Return to Mountain Fire Academy

Upon returning to Mountain Fire Academy, Wang Qi looked at the ruined walls atop the mountain and the five small buildings scattered at its foot, unable to help sighing inwardly.

One year. In just one year, Mountain Fire Academy, once built to the standards of an Advanced Soul Master Academy, had fallen into such a miserable state.

The simulated environment was gone. The excellent cultivation environment was gone. Even after walking through the campus for quite a while, Wang Qi saw only small groups of students and teachers.

Moreover, this batch of students seemed nowhere near as capable as Wang Qi's own batch had been. Most of them looked as though they had only recently broken through Level Ten.

"Hello, student. You don't seem to be a student of Mountain Fire Academy, do you?"

A man wearing Mountain Fire Academy's teacher uniform stopped Wang Qi and asked from in front of him.

Wang Qi had been away from Mountain Fire Academy for a year. Over that year, his Soul Power Level had risen by a full thirteen levels, and he had absorbed two thousand-year soul rings. His body had developed enormously.

At twelve years old, his physique was nearly comparable to that of an adult. If not for the faint baby fat still on his face, people might have mistaken Wang Qi for a grown man.

Furthermore, after his martial soul evolved, his body had changed greatly as well. With hair the color of flames burned into ash and handsome features, the teacher was certain that if Wang Qi had been a Mountain Fire Academy student, he would have recognized him.

"I'm an old student of Mountain Fire Academy. My name is Wang Qi. By the way, is Principal Li here?" Wang Qi had no intention of hiding his identity. After all, barring any surprises, he would be cultivating at an Intermediate Soul Master Academy for the next half year.

"Wang Qi? An old student? Ah, I remember now. You're the student who was the best fighter in the academy back then, right? I saw your portrait, but your appearance—"

"I encountered a bit of an opportunity while training outside. Teacher, please take me to Principal Li."

Principal Li, a sixty-third-level Soul Emperor, had remained in the rear during Scarlet King's invasion of Mountain Fire Academy a year ago, responsible for evacuating the students. He was ultimately saved by Sword Douluo Chen Xin and narrowly escaped with his life.

Wang Qi followed the teacher to the teaching building. Looking at the principal's office, which was even more shabby than it had been a year ago, it would have been strange if Wang Qi had felt nothing.

Knock, knock, knock. After receiving Li Pingyuan's permission, the teacher pushed open the door.

"Teacher Sun, what brings you here? This student looks familiar. Have we met before?"

"Old Li, and you've already forgotten me after just one year? Hah, you even saved some fruit for me!"

Wang Qi went around Teacher Sun and headed straight for the sofa. He grabbed a piece of fruit from the platter and began eating it in large bites.

Mountain Fire Academy was located at the border of two kingdoms and one province. There were no towns anywhere nearby, and with so few students, transporting supplies was an absolute pain. Basic necessities and cultivation resources were not lacking; fruit was the one thing they lacked.

Wang Qi had been quite famous when he attended Mountain Fire Academy. He could even be called the academy's best fighter. Those two-ring Soul Grandmasters had been beaten black and blue by Wang Qi, a one-ring soul master. Such a genius was undoubtedly worth Li Pingyuan's efforts to recruit.

When Mountain Fire Academy had been attacked by Scarlet King a year ago, Li Pingyuan had always believed Wang Qi had died in that crisis. He had not expected him to still be alive.

"So it's you, brat. I thought you were dead. Teacher Sun, if there's nothing else, you can head back first. This kid is Wang Qi, one of our Mountain Fire Academy students."

After seeing Teacher Sun off, Li Pingyuan studied Wang Qi with great interest before suddenly asking, "What level is your Soul Power at now? Why do I feel like I can't quite see through you?"

The longer Li Pingyuan examined Wang Qi, the more alarmed he became. A year ago, Wang Qi's combat ability had been outrageously strong, but not to the point where Li Pingyuan could not gauge him. Now, however, he could not see through him at all.

He could not discern Wang Qi's Soul Power Level. If not for Wang Qi casually taking fruit from the platter and eating it as though he were at home, Li Pingyuan might not even have dared to recognize him.

"I got fairly lucky. The Great Soul Arena pressed me into service, then gave me some compensation afterward. I'm already a Soul Elder now."

Seeing Wang Qi's casual expression, Li Pingyuan froze completely.

With Li Pingyuan's Soul Power Level and status, he truly was not qualified to know that Whale Rubber could increase the age limit of soul rings one could absorb. However, he had connections. Backed by the Heaven Dou Royal Family, and with groups such as the Heaven Dou Royal Knights and Heaven Dou Guard directly under the royal family, he still knew something of Whale Rubber's effects.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Your luck is really frightening, kid. Pressed into service? If I'd been pressed into service back then too, I'd be at least a Soul Saint by now."

"Just looking at you irritates me. You're already a Soul Elder, so what are your plans next? Are you going to join the Royal Knights or the Guard? Don't let Mountain Fire Academy's soul beast attack fool you. My connections are still here. With your talent, people would be fighting to take you no matter which one you joined."

Wang Qi asked with interest, "Can't I join Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy? What's so good about that? It's full of spoiled second-generation heirs who only know how to enjoy themselves." Li Pingyuan spoke disdainfully, then explained the differences between the Guard and the Royal Knights to Wang Qi so that he could choose.

Wang Qi had heard this sort of spiel countless times during his year at Mountain Fire Academy. Saying he could recite it backward would have been an exaggeration, but he knew the general details well enough.

"It can't be that bad, Old Li. Back then, you said you wanted to develop Mountain Fire Academy into an Advanced Soul Master Academy, one that could rival Blazing Fire Academy among the long-established Four Elements Academy. What? Did having the soul beasts tear through the place crush your spirit?"

Li Pingyuan fell silent. All he could offer Wang Qi were bitter laughs. There was no helping it. Mountain Fire Academy's losses from that soul beast attack had been too severe.

Leaving aside the material losses, the teachers who had died and Li Pingyuan's usual comrades-in-arms alone included three Soul Kings, fifteen Soul Ancestors, nearly forty Soul Elders, and an unknown number of students. It was precisely because of those losses that the Heaven Dou Royal Family had been unable to resolve the matter. Otherwise, Mountain Fire Academy would not be as dilapidated as it was now.

"Most of the teachers died in battle a year ago, and most of the students have graduated and gone to Blazing Fire City. Mountain Fire Academy's current standards are practically no different from those of an ordinary Intermediate Soul Master Academy."

"You should leave soon as well. You're already a Soul Elder. Staying here any longer would only waste your time."

Li Pingyuan's tone carried loneliness and regret. The loneliness came from his shattered dream, while the regret came from not leading his old comrades away sooner.

"Enough, Old Li. Stop sitting here feeling sorry for yourself. The All-Continent Advanced Elite Soul Master Competition is happening right now. Where else could I go?"

"As for joining the Guard or the Royal Knights, honestly, I'm not that interested. I'll cultivate here for half a year first, then we'll talk after the All-Continent Advanced Elite Soul Master Competition ends."

"Maybe the Heaven Dou Empire's teams will suffer a crushing defeat in this Soul Master Competition. When that happens, if you send them a twelve-year-old Soul Elder, the Heaven Dou Royal Family might be willing to approve funding for you to rebuild Mountain Fire Academy."

"Alright, I won't chat with you anymore. I'm going up the mountain to take a look. What happened a year ago really scared me. If I don't go see it for myself, I'll always feel unwilling to let it go."