Beasts, his Soul Power had risen from Level Twenty-Three to Level Twenty-Four. He was still six levels away from the Level Thirty bottleneck.

With the Advanced Medicinal Bath gifted by the Shui Family, he should be able to raise his Soul Power by another level soon. He would save the Advanced Medicinal Bath for when he was about to break through the Level Thirty bottleneck.

Besides the Advanced Medicinal Bath, he also had two pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber.

According to the original work, aside from its well-known aphrodisiac effects, Whale Rubber was also highly nourishing for Soul Masters. It could strengthen the body and increase the endurance of one's muscles, bones, and meridians.

When Whale Rubber enhanced the body's skeletal endurance, the strength of the Skeleton Martial Soul, which used his own skeleton as its Martial Soul, would naturally increase as well.

Next, while cultivating his Soul Power, he could eat Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber and train his body at the same time.

Once his Soul Power reached the Level Thirty bottleneck, his physical fitness and Martial Soul strength would rise to an even greater level.

By then, he should be able to absorb a Third Soul Ring that exceeded four thousand years in age despite being below the required level.

This Third Soul Ring was of critical importance.

Level Thirty was the first major dividing line for Soul Masters. If the quality of the Third Soul Ring was high enough and compatible enough with his Martial Soul, there was a chance it could evolve or undergo a qualitative transformation.

Although the Iron Bone Enhancement from his Second Soul Ring was useful, strictly speaking, its effects had not met his expectations.

Whether the Skeleton Martial Soul could achieve the ultimate move, Bone Transformation Susanoo, would depend on the fortune brought by his Third Soul Ring.

The adventure in the Extreme North Land had left Xia Liang deeply shaken by the Titan Snow Demon King.

For the first time, he had felt so utterly insignificant. That helplessness, that feeling of being at another's mercy, had truly been unbearable.

He had to grow stronger.

Only by becoming powerful enough to stand above all life, becoming an existence that controlled life and death, could he avoid ever feeling such frustration again.

The only opportunity he could currently access and use to become stronger quickly was the chance to obtain Immortal Herbs mentioned in the original work.

After leaving the Speed Reach Mercenary Group, Xia Liang planned to look for an opportunity at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Not only did it offer the best Cultivation Resources, but Dugu Bo and his Granddaughter, Dugu Yan, should also be there. Getting close to the grandfather and granddaughter would allow him to obtain the opportunity for Immortal Herbs more safely and conveniently.

The troublesome part was that Heaven Dou Royal Academy only accepted Noble Students. He was a commoner Soul Master and did not meet the academy's admission requirements at all.

With Innate Level Five Soul Power and only reaching Level Twenty-Four as an eleven-year-old Two-Ring Great Soul Master, such talent would make it difficult for Heaven Dou Royal Academy to admit him as an exception.

Walking along the Official Road leading to Heaven Dou City, Xia Liang looked up at the sky. Was there any way for him to enter Heaven Dou Royal Academy as a commoner? Ten days later.

Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City.

Twenty kilometers from the city gate stood a great mountain. Numerous buildings and facilities had been established within it: imposing teaching buildings, lush forests on the rear slopes, and lakes at the foot of the mountain with gentle ripples across their surfaces.

Everything in the mountain was beautiful, especially when the sun set and the evening clouds filled the sky. Against the crimson glow in the west, whether it was the lake at the foot of the mountain, the dense forests, or the thousand-meter-high peak, it all carried the feeling of an earthly paradise.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy had been built around this mountain. It was the largest advanced Soul Master Academy in the Heaven Dou Empire, and every academy head throughout its history had been the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire.

The next morning.

Outside Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Carriages and people filled the roads, and voices buzzed everywhere.

Parents saw their children off and welcomed them back, their love and care plain to see.

Today was the registration day for the new term at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, so the academy's interior and exterior were exceptionally lively.

The people coming and going were all elegant figures dressed in luxurious clothing, followed by two or three servants as they brought their children here to enroll.

Inside the Luxury Pavilion five meters from the academy entrance stood two tables. Two teachers sat at them, handling registration procedures for the students who came to enroll.

A hundred meters to the left of the Luxury Pavilion was another, far more Simple Pavilion. Two people sat inside it as well, but they were not academy teachers. They were Recruiters from the academy.

Xia Liang passed by the long line of students and joined the queue in front of the Simple Pavilion alongside a burly man dressed just as plainly, waiting for the Recruiters to announce the available positions.

Commoners could not enroll in Heaven Dou Royal Academy, but they could work there as cooks, cleaners, forest rangers, groundskeepers, and other miscellaneous staff.

Entering Heaven Dou Royal Academy as a cook would make it easier for him to inquire about Dugu Bo's whereabouts and find a way into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to steal Immortal Herbs.

In addition, Heaven Dou Royal Academy's best resource was its Mimicry Cultivation Field.

After making a name for himself in the Academy Kitchen, he could try applying to the academy for the right to use the Mimicry Cultivation Field and raise his Soul Power to Level Thirty as quickly as possible.