Five Years

Time flew, and five years passed in the blink of an eye.

Over these five years, Gu Han had successfully advanced from a Spirit Master to a level-22 Soul Grandmaster.

At the same time, he had discovered a drawback of the Nameless Technique: every level required an excessive amount of Soul Power, causing his rate of advancement to slow more and more.

Still, it was not entirely bad. Although he was only level 22, he could already deal with some high-level Soul Elders.

At the entrance to Qinghe Village, Gu Han walked into the village with practiced ease.

Over the past five years, Gu Han had returned to the village ten times in total. This might be his last visit for some time.

Gu Han had barely used any of the Gold Soul Coins he earned each year. After returning to the village, he would hand them all to the Village Chief, keeping only enough money for himself.

When he pushed open the door to his home, Gu Han saw Grandpa busy slaughtering a chicken in the courtyard.

"Grandpa, I'm back."

"Haha, Xiao Han is back! What perfect timing. Grandpa's slaughtering a chicken today. Go inside and rest for now. I'll show you what I can do."

When Old Gu saw Gu Han, a simple, honest smile immediately spread across his face.

"Grandpa, I'll go cut some side dishes for you."

As Gu Han spoke, he washed his hands and walked into the kitchen.

Old Gu did not say anything more, merely sighing inwardly. This child is still as sensible as ever.

Over the years, he had also kept the money Gu Han gave to the village.

However, last year, Gu Han discovered this and insisted that the money be used to improve everyone's lives in the village.

In the end, with Gu Han refusing to back down, he took out some of the money to repair the village houses and roads, while also finding some business opportunities for everyone.

Gu Han taught several nimble-handed women in the village how to make some of the street snacks he had learned about in his previous life.

Although these snacks did not earn much money, they gave the villagers another source of income.

As a result, the villagers became much closer to Gu Han. Whenever he was away, they would help look after Grandpa, whose legs were gradually becoming less mobile.

Old Gu had never been willing to reveal his name. Since he was also the oldest person in the village, nobody knew what his name was.

So everyone called him Old Gu Tou or the Old Village Chief.

After arriving in the kitchen, Gu Han cleaned some vegetables.

The grandfather and grandson could not eat too much. They prepared a plate of stir-fried chicken, two plates of vegetables, and a bowl of egg soup, along with a little wine.

After several rounds of drinking and eating, Gu Han swallowed the chicken in his mouth and spoke.

"Grandpa, I've graduated this year. After this, I plan to go to Dragon City and develop myself there. It has the Great Soul Arena, where I can test my strength."

Old Gu's chopsticks paused. He then placed the piece of chicken he had picked up into Gu Han's bowl and sighed.

"Yes. As a Spirit Master, it's time for you to go out and make your way in the world."

"If you ever grow tired of it out there, remember to come home and take a look."

Sensing Grandpa's reluctance to part with him, Gu Han promised, "Grandpa, don't worry. No matter what happens in the future, this place will always be my home. I'll come back."

Old Gu froze for a moment before a kindly smile appeared on his deeply wrinkled face.

"Good child. Grandpa doesn't care what kind of reputation you make for yourself. As long as you stay safe, that's enough."

"Mm. Grandpa, you have to take good care of yourself, too."

Gu Han felt a sour ache in his heart. In the end, he would have to leave this place and part with his family.

After the meal, Gu Han stayed in the village for another half a month before finally leaving amid the villagers' farewells.

Watching Gu Han's departing back, Old Village Chief Gu sighed. "Sigh, in the end, he still has to leave."

"Old Village Chief, don't be sad. Xiao Han is sensible and clever. The village has been able to develop so well entirely because of him. In the future, he'll definitely become the pride of our village."

A middle-aged man gently patted Old Village Chief Gu on the shoulder.

"Hey, I'm not that fragile. Don't fuss over this useless old man."

Old Gu Tou came back to himself and unhappily slapped away the big man's callused hand.

Dragon City was the provincial capital above Cold Wind City, located to the northeast of the Frozen Forest.

The city was far larger than Cold Wind City.

Most importantly, it had an Advanced Soul Master Academy as well as a Great Soul Arena.

It was one of the two major cities in Xueling Province. It did not belong to any kingdom but was directly subordinate to the Heaven Dou Empire.

Although it was midsummer, the temperature here was still somewhat lower than inland.

Gu Han's destination this time was the Ice Crystal Advanced Soul Master Academy in Dragon City.

Of course, before that, he had to report to the Spirit Hall Main Hall here and collect this month's Gold Soul Coins.

It had to be said that this place truly was a major city. Spirit Masters of considerable strength could be seen everywhere, along with plenty of beautiful young women.

"Name..."

"Martial Soul..."

"Show me your soul rings."

After confirming Gu Han's circumstances, the young woman at the window pushed ten Gold Soul Coins toward him.

"Take them. This is your allowance for the month."

Gu Han accepted the Gold Soul Coins, counted them briefly, and placed them inside the White Jade Pendant.

After collecting the money, Gu Han headed to the Ice Crystal Advanced Soul Master Academy to register.

Since Gu Han's level fully met the requirements, some of the admission tests were skipped outright, and he entered the academy directly.

Three years ago, the Spirit Hall announced that Pope Qian Xunji had taken on a disciple who had been named Saintess, though no specific details were revealed.

But Gu Han knew that she was Bibi Dong—a super-genius with Innate Full Soul Power and Twin Martial Souls. Calling her Heaven's Pride would not be an exaggeration. Her fate was simply rather tragic.

Three years ago, Bibi Dong had been six, while Gu Han had been nine.

Based on the original story's indication that Bibi Dong would become a Title Douluo in her thirties, Tang San's birth was still more than thirty years away.

Thirty years was more than enough time for Gu Han to grow completely.

Just as Gu Han was considering his future development, two men suddenly appeared in front of him, one fat and one thin, both with lecherous-looking faces.

"Well, kid, you're new here, aren't you? Do you know the academy's rules?"

The tall, thin man folded his arms and stared at Gu Han with undisguised disdain.

Gu Han was speechless inwardly. Why do I keep running into this sort of thing? Still, it did not matter. He would first test these two men's depths.

"How should I address you two big brothers?"

Hearing this, the two immediately stood back-to-back, facing Gu Han from the side. The thin man spoke first. "My name is Da Ma Hou. My Martial Soul is a Snow Ape, and I'm a level-33 Power Attack System Soul Elder."

"My name is Zhu Ganglie. My Martial Soul is a Nine-Foot Ice Rake, and I'm a level-34 Power Attack System Soul Elder."

"We're the Pig-Monkey Duo!"

Gu Han's mouth twitched. Their levels were indeed somewhat troublesome, so he did not immediately lose his temper. Instead, he cupped his fists and said, "My name is Gu Han, and I'm from the Spirit Hall. I wonder what rules you two big brothers are referring to?"

"The S-Spirit Hall?"

"You're from the Spirit Hall?"

Upon hearing this, the two immediately put away their disdain. After all, the Spirit Hall was not a force to be trifled with. When ordinary Spirit Masters encountered people from the Spirit Hall, they generally kept out of each other's way.

"That's right."

Seeing their reaction, Gu Han knew that he had bet correctly. He could not help sighing inwardly. The Spirit Hall's name really is useful.

"Ahem, it's nothing. We just wanted to make friends with Little Brother Gu."

Gu Han sized the two up. No matter how he looked at them, they did not resemble students in their teens. They looked more like men in their thirties.

"You're not students at this academy, are you?"

"Of course not. We're the academy's gate guards. As long as the students pay a protection fee, we're responsible for protecting them here."

Sure enough, after hearing Da Ma Hou's words, Gu Han received his answer. These two were clearly street thugs who bullied children by relying on their strength.

They likely also had someone backing them through connections, which was why they had not been purged.

"Uh, all right, big brothers. I still have something to do. If we run into each other another day, we can have a proper chat."

"Go on, go on."

After learning that Gu Han was a Spirit Master from the Spirit Hall, the two did not make things difficult for him. They stepped aside and opened a path between them, allowing Gu Han to pass.