Dreaming Back to Senior Year!

"Well—" Lin Fan grinned. "If a few Support System Spirit Masters gave me some buffs while I absorbed the Soul Ring... could we push the age limit a little higher?"

Qian Daoliu raised an eyebrow, nearly laughing in exasperation. "Do you think absorbing a Soul Ring is like simmering soup? Add more ingredients and it'll cook longer?"

Lin Fan answered righteously, "Let's try it! With you covering for me, even if I blow up, you can still save me."

"Fine. Since you're so determined to try, I'll grant your wish. But remember: safety comes first. Do not push yourself recklessly!" After pondering for a moment, Qian Daoliu ultimately agreed.

Lin Fan immediately beamed. "Thank you, Grandpa Qian! Don't worry, I'll be careful!"

They got straight to work. Qian Daoliu immediately gave the order and summoned several fairly powerful Support System Spirit Masters.

At the critical moment when Lin Fan absorbed the Soul Ring, they would unleash their support skills with all their strength to safeguard him.

But absorbing the Soul Ring would have to wait until the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow was reserved for Bibi Dong's instruction.

After Qian Daoliu brought him back to Spirit City, Lin Fan dragged his exhausted body back to his villa. The maids Bibi Dong had arranged for him had already prepared a medicinal bath.

"Young Master, would you like us to scrub your back?" a pretty young maid in a maid's outfit asked softly.

"You know how to give massages, right?" Lin Fan said expressionlessly. "If you do, come over."

He had been through far too much today—far more than someone his body's current age should have had to endure.

Qian Daoliu had "forced" him to take medicine, then put him through devilish training. Finally, the agony of fusing with a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone and the joy of gaining immense power had intertwined, leaving him utterly exhausted in body and mind.

What he needed most right now was a massage to relax both body and mind.

As for these beauties?

Sorry, he was too tired to be interested!

The maids' faces lit up in delight. They hurried over and began skillfully massaging Lin Fan.

Warm medicinal liquid flowed over his skin, carrying a faint fragrance. Lin Fan felt his entire body relax as his exhaustion gradually faded away.

Leaning back against the edge of the pool, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the maids' gentle massage. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he opened his eyes. "By the way, Your Eminence the Pope is going to personally instruct me tomorrow?"

"Yes, Young Master," the maid replied with a hand over her mouth and a soft laugh. "Your Eminence the Pope sent word this morning that if you dare to be late, you'll be punished by sweeping the Papal Palace steps for a month."

Lin Fan nearly slipped into the bath—Bibi Dong teaching him personally... the training probably would not be much lighter than Qian Daoliu's!

Under the maids' attentive care, Lin Fan soon fell into a deep sleep.

In the end, the maids carried him back to bed. Lin Fan was still too young to stir any interest in them, and they did not dare entertain improper thoughts either.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains and woke the sleeping Lin Fan.

After stretching, he felt strength coursing through his entire body, as though he had been completely reborn overnight.

"This medicinal bath works even better than Red Bull!" Lin Fan sprang out of bed with a kip-up, nearly smashing his head into the ceiling.

Clutching his growling stomach, he rushed into the dining room and found that the maids had already prepared Soul Beast meat, five liters of Soul Beast milk, and specially made Blue Silver Grass mixed with spicy rabbit heads.

—After a day of devilish training, his appetite had become as monstrous as if Taotie had possessed him.

"Young Master, slow down..." The head maid chased after him with a napkin, helplessly watching Lin Fan shove enough breakfast for three people into his mouth.

Lin Fan wolfed down breakfast, wiped his mouth, and let out a satisfied sigh.

After his physical constitution improved, his appetite had soared as well. Fortunately, Spirit Hall might lack many things, but resources were not one of them. He would never have to worry about food and drink.

Next was a trip to the Papal Palace, that towering building gleaming brilliantly beneath the sunlight.

Upon entering the Pope's private office, Lin Fan handed his entire morning over to Bibi Dong.

This Pope was not only immensely powerful, but also first-rate in theoretical knowledge. She gave Lin Fan a thorough lesson.

What followed made Lin Fan feel as though he had returned to his final year of high school—Bibi Dong rapidly wrote on the blackboard with chalk while brick-thick tomes piled before him, such as One Hundred Possibilities of Martial Soul Mutation, <Is There Reproductive Isolation Between Humans and Soul Beasts?>, Weaknesses of Different Types of Soul Beasts, and How to Tame Evil Soul Beasts Such as Succubi.

Afternoon sunlight slanted into a side hall of the Papal Palace. Lin Fan rubbed his aching eyes and lifted his head from a pile of books thick enough to crush someone to death, wailing inwardly:

How is this cultivation? This is practically going back to my final year of high school!

Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan strolled in with leisurely steps, a gentle smile on his lips, completely unlike the icy aura Bibi Dong had radiated that morning.

"Little fellow, how did you find the theory lesson this morning?"

Lin Fan pulled a long face. "Senior Chrysanthemum, I feel like my brain capacity is running out. This is harder than solving college entrance exam math problems!"

Of course, he did not say that last sentence aloud.

Yue Guan laughed heartily and patted Lin Fan's shoulder. "Knowledge accumulates bit by bit. Take your time digesting it. Today, let's have something easier and talk about plant Soul Beasts and medicinal herbs."

Easier?

Lin Fan was skeptical, but seeing Chrysanthemum Douluo's serious expression, he could only brace himself.

Over the following hours, Yue Guan spoke of the most common Blue Silver Grass all the way to the precious Aromatic Silk Beauty, from the habits of Soul Beasts to the proper time for harvesting medicinal herbs. He explained every detail with meticulous care.

"Now answer me: what factors affect the distance Blue Silver Grass spores can spread?"

Lin Fan: ...

"The distance Blue Silver Grass spores can spread depends on..." Lin Fan stared at Yue Guan's smiling face and suddenly felt that this question was more torturous than Qian Daoliu's devilish training.

He secretly glanced out the window—the sun was nearly setting, and he had actually spent an entire day in the Papal Palace memorizing knowledge points!

Lin Fan sprawled amid the pile of books like a dried salted fish.

He poked at the cover of Guide to Soul Beast Crossbreeding beside him and muttered weakly, "Douluo Continent is clearly a world where strength reigns supreme, so why do I have to learn so much knowledge?!"

Chrysanthemum Douluo put down the book in his hands and gave Lin Fan a bland glance. "Do you think Soul Master battles are just people standing still and throwing Soul Skills at each other?"

"Isn't that how it is?" Lin Fan curled his lip. "Whoever has more Soul Rings and stronger Soul Skills wins, right?"

Ghost Douluo, who had been silently watching from the side, sneered and lightly tapped the tabletop with his fingertip. "Then let me tell you this: a Soul Master ten levels below you, but proficient in poison and the weaknesses of the human body, could kill you with the lowest-grade Soul Skill. Do you believe that?"

Lin Fan shuddered and instantly sat upright. "...That underhanded?"

"Watch your words. How can something scholars do be called underhanded? This is called tactics!" Yue Guan said calmly. "Do you think battles between Titled Douluo rely entirely on brute force? Spirit Hall has stood firm until today not only because of force, but also because of knowledge."

Lin Fan scratched his head and muttered quietly, "But this is still way too much..."

Yue Guan ignored him and continued, "Soul Ring age limits, Soul Beast traits, Martial Soul counters, terrain effects, Soul Power circulation efficiency—every single point could determine life or death. You do not even know what Soul Beast your own Soul Rings came from. One day, someone might scheme you to death, and you would not even know how you died."

Lin Fan: "..."

That... seemed to make some sense?

(The next chapter will go straight to hunting Soul Beasts. There won't be any more of this kind of plot later.)