Hearing his old companion's words, the Dragon Duke suddenly came to his senses. After pondering for a moment, he said, "You're right. He's already grown into his own now. If we force him to stay, his body may remain, but his heart won't. Once his strength fully matures, I'm afraid we won't end well."
"As for what you said about him having a powerful backer, that's unlikely. That mantis nearly killed him, and in the end, he still relied on us to save him. No major power would be foolish enough to mistreat such a genius like this."
After saying that, he picked up his hot tea and took a light sip. Closing his eyes, he said with relief, "Forget it. Perhaps we simply aren't fated. Tomorrow, we'll let him make his own choice and won't force him to stay. After all, we did him a favor, and there's still a trace of goodwill between us. That's worth more than making an enemy."
Chen Chu, in the room next door, knew nothing of the Dragon Duke and Snake Dowager's discussion. He was planning his route for tomorrow. As for the two trying to stop him, he might not be able to defeat them, but he was still somewhat confident in his ability to escape.
For Sagros to evolve from the King lineage to the Holy King level again, ordinary bloodline accumulation would likely be far from enough. Perhaps only the Immortal Herbs in that place could help it rise to another level!
"Unfortunately, I don't know anything about herbs, and that Dugu Bo isn't normal either. I can't get close to him at all. What should I do?"
Whenever Chen Chu thought of this, he became incredibly irritated. He didn't believe that if he casually said a few things, they would trust him and take him to that treasure trove, letting him pick herbs as he pleased. More importantly, he knew nothing about medicinal principles. Even if he went, wouldn't he be like Dugu Bo, guarding a mountain of gold without recognizing it?
"Right. Meng Yiran should be around the same age as Dugu Yan and the others. I can apply to be a teacher there, just like Qin Ming did. As the academy with the best resources in the empire, Heaven Dou Royal Academy must have plenty of books in its collection. That would be much faster than searching among the common folk myself. And I could get close to Dugu Yan, then use her to reach Poison Douluo!"
At that thought, Chen Chu felt his mind clear considerably. The more he considered it, the more feasible it seemed. He remembered there was also a Nine Heart Begonia Soul Master surnamed Ye. As a healing family with a long history on the continent, they must have collected plenty of medicinal texts, which would also help him.
However, the one drawback of going there was that he would encounter the young lady of Spirit Hall. Chen Chu still couldn't get a read on that woman. He always felt that, like her mother, she was somewhat neurotic and unreliable. If she dragged him into something... Sigh, forget it. He shouldn't think so much for now. He would take things one step at a time.
After making his plans, Chen Chu felt that even his meditation had become a little more effective. After Sagros evolved into the King lineage, his cultivation speed had become far slower than before. Perhaps it had something to do with the theory of ultimate attributes. It was said that Soul Masters with ultimate attributes cultivated slowly before Rank Seventy and accumulated strength at a slower pace. That was probably his current situation.
The night passed without incident!
Early the next morning, the Dragon Duke and Snake Dowager indeed did not mention persuading him to stay again. They merely stuffed a small pouch of Gold Soul Coins into Chen Chu's hands, saying it was travel money.
After politely declining twice, Chen Chu accepted it and followed the caravan toward Heaven Dou City.
Beast Canyon was located in Sylvis Province, still quite a distance from Heaven Dou City. Because he was traveling with a merchant caravan, the journey took more than half a month.
Heaven Dou City
This ancient city, one of the most historically rich cities on Douluo Continent, housed eighty percent of the empire's nobles and a vast amount of its resources.
After entering the city, Chen Chu first found a clothing store that looked fairly upscale and picked out several decent outfits.
After all, he was going to apply for a teaching position at a noble academy. Although his strength was sufficient, dressing more formally would save him plenty of trouble. When traveling outside, one's status was often self-made, and most people judged others by their clothes.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy truly deserved its reputation as the empire's foremost noble academy. An entire mountain was actually under the academy's jurisdiction, and its environment and resources were the best Chen Chu had seen so far.
As soon as he reached the gate at the foot of the academy mountain, he was stopped by the guards.
"Hello, sir. May I ask what brings you here?"
The guards saw that the man before them was dressed extravagantly and had a cool, unapproachable air about him just standing there. They immediately became respectful. He clearly looked like a scion of some great family.
Chen Chu nodded at the guards, took out the recruitment notice, and handed it over. "I heard your academy is recruiting teachers. I'm here to apply."
The imagined scene of guards mocking him did not happen, which pleased Chen Chu. It seemed he had not bought these clothes for nothing.
"Applying to be a teacher?" One guard looked up at Chen Chu in confusion. Seeing how young he appeared, he was somewhat surprised. "All right, sir. Please wait a moment. I need to report this."
The guard had received a young Soul Master who came to apply as a teacher last year—Qin Ming. Therefore, he did not show too much surprise at Chen Chu's age.
A moment later, a middle-aged man flew down and landed by the gate. After hearing the guard's explanation, he walked toward Chen Chu with a smile.
"Hello, I'm a teacher from the academy's personnel office, and also a Heaven Dou Rank teacher. My name is Wang Mo. You can call me Old Mo."
The man was extremely warm toward Chen Chu. He extended his hand from quite a distance away and introduced himself.
Chen Chu smiled slightly as well. He stepped forward and firmly shook Old Mo's hand. "Hello, Teacher Wang. I am Chen Chu, here to apply for a teaching position at your academy."
Old Mo did not release Chen Chu's hand. His eyes swept up and down Chen Chu like scanners. "Brother Chen, you look quite young. What's your Soul Power Level? Our academy requires at least Rank Forty for recruitment. Don't take offense—it's the rule."
Chen Chu did not hide it. The aura of a Soul Emperor spread from him. "I just passed Rank Sixty. I'm a power-attack Battle Soul Emperor."
Feeling that aura, Old Mo's eyes lit up at once, and his grip tightened slightly. "A Soul Emperor! And a power-attack type? Good heavens! You're an even greater genius than Teacher Qin was when he arrived last year! Come on, I'll take you to see the education committee. This is as good as settled!"
The two headed up the mountain together. Students occasionally passed by along the road. A young girl with twin ponytails was not afraid of strangers at all. Seeing Old Mo with an unfamiliar person, she walked over, blinked her big eyes, and asked, "Teacher Wang, who's this? He's even better-looking than Teacher Qin Ming."
Old Mo chuckled when he saw the little girl and explained, "This is Teacher Chen. He's here to apply. Hurry back to class, you little rascal, or Teacher Li will pull your ears again."
The girl stuck out her tongue. Before leaving, she made a face at Chen Chu. "A new teacher? If you can't teach well, we'll heckle you!"
Chen Chu smiled on the surface, but inwardly he grew wary. The students at this academy aren't afraid of teachers. Still, I don't have time to play around with a bunch of little brats.
When they arrived at the education committee's office, Old Mo pushed open the door and shouted, "Esteemed committee members! I brought a genius back for the academy—a Heaven Dou Rank Battle Soul Master, even younger than Qin Ming!"
The three old men seated at the desks put down their teacups at those words and looked toward Chen Chu. "Oh? A Heaven Dou Rank Battle Soul Master? Release your martial soul and let us see it."
Before you continue