Leaving

Lin Li slowly flipped through the travel journal. At last, she sighed and gazed leisurely at the sky. Deities... they truly were unfathomable.

Still, it was not certain that she would fail to find one. After changing into a black long dress, she considered that her clothes were also made from Soul Beast materials. Otherwise, with the temperature of her Blood Fiend Demonic Phoenix flames, ordinary clothing would turn to ash in minutes.

After changing, Lin Li glanced at her hair, which had already grown nearly to her thighs, and could not help sighing. She liked long, flowing hair, so naturally she would not cut it.

But long hair was rather troublesome too. She simply took out a silver-white ribbon from her Storage Spirit Tool and wound it up. Afraid it would not stay secure, she deliberately snapped off a Camellia branch to hold it in place.

Once she had finished tidying herself up, Lin Li headed toward Saint Er Junior Soul Master Academy. She had not graduated yet. To officially graduate, all she needed to do was obtain her graduation certificate from Ye Lian within these ten days.

Lin Li was no longer the person she had once been. In barely half an hour, she had arrived at Saint Er Junior Soul Master Academy and gotten herself a bowl of food at the first cafeteria.

Then she heard a resentful call. "Xiao Li, you're back?"

Lin Li's hand, which was holding a Hengyu bird's nest cup, paused. She looked over to see a pretty young woman dressed in a black shirt and trousers running toward her.

Lin Li smiled helplessly, set the cup on the table, and wiped her hands with a tissue. "Why are you here? Didn't you say you were submitting your application to Spirit Hall Academy?"

The girl was Zhou Yurou. Upon hearing that, Zhou Yurou could not help rolling her eyes. "Do you think I'm some monster like you and the Class Monitor? You both broke through to Soul Elder right after graduating from Junior Spirit Master Academy. But I think I'll be there soon."

Lin Li hummed. "That's good. But only advanced Soul Master Academies can be considered the continent's very best. Put some effort into it and strive to reach Rank 30 before you turn fifteen. Then perhaps I'll see you at the All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Competition."

Zhou Yurou nodded. "What about you? What are you planning to do afterward?"

Lin Li was slightly startled, but she still smiled lightly. "I plan to go straight to Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

Zhou Yurou grabbed her arm and shook it, her face full of excitement. "The Heaven Dou Royal Academy from the Heaven Dou Empire?"

Lin Li nodded and said calmly, "Intermediate Soul Master Academies won't have much effect on me anymore. I might as well go directly to an advanced academy, where cultivation is more flexible."

Zhou Yurou hummed, looking dejected. "Then we won't get to see each other anymore. Sigh."

Lin Li rubbed her head and said with amusement, "Enough, stop pretending. No matter where I go, won't I still be your friend?"

Zhou Yurou gave a dry laugh and smacked Lin Li's arm. "What nonsense. Oh, right, you and Ling Xuan..."

After all these years, Ling Xuan had made his feelings abundantly clear two years ago, yet her friend simply would not respond.

Lin Li took a calm sip of the bird's nest in her cup, her voice carrying a faint chill. "He and I are not suited for each other."

Zhou Yurou said nothing about that and immediately asked, "Do you have someone to recommend you for Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"

Lin Li nodded. "I do. Besides, with my current Cultivation Level as a Soul Ancestor, Heaven Dou Royal Academy will not turn me away."

Zhou Yurou nodded, then immediately pinched her shoulder. "My lady, don't forget about my Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring~"

She gave Lin Li's shoulders two exaggerated squeezes as she spoke teasingly.

A trace of determination flashed through Lin Li's eyes. "Don't worry. If I encounter one in the future, I will definitely make it your Spirit Ring."

Seeing Lin Li's seriousness, Zhou Yurou unconsciously lowered her head, her eyes reddening slightly. Having been friends for so many years, she naturally knew when Lin Li was serious.

But after a moment, she nodded. "All right."

After chatting with Zhou Yurou for a while, Lin Li set off to find Ye Lian.

Arriving at the office, she gently knocked on the door.

A soft female voice sounded from inside. "Come in."

Lin Li pushed the door open and saw a woman in a pale golden dress lounging in her chair, holding a smoking pipe in her hand.

Just as Lin Li entered, the woman looked up. Seeing that it was her, Ye Lian placed the pipe on the table and smiled. "You've hunted your fourth Spirit Ring?"

Lin Li nodded. Ye Lian raised her brows. "A Ten-Thousand-Year one?"

Lin Li nodded again.

Seeing her response, Ye Lian slammed her hand down on the table, her tone carrying a hint of reproach. "What did I tell you? Is a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast something you can face at your current level? Yet you went and faced one!"

But seeing Lin Li's calm expression, she seemed to let out an imperceptible sigh of relief in the end. "Still, you little rascal really succeeded."

She sighed quietly and said softly, "When you first came to me, you were only a little taller than that table. You reeked of blood, and hatred was hidden in your eyes. Now you've become a young woman. Can you tell me what happened to you back then?"

Ye Lian's voice was gentle.

Thinking of the six years of care Ye Lian had given her, Lin Li told her what had happened back then.

"Teacher Ye, do you know Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect?"

When Ye Lian heard Lin Li mention that name, her pupils contracted as she blurted out, "Don't tell me your enemy is Tang Hao?"

Lin Li shook her head and gritted her teeth. "Not only him. The former Pope, Tang Hao, Chrysanthemum Douluo, and Ghost Douluo—they are all my enemies."

Ye Lian's eyelid twitched every time she heard another name. At last, she sighed. "You truly have quite a few enemies."

Lin Li gave a soft hum. "They must be buried alongside the dozens of lives from my Soul Town Village!"

Hearing that, Ye Lian patted her hand. "All right. It's all in the past."

Lin Li nodded, looked at Ye Lian, and asked the question she had always wanted to ask.

"Teacher Ye, why have you been so good to me? So good that it feels as though you have another motive."

Upon hearing that, Ye Lian's hand paused slightly as she patted Lin Li's. "I want you to grow strong enough to hunt a Soul Beast."

Lin Li asked, "A Hundred-Thousand-Year one?"

Ye Lian nodded.

Lin Li immediately said, "The emperor among the Soul Beasts in Star Dou Great Forest, the Sky Azure Bull Python?"

Hearing "Sky Azure Bull Python," Ye Lian shook her head. "Not it. The Soul Beast I want you to hunt lies far out in the deep sea. Its name is the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King."

At the five words "Deep Sea Demonic Whale King," Lin Li's pupils contracted slightly. Others might not know of it, but how could she not?

The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King was at least more than eight hundred thousand years old. After Tang San became a Deity, its Spirit Ring instantly transformed into a Million-Year Spirit Ring, which showed just how formidable it was.

Not to mention that it had a crazy wife. Over twenty thousand years, she had actually grown to the level of a third-rank Deity. Although Lin Li did not know why she had not intervened then, she too was undoubtedly a formidable figure.

Seeing Lin Li lost in thought, Ye Lian said softly, "This is not something you must do. Although that beast is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, in terms of combat strength, even four Sky Azure Bull Pythons might not be its match."

Ye Lian sighed as well. After so many years, she had long since let go of revenge. Once, she had carried hatred in her heart, but when she repeatedly hit obstacles while striving toward the Titled rank, she came to understand that she was no match for that beast...

"I agree."

A clear voice suddenly rang out in the room.