Nuoding Academy's Break, Tang San's Shutdown

Time flew by!

In the blink of an eye, Qi Lin and Xiao Wu had already muddled through a year at Nuoding Academy.

Qi Lin swore to heaven that he had barely even cultivated!

Yet his Soul Power just kept shooting up.

Why, he had reached Level 20 three months ago. He simply had not gone to obtain a soul ring yet.

And it was not just Qi Lin. Even Xiao Wu had reached Level 19.

As for Tang San?

The two of them had nearly crushed him into shutting down with their cultivation speed.

Over the past year, he had challenged Xiao Wu three times, only to get brutally beaten every single time.

He had cultivated desperately, yet had only made it to Level 17.

In the dormitory, as their roommates said their goodbyes and left one after another, only Qi Lin and Xiao Wu were soon left behind.

The two sat in front of a game console, each clutching a controller and playing frantically.

As the sound of K.O. came from the game console, Xiao Wu cried out a few times before pouting angrily. "Brother Qi Lin, I told you to go easy on me."

Qi Lin stretched lazily and replied, "I did go easy on you. I let you have nearly half a health bar, didn't I?"

"If you're bad, practice more!"

"If you can't handle losing, don't play!"

After hearing that, Xiao Wu turned her head away in a huff.

"Hmph, I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Qi Lin spread his hands.

"Perfect. I can battle the AI by myself."

"You've been playing for months, and you still aren't as good as beginner-level AI."

"Ahhh, Brother Qi Lin, you're so annoying!"

"I really won't talk to you anymore!"

"Alright, alright. On the way back, I'll buy you whatever you want. Happy now?"

Qi Lin said casually.

"Really?"

Xiao Wu's bright, watery eyes immediately lit up.

She simply could not hold on to money. She spent lavishly, and every time she collected her subsidy from Spirit Hall, she would spend it all within a couple of days.

That was precisely why she envied Qi Lin so much.

He never lacked spending money, and whenever he bought something, he always seemed to run into discounts or acquaintances willing to treat him.

Still, Xiao Wu was not very happy about that, because most of those acquaintances treating him were girls.

Of course, if Brother Qi Lin spent the pocket money those girls gave him on her, then she could accept it.

Qi Lin rolled his eyes at her and said casually, "If you don't believe me, then forget it."

"Hey, hey, hey, I was just joking!"

Just as the two were fooling around, the dormitory door suddenly opened.

The newcomer was Tang San.

"Xiao San, what are you doing here?"

Xiao Wu looked at Tang San, who had suddenly barged in, and spoke bluntly.

Qi Lin also looked over curiously.

Over the past semester, he had not spoken much with Tang San, but he did not hold any ill will toward him either.

He was just an ordinary classmate, that was all.

Tang San looked much better than when he had first arrived.

Back then, his skin had been somewhat sallow, and he had been very thin.

But now that he was eating better, his body and face had visibly filled out.

Looking at Tang San before him, Qi Lin could not help feeling sorry that he had ended up with such an unreliable father as Tang Hao.

Just look how badly that kid had been starved before!

At that moment, Tang San spoke as well, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"Xiao Wu, I don't have many friends. During this break, I'd like to invite you and Qi Lin to my home as guests."

"What do you think?"

Tang San looked at Xiao Wu with a hint of expectation in his eyes.

He was clever. He knew that if he invited only Xiao Wu, she would never agree.

So he had simply invited Qi Lin as well!

After hearing Tang San, Xiao Wu could not help looking at Qi Lin.

"Brother Qi Lin, what do you think?"

Qi Lin thought about it and ultimately agreed.

Mainly because he was very curious about the legendary Old Jack and wanted to go see him.

The moment Tang San heard that, delight immediately appeared on his face.

"Where's your luggage?"

"I have a Soul Tool here. I can help you pack it away."

As Tang San spoke, he pointed to the Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night at his waist.

Qi Lin smiled faintly and pointed to the bracelet on his wrist as well.

"No need. I have a Soul Tool too."

Tang San froze slightly and blurted out, "You have a Soul Tool too!"

Qi Lin spread his hands. "A kind older sister gave it to me on the first day of school!"

The first day of school...

Tang San thought back carefully and immediately remembered.

When Qi Lin had first entered the Seventh Dormitory, he had not been wearing that silver bracelet.

Yet when he returned that night, he had it.

At the time, Tang San had assumed the bracelet was nothing more than an ordinary accessory.

Who would have thought...

In the end, Tang San could only say, "Then you're really lucky. Soul Tools are very expensive!"

They really are expensive. The prices of many Soul Tools are ridiculously inflated.

Fortunately, he could now make Soul Tools himself.

Hmm...

Qi Lin felt that it was not all that difficult. Teaching himself had been quite easy.

When they left the academy gates, the previous guard had been fired on the third day after Nuoding Academy opened because someone had filed a complaint against him.

The new guard was a simple-looking young man of seventeen or eighteen.

Qi Lin got along well with him, so he said goodbye before leaving.

Outside the academy, a carriage stood quietly not far away.

Tang San had come prepared and had rented a carriage in advance.

Along the way, Xiao Wu chattered nonstop, while Tang San was unusually silent.

Seeing this, Qi Lin simply pulled him into the conversation and began discussing things with him.

Although Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's theories were unreliable and borrowed heavily from the books stored in Spirit Hall's library, there was still quite a bit of valuable knowledge among the dross.

And as Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's disciple, Tang San had learned quite a bit about Soul Masters and soul beasts over the past year.

At least they could keep the conversation going!

Tang San even became more animated as they talked, gradually growing more confident and showy.

Unfortunately, Xiao Wu soon killed the mood with a single sentence.

"Xiao San, your Soul Master level is so low. You must have wasted all your time studying this stuff, right?"

Xiao Wu's words were like knives, stabbing Tang San in the chest once again.

It hurt. It hurt so much!

Thinking of Qi Lin and Xiao Wu's usual lifestyle, Tang San wanted to argue that he spent far more time cultivating than those two slackers.

But the moment he thought of his Soul Power Level, he began doubting himself.

We all have Innate Full Soul Power, so why do you two cultivate so much faster?

Could it be...

Was Blue Silver Grass really that useless?

But Qi Lin's martial soul is also Mutated Blue Silver Grass!

Seeing Tang San's self-doubting expression, Xiao Wu smiled smugly.

Serves you right for showing off. Let's see you keep showing off now!

For a long time afterward, Tang San did not recover.

Qi Lin scratched his head when he saw that.

Alright, this really had nothing to do with me!

He had only meant to stop Tang San from awkwardly watching him and Xiao Wu chat away by themselves.

Who knew that the moment Tang San started talking about the theoretical knowledge he was good at, he would begin showing off?

They said beautiful women brought disaster. Qi Lin guessed Tang San had wanted to show off in front of Xiao Wu, only to make a mess of things instead.

Of course, Qi Lin was not saying Tang San was that criminally inclined and already interested in Xiao Wu.

After all, Xiao Wu was still just a little kid with nothing to speak of.

But Tang San had been a taciturn shut-in in his previous life, and shut-ins like that seemed to have little resistance to lively, cheerful girls.

If he had received a different education from childhood, Qi Lin felt Tang San might not have been unable to become an anime fan.

The personality he developed in the original story had everything to do with Grandmaster, Tang Hao, and even the environment of the City of Slaughter.

All Qi Lin could say was that education and environment were important!

What a pity!