A Year

Thus, Fang Ling spent a relatively uneventful year at the academy.

With nowhere else to go, he stayed at the academy even during holidays.

Of course, he still went to slaughter pigs.

A year later, with an abundant supply of meat, he looked completely different from when he had been a beggar.

His washed little face was quite delicate, his features soft, and a gentle light shone in his eyes.

He could not be called a Fallen Immortal descended to earth. At most, he was mildly handsome.

Since his features lacked any sharp edges and his outward demeanor was fairly gentle, he could easily blend into a crowd.

His body had gradually recovered as well, changing from a gaunt rack of bones into the build of an ordinary child.

Neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin.

His body had changed greatly, but his Stats Panel had not changed much.

Only the Soul Power entry had changed slightly: 1→4 (12%).

Four was his Soul Power Level, while twelve percent represented his current cultivation progress.

This progress could only increase through meditation. Both times he had allocated points, they had directly raised him by one level. Perhaps things would change once he became a Soul Master?

Fang Ling guessed inwardly.

The plus sign was still gray, and all his points had been allocated to Soul Power.

Meditating and cultivating on his own had indeed only raised him by one level, just as he had expected.

Slaughtering pigs had earned him one point, which raised him by one level.

The Progress Bar had filled automatically, raising him another level.

One level from cultivation and two from allocating points had made him a Level Four Spirit Scholar.

Fang Ling's skills had become even more refined. With his own Scythe Martial Soul, he could accurately pierce a pig's throat in one strike, then cut its carotid artery to drain the blood.

Unfortunately, he could not skip classes in the morning, and there were not many pigs available to slaughter in the afternoon.

Even with Grandpa Liu's help, he could only get one about every three days.

Including holidays, the Progress Bar could grow by a little over forty percent in a year, which worked out to around 1.4 points.

That 0.4 could not be used.

He had only gained three levels in a year!

To Wang Sheng and the other Work-Study Students, that rate was unimaginably fast.

After all, most of them could only rise one level in a year.

Fang Ling was three times faster than them. Although he had started with only Level One Soul Power, his cultivation speed could not be underestimated at all.

If he could maintain this momentum, he would be able to graduate early in just two years.

On Douluo Continent, graduating early meant cultivating quickly. At the same age, having greater strength meant having better talent.

Any academy would scramble to accept him.

He could also receive better recommendations and enter a better Intermediate Spirit Master Academy.

How could they not envy him?

His Soul Power growth was gratifying, but the crucial specialization section still showed no movement whatsoever.

He had tried many methods.

For example, he had attempted to practice a self-created Scythe Technique.

The elementary academy did not teach much combat. In his Previous Life, Fang Ling had lived in a peaceful country, and as an ordinary civilian, he had rarely handled weapons.

He was not skilled in that area either. He had only read some novels, so all he could do was wildly hack around with his Scythe Martial Soul.

Even so, Fang Ling still did his best to squeeze out time every day, maintaining at least thirty minutes of forceful scythe swings with each hand.

There was no change in his specialization, but he had trained up a powerful arm. His hand was steadier when slaughtering pigs.

That counted as progress too.

Before the new term began, aside from a poor Work-Study Student, none of the students who had to pay tuition had arrived yet.

So Fang Ling boldly strolled through the academy while agonizing over how to acquire a specialization.

In the blink of an eye, he spotted a familiar teacher passing ahead of him—the one who taught knowledge about Spirit Beasts.

Spirit Beasts = Soul Rings = specializations!

That equation appeared in Fang Ling's mind. After recalling this teacher's character, he immediately called out loudly and hurried after him.

"Teacher Song, please wait!"

"?"

The slightly plump middle-aged man Fang Ling called Teacher Song turned his head slightly.

After a moment of confusion, a faint smile appeared on his somewhat prosperous face.

"You are... Fang Ling, that first-year Work-Study Student?"

There was only one cripple at the academy, and he was also one of the rare Work-Study Students, so Teacher Song had some impression of him.

"Teacher, it's me." Fang Ling had not expected him to remember.

Teacher Song thought for a moment and recalled more details.

"I remember you were only Level One. What business do you have with me, someone who teaches Spirit Beast species and identification?"

"Let me say this first: don't even think about borrowing money."

"I'm not here to borrow money from you. And I'm already Level Four." Fang Ling's tone carried a hint of pride.

"Level Four?" Teacher Song was startled. "Then you came to see me because?"

"I happened to run into you, so I wanted to ask you to help me consider what Soul Ring I should obtain in the future."

Teacher Song's brows furrowed slightly before relaxing again as he smiled.

"A Soul Ring? Even if you rose to Level Four in a year, you are still far from the Level Ten requirement for obtaining a Soul Ring. Don't aim too high and overestimate yourself."

Fang Ling walked beside him with a smile. "I just want to prepare in advance, so I won't panic because I know nothing when the time comes."

"If you prepare early, you won't be flustered when things are upon you."

"If you have something important to do, Teacher, then don't mind me. I can come find you another time when you're free."

Fang Ling added thoughtfully.

"It's nothing important. I was only taking a walk. This is not the place to talk—come to my office."

Teacher Song shook his head slightly.

Fang Ling followed behind him into a rather small office.

Bookshelves covered two walls. The books were not new, their covers already yellowed, making it clear that they had been read many times.

Fang Ling swept his gaze around the room and watched Teacher Song sit down.

"With your physical condition..."

Teacher Song stopped halfway through the sentence.

"After studying for a year, you should have some impression of common Spirit Beasts. What are you thinking?"

"I want to walk the path of a Battle Spirit Master."

Then Fang Ling voiced the plan he had considered carefully.

"Choosing a Hardhide Bull could increase the Endurance of my scythe, or a Blade Mantis could increase its Sharpness. Or I could choose a powerful self-enhancement skill."

Teacher Song praised him. "Sharpness and Endurance, rather than choosing a long-range skill. That is a very good idea."

"That is something students only learn in the higher grades. It seems you have put some thought into it yourself."

"But the academy will not help you obtain those dangerous Hundred Year Spirit Rings."

Under Fang Ling's puzzled gaze, he stood and pulled a book from the shelf. As he flipped through it, he asked softly,

"Your mobility is not as good as other people's. Are you truly determined to choose the thorny path of a Battle Spirit Master?"

"Of course!"

Fang Ling nodded fiercely.

"I used to be a beggar. I only entered the Soul Master Academy through sheer luck. Precisely because of that, I never want to experience that feeling of helplessness again."

Teacher Song continued flipping through the book and explained the words that had just shocked Fang Ling in greater detail.

"Even a captive Spirit Beast Forest is dangerous to Soul Masters who have not obtained a Soul Ring yet, or to novice one-ring Soul Masters."

"Generally speaking, for the sake of safety, a small Soul Master Academy like ours will only help obtain Ten-Year Soul Rings from Spirit Beasts with powerful combat strength like the ones you mentioned."

"This..." Fang Ling fell into thought.

Teacher Song interrupted his contemplation.

"If I told you not to focus on Endurance, Sharpness, or self-enhancement Spirit Skills, but instead choose a relatively weak Hundred-Year Soul Beast, would you be willing?"

"Please enlighten me, Teacher." Fang Ling hurriedly bowed and asked for guidance.

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