Cooperation, Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy

On the Douluo Continent, the number of opportunities was fixed, and there were even fewer opportunities that could be obtained during the Douluo Dalu I era.

Among those opportunities, Whale Rubber was the easiest to acquire. During the Douluo Dalu I era, Whale Rubber was merely a medicinal tonic used by nobles.

This was also one of the reasons Wang Qi was confident he could absorb an eighteen-hundred-year Mutated Golden Flame Sacred Armor Beetle as his second ring.

As for cooperating with Lin Yan? And Lin Yan killing Wang Qi to monopolize the secret? Wang Qi had left himself two safeguards. First, Lin Yan swore upon his Martial Soul that he would keep Wang Qi's secret until Wang Qi successfully absorbed the Mutated Golden Flame Sacred Armor Beetle's soul ring, and that he would not make a move against Wang Qi afterward.

Second, Wang Qi swore upon his Martial Soul that he would detoxify Lin Yan within twenty years at most.

After the two reached an agreement, Wang Qi learned from Lin Yan why he was willing to owe him a favor.

It was a very clichéd story. A spoiled young master from the main family had accidentally killed Lin Yan's daughter while bullying her. Lin Yan had been forced to submit after being poisoned with a chronic toxin, hoping to befriend Wang Qi and eventually use his hand to take revenge.

The five families behind the Great Soul Arena were much like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. They placed immense importance on bloodlines and talent, and they did not trust outsiders at all, so they controlled them with poison.

As it happened, Wang Qi's mother had once been a pharmacist for the Vermilion Bird Family. Parents who loved their children planned far ahead for them. Wang Qi's mother had barely taught him anything about medicinal theory, yet she had made him memorize the prescription for the antidote over and over again.

For the following month, Wang Qi cultivated during the day and studied with Lin Yan at night how to maximize the benefits of Whale Rubber.

After a month of discussion, the plan had taken shape, and Wang Qi was about to set out for Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy.

During this time, Wang Qi learned quite a bit about Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy from Lin Yan, the Great Soul Arena's intelligence network, and Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu.

What Wang Qi cared about most was the Mimic Environment Training Room. Mountain Fire Academy had one, and it was a natural fire-attribute soul master Mimic Environment Training Room built around an Active Volcano.

How effective was it? The concentration of fire-attribute energy was roughly comparable to that of the intermediate training rooms in Blazing Fire City's Mimic Environment Training Room. The difference was that the fire elements there were more active than in an intermediate Mimic Environment Training Room.

The reason Mimic Environment Training Rooms could assist soul masters in cultivation was, first, attribute concentration, and second, attribute activity.

According to Huo Wushuang's assessment, if he cast aside his status and had to choose, he would definitely choose Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy.

A month later, Wang Qi could not help clicking his tongue as he looked at Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy, which had been built entirely atop an Active Volcano. An academy of this scale was completely beyond the standard of an Intermediate Soul Master Academy.

"Hello, are you here to enroll? Please show me your junior soul master academy graduation records and Martial Soul certificate."

"Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy? You came from Nuoding City? Nine years old, Blazing Humanoid Martial Soul? A hundred-year first soul ring. Your foundation is fairly good. Come, test your Soul Power Level."

"What? You actually have level sixteen Soul Power and are only a hair away from level seventeen? What level was your Innate Soul Power?"

"Fine, you passed the review. This is your student identification badge. Go to the logistics department later to collect your daily supplies. The logistics department will tell you the rest of the process."

The enrollment process was extremely simple, or rather, highly standardized. He registered at the enrollment office and received his identification badge, then went to the logistics department to collect daily supplies and the academy handbook before following a staff member to the class assignment board to register.

Finally, the staff brought Wang Qi to his dormitory and gave him a map of Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy.

It was enrollment season, and Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy had only been established for its third year, so there were not many students in the academy.

Over the next seven days, Wang Qi tried out the Mimic Environment Training Room. Its effects were indeed somewhat stronger than Blazing Fire City's intermediate training rooms, though the improvement was limited.

Its advantage was that there were many of them, and students could apply to use one at any time.

Then there was the cafeteria. Every week, the cafeteria distributed a soul beast meat set meal, entirely free of charge. It was truly generous.

The library held many books. Wang Qi found quite a few cultivation notes left by fire-attribute soul masters, though naturally they only contained cultivation experience up to the Soul King stage.

Every month, the academy organized a medicinal bath, and cultivation within it could be twice as effective.

The dormitories were still one room per student, yet tuition at such a school was only fifty Gold Soul Coins per year.

Of course, Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy also had its drawbacks, such as its militarized management. Unless necessary, students were not permitted to leave the academy.

For example, they had to recite the regulations of the Royal Knights and Royal Guards every morning and evening.

They also had to listen to academy veterans recount their experiences and benefits in the Royal Knights and Royal Guards.

Compared to ordinary Intermediate Soul Master Academies, Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy had an assessment system. Assessments were held every month, and anyone who failed to meet the standard was immediately eliminated.

It could be said that Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy was an academy entirely focused on soul master cultivation. Based on its rules, Wang Qi could roughly guess the Heaven Dou Royal Family's objective.

There were not so many schemes involved. There was only one goal: suppress and abolish Blazing Fire Academy.

With such an academy and such an environment, Wang Qi truly did not know why there had been no trace of it in the Original Work.

That was until, after attending the opening ceremony, Wang Qi saw four people in the Mimic Environment Training Room.

The twin brothers Huo Yun and Huo Yu, whose Martial Souls were Fire Cranes.

The twin brothers Mars and Fire Fierce, whose Martial Souls were Mars.

These four were official members of the Blazing Fire Academy Team in the Original Work. This meant that something Wang Qi did not know about must have happened to Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy in the future.

And that major event had even caused Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy to completely disband.

"There's apparently a huge secret hidden here. Interesting. Since the twin pairs Huo Yun and Huo Yu, Mars and Fire Fierce are all fine, I probably won't encounter too much danger either."

"The urgent matter is cultivation. I need to reach level twenty as soon as possible, consume Whale Rubber, and absorb my Second Soul Ring."

With that thought, Wang Qi's life became regular from then on, following the same four-point routine every day.

Dormitory, teaching building, Active Volcano Mimic Environment Training Room, library.

His daily routine was also incredibly monotonous. He read while the veterans boasted at the podium, practiced standing meditation when cultivation tired him out, and relaxed while eating.

The days passed one after another. Wang Qi had studied at Mountain Fire Academy for a year, and his Soul Power had risen from barely level sixteen, nearly level seventeen, to the late stage of level nineteen. He was only one step away from breaking through the level twenty bottleneck.

By Wang Qi's estimate, he would complete the breakthrough in seven days at most. That evening, just after finishing dinner, Wang Qi was preparing to rest when explosions suddenly rang out from outside.

Rumble! Rumble! The alarm of Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy blared, while chaotic footsteps sounded outside the door.

Wang Qi looked out the window and saw the area outside engulfed in firelight. A soul beast with a completely crimson body, over five meters tall, muscular and resembling a male lion, was covered in flames. It had three identical heads.

Countless fireballs as tall as a person spewed from its mouths, turning into a sea of flames the instant they struck the ground.

Wang Qi stood by the window, his eyes fixed intently on the soul beast flying through the air.

Soul Beast: Three-Headed Crimson Demon Mastiff. Age: 280,000 years. Absorption probability: 0%. Compatibility: 82%. Greatly increases cultivation talent.

Soul Beast: Mutated Flame Swallowing Beast embryo (severely damaged). Age: 100,000 years. Absorption probability: 0%. Compatibility: 97%. Greatly increases cultivation talent.

The Mutated Flame Swallowing Beast embryo was protected within the Three-Headed Crimson Demon Mastiff's fur, making it impossible to see anything from the outside. If Wang Qi's eyes had not been able to cheat, he likely would not have discovered this enormous opportunity.