Holiday Break

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, eight months had gone by since the freshman assessment ended.

Over the past eight months, Yue Hongchen had dutifully attended class in the mornings, but in the afternoons, he would skip class with Meng Hongchen to train.

Mu Jin and Wang Yan had no objections. The afternoon combat practice and exercises were optional for the two of them; they were already strong in actual combat. Rather than waste time here with everyone else, they were better off spending more time at the Mimicry Training Ground.

After the assessment ended, Yue Hongchen stopped training at the same venue as Meng Hongchen. Instead, he spent more Gold Soul Coins to visit the Mimicry Training Ground reserved for sword cultivators.

He had focused on training for years, and his cultivation had improved, but his understanding of the sword had advanced very slowly. So, for these eight months, he concentrated on that.

The Mimicry Training Ground for sword cultivators was called the Sword Tomb. Since ten thousand years ago, every sword cultivator with close ties to Shrek had left a single strike here for their juniors to study and learn from. Gradually, it became customary for both students and teachers to leave a strike here whenever they reached a new stage in their cultivation. Sword cultivators born to common families would leave behind everything they had learned in life when their time came. The legacy of Jian Dao Chen Xin, the sword master from the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, was also kept here. He had already died by the time the Sword Tomb was established, so what remained was only his understanding of his Martial Soul, along with a copy of the Seven Kill Sword Art.

The Sword Tomb was divided into nine areas, each corresponding to a different level of Soul Master cultivation. Every afternoon, Yue Hongchen went to the fourth area to contemplate sword intent and hone himself.

Though Wang Yan occasionally dragged him off to spar with the students in their class, that was a good thing, too. It wasn't enough to just contemplate the sword; Yue Hongchen always fought with the sword in his hand when he sparred. At first, he lost against three-ring opponents. Then he managed narrow victories, followed by evenly matched fights, and finally he could reliably beat them with nothing but the sword in his hand.

In the end, Wang Yan simply had Yue Hongchen fight several opponents at once: two if they had three rings, and three if they didn't. A one-on-one fight no longer helped Yue Hongchen improve at all. I just want to tell Huo Yuhao, I *****. That broken skill of his is way too overpowered. Once Spiritual Detection Sharing was activated, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were practically cheating. This also left some of the students in their class dissatisfied. Everyone knew Yue Hongchen knew Huo Yuhao and the others, and whenever Yue Hongchen was dragged in to spar, he struggled against the three of them. Rumors started spreading, but Yue Hongchen ignored them. After what had happened during the freshman assessment, those people didn't dare go too far.

He had never visited the branch hall. He'd only heard Huo Yuhao say that its current surroundings were completely at odds with those of the Martial Soul Department: the former looked like the future, while the latter felt like the past.

Fan Yu had also returned to his post as vice dean of the outer courtyard. He was already an Level 8 Soul Engineer, and since the Soul Tool Department had become a branch of Mingde Hall, he got along quite well with the Soul Engineers from Mingde Hall. Apart from always giving his wife special privileges, there was nothing to complain about.

Wang Mingzhe was now the dean of the inner courtyard branch. On the Shrek side, Xian Lin'er remained the dean of the branch. Both were Level 8 Soul Engineers, though Wang Mingzhe was only an 89th-level Soul Douluo. That didn't stop them from sharing their knowledge of Soul Tools, and they had both improved enormously by helping each other.

Qian Duoduo also dropped in to listen from time to time. Now that the academy had begun taking Soul Tools seriously, he could devote himself fully to researching them. A few months passed, and Wang Mingzhe's wife successfully became a Level 7 Soul Engineer. With Jing Hongchen's approval, she became the first female Soul Engineer to join the branch, taking the position of vice dean of the outer courtyard branch.

Qian Duoduo remained the vice dean of the inner courtyard, while Cen Xiao held that post at Mingde Hall's inner courtyard branch.

Huo Yuhao also mentioned that he was currently working on the Ultimate Individual Soldier Plan under the guidance of Fan Yu and Wang Mingzhe's wife, Zhang Jingyi. Having two vice deans teach him made him feel a little overwhelmed by the honor.

Yue Hongchen hadn't looked into the Ultimate Individual Soldier Plan much. He only told Huo Yuhao to learn well from the two vice deans.

That day, Yue Hongchen arrived at the classroom with Meng Hongchen as usual. It was the last class of the school year, and once it ended, their vacation would begin. Of course, it wasn't a vacation for them to simply do as they pleased. The month off was meant for students to absorb everything they had learned over the previous eleven months and improve their cultivation as much as possible. If they slacked off, the students behind them could overtake them, so some students felt they might as well stay at the academy, where things were easier.

Mu Jin and Wang Yan didn't say much in class that day. After praising the students for their hard work over the school year, they briefly explained the advancement assessment after the break. The most important requirement was that students had to possess two Soul Rings. They also explained how class advancement worked: each class would select three to seven students for an additional assessment. If the assessment was completed perfectly, every student who passed the advancement assessment would move on to the second year. But if the additional assessment was only ninety percent complete, the bottom ten percent of the students would be eliminated.

As soon as they heard this, quite a few students began to groan. Wang Yan and Mu Jin had no intention of keeping them until the end of class. They let them spend the remaining time packing up. They could enjoy their break, but they couldn't spend the whole thing just having fun.

That evening, Huo Yuhao invited Yue Hongchen and the others out for a meal. Along with the usual group, Huo Yuhao also invited his senior from the branch, He Caitou.

For some reason, He Caitou kept glancing away from Yue Hongchen, either deliberately or without thinking. After savoring Huo Yuhao's cooking once more, everyone reluctantly said goodbye. They wouldn't get to eat it again for another month.

Another morning came.

Yue Hongchen left his courtyard with Meng Hongchen, who was still drowsy. She had reached level forty, so he was taking her to hunt for a suitable Soul Ring.

As soon as he stepped out of the courtyard, Yue Hongchen spotted a cute green-haired girl pacing back and forth by his gate.

When she saw Yue Hongchen come out, the girl hurried over. "Brother Yue, are you going back to the Sun Moon Continent for the break? Could you take me along?"

Her eyes were clear, and she had a smile on her face, though her cheeks were a little flushed. She must have spent a long time thinking about what to say.

Yue Hongchen hadn't expected Xiao Xiao to come looking for him. However, he wasn't going back for now. He planned to go to the Far North to hunt for a Soul Ring for Meng Hongchen.

Yue Hongchen apologized. "Sorry, Xiao Xiao. Meng has reached level forty, so I need to take her to the Far North to hunt for a Soul Ring. I won't be going back during this break."

At that, Xiao Xiao's disappointment was plain to see. "I see. All right, then. I hope your trip goes smoothly." She hid her feelings and managed a smile.

"I'll take you along next time we get the chance."

Xiao Xiao's eyes lit up. "Okay!"

After they made their plans, Xiao Xiao turned and headed back toward the academy, while Yue Hongchen took Meng Hongchen toward the outskirts of Shrek City.

As soon as they left the city, Yue Hongchen spotted another familiar figure: someone with a small bundle on his back, hurrying north.

"Hey! Yuhao, where are you going?" Yue Hongchen ran over and stopped him.

With Yue Hongchen suddenly appearing in front of him, Huo Yuhao didn't know how to explain.

"You're already at level twenty. Why aren't you asking Director Du to take you to hunt for a Soul Ring?"

Huo Yuhao assembled his words in his mind, then gritted his teeth and said, "I asked Teacher Fan Yu to help me hunt for a Soul Ring this time. He's already found a Soul Beast and is waiting for me there."