Vice Dean Lei Bao

After deciding to enroll at Thunderbolt Academy, Yu Tianlin and his dad went home and rested for a day. Once they had packed everything they needed to bring, the two set out again the next day.

Because Yu Tianlin had now reached rank twenty-two and his physical condition was quite good, the two of them did not take a carriage to Thunderbolt Academy this time. Instead, they ran there, calling it physical training.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect was located in the Heaven Dou Empire's Northwest Province, while Thunderbolt Academy stood near the Heaven Dou Empire's capital, Heaven Dou City. The two places were fairly far apart, so it took Yu Tianlin and his father six days to finally reach the vicinity.

Yu Tianlin held a map in his hand, but it only marked the location of Heaven Dou City. As for Soul Master Academies, even the official Heaven Dou Royal Academy was not marked, let alone Thunderbolt Academy.

Yu Tianlin could not help asking, "Dad, we're almost at Heaven Dou City. Where exactly is Thunderbolt Academy?"

"Don't worry, we're almost there," Yu Mingfeng said with a smile. "Thunderbolt Academy is northwest of Heaven Dou City, in a basin more than twenty kilometers away."

"A basin?"

"That's right," Yu Mingfeng explained. "Thunderbolt Academy recruits students whose martial souls have the Thunder Attribute, so if the environment is rich in lightning energy, it's more suitable for cultivation. In basin terrain, the clouds are thicker at night, and the lightning energy is more active."

Yu Tianlin nodded in understanding, then said no more and followed his dad toward their destination.

As night was about to fall, they finally arrived at Thunderbolt Academy.

Thunderbolt Academy's main gate was a full ten meters tall, carved from bluish-purple jade. Many lightning patterns covered it, and in the center, four large gilded characters—Thunderbolt Academy—gleamed brilliantly under the setting sun.

Although Thunderbolt Academy was supported by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect, there were no dragon-shaped statues at the gate. It seemed they wanted to dilute the sect's presence and develop it simply as a normal Soul Master Academy.

Yu Mingfeng led Yu Tianlin inside. When the guards saw the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan emblems on their chests, they understood and did not come out to stop them.

After entering Thunderbolt Academy, Yu Tianlin felt that although the scenery here was not especially refined, it was very imposing.

Following the road to the end, Yu Tianlin saw a large sports field.

It was break time now, and there were many students on the field. Among them, a few were occasionally disciples of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect, and after seeing the two of them, they came over to greet them.

After offering a few casual words of encouragement, Yu Mingfeng went around these students and led Yu Tianlin toward the teaching building beside them.

After climbing with thudding steps to the top floor, the fourth floor, Yu Mingfeng walked straight up to a room.

Yu Tianlin looked at the nameplate beside the door. It read: Dean's Office.

The dean of an advanced Soul Master Academy—his cultivation had to be at least at the Soul Sage level.

Yu Mingfeng did not knock. He pushed the door open and went straight in. Before Yu Tianlin could think further, he followed his dad into the Dean's Office.

A rough voice came from inside the room. "Who is it? Don't you know to knock before coming in?"

The office was large. There were several bookshelves inside, all packed with books. Beside the shelves was a spacious desk, and behind it sat a slightly overweight middle-aged man.

Looking at the fat man before him, Yu Mingfeng laughed loudly. "Haha, Old Lei, I knew it was you here. It's only been a few years, and you've gotten a lot fatter again. I wonder if you, this big fat eagle, can still fly!"

"Mingfeng? It's you, brat?" Seeing that the visitor was Yu Mingfeng, Old Lei showed a trace of astonishment, then rose and walked around the desk in front of him to welcome him. "Instead of staying properly in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect, what are you doing here? Came to see Tian Heng? But Tian Heng is studying at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Don't tell me you got the wrong place."

As he spoke, Old Lei had already walked up to Yu Mingfeng. The two met each other's eyes and gave each other a bear hug.

After the embrace, Yu Mingfeng hammered Old Lei's chest with his right hand and said, "Old Lei, you really have gotten a lot fatter. You can't go on like this. You need to exercise more."

"Heh, you think I want to?" Hearing Yu Mingfeng say that, Old Lei said irritably, "As the dean, Jinqing only shuts himself away and cultivates. He dumps all the academy's affairs on me, the vice dean, to handle. Sitting in the office every day, it'd be hard not to get fat."

Jinqing? Hearing this name, Yu Tianlin's heart stirred. His grandfather had once mentioned that there was a Soul Sage in the sect named Yu Jinqing, but he had always been handling matters outside and had not returned to the sect in a long time. It was probably him.

Seeing Old Lei's troubled look, Yu Mingfeng could not help asking, "What? Have there been a lot of matters in the academy recently?"

"Of course there have!" Having finally found someone to complain to, Old Lei poured out his grievances like beans from a bamboo tube. "The next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament will be held again in another year, so recently I've been confirming the participants for this competition. After they're confirmed, I still have to run team coordination training for them."

"And then, in just a few days, it'll be the Five Elements Academy's annual Joint Training Event again. This time, it just so happens to be Thunderbolt Academy's turn to host it, so there's another huge pile of things that need arranging," Old Lei said with a bitter smile. "With these two matters piled together, my head feels like it's swollen a whole size."

For a moment, Yu Mingfeng did not know how to comfort him, so he could only pat his shoulder. "Do your best."

"Oh, right, Mingfeng. What did you come to Thunderbolt Academy for this time?"

Only after finishing with his own problems did Old Lei remember to ask Yu Mingfeng's purpose.

"Ah, I was so happy to see you that I forgot about Tianlin." Yu Mingfeng also came back to himself. He slapped his forehead, stepped aside, and revealed Yu Tianlin behind him, introducing him to Old Lei. "Old Lei, this is my youngest son, Yu Tianlin. He just had his eighth birthday half a month ago, and he's already rank twenty-two now. So I'm throwing him into Thunderbolt Academy to let him interact more with outsiders and broaden his experience."

"He's only just turned eight and he's already rank twenty-two? That's ridiculous!" Hearing Yu Mingfeng's introduction, Old Lei looked at Yu Tianlin in surprise and said, "His cultivation talent is very strong. At the very least, he's stronger than every student in our academy."

"Of course. My son is naturally impressive." Yu Mingfeng showed a trace of pride, pulled Yu Tianlin over, and introduced him. "Tianlin, this is Lei Bao. Just call him Uncle Lei. He's Thunderbolt Academy's vice dean, and also Dad's good friend. His martial soul is the Thunder Eagle, and his current rank is seventy... uh, Old Lei, what's your Soul Power Level now?"

After all, they had not seen each other for several years, and Yu Mingfeng did not know whether Lei Bao had broken through or what his current Soul Power Level was.

"Hello, little Tianlin." Lei Bao crouched down in front of Yu Tianlin and said, "I am a rank seventy-seven Assault System Soul Sage."